Silent Ones : The Khazâds Tales
Nori's Tale
Disclamer: I don't own anything but the theme behind the idea and I'm making no profit off this, duh.
Notes:
Happens after the fall of Erebor
The hobbits are not considered a Great race of Middle Earth. Since most people have never heard of or seen a hobbit before, they are an unknown sub-species; a bit like Beron the Skin Changer. Once great but now virtually unknown.
Nori never told anyone about the first time he met his Ze. The person had done everything right and wrong to catch his attention, and wounded his professional pride as a crafter of his caliber, in his chosen trade no less. He had, quite literally, chased his Ze through the back alleys of Minas Tirith, one of the greatest cities of Men, and the Gondor seat of power.
The cloaked being had neatly hoodwinked him while exiting a tavern Nori had been entering. Leaving him floundering with the server, Nori was penniless as he waited for his contact to arrive with a job offer. Temper irked at whoever had quick-fingered him un-noticed, he reached an angry boiling point when his target (and that days pay purse) was literally taken from his tender mercy by a slip of a figure, the size of a stripling. Oh no, one did not steal his things and take his targets without consequences. As some would say, the Chase was on.
What followed was a chase he could never have imagined, and to this day, left him in awe to have even encountered such a being. From the rafters of the Gondorian throne room where his target had been killed, the nimble figure had fled on swift feet. Bounding over rooftops and alleyways, the assassin moved like a rabbit, making leaps three times a man's height and distances of entire market squares unseen in the mountains shadows. The figure moved with a grace and ease Nori had never seen in the Four Great Races of Middle Earth, not even in the ageless tree-huggers.
Twice, Nori had caught the creature or fumbled it's footing, and every scuffle resulted in Nori losing something in his possession, much to his embarrassment. He even lost the pursuit once due to shear exhaustion; Khazâds were not long-term sprinters, thank you very much. No matter how lean and nimble a dwarf Nori was. Yet, the figure had merely looped back and dilly-dallied on the terrace above him, cheekily taunting him as Nori sprawled on a random Gondorian rooftop, huffing and puffing to catch a second wind. Really, did the tunzâl have an endless supply of energy?
The single heart stopping moment, when he realized the being was his Umùradel, was when Nori had finally herded and cornered the little thing onto the promontory of the Minas Tirith courtyard. The same one, years later, that Denethor II, last Steward of Gondor, would run off of while on fire. Of all the things he expected the smaller being to do: dodge or duck around him, tackle him, magically anchor a rope and rappel down the side, what happened was the least expected thing to do it. Turning to give Nori a cheeky wave goodbye after kissing two fingers to their own lips his Ze had literally jumped over the edge.
Swearing so bad Dwalin would have blushed purple, and cursing about suicidal mysteries, he watched the end of his Kurdel ra Umùradel. Only, to his flabbergasted eyes, the being bounded like a cat at the end of the very sickening distance, and gave a blearily seen bow to Nori. It was a very numb and limp Khazâd that watch his Kurdel meet up with two other cloaked beings the same size as his Ze and melt into the city populace.
It was not until Dori's questioning remark about his Intended Braid upon returning home that he realized his Ze's courting bead was gone from its braid. All the things that his Ze had lifted from him in Minas Tirith had returned and the job payment his Ze had snatched from Nori, which started the chase he'd never forget was sitting right on top of his travel pack. When his Kurdel had the time to return the items without him noticing, Nori will never know.
Aulë have mercy on his soul, because he didn't think he could match whoever his One was or whatever race they came from. That's if he ever saw them again. It was a year later that he found, in his hair, a strange bead made of swirling colored glass, glinting and dazzling in the light. It had miniature flowers surrounding a pair of crossed swords with the Westron letters "Tûk" suspended in the middle.
Notes:
Langauge Tips:
Ze = One
Khazâd = Dwarf
tunzâl = Annoyer
Kurdel = Heart of Hearts
Umùradel = Soul of Soul
ra = and
Stripling is Tolkien's word for a younger dwarf or dwarf child.
So, Yes, Nori's One is a hobbit. It's set up so it could be any hobbit; male/female, Bilbo or some OC. I also decided to add another air of mystery by using the "old" version of Took. I might do an actual storyline later on if there's enough demands. The main story "Silent Ones" is going to be an AU anyway.
Ori is going to be the last Encounter since he's the scribe, collector of information and observations. He'll have things like historical Myths and abilities of the hobbits that the others have met. Right or wrong it will be what the Khazâds think about their Ze.
The Intended's Braid is a basic braid that I'm having the dwarfs wear to keep their One's courting bead until they can be exchanged with their One to start courting. The Intended Braid is then turned into a Courting Braid.
I love comments, please give your opinions! Is there anything to fix, add, or elaborate on?