Orthaldir was born in the city of Minas Tirith in Gondor. His father, Orchaldor, was a Master of Law in the Sage's Tier, amongst the many scholars whose body of work advised the Council of Gondor on matters of law. For Gondor's law is made not of statute, but of a thousand thousand rulings made by kings, stewards, and magistrates innumerable over the centuries of its existence, all stemming from the ancient law of Numenor. His mother, Barendis, commanded their small household in the Player's Tier. His uncle Thalion, his father's older brother, served as knight to the Steward and defended Osgiliath under Boromir. Thalion's wife Therethril oversaw their lineage's holdings on the Pelennor, near the port of Harlond. 

Orthaldir's childhood was a happy one. He learned the ordinary pursuits of a wealthy Gondorian's son: grammar, rhetoric, logic, the languages of both Sindarin and Quenya, music, dance, arithmetic, geometry, history, and philosophy. In the later years of his childhood and his youth, Orthaldir's tutors in rhetoric and the philosophies shared a small pupil-group of sons from affluent families. Amongst these was the son of a knight from Imloth Melui, Draugond, whom Orthaldir eventually befriended, and would cross paths with many times over in their lives.

When Orthaldir reached adulthood, Thalion secured for his nephew a captaincy in the army of the Steward. Orthaldir was to command a hundred-company, though he was yet green and untested as both soldier and leader. Amongst his company was the archer Pedhir, who became his fast friend after a night of drinking rare wines. The two supported one another through hard lessons, and when Pedhir went to join the Rangers of Ithilien, Orthaldir cheered him.

During this time, Orthaldir's younger sister Istuinneth chose to pursue a life of scholarship. This was hardly unexpected, given her keen mind, her love of knowledge and reading, and her tendency to argue inherited from her father. Though rare for a woman to become a scholar of law, it was not strange for her to do so. Yet her choice of specialty seemed to others truly unusual, for she pursued the study of Offenses Against the King's Peace, the body of law covering criminal acts.

Years later, Thalion died in a skirmish in Ithilien, just outside Osgiliath. Orchaldor inherited his brother's holdings, and with them the legal duty to provide a knight of their lineage to the service of the Steward. Orthaldir elected to take up his uncle's lance and longsword and swear an oath anew, as knight. There he met again with Draugond, when the two were made companions. 

It was in this role that Orthaldir served during the War of the Ring. He and Draugond carried messages out of the Citadel and when the siege came they manned the walls as soldiers. Orthaldir took the command of a company whose captain fell on the walls. He stood also before the gates under the assault of Grond. 

When men of Gondor were summoned to the March of the West, Orthaldir did not march. Instead he stayed behind, beginning the effort of clearing the rubble and tending the wounded without knowledge of whether it would be worth the trouble or not.

In times after, it came to pass that Orthaldir was sent north with a small company of rangers, to learn from them of the lay of Eriador and assist in the earliest planning of bringing Eriador into the Reunited Kingdom. Thence after this mission he returned to Gondor, and joined arms again with Draugond.

Languages

Westron (native)
Sindarin (fluent)
Rohirric (conversational)
Quenya (academic and poetic)
Adunaic (academic and poetic)
Black Speech (read/translate, slowly and with references)

As men of Gondor do, he uses both a formal and informal second person pronoun. 

Do we know each other?

Grew up in the Player's Tier of Minas Tirith
Nobility or wealthy of Anorien
Resident of Minas Tirith (past or present)
Soldier or Knight of Gondor
Served at Osgiliath prior to the bridge's destruction
Citadel Guard
Errand-rider
Stood on the walls of Minas Tirith during the Siege

((Send me a message, and we'll discuss!))