Approximately six foot
tall, with flame red hair, hazel-coloured eyes and slender, yet
with broad shoulders belying his actual height, Lendrith Neathrin
was born a noble of the minor house of Neathrin in NE 979 in the
city of Cairhein. His sigil being that of the rider silhouetted
before the rising sun of the city, earning him the title of 'The
Dawnrider'.
Lendrith, being raised as the son of Lord Neathrin, was educated
from an early age and developed an interest in history, in
keeping with most young lords, however, he understands very
little of the Old Tongue despite extensive teaching.
The ancient house of Neathrin is said to have gained prominence
during the reign of the High Lord Artur Paendrag, however, little
record and still less influence has been retained from those
times. In recent times, the house has stood amongst the
substantial number in a similar position, vying for position
playing Daes Dae’mar in the increasingly unstable political
situation since the death of Galldrian and the subsequent civil
war.
Fighting alongside the defenders of Cairhein during the
short-lived Shaido War, Lendrith became enamoured of the way of
life he experienced. From this point, he began to frequent some
of the more seedy inns around the city, in an attempt to find
brawls and situations in which to test his prowess with the
sword. This, however, rarely resulted in injury, since, as the
son of a minor Lord, he had been forced to take training in his
early teens in order to defend himself in 'the Great Game', which
was more than sufficient to dispatch most thieves, cut-purses and
brawlers.
With the ascension of the Dragon Reborn to ruler of Cairhein and
the relative peace that followed, Lendrith continued his new
habits until one evening he became involved in a brawl in which
he was injured by a woman brandishing a chair leg. In
retaliation, he threw the woman to the floor. Unfortunately for
Lendrith, who did not have the experience to recognise the
ageless face, the woman was an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah and,
perhaps equally fortunately for him, he survived the subsequent
attack from her Warder. This, however, was only through the
intervention of the Aes Sedai herself and her limited skills in
Healing. After this event, Lendrith decided wisely to maintain a
distance from any further tavern fighting. This quickly became a
moot point, however, when the first Aiel began to teach the
Cairheinin ji'e'toh.
Lendrith, like many young Cairheinin lords and ladies began to
learn with the Aiel in the city. Yet, unlike most, he took up a
version of ji'e'toh which was highly similar to the original and
gained a limited acceptance by some of the Aiel, particularly
since he gave up his sword for a spear.
Lendrith at this point developed a friendship with Reatra a Water
Seeker of the Hill Lake Miagoma. Reatra was, at the time, under
orders from the Dragon Reborn to watch several Aes Sedai within
the city. While accompanying Reatra one day, Lendrith was found
himself faced by the situation of an Aes Sedai coming under
attack by several Children of the Light. With the Aes Sedai
unable to reveal herself in the city, she was left defenceless,
as her Warder was surrounded. This was a significant turning
point in the life of Lendrith, as both he and Reatra entered the
fray in order to protect her. During the following minutes,
Lendrith was able to protect the woman and stay relatively
unscathed himself. This did not, however, reflect the status of
Reatra, who, despite Lendrith's best efforts, was fatally wounded
by one of the Whitecloaks.
Once the fight had ended, Lendrith returned Reatra's body to the
Aiel camped just outside the walls of Cairhein, but it became
apparent to him that he could no longer remain, therefore, he
began travelling towards the White Tower in order to receive
training in becoming a Warder himself.