Deredan Enimrath hails from the Hills of Tarnost, near Dol Amroth on the coast of Gondor; the people of that country are the only Men still to speak Sindarin in their daily lives, and Deredan was raised in that fair tongue. There are no elves in that land any more, but Deredan’s father is called elf-friend, as many in his line have been, and has travelled many times to the lands wherein they dwell. On one such journey he met Deredan’s mother, a woman of the northern Dunedain, and cousin to the Ranger Calenglad.

Deredan is the youngest of eight; of his three brothers, one was slain by an orc arrow in Ithilien, and another lately in the fall of Osgiliath; his remaining brother serves under Captain Faramir in the Rangers of Ithilien, and Deredan himself has seen much of warfare in skirmishes with the corsairs of Umbar. After Osgiliath was taken by the Enemy, when the sore tidings of his brother’s death reached his father, that proud nobleman took his son aside and spoke to him.

‘I have lost two sons to this war, which is not yet come into its fullness,’ he said; ‘they died with honour, and I have pride in them, but I know too well that they died for little cause. Our people have grown weak, and unmindful of the old ways; our own Prince of Dol Amroth is wise and true, but I have less faith than I should in the House of the Stewards. We are ever looking to the East, where the Enemy musters his strength, but I hear rumour of a new shadow in the North, and I fear that your mother’s people might be overrun, for they are as few as they are valiant. So for these reasons, and because I would not see the life of my youngest son squandered on skirmishes, and because you are your mothers favourite, and I could not stand to see her heart broken a third time, I bid you travel north. Pass through the Gap of Rohan, or over the Cirith Caradhras if the weather favours you, and seek hospitality in Imladris, where I know you will find a warm welcome. There you should hear news of the Rangers of the North, and how best you might aid them or join them. I would have you lend your strength to your mother’s kin; if you can, bring me tidings from Eriador, but if their need is urgent then remain.’

Deredan was loth to leave when his country was so hard pressed, but he obeyed his father and made that long journey to the north. He tarried many months in Rivendell, and delighted to be among the elves, whose tongue he spoke and whose songs he knew, but whom he had met only rarely, when they came to visit his father. But in the House of Elrond he learned that the North was indeed in peril, and so he pressed on at last to Bree, thinking then to make for the North Downs or Evendim, where his mother’s people mounted their defence.

When he reached Bree, however, he found the lands about that town were sorely pressed, by bandits and by orcs; though he had thought to find a welcome among his noble kin, he discovered the Bree folk to be good people and stout-hearted, and he realised he could not continue on his journey when he knew how much they might benefit from the strength of his arm. So Deredan Enimrath, Knight of Dol Amroth, remains among the simple, forthright folk of Bree, and finds that he is pleased to be given no honour for his birthright, which means nothing to those people. When he feels he has done all he can there, it is his intention to seek out his kin, but for the moment he knows that he is needed in that green, well-tended country.

Deredan has sworn oaths to a secret order, the Knights of Eriador, and serves loyally in their selfless defence of Breeland and all the free folk of Eriador. His comrades have become like family to him, and he realises that when the roads to Gondor are open again, their will be a conflict between his oaths to his order, and his oaths as a Knight of Gondor; he loves his family, and prefers not to think too much about the potential for a conflict of loyalties…

He has been trained since birth to fight in battle, but also to shine in social situations, which has made him a very confident and sociable man. He loves the company of women, and finds it almost impossible not to flirt and pay them extravagant compliments, but he is no womaniser, everything he says being sincerely intended, without ulterior motive. He is generous to a fault, and concerned with the welfare of those around him, even if he does not know them well; those to whom he is close have a friend of unshakeable loyalty. Deredan's greatest fault is his pride: if he perceives an insult from a man, he is immediately ready to offer them violence in return; if a woman speaks ill of him, he finds it hurtful, and will argue his case vociferously.