Merilien Thangur aka "Viper"
(Posting this in case I ever want to do any flashbacks with her)
Name: Merilien Thangur
Alternative Names/Nicknames: Meril, Viper
Occupation: Supposed Ranger, eventually Bandit leader
Nationality: Dunedain
Status: Deceased (Born 2941, deceased somewhere around 2975ish)
Biography:
Merilien was born and raised in a small Dunedain village, next door to her very best friend and eventual sweetheart, Gladhrion Delior. Her family was quite proud of their heritage with Dunedain, and though her father was never a ranger, there were a few of her ancestors who were. Her friend Gladhrion, however, had come from a long line of rangers and intended to become one, himself, and thus, Meril wanted nothing more for herself, as a child, than to also become a ranger one day. Even if it wasn't typically a woman's 'profession'.
Meril and Gladhrion were always playing together, and very close. His favorite game was to play rangers and bandits, and she enjoyed the action of it, but often found it more exciting to pretend she was the bandit leader, so that she could go up against Gladhrion, who always chose ranger. Ever single time. Thus, the only way she could 'oppose' him was by being a bandit. That way she and her team of kids got to test their 'battle skills' against him and his group, though there were a few times that she elected, or was chosen by another, to be on the same team as him, but not as often. Whenever she played her bandit role, she used the 'stage name' of Viper, as it sounded far more bandity to her.
When she and Gladhrion were nine and ten,(respectively) she eagerly went along with him on an adventure that took them far into the forest, further than they'd ever gone, in pursuit of becoming rangers. Unfortunately, this plan went awry as the children encountered a rough bunch of bandits, and things might have turned out very badly for them if Gladhrion's big brother hadn't come to the rescue. Meril was a bit frightened on the first by this experience, but more intrigued. Having played a bandit in their game for so long, she had never really considered what bandits might really be like. Now, she had some idea, and found it thrilling, rather than terrifying, to get to see first-hand what they were like.
As she and Gladhrion grew into their teens, it seemed everyone expected them to eventually marry, and while she did love him and figured that would end up happening, Meril wanted to see the world before she 'settled down' into married life. For, it seemed from how everyone spoke, once that happened, she could never truly go adventuring. For it was adventure she wished for, more than any desire to protect the land and its people, though she intended to do that as well.
Intentions don't count, however, when actions fall short. At 15, Meril met a young man out in the forest, while awaiting Gladhrion to return from an outing with his brother. She was jealous that he was getting to go and learn ranger things, while she was stuck at home waiting for him. This young man she met was named Derry, and he was quite charming and, in a sense, swept her off her feet. He brought her gifts and compliments, and she was flattered by his attention, though felt a little guilty for even talking with him when she claimed to be Gladhrion's girl. Still, she continued to meet with him at times when Gladhrion was away, then pretended as if all was still the same between them when he was around. Her first kiss was not, as Gladhrion assumed, with him, but rather with Derry. By the time Gladhrion got around to what he thought was the first kiss for both of them, Meril had enjoyed several with her other boyfriend.
At the time, she did not know that he was a part of a bandit group which had been troubling the area for some time, nor did she realize that she was inadvertently passing information along to him which helped the bandits evade the rangers who sought them, as well as sometimes, unintentionally, sharing information on where they might find their next target. For example, a casual mention of a passing merchant who had come through the village informed him there was a merchant on the road. Or letting him know when Gladhrion would be away, and where he had gone, told the young bandit that his group should avoid that area and how for long, as well as how long they might have for striking unsuspecting travelers in another area, etc.
When Meril did finally learn of his ulterior motives, she was very upset, and accused him of using her and tricking her. But Derry used his charm and soothed her by assuring her that the information she gave him was nothing that could have harmed anyone, and that it was perfectly harmless, and insisted that he hadn't been using her, it was just an added bonus to spending time with her. When she questioned about the gifts, he admitted that they came from the people his group robbed, but assured her they would not miss the items (due to being dead, though he didn't tell her this). He eventually convinced her not to be upset, and even to continue feeding him information. Thus, with a mixed feeling of guilt and thrill of excitement, Meril became a knowing informant from that point on.
When, at last, Gladhrion and his brother invited Meril to come along on an adventure, she jumped at the chance, though felt irritated that she had not been invited sooner, when Gladhrion had already been 'adventuring' with his brother for a couple of years now. Despite the trip being meant to be ranger business, Meril discovered that there were ways in which she could still aid her secret boyfriend, by giving him warning where she would be going, for one. And when their trips were focused on trying to seek out the bandits still troubling the area, Meril would give warning to them in whatever ways she could, as well as altering the trail so that the brothers were led astray in their search for the bandits. She initially felt a bit of guilt about this, but told herself she was doing it to protect the man she loved, as well as in a way, protecting the man she still sort of loved, or at least felt affection for.
She carried on with Gladhrion as if things were the same between them, but all the while, she realized she no longer felt the same love for him as she did for Derry. Though she wasn't intentionally leading him on, that was exactly what she was doing to Gladhrion. A few more years went by, in which she acted as double-agent, aiding the bandits while pretending she was a ranger, on the same side as the brothers she traveled with. But all the while, her heart was with Derry, and while she enjoyed traveling and fighting alongside with her childhood friend Gladh, still, anytime they kissed, she was thinking of her new love, and wishing it was Derry instead.
There were times, also, as time progressed, when Meril declined to go along with the brothers, and instead took Derry up on his offer to have some fun. Not only did they end up sharing a bed on multiple occasions, but she eventually began to participate in a few raids, wearing a mask so as not to be recognized, and for the first time, she began to see for herself what the bandits truly did, and where her gifts had come from; how Derry acquired such things. She was rather upset at the first, and rather unsure about continuing, but she couldn't deny that it gave her a great thrill to be involved in such things, especially in secret, while her family, friends, and other villagers knew nothing of what she was really doing. The idea gave her enough excitement to push past the distasteful side of it, though she asked that they not kill anyone. Derry got the men to agree (at least while Meril was around) and it satisfied her.
One day, she and the brothers returned to the village to rest up between adventures, and while there, Meril and Gladh decided to come along with some of the villagers into the forest, to forage herbs and other things. Gladh tried to get his brother to come, but Gwedhion was weary and elected to take a nap instead. As they reached the clearing where they were headed, Meril was stunned to see Derry's bandits come bursting out of the forest. She tried to signal them, to get them to leave, partly because she didn't want her people to be harmed.. particularly Gladh, but also because she didn't want to risk her secret getting out. But as she tried to motion to Derry that this raid must not continue, Gladh's mother saw her and realized that Meril was working with the bandits. While Gladh was surrounded, fighing bandits on all sides and trying to protect the villagers (most of whom were untrained in fighting, many of them women) Taethadis began to accuse her, and in desperation to keep her secret, Meril slew the woman to keep her quiet.
Only after she had killed her best friend's mother did Meril realize what she had done, and as she stared in appalled horror at what she'd done, Derry ran to her and grabbed her arm, telling her she'd best come away with them. He told her that all of the others would know what she'd done, and that she was an outlaw now, and the only safe thing to do would be to come with him. And so she did, but she couldn't help but glance back in concern for her one-time best friend. The last she saw of Gladhrion was him being struck down. She was torn between going to see if he was alive, or running away to save herself. Derry tugged on her arm and she went with him, stunned by how quickly things had just changed for her.
Believing Gladh to be dead, Meril was sad for a time, but told herself that she didn't actually love him as she once thought she did, and while she was sad for his loss, she moved on rather quickly, realizing she couldn't go on mourning, until she convinced herself that he meant little to her, in order to help herself move on quicker. She joined the bandits in other raids, but from now on, she could not protest their killing of innocents, because when she spoke against it, Derry reminded her what she had done, herself, and pointed out that she was a hypocrite to tell them not to kill. She was informed that she was now one of them, and could not go anywhere else, because she was wanted and would be hunted down for a murderess anywhere she went. Feeling she had no choice but to be one of the bandits, Meril struggled for a while to adapt, trying to harden her heart against the slaying, and the treatment of hostages which she witnessed. Her kinsfolk, those who had survived the raid where Gladh was struck down, were taken captives and made into the bandit's playthings. Guilt-ridden for her part in all of this, Meril felt terribly for them, but could do nothing. Eventually, after bearing witness to this for so long, Meril killed them all one by one, so that the men could do nothing else to them.
This earned her no favor with the men, and though she stood her ground and defied them, they were quite angry, and some spoke of killing her, but Derry stood up to them on her behalf, and tried to calm them. But it was only a few days later, while he was gone on some errand, Meril was forced into bed with one of the other men, and then others. When Derry returned, she was distraught, and told him what his buddies had done, expecting him to defend her and do something... but he only sighed and asked her if she was really that surprised.. after all, they weren't exactly 'men of morals', he was surprised he'd been allowed to keep her for himself for this long. Meril was stunned as well as confused, and reminded him that he supposedly loved her. He shrugged and implied that the words meant little to him, that he had, in fact, only been leading her on all this time, and enjoying her company of course.. but that she was actually only a tool he'd used to gain information about the rangers. A very pretty tool, but just a tool.
Meril was stunned and enraged to learn that she'd been fooled by him for so long, that he never really loved her and had only been using her all of this time.. for years! Suddenly learning the meaning of that phrase about the fury of a woman scorned, Derry fled the vicinity and avoided her for the next few days, after which he up and left, apparently deciding he was done with her entirely. Now abandoned in a camp full of bandits, Meril spoke of leaving, but was reminded that she was Wanted, elsewhere, and would be arrested the moment she set foot in any city, town, or village for many miles. She realized then that she was essentially trapped, stuck to remain here with these men.
Therefore, the next time any of those men came calling, with thoughts of dragging her into his bed, she displayed her prowess with weapons, being ready for such a thing this time, and the men began to learn not to mess with her unless she welcomed their advances, which was a long time in coming. Having loved Derry enough to betray her own people, family, and friends... only to learn that he was using her and didn't truly care about her.. that left her feeling angry, hurt, and bitter. In time, she became calloused about the whole thing, and instead of being their plaything, they became hers. She would allow one of the men into her bed when it suited her, only to drop him like a hot potato afterward, as she was not interested in finding a long-term romantic partner.
As the years went on, she no longer used the name Merilien, but Viper. She knew she no longer deserved to use her family name, Thangur, which meant True or faithful heart, and the only name she identified with anymore was Viper, her old childhood 'bandit name', which suited her well enough. Having now abandoned her old identity, Viper plunged fully into the bandit life. Her heart became more and more filled with bitterness, hardened against the crimes she was now committing regularly. She even took pleasure, sometimes, in taking innocent lives, growing more calloused and cruel as time went on. Feeling somehow as if she had been robbed of her own potential life, Viper took out her frustration on her victims, and no longer cared if the men around her took female hostages to be 'playthings'.
One day she got into a heated dispute with the current leader, over some plans he intended to pursue. Viper tried to tell him his idea was stupid, and would get them caught, and that they would be better off to do it her way, but he was stubborn and would not listen, and it came to blows. Viper then learned how one becomes the leader in such a group, as the former leader met his end with her blade stuck between his ribs. The rest then hailed her as their new leader, and did as she said. This plan went very well, and they were well pleased with her for a leader.
Soon, Viper became as a queen among her bandit group. They did her bidding, brought her the spoil to divide among them, and she was able to claim the best sleeping quarters, wherever they went, as well as calling all the shots. She became quite wealthy, and began to wonder why she ever considered the life of a ranger when this leisurely life was far better in her eyes. The bandits prospered, as well, during her 'reign' due to the fact she knew exactly how to get around the rangers who were still searching for them. Having been one, and worked with them, she knew how they worked, how the tracked, and how to trick them into following false trails. For some years, it seemed they had it made, and would continue on this way for a very long time.
Until, one day, by sheer luck, a couple of ghosts from her past stumbled upon their encampment, and began to slay her men, while she was unaware it was happening. She was playing around with one of the men when the door to the cabin was broken in, and the couple were interrupted. Viper was too startled to react at first, as the ranger slew the man who was with her, then spoke of having rescued her! Viper then recognized him. Gladhrion's brother, Gwedhion. She almost couldn't believe her eyes. She was furious that he had dared to intrude upon her camp, and had killed her men, and then had the audacity to inform her that Gladhrion was alive, and had been searching for her for all of these years. The news did not bring her joy, as it once would have, but scorn. She mocked the man, told him they were foolish for wasting all those years searching, when she didn't need to be rescued at all. She laughed at him and told him that she hadn't been kidnapped, as they apparently believed, but had gone willingly! Then, sneering, she told him that she was going to kill him, just as she'd killed his mother, and would then kill his brother. Viper was a very different woman from the girl Gwedhion had known, as she had become calloused, bitter, and scornful of rangers after all these years.
She and Gwedhion fought, and she mocked him and scoffed at him for his noble ways, told him how much better it was living luxuriously as a bandit, that they were stupid for denying themselves all of what she had been enjoying all this time, and so forth. She informed him that Gladhrion was a fool for thinking she'd loved him, and told him how she had been helping the bandits even back then. As Gwedhion suggested, hoping perhaps, that maybe she had killed his mother out of mercy, to prevent her from enduring any terrible things at the hands of the bandits, Viper laughed again and informed him flat out that she killed her simply to shut her up, and had no thoughts about mercy when it happened.
Viper knew she was far better with a weapon than any of the men she led, and could easily defeat any one of them in a battle. It had been many years since she had fought alongside Gwedhion or his brother, and therefore, she underestimated his skill with a blade. He tried, on the first, to merely defend and disarm her, and she became overconfident, and continued to taunt him and mock him and his brother, and so when she told him that she looked forward to seeing Gladhrion's face when he learned the truth about her, Gwedhion declared that he could not let her destroy his brother like that, and changed his style to offensive. She didn't expect that, and met her death at the edge of his blade, and the point of her own... moments before Gladhrion arrived on the scene.
(Read about that battle
here)