Title: A tale about friendship, Part 7?

Author: Dís Thráinsdotter

E-mail: Overall rating: M, for violence and orctorment. This chapter: K

Summary: A group of children are told the tale of their friendship with the dwarves in general and the Folk of Durin in particular.

Warnings: The overall rating of this fic is M, as parts of it deals with violent battle and torment. There are also Original Characters in the fic, but no Mary Sues. Unbetaed, all mistakes belong to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any one of Tolkien's characters, never have, and never will. The only ones I own are the people you have never met before.

Chapter 7, The Council of Chieftains

"Thrór had been seriously ill when he came under Melians care and he was also quite old in dwarven reckoning, so it took some time for him to recover. But with the aid of Melian who gave him medicines, food and drink, and also rest he was able to beat the illness. When he had recovered he started to speak about leaving but the people of Huor pleaded with him to stay. They said that they thought it fair that he should be there and see the Half dragon get his due, Thráin agreed with them and also said that they had no hurry going anywhere and therefore could stay a little while longer where they were welcome. Finally Huor said to him ´I have sent word to the other Chieftains that they need to bring tents as the guesthouse is occupied. Surely you don't want me to be seen as a liar by my people and after thinking about the matter Thrór finally said that they would stay a while longer. The children of the village cheered, as it meant they would have more time to make parting gifts for all of them. It wasn't until later that Huor remembered that he had heard Melian say something in a soft voice to Thrór before he made his final decision."

"The Council of Chieftains" Thranduil said, "what is that?"

"A yearly gathering of the village chieftains of our mother people" Melian answered. "It is the forum where arguments between villages are settled and they also decide on how to solve matters that are too serious for one chieftain to handle alone, where people can ask for advice on difficult matters and also where matters regarding the whole people are discussed. It is held in a different village each year, according to a rotation that enables each village to have the honour of hosting it and also means that the village has the time to repair buildings after the Council has taken place.

So Beleg was punished in three ways. First of all, he wasn't greeted with the usual warmth but rather received barely polite greetings while his family and advisors were warmly welcomed. Melian wrote in her book ´when Beleg and his group came to the village, Beleg fumed at the fact that the people of Thrór lived with us but as they were under father's protection there was nothing he could do about it. He also saw that everyone listened to what our guests had to say and gave him cold glances, so he understood that he wasn't exactly the most loved person in the village.

The second punishment came as the Council opened; the eldest chieftain named Baran son of Amlash residing as the Head Chieftain. After he has declared the Council opened he asked if anyone wanted advice on a difficult matter and Melian rose, answering that she needed such an advice. Beleg was furious when he realised that his attempt at bribing Melian had failed. ´And your name is? Baran asked according to protocol and Melian answered ´Melian daughter of Huor, I need an advice about a matter concerning Beleg son of Beren. Huor and Beleg backed off, marking the fact that they couldn't take part in the desitionmaking, and Baran asked Melian to tell them what she needed advice about. She told them about how she and her father had been approached by Fundin son of Farin in the forest around the village and gone with him to a nearby glade where his people was, that she had found Thrór son of Dáin who was ill and brought him, and his people, to the village. She also told them about how Beleg had treated the people of Thrór while they were in his village and that Beleg had thrown them out into a downpour of such magnitude that his own gate guards, according to what Thráin had told her, had declared that they wouldn't even throw out an Orc in such weather and that this had been the reason for Thrórs illness. ´I need to know what I am to do if this should happen again Melian ended her story and one of the advisors who were listening commented ´if? It is more a question of when.

Baran then said ´you have mentioned Thrór son of Dáin, who is he? Thrór then rose, went to Melians side and answered ´I am Thrór son of Dáin and Baran asked if he could confirm what Melian had told them, which he could do with the aid of Thráin and Fundin. Baran then asked if anyone of them had any monetary claims on Beleg, and both Thrór and Melian declared themselves as fully paid. The chieftains who were to make the decision left the area and after discussing the matter for a short while they came back and Baran said to Thrór and Melian ´each of you have been paid, and you Thrór have been given recompense for your illness so none of you have any further claims on him. None the less damage has been done and as a result illness has been caused. Therefore he turned to Beren and looked coldly at him ´you are to be punished in the following manner. You are to give up your seat at the Council to your son Boromir and are forbidden to enter the Council area for the remainder of the Council. The session of the Council was due to take place in your village next year, but it will be held in this village while you personally must cover the expenses for it. Should you act in this manner one more time you will be ousted from your office as Chieftain. This is your last chance to prove that you have some wits; I suggest that you use it well. He also said to Melian that if anyone fell ill as a result of such treatment by Beleg she was to demand the same payment for each of them as she had been given for the treatment of Thrór. ´He will not pay it Thrór said quietly to Melian who answered in a similar manner ´the point is to make sure that he will not treat anyone as he treated you and your people.

So Beleg had to give his seat at the Counciltable to his son Boromir and leave the Council area. It was then he was given the third part of his punishment, because while he did so he murmured that he didn't understand why the chief of a small Dwarf group merited such treatment. Melian caught his mutterings and answered ´because he isn't the chief of a small Dwarf group. He is Thrór son of Dáin, Lord of Erebor and Durin´s Heir, the Father (the Royal title among Dwarves) of the Folk of Durin, which means that he has a sizable host at his beck and call. I think you remember the old tales well enough to know what happens to those who infuriate a Dwarf lord. Apparently Beleg did remember, because his face lost all colour and he shivered as he went from the area. When Beleg was out of earshot, Baran asked Thrór if he would have acted in that manner and Thrór answered ´I wouldn't do that, because the people of the village and Belegs family treated us kindly and gave us as much aid as they could but Baran thought that it might be well if Beleg thought that he had narrowly escaped being slain with axes by the Folk of Durin. In the meanwhile Boromir son of Beren was welcomed at the council table and promised that he would be aided in the decisions that needed to be made."

"What would have happened to Beleg, had he been ousted?" Bard asked and Melian answered

"He would have had to leave the village, as he was hated by everyone. He wouldn't have been able to go to any of the other villages in the country either, and the Elves living around the country wouldn't only have kept him out of their countries but sent the word around to all elven realms that he wasn't to be welcomed anywhere. He would have had to go to a faraway mannish Realm and even there he wouldn't have been able to stay for long. He knew this and therefore he was frightened when he left the Council, and soon after the village of Huor. The following year he sent his son to speak in his place when the council convened in the village of Huor and he was never seen there any more.

In the meanwhile the Council continued and everyone agreed that it became easier with the Half dragon absent. All the matters that needed to be dealt with were dealt with swiftly, as the Half dragon had been using every chance to procrastinate and rant about everything except the matter at hand making every debate take at least twice the time that would otherwise have been needed. This meant that there was ample time for feasts and merrymaking in the evenings. One of these evenings Baran said to Melian and Thrór ´when you stood before us telling what had happened, it looked as if you were to marry each other. Everyone who heard it laughed and Melian said that she would marry Thrór if he asked her but he answered that he had already been married and could take no further wife. But he was honoured that Melian could consider marrying him and he thanked her for it.

When the Council ended every Chieftain told Thrór that he and his Folk had a welcome in the villages of the people and that they would be regarded as honoured guests. Thrór thanked them for it and said that he thought that he would have many errands in the area. Boromir told him that when he took over as chieftain he would never treat anyone, regardless of kindred, in the manner that his father had done and he asked Aüle to slay him, should he forget his promise."

TBC