- Late autumn SR 2956(1) -
As Gandalf and Estel made their way to Rivendell, Gandalf regaled Estel with stories of his recent journey in the South.
"The grass of Rohan swells like a green sea up to the very foot of the Emyn Muil. Here the air is softer and warmer, and faintly scented, as if spring was already stirring and the sap was flowing again in herb and leaf. The dwellings of the Rohirrim were for the most part to the South, under the wooded eaves of the White Mountains; yet the Horse-lords had kept many herds and studs in the easterly region of their realm, and there the herdsmen had wandered much, living in camp and tent, even in winter-time. Yellow is their hair, and bright are their spears. They are proud and wilful, but they are true-hearted, generous in thought and deed; bold but not cruel; wise but unlearned, writing no books but singing many songs(2)," said Gandalf.
"Their horses were of great stature, strong and clean-limbed; their grey coats glistened, their long tails flowed in the wind, their manes were braided on their proud necks. In Rohan also, is found the horses that understood speech of men and as long lived as Men. These are the Mearas, who would bear no one but the King of the Mark or his sons."
"I've heard tales that Oromë must have brought the Mearas from West over Sea(3)." Estel wondered, a little awed. "Tell me about the King of the Mark who rides these steeds."
Many more tales did Gandalf tell; tales of mountain folk of Dunland, the great Dunedain of Gondor in their stone cities and the tribes of the desert folk of Harad. He had read of them and even learned of their countries. But in the quiet peace of Rivendell's schoolroom, these places seemed remote and faraway in another world and time that had little or nothing to do with him. Yet, yet, here was Gandalf, newly come from these places. Though he had not known it, they began to stir within him a deep longing. He began to chaff at his own confinement.
It took them fourteen days to reach Rivendell. In that time, Estel had grown to like the old man or wizard, if Elladan's bedtime stories are true. It was with some reluctance that he at last took leave of his travelling companion and conveyed him to the care of the housekeeper(4).
Then Estel went about his 'return ritual' as the Rivendell folk jokingly called it. First to report to Master Elrond, then his mother and finally his bed or the infirmary or both, depending on the manner of his return. On that evening, he found his mother having supper with Master Elrond, which allowed him to complete both his tasks at once.
"Estel! You're home." Gilraen embraced her son.
"Welcome home, Estel. Come have supper with us," said Elrond warmly. He was unconsciously checking Estel over for injuries while Gilraen fussed over her son. "What news?" asked Elrond when they had settled down.
Estel passed them their letters. "There are reports of orcs bands around Misty Mountains. Strange men has been seen around Sarn Ford and along Greenway(5) asking strange questions; but they had not made a nuisance of themselves. Trolls around Ettenmoors had been quiet. Also, Mithrandir is here. Rilwen(6) is seeing to him. And, Elladan and Elrohir have gone to Fornost. Unless I'm mistaken, Lord Elemir will ride with them to Rivendell."
"Very well. I will speak to Mithrandir tomorrow. There will also be a council meeting when Elemir arrives. I'd like you to remain in Rivendell until then. Barathil(7) is well enough to ride and will take over the rest of your rounds."
Estel looked up in surprise as Elrond and Gilraen exchanged a wordless look. He had planned to leave for Tharbad the next day.
"You have been away since spring, Aragorn. Stay at least for the Winter," Gilraen pleaded. Whatever protests he had mustered died at his lips. His mother did not call him Aragorn unless she was serious. Or when he was in big trouble, he thought ruefully.
"It is also time you start taking up your duties as Chieftain from your Uncle Elemir(8)," said Elrond sternly.
"This council will be a good start for you."
"Very well," said Estel, somewhat resigned. After all, it will be good to winter in the warmth and comforts of Rivendell. And he had just made it from Weathertop to Rivendell in fourteen(9) days on foot. Surely not even Elladan and Elrohir had matched that feat. He bid good night to Master Elrond and his mother and sought his bed.
During the days they waited for Elemir's arrival, Elrond had many private meetings with Gandalf. While Estel was curious and several times caught brief snatches of their conversations, he was elven-trained enough to curb his impatience and bid his time. He spent most of his time in the library, much like the days of his youth, poring over maps and troops deployment throughout Eriador.
Since the day his true identity and its implications had been revealed to him and the Dunedain, Elemir had been slowly training him for command. He had started riding with scouting parties in Ranger company as Elladan's protégé(10). By nineteen, he led his own company, scouting the wide wild lands between Misty Mountains and Fornost. Three years ago, he was assigned to lead a small messenger relay team riding between Rivendell and Grey Havens, carrying reports and command dispatches. It had given him a chance to travel the breadth and width of Eriador. Now, he commanded(11) the Dunedain scout and messenger parties, covering circuits from Iron Mountains in the East to Grey Havens in the West. It was his duty to gather all news and reports and see to the deployment of these men. When Elemir arrived and Elrond's council is called, he best be ready to report to the council.
And if he saw little of Gandalf, he saw much of Arwen and his mother. Arwen had taken to spend much time in Gilraen's company, in needle work and in tending the gardens. Often times, Estel can be found reading aloud to them by the fire or bending over the chessboard with Arwen, playing with ruthless skill, as they proceed to decimate each other's pieces before going for the final kill, prolonging the game and deliberately forfeiting a quick victory in favour of a complete devastating win. While Estel's heart seem to beat faster in Arwen's company, he kept his silence and showed no untoward sign of his deep regard(12) for her.
TBC ...
Footnotes:
(1) (2956 - Aragorn meets Gandalf and their friendship begins)
(2) TTT
(3) (Appendix - The House of Eorl)
(4) (TTT - Theoden: I had not heard that they spouted smoke from their mouths. )
Conjecture - Tempted to have Aragorn pickup smoking pipeweed from
Gandalf. He would have been to Bree and seen Hobbits and Bree-men
smoke. But the Twins had forbidden him the activity. He thought it was
like drinking ale; something one does after a certain age. Maybe Bilbo
will corrupt him later. Also, there was no mention of Thorongil smoking
in Rohan and Gondor. And smoking is not a common pastime.
(5) Saruman's spies
(6) Rilwen (OC)
(7) Barathil - Ranger of the North (OC)
(8) Elemir is acting Regent to Aragorn. Arador's nephew through his youngest sister. (OC)
(9) (FOTR - But I know how long it would take me on my own feet, with fair weather and no ill fortune twelve days (Weathertop) from here to the Ford of Bruinen, where the Road crosses the Loudwater that runs out of Rivendell.) He had improved since then.
(10) (POME - And when he was still but a youth, yet strong withal, he went abroad with Elladan and Elrohir and learned much of hunting and of war, and many secrets of the wild.)
(11) Conjecture - Aragorn is not yet a Captain of the Northern Dunedain as in the WoTR. He too young and inexperienced. Here, he is something closer to a Lieutenant.
(12) (Tales of A and A - You shall neither have wife, nor bind any woman to you in troth, until your time comes and you are found worthy of it.) Conjecture - At this point, Arwen is not yet aware or chooses not to acknowledge Aragorn's feelings towards her. Aragorn would not have told her either.
In 2957, the canon characters are :
Age - Name
02 - Imrahil, son of Andrahil
05 - Eomund, father of Eomer (Can't seem to find Eomund's father's name)
07 - Finduilas, daughter of Andrahil
09 - Theoden, son of Thengel
26 - Aragorn, son of Arathorn
27 - Denethor, son of Ecthelion
40 - Adrahil, son of Angelimir
50 - Gilraen, daughter of Dirhael, mother of Aragorn
53 - Thengel, son of Fengel, King of Rohan
71 - Ecthelion, Steward of Gondor
91 - Angelimir, Prince of Dol Amroth
2716 - Arwen, daughter of Elrond
2827 - Elladan and Elrohir, sons of Elrond
Response to Reviewers :
To all the reviewers, thank you for your encouraging words. I hope I can live up to your expectations.
Kirani of Jylan : Yes, Theoden will definitely get to meet Thorongil. I will not cover any events in the TTT timeline in the future, though. I don't think I can add to whatever the Prof had already done. Maybe you should try it.
2005-01-04: I was going to post chapter 2 yesterday.
Only, yesterday morning, I dropped my external harddisk
and now it's making clickety whirly sound and seems very dead.
Can't express how upset I am. My poor baby.
2005-01-10: Well, I've rewritten Chapter 2, not quite the feel of the original. Hopefully no worse as well.
I've also made this as FFnet-friendly as possible. I noticed that
the Chapter 1's brackets and symbols got messed up. Also, seems to have
problem showing vowel accents like acute and umlaut signs. Nevermind,
got them fixed now.