~*~Rana~*~
Sorry this took so long, but school has kept me busy and the detailed editing and cross-referencing this requires takes time. Happy Rudypie? :)
Chapter Three
A faint shadow moved through the sparse trees as Calenmir passed. Vorondil was back in Lorien. He may have been a "faithful friend" but he could not be as quiet as she could. Hunting orc required silence. After Sauron's defeat, orcs and other evil creatures still roamed, albeit with lesser numbers. The Úlairi* were disbanded and weakened without their captain and dark lord, but they were not all defeated yet. Six were still abroad. It would not be wise for a lone elf to draw too much attention to herself.
As Calenmir followed the orc trail, she thought back on her first day in Lorien, many years before. Her great-grandmother had explained things about her ring that her father and grandfather had never hinted at. "This ring is different than the others. It is not meant to work alone. The keepers of Aldya and Ardya are supposed to use the rings together." Galadriel explained, "Aldya holds the power of Yavanna and is to be worn by a female. Ardya is of Aule, and can only be wielded by a male."
"So I'm just supposed to run off and marry the elf who has Ardya?"
Galadriel laughed lightly, "No, you are simply called to serve along with him. It is not only your free spirit that drove you away from Imladris, but the ring wishing to be with it's partner. Your father did not want to imprison you, he simply didn't want to lose you to some dashing elf wearing a ring."
"Who is the bearer of Ardya?"
"You will know him when you see him," was the only reply.
Nine years later, just after turning 585, Calenmir still hadn't come across the bearer of Ardya. She loved her great-grandmother and Lorien, but she stayed often out in the wilds, hunting stray orc bands. To anyone she met along the way, she introduced herself as Rána, keeping her lineage secret. She wandered, not finding peace or contentment and she knew it was because of the ring. Aldya and Ardya needed to be reunited.
"Stupid yrch," she muttered, "never bothering to cover their tracks." A broad swath of damaged vegetation usually followed behind any good-sized orc band. The smell left behind was just as easy to follow. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. They weren't far ahead now.
Fangorn forest was growing closer, Calenmir had followed these orcs far. Orcs shunned Fangorn forest ever since the trees "awoke" and slaughtered many of them at the Battle of Helm's Deep. One could flee into the forest to escape if they were outnumbered. From the tracks, this band of orcs would be manageable. Calenmir preferred picking several off stealthily before engaging the rest. Face-to-face combat against a large group was not something she could do easily. She kept complaining quietly, "Dirty, nasty, ugly, rude, bumbling yrch. They should have all died out on their own years ago when Sauron couldn't take care of them." A snapping branch made her haul herself up a rowan tree as an orc stumbled past. She took careful aim and sent an arrow through its throat so that it made no sound. "One down, let's have a look at who's left." She nimbly climbed through the now thickening trees until she could just make out the rest of the orcs. There were eight, making a fire and preparing a meal that looked unfit for swine and smelled even worse. "Yrch." She said disgustedly, pronouncing the word as if she had eaten something spoiled. Calenmir again drew back an arrow and prepared to let it fly towards the apparent leader.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Legolas galloped along on his horse, Celebrindal*. Every few days he was sure to give his steed some exercise while checking on the outliers of his kingdom. Galador had never been invaded and orcs would avoid Fangorn, but he didn't want anything lurking around the borders. He had already sent archers to take care of a disturbance on the southern border. Now he rode north.
Legolas slowed Celebrindal to a trot and listened intently. The silence was broken by a hideous cry of an orc and the thumping of many feet. He spurred his horse on again with a cry of "Noro lim!" The noise of fighting was coming from far ahead, just outside the north-eastern border of the forest. When he drew near to the scuffle, a green cloaked figure rushed into the trees. Riding swiftly after the stranger was an Úlairi!
*Úlairi = Nazgûl (ringwraith) *Celebrindal = silverfoot
Sorry this took so long, but school has kept me busy and the detailed editing and cross-referencing this requires takes time. Happy Rudypie? :)
Chapter Three
A faint shadow moved through the sparse trees as Calenmir passed. Vorondil was back in Lorien. He may have been a "faithful friend" but he could not be as quiet as she could. Hunting orc required silence. After Sauron's defeat, orcs and other evil creatures still roamed, albeit with lesser numbers. The Úlairi* were disbanded and weakened without their captain and dark lord, but they were not all defeated yet. Six were still abroad. It would not be wise for a lone elf to draw too much attention to herself.
As Calenmir followed the orc trail, she thought back on her first day in Lorien, many years before. Her great-grandmother had explained things about her ring that her father and grandfather had never hinted at. "This ring is different than the others. It is not meant to work alone. The keepers of Aldya and Ardya are supposed to use the rings together." Galadriel explained, "Aldya holds the power of Yavanna and is to be worn by a female. Ardya is of Aule, and can only be wielded by a male."
"So I'm just supposed to run off and marry the elf who has Ardya?"
Galadriel laughed lightly, "No, you are simply called to serve along with him. It is not only your free spirit that drove you away from Imladris, but the ring wishing to be with it's partner. Your father did not want to imprison you, he simply didn't want to lose you to some dashing elf wearing a ring."
"Who is the bearer of Ardya?"
"You will know him when you see him," was the only reply.
Nine years later, just after turning 585, Calenmir still hadn't come across the bearer of Ardya. She loved her great-grandmother and Lorien, but she stayed often out in the wilds, hunting stray orc bands. To anyone she met along the way, she introduced herself as Rána, keeping her lineage secret. She wandered, not finding peace or contentment and she knew it was because of the ring. Aldya and Ardya needed to be reunited.
"Stupid yrch," she muttered, "never bothering to cover their tracks." A broad swath of damaged vegetation usually followed behind any good-sized orc band. The smell left behind was just as easy to follow. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. They weren't far ahead now.
Fangorn forest was growing closer, Calenmir had followed these orcs far. Orcs shunned Fangorn forest ever since the trees "awoke" and slaughtered many of them at the Battle of Helm's Deep. One could flee into the forest to escape if they were outnumbered. From the tracks, this band of orcs would be manageable. Calenmir preferred picking several off stealthily before engaging the rest. Face-to-face combat against a large group was not something she could do easily. She kept complaining quietly, "Dirty, nasty, ugly, rude, bumbling yrch. They should have all died out on their own years ago when Sauron couldn't take care of them." A snapping branch made her haul herself up a rowan tree as an orc stumbled past. She took careful aim and sent an arrow through its throat so that it made no sound. "One down, let's have a look at who's left." She nimbly climbed through the now thickening trees until she could just make out the rest of the orcs. There were eight, making a fire and preparing a meal that looked unfit for swine and smelled even worse. "Yrch." She said disgustedly, pronouncing the word as if she had eaten something spoiled. Calenmir again drew back an arrow and prepared to let it fly towards the apparent leader.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Legolas galloped along on his horse, Celebrindal*. Every few days he was sure to give his steed some exercise while checking on the outliers of his kingdom. Galador had never been invaded and orcs would avoid Fangorn, but he didn't want anything lurking around the borders. He had already sent archers to take care of a disturbance on the southern border. Now he rode north.
Legolas slowed Celebrindal to a trot and listened intently. The silence was broken by a hideous cry of an orc and the thumping of many feet. He spurred his horse on again with a cry of "Noro lim!" The noise of fighting was coming from far ahead, just outside the north-eastern border of the forest. When he drew near to the scuffle, a green cloaked figure rushed into the trees. Riding swiftly after the stranger was an Úlairi!
*Úlairi = Nazgûl (ringwraith) *Celebrindal = silverfoot