After spending many weeks in Lothlorien’s golden woods, the forests in Mirkwood filled Pareth with dread. She could almost smell the evil that prevailed the woods and though she was one of the elite warriors hand-picked by the Lady Galadriel for her bravery to help the Elves secure Lothlorien’s borders, Pareth didn’t feel brave.

In fact, she was very afraid. The orcs here seemed even more brazen than in Moria as if they were confident of their numbers and ability to destroy everything in their wake. The power of the Dark Lord was strong in Mirkwood, and in nearby Dol Guldur, his minions gathered, awaiting his orders to attack Lothlorien.

But the Elves were ready and had enlisted helpers from among the free peoples who were heading east to confront Sauron and his minions. And Pareth was relieved to discover that many of her friends were very much alive and had become heroes in their own right. And they too had been told of Pareth’s deeds and they all spent many a night telling tales of the road and exchanging information.

They didn’t know it then but because of their help, the Lady Galadriel would destroy Dol Guldur and those Lothlorien elves who didn’t leave Middle Earth, would make Mirkwood their home after Sauron was defeated. Until then, many battles would be waged and many a brave warrior would fall.

And so it was that Pareth summoned her courage and together with her companions they travelled throughout Mirkwood, killing many Orcs and other evil creatures that crossed their path.

One night while she was busy patrolling the mallorn forests of Lothlorien, Pareth received an urgent message delivered by one of the Galadhrim. The message was sent by a member of her kin who spoke of numerous attacks by orcs. The Malledhrim soldiers needed help, for the enemies’ forces in Mirkwood were great and if Mirkwood was taken, it wouldn’t be long before Lothlorien was captured by the Dark Lord.

Pareth had sworn allegiance to the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn to help protect Lothlorien, so if it meant travelling to the shores of Mirkwood to help stave off the attacks on the Malledhrim soldiers, she would go. So she set sail the next morning and met up with her companions Shennanigan, Daerandir, and Carle.

The companions fought together relentlessly and they rescued many of the Malledhrim soldiers and slew many orcs. And Pareth was very proud of the courage and strength of her friends. For the orcs in Mirkwood were plentiful and though they helped contain the worst of the onslaught, Pareth knew they would be called upon again in the months to come to defend the borders.

Pareth returned to Lothlorien and reported back to the Lord and Lady.
While she rested, more battle plans were made and she was invited as a guest to all the meetings, for it could not be denied that Pareth was worthy to fight alongside the bravest of the Elven soldiers.

Pareth was humbled by their faith in her abilities for there were many times that she grew weary of battle, when she spent hours just crafting jewellery, lost in her own thoughts. Thoughts of Gondor and the fair Ithilien.

“I will get back home somehow”, Pareth vowed to herself. She didn’t know when but she would get back to her home one day.

A stranger to Lothlorien would be foolish to think that they were completely safe walking through it’s forests alone. Pareth was no longer a stranger to these parts. She was sent to Lothlorien by Lord Elrond of Rivendell and the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn were aware of her brave deeds. So they trusted her and in the weeks to come, Pareth became a respected ally of the Galadhrim, an honour that she accepted with humilty.

After meeting with the Lord and Lady of the Golden Wood, Pareth was instructed to aid the Galadhrim with the defence of the borders of Lothlorien. So she continued to patrol the forests daily, always ready to kill any enemy that dared to cross her path.

She slew many Orcs at Lorien’s borders and on the banks of the Anduin. And though Pareth loved all animals, some of Lothlorien’s animals were dangerous and mad from disease, so she was forced to slay many wild creatures.

But for the most part, Lothlorien was a wonderful refuge from other parts of Middle Earth that had become uninhabitable. Pareth was especially glad to be outside of Moria for a while, though the Galadhrim needed her there as well but not until she was able to gather some allies to come to her aid. It looked like that would take some time since most of Pareth’s companions had been sent to Mirkwood, for the Witch King of Angmar had unleashed an army of great magnitude from Dol Guldur, the Dark Lord’s fortress on Amon Lanc. And the rest of her kin were still fighting many battles in Moria, so Pareth felt fortunate that she was able to remain in Lorien indefinitely.

Pareth made it a point to walk through the mallorn forests three times a day, and the Galadhrim were grateful for her vigilance. Many weeks would pass before news of her companions would reach her in Lothlorien, so she kept herself busy not only defending Lothlorien’s borders, but also running many errands for the Elves, who grew quite fond of the brave hunter from Gondor. When she finally did leave Lothlorien, they wrote a song about her, and named her Pareth of the Swift Arrow. She would long be remembered for her loyal service to the Galadhrim.