Before the Well of Wisdom: A Tale of the Variags
Author: James P. Darcy
Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings or any of its characters in part or whole. Likewise, I will not be receiving payment for this or any subsequent posting. All characters and/or ideas produced outside of the canon are creations or alterations of my own imagination, and this work may not be copied or redistributed without my permission.
Warnings: Slightly AU, violence, swearing, sexual situations
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Conducting research to uncover the mysteries of Khand was extremely difficult, as Tolkien wrote very little for admirers like us to expand on. I've concluded, for the purpose of this story, that most 'Khandian' people could be separated into two categories: nomadic horsemen and Variags. Given that Khandian terrain was probably desert-like, with perhaps plains of grass or rocky mountain ranges scattered throughout, a nomadic/tribal lifestyle seems probable. The Variags would exist within some of these tribes as warriors, similar to Vikings of historical Scandinavia, although not every tribe would produce accurate specimens in size and strength. Due to this unfortunate gamble, many self-elected Variag leaders would form their own tribes and breed within a select group. Variag women were rarely warriors, as their importance was restricted to producing offspring and caring for the horses; however, when the occasional female was bred with the appropriate attributes of a warrior, she was utilized. As far as language is concerned, I've created a small lexicon of the words and phrases used by Variag characters, which will be updated as necessary and placed at the end of the chapter.
Prologue
Years ago, after the Secondborn had dispersed and founded their own lands, a group of travelers from the North roamed the plains of Rhovanion, seeking adventure and vacant land to settle in the South. Their wanderings led them to Khand, a land of barren deserts, where pools of water were few or otherwise contaminated by the soil, and ravenous beasts with thick furred hides threatened death. The travelers were harsh men, accustomed to the heat of day breaking down on their backs and the weight of an axe after the sky had turned dark, but this land proved a worthy adversary and would not be easily tamed. They lost many that first year, when scavenging was unfruitful and appropriate dwellings were scarce. Some were afraid and turned back to the North, but their small numbers were easily over-taken by the desert beasts.
All hope seemed lost, until a band of nomads happened upon their camp. Generous were these people with dark skin and eyes, much darker than the Northmen had ever seen. They shared their nourishment and their tents, instructing the visitors how to procure such things on their own. However, strong was this bond between the two, and generations later the Northmen had blended seamlessly into the Khandian tribe. Their heirs had the agility of the lithe nomads but the stature and strength of the men of the North. Most were dark in coloring, although the occasional child was born with striking red hair, a strange anomaly but a testament to a portion of his heritage.
It was not until multiple tribes had been established and their numbers had flourished that an elder wizard appeared at their camp. He was a traveler, much like their ancestors the Northmen, but held vast knowledge of the outside world and owned the power of persuasion. He told the tribes of a mighty lord, who was in need of loyal servants to further his cause, men who would fight alongside his army and be handsomely rewarded should he succeed. The wizard then told the nomads of a greedy and deceitful people in the North, who wore a symbol of a white tree, and desired to seize all of Khand for their own benefit. But, the mighty lord would protect the tribes if they swore their allegiance.
From that point on, as the tribe members slit their palms and dirtied the sand with their blood, they made an oath to serve the mighty lord. They and their descendants would train their bodies for battle, breeding purposely for strength. This caused the tribes to shift again, segregating the weak from the warrior. These specialized groups focused on the creation of armor, weapons, and swift horses. They called themselves the Variags.
Author Note: I do not have exact dates for these events, but I am fond of the idea that Saruman visited Khand when he and the Blue Wizards traveled to Rhun, considering he returned alone. What if he was more corrupt upon entering Middle Earth than others realized?