Aerennel Balakân

Aerennel Balakân, commonly known as Azrûbel, is an important gondorian figure of late third age.

Heritage & Background

Aerennel "Azrûbel" Balakân comes from a lineage deeply rooted in Gondor’s history, though one marked by decline and shifting fortunes. On his mother’s side, he descends from an old noble family of Lebennin that fought for Castamir during the civil war. Once landowners in Harondor, they fell into ruin after losing their holdings, and by the time of Azrûbel’s grandmother, the family was effectively extinct. To secure financial stability, she married into the merchant class—specifically, into a family of Númenórean descent who had built their wealth through trade and forestry in Eriador. Though prosperous, this side of the family was viewed as "new money" and not fully accepted among Gondor’s traditional elite.

Life

Azrubels father was very distant, a businessman who cared little for family, He had married out of neccesity, but he felt little love. A son was thus only for him an "investment" in the future, Something to prevent his brothers from inheriting his wealth. And his daughter, a mistake. Their mother, a young woman who had been given in marriage by her father, was not much there for Azrubel and his sister when they were small. Abhorred by the mother of her husband, Andreth, she soon retreated to Linhir. So it was that Andreth, the matriach of the family and a wise women of old lineage, was the one to raise Azrubel. Much did she teach about the history of their lineage, many secrets that had been forgotten elseware.

Azrûbel himself was raised primarily by Andreth, a strong maternal figure in his life, rather than his biological mother from Linhir. Despite his noble blood, his identity is shaped more by personal loyalty and experience than by lineage alone. He has a twin sister who still resides in their family's mansion in Pelargir, a reminder of their merchant heritage, while other relatives—particularly his cousins—have successfully established themselves in luxurious estates outside Lebennin, running businesses that further distance them from their noble past.