45 – THE KHONDYË'S FIRSTBORN
"Tíniel Rómentári," Galadriel said, her voice falling like silver water. "Many strange things have come to pass since our paths last crossed."
"Uh," Tíniel said. "Yes, they have."
"How are you feeling?" Gandalf asked her. "How is your back?"
"Better every day now that I've been seeing the Healers," she said, glad for a topic of conversation that didn't include stating the obvious or talking about the destiny of the world. But her relief was short lived.
"We have come to speak with you of the prophecy, and of the fate of Middle-earth," Elrond said. Tíniel deflated a little.
"Is that really necessary?" she tried. "The prophecy has been fulfilled. It is behind me."
"That remains to be seen," Galadriel said, drifting eerily over to stand beside the pool.
"Why don't we think about this logically?" Gandalf said comfortingly.
"Logical thinking never was your strong suit, my friend," Akhund put in with a knowing smile.
Gandalf, with practised indifference, completely ignored him. "Give us the first line, Tíniel."
"Fleeing from hate and hiding from fear," she quoted reluctantly. "Do we really need to do this?"
"Well, you can hardly outrun us in your current condition, can you?" Akhund said. "Now, this line is simple enough: because of the prophecy, Tchakhura's father ordered her to be executed. She fled her own people's hatred and fear of betrayal and disloyalty."
"Despite her own innocence," Elrond mused. "A self-fulfilling prophecy is always the most interesting."
"Very well," Gandalf said. "The next line?"
"Betrayer of those who hold her most dear," she said with an exasperated sigh. "I can give you the meaning of this one: I only ever betrayed people who loved me. My tribe first, then Boromir, then Faramir." Even speaking of it made her breath shallower, and she pursed her lips.
"Good, good," Akhund said, not seeming to notice her reaction. "Next?"
"First for life."
"Again, simple," Elrond said. "The first instance was when you failed to kill yourself."
Gandalf winced. "How delicately put."
Tíniel shrugged. "Well, it's not pretty, but he's not wrong."
"Then it was next for gold," Akhund said. "What happened there?"
Tíniel swallowed and looked down, but Galadriel answered for her.
"When given the choice between saving the life of her friend and pursuing the One Ring, she chose the Ring," she said, still facing the unmoving water. "Thus, Boromir the Steward's son met his end."
Tíniel stared rigidly at the ground, her hands clenched into tight fists as the conversation continued around her.
"Gods carry him gently," Akhund murmured.
"Alright," Gandalf said. "Last to follow what heart has told. Can we explain that?"
"Easily," she said through gritted teeth, starting to hate the discussion. "I made two promises, and I couldn't keep both. So I followed my heart, did what I felt I had to do."
"In the Khandi language, heart and duty are the same word," Akhund explained.
"You went with your tribe instead of returning to Minas Tirith with Boromir's brother, as you had sworn you would," Galadriel murmured. Tíniel looked up, liking the Elf less and less.
"Yes."
"But she came back here eventually anyway," Akhund said, frowning. "Technically, she kept both promises in the end."
"I think it is more to do with what Tíniel intended," Elrond said.
She sighed. "He is right. I fully intended to return to Khand. I fully, knowingly chose to betray Faramir."
"Let's move on," Gandalf said.
"We come to the difficult part," Akhund said. "Light to be in a darkness unseen."
"This could have many meanings," Gandalf said. "Many times in your travels you have been a friend to those in dark times, Tíniel."
"Just as they have been friends to me," she said. "That is the nature of friendship. Why would the prophecy predict something like that?"
"I thought at first that it perhaps referred to the charge you led out of the city during the battle of the Pelennor Fields," Elrond mused. "The Witch-king brought terror and darkness down on the minds of men until Tíniel gave them something to follow – a light, so to speak."
"But, in the end, we settled on a better interpretation," Galadriel spoke up, turning at last. Everyone fell silent, and all eyes watched her unreadable face.
"If I have seen correctly," she said, "the prophecy refers not to how you guided your friends, or the soldiers of Minas Tirith, but rather one man."
"Aragorn," Akhund said. "It is Aragorn – of course it is him. I didn't understand what they were all going on about at first, but Gandalf soon made it clear to me."
"You know that Aragorn has long been a hope to others," Gandalf said, turning to look at her. "A hope to his mother Gilraen when he was born, a hope to his clan as he grew, and now the hope of all the Free People of the world. But when he grew weary, Tíniel, you became a hope for him. I saw it with my own eyes."
A silence stretched on for perhaps a minute as the Wise studied her. Tíniel held her chin high, trying not to shift uncomfortably. What in all of Middle-earth were they talking about?
"Well, she is certainly worthy," Elrond said at last. "I can think of none better suited."
"Indeed," Akhund said with a twinkle in his eye. "Now, where were we?"
"Part of two worlds, yet torn between," Tíniel said, eager to move on so that they would start speaking about something she understood. "Simple enough."
"You have two halves," Gandalf said, the lines around his eyes crinkling in a smile. "Two families, two homes, two hamarakhi. One is of Khand, and the other is of Gondor. And for all the time you have been here in the North, those halves have battled within you. Even now, you cannot reconcile them."
"Because there is no reconciliation," she said. "The worlds are too different, they cannot coexist. That is why I must choose one over the other."
"And you have chosen Khand," Akhund said, sounding almost sad.
"You delude yourself," Galadriel said, turning back to the pool and staring out over it. "Balance may be made between any things, no matter how strange."
"Fine," Tíniel said, her exasperation getting the better of her. "Fine. Whatever you say. Now let's just get this over with. The greatest will be, despite hatred and scorn, the lowest among you, the Khondyë's firstborn."
"And here we come to the crux of the matter," Gandalf said.
"Yes," Elrond agreed. "Here is why the prophecy was sent to us. Here is why it will touch the lives of every man and woman in the known lands."
"I think you are being rather dramatic," Tíniel said, trying not to sound cross. "I have already become the greatest among them. I became the Khondyë after my father died. End of story, prophecy fulfilled."
"Untrue!" Akhund stated crisply. "These two lines have not yet come to pass."
"The prophecy was spoken while your father was present," Gandalf said. "And he was chief. But you were to be the greatest, implying that whatever you are to become is greater than the mere Khondyë of your tribe."
Tíniel's mouth opened and shut a few times. "Mere Khondyë… Gandalf, I may not be one of the Wise. I may not know how to deconstruct the meaning of a prophecy, but I know that I can become no more than what I am. I am the uncontested leader of the biggest tribe of Khand. And Khand is not a kingdom. It is a collection of tribes with a few cities but no overarching authority. It is simply impossible for me to become more politically powerful than I already am."
Akhund turned a laugh into a cough, and Elrond looked at her thoughtfully. "Is it?"
There was another long silence, and Tíniel threw her hands up in frustration. "By the stars… I know you've all been trying to tell me something, but what is stopping you from just saying it?"
Gandalf and Akhund laughed heartily, and even Galadriel cracked a smile.
"Isn't she wonderful?" Akhund said, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. "Is she not perfect?"
"She will do well, if it is the path she chooses," Galadriel said.
"What?" Tíniel almost shouted. "What path? What choice?"
"What is your relation to Aragorn Elessar, child?" Galadriel asked. Tíniel blinked twice and then exhaled heavily.
"I suppose there is no point in sidestepping the issue with you," she said quietly.
"None at all," Akhund agreed cheerfully. "If it makes you feel better, we have already discussed it at length."
She frowned at him. "Well… alright. I am in love with him."
Gandalf's bushy eyebrows rose slightly. Elrond's lips twitched. Akhund went slightly misty eyed.
"And he?" Galadriel prompted.
"He feels the same way, so far as I can tell," she muttered, feeling herself flush.
"Well, that solves that then," Akhund said. "Get married and be done with it!"
She sighed, the frustration rising again. "We cannot wed, Akhund, any fool could see."
"And why so?" Elrond asked.
"Because he is to be king of Gondor and Arnor, the entire reunited kingdom of the West! And I am but a chief from the desert! Can you imagine what the people would think if he married a Khandi woman? They would riot. They would revolt! Not to mention that I have duties of my own. I cannot simply leave my tribe to fend for themselves. Marriage with Aragorn…" she shook her head. "No matter how lovely a fantasy, it is impossible."
"Oh dear," said Akhund. "Tchakhura, dear, you're being very obtuse."
"No, she isn't," Gandalf said. "She's being good and selfless and wrong."
"Just let me know when you're all going to stop speaking in riddles," she said crossly. "Then I will start listening!"
"Fair enough," Elrond said, a smile underlying his voice. "You are owed an explanation."
"Alright," Akhund said, as though he were explaining something to a child. "Think back to before the prophecy, before the War of the Ring began. What was your life like?"
"It was good," she said slowly. "It was familiar. Comfortable. Except for Gondor's attacks, it was –"
"Exactly!" Gandalf said cutting her off. "Gondor's attacks! Your people were ever at odds with Gondor, were they not?"
"We were," she said. "But they were the aggressors, not we."
"It wasn't – isn't – just your tribe," Akhund said. "Gondor has been at war, or at least volatile peace, with Harad for centuries. There has been campaign after campaign led against Umbar. Further North, the Easterlings fight the Northmen. It is embedded in the way of the world – East against West, South against North."
"Now think to the prophecy," Elrond urged her. "What did it achieve?"
"Well, it made me miserable," she said, but he shook his head.
"Think, Tíniel. What happened purely because of the prophecy? Not the betrayals, but the consequences thereof. What wouldn't have happened without it?"
"I wouldn't have come North," she said, wracking her brains. "I wouldn't have been on the Haedannen. I wouldn't have met Boromir or Faramir or made friends in Minas Tirith. I wouldn't have gone to your council, or met the Fellowship." She frowned. "The gods pushed me to meet Aragorn. They sent me doom dreams before I even met him, so we were drawn to each other…" she looked up sharply, realisation dawning on her face. "It's that, isn't it?"
Elrond smiled slightly, and she knew she was right.
"The Valar pushed you and Aragorn together," Akhund said. "And now think back to the events of this afternoon. You were in a council of Southern kings with whom you negotiated on behalf of the new king."
"But I did barely anything to help," she said.
"You were someone they could speak to easily," Akhund said earnestly. "You were someone who understood them and where they came from. You were someone on their side, someone who could help them navigate the unfamiliar waters of Northern diplomacy."
"You are the link between North and South," Gandalf said gently. "Part of two worlds yet torn between. This is your purpose, and the purpose of the prophecy."
The whole world seemed to be shifting around Tíniel. She stared at Gandalf, not sure if she was understanding.
"You're saying that the prophecy took me from my tribe and put me in the North so that I could become a tool for peacekeeping in the future?" she said.
"There are prettier ways to put it," Elrond said. "But… yes, in essence."
"Not only that," Gandalf said. "It threw you into the path of the man who would become the single most powerful person in all of Middle-earth. And then, rather wonderfully, you fell in love with him."
"No," she said. "This is ridiculous. I have a duty to my tribe, not to the relationships between Gondor and its enemies."
"Do you not see?" Galadriel said, turning back, a smile playing on her lips. "The betrayals happened for a purpose, Rómentári. They broke your loyalties to your tribe, and then your loyalties to Gondor, even those you had to your closest friends. Now, though you pretend otherwise, your loyalty is fixed to one thing."
"And what is that?" Tíniel asked, truly mystified.
"Mankind," Galadriel said simply. "You proved that by fighting in the War of the Ring. You could have taken your people home, but instead you did as no one else could: you fought for the survival not of one people, but of all mankind. You do not belong to Khand or Gondor anymore. You belong to the world of Men."
Tíniel sat back heavily, her eyes wide and her breath quickening. "What does this mean?" she said hoarsely. "What does this mean for me?"
"It means that everything you have experienced – the prophecy, the doom dreams, the betrayals – has been leading you to this point," Elrond said. "Here is your destiny. You need only fulfil it, and you will change the world."
"We are stepping into the age of Men," Galadriel said, a note of sadness touching her voice. "Now you must lay the foundations that will last thousands of years. We must prevent man turning on man, as has been the way in the past. You are the last piece that must fall into place, the one that will ensure that the Fourth Age of the world does not repeat the mistakes of the past."
"To put it plainly and without riddles," Gandalf said, leaning in, "here is what you must do. Marry the man you love. Become the queen not only of Khand, not only of the Reunited Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor, but of the New Kingdom, the North and South combined."
"The greatest will be, despite hatred and scorn," Akhund said, his face kind and fatherly,"the lowest among you, the Khondyë's firstborn."
Tíniel sat there, her mouth slightly open, for a full minute. The four of the Wise waited patiently for her to come to terms with what had been said, smiles on each of their faces.
"I – I – my bamyë," she stuttered, more bewildered than she had ever been. "I mean, my tribe, I... I cannot leave them!"
"Yes, you can," Akhund said. "Your brother Tcharum is more than capable, and he has led the Maruvikh well in your absence. He would make an excellent Khondyë."
She inclined her head absently, acknowledging the fact.
"Then I should…" she shook her head, unable to think straight. "I think – I don't – what if Aragorn doesn't want to marry me?"
"What?" said Gandalf. "Of course he does."
"I've been awful to him though," she said, panic creeping into her voice. "He has only ever been kind and patient, and I have been awful."
"Aragorn does not love insubstantially," Elrond said. "You may be easy on that front."
"Then this has been the purpose of everything, since the beginning?" she breathed. "Everything happened so that I – I could do this?"
"Since the beginning," Elrond agreed. "This is what we believe."
"Why do you think I gave you a second hamarakhi when you passed through my woods?" Galadriel asked. "I saw in my Mirror that you were the Rómentári. I do not give gifts idly."
"Then it has not been for nothing," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "It has not all been for nothing."
"No, it has not," Galadriel said, smiling gently. "As I said, there can be balance between all things. You have had your trials and your suffering. Now you can have your joy."
Tíniel looked back up, her thoughts crystallising with each breath she took. "You keep calling me that word," she said. "Rómentári. What does it mean?"
"The East-Queen," Elrond said. "It is that which you could become. Will you accept your destiny?"
A smile began small on Tíniel's face and grew steadily wider. Something joyous and hopeful and unencumbered bloomed in her chest.
"I think I need to go and talk to someone," she whispered.
I'm back and bigger than ever! Thanks a mill for all the love after the last chapter. We have reached CRUNCH TIME in the story; this chapter is perhaps the crux of the big story arc, and I spent a lot of time on it trying to make it right. I hope you loved it!
And considering the implications of what Tíniel has just been told, I think we can all take a guess at what's coming next chapter...
S