Brandjarn
| Biography: Brandjarn | |
|---|---|
| Birth - Death | Third Age Circka 2750 - 2800 |
| Race: | Man |
| Gender: | Male |
| Ancestor(s): | Bródda ⁞ |
| Parent(s): | Girion |
| Brandjarn | |
| Descendant(s): | ⁞ Bain of Lake-town ⁞ Bard the Bowman ⁞ Bard II |
| Info: | Son of Girion; preserver of the last Black Arrow. |
Brandjarn was the son of Girion, the last Lord of Dale before the coming of Smaug. He survived the destruction of Dale and preserved the final Black Arrow, ensuring the survival of his house and the eventual restoration of the kingship under his descendant, Bard the Bowman. In the year 2770 of the Third Age, Smaug descended upon Erebor and the town of Dale. Girion stood against the dragon and loosed the seven Black Arrows of his house, but he was slain amid the ruin.
Brandjarn escaped the burning city bearing the last of the Black Arrows. While his father fell in open defiance of the dragon, Brandjarn's part in the tragedy was one of survival and secrecy. With the fall of Dale and the scattering of its people, he fled south with the refugees to Lake-town. Ashamed of his father's defeat and the destruction of his homeland, Brandjarn concealed his lineage. He shortened his name to Brand, abandoning the more ancient form that linked him openly to the lords of Dale. In exile, he lived not as a prince in waiting but as one of many dispossessed Northmen dwelling under the shadow of Smaug's Desolation, his father's lordship abandoned completely.
From that time forward, the last Black Arrow was preserved in secrecy. It passed quietly from father to son within Brandjarn's line, its significance known only to the family. The tradition of the arrow, once a public symbol of alliance between Dale and Erebor, became instead a hidden inheritance — a relic of a fallen realm and a reminder of unfinished vengeance. Brandjarn himself did not reclaim Dale in his lifetime, nor did he publicly assert his claim. Yet through his prudence and endurance, the line of Bródda and Girion survived. Brand's son and grandson continued the line in Lake-town. His grandson Bain of Lake-town entered the service of the town as an archer, and in time the Black Arrow came into the hands of Bard. When Smaug descended upon Lake-town, Bard used the arrow preserved by Brandjarn to strike the dragon in his weak place, killing him. With Smaug's death, Bard's descent from Girion was revealed, and he was acclaimed King of a restored Dale. Thus, though Brandjarn lived in obscurity, his decision to preserve both the arrow and his bloodline ensured that the shame of 2770 was answered in later years. Through him, the house of Dale endured exile and returned to honour.