Skadriel Rávien (rávien - feminine: ráva+-ien = free, wild, untamed one)

Skadriel Rávien of Mirkwood is one of the Silvan Elves - the elves of Mirkwood ruled by the king Oropher and then Thranduil (the king of the Woodland Realm). In the First Age she was a young, carefree elf that grew up in the deep forest among her Sinda and Silvan relatives. In the Second Age she's been one of Oropher's and Thranduil's advisors till a moment she realized elves didin't care about anything else than growing their wealth and thinking they were superior than others.

During Erebor's events in the Third Age (2941) she was among the elves that have been feasting in the Mirkwood forest when they were disturbed by a group of dwarves and a hobbit. She was also present during further events including capturing Thorin II Oakenshield and his company by her folk. Since the begining she was against Thranduil's inhospitable way of treating guests and didn't share his distrust. She started to suspect Thranduil had a hidden agenda about the dwarves, so she was delivering food and information for them secretly, planning to get them out of the dungeon safely and unharmed. She was relieved yet surprised when they had escaped on their own way... This particular event and the entire hatred for her kins forced her to abandon the forest with a company of ten loyal friends and follow the dwarves to redeem her people and to offer support...

When arrived to Dale the city was already desolated by the dragon Smaug. They didn't have to wait for news that were already spread: the dragon was killed, the king had returned to the Mountain and he had an enorumous treasure. Thranduil reached the Lake-Town with his army briefly and made an alliance with the Lake-men. She's met him there, face to face, opposing him again, asking him to withdraw but she didn't succeed. She quit her service once and for all, left the camp and joined forces of Dáin to support the King under the Mountain - because (as she felt) he was the rightful earl to the throne and deserved the treasure for his long exile. Terrible events were going too fast for her and she begged both elves and men for patience and for leaving Thorin alone to give him space and time to think about compensating their suffering caused by the dragon. Her heart was fully against the taking the mountain by force because doing so people would be no better than Smaug himself. In her eyes Thorin had a right to do as he pleased with his gold therefore they could only count on his good will and ask politely for it. She considered this his priviledge as the king. She didn't know that Bilbo Baggins has negotiated with the elves and men after she left...

She was fighting among dwarves during the "Battle of Five Armies" which took place not long after. Elven, men and dwarven armies joined forces to destroy the army of orcs. All her ten elven companions that had left Mirkwood with her have perished in a siege. She tried to protect the King Thorin and his two nephews but orcs grew in number and were unstopable. The last thing she remembered from the battle was a sight of a gigantic bear carrying the body of Thorin Oakenshield from the battlefield. Driven mad and fallen to despair she's killed few dozens of orcs coming her way with her runic powers but with no strength left she got instantly surrounded and badly wounded. It took a lot of time for her to recover completely yet she regained health by the help of Durin's Folk as she refused an aid from men and elves.

After those events she grieved for years but in solitude and she never overcame her mournfulness fully as she felt she could have done more to save Thorin and his kinsmen. King Thranduil asked her to come back to the forest but she - driven by hatred towards him - refused. She stayed by Dáin's side, the new King under the Mountain and became his envoy. She always felt her place wasn't in Mirkwood but close to the Lonely Mountain. Dwarves always treated her with a high respect and she grew loyal friendships with them like not many strangers can which earned her the title: The Friend of Dwarves. Three years after the battle few Mirkwood elves joined dwarves under the Mountain and she became their elder, telling them stories about Durin's heritage, honour, bravery, cruelty and greed...

In the War of the Ring she accompanied Gloin and Gimli to Rivendell where they had been sent in search for answers by Dáin. They were sure Elrond the Halfelven could provide at least few of them... There she met her distant cousin - Legolas and exchanged informations with him for she considered him as one of a very few reliable elves from Mirkwood.

As soon as she found out about the Ring, she decided to aid dwarves and the Fellowship of the Ring in anything they needed, using her countless contacts and friendships among the Durin's Folk. By now she's on an expedition to Moria but her goal is to reach the far east of the Middle-Earth, carrying a warning about the Evil from Barad Dur and fighting her way through, along with her dwarven companion - Thiassi of the Dwarves of Erebor. Their mission as envoys is to reach every ruler of the Middle-Earth carrying letters from Dáin and Elrond and to mobilize every tribe and nation in time of darkness - providing aid, supplies, training, forming alliances etc. As they proceed she realizes that sooner or later she has to reach her kins in Mirkwood as well - which she would like to avoid.