Since I’m still figuring out Finrod in a fic, I’ll go with Ecthelion. 🙂
Ecthelion I imagine is a fairly serious and campaign-hardened soldier with a very dedicated battalion serving under him. He is well-liked because he is straightforward, practical, and conscientious of the needs of both his people and their objectives. He has a reputation for bringing back everyone alive, and not elevating himself above the means of his soldiers even though he is a lord.
As warden of the gate he is in a unique position to deal with matters outside and inside of Gondolin, a position demanding discretion as well as unwavering loyalty to the laws of the city; his scouts report all who come near the gate whether they seem innocent or no. He has seen his fair share of spies with friendly faces, and he does not budge for whim or sympathy. He has earned the utmost confidence of king Turgon, and can be trusted with the well-being of Gondolin and its continued secrecy.
He has a somewhat stoic demeanor but he is not without good humor or levity; the reason his folk march to the music of flutes and pipes is because Ecthelion took up the instrument as a hobby (professing himself to be of modest talent even for a beginner) and when his friends and subordinates found this out, they decided to join him with woodwinds of their own as a show of support. Soon they had the equivalent of a marching band that met and practiced in their free time, becoming a beloved mascot for the House of the Fountain.
He is fond of indulging Eärendil, who likes his glittering armor and tasseled cape, but does not let him play with the sword even though Baby Ear promises to keep it in the sheath. He likewise has a warm disposition towards Tuor, who he remembers always as the earnest-faced youth with the touch of Ulmo upon him, standing proudly before him at the gate despite his shackles and road-worn cloak.
He takes a cold but professional stance with Maeglin, who he frequently encounters on the outskirts of the city and the exploring the mountains. The young elf’s propensity for straying dangerously into unprotected territory is a constant source of tension between them– the perimeter is under Ecthelion’s sole authority, but he cannot forbid another Lord to do anything without the approval of the king, and the king is often more lenient with his nephew than perhaps he deserves. He is sympathetic to Maeglin’s troubled circumstances, but is always swift to remind him of the law.
He has a gruff, soldierly friendship with Rog, who he feels a certain solidarity with as another “working” lord. They’ve both seen and experienced the worst of the enemy, and their politics are similar because of it.
And since guarding the retreat of Turgon from the Nirnaeth Arnoediad together, he has had a ~*close*~ friendship with Glorfindel– a captain with perhaps more academic knowledge and less field experience than he at the time of the battle, but no less valor. Glorfindel demonstrated impeccable form, steely discipline, and unexpected hardiness despite his youth that impressed and earned Ecthelion’s loyalty (they are both of balrog-slaying mettle, after all).
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