am from a small village on the edge of Greenwood the Great. My people, simple woods folk, are friends of the Beornings—perhaps distantly related on my mother’s side. My mother is a life-long beekeeper in our village. She tells a story that she is one of Beorn's great grandchildren. Old Beorn loved honey, so who knows?

Our people do not eat the meat of mammals, for which reason I tend to give some credit to the Beorning link. I make note here that I have never turned into a bear at night—not yet anyway! I have a hand-woven bear mask my mother made me; I like to break it out at parties but no one ever reacts. I do not know why they do not.

Once on a campaign with the Hyandaner Division, I accidentally ate a stew with mammal meat. I did not sleep well that night. There are many other things to eat in Gondor so it is easy to avoid it.
 

n the old days there were more troubles than now and sometimes villages on the edge of the forest were attacked by marauding orcs from the Misty Mountains. All of our young people had to, still have to, learn somewhat to be handy for protection of our village and survival. They learn knowledge of self-defence as well as how to fish and garden.

n my youth I learned to read the tracks of bears, wolves and game birds and their spoor. I once tracked my younger brother when he was feverish and ran away. On a time while some of us were hunting game birds in the woods, we found a village that had been burned out. We followed the track of the attackers long enough to know they were orcs. They were making their way back up into the mountains and we warned all the surrounding woods folk of the threat. The next night they came back and all the woodsmen and the Beornings were waiting for them. They had some losses. Most of them never made it back to their holes in the mountains.

ere I to describe myself, I would say that I am small in frame yet wiry. My hair is dark. I am handy with a blowgun. I still carry a small one I brought with me from my village—a sort of longish and smooth pipe carved from hard wood, used with thin darts. Prior to my Ranger training most of my experience with knives had been related to tasks rather than combat, however. I carry a small medicinal kit and can apply basic field dressings. I am also an experienced rider; but my sturdy dun-colored mare, Berry, is with my mother in the village in Greenwood.

am not sure just how or when it began but for a very long time, I had a burning desire to become a Ranger of Gondor—a protector of the free peoples of the West. A Ranger is a person who is willing to put their life in the service of others for the good of all. One day I left my rustic village and made the journey to Minas Tirith.
In Minas Tirith I went straight to the Rangers Headquarters as one of the many young people who arrive with the same goal in their hearts. Then I was accepted as a Reserve and began training.

 This training took me longer than many of my peers, but I hope my lessons have been well learned. Today I am a Lance Corporal of the Hyandaner Division. The short sword is my weapon of choice; I also carry a set of throwing daggers and a small finger-length dagger, a recent present from one of my peers. The Hyandaner officers have nicknamed me "Short Cut".
 

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