THE HALADIN

by Archaic Scribe

Chapter VIII
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Thin, blue-gray clouds moved across the sky as the Haladin completed their task and the temperature began to cool considerably, a great refreshment to the men and women who worked relentlessly on their tasks to fortify the stockade wall to the best of their ability. Small drops of rain began to plummet to the ground; the dry earth heartily soaking in the wetness that brought a healthy glow.

The rain was inspiring to the motley band of tribes who had bathed in the gentle waters of the Ascar before returning to camp as the sun began to set upon bluffs of grass that was beginning to brown for lack of moisture. Even as she took into account the lack of sunlight, it seemed to Haleth that the blades of grass were already beginning to turn back to their previously rich, dark greenish color.

As Haleth walked up the small embankment that reached the River Ascar, she began to slow her pace, taking in the fires that were lit with flames dancing towards the heavens as the steady rain continued to plunk delicately upon leaves and earth. The beauty before her was a pointed blessing and soothed the restless and weary feeling that had overcome her before her bath in the river. Still, a veil of uneasiness stirred around her, like an electromagnetic field of foreboding.

There were hurried embraces with loved ones and little talk as the crew set upon their meal, like greedy vultures diving into a last scrap of meat. As the people began to get their fill of food, someone had taken out crudely fashioned instruments and began to play the old songs, not lost, but long buried in the brief times of contented peace.

Although the thoughts of an impending Orc raid weighed heavily upon their minds, the time now was for festivity, to live as if this very day would be their last. They all knew some would die, but the realization that it would be someone dear to them was a buried thought, deeply hidden in the recesses of the mind and not worth acknowledgement at such a time as this.

The jovial songs rose loudly above the din of chattering and laughing men, women and children, as Haldad held up his hands and clapped loudly, beginning to dance a jig near the central bonfire, piled high with what wood remained after patching the hole in the corner of the wall and Gelion. Instantaneously, the folk around him joined in as he locked arms with the nearest women, an old farmwife whose dingy teeth shown prominatley in a huge grin near the flickering flames. Haldad laughed and swung her merrily around the circle that began to move around.

Haleth saw Haldar lift his son, Haldan high into the air, turning in small circles near the dancing as Jorhild looked on with an amused, but reserved grin playing on her features, the warmth that radiated in her eyes shown hotter than any flame from the fire before them. This genuine love that she witnessed emanating from the group was overpowering and Haleth suddenly felt as if tears would fill her eyes and roll down her freshly scrubbed cheeks at any moment. Then, shaking her head to dismiss the strong emotion, Haleth walked over to stand near Jorhild, between the fire pit and a large tent that had been erected behind her, now housing a majority of their food stores.

"He never was the best of dancers," Haleth commented casually, looking sidelong at her sister-in-law.

Jorhild released a hampered laugh, "And he still is not!"

Haleth joined in her laughter and after a long, but comfortable silence, spoke in as low a voice as she could muster that would be loud enough to be heard above the bedlam, but soft enough to discourage eager listeners to their private conversation.

"Has Haldar told you any thing of the Oath-swearing?"

To this Jorhild lifted her eyebrows in shock and looked anxiously around for eavesdroppers, "You speak of this so openly amongst people in public?"

Haleth shrugged, "Godi Haldad has said 'the insult to custom be done away with this day,' has he not?" As Jorhild opened her mouth to comment Haleth raised her hand in a gesture of silence, waving away her comment, "I did not mean it like all that - peace, my sister."

Jorhild, still nervous, but excited for the secretive news dropped her voice down an octave, "We have had little time to speak, as Haldan has been demanding every spare moment of his attentions, but pray, continue quickly before we are overheard."

The Jorhild's agitation was beginning influence on Haleth as she beckoned Jorhild to follow her through the deserted meadow were some of the tents had once stood. Both women distinctly realized the advantages and good fortune of their proximity to the city of Mulco, located so near their camp. Haleth had sent a resourceful group of trusted women to the city to bring supplies for new shelters to be built, and then transferred inside the fort when they moved. The women under Haleth's command had worked hard and fast, fabricating a large number of bigger tents that served their purposes for storage and common sleeping areas. Though many of the families had given up the privacy of their own quarters, they would not be left out to sleep under the rain, should it decide to pelt and drive down hard upon the land.

"Tunni set conditions before he agreed to swear the Oath to our father," Haleth began, looking indirectly, only moving her eyes to get a sidelong glance at Jorhild's reaction before she continued. "He demands to be in command of the Haladin if anything should happen to Haldad."

"That is an excessively high a price to afford such a barbarian," Jorhild commented with disdain chiming lucid in her rising voice. "Why should he dictate anything?"

Haleth knew Jorhild knew the answer to this and did not respond, awaiting Jorhild's self-contained calm that would come, which it always did, as the other women shook her head in agreement and said as if to herself, "Aye, it is his military might that we must have, but still, the cost is too great, in my own opinion."

Haleth did not agree or disagree, being torn between personal feeling and diplomacy, a trait her father exemplified to near perfection.

"Why do you not rage at this fool, Haleth," Jorhild said in a pliant, but insistent undertone, not pausing for an answer to her rhetorical question. "He was not far behind you earlier when we were amid the first to sup and I am witness something disturbing in your eyes and movements when he is near. Sister, should you not conceive in your most concealed and secret of hearts to draw out this venomous bane here and now and release this burden to one who would hold your secret beyond death?"

Shocked and completely surprised for a moment, Haleth did not reply and considered her response as she tried to determine if Jorhild spoke from sheer observation or from the gift of Sight, bestowed upon her and many others in her line by the Norns themselves.

If she already knew all, why did she ask, Haleth thought to herself, before closing off her most readable thought. Haleth sighed loudly, not wanting to taint her festive state-of-mind, but still yearning to share her long-buried trouble with another human being. What better living being than my sister, she thought with unanticipated amusement before her face became a thick disguise of shadow as she thoughtlessly quickened her pace.

Jorhild coordinated her long strides and then gently laid her hand upon Haleth's arm, saying, "You must stop running from this thing. Do not let hate and fury eat away the goodness of your core. Mother Freya will claim what revenge is due to her and exact what price she may. It is no choice meant for mortals."

As Jorhild drew up to a halt beside her, Haleth stopped and spoke dispassionately, "He would have claimed me for his own during the Spring Ritual in a frenzy of barbaric drunkenness. With not savior near the depths of the woods, I kicked his manhood and ran from the confrontation when what I should have done is stayed to finish him."

The ire that seethed, uncontrived and uninvited, into her last words surprised even her as Jorhild's gaze narrowed to smoldering eyes that could only be glimpsed through thin slits of luxurious eyelashes, had their been enough light given off by the fires that still smoked in the distance.

Haleth was suddenly afraid, but quickly surpressed it and continued, "You shall tell no one, especially Haldad, and your husband or I swear by Freya's wrath..."

"Shhh!" Jorhild replied covering her palm over Haleth's mouth, "Peace. Do not dare to speak such things, lest you have to uphold them!"

"No fear," Jorhild commanded gently, "I am sworn to hold your secret forever and the decision is yours to determine who to tell, but when this fight is over, why do you not seek the proper channels of law to see that Tunni is stripped of his power and command?"

"You know not what you ask of me, now that I have spoken this memory aloud, Jorhild," Haleth replied and then turned and stalked back towards the fires where Lord Tunni moved to stand in her path, surrounded by his private entourage of women and his guards hovering nearby.

Haleth rolled her eyes at him and turned to go back towards where she had left Jorhild, too angry and confused by bubbling emotions to speak, and certainly not expecting Lord Tunni to follow her.

His guards in tow and his women left behind to simper in jealous chatter, Lord Tunni followed her into the dark shadows as sheets of rain poured down suddenly from the sky.

"Wait!" he commanded in a voice, tinged with an inferred threat of danger.

Haleth reeled about to confront him, the dagger given to her from Beinir drawn and tightly gripped in her hand as she paced roughly toward him in a challenging frenzy of resentment. Lord Tunni only smiled at her with irritated tolerance as if indulging a child, and held up a hand for his guards to depart.

"We both know you will not shed my blood under such circumstances," he said evenly.

"Perhaps not this night," she said gravely.

To this, Tunni only replied with a rolling laugh, and after finally catching his breath, he nodded and threw up his hands in false surrender, "Well, peace, for now then. I have only pursued you to ask the pleasure of a dance."

"A dance," Haleth replied incredulously. "Surely you jest? This is assuredly not the only reason you nag my footsteps and tarry too close to my presence."

"No, I ask in all sincerity, my lady Haleth, that you do me this very great honor," he said, bowing cordially, unexpectedly sincere in his request.

Haleth shook her head violently in disbelief. "Cease this false charade," she said aloud.

"A dance," he replied happily, ignoring her anger and doing a little jig before standing quietly before her once again, awaiting her answer.

Haleth began to laugh with authenticate humor at his massive warrior form dancing with such merry, careless abandon.

"Will you not go back to your beer and wenches - and leave me to my own devices?" she said after her laughter subsided, sheathing her dagger and starting to walk past him.

He promptly seized her arm as she attempted to step past him as he spun her violently, pulling her against his expansive chest. "I do not jest and your devices should be well aimed at me," he said before loosening his hold at the sight of Jorhild coming hurriedly up the path and then added sarcastically, "My honorable lady."

He turned and departed, Jorhild catching and holding his gaze, daggers flying between the two as Jorhild stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the back of Tunni and his guard as they departed.

"Let this battle be quick so that he may suffer," she said, murmuring an invocation for a curse at the hands of Freya and before she and Haleth continued up the path.

Arriving at the large bonfire, Jorhild's anger brimmed and Haleth removed to speak with some of the women who had been instrumental in successfully completing the day's task of hard labor.

"Many do not know this, and believe it a secret long-buried, but after this day, none can now debate our existence. Our time is lost this night, but tomorrow, we must gather for intensive training if we are not called upon to lend assistance in any last fortifications to the structure before we move in tomorrow," Haleth announced to the small group who nodded vigorously and smiled with triumph at her promise of training.

"I have yearned long for the feel of my own cherished blade in my hands, where I do not have to use it for slaughtering animals or cutting thick ropes during chores on our homestead," one of the women nearby proclaimed as the rest nodded in encouraging agreement.

Haleth nodded and spoke before leaving the elite group of women who had been put under her direction, "That is good for we ought to be prepared to do what must be done by virtue of our might that may well be needed before all is done in this Orc-battle."

As Haleth moved from the group of women and approached her father, Haldad embraced her and swept her up into a fanciful dance, the music resonating across the large meadow and throughout the endless chatter of the tribe.

Haldad stopped and walked with his daughter to a quieter area and spoke, "Tonight, Haldar and I will attend a midnight meeting where I will officially announce your role in all this as the leader and commander of all the women and children."

Haleth looked at him and gave him a silent nod, as he chuckled before continuing, "Though formal, it is important to do so. There are great changes that will benefit all the clans and this is a good opportunity to begin to plant the seeds. Though we have known for many years that women are to be respected and treated as equals, there are many tribes who do not accept such. This is the beginning of a slow, but necessary change. Some of them do not realize what talent and benefits they loose when overlooking or silencing their women."

"I must do as you will," Haleth replied, now grinning as she added, "Chieftain Haldad."

He fixed her with a stern look of reprove and then smiled widely as they returned to the fire, where Jorhild continued to look on at her husband and son, still dancing around the flames.

Haleth shook her head, and grinned as she approached her brother, "Surely, Haldan, you can spare a dance for your dear, old aunt?"

Haleth crouched on her knees and rested on the flat of her feet near the ground, meeting the level eyes of Haldan, who teetered on his decision, looking from his father and back to Haleth.

Then, sensing the child mentally slipping away, leaned forward and whispered in his ear in a conspiring tone, "I have a sweet chuck of your favorite treat in my tunic pocket - and it can be yours, for the price of a dance. Do we have a deal, young Master Haldan?"

Greed overtook the child, who never really stood a chance against a trick involving his favorite candy, as Haldan bowed to his father and then beckoned him down to his level as he whispered loudly, "Forgive me father, but I must honor this old spinster with a dance."

Haleth furrowed her eyebrows at him and then laughed heartily as she stood and said into her brother's ear, "Your wife is over there."

Haldar briskly whispered his thanks as he hurriedly made his way towards his wife, Jorhild, who eagerly joined in the gala of festive dancing around the fire.

Soon, the middle of the night came upon them as many of the tribes women and children began to clean and make preparations to sleep, while some of the younger children had already fallen into a heavy slumber as the dancing began.

Many of the men departed and went to the meeting grounds, where Haldad and his top leaders discussed the details of their defense and moving the women and children into the fort the next morning so that they might settle in before the Orcs came upon them.

"We have lingered overlong, my lord," Mulco began as the men stood in a circle. "We should remove to the fortress, such as it is, without delay!"

Haldad thought decisively for a prolonged moment, Mulco's pleading eyes invisible in the gloom of night and the tempest of the storm that rumbled in the distance.

"I think you may be right in your deliberation," Haldad replied in conclusion, as the reverberation of thunder was heard overhead.

"Tonight!" Tunni yelled. "You mean to remove tonight, in this rain, in this darkness where one can barely see the hand outstretched in front of him?"

"You," Haldad said resolutely, ignoring Tunni and turning a man who stood near Haldar and himself, "Send a messenger to Lady Haleth to see to these arrangements; then you must return at your earliest convenience - something strange charges the air all around and I fear it may be that the enemy will be upon us soon."

A solitary bolt of lightning crashed across the darkened heavens and Tunni's bitter wrathful face shown in an evil masterpiece in contorted shadows.

"Before you all leave, there is something you must know and embrace," Haldad said bluntly. "The Lady Haleth is in charge of all the safety arrangements for the women, children and our provisions and her decisions are made with my blessing. After this night, she must be brought into our fold, custom or no, for we must all be informed of what is happening as it happens for she commands an elite group of women who have been trained in our tribes since the beginning of time. This we must do with acceptance and wisdom for future generations to follow."

"What say you, Godi Haldad? A women? We have no time to move our camp and now you say we are to make council with a woman - have you gone mad!" Tunni said loudly again with a harsher edge of contempt in his tone, moving towards Haldad as his guards stalked behind in his wake.

"Every warrior is on the brink of madness at times, my lord, Tunni and I fully agree," Haldad said haughtily, losing patience and ignoring his blunt insult as Lord Tunni addressed him simply as a godi, and not the supreme chieftain who now ruled all the people, "We have no time for such foolishness. We must move quickly - and now!"

The men stood looking at the two adversaries in shock, unable to digest the information that Haldad spoke while Tunni made his disruptive and edgy contention. They stood facing each other, nose to nose, the sight of their tempers raging to near one another, the other men grew extremely tense.

Haldad could feel Tunni's rank breath coming out in quick gasps towards his face as Haldar drew his sword, Tunni's guards mirroring his actions, and a whir of steel sounding in unison, instantaneously sliding from leather scabbards.

Haldad motioned for his son to sheath his weapon, "We have not time to spill blood among ourselves," as the sound of steel sliding out of leather scabbards resonated with a soft brush of friction.

"We do not have the luxury to spill blood among ourselves," yet Haldad added angrily in his mind, "It is the enemy we must band together against. You have been nothing but contention since this first began, and it is time you obeyed the sacred oath you swore upon the Oath-stone, Lord Tunni, or suffer the curses of one who would think themselves above the gods."

This was a heavy-handed speech Haldad gave, and he fully knew the weight of what he was doing, in public, in front of peers: An oath that could not be forsaken upon the pain of death and no hope for any future chance in reincarnation to right his wrongs or war and feast in the halls of Valhalla.

Tunni growled loudly, a sound the roared dangerously from the depths of his harmful, destructive soul, heedless to those around him, his face taut and grim, his fists clenched into tight balls.

As he opened his mouth to speak as a sudden crash of thunder pierced the dismal nighttime air around them. Haldar's eyes grew large as realization dawned upon him like a sharp slap across his face: The Orcs were nearer than any of them had realized, their shadows growing more visible at the edge of the trees, yards away from where they stood.

"Orcs!" Haldar hissed, glued to his spot as the whole group of men turned towards the trees behind them, spotting the shine of Orc armor through the curtains of rain as another bold of electric white lightning lit up the sky.

Tunni turned quickly to one of his guards, "Go!" He whispered with urgent abandon, but a powerful mastery of command, as his sentry scurried back to the camp to gather the rest of Lord Tunni's forces.

"They have not seen us yet, though I am assured they heard us," Haldad said, looking with pointed abhorrence and loathing at Lord Tunni. "Scatter to the edges: Tunni to the left and I will go with Mulco's men to the right. Our only hope is in a small ambush to divert them long enough for Haleth to get the people to safety."

Tunni nodded quickly in agreement, all thought of his battle with Haldad forgotten and his adrenaline beating fiercely against his flesh, his mouth watering in ravenous hunger for battle.

Author's Note:

This chapter was split. Originally, it was intended to be a part of the last chapter, "The Assemblage of the Haladin," but grew too long to be classified in such a way. Alas, because of situations like this, I am one chapter shy of being halfway done...again! This is the reason for the day difference in the postings of these two chapters as well as the slightly "shorter" length of this specific chapter. Can you believe my outline started out with 12 chapters and now sits at 17! Ugh! What a lesson for me.

Such is life. :-D

On a brighter note - the formatting for the chapter title information is absolutely and finally the way it is intended to be - YES! Glory be!

Again, thanks to those folks who are reviewing! I'm happy you are continuing to enjoy it.

Disclaimer:

Characters and situations of The Silmarillion (Second Edition) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien are the property of The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust and Christopher Reuel Tolkien.

Produced solely for the enjoyment of other fans and not for any monetary profit. Please do not sue me, as I have little money.