Maevelen’s past is a mystery even to herself.

Her earliest memories she can recall were as a lone child, living within the bounds of the great forest of Fangorn, the ents considering her as a child of nature and keeping her from harm’s way. A group of human nomads found and took her in, raising her as one of their own.

Having lived within the forests her whole life, accommodating to the harsh life of a wanderer was hard, but with the help of her newfound family she overcame the challenges by learning how to hunt, track and stay hidden. Ignorant to the fact she was an elf, Maevelen shared a strong bond with the humans, growing up with their traditions, manner of speech and general care-free attitude humans have, simply enjoying the little things in life like fishing on a warm, sunny day or singing bawdy songs at the campfire under the starlight sky.

This peaceful life ended tragically when a deadly disease was contracted by the humans, wiping them out and leaving Maevelen the only survivor. The leader, on the verge of his death, accused the elf of bringing the disease upon them and sent her away from them, branding her as accursed. Filled with grief, she obeyed and left their company, but returned shortly after they all had died to give them their last rites. Maeve buried them all – digging graves with her own bare hands – and burned everything that was left of the nomads, in the hopes that it would give them peace.

Alone and without guidance, Maevelen wandered aimlessly, relying on nothing but her bow and training as a hunter. Eventually, she found the growing human settlement of Stangard on the Great River Anduin’s banks,  where she would try to fit in by hunting wild animals and selling their furs – but the humans were mistrustful and rebuked her attempts. This further discouraged Maevelen, who was still grieving the loss of the nomads. A sympathetic scholar showed her a little kindness by guiding her towards the elven woods of Mirkwood, leagues away.  The prospect of being with her own kin and possibly finding her family filled Maeve with hope, so she left immediately.  The long journey was filled with hardships, the only companion her bow.

After months, she reached her goal – she received a warm welcome from the elves, who were deeply moved after hearing her tale. A master hunter took her under his care, training her in the finer arts of hunting and elven marksmanship as well as the more academic teachings and elven crafts like history and music.  Maevelen led a contented life, training rigorously under the stern but caring eye of her mentor while still clinging to the ways of Men she learned with the nomads. Maeve earned the name Reavaenethond – elven for ‘She Without Roots’ – because of her unknown heritage.

As years passed, Maevelen’s mentor decided that it was time to depart Middle-Earth and sail towards the Undying Lands. Not wanting to be apart from her mentor, who was like a father-figure to her, Maeve initially agreed to leave as well. On the journey towards Mithlond, Maeve looked around herself, basking in the beauty of Middle-Earth for the last time – but behind every flower and living creature there seemed to be an ominous shadow growing and a creeping dread began to fill her. Her mentor nodded sagely and said “with the growing shadows, heroes will be needed to light up the road ahead and spark hope in the darkest corners.” These words eased Maeve of her dread, but left her thinking quietly throughout the journey.

Arriving at Mithlond, no time was spared – the White Ship was prepared for its journey and ready to set sail. As it started to drift off, Maevelen jumped off and onto the dock, believing that she would be one of the heroes her master spoke of.  With the ship rapidly distancing itself from the harbor, her mentor smiled and managed to throw her his bow as his final farewell.

As Maevelen watched the White Ship drift into the distant horizon, she knew that her life in Middle-Earth wasn’t done yet – in fact, it was only beginning.