Sîdh, gwanur-nín - Peace my brother
Chapter 25
Peace
After she had slit the throat of the final Orc and had kicked his body to the side, she had gone from body to body, making sure that all were dead. She didn't like surprises and especially if the one sneaking up on her was someone she thought she had killed.
After she was finally satisfied that all the Orcs were dead she rushed to where Aragorn lay. She couldn't begin to count all the wounds that covered the part of the man's body that was visible to her. Cautiously and gently, she place three fingers on the side of his throat to feel for a pulse but before she could find one, he flinched away from her hand with a pitiful, weak and almost soundless moan. Her heart was breaking for him as she tried to sooth him, to still his weak attempts to move away from her.
"Sîdh gwanur - nín. Hush now. I promise you, brother, that nobody is going to hurt you any more."
Her voice broke from the intense emotions she was feeling but after several moment of speaking soft, elvish words into his ear, was finally able to break through the man's pain and he finally stilled. Taking a knife from her boot, she cut the ropes that bound his hands and legs to the wooden pegs then carefully examined his entire body to see what injuries he had. His entire rib cage was dark blue from bruising and she could still see marks left here and there by the Orc boots that had kicked him. As gently as she could, she pressed her fingers along the entire length of each rib. When the rib she was examining would sink beneath her gentle probing, she knew it was broken. She found three this way as well as several suspicious soft spots on the left side.
She then began to examine the wounds left by the rats as well as the knife wound beneath the collar bone. The rodents hadn't just bitten the man's flesh, they had bitten and torn, leaving behind flaps of skin that exposed the bleeding flesh beneath. The knife wound below the collar bone on the left side of her brother's chest was ragged and angry looking with traces of a black substance around the edge which indicated the knife used to inflict the wound had been poisoned.
Anayah thought she had been prepared for everything until she carefully rolled Aragorn onto his right side and had seen the damage done to his back. His entire back, from neck to waist looked mangled and was covered with blood and the filth of the cave floor. Rolling him back onto his back, she felt his head carefully and other than the opened cut above his left temple and the rather large lump on the back of his head, there seemed to be no other injury. She did not care for the way his eyes were dilated, but, she told herself, at least the dilation was equal which meant that there was more than likely no skull fracture.
Finally she sat back, rubbing a hand across her own aching forehead. After watching her brother for a few more moments, she lowered her head until her forehead rested on her knees and then she cried for the broken man laying before her; she cried because she felt she had failed him; and she cried at the uselessness of it all.
Finally, feeling relieved and more in control of herself, she wiped her eyes then set about doing what she knew had to be done. Taking off her cloak, she placed it over Aragorn's unconscious body then got to work.
Using a long piece of rope, one end tied to the saddle horn, and the other end tied to three Orc bodies, she had Elias pull the bodies out and away from the cave. After they were some distance away, she removed the rope then went back for more bodies. It was not long before the cave was empty of the dead. Her next task was to go in search of firewood and fresh water both of which she found not too far away.
Once back inside the cave, she unsaddled Elias then, gathering her supply of bandages and herbs and walking back to the fire, she began the long process of treating her brothers wounds. Rolling the unconscious man carefully onto his stomach, she bathed his back with fresh water containing several different types of herbs that she had let steep for a few minutes. The herbs would disinfect as well as counter the poison that had been on the whip the Orcs had used to inflict the damage. Where the flesh had been torn too deeply, she used soft elvish thread to join the edges of each tear together, large or small, knowing that the finer the stitching and closer the edges of each wound were sewn together, the less chance there was of further infection.
Having finished taking care of his back, she gently rolled her brother onto his back on top of the clean blanket she had lain him on when she had moved him closer to the fire. He started to moan and move about, indicating he was returning to consciousness. She knew that if he were allowed to wake he would not only feel the pain of his wounds but also the pain from her care of them. So, gently raising his head, she fed him the tea she had prepared some time before. He drank it thirstily and as she gently stroked his hair, he relaxed. Checking his eyes to make sure he was indeed unconscious, Anayah returned to the task at hand.
By the time the wounds on the front of the man's body had been cleaned and sewn, the numbing salve had been placed on his back and both his back and ribs had been bandaged, she was exhausted. Sitting back and taking a deep breath Anayah noticed that the sun had begun to rise. The whole night was gone having been spent caring for her wounded brother.
She stepped outside the cave and, as had been her way for many years, offered a prayer of thanks to Illuvatar for allowing her to see another sunrise. She hung her head for a moment, feeling unworthy of this gift for there was a blackness in her heart where anger lived, the anger she felt towards the Orcs for what they had done to her brother. The feeling was something she would have to do some serious thinking on. Now, however, was not the time.
Her original plan had been to find and free Aragorn then look for Legolas, but considering her brother's condition she would have to get him back to Rivendell before she could carry out the rest of her plan. When Anayah looked at the sky she saw that the heavens threatened another storm although her instincts told her the threat was not imminent. She would wait as long as she could, letting her brother get a little stronger, before she began the journey home.
Through the day and early evening, she watched her brother, applying more of the numbing salve to his wounds then helping him drink the pain- relieving and sleep-inducing tea as they were needed. When even this no longer seemed to calm him and he sank deeper and deeper into a fevered delirium, she gathered him in her arms and rocked him gently, speaking gentle elvish words.
Finally, when nothing else seemed to work, she began to sing, her gentle, clear voice filling the cave with the words of her favorite song.
A Elbereth Gilthoniel
silivren penna míriel
o menel aglar elenath!
Na-chaered palan-díriel
o galadhremmin ennorath
Fanuilos le linnathon
nef aear, si nef aeron!
Whether it was the beauty of the song, the sound of her voice, the love and strength she had tried to pass on to her suffering brother or a combination of everything, it was hard to say. But when next she looked down at the man she has been rocking and trying to sooth, she saw his grey eyes looking back at her.
* * * * * *
The moment of awareness had been brief and it was not long before his eyes closed once more. She knew he was steadily growing weaker and that she could no longer wait for him to gain strength before they started the journey home. She saddled her horse and loaded her weapons then medicated and rebandaged her brother's wounds one last time, trying to pad his back to lessen the pain he would experience on their journey. After again getting him to drink some of the tea she had made and placing the rest in her water skin, she finally called Elias to her and had him lay down. With difficulty, made more so by her size, she finally got her brother onto the horse's back. After Elias had stood back up she led him outside the cave. Then with nothing else to be done, she mounted then turned and headed north to Rivendell.
TBC
Chapter 25
Peace
After she had slit the throat of the final Orc and had kicked his body to the side, she had gone from body to body, making sure that all were dead. She didn't like surprises and especially if the one sneaking up on her was someone she thought she had killed.
After she was finally satisfied that all the Orcs were dead she rushed to where Aragorn lay. She couldn't begin to count all the wounds that covered the part of the man's body that was visible to her. Cautiously and gently, she place three fingers on the side of his throat to feel for a pulse but before she could find one, he flinched away from her hand with a pitiful, weak and almost soundless moan. Her heart was breaking for him as she tried to sooth him, to still his weak attempts to move away from her.
"Sîdh gwanur - nín. Hush now. I promise you, brother, that nobody is going to hurt you any more."
Her voice broke from the intense emotions she was feeling but after several moment of speaking soft, elvish words into his ear, was finally able to break through the man's pain and he finally stilled. Taking a knife from her boot, she cut the ropes that bound his hands and legs to the wooden pegs then carefully examined his entire body to see what injuries he had. His entire rib cage was dark blue from bruising and she could still see marks left here and there by the Orc boots that had kicked him. As gently as she could, she pressed her fingers along the entire length of each rib. When the rib she was examining would sink beneath her gentle probing, she knew it was broken. She found three this way as well as several suspicious soft spots on the left side.
She then began to examine the wounds left by the rats as well as the knife wound beneath the collar bone. The rodents hadn't just bitten the man's flesh, they had bitten and torn, leaving behind flaps of skin that exposed the bleeding flesh beneath. The knife wound below the collar bone on the left side of her brother's chest was ragged and angry looking with traces of a black substance around the edge which indicated the knife used to inflict the wound had been poisoned.
Anayah thought she had been prepared for everything until she carefully rolled Aragorn onto his right side and had seen the damage done to his back. His entire back, from neck to waist looked mangled and was covered with blood and the filth of the cave floor. Rolling him back onto his back, she felt his head carefully and other than the opened cut above his left temple and the rather large lump on the back of his head, there seemed to be no other injury. She did not care for the way his eyes were dilated, but, she told herself, at least the dilation was equal which meant that there was more than likely no skull fracture.
Finally she sat back, rubbing a hand across her own aching forehead. After watching her brother for a few more moments, she lowered her head until her forehead rested on her knees and then she cried for the broken man laying before her; she cried because she felt she had failed him; and she cried at the uselessness of it all.
Finally, feeling relieved and more in control of herself, she wiped her eyes then set about doing what she knew had to be done. Taking off her cloak, she placed it over Aragorn's unconscious body then got to work.
Using a long piece of rope, one end tied to the saddle horn, and the other end tied to three Orc bodies, she had Elias pull the bodies out and away from the cave. After they were some distance away, she removed the rope then went back for more bodies. It was not long before the cave was empty of the dead. Her next task was to go in search of firewood and fresh water both of which she found not too far away.
Once back inside the cave, she unsaddled Elias then, gathering her supply of bandages and herbs and walking back to the fire, she began the long process of treating her brothers wounds. Rolling the unconscious man carefully onto his stomach, she bathed his back with fresh water containing several different types of herbs that she had let steep for a few minutes. The herbs would disinfect as well as counter the poison that had been on the whip the Orcs had used to inflict the damage. Where the flesh had been torn too deeply, she used soft elvish thread to join the edges of each tear together, large or small, knowing that the finer the stitching and closer the edges of each wound were sewn together, the less chance there was of further infection.
Having finished taking care of his back, she gently rolled her brother onto his back on top of the clean blanket she had lain him on when she had moved him closer to the fire. He started to moan and move about, indicating he was returning to consciousness. She knew that if he were allowed to wake he would not only feel the pain of his wounds but also the pain from her care of them. So, gently raising his head, she fed him the tea she had prepared some time before. He drank it thirstily and as she gently stroked his hair, he relaxed. Checking his eyes to make sure he was indeed unconscious, Anayah returned to the task at hand.
By the time the wounds on the front of the man's body had been cleaned and sewn, the numbing salve had been placed on his back and both his back and ribs had been bandaged, she was exhausted. Sitting back and taking a deep breath Anayah noticed that the sun had begun to rise. The whole night was gone having been spent caring for her wounded brother.
She stepped outside the cave and, as had been her way for many years, offered a prayer of thanks to Illuvatar for allowing her to see another sunrise. She hung her head for a moment, feeling unworthy of this gift for there was a blackness in her heart where anger lived, the anger she felt towards the Orcs for what they had done to her brother. The feeling was something she would have to do some serious thinking on. Now, however, was not the time.
Her original plan had been to find and free Aragorn then look for Legolas, but considering her brother's condition she would have to get him back to Rivendell before she could carry out the rest of her plan. When Anayah looked at the sky she saw that the heavens threatened another storm although her instincts told her the threat was not imminent. She would wait as long as she could, letting her brother get a little stronger, before she began the journey home.
Through the day and early evening, she watched her brother, applying more of the numbing salve to his wounds then helping him drink the pain- relieving and sleep-inducing tea as they were needed. When even this no longer seemed to calm him and he sank deeper and deeper into a fevered delirium, she gathered him in her arms and rocked him gently, speaking gentle elvish words.
Finally, when nothing else seemed to work, she began to sing, her gentle, clear voice filling the cave with the words of her favorite song.
A Elbereth Gilthoniel
silivren penna míriel
o menel aglar elenath!
Na-chaered palan-díriel
o galadhremmin ennorath
Fanuilos le linnathon
nef aear, si nef aeron!
Whether it was the beauty of the song, the sound of her voice, the love and strength she had tried to pass on to her suffering brother or a combination of everything, it was hard to say. But when next she looked down at the man she has been rocking and trying to sooth, she saw his grey eyes looking back at her.
* * * * * *
The moment of awareness had been brief and it was not long before his eyes closed once more. She knew he was steadily growing weaker and that she could no longer wait for him to gain strength before they started the journey home. She saddled her horse and loaded her weapons then medicated and rebandaged her brother's wounds one last time, trying to pad his back to lessen the pain he would experience on their journey. After again getting him to drink some of the tea she had made and placing the rest in her water skin, she finally called Elias to her and had him lay down. With difficulty, made more so by her size, she finally got her brother onto the horse's back. After Elias had stood back up she led him outside the cave. Then with nothing else to be done, she mounted then turned and headed north to Rivendell.
TBC