There have been Thornley and Greenlake families in the Bree-lands since the plain’s rich soil was rediscovered by men migrating up from the White Mountains far to the south. Over the centuries, the family names evolved from their unremembered roots, just as were most of the family names forgotten of the ancient Edain who previously dwelt there. It was the Edain who built and eventually abandoned the ruins on and around the plain’s most prominent feature, Bree-hill.
Once resettled, the fields and ruins again hosted a thriving region of Men. The farmlands produced their bounty, and consequently underpinned the prosperity of the burgeoning town of Bree. This obviously named settlement sprouted up on Bree-hill, around and over the ancient Edain ruins.
Thornleys and Greenlakes had been an essential, if not always obvious, impetus to a thriving community and its industry. Over time, the families had bred together often, such that they were, at least by blood, their own clan. Their neighboring Bree-landers thought of them inseparably and universally respected them. Although an occasional Thornley or a Greenlake would take leave to seek a life elsewhere, most did not, being satisfied with farm life, which inevitably includes helping neighbors when times were hard. Because of the richness of the soil and the clan’s sharing of a wise relationship to it, the Bree-lander granaries and root cellars consistently nurtured the entire region through long winter, drought, and pestilence. The Bree-land reputation for prosperity drew in new blood from as far away as Rohan, Gondor, and The Vales. All were welcomed, Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits, and even Elves would have been, had they deigned to visit, and all of this was due to the foundation laid down by the Thornleys and Greenlakes.
When the Troubles began, the most prized targets were the Bree-land farms. Orcs to the north, goblins to the east, and desperate brigands to the south and west all seemed to be converging on Bree-land with unswerving intent. Raids on the villages of Archet and Trestlebridge and the occupation of Andrath combined to tighten the grasp of unknown forces seeking to choke the Bree-landers into submission. It was the beginning of a time when farmers and shopkeepers would have to learn to become guardians and warriors.
Fortunately, the Bree town Watch had, over time, attracted a number of retired soldiers from the other lands of Men who sought to finish out their lives in relative peace, helping to keep what little order was needed in a town too busy to invite much mischief. It was these few foreign soldiers who began, first, to train the Watch how to fight as soldiers defending their town, and then to train willing farmers how to patrol their lands and fight when they could, or retreat and raise alarm when they could not. There was no realistic expectation of raising an army, but a sound defense might still be needed.
Torrance Greenlake was one such farm dweller. Although familiar with farm work, one would not call him first and foremost a farmer, as from a very young age he was drawn to the anvil’s ring and rhythm, and being broad of chest and shoulder, he early found himself pounding metal into useful purpose under his Uncle Garrison’s tutelage. Torry’s days were more of making and mending plows than plowing. His work was soon sought from neighboring farms and eventually from Bree town itself, as his reputation as a metalsmith grew.
When the Troubles came, Torrance Greenlake was among the first to take up his hammer for a new purpose: learn to fight for his home.
