Chapter Nineteen-Don't You Just Hate It When That Happens?
A couple of days after the Mirkwood delegation met with the dwarves, another small group of Elves came into Imladris. I wasn't there to meet them, but Arwen told me at lunch that they were from Mithlond. She had explained to me that Mithlond was on the coast, and was the place the Elves took ships into the West, to Aman. I explained to Arwen that in Mahayana Buddhism, the Western Lands were guarded by Amitabha, and Pureland Buddhists strove to enter this land, where all their dreams, wants and desires would be true and they would all be together forever. Arwen explained that no mortals may enter Aman, as it was for the Valar and the Elda. I told her how it was funny that even across the Multiverse, common strands of belief were evident.
The dwarves were fine around the Elves from Mithlond. Apparently hard feelings were only felt about Mirkwood. A sense of anticipation was thick in the air, as we all waited for the other shoe to drop, or the Council to begin. Whichever came first.
The fall breeze was crisp and fresh, as the sun shone weakly down upon Arda. I had pulled out my Roots pullover and wore that until Elrond shook his head and had a jacket made up for me. I preferred the warm fleece to the jacket, which didn't do much to keep out the cold night air, so I still snuck it on when I was doing my exercises. I figured if I was still here when winter hit, I would have to teach the seamstresses how to make a parka. I really missed my Land's End insulated Squall Parka. That thing was good to minus 37C. I loved my parka when it was dry and icy out. Kept out the coldest wind. God, I didn't think they had Polartec here. That sooo sucked. I loved Polartec.
Meanwhile, despite my misgivings about the ability of Elves to design good winter-wear, life continued. Glorfindel told me the Council would be taking place on the twenty-fifth, whether or not the humans arrived. I told him it was a good reminder, cuz then it was only two months 'til Christmas and only sixty shopping days left. He totally didn't get the joke. I decided that if I was going to be around for Christmas, I'd better get hopping on making some gifts, and I stayed up late in the evenings to sew, draw and carve wood. I was thankful that I went to summer camp for years, or I'd be a useless git when it came to arts and crafts.
Three days before the Council was to be held, a human in a rather dishevelled state, arrived in Imladris. He entered the courtyard quite early in the morning, from what Glorfindel told me, and he had come from Gondor. I had to get out a map to figure out where that was in relation to Imladris, which looked to be almost two thousand kilometres! Glorfindel told me that Boromir was the son of the Steward of Gondor, and was the heir to the title. I had to ask what a Steward did, as they were a trusted member of the Monarchy and handled the administration of the Court, back on Earth. Glorfindel explained the Steward acts to administer the kingdom in the absence of a ruling monarch. That would be a Regent back home, I explained. Glorfindel thought it was interesting how things worked on Earth as opposed to Arda.
The remaining days before the Council were spent keeping the dwarves busy, running errands for the various delegations that had come to Imladris, and generally keeping the peace. Boromir usually sat with my table, which included the hobbits, Glorfindel and occasionally Arwen and Estel, with Mithrandir joining us the odd time. I think Boromir was just relieved there were humans in Imladris, as he never seemed at ease around the Elves. I learned he had lost his horse near Tharbad. Which, as I was told, was at the crossing of the North-South Road over the Gwathlo River. Had to look that one up too. If anything, I was certainly getting a good education in the geography of Arda. Boromir struck me as a man with a lot on his shoulders. I didn't know what the home situation was, but I was guessing dysfunctional. I was pretty good at figuring out who had a counterproductive upbringing and who, by some lucky chance, didn't. Boromir seemed to be from a family with issues and lots of them.
The evening before the Council, after dinner as I was walking back to my room to get changed for yoga, Boromir approached me.
"Pardon me, Lady Karyn, may I have a moment of your time?" Boromir asked.
I wasn't sure I should be talking to him alone. Glorfindel and Arwen had explained common protocol of the day, and I knew it would look bad if I didn't have another person with me when someone like Boromir approached me.
I hesitated, "Uh, Lord Boromir, it isn't proper for me to speak to you alone like this."
Boromir looked around, " I apologize if I put your reputation at risk my lady, but I need to ask you a question. Please, will you allow it?"
"Oh, all right. Just be quick about it. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea," I backed up to the wall.
"Of course my lady," Boromir seemed a bit distracted, "I want to know how you came to live with the elves? I know you aren't from this area, your accent differs from the Men of this place. You seem well educated and well bred, and yet I am not familiar with you or your family. Why is that?"
Oh this didn't look good. Elrond had cautioned me from opening up to anyone from the race of Men, as they wouldn't understand my predicament. I tried to handle this as delicately as possible.
"I hail from the North. I am sure you've never been as far North as I live. Hinterland really. I came south to see what was going on. We don't get news of the South very often, as I think no one remembers we exist," I hoped my lie would satisfy his curiosity. I felt terrible for telling a lie, as I prefer truth over falsehood any day, but Elrond had made it quite clear what superstitions the race of Men held.
"Why are you alone here in Rivendell, then? Surely you should have male escorts?" Boromir persisted.
Damn, this was getting complicated. "They were overtaken by yrch and I managed to escape and find refuge here," I hoped I sounded convincing.
"You had the grace of the Valar to protect you then," he commented.
"Uh, yes. I would suppose so," I really wanted the third degree to end.
"Should you ever desire to see Gondor, I would welcome your visit to Minas Tirith. You would love the White City. It is a wondrous sight to behold," he casually mentioned.
"Thank you for the offer. Should I desire to go further South, I will let you know," I hoped that was the end of the conversation.
"Aye my lady. Please do. I know the people of Minas Tirith would welcome you, as would my family," he clasped my hand in his and brushed the top with his lips, "Until tomorrow my lady." He bowed curtly and walked off.
That conversation had me wigged. Had Boromir been paying that close attention to me and why? I wasn't that interesting, except for the fact I was a lone woman amongst Elves. Maybe Boromir thought he was rescuing me from the clutches of the Elves. Yeah, like I so needed rescuing. It smacked of bigotry to me. Not that I was going to say that, but I was going to encourage a change of behaviour through leading by example. Hopefully he'd get the hint.
The next day I mentioned what Boromir had said, to Glorfindel before breakfast. He was concerned, but seemed to relax after I told him what I had said. He told me to stick to that story and tell the hobbits as they may forget themselves and blow my cover. Glorfindel went to tell Elrond, Erestor and Mithrandir as I went to breakfast and quickly let the hobbits know the scoop. I was only worried about Pip, as he seemed to have loose lips, but he assured me he could keep the story straight.
When Boromir joined us for breakfast, Pip and Merry were having an argument over where the best beer was made in Arda. I stayed out of the argument as I wasn't a beer drinker, other than the occasional draught. What could I have contributed to the discussion other than I thought micro-brews were the best? No one would know what I was talking about. Boromir gave his opinion which in turn set off another argument about who knew beer better, Men or hobbits. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at the consternation felt by both parties.
Council was to be held at ten and while several people were attending, I was not invited. I would be left to my own devices, so I felt it reasonable to sit in the gardens and read. Frodo and Bilbo would be attending, but Pip and Merry wanted me to go exploring with them. I declined as I wanted to be ready for any requests made after the Council ended. So I found myself in the south-facing gardens, sitting on a stone bench by some shrubbery, enjoying the fall sunshine and reading a story that Erestor had given me to brush up on my Tengwar. The script was vaguely Arabic and hard to decipher, so it was taking me an absurdly long time to get through the short story. Plus, it wasn't written freestyle, it was a narrative poem, which I had quite enough of when I covered four semesters of Eastern religions. I really dislike the Indian Vedas and reading the Dao De Jing. I'm a big believer in just cutting to the chase. I can't stand obtuse verse and hymns.
I felt a sense of foreboding overcome me a few minutes after ten. I shook it off, trying to concentrate on the story and figure out the script. Then a little while after, I was struck by a horrible nausea and I had the distinct sensation that someone really evil had just entered the garden. You know that feeling when you stand near a psychopathic murderer? That sick feeling in your stomach and getting the shakes, and pain seems to drill itself into your head? My inner eye had gone pitch black and I was feeling like I was going to full-out panic. My life felt in immediate danger. I stood up and looked around the garden, trying to figure out why the red-alert, but I was alone. Then I heard someone shout in some horrible language, and I just up and puked. Luckily I missed my shoes, but breakfast wasn't so fortunate. It was lying in a disgusting rainbow-coloured blob in front of me. I stepped back as a wave of dizziness washed over me, and then I passed out.
When I awoke I was in the Healing Area, lying on a bed with a cold compress on my forehead. One of the elves working in the room saw I was awake and left the room momentarily. A minute later Elrond came in looking quite concerned.
He sat down beside me, "Lady Karyn, how do you feel? You gave us quite a scare when Lord Boromir discovered you after Council lying on the ground."
My throat was still sore from vomiting, so my voice was quite scratchy, "I don't know what happened. I was sitting reading my book, when I had this horrible sensation of evil come over me. I was nauseous and shaky, and my head felt like an ice-pick was being drilled into it. Then I heard this shouting of some awful language, and I threw up. After that I got really dizzy and blacked out. What happened?" I wasn't going to mention how I almost flipped out. That was embarrassing.
"You were sitting near where the Council was being held, and the shouting you heard was Mithrandir using the Black Speech. It is interesting you felt the effects so strongly," he mused.
"Effects of what? What was so evil that it caused me to barf and pass out?" I was a bit worried it would happen again.
"You must promise not to speak of this to anyone but myself or Mithrandir," Elrond cautioned.
"Of course. My lips are sealed. What caused this Lord Elrond?"
"Frodo has brought the One Ring into Imladris. A Ring that was made for evil. Its power was what caused Frodo to be injured, as its master wants it back," he advised.
"What master?" I asked.
"The Dark Lord, Sauron." His face tightened at this mention.
My stomach lurched, and I curled up into a ball on the bed. "Why haven't I felt this before? Frodo has been hanging out with me and I only felt a great burden hanging on him, but not blatant evil," I croaked.
"Mithrandir tells me that not only are you an empath, but a seer as well. I believe, as does Mithrandir, that you picked up on the intent of the Ring during the Council meeting and you recognized its true nature. It was calling out to members of the Council, trying to find its way back to its master, and you felt that and recognized it to be evil. I believe you were not affected by the Ring earlier as it did not see you as a possible way back to its master. It is odd that it did not call to you, as it calls to everyone else," he considered.
"But I was Lord Elrond. I felt evil and I reacted negatively. Wouldn't that be considered calling me?" I asked.
"It does not call like that. It promises things it cannot give and the one called desires it," he explained.
"Maybe it's because I can see the truth, that I didn't get the whole false promises thingy," I countered.
"That could be," he mulled the proposition over, "Have you felt the way you felt from the Ring before?"
"Yeah, back on Earth. Mostly around really terrible people. And I had a malicious spirit try to possess me when I was fifteen. I was cold, shaky, and nauseous and from what the people around me said, my eyes had rolled up into my head. The girls who were in the cabin with me at the time had freaked out and dragged me out to try and find a Camp Counsellor," I explained, "This was the absolute worst I've ever felt it though."
Elrond ignored my references to summer camp and instead looked over me, "I want you to drink this tincture and then come to my study when you feel steady enough to walk. Mithrandir and I need to discuss what has happened with you."
"Of course Lord Elrond," I took the cup from him and drank it down.
Elrond got up and nodded to me before he left the room. I was left to try and regain my equilibrium.
After a while I felt steadier, so I rose from the bed, a bit shaky, but mobile none the less, and I made my way to Elrond's study. I entered after I knocked and was instructed to come in. Mithrandir was sitting on the couch opposite Elrond, who was sitting in a deep chair. I made my way to the couch and sat down by Mithrandir. My chest constricted as I felt the tension emanating from both.