Ranger’s Valor: Always In Pursuit
Every beginning is humble, in one way or another. A fan favorite amongst favorites, Aragorn, a protagonist of the Lord of The Rings, was originally intended to be a hobbit in the main story, in lieu of the valiant knight and warrior he embodies throughout the story’s canon. We here at Fabled Aromas love to draw inspiration from the past, and there is no high fantasy story with the same reputation as LOTR that we would rather have to represent one of our premier scents to adoring fans around the world to create Ranger’s Valor.
Our inspiration for Aragorn taking the helm, specifically, is from this article detailing some of his most notable feats and character. As a piece in the LOTR story, Aragorn represents the duality between him and Frodo as counterparts in their quest to vanquish the One Ring. We believed that the happy ending Aragorn enjoyed as a virtuous leader better embodied the path we wanted for our company and customers. His bravery and ingenuity combined with a potent sense of self were all qualities we looked for in a fictional ambassador to model our product around. Viggo Mortensen’s reserved confidence in playing the character in Peter Jackson’s big-screen adaptation helped guide our hand when attempting to craft something that would emulate his presence perfectly. Leaders are forged through trial and error, without one perfect solution to rule them all in the process. We cannot call ourselves nerds without acknowledging the importance of Aragorn’s power struggle in-universe, which is why we decided to make a scent that could last longer than anything else before it, something to be appreciated by fans of any gender makeup, as a fresh take on valor that stays remnant within all of us.
Aragorn’s position as a ranger and protector of peace provided an immediate landscape of ideas to us, with a heavy focus on forestry and the dewy raindrops stuck on leaves in a barren, jungle canopy. We thought of all those treacherous mountain peaks he had to cross, his reclaiming of regality, and the candor with which he composed himself during his travels. In order to accomplish a more layered scent, we not only went to the South of France again but to New Zealand, on location where the movies for the franchise were shot. It was there that we enlisted the help of local journeymen to handpick roses and ferns to go into our preliminary batches of oils. Due to the historical significance of New Zealand, we made sure that for every batch of flowers we bought from locals in the area, we matched donations to several charities and environmental protection agencies. Our commitment to providing an honest, open relationship with our providers has been a core value we will continue to honor until we too, board the ships to the Gray Havens.
With such a gargantuan epic to take inspiration from, we wanted to create a specialized aroma that although applicable to anybody, would carefully change in tone throughout the day’s passage. Something that would keep people guessing would be a hell of a way to cause a disruption in the workplace, in a positive manner that is. In fact, while wearing the scent ourselves, we considered Aragorn’s path to assuming a higher position of himself, and what such high accomplishment smells like. The addition of white jasmine tea leaves a grounding sensation, and tones of freshly cut barley that recall beautiful crops in the onset of Spring. Combined with our staple Cedar wood base from Gallimard, and the honeysuckle and ferns from New Zealand, we now had a mixture of savory smells that went from sweet to earth the longer they were in contact with one another. Something to keep everyone in awe of you during your own journeys.
The scent itself is in one of our most meticulously made bottles, embossed with a faux-gold design that harkens back to the pre-medieval times of the LOTR environment while also recalling the especially prominent wildlife in the story. We wanted something that basically resembled a king’s broadsword, the last line of defense that a king would have in the event of an attack, but the first thing he applies before leaving for battle. We opted to make the bottle in a glass-blown cylindrical ever-green shape with the letter “A” for Aragon situated atop.
Assume your own throne as you take command of the day’s proceedings. Stop to smell all the roses you can, and never forget to lend a helping hand to those who deserve it most. We here at Fabled Aromas are proud to present you with “Ranger’s Valor” as a byproduct of all of our own chest puffing and journal entries. That is to say, the emotional, physical, and logical effort that goes into making a product we believe applies to those most worthy of obtaining something greater in their lives.
