The reclaiming of Erebor and the battle of five armies is generations in the past. Now a story told to younglings by men and dwarrow alike. Though, I have heard many telling's of the same story, I was unnerved upon hearing the race of man's telling of the adventures of Thorin and company.
You see, the race of men have left out a very important person. Well, she's important to me at least, and to most lady dwarrow as well. Saari, daughter of Sain, my great grandmother is who I am referring to. Where the dwarves of Erebor and beyond cling to her bit in the reclaiming of their home, the race of men have overlooked her importance. Something my great grandfather would no doubt be furious about. For not only did he love her fierceness in battle and her loyalty, the story of Thorin and company was, to him, a recounting of how he met and fell for the love of his long life.
But I get ahead of myself.
The race of man puts the safety of their daughters before the will of their daughters. None liked to see their daughters clad in armor and ready for battle, most preferred to see their daughters as mothers of other 'feminine' ways. Dwarrow women are encouraged to find their craft, even if being a warrior is what they wish. An easier accomplishment now after the battle for Erebor and the defeat of Sauron and his armies; for now, female dwarrow are largely more populated than ever before and male dwarrow felt no need to keep their females as fiercely guarded.
Now, I know most of you have no idea who Saari is or was, or her part in Thorin's company, most of you are of the race of man I'd wager. So I'll tell the story as it has been told to me by my grandfather and grandmother.
My great grandmother was a warrior, a fierce protector of Erebor and the royal family; captain of the guard, a feat almost unheard of back in her time.
See, her father died when she was young, leaving her his mace and shield with the hope that one of his children would become a warrior like him. Saari's younger brother held almost no will for battle or anything of the sort; he was a scribe, an educated, sheltered young dwarf. Saari's desire to protect and provide for her family caused her to train as much as she could with her shield and mace with anyone willing to help a female dwarrow. She did train with some unsavory folk, if I remember correctly, but in the end, her prowess and mastery of her practice led her to become a member of Erebor's guard where she slowly climbed rank. Her position allowed her mother and brother to live a comfortable life in Erebor and Saari provided all the funds her brother needed to study and scribe.
Altogether, Saari and her family were a bit queer in that way. Most families had men, fathers and sons, to provide for them. Saari always did break the norm. But Thrain, son of Thror, took an interest in her skills after she had been given command of a small troop. She kept her men in high spirits, and kept them sharp and ready for anything.
One day, her troop was needed to protect the outer city from a clan of bandits. She fought fiercely, even bringing a battered and beaten troop that had lost their leader under her charge and together, the bandits were chased from the gates of Erebor and even out of Dale.
Thror saw great potential in her and after months of infighting and arguing over having a woman in such a high position, she was promoted to captain of the guard. Where she became close to none other than Balin and Dwalin, close friends of the royal family. She also became close to Thorin, all three you may already know of. She was only a few years older than Thorin, one of the reasons why so many protested her promotion.
Things in Erebor stayed the same for a few months after that. Saari would spar with Dwalin whenever she had the chance, usually replacing him with another member of the guard when he was unavailable. Balin taught her the inner mechanics of politics and how things ran in royal biddings. She stayed close to her family, even if her position rarely gave her the free time to do so.
She was having a sparring match with Dwalin when they heard the first rumblings of Smaug the Great in flight. She had just successfully blocked a powerful swing from Dwalin with her shield and as she pushed the larger dwarrow back she heard the sound.
Everyone froze. Shouts of "Dragon!" filled the air and immediately Saari and Dwalin jumped into action and ran for the royal family.
"Guard the gates! Prepare the water! Protect the city!" Saari yelled to her men as she rushed past them with Dwalin. Her thoughts went to her family for a moment, scared for them but her duties were to the city. She had to hope that they would be safe inside city's walls.
Most of you know how Smaug destroyed Erebor and Dale and chased away the survivors form both cities. Saari had but a moment to collect her family and head towards safety, but Smaug had already breached the inner city, torching all he passed. When Saari reached her home she felt her throat close up at the sight of singed walls. She peered inside and was greeted by the still smoking corpses of her mother and brother. She let out a loud sob and went for them but a firm hand held her back.
"I'm sorry, lass, but you cannot go to them. They are still scorching hot." Balin grieved with Saari at a safe distance. She knew he was right. They would crumble at her touch and their scorching remains would likely kill her as well.
Saari straightened and turned to face Balin. "We must leave, before Smaug returns from Dale. There is no saving Erebor." Her words were grim, but true and Balin followed her towards where Dwalin and the royal family were evacuating.
Saari couldn't tell if the heat was causing sweat to drip into her eyes or if she was crying, but she moved forward nevertheless. Not eager to leave her home and family in ruins but knowing she had no other choice. When they reached Dwalin and the others Balin shot his brother a grim look and shook his head.
"I'm sorry lass." Saari looked to Dwalin and gripped his hand on her shoulder in her own
"As am I, dear friend."
They had all lost more than anyone would ever know.
So, this is story's going to be long and centered around Saari for the most part. I'll probably come back around and edit this chapter if it continues to bother me. I've had this idea in my head for a long time now, ever since the Hobbit came out on dvd, and have finally fleshed things out. Things may go different from the book/movies depending on how I feel Saari would fit into the story. But, the first part of this story is going to try and stay close to the movie, where the middle and end of this story will be pretty close to the book.
I mainly wanted to get this out there to see who all would be interested in reading it. Also, I purposefully did not add Saari's physical appearance. I usually don't physically describe my family members if I'm telling a story about them so I thought that it would be odd to do so in this chapter. The next chapter will be written more like a story than like a retelling like this chapter so don't expect Saari's great granddaughter to narrate the story.