Left Behind! Chapter Five.
13 May 2011 05:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
curiouswombatChapter Five of the story set during the First Haradic War - Tindómë/Dawn is able to help shed light on the recent attack...
Left Behind!
Chapter 5/6
Rated 15
Word Count 2,220.
Chapter Five
As the sun rose over the trees of Ithilien the Elven inhabitants were subdued; there was none of the singing or laughter that usually greeted Midsummer morning. There was, though, a sense of order.
The elves who had ridden to Emyn Arnen did not return to report any attack on the human settlement. Instead, they rode back accompanied by Éowyn, her usual Rohirric bodyguards, and a small number of other warriors. She had sent word to Faramir in Minas Tirith – he would, doubtless, arrive himself as soon as he could.
Only Túriel had died during the attack. Two ellyn had major wounds, but the settlement’s healer had not ridden with the warriors (no need – should any sustain wounds that the others could not deal with, Elladan and Elrohir were available to them), and he thought that both would survive. There were others, such as Laegwen with her dislocated shoulder and twisted knee, who were less seriously injured and some with minor wounds. Tindómë had been surprised to find herself amongst those – she had not even noticed when she had sustained the gash to the shoulder of her sword arm.
When Éowyn arrived Tindómë’s wound had been cleaned and was being stitched by one of the other elleth – the healer was too busy. Tindómë had been put back together by Elladan and Elrohir when she first ‘landed’ in Middle Earth, but this was the first time she had required such stitching whilst she was conscious. The ‘salve’ the elves used really did work pretty well to numb the skin – not exactly lidocaine, but enough that she could cope without yelling – she hoped that Éowyn and her guards were impressed.
The handle of her boot knife, though, now had its first set of tooth marks; she hoped Rumil had not added any to his collection whilst he was away.
One of the wardens explained to Éowyn that the bodies of the attackers were being gathered together – men in one place, orcs in another; and, in a small thicket less than a mile from the edge of the woodlands, elves had found horses. Although they were still searching to ensure there were no more Haradrim or orcs in the vicinity Eldroth had concluded that, as there was one horse per dead man, it was likely that no more men would be found.
Éowyn asked if they would keep everything that they found until Faramir arrived – certainly he would have to see that such a raid was recorded, and he might need to send word to the King and the army.
Goodness knows how long that would take, Tindómë thought, but then everyone worked at the same pace so…
Éowyn seemed to have mixed emotions about the raid and, unlike an elf, these could be seen in her face and heard in her voice – to Tindómë’s amusement – as she spoke. The Princess of Ithilien was indignant to think that the Haradrim would gather up remnants of the orcish hordes and attack within the bounds of Gondor; they should have been in the South, fighting against the army. She seemed almost slighted by the elves being targeted, and not the human settlement, but also relieved. She could not imagine why such an attack would be made but Tindómë was beginning to get an inkling.
As they waited for the arrival of Faramir an ellon came to seek out Tindómë.
“Eldroth has discovered something… odd… about one of the dead men,” he told her, “and he thought you might know whether it is significant.”
She followed him back towards the area where the fighting had been, into a small glade where the bodies of the men were laid out in a line – thirteen in all.
‘Unlucky for some,’ was Tindómë’s first thought.
Eldroth was standing beside one of the bodies. Before joining him Tindómë paused and looked at the whole row; glad that the blood on their clothing was dry now and there was not enough of the smell left to make her retch. All of the men had worn similar clothing and armour – good quality, well cared for, clothing and armour. They looked as if they were all part of the same squadron, or whatever the Haradrim army was divided into, but the body Eldroth stood by was not quite like the others.
The armour was not on the body but on the ground beside it and, unlike that of the others, it was gilded and highly polished.
‘Shiny!’ Tindómë thought, ‘but not so practical… officer, then.’
The man himself was taller than most of the others but less fit looking. Most noteworthy though, apart from the elven cloak folded across his lower body, was that he was clean-shaven whereas all the others were bearded.
On closer inspection it seemed as if he was not so much clean-shaven as unable to grow a beard – his skin looked like that of a woman or an elf.
His helm, if he had ever worn one, had been removed and his hair was visible. It was cut short, so it was clear that he was not an elf – Tindómë began to sift through all the information she had ‘filed’ in her head… somewhere in there a bell was beginning to ring.
“I had not heard of a man who did not grow facial hair,” Eldroth said, after he greeted her and enquired about her injury. “We thought it might possibly be an unknown peredhel - but the hroar is much less Elven than, for example, yours.
“He seemed to have been the one giving the orders, and was not at the front of the fighting, we tried to take him alive, for questioning, but he threw himself on his own sword. We tried to staunch the bleeding but to no avail. That was when it became clear that he does not really have the same conformation as the others.”
Eldroth paused and, if an elf could look embarrassed, he almost did.
“I have seen few mortal men unclothed, but…” he pulled back the cloak.
The first thing Tindómë noticed was the dressing not quite covering the gaping wound in his belly but, then, she understood just how different his conformation was.
“A eunuch!” she said.
Simultaneously Eldroth said, “He seems to have been… gelded.”
“Uh, yes – that’s exactly right,” Tindómë answered, slowly. “I think I might know why he’s here. I just need a few minutes to work it out in my head.”
“Certainly,” Eldroth answered, “but I do not understand why a man would be gelded. Perhaps he had been injured? Or had an illness? Would this, then, cause him to stop growing hair on his face? I would not wish to appear ignorant in front of the Lady Éowyn; or Lord Faramir when he arrives.”
“M’kay, can we, uh, move away from the bodies a bit?” Tindómë asked, wondering how to explain the concept of eunuchs to an elven warrior.
She knew from reading in the library of Minas Tirith, and asking questions as this war became more and more likely, that the Haradrim were a bit like something from ‘Aladdin’ or ‘The Thousand and One Nights’. (Spike had once lent her a copy of the book – then, later, Buffy had seen it and confiscated it because she thought it was the same thing as the Kama Sutra… Fortunately, Dawn had thought back then, Buffy didn’t actually read it – or she’d have found it made the Kama Sutra look tame. Dawn knew it did, because she had skimmed through a copy of the Kama Sutra that Xander didn’t think she knew about. But just at the moment such thoughts were far from Tindómë’s mind.)
“I uh… yeah. The Haradrim… he’d have been ‘gelded’ before he became a man. That’s why no beardiness. You know how elves only grow the hair… at the groins… when they are nearly old enough to join? Well, with men – that’s when the beard grows too – so if they have no… ceryn… they can’t get tuio and join… and there’s no body or face hair either.”
Eldroth didn’t actually ask ‘Why geld a boy?’ He didn’t need to – it was written all over his face.
“If he can’t join, then he is safe to leave with the wives of his master…”
“Ceryn Manwë!” said Eldroth.
Tindómë, despite her surroundings, had an urge to giggle at his choice of expletive.
“Yrch!” he went on. It was the greatest insult an elf ever used. “Do all races of men…?”
Tindómë quickly assured him that it was only the Haradrim, as far as she knew – certainly Gondorians and the Rohirrim would be as disgusted at the idea as he was.
‘Eeep!’ she thought, ‘imagine the diplomatic incident if he thought Faramir was in favour of castration!’
“Uh, Lord Faramir might want to see the bodies, before we do anything with them…” she said, changing the subject slightly.
“I would expect him to,” Eldroth said, and she wondered if he was insulted by her mentioning it. She still found elves difficult to ‘read’ some of the time.
“Come,” he said to her, “let us wash our hands and leave this place for somewhere more pleasant, where you can tell me what you think, if you have managed to ‘work it out in your head'.”
Good, Tindómë thought, he didn’t sound as if he was insulted, he’d just been stating a fact.
………………………
The negotiation of a peace agreement might take days or even weeks, Legolas told them, even in men these things often did. Usually this would not have bothered the elves – camp here a week, a month, a year – in the end it mattered very little. But this time it was different and it was not just Rumil wanting to return to Eryn Ithil to be reunited with Tindómë; all the ellyn wished to get back to their work with the trees. But better a few extra days spent now, Rumil knew, than having to do the whole thing again in a year or two.
Young women had appeared from the local communities, making it clear that they would be very willing to celebrate the outcome of the battle by ensuring the victors could enjoy the pleasures of the body. The elven archers, on the whole, were experienced enough in battle to no longer feel the… what had Tindómë called it? Some sort of rush… anyway, that surge of life that came after a battle and brought the desire for sexual flight.
At least the young women seemed well inclined towards the Rohirrim; Rumil noted this with pleased amusement. He thought it lessened the likelihood that he would need to remember how to say “Please take your hand off my knee, I prefer females!”
The young women seemed equally drawn to the ellyn – but the ellyn preferred to maintain their dignity, that slight separation, and it was not long, to them, since they had left Eryn Ithil. But, Rumil thought, it was good to have a clear memory of pleasure to draw to mind when easing yourself; and something pleasant to look forward to, as well.
He thought of Tindómë in these quiet watches; he pictured her sitting in the sunshine with a book in her hand, or picking strawberries, the juice staining her fingers and lips red. He hoped she had made new friends amongst those who remained behind.
………………………
As they walked, Tindómë explained to Eldroth the concept of the eunuch in some societies; and how such a person, who began life as a servant’s child or possibly a slave, could become a very senior member of the household. She was about to explain why she thought one had been sent to command this raiding party, as she and Eldroth walked towards the village, when she heard the sound of baby Merilwen crying.
Suddenly knowing why the attack might have happened was of no importance. Tindómë remembered the elleth who had befriended her, and who had been dancing and laughing only hours ago, being carried back by Saeldauron; her face and hair stained red with blood from her fatal head injury.
Tindómë could feel her stomach roiling and had to stop and take deep breaths before she could go any further. Eldroth waited calmly, she could see understanding in his eyes. He took her arm as they came within sight of the cottage where Túriel’s body would now be lying, lifeless, on the bed.
“Have something to eat and change your clothes,” the Marchwarden said. “We can talk later.”
Ceryn- balls
Tuio – engorged, erect.
Ceryn Manwë! – Manwë’s Balls!
Yrch! – Orcs!
………………………
The talk, when it came, included Faramir, Éowyn, and Arwen. The Queen had insisted on riding with Faramir to find out what had happened and to offer any aid she could. Faramir had been taken to see the bodies whilst Arwen had spent time with Saeldauron and Tária. The Steward set some of his own men to dispose of the bodies, stripped of all armour and weapons, saying that the elves should not have to cope with the distasteful task whilst they recovered from the attack.
In the sitting room of Legolas’ cottage all eyes were on Tindómë. She spoke in the Common Tongue; Éowyn spoke little Sindarin, whereas Eldroth had learnt a good deal of the Common Tongue – seeing it as important if he was to live in this enclave surrounded by mortals.
“They were trying to take ellyth alive, weren’t they?” she asked Eldroth for confirmation.
“I am sure of it,” he confirmed. “Had they recognised Túriel as an elleth I think they may have spared her. Those men or orcs who got closer to the settlement were grabbing the ellyth in dresses… I do not think they thought at first that any of the warriors were female.”
“I think that’s what they were here for – to capture ellyth,” Tindómë said. “Not elves generally – not females generally – but only female elves.
“And the orcs were just – uh…” she tried to think of an equivalent to ‘cannon-fodder’. “Expendable,” she finally decided. “Big ugly targets to draw the fire and help grab ellyth if possible.”
“I knew of orcs trying to take women, to force them to bear young,” Eldroth said, “but I think an elleth, so forced, would fade before the pregnancy could be completed. Why, though, would men try to take ellyth?”
“Oh my!” Arwen sounded as if things were falling into place in her mind. “And only enough horses for the men? They could ride hard with their captives; the orcs would be left to escape as best they could, or to hold up any pursuit?”
“It would appear so,” Eldroth confirmed.
Arwen looked at Tindómë, and Tindómë’s inner Dawn went ‘Pinkie - are you pondering what I’m pondering?’
“Tindómë,” the Queen said, “have you ever told Eldroth of the time that you were kidnapped by the Corsair?”
“Not in detail…” Tindómë answered, “but perhaps now would be a good time!”
Faramir and Éowyn both looked as if they could see why, and so she explained in Sindarin without bothering to make sure Éowyn was keeping up.
“The man who took me captive did so on the spur of the moment – he had not planned it. But he had every intention of passing me to his own lord who could give me, as a very valuable gift, to one of the Haradrim Lords to gain favour.
“The important bit is that he thought I was an elleth, which I am mostly,” she added for Faramir’s benefit, before continuing, “And at least some of the Haradrim believe the strangest thing ever about elves.”
“The man told Tindómë,” Arwen said, with a slight smile, “that the Haradrim believe that if a man breaks an elf’s gweneth it makes him immortal.”
Eldroth’s eyebrows rose but he managed otherwise to remain expressionless.
‘Hmm – I’m guessing Eldroth must be well over a thousand years old,’ Tindómë thought, ‘or he wouldn’t have been able to keep his face pretty straight even with Faramir and Éowyn here…’
Out loud, she picked up from where Arwen had left off; “So I think they would reckon that if they took as many ellyth as possible there would be sure to be unbound amongst them. And they don’t believe that we… uh…” she glanced towards Éowyn, “They don’t believe we join until we are bound…”
“Ah,” was all Eldroth said.
‘Yup,’ Tindómë thought, ‘got to be at least a couple of thousand to not show any emotion at that!’
“But then,” Eldroth went on, “I can understand the men who were… intact wanting to capture ellyth, if they believe that, and desire immortality; but what would be the sense in the one who was... not intact joining them on the raid?”
“They would not be taking them for themselves,” Faramir said, sounding quite definite. “They would be sent to bring them back to their Lord. And the eunuch was in command because he could not be tempted to gain immortality for himself; and he would maintain discipline so that none of the others would dare do so, either.”
“Exactly!” Tindómë said. Sometimes, she thought, Faramir was very quick on the uptake.
The discussion reverted back to the Common Tongue as Eldroth, Tindómë, and Arwen all wondered whether it could be proven that the raid was related to the current dispute – as surely it must be. They wondered, too, whether it was simply co-incidence that the raid took place at Midsummer, or had it been planned that way?
Faramir had the answer to both questions. “Do you remember, beloved,” he asked Éowyn, “when Aragorn asked that we entertain the delegation from Harad, when he was still attempting to settle the dispute by diplomatic means?”
Éowyn wrinkled her nose in distaste, “All too well,” she replied. “The leader of the delegation leered at me until I could understand why some of their women might prefer to be covered completely from head to toe. My hand itched for a sword!”
“As did mine, when he looked at you that way,” her husband reassured her. “The armour worn by his bodyguards was identical to that which I have just seen. He was also very interested to know that Legolas and his people lived so near by, and spent some time making small talk about festivals – both the differences and similarities in the celebrations of Harad, Gondor, and Elves…”
“We must send word straight away to Aragorn,” Arwen said, decisively. “He must know of this and ascertain whether these men, who clearly travelled North behind the Mountains of Shadow with this one specific aim, were under orders from the Haradrim leader himself, or that of the envoy in question.”
“It should be simple enough to find whose household included the eunuch – his armour bore a crest,” Faramir began; his wife spoke almost simultaneously.
“Egric and Céolfrith will go,” Éowyn said. “We will supply them with a string of horses and they will set out within an hour or two.”
Her two Rohirric guards, sent with her from Rohan by her brother (“Not that I believe Gondor has no horseman to keep pace with Éowyn – but your King may not always be spared…” he had told Faramir), were the ideal choice…
After a short pause she added, rather dryly, “I am sure Éomer will agree.”
………………………
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Left Behind!
Chapter 5/6
Rated 15
Word Count 2,220.
As the sun rose over the trees of Ithilien the Elven inhabitants were subdued; there was none of the singing or laughter that usually greeted Midsummer morning. There was, though, a sense of order.
The elves who had ridden to Emyn Arnen did not return to report any attack on the human settlement. Instead, they rode back accompanied by Éowyn, her usual Rohirric bodyguards, and a small number of other warriors. She had sent word to Faramir in Minas Tirith – he would, doubtless, arrive himself as soon as he could.
Only Túriel had died during the attack. Two ellyn had major wounds, but the settlement’s healer had not ridden with the warriors (no need – should any sustain wounds that the others could not deal with, Elladan and Elrohir were available to them), and he thought that both would survive. There were others, such as Laegwen with her dislocated shoulder and twisted knee, who were less seriously injured and some with minor wounds. Tindómë had been surprised to find herself amongst those – she had not even noticed when she had sustained the gash to the shoulder of her sword arm.
When Éowyn arrived Tindómë’s wound had been cleaned and was being stitched by one of the other elleth – the healer was too busy. Tindómë had been put back together by Elladan and Elrohir when she first ‘landed’ in Middle Earth, but this was the first time she had required such stitching whilst she was conscious. The ‘salve’ the elves used really did work pretty well to numb the skin – not exactly lidocaine, but enough that she could cope without yelling – she hoped that Éowyn and her guards were impressed.
The handle of her boot knife, though, now had its first set of tooth marks; she hoped Rumil had not added any to his collection whilst he was away.
One of the wardens explained to Éowyn that the bodies of the attackers were being gathered together – men in one place, orcs in another; and, in a small thicket less than a mile from the edge of the woodlands, elves had found horses. Although they were still searching to ensure there were no more Haradrim or orcs in the vicinity Eldroth had concluded that, as there was one horse per dead man, it was likely that no more men would be found.
Éowyn asked if they would keep everything that they found until Faramir arrived – certainly he would have to see that such a raid was recorded, and he might need to send word to the King and the army.
Goodness knows how long that would take, Tindómë thought, but then everyone worked at the same pace so…
Éowyn seemed to have mixed emotions about the raid and, unlike an elf, these could be seen in her face and heard in her voice – to Tindómë’s amusement – as she spoke. The Princess of Ithilien was indignant to think that the Haradrim would gather up remnants of the orcish hordes and attack within the bounds of Gondor; they should have been in the South, fighting against the army. She seemed almost slighted by the elves being targeted, and not the human settlement, but also relieved. She could not imagine why such an attack would be made but Tindómë was beginning to get an inkling.
As they waited for the arrival of Faramir an ellon came to seek out Tindómë.
“Eldroth has discovered something… odd… about one of the dead men,” he told her, “and he thought you might know whether it is significant.”
She followed him back towards the area where the fighting had been, into a small glade where the bodies of the men were laid out in a line – thirteen in all.
‘Unlucky for some,’ was Tindómë’s first thought.
Eldroth was standing beside one of the bodies. Before joining him Tindómë paused and looked at the whole row; glad that the blood on their clothing was dry now and there was not enough of the smell left to make her retch. All of the men had worn similar clothing and armour – good quality, well cared for, clothing and armour. They looked as if they were all part of the same squadron, or whatever the Haradrim army was divided into, but the body Eldroth stood by was not quite like the others.
The armour was not on the body but on the ground beside it and, unlike that of the others, it was gilded and highly polished.
‘Shiny!’ Tindómë thought, ‘but not so practical… officer, then.’
The man himself was taller than most of the others but less fit looking. Most noteworthy though, apart from the elven cloak folded across his lower body, was that he was clean-shaven whereas all the others were bearded.
On closer inspection it seemed as if he was not so much clean-shaven as unable to grow a beard – his skin looked like that of a woman or an elf.
His helm, if he had ever worn one, had been removed and his hair was visible. It was cut short, so it was clear that he was not an elf – Tindómë began to sift through all the information she had ‘filed’ in her head… somewhere in there a bell was beginning to ring.
“I had not heard of a man who did not grow facial hair,” Eldroth said, after he greeted her and enquired about her injury. “We thought it might possibly be an unknown peredhel - but the hroar is much less Elven than, for example, yours.
“He seemed to have been the one giving the orders, and was not at the front of the fighting, we tried to take him alive, for questioning, but he threw himself on his own sword. We tried to staunch the bleeding but to no avail. That was when it became clear that he does not really have the same conformation as the others.”
Eldroth paused and, if an elf could look embarrassed, he almost did.
“I have seen few mortal men unclothed, but…” he pulled back the cloak.
The first thing Tindómë noticed was the dressing not quite covering the gaping wound in his belly but, then, she understood just how different his conformation was.
“A eunuch!” she said.
Simultaneously Eldroth said, “He seems to have been… gelded.”
“Uh, yes – that’s exactly right,” Tindómë answered, slowly. “I think I might know why he’s here. I just need a few minutes to work it out in my head.”
“Certainly,” Eldroth answered, “but I do not understand why a man would be gelded. Perhaps he had been injured? Or had an illness? Would this, then, cause him to stop growing hair on his face? I would not wish to appear ignorant in front of the Lady Éowyn; or Lord Faramir when he arrives.”
“M’kay, can we, uh, move away from the bodies a bit?” Tindómë asked, wondering how to explain the concept of eunuchs to an elven warrior.
She knew from reading in the library of Minas Tirith, and asking questions as this war became more and more likely, that the Haradrim were a bit like something from ‘Aladdin’ or ‘The Thousand and One Nights’. (Spike had once lent her a copy of the book – then, later, Buffy had seen it and confiscated it because she thought it was the same thing as the Kama Sutra… Fortunately, Dawn had thought back then, Buffy didn’t actually read it – or she’d have found it made the Kama Sutra look tame. Dawn knew it did, because she had skimmed through a copy of the Kama Sutra that Xander didn’t think she knew about. But just at the moment such thoughts were far from Tindómë’s mind.)
“I uh… yeah. The Haradrim… he’d have been ‘gelded’ before he became a man. That’s why no beardiness. You know how elves only grow the hair… at the groins… when they are nearly old enough to join? Well, with men – that’s when the beard grows too – so if they have no… ceryn… they can’t get tuio and join… and there’s no body or face hair either.”
Eldroth didn’t actually ask ‘Why geld a boy?’ He didn’t need to – it was written all over his face.
“If he can’t join, then he is safe to leave with the wives of his master…”
“Ceryn Manwë!” said Eldroth.
Tindómë, despite her surroundings, had an urge to giggle at his choice of expletive.
“Yrch!” he went on. It was the greatest insult an elf ever used. “Do all races of men…?”
Tindómë quickly assured him that it was only the Haradrim, as far as she knew – certainly Gondorians and the Rohirrim would be as disgusted at the idea as he was.
‘Eeep!’ she thought, ‘imagine the diplomatic incident if he thought Faramir was in favour of castration!’
“Uh, Lord Faramir might want to see the bodies, before we do anything with them…” she said, changing the subject slightly.
“I would expect him to,” Eldroth said, and she wondered if he was insulted by her mentioning it. She still found elves difficult to ‘read’ some of the time.
“Come,” he said to her, “let us wash our hands and leave this place for somewhere more pleasant, where you can tell me what you think, if you have managed to ‘work it out in your head'.”
Good, Tindómë thought, he didn’t sound as if he was insulted, he’d just been stating a fact.
………………………
The negotiation of a peace agreement might take days or even weeks, Legolas told them, even in men these things often did. Usually this would not have bothered the elves – camp here a week, a month, a year – in the end it mattered very little. But this time it was different and it was not just Rumil wanting to return to Eryn Ithil to be reunited with Tindómë; all the ellyn wished to get back to their work with the trees. But better a few extra days spent now, Rumil knew, than having to do the whole thing again in a year or two.
Young women had appeared from the local communities, making it clear that they would be very willing to celebrate the outcome of the battle by ensuring the victors could enjoy the pleasures of the body. The elven archers, on the whole, were experienced enough in battle to no longer feel the… what had Tindómë called it? Some sort of rush… anyway, that surge of life that came after a battle and brought the desire for sexual flight.
At least the young women seemed well inclined towards the Rohirrim; Rumil noted this with pleased amusement. He thought it lessened the likelihood that he would need to remember how to say “Please take your hand off my knee, I prefer females!”
The young women seemed equally drawn to the ellyn – but the ellyn preferred to maintain their dignity, that slight separation, and it was not long, to them, since they had left Eryn Ithil. But, Rumil thought, it was good to have a clear memory of pleasure to draw to mind when easing yourself; and something pleasant to look forward to, as well.
He thought of Tindómë in these quiet watches; he pictured her sitting in the sunshine with a book in her hand, or picking strawberries, the juice staining her fingers and lips red. He hoped she had made new friends amongst those who remained behind.
………………………
As they walked, Tindómë explained to Eldroth the concept of the eunuch in some societies; and how such a person, who began life as a servant’s child or possibly a slave, could become a very senior member of the household. She was about to explain why she thought one had been sent to command this raiding party, as she and Eldroth walked towards the village, when she heard the sound of baby Merilwen crying.
Suddenly knowing why the attack might have happened was of no importance. Tindómë remembered the elleth who had befriended her, and who had been dancing and laughing only hours ago, being carried back by Saeldauron; her face and hair stained red with blood from her fatal head injury.
Tindómë could feel her stomach roiling and had to stop and take deep breaths before she could go any further. Eldroth waited calmly, she could see understanding in his eyes. He took her arm as they came within sight of the cottage where Túriel’s body would now be lying, lifeless, on the bed.
“Have something to eat and change your clothes,” the Marchwarden said. “We can talk later.”
Ceryn- balls
Tuio – engorged, erect.
Ceryn Manwë! – Manwë’s Balls!
Yrch! – Orcs!
………………………
The talk, when it came, included Faramir, Éowyn, and Arwen. The Queen had insisted on riding with Faramir to find out what had happened and to offer any aid she could. Faramir had been taken to see the bodies whilst Arwen had spent time with Saeldauron and Tária. The Steward set some of his own men to dispose of the bodies, stripped of all armour and weapons, saying that the elves should not have to cope with the distasteful task whilst they recovered from the attack.
In the sitting room of Legolas’ cottage all eyes were on Tindómë. She spoke in the Common Tongue; Éowyn spoke little Sindarin, whereas Eldroth had learnt a good deal of the Common Tongue – seeing it as important if he was to live in this enclave surrounded by mortals.
“They were trying to take ellyth alive, weren’t they?” she asked Eldroth for confirmation.
“I am sure of it,” he confirmed. “Had they recognised Túriel as an elleth I think they may have spared her. Those men or orcs who got closer to the settlement were grabbing the ellyth in dresses… I do not think they thought at first that any of the warriors were female.”
“I think that’s what they were here for – to capture ellyth,” Tindómë said. “Not elves generally – not females generally – but only female elves.
“And the orcs were just – uh…” she tried to think of an equivalent to ‘cannon-fodder’. “Expendable,” she finally decided. “Big ugly targets to draw the fire and help grab ellyth if possible.”
“I knew of orcs trying to take women, to force them to bear young,” Eldroth said, “but I think an elleth, so forced, would fade before the pregnancy could be completed. Why, though, would men try to take ellyth?”
“Oh my!” Arwen sounded as if things were falling into place in her mind. “And only enough horses for the men? They could ride hard with their captives; the orcs would be left to escape as best they could, or to hold up any pursuit?”
“It would appear so,” Eldroth confirmed.
Arwen looked at Tindómë, and Tindómë’s inner Dawn went ‘Pinkie - are you pondering what I’m pondering?’
“Tindómë,” the Queen said, “have you ever told Eldroth of the time that you were kidnapped by the Corsair?”
“Not in detail…” Tindómë answered, “but perhaps now would be a good time!”
Faramir and Éowyn both looked as if they could see why, and so she explained in Sindarin without bothering to make sure Éowyn was keeping up.
“The man who took me captive did so on the spur of the moment – he had not planned it. But he had every intention of passing me to his own lord who could give me, as a very valuable gift, to one of the Haradrim Lords to gain favour.
“The important bit is that he thought I was an elleth, which I am mostly,” she added for Faramir’s benefit, before continuing, “And at least some of the Haradrim believe the strangest thing ever about elves.”
“The man told Tindómë,” Arwen said, with a slight smile, “that the Haradrim believe that if a man breaks an elf’s gweneth it makes him immortal.”
Eldroth’s eyebrows rose but he managed otherwise to remain expressionless.
‘Hmm – I’m guessing Eldroth must be well over a thousand years old,’ Tindómë thought, ‘or he wouldn’t have been able to keep his face pretty straight even with Faramir and Éowyn here…’
Out loud, she picked up from where Arwen had left off; “So I think they would reckon that if they took as many ellyth as possible there would be sure to be unbound amongst them. And they don’t believe that we… uh…” she glanced towards Éowyn, “They don’t believe we join until we are bound…”
“Ah,” was all Eldroth said.
‘Yup,’ Tindómë thought, ‘got to be at least a couple of thousand to not show any emotion at that!’
“But then,” Eldroth went on, “I can understand the men who were… intact wanting to capture ellyth, if they believe that, and desire immortality; but what would be the sense in the one who was... not intact joining them on the raid?”
“They would not be taking them for themselves,” Faramir said, sounding quite definite. “They would be sent to bring them back to their Lord. And the eunuch was in command because he could not be tempted to gain immortality for himself; and he would maintain discipline so that none of the others would dare do so, either.”
“Exactly!” Tindómë said. Sometimes, she thought, Faramir was very quick on the uptake.
The discussion reverted back to the Common Tongue as Eldroth, Tindómë, and Arwen all wondered whether it could be proven that the raid was related to the current dispute – as surely it must be. They wondered, too, whether it was simply co-incidence that the raid took place at Midsummer, or had it been planned that way?
Faramir had the answer to both questions. “Do you remember, beloved,” he asked Éowyn, “when Aragorn asked that we entertain the delegation from Harad, when he was still attempting to settle the dispute by diplomatic means?”
Éowyn wrinkled her nose in distaste, “All too well,” she replied. “The leader of the delegation leered at me until I could understand why some of their women might prefer to be covered completely from head to toe. My hand itched for a sword!”
“As did mine, when he looked at you that way,” her husband reassured her. “The armour worn by his bodyguards was identical to that which I have just seen. He was also very interested to know that Legolas and his people lived so near by, and spent some time making small talk about festivals – both the differences and similarities in the celebrations of Harad, Gondor, and Elves…”
“We must send word straight away to Aragorn,” Arwen said, decisively. “He must know of this and ascertain whether these men, who clearly travelled North behind the Mountains of Shadow with this one specific aim, were under orders from the Haradrim leader himself, or that of the envoy in question.”
“It should be simple enough to find whose household included the eunuch – his armour bore a crest,” Faramir began; his wife spoke almost simultaneously.
“Egric and Céolfrith will go,” Éowyn said. “We will supply them with a string of horses and they will set out within an hour or two.”
Her two Rohirric guards, sent with her from Rohan by her brother (“Not that I believe Gondor has no horseman to keep pace with Éowyn – but your King may not always be spared…” he had told Faramir), were the ideal choice…
After a short pause she added, rather dryly, “I am sure Éomer will agree.”
………………………
Feedback makes me happy - and, actually, so does anyone helpfully pointing out any mistakes!
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Date: 13/05/2011 06:01 pm (UTC)Indeed he is. And the plot thickens...
I can't remember if you've explained (because I haven't yet read the other Returnverse story where it features) why the Haradrim have such a weird belief about ellyth. Do they understand that forcing an elleth would cause her to fade? (In which case, that might make a sort of warped sense - they think the elleth's immortality passes to them?!?)
Legolas is going to be livid. (And, quite possibly, very reluctant to leave the settlement relatively undefended to ride out to war with Aragorn again in future? Mind you, in the light of what's happened I could see Aragorn refusing to let him come next time...)
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Date: 13/05/2011 07:31 pm (UTC)The Haradrim will know very little about elves. They probably see them as almost legendary - perhaps even more than the Rohirrim did - after all the Rohirrim actually had them as neighbours. (Which is also part of the theme in 'Brotherhood'.)
And a society which see females as fairly much 'property' usually believes that what belongs to your wife, or concubine, is rightfully yours - then a small step over the years to this belief with no foundation or logic...
Legolas' reaction is in the next/last chapter. This is a fairly short story, and so winds up with the warriors return - but I think there would certainly be some repercussions on the way that the elven warriors support, or don't support, the men in future.
I may well touch on it in another short story or, in passing, in the longish one I'm doing for the BigBang!, which is the current WIP in the background.
Also jelly beans! Hurrah!
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Date: 14/05/2011 10:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 14/05/2011 10:15 pm (UTC)[ETA: and you are most welcome to the jelly beans, especially if they help fuel more fic!]
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Date: 13/05/2011 08:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 13/05/2011 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 24/05/2011 05:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 24/05/2011 07:27 am (UTC)