Halaran

Halaran was the head of the House of the Eagle of Arnor.

Biography
Halaran was the son of Hethrandel, and was a Ranger of the North. He had the gift, as did all of his line, of being able to speak with the great eagles, though most often he spoke with Landroval. He also, like all those of his house from the time of Arveleg II, labored under the curse of the Witch-king, who had bound a treasonous ancestor to his service with a blood bond.

He became a Ranger, and one of Aragorn's trusted few, though Halaran "was not an easy man to know, he was a loner, and he had that uncanny quality that so many of your House exhibit." Not overly enamored of Elves, he was often Aragorn's liaison with Rivendell, and came to know Elrond's family. His Chieftain claimed that Halaran would submit to any order, so long as it was explained to him.

Halaran had a sworn brother, Terenoth, with whom he was close until their love for the same woman drove them apart. At the wedding, Terenoth drew his sword and attempted to halt the ceremony by force; for this, he was exiled. The ill-will this generated toward him, given the belief that his house was cursed, prompted Halaran to remove to Gondor with his family, in order not to present a reason for dissent among the Dúnedain of the North.

Halaran and his wife, Liranael, settled in Anórien, near the Beacon Hills, and there built a farm and raised a family. They had three children together: Hethlin, Derulin, and Hiranthel. Because of his training as a Ranger, when orc raiding parties began to trouble Anórien and Rohan, or when bandits preyed upon people in the area, the people of the Beacon Hills looked to Halaran to lead them in the fight for their own safety. He both fought on their behalf, organizing such defenders as could be found, and in 3007, spoke on their behalf before the Steward of Gondor.

Halaran and all of his family, save his eldest daughter, were slain by an orcish raiding party in 3015 T.A.

The pact with the eagles
At some time in the past, one of the Dúnedain sought help from the great eagles and promised his aid in return. Thus was born the pact between the House of the Eagle and the eagles. The pact required that the House of the Eagle observe certain rules at all times:


 * “These are the rules of our family, Hethlin. You will harm no hawk, falcon, eagle or owl. If they prey upon that which is yours, you will allow it and suffer the loss without complaint. Insofar as it is possible, you will allow none in your presence to harm a hawk, falcon, eagle or owl. You will not hunt with hawks, falcons or eagles, but gain your prey through your own prowess.”


 * “You will cage no wild bird of any sort, and seek to free those wild birds that are caged whenever possible. But you are permitted to eat of those birds that are the lawful prey of hawks, falcons, eagles, or owls.”


 * “Should an injured hawk, falcon, eagle or owl come into your keeping, you must endeavor to heal and succor it to the best of your ability. And if it should happen that the bird is too damaged to fully recover and hunt again, then and only then are you permitted to kill it, dispatching it as quickly and mercifully as possible. Do you understand these rules, Hethlin, and are you willing to follow them to avoid bringing misfortune upon our family?”


 * -Cage No Bird

These rules held regardless of the maturity of any given member of the House of the Eagle. The head of the house in particular might also undergo a rite of passage with an eagle that would reaffirm the original pact, and also render him or her an adult in the eyes of the eagles.

The curse
Whether the curse was real or merely perceived is not entirely clear. After the treason of one of the men of the House of the Eagle, which helped to accomplish the death of Arveleg in 1409 T.A., it was said that because he had bound himself to serve the Witch-king, the Witch-king retained hold over the House of the Eagle. Should the Witch-king rise again, he might call the heirs of the House to him, and they would have either to serve him or repudiate the bond in order to break it entirely. Until then, the House of the Eagle suffered many premature losses, as the Rangers among them struggled to redeem themselves and often died young because of this.

Although Halaran departed from the North ostensibly to remove a cause of contention from the Dúnedain, Litharel, his father-in-law, suspected that he wished to move closer to Mordor, and to where the war would begin, in the hope that this might place him in a position to be called by and to refuse the Witch-king, and so free his family from the curse.