THE NORTHERN RANGERS

The Northern Rangers are an association of frontiersmen (and women) in northern Anglamar. They operate mostly in the Northern Marches, though they are occasionally seen in the the Gondish Hills and the capitol city of Gondaran (among the few common folk observed riding fully armed through the streets, in fact). Their members are predominantly human, though some adventurous Grey Elves and half-elves are counted among them. They are known by their mottled green elven cloaks, red-fletched arrows and the bronze four-pointed star amulets they wear.

In the year 1408 IR (82 years ago), a group of frontier folk came together to defend the North against orcish invasions from the Icewall Mountains. Among these were the High Elven Lord Alandar who hailed from the lost realm of Ealdas, Olwain of Beregond and the famed dwarven adventurer Brund Stone-reaver. For the entire Winter and Spring, these heroes harried the orcs until the might of Anglamar could be brought to bear. Afterward, Alandar
remained in the North to help organize the defense and the
Rangers became an established group. Now, they number
around a hundred with perhaps twice as many who can be
counted on to join them.

The Rangers are not a formal order. They are a group of like-
minded individuals who see the North as vital to the security
of Anglamar. They combine woodsman’s skill with elvish lore
and orcish war tactics of ambush and raid, patrolling the trails
and mountain passes with a wary eye toward orcish incursions
and other threats to civilization. They are expert archers and
riders, preferring the stout gray highland horses of the North to
larger thoroughbred breeds, and are renowned for their ability
to travel through the roughest terrain and harshest weather.
All of them speak Elvish (at least enough to get by) and have
their own language of calls, signals and trail signs.

The Rangers are known as defenders of the common folk and staunch loyalists of the King of Anglamar, an attitude that has brought them into conflict with the nobility on more than one occasion. Unofficially, they are regarded as agents of the King in the Northern Marches (especially in the absence of a ruling baron at Northinghall), and the word of a Ranger carries great authority among the folk of the North. An admonishment by the late King Thelring to the effect that the Rangers and the Barons should “get along” reaffirmed there position (following an incident 4 years ago when the Rangers took up arms against Baron Horst) ... Folk in Northinghall jokingly claim that before acting on a noble’s orders, soldiers always look around to see if a Northern Ranger is watching.