Chapter 1
When was Rohan was gifted to its first king, he returned to the house of his father and called in four of his bravest and most powerful riders.
To each he gifted lordship status.
To each was gifted a quarter of the land.
To do with what they saw fit.
To protect from raiders.
To serve as the first line of defense, but also to give strength to the king when he required it.
Each had their merits.
Each their downfalls.
Alto loved women and mead. He was given the lands closest to the border of Gondor, and spent many summer nights in the halls of their finest drinking establishments.
Frumdram loved war. To him was given the lands that faced the Dunnerings. Isengard was within his touch. Fanghorn Forest comfortably within his borders.
Derham loved Alto's wife and lusted after the lands that Alto ruled. He was nearest the Ash Mountains and often griped about the weather at his hall.
But one...
One loved something that did not cause quarrels and skirmishes between the four of them.
Fastred loved horses. To him was given the North Western plains. From the Hall of the King to the Misty Mountains. Nearest the fair Elves.
It was for him that Rohan became the Horselords.
The horses bred in the shadows of the White mountains were legend. Vicious for war, strong for plowing, gentle for carrying precious burdens. They were intelligent and oft needed few directions once they were shown what was expected of them. Beautiful in look and personality.
It wasn't long before the king would come to Fastred looking for horses for his wars.
The other Lords came for the same reason, if it wasn't for their beauty and intelligence, and strength of loyalty.
Fastred had two sons.
Fulmund died during an orc raid, cut off from his men and his horse. Burned on the plains.
Fastred died of a broken heart not long after.
Fasttor succeeded his father when he was only seventeen and followed in the love and stewardship of the best horses to be had in Rohan. It was he that built his halls in the roots of the Misty Mountains. Burrowing deep like the dwarven kings.
It was the twins Fenthain and Fulthain, Fasttor's great-great grandsons who finished the HorseHalls of Fastredden. Named for their forefather.
Fastredden stood tall, built powerfully deep and tall into the middle of the first steppes of the Misty Mountains. Built with care so that horse and man could live and train together easily.
Watch towers were built high enough up in the mountains, it was rumored that one could see the White City on a clear sunny day.
Fastredden was a powerful defense against the orcs and other such raiders that were constantly seeking to invade and push back the Northern borders of Rohan.
Never were their young men rejected from the Rohirrim. They were as the horses they bred.
Strong.
Nobel in deed and word.
The kings oft preferred the sons of Fastred for their personal guard. Happy to wed them to their daughters, begrudging, but understanding when they longed for home.
Always were the daughters of Fastredden coveted. Strong, tall, proud, brilliant with the sword or needle. Most wise tenders of the treasured bloodlines of their most prized horses. As wives, they were much the same. Confident and regal. Such was their love and standard it was rumored that only the strongest of Rohan could woo a Fastredden lass.
Those lucky enough to win the heart of Fastreddian girl were often looked upon as minor lords and usually with keen jealousy.
And if a man was lucky enough to have a horse and a wife from Fastredden...he was a man to be in awe of.
Thus, it continued through the tail end of the Second Age. Though not a single soul from Fastredden ever sat on the Throne in Edoras.
Though it wasn't for lack of trying.
It seemed that most of the men of Fastredden died in battle or defending the king. The few that survived returned after their warservice to Fastredden and were rarely seen near Edoras again, unless called upon to wage war by the king.
So strong was their love for their mountain and their horses.
