However, Meriliel had also developed behaviors that distinguished her from her father. She was very thirsty for knowledge and curious. She also did not inherit Elegost's quick temper and his racial madness. For while King Elegost saw mountain people as half-apes and subhumans, Meriliel merely considered them subjects who had rebelled against their rightful rulers and therefore had to be fought. Although they were not Dúnedain, Meriliel considered them equals, which only earned her mockery from her father. When he learned that she had learned their language, he had her flogged for it.
Even now, Meriliel was on a mission out in the countryside. She wore her dark red armor with golden decorations and the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Rhudaur on her chest. Similarly armored was her warhorse, Streiter. She was currently leading her cavalry regiment to an area where the rebellious clan chief Bhaltair was said to be staying. They were now on their second day out and were just approaching the next village. As the commander, she rode at the front, the company following her. They rode once around the village so she could see it from all angles. She saw,how the people panicked and rushed outside, huddled together, and eyed her suspiciously.

Meriliel raised her arm, which for her men was the command to halt. She had the warriors stop about ten meters from the village; her men also halted and made their weapons ready. For they could never know if the villagers were armed and would attack them. Meriliel signaled two of her men to follow her, which they did. She looked at the people sternly.

"Who is the village elder here?" Meriliel asked harshly. Almost panicked, the people pointed to a man in their midst who was somewhat better dressed than the others. His clothing was entirely made of furs, while his people were mostly wrapped in rags.

"I am the elder of our village. Keallach, son of Kagan, what can I do for you, mistress?" asked the man with an expressionless face in clean Númenórean. Most mountain people mastered the language of Númenor, but usually they had a strong accent, as did Keallach. He looked at Meriliel almost sullenly.

"We have heard that Bhaltair the Brigand is supposed to be in this area," replied Meriliel, carefully observing the facial expressions of all present. Some raised their eyebrows almost imperceptibly when she mentioned the name Bhaltair.

"But mistress, to the west is the fortress of the warriors from Arthedain, and to the south a second fortress of yours. Bhaltair is certainly not here," said the man, seeming displeased with the question. Meriliel looked at the people's faces again; only now did she notice something.

"Village elder, why are there so few young people in your village? In particular, you do not have many young men."

The village elder seemed startled by the question, and the people began whispering again.

"Many men died. War between clans..." said the elder. Meriliel looked at him smiling; his voice was raised, and he was breathing faster. The man had become nervous. Then she called out loudly:

"Men, search the village!"

Minutes later, the entire village was turned upside down. All huts were searched, which did not take long. For the huts of the mountain people were very primitively built from wood and stone to provide shelter from the weather. But they were not large; mostly the huts consisted of only a single room. Meanwhile, all the people had been brought out of the village onto a meadow and were under guard while the village was being searched. Meriliel also participated in the search. She had just searched the clan chief's hut; nothing had been found. Then she went into the next hut. Meriliel pushed the curtain aside and was startled for a moment. An old woman sat on the floor and looked up at her with an empty gaze.

"You must be the wise woman?" asked Meriliel and sighed. She was annoyed because not alwere outside. The Wise Woman was something like a shaman among the tribes of the mountain people. She possessed healing arts and made prophecies.
"Welcome, Princess Meriliel," said the old woman softly in Blarm, the language of the mountain people. Meriliel was startled. She had not told anyone in the village her name. So how did the old woman know this?
"How do you know who I am?" she asked, also in Blarm.
"The Radiant One announced you to me. He said you would come," the woman replied calmly. Uneasy, Meriliel thought about what she should do. It was an old woman; she posed no threat. Likewise, she did not believe the woman was hiding anything in this tiny shaman's hut. But the woman continued speaking.
"He told me more about you."
Meriliel smiled. She believed in magic, even more so. As a child, she had dreamed of studying magic, for which she had always been beaten by her father. However, what she did not believe in was superstition. She had never believed in the prophecies of the Wise Women of the mountain people, not even now. She also did not believe in all the cults and gods that the mountain people believed in, although she had never heard of a Radiant One before. She was sure the woman had known who she was. But Meriliel would play along with the game.
"Oh, and what does he say?" she asked, grinning at the woman amusedly.
"You have fear. The fear of losing everything. Your status as a princess, as the heir to the throne. You are afraid of becoming meaningless because your father is in the process of giving away his crown."
Meriliel was shocked.
"That..."
"And the Radiant One told me that you..."
Just as the woman was about to continue speaking, one of her riders stormed into the hut.
"Mistress, one of the men wants to speak with you. He says it's urgent."
Only now did Meriliel notice that she was sweating and panting as if she had been running.
"I'll be right there," Meriliel answered the man and turned back to the old woman, who was still staring at her expressionlessly and with an empty gaze, as if in a trance. Meriliel wanted to learn more from her, but now she said nothing more. She just stared into the void. Uneasy, Meriliel then ran out of the hut.
Some of Meriliel's knights had gathered in front of one of the huts. In their midst was a family. Their hands were bound, and they all had to kneel on the ground. A man, a woman, two boys, and a girl. The remaining villagers were in the center of the village and were being watched by the other knights with drawn swords. They looked over at the family worriedly as Meriliel marched determinedly toward the family.
"What's going on here?" she asked one of the knights.
"Mistress, this sword was found in the hut of this family," he said, pointing to a sword that had been thrust into the ground in front of the hut. Meriliel went to the sword and pulled it from the grothen. She carefully examined the sword. It was the sword of a knight of Rhudaur. Meriliel swallowed and then resolutely approached the family. She looked each one in the eyes. The father seemed worried. The mother and the girl were almost panicked as they looked up at Meriliel. The boys, however, stared at Meriliel angrily.
"Where did you get the sword?" Meriliel asked seriously.
"I was hunting. There I found the sword in the forest," explained the family father worriedly.
Meriliel turned to one of the knights.
"Fetch me the village elder."
"Understood, mistress."
Immediately, the man marched resolutely to the village elder, who was with the remaining villagers in the center of the village. Without a word, he grabbed the man by the arm, dragged him to Meriliel, and threw him at her feet.
"Village elder Keallach. We discovered this sword in this man's hut. Where did the family get the sword?" she asked seriously and pointed the sword under the village elder's chin. Nervously, with his mouth wide open, he stared at her. The older boy, who was staring intently at the ground, said in their language:
"Found in the forest."
Meriliel grinned, for obviously the villagers did not expect her to understand Blarm. The knight who had fetched the village elder kicked the boy in the head.
"When the commander speaks, you are to be silent!" the man shouted. The boy then wept bitterly and remained lying on the ground.
"Uh... they... they found it," said the village elder nervously.
"Where?"
"In the forest."
Meriliel grinned and took a few steps toward the boy, who was still lying on the ground crying. His nose was bleeding. His family looked panicked as Meriliel knelt down to him.
"Where did you find the sword."
"Forest! Father and the elder have already told you," said the youth. Now Meriliel drew back and struck the boy in the face with her fist, causing him to cry even more. Meriliel grinned.
"The village elder told me what you just told him," said Meriliel in their language. With a mixture of fright and astonishment, the family members, as well as the village elder, stared at Meriliel.
"You speak our language?" the woman asked fearfully in the language of the mountain people. But Meriliel ignored her. Instead, she looked at the family head again.
"You lied to me. Now I want to know the truth. Where did you get this sword? You certainly didn't find it. Did you kill a knight of Rhudaur?" she now asked in Blarm.
The man looked at his son and began to tell.
"Yesterday Bhaltair came by here. He was recruiting for his cause and I wanted to go along too. He gave me this sword and said he would wait for me at his camp, near the neighboring village..."
"No! Father! Please!" cried the boy. He immediately sat up and his head whipped back and forth between Meriliel andto his father.

"Mistress, do not harm my father. It was me. I wish to follow Bhaltair the Liberator!"

Meriliel straightened up. She paced a few steps, pondering what she should do. For strictly speaking, no crime had yet been committed. They had received a sword from Bhaltair, whether it was the father or the son. But neither of