The Hollow Men
By
Jeslyn NighthawkA/N: I am sooooo sorry it took me so long to update. My excuses: writer's block and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It has been all I could think about since about one week before its release. This hopefully marks the official end of my bout of writer's block, though I make no promises. Anyway thanks for your support; I hope I continue to deserve it.
Review Responses:
Seishi, Ilona: I love you guys. I really hope that I don't disappoint you. Be sure to let me know if I do- I promise to try and fix it if I do.
Agarwaen: Wow, thanks.
Kelana: Um… How to answer questions without giving anything away… First, Mat is suspicious because that is his nature and the events of Bell Tine and those following have only caused this trait to become more apparent. The other villagers have not treated them well since that night. Rand knows he can channel because he channeled in a rather dramatic way on that night, though the only witnesses were Lan, Moiraine, and Tam. I will probably get more into it later. As for Perrin being connected to the wolves, If you remember, the bond started budding early in the first book. Later they encounter another man who has gone mad because of a similar bond. This led me to believe that such a bond was inevitable, and inescapable. What is happening at this point is merely the beginnings of that bond, and not a full blown connection- I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear enough. Thank you for the feedback; it helped me find the wholes.
Smack: Thanks for both reviews. As for why they are going into the Mountains…They are going for several reasons. First they are following the wolves, second they are being driven by the common dream, and third this is likely the last chance they will have to explore this together as Mat will soon be leaving.
Disclaimer: Neither the books nor the poem belong to me
Chapter 5
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
The news that Mat would soon be leaving should have hit Perrin and I harder than it did, but in the wake of that dream, we had no choice but to let it lie.
The dream and the Old Blood singing in our veins, we traveled relentlessly towards the Mountains of Mist. It drove us, and I cannot say we did anything to resist it. It became apparent as we continued that the wolves were also headed into the Mountains. We were gaining on them, but slowly, and there was a good chance we would lose them once we entered the Mountains.
Silence reigned. For nearly two days we said nothing; Mat became more withdrawn, and as we neared the wolves, Perrin was growing more and more agitated. Often, at night he would stare into the direction of the Mountains. Just before he would look away, the howling would start. It was a haunting sound in the quiet of the night-it was the only sound. Other than the howling of the wolves, there was nothing, and that worried us, although we said nothing about it.
The third day dawned and we found ourselves, while not at the base of the Mountains, well within their Mists. The grayness swirled around us in a formless whirling dance. By noon we were clearly approaching the base of the Mountains; the terrain was becoming steadily more rugged and steep. The Mists too, were becoming thicker until we cold barely see each other despite only being a few feet apart. Stranger still the wolves were howling constantly, and seemed to be on all sides. The distance between them and us varied, but always they were within earshot. It seemed sometimes that they were herding us.
Perrin was becoming increasingly agitated the longer the howling continued and Mat- Mat was just plain jumpy. He started at the slightest movement, and his dagger was never far from his hand. I cannot say that I was not nervous- I was terrified. But I was also firm in my belief in my ability to defend myself. My sanity would be in danger, but not my life.
At sundown, the howling abruptly ceased. In the light of the dying sun, the mist around us began to take form. Soldiers in antique armor formed ranks beside and behind us, all staring as we were into the immense pass that had suddenly appeared before us leading into the depths of the Mountains. On either side of us the great faces of the Mountains loomed. Beyond this pass Manetheren beckoned. Suddenly, the singing in our blood increased ten-fold and we were drawn forward as one. The shadowy warriors simply continued staring until as one they turned and face outward, to all appearances seeming to be guarding our backs and the pass at which they had likely died. I hope that I only imagined the looks of pity on their featureless faces before they turned away.
We started up the pass.
TBC
A/N: Was this really confusing? Bad? I'm really sorry. I have rather horrid writers block and needed to get something out before I was lynched. I hope it wasn't too bad and I promise to do better next time. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated. In fact once again I am going to beg for reviews. Thanks for reading.
Ja ne.
Jeslyn.