I know you feel like you've lost everything, but I'm still with you, father. I'm still here.Hèra comforting her comatose father Helm
Hèra Hammerhand is the main protagonist of the 2024 anime fantasy film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. She is the tomboyish daughter of Helm Hammerhand, and the sister of Haleth and Háma.
She is voiced by Gaia Wise.
Appearance
Hèra is a beautiful young woman with a slender yet muscular physique, and lush red hair that she hangs upon her back, with a side series of locks made into a braid that sits upon her chest.
She primarily wore the dresses suited to high class ladies of Rohan, but often with riding boots and a vest for traveling.
During the war, she wore thin armour plates over her chest and limbs.
Upon the final battle, she wore a crown of reeves and donned a simple wedding dress as to finally give Wulf the "bride" he wanted for their duel. She also wore vambraces and greaves.
Personality
It isn't that I don't wish to marry you, Wulf. I don't wish to marry any man.Hèra revealing her desire to avoid wedlock altogether, thus reinforcing her free spirit
Hèra was free spirited, compassionate, brave, and occasionally too fearless, as it would lead her into potential risks. She loves and respects her brothers, Haleth and Háma, - with her being more respectful of her older brother, but more nurturing for her younger brother - while also loving her father, Helm, but feeling frustrated in his inability to trust in her strength due to his over-protectiveness. Although, even though Helm's intentions were good, his withdrawn nature made him unclear about how much he loved her, thus she felt less important to her brothers because she couldn't become King.
She valued her freedom above any other wish, thus argued against her father's plan to marry her off to a Gondorian prince and rejected Wulf's marriage proposal; however, her rejection of Wulf was gentle, as she tried to reassure him that she still cared for him, rather marriage itself wasn't something she wanted. Despite his entitled outburst in response, she didn't argue with him due to her kindness and sentiment from their close childhood friendship.
Even as Wulf rallies an army in preparation to rebel against King Helm, and kidnapped her, Hèra still tried to reason with him with compassion and peace, even willing to sacrifice her freedom to prevent bloodshed of the Rohirrim people, however, her begrudging acquiescence merely antagonized Wulf further by accident due to his unstable emotional and mental attitude.
As each of her brothers are murdered by Wulf, and Helm fell into a coma of grief, Hèra felt disillusioned about her own capabilities, and felt smothered by sorrow and loss. Aggravating this was this belief that Helm's grief was due to believing that he had lost everything, thus implying Hèra didn't matter to him. Even believing she was unimportant to her father, she worked tirelessly to ensure the survival of their people, and hoping to prove herself to Helm. Eventually, before his own death, when Helm managed to convey his true pride and love for Hèra, she was able to gather the strength of will to work towards the end of the war.
Hèra fought Wulf, defeating him twice, yet staying her hand as she tried to convince him to surrender; this, along with an aborted killing strike, indicated that Hèra still felt affection for Wulf because of their past, but also sympathy for how rejection and his father's death had driven him into something so pitiful. Upon being finally forced to deliver a killing blow by using a shieldmaiden shield to crush his throat, she displayed no positive emotions, rather brief pity before working to foil his army with her reinforcements led by her cousin. The enemy army of raiders and mercenaries was routed, but Hèra decreed that enough blood had been shed, thus permitted the surviving enemies mercy to return home; this reinforced that no matter how much she lost, or suffered, or grieved, she maintained her righteous heart and compassion, therefore capable of both reason and mercy. A factor was likely seeing how revenge destroyed Wulf, once her good friend, thus she understand the danger of needlessly pursuing retribution against a now helpless foe.
Biography
In her first appearance, Hèra is the first seen riding on her horse, Ashere, with the Great Eagle flying by, knowing they're hungry. So, Hèra gallops to the rock-top to mount off her horse and gave them some meat to the Great Eagles. One of the Great Eagles approached her. Hèra tries to tame the flying beast, but it is already tamed since she's great with animals and Hèra smiled.
Later, Hèra returns home, greeted by the villagers and her brother, Háma, is waiting for her. Hèra and Háma talk about the messengers and the council, which Olwyn arrived at the stables, scolding her for running off to feed the Great Eagles. Nevertheless, she has her to change for the court.
That night, on their way to the court, Hèra has dressed up in a beautiful dress and asks Háma why Lord Freca hadn't show up, Háma replies that he wants to challenge their father, Helm, which Haleth, their brother, appears and tells them that Freca remembers how to swing a sword, sat idle in the Westmarch too long, stuffing his face and his pocket.
When they arrived at the court, Hèra greets their cousin, Fréaláf, who inspects her appearance before Helm appears. Lief tried to announce who he is, but the king interrupt him because they know him when they see him. Hèra listens to hear what Helm jokes that everyone is at the funeral and reassures that they'll be done with business soon enough.
Soon, the door opens, Freca eventually shows up, along with his son, Wulf, whom she recognizes. Freca makes fun of Hèra about what she marries, Helm defends her by saying it's none of their business. Freca argues with Helm to put an end of their lapdogs until Wulf declares that he will marry Hèra. Helm denounces Freca that he did not seek an alliance, but a throne.
While Helm goes outside to challenge Freca to a duel, Olwyn leaves with Lief to let Hèra and Wulf talk alone. Alone, Hèra and Wulf talk about marriage until Haleth called her to miss out her father's duel.
Hèra takes part watching her father duel Freca until Helm is victorious with a single punch. Wulf tries to avenge his father's loss, but Helm grabbed him by the neck. Hèra pleads her father to stop, which he does by tossing him onto the ground. As a result, Helm exiles Wulf from Edoras, he'll kill him if he return. Hèra looks at her former childhood friend one last time as Fréaláf escorts Hèra back home.
The next morning, Hèra recounts her childhood memories with Wulf when they were young. Hèra rides to Crebain, along with Fréaláf, Lief and Olwyn since she can't ride out alone. Suddenly, Lief is running from something that chases him: it was Mûmak. Fréaláf tries to protect Hèra from it, but Mûmak knocks him over. So, Hèra blows the horn to catch it's attention, she mount up her horse, picking up the spear and lures Mûmak into the woods.
Arriving at the lake, Hèra calms Ashere down, mounts off and allows it to leave because she has to do this alone. Hèra figures it out about beware the dark waters that hide old secrets, she threw a spear into the water to awaken the Watcher in the Water. When Mûmak locates her, Hèra lures and disposes Mûmak to Watcher in the Water.
Powers and Abilities
- Master Horsewoman: Hèra is Rohan's greatest rider, able to more skillfully maneuver and easily outpace any rival riders, even in difficult terrains. If Éowyn's narration could be believed, her potential as a rider already manifested at very young age.
- Master Swordswoman: As a prospective shieldmaiden, she is highly skilled at wielding bladed weapons, especially swords.
- Cunning Strategist: While her lack of warfare experience made her somewhat unpracticed compared to the likes of her father, she was capable of adapting to certain situations, and given time can determine a plan with a more or less chance of success. That included noting advantages of environmental attributes (ex. leading the feral oliphant into the maw of a Watcher she encountered prior). If anything, Hèra would develop to become capable of countering and overwhelming any adversary.
- High Intellect: As noted by Targg, Hèra is deceptively clever. Her ingenuity allows her to come up with appropriate strategies to get around her lack of actual warfare experience. In her final battle against Wulf, she deliberately dons an old bridal dress Old Pennicruik gave to her rather than appropriate set of armor as psychological tactic both to distract him from her fleeing people and attempting to reason with him before it's too late.
- High Stamina/Endurance: Hèra's ability to endure physical stress is not to be underestimated, more so thanks to her shieldmaiden training. In fact, she could exert herself at her fullest more than average women of her age, allowing her to match even Wulf's all-out assaults with little difficulty.
- Reflexes: Though it's possible to catch her off-guard as demonstrated by Targg, it's unwise to underestimate Hèra's reflexes. Wulf learned it in hard way when attempting to dishonorably stabbing her at the gut only for her safely redirect his sword at the last moments.
- Adept mountain-climber: Though still requires appropriate gear to do so, Hèra is skilled in climbing mountains as demonstrated when she reaches a Great Eagle's nest situated near what would become Helm's deep.
- Giant Eagle Communicator: She is one of the few people who can communicate with the mighty race of Giant Eagles, which is typically the skill of wizards and elves.
Gallery
Images
Videos
Trivia
- In Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, specifically accounts pertaining Rohan's past where Helm Hammerhand being the main focus thus the basis of the film, Hèra's actual name wasn't revealed, let alone her actual fate.
- In Middle-earth: Shadow of War flashback which deviated from Tolkien's writings, the fate of Helm's daughter is more tragic; Wulf and his men's successful attempt to kidnap her resulted Helm dying at his hands. Upon his recovery thanks to a Ring of Power forcibly given to him by Sauron and Celebrimbor, Helm led his men on an ill-fated rescue mission where he struck his daughter by mistake, fueling his anger that he indiscriminately attacked everyone, even his own men, completing his transformation into a Nazgûl.
- According to Old Pennicruik, the wedding dress Hèra eventually wore in her final duel against Wulf was originally made for a princess who pledged to the captain of Hornburg long ago. Unfortunately, she passed away from strange fever a day prior to her supposed marriage and the dress was left for the safekeeping ever since. In a way, the sad tale foreshadowed how Hèra eventually use it to distract Wulf and reluctantly forced to kill him so her people could survive.
- Despite being an unsung heroine in the history of Rohan, it's possible that Hèra nonetheless became the role model for Éowyn — the film's narrator — and therefore inspired her to perform her own heroic deeds, namely defeating Witch-King of Angmar with Merry's aid nearly 200 years later. To elaborate, during the meeting with Gandalf, either Hèra herself or Olwyn confided to the wizard about Hèra's share of exploits in saving their people from the vengeful Wulf and his army. Gandalf in turn, passed the tale to the Fellowship, including presumably Merry or Faramir, and in turn, one of them may have shared it with Eowyn (who's a Rohirrim herself).
External Links
- Hèra on the Lord of the Rings Wiki
