In An Age Before

by Phantom Bard

Part 298 posted, in which Helluin and the Riders of Norðr-vestandóttir Bý aid the Third Marshal Haleth in Rohan's defeat of the Easterling invaders. Brutal weather, disease, and failing morale play a part. Aldburg is no sooner freed of the eastern threat when tidings come of the Dunlending's invasion from the west. OCs galore as usual.

211. In An Age Before Chapter 211

In An Age Before – Part 211

Following a short span to rest their horses, during which Barq enjoyed a second breakfast in the valley, the Mâh-Sakâ and the freed slaves followed Helluin north. Along the way, the Noldo learnt that the two other warriors were named Kiana and Ashti¹. Amongst the freed slaves, Tahmirih introduced Helluin to Alun, a defeated officer from a small wahat, taken into slavery after losing a battle, but not his life. ¹(Kiana, Elements of Earth and Ashti, Peace Persian)

Also during that time, Helluin began to learn the speech of the Mâh-Sakâ, with much aid from Barq. Her understanding was hastened by the past eighteen months of trading in thought with the Easterling horse, for though they spoke no words in his tongue, their communication had provided her a familiarity with how he expressed concepts. Without conscious effort, she had digested his grammar and syntax, and these were consistent with the tongue of the Mâh-Sakâ. Of vocabulary, his and theirs, learning was an exercise in rote recall, and in this all the Eldar excelled. One hearing of their words was sufficient to add them to her memory. She came to understand Barq's appraisal of them having a horrible accent.

Now on 4 Narwain of T.A. 1976, the company approached Suat from the west. By then, the sultan's soldiers had come to recognize the Noldo, and though they feared her still, 'twas not the unmitigated terror they had felt when they thought themselves confronting a Nazgûl. Ne'ertheless, Helluin's sharp eyes revealed them shaking and shuddering as the group passed the gate, but at least they held their posts and fled not. Helluin tried to ease them by offering a greeting she had seen exchanged amongst the people of Suat, placing her right hand o'er her heart whilst closing her eyes and offering a brief dip of her head.

She o'erheard the trio of Mâh-Sakâ warriors commenting on their arrival.

"Suat looks like anyplace back home," Kiana said, scanning the walls and the mud brick buildings.

"It does. Strange, for being on the other side of the world," said Ashti.

"These soldiers are scared," Tahmirih said, "they are shaking. What are we riding into?"

"Fear Nazgûl¹ return," Helluin said, trying out their language, "first thought me Nazgûl." ¹(In this case, 'Nazgûl' is used to represent a foreign word for Sauron's nine undead servants, perhaps, Nonādide, Nine Unseen(Nine Ghosts) = no(nine) + nā-(negative pref.) + dide(v. past part., seen) Persian)

The three looked at her, surprised to hear words in their tongue, even if poorly spoken for lack of sufficient vocabulary to make the sentence precise. They all understood her meaning, for they had made the same mistake whilst fleeing past the Noldo at their first meeting.

"Do many people in the west look like Nazgûl?" Ashti asked.

"No," Helluin said, offering a grin that was not comforting at all.

They came to the citadel, which the warriors and the freed slaves all regarded as comfortingly familiar in style. The sentries at the door stood their stations and held the doors open for the strangers. Having seen Helluin come and go more frequently than the gate sentries, they appeared less nervous. The Noldo offered them the same greeting she had offered at the gate, and this time 'twas returned.

In the great hall, Helluin presented the trio of warriors to the sultan. They greeted him with gestures of respect that seemed familiar, and many words that he could not really understand. He cast a questioning glance to Helluin, but she could only shrug. The formalities had simply been too complex for her current level of knowledge. The sultan offered them greetings with words that they could not really understand, though his gestures of welcome were. At the end of the awkward introduction, all smiled at each other and dipped their heads in acknowledgement, so the Noldo deemed it had gone as well as could reasonably be expected.

"I bear tidings," Helluin managed to say in the sultan's tongue, and he came to stand close before her. They had grown accustomed to communicating silently, eye to eye.

As the Mâh-Sakâ watched, Helluin and the sultan stared into each other's eyes and Helluin related all that had come to pass in the south. When they were done, he laughed, clapped her on the shoulder to celebrate her victory, cursed the Wainriders to be eaten by their own horses, and then beckoned the three warriors to the table where food and drink were served, thereby cementing their friendship in the universal language of a shared meal.

Following Helluin's silent report, the plight of the freed slaves was known and the sultan was sympathetic. Food and clothing were provided for the ragged company whilst their horses were attended by the sultan's grooms. Some old maps were brought and spread on the table in the great hall. The sultan was very curious about the lands of the Mâh-Sakâ and the freed slaves, most of whom hailed from a wahat within the Mâh-Sakâ confederation. Helluin was very curious about the lands east of Carnen, meaning most of what the map showed. She committed all of it to memory, but alas, it showed not any citadel of her allies. She was only mildly disappointed, as she had not expected to find it on any map. Indeed, she was beginning to suspect that she would not find it at all. Still, she kept hope, for she had also noticed that Suat was not marked on the map.

"Whence came thee," Tahmirih asked of Helluin as she gestured o'er the maps.

Helluin slid a finger east 'til it rested amidst a crescent shaped range of mountains 'nigh the edge of the continent, then she traced the ancient outline of the Sea of Rhûn, describing its extent when it had been the Inland Sea of Helcar, long, long ago. It had once encompassed Mordor and well 'nigh all of Rhûn, east to a forest at the very feet of the Orocarni.

In amazement, the three Mâh-Sakâ and the Sultan of Suat stared at her, and she captured their eyes and immersed them in her memories.

The fathers of the Elves arose in Cuiviénen on the shores of Helcar, in the star-shadow of the central Orocarni. After five and a half centuries, they began a march west, following Oromë, the Huntsman of the Gods. I was born in the fiftieth year of that migration, in a starlit forest that once stretched 'cross all these lands. When I was fifty, we crossed the river Anduin, and a century later came to the land of Beleriand. When I was two hundred and thirty, the Host of Finwë reached Aman, the Undying Realm that lay west of the Sundering Sea.

In peace, I abode there with my people and the Gods for the next three thousand eight hundred and fifty years, but an ancient foe struck and Finwë was slain. With the host of his son, my lord Fingolfin, I returned to the Mortal Lands. The High King set foot upon the Hither Shores as the moon rose for the first time, and he set a thousand silver trumpets to play a fanfare, proclaiming the arrival of his host in Beleriand. On the seventh day, the sun rose and 'naught has been the same since. The kindred of Men awakened in the furthest east, and the Elves began to fade.

With a blink, Helluin released them and they sat silent, astonished at the images of the world as it had once been. 'Twas far from a comprehensive history lesson, but 'twas far more than even the most learned of their peoples knew, for all of it had come to pass ere the kindred of Men awakened in Hildórien. Though they knew it not, they had joined those few of mortal blood who had seen the Blessed Realm in its long lost glory, Beren, Eärendil, perhaps Tuor, and the doomed host of Ar-Pharazôn the Blasphemer.

During the month of Narwain, the three Mâh-Sakâ warriors, the Sultan of Suat, and Helluin spent much time in council. The sultan and the warriors slowly learnt somewhat of each others' speech such that they could trade plans, whilst Helluin improved her knowledge of both tongues. Those from opposite ends of Rhûn deemed it strange that whilst they had at first thought their languages had 'naught in common, they discovered some similarities in how sentences were constructed. Their words too had changed much with distance and time, but they eventually discerned some commonality in their roots. Names of cities, for example, bore some similarities. The old southern city that the sultan knew from history as Eridu was called Irîtu by the Mâh-Sakâ. 'Cross the western river, the sultan's history told of a city called Urim, which the Mâh-Sakâ knew as Uru. They agreed on this because 'twas the site of a great ziggurat dedicated to the Moon God Nannar, whom the warrior trio's people called Sîn. Helluin thought of Oromë's Maia Tilion, who carried Ithil through the heavens. Sindarin had 'naught that she could mark in common with the tongues of the east, and language was the product of civilization. She came to understand that the civilizations she knew from both sides of the Sundering Sea had little in common with the civilizations of Rhûn, and that was something she would come to fully appreciate with time.

Now Narwain passed to Nínui and the Mâh-Sakâ began to plan their return to the east. They felt time pressing as the weather began to give hints of the spring to come, for with spring came the campaigning season and much of the east was at war. Ere they returned home, 'nigh half a year would have passed and much could have changed.

"I have not found my allies in the west of Rhûn, and the south is ruled by the Wainriders," she told them in the first week of Nínui. "Now I must search further east. Since there is strength in numbers, I shall accompany you for at least a part of your journey."

"We shall be glad to have thy company, Helluin," Kiana said.

"Aye, few will dare to stay us if we are being taken to the God of Fire as prisoners of a Nazgûl," Tahmirih said.

"That shall be a great advantage on the first leg of our journey home," Ashti added.

Helluin nodded and on the next day went out to the market. There she bought a piece of black silk and made for herself a drape to hide her face and a pair of coverings to hide her hands.

At their parting, they gave great thanks and respect to the sultan and in mid-month, mounted their horses and rode out of Suat. They made their way east-southeast 'cross empty land that looked much the same day after day. The monotony of the landscape was enhanced by the monotony of a 'nigh constant wind blowing from the north that brought the taste of dust to their throats.

Whilst the twenty freed slaves had arrayed themselves in robes of dun cloth, with matching shrouds for their horses, Helluin and the three Mâh-Sakâ had not. Ere the company had been two days upon the road, they questioned their wisdom, for at a distance of so little as a quarter-mile, the freed slaves and their horses blended admirably into the landscape.

This is all too familiar, O Helluin, Barq said on their third day out. At one time, I believed all Arda was like this, wind and flat land unending. Did thou know that even paradise is said to appear much the same, save that it takes the form of a lush wahat filled with virgins?

I have lived aforetime in what passed for paradise, Helluin replied. Only a small part of it looked like this and there were no more virgins there than anywhere else.

Perhaps 'twas not truly paradise then, O Helluin. How could thou know for sure, since thou art alive now and I suspect thou wast alive then too?

'Twas paradise indeed, for the Gods dwelt amongst us and I came to know them all. The spirits of the slain abode in halls set apart from the living, or at least the spirits of fallen Elves did. I left ere Men awakened, and so I know not the disposition of their spirits after death.

So the dead Elves were imprisoned?

I had always thought those halls more akin to a hospice for those needing healing, and as a place of waiting for the rest. 'Tis said the Weaver hangs vast tapestries upon the walls that record the unfolding of time. Those waiting can reflect on their deeds in tapestries illustrating days past, and witness the repercussions of their actions ere hearing the declaration of their doom. By the grace of the Gods, most eventually came to inhabit new bodies and were released into paradise, wiser, repentant if necessary, and thankful. So said my friend Glorfindel, who was not only healed and released, but also sent back to the Mortal Lands for a time.

Lord Glorfindel from Imladris with whom we rode to war?

Aye, O Barq, the same.

And what of the spirits of horses, O Helluin? Know thou 'aught of their fate?

Alas, I do not. Being mortal, perhaps they share the afterlife of Men. Perhaps they have lands of their own set apart. Those who took the form of horses in Aman were not as thou art, O Barq, yet from them too, I learnt 'naught.

The Easterling horse continued on at a trot with the others, mulling o'er all Helluin had said.

Amongst some peoples, a noble's horse is buried with him, to serve him in paradise, along with much treasure, food and drink, and concubines.

To Helluin, the concept of possessions following a spirit into the afterlife was hopeful at best, more likely greedy, and all too literal for her tastes.

The spirits of Elves come to the Halls of Mandos dispossessed of riches and property, or so I have always been told. Save in the rarest of cases, the trappings of Mortal Lands have no place in the Blessed Realm.

So thou would not insist that I be buried with thee, in the event of thy demise?

Nay, I would not. Rather would I consider thy oaths fulfilled and thy service ended with honor. Why, would thou be inclined to accompany me to the Halls of Mandos?

Probably not…the halls of Khazad-dûm now, that might be another matter.

Now the road from Suat ran three hundred miles to a ford on the river that Helluin came to call Sír Forodrúnen, the Northeastern River that drained into the Sea of Rhûn from, one would be correct to wager, the northeast. It bisected the forest that Helluin came to call Eryn Rhûn, the East Forest that extended from the coast of the sea. Neither the river, nor the forest had any name in Sindarin on any map, but their names amongst the peoples of the east were many. Beyond the ford of Sír Forodrúnen lay the ford of another shallower river some three hundred fifty miles further on that Helluin did not bother to name.

All of the lands east of Suat lay in an increasingly arid expanse bespeckled with oases, or wahat, inhabited by villages of relatively provincial people who might regard their neighbors as trading partners or enemies, depending on recent history. Feuds were many and alliances fluid, and either might last a day or generations, governed by clan pride, traditions of hospitality, adamant intolerance of disrespect, opposing interpretations of the will of their god, sundry omens, bad luck, and pragmatism.

O'erlying the societies of settled people was the array of nomadic tribes, just as numerous, typically more warlike, and certainly more violent. Lacking the social grounding of homes, they roamed in caravans of wagons, preyed on anyone they reckoned they could plunder, including other nomads, and periodically formed cohesive hordes 'neath the leadership of whatsoe'er khan was cunning enough to amass a following. Of these, the Wainriders were currently the best known in the west, but they were only the latest and most successful in a tradition dating back to the domestication of horses. For thousands of years, the settled and the nomadic peoples had waged war on each other and 'twixt themselves so that intra- and internecine slaughter was the hallmark of eastern history.

One further layer of tension dominated the history of the east. From time immemorial, there had been a God of Fire. All professed devotion to him, with varying degrees of sincerity directly related to his proximity. Save amongst some cults of fanatics, such inconstancy was regarded as normal for he came and went, but none doubted his existence. Myth claimed that he had been more powerful and more terrifying in the beginning, though the historic appearances of the God of Fire and his nine ghostly servants were as terrifying as anything anyone could imagine. Most simply hoped to live in a century when he was absent, the better to pursue their own schemes for the accumulation of wealth and power.

Thus stood the situation of the peoples of the east, and this was merely the continuation of what had e'er been, yet the natural world too was different from the west. Because of the continuing drying of the climate since the end of the First Age, the flora and fauna were strange to Helluin's eyes. Both the plants and animals had adapted to the necessities of dry land, abundant heat and sunlight in summer, and cold, parching winds in winter. There were whole stretches of terrain that appeared devoid of life, yet 'twas not so; life clung tenaciously and endured in spite of the harsh climes and forbidding landscape, and some forms thrived.

Much of what was now the eastern landmass had spent Ages 'neath the Sea of Helcar, (of which the Seas of Rhûn and Núrnen were the last remnants), and which was itself a remnant of the Great Lake of the Years of the Lamps¹. Like most seabeds, the lands that became Rhûn were composed of deep layers of sediment, relatively flat, homogeneous, and easily eroded into steppes and shifting dunes of sand. As the waters receded and the sea evaporated, the sea floor rebounded, rising up as the weight of water disappeared, and causing fissures and volcanism in the south. Thus were formed the Ered Lithui, the Ephel Dúath, Orodruin, and the dead caldera of Udûn. ¹(The legendarium contains inconsistencies on these points of geography, with passages from TPoME and UT telling of the Sea of Rhûn dating back to the Age of the Trees, and Mt. Doom and parts of Mordor existing during the First Age. I do not agree, and accept the maps in Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle Earth)

'Tis said that the seas are a cradle of life, and indeed much life thrives in the seas, hidden from the eyes of Men and unknown to the Elves. Amongst those that once burrowed in the muck of the primordial sea floor were creatures of shell or tube feet, and even some to be mistaken for plants. There were also the vast kindreds of vermiformes, freed by buoyancy to grow and thrive in the dark depths. There they hunted and spawned, and as the water receded, they retreated to their burrows and slowly changed with the passing years, for they were ancient and successful, and many amongst them survived.

Now in twenty days after leaving Suat, the company had crossed two hundred eighty miles of scrubby, wind-blown steppe, and they were seeking a gully or dry wash in which to shelter for the night. Lacking any landmarks, they had taken some disadvantageous sidetracks, losing many days of travel. On that day, it seemed that in the whole of that landscape, the only thing moving other than themselves was a dark blotch advancing towards them from the south. Helluin and the Mâh-Sakâ gestured for the freed slaves to remain unmoving, whilst they continued to ride at a walk as they had aforetime. Being as they were all clad in dark garments, they were easily visible, just as were those approaching them. Helluin pulled the silk drape o'er her face so it seemed that 'naught but shadow filled her hood, and she covered her hands so the folds of her cloak obscured her hands. She and the three warriors strung their bows.

For the half-part of an hour, the two groups converged, the strangers with increasing haste and definite intent, Helluin, Tahmirih, Kiana, and Ashti with even greater haste, seeking to draw the confrontation further from the ex-slaves. During that time, the dark blotch had resolved into a company of riders in black robes. As the strangers drew closer, Helluin was able to mark their count and confirm that they were a party of three dozens. By their dress, weapons, and tack, she reckoned that they were not Medes, not Wainriders. The three Mâh-Sakâ had wrapped their scarves 'round their heads so that 'naught but their eyes showed, a typical precaution against blowing sand and dust. Indeed their raiment looked much akin to the Medes, but their weapons and the tack on their horses was different.

At a quarter mile, Tahmirih hissed to Helluin, "Rhoxolāni!¹" ¹(Rhoxolāni, one of three main tribes of the Alans, or Sarmatae (Sarmatians), 5th century BC to 4th century AD. Alanic Endonym)

The Noldo remembered the notation for their lands, north of the Sea of Rhûn, on one of the sultan's maps. She nodded to Tahmirih and drew arrows from her quiver. These were enemies.

The two groups were now closing quickly, and the Rhoxolāni came to a full gallop, drawing swords and setting arrows to the strings of their bows. Some rose from their stirrups and crouched low atop their saddles, the better to aim straight o'er their horses' heads. In response, Helluin and the Mâh-Sakâ matched their gait to meet them at a full gallop.

At a furlong, Tahmirih, Kiana, and Ashti drew in close behind Helluin, presenting only a single target to the charging Rhoxolāni, and shortly, the shooting started. A dozen arrows came at them in low arcs, loosed with respectable precision from the nomads' short, recurved bows. Some flew wide and others long, but a few struck Helluin, only to bounce off her mithril armor and draw a chorus of dismay from the attackers.

The Noldo grunted at the impacts, but continued galloping straight at the Rhoxolāni, and then she rose atop Barq's back. Unlike the enemy archers, she crouched not, but stood straight and steady, and she began shooting with the steel Númenórean bow. That bow had 'nigh double the power of the Rhoxolāni's weapons, and Helluin's foes were now but a hundred yards ahead. She fired on a flat trajectory, lining foes up amidst their press when she could so that she struck two with a single arrow. Four times she loosed and a half dozen fell, and then she slung the bow at her back and drew Anguirél. In the meantime, the Mâh-Sakâ had fired into the flanks of the approaching company, taking another three foes out of the battle.

Just before the companies clashed, Helluin burst into a blaze of Light, and then the Black Sword swept down on her shocked enemies. She was still standing upright atop Barq's back, compensating for his gait and the strokes of her sword with small adjustments of her legs, and she took two heads as she passed. Following in her wake came the three Mâh-Sakâ, shooting as they rode through the enemy company, and then twisting in their saddles to fire again at the Rhoxolāni's receding backs.

Both companies rode free and wheeled their mounts, coming to face each other again at forty yards. The Rhoxolāni were in shock. They had seen four riders and deemed them viable prey, yet in a single charge, they had lost a third of their strength. They had seen their arrows bounce off the opposing leader, who stood to fire as if standing on solid ground rather than a galloping horse. The three who followed were untouchable so long as they remained behind their leader. That leader still stood atop her horse as it wheeled to face them, a long black sword held in one outstretched hand, and now a long dagger presented in the other. That figure was draped in robes of black, had no face, and glowed with its own light. 'Twas wholly preternatural and as fell an encounter as any amongst them could imagine, for they deemed this was no living foe.

And now that enemy began to advance towards them, its horse pacing forward as if ruled by thought alone, for no reins conveyed its master's directions. The horse came to a trot as roiling blue flames rose from the leader's hood where a living Man's eyes would be. Its three servants followed behind as if ruled by the same will as the horse. The Rhoxolāni looked to each other, doubtful, and then an unearthly screech came from the black figure and its horse came to a gallop. Grim warriors though they were, in that moment each eastern Man felt abject terror, and then their company scattered and fled, unwilling to continue a battle they deemed hopeless against foes with whom they held no personal vendetta.

Helluin and the Mâh-Sakâ watched the dust rise behind their horses. The Noldo regained her seat as Barq came to a halt.

"That went easier than I expected," Ashti muttered with relief.

"You and me both, thank the gods," Kiana agreed. Then she turned to Helluin and asked, "does it hurt, getting hit with arrows?"

"Stings a bit, but 'naught worse from those bows," the Noldo said.

"And what was that shriek?" Tahmirih asked. "It sounded like a daemon."

"'Twas just something I heard once," Helluin said, a long time ago, in the Sammath Naur. "I shall go to retrieve my arrows. Perhaps those fired against us shall fit your bows."

Aforetime, thou kept thy seat whilst shooting, Barq observed as they sought for Helluin's arrows.

In this case, I deemed the more unnatural my appearance, the better, the Noldo replied.

'Tis all well and good, I suppose, though the pressure of thy boot heels was not so comfortable, digging as they did into my back. Marked thou not that the Rhoxolāni wore boots of felt with flat heels, and their horses bore saddles?

My apologies, O Barq. Perhaps I shall have to find thee a saddle with blanket and girth strap.

The Easterling horse grimaced at that thought. Bearing no tack was a boon in serving Helluin that he was loath to amend.

The Rhoxolāni arrows did indeed fit the Mâh-Sakâ bows, and Helluin marked that those slain by her own arrows bore swords akin in shape to those wielded by the three warriors beside her. The two peoples probably shared much more in common, but this observation Helluin kept to herself. Afterwards, they lined up the bodies of the fallen so that their fellow warriors could honor them in whatsoe'er manner was their custom.

The four returned to the freed slaves, finding that they had discovered a good site to rest through the night, and the mortals settled in as evening fell. Helluin, of course, remained wakeful, keeping watch on the eastern horizon as stars and constellations unseen in the west were revealed whilst night's darkness lasted. These she committed to memory, building a chart of the skies more comprehensive than those preserved in Imladris or Lindon. One day, she would bring this knowledge to Elrond, Círdan the Shipwright, and the Dúnedain.

Now for several days following the attack of the Rhoxolāni, the company wandered ere they came to the ford of Sír Forodrúnen that the locals called the Silys¹. There they found a small, walled city of mud bricks that had arisen to profit from the passage of the trade route that ran east-west and north of the sea. The walls of the city stood athwart the road with gates blocking transit. Companies of watchmen kept a lookout for traffic and a militia stood ready to enforce their tariffs. The company felt eyes upon them as they approached, yet they were two dozens without wagons or carts, obviously not traders, riding single-file behind a Nazgûl. ¹(Silys(Scythian), Lazartes(Gk), Tanais(arch. Gk), the river Don(Russian))

What the watchmen saw was an armed procession, led by one of the God of Fire's nine undead servants, followed by three warriors and twenty acolytes such as might burn sacrificed Men upon an alter. They deemed such riders more likely to slaughter them all than to pay any fee, for they were certainly not come to engage in commerce.

Ere Helluin reached the western gates, they were thrown open from within. As the company passed 'neath the parapet, they saw sentries prostrated on the ground, not even daring to look up at them. 'Twas all they could do to continue walking their horses through the town, looking at none and maintaining such silent menace as they could muster. They bypassed the city square without pausing to drink from the well, and this as much as 'aught else proved to the fearful citizens that 'twas no mortal company. The Noldo led them out the east gate in the same fashion and marked that these were closed and barred behind them as soon as could be without appearing disrespectful. The company forded the river and managed to continue the charade for a quarter mile ere they paused and broke down in hysterics.

"Did ye see their faces?" Ashti asked the others 'twixt bouts of laughter.

"I did not, for they looked only at the ground," Alun said, shaking his head in amazement.

"I have a few coins and hoped they would be enough for our fee," Kiana said.

"How do these people make any money?" Helluin asked. "Surely we are not the only armed strangers to pass through. What would they do if a real army came 'nigh? For that matter, what would keep anyone from just riding 'round their walls to the ford?"

"Most stop to water horses and slake their thirst at the city's well," Tahmirih said, laughing.

"One might do the same at the river," Helluin observed.

In the end, after recovering their composure, they refilled their water skins at the river and continued east, deeming the whole encounter a peculiar case of tradition dictating a suspension of common sense. Soon the mud brick city dwindled in the distance and the path from the ford disappeared.

They were as scared, but more dignified than the sultan's soldiers at thy first meeting, O Helluin, Barq commented that night after the company had stopped to rest.

I deem they are more accustomed to the doings of the God of Fire and his servants, here further to east, she said. That may not be a good sign, O Barq. I wager that eventually, some shall see through my disguise.

Now that thou mention it, I wonder whither stands the God of Fire's temple. I reckon 'tis close enough to be known, and he as well, yet not so well or so close as to apprehend thy subterfuge. In Xwârazm¹, he was not a real concern. There was a proverb, "'til the God of Fire comes to his temple again," regarding things ne'er really expected to happen. ¹(Xwârazm, (Chorasmia), a large wahat on the Amu Darya river, south of the Aral Sea, now on the border of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Inhabited since at least 3,000 BC. Barq's original hometown in the further east. Persian)

Helluin nodded in understanding. In earlier days, the Dúnedain had said, 'til Atalantë rises again, the Noldor had said, 'til we see Aman again, and the Longbeards still said, 'til we slay the last Orch. The sentiment was well 'nigh universal and it seemed that all longed for better days to come.

The company's journey continued southeastward with many a course correction and much time lost in backtracking through what Helluin considered a trackless waste. No problem had she in orienting their path by the stars. The problems arose after a few hours of daylight, when with no landmarks, they invariably veered north or south. At each night's camp, she would look up and groan, finding that they had deviated by a point or two. She would mark their course and walk from the camp to set a stone in their next day's path, but it did no good, for though they started in the correct direction, they soon strayed again.

After another fortnight, they came upon the ruins of a walled town of mud brick that looked remarkably like the city on the river Silys, save that 'twas smaller and there was no river. Walls were tumbled, buildings riven, and not a person was in sight. In the center of the town, a deep pit opened in the ground, its bottom not to be seen. From it, broad furrows radiated along the ground in several directions. This discovery threw the freed slaves and the Mâh-Sakâ into a fit of anxiety, and they began to search the landscape in fear.

"Too far south we have come, too far," Tahmirih muttered, checking the position of the sun.

"This is bad, very, very bad," one of Alun's companions wailed. "We shall all die here."

"We must escape this place, now," Kiana said, wringing her hands.

"No!" Tahmirih, Alun, and Ashti shouted as they saw Helluin toss a stone into the hole.

The freed slaves were already mounting their horses and preparing to ride off in any direction. The Noldo looked at them, marking their fear and alarm, but seeing no reason for it. She did notice that no sound of the stone striking bottom had come to her ears. The hole seemed bottomless, deeper even than the chasm 'neath Durin's Bridge, if that could be believed. She found herself intensely curious.

Tahmirih came and grabbed her hand, desperately trying to draw her away. Helluin had ne'er seen her so agitated.

"We cannot linger here, Helluin, please," she said. "We shall all die if we stay."

Ashti and Kiana were already back atop their horses, nervously waiting for the two to join them ere fleeing the ruined town. None of them had even taken the opportunity to refill their water skins at the spring. She looked o'er at Barq and he was stepping in place, ears pinned back and the whites of his eyes showing clearly as he looked back and forth 'twixt her and the hole.

Finally, Helluin threw up her hands and stalked o'er to mount Barq. She marked the direction their tracks had come from, estimated a correction north, and then rode off out of the town, determined to drag a full explanation from the Mâh-Sakâ even if it required torture. The others followed her with palpable relief, kicking their mounts to a canter and actually fleeing ahead of her. She could 'naught but urge Barq to follow. Soon they all broke into a gallop for as long as their mounts could endure the pace. They did not stop 'til nightfall, by which time Helluin reckoned they had come a good seven leagues northeast and were completely lost. Their horses were exhausted and stood with heads lowered, panting.

She groaned in exasperation as she swung down from Barq's back and stared him in the face.

What was all that about? She demanded. We have wasted a day and will waste more on the morrow to find our way.

At least we are all still alive, was all the Easterling horse would say as he stood shivering and voiding his water after a narrow escape that she did not understand.

Shaking her head, Helluin walked o'er to where the three Mâh-Sakâ were whispering urgently 'twixt themselves.

"What happened in that town?" She demanded of them. "What happened today?"

The three looked up at her, clearly hesitating, and in growing impatience, Helluin gritted her teeth as blue fire began to flicker in her eyes. Kiana and Ashti turned to Tahmirih, deferring to her and looking like they wished to crawl 'neath rocks. Finally, Tahmirih spoke.

"When we came west, that town stood southernmost to the east of the forest on the north side of the sea. 'Twas a questionable position we thought, too close to the sea, but it had stood long and the people thought themselves safe. Since then, their hope has obviously cheated them and their safety proved false."

She sighed and shook her head, but there was fear in her eyes still. Helluin fixed her with her gaze and compelled her to continue speaking.

"The east is the land of a million worms," she said. "They are mindless, myriad, and legion. They burrow through sand and chew through rock, crawl on the bottoms of lakes and swarm in streams. Some are so small they escape the eye, whilst others live within Men's bodies where there is not an organ they cannot infest. They bore through flesh, bringing horrible disease and suffering. Others are of unimaginable size, and we believe, attain great age.

The town we saw today was destroyed by were-worms. One must have come up out of the hole we saw. It may lurk there still. We could not but flee."

She looked up at the expression of gaping disbelief on Helluin's face, yet there was no lie in her eyes, only fear. The Noldo could not but believe her tidings, incredible as they might seem. The hole had been o'er double Man-high in diameter.

"Such monsters regularly come to light in some places, and many of these places are known, feared, and avoided," Tahmirih explained. "Yet it may sometimes be that one appears in a place unsuspected, and e'er they bring destruction and death. We strayed into such a place today and escaped with our lives. Perhaps the townsfolk were not so lucky."

"I have seen the desiccated carcasses of horses, attacked by worms as they slept and drained of e'ery drop of blood," Kiana added. Beside her, Ashti nodded in agreement.

"They always leave a hole," she said, "in the ground, or in the body of their prey."

"Sometimes, they leave behind their eggs or young," Kiana said, shivering.

"And after a time growing, the young may chew their way out and bore into one sleeping 'nigh to feed or lay more eggs," Tahmirih said, "and so whole families may die, lying asleep in their homes at the night."

"How is it that all this is unknown in the west?" Helluin asked, still amazed.

"How oft do those from west and east meet to share their wisdom?" Kiana asked.

Well 'nigh ne'er, Helluin thought, for they are enemies.

"Their scourge we attribute to the God of Fire, a curse on the kindred of Men from our first days," Tahmirih whispered, "darkness, disease, death, and the voracious worms."

"Aye," Ashti agreed, "these are our primal torments."

Helluin sat down beside them and turned to her memories of lore she had learnt far in the past.

'A darkness lies behind us,' Bëor said, 'and we have turned our backs upon it, and we do not desire to return thither even in thought. Westwards our hearts have been turned, and we believe that there we shall find Light.'¹ ¹(The explanation of Balan to Finrod Felagund concerning the origins and migration of Men to Beleriand, quoted verbatim from The Silmarillion, XVII TCoMitW, pg 165.)

The fathers of the Atani had fled the darkness of Morgoth and all his wiles, and amongst these had been the worms. They invaded the flesh, bringing death and disease, but the legacy had been more subtle. Like the darkness, Men feared that which they could not see, could not understand. Foremost was their mortality, the corruption of their flesh, aging, morbidity, and death. From such fears had grown distrust of nature and of their fellow Men that might bring infection to them. That fear had sown division amongst them, creating the concept of us versus them, and of that had come war, cannibalism, and murder. Like Cuiviénen in an Age before, Hildórien had become a place of terrors.

The Eldar resisted disease, but Men were subject to all manner of afflictions, and Helluin wondered now if many of those were not the work of worms too small to see. Perhaps they could be small enough to be transferred from the sick to the healthy on the very air they shared, or with a kiss, or a touch during sexual contact. Thus, even those most basic intimacies that should have been a source of joy had been tainted by Morgoth's malice. In the beliefs of some, they had become 'dirty'.

Helluin sighed and shook her head in sorrow for all the generations that had suffered from an evil so ancient and so pervasive, and that was unsuspected in the west. Centuries ago, she and Beinvír had discovered a cure for the Great Plague, but for the worms of the east, she could imagine no tincture or infusion that would be efficacious against so wide a range of creatures.

"In the morn we shall assay to rediscover our path," she told the Mâh-Sakâ.

Tahmirih, Kiana, and Ashti nodded to her, but their faces were grim. Helluin marked that none of the mortals slept that night, but rather remained awake in nervous watchfulness like cats prepared to bolt at a sudden noise.

Despite all their disquiet, the night managed to pass without incident and morning came at last. Despite the fact that the worms were no less numerous by day than by night, dawn had e'er been the balm of Men, and as the morn brightened, the mortals yawned and rubbed their eyes, and prepared to ride.

During the hours of darkness, Helluin had decided that whilst none knew for sure whence the were-worms might attack, Tahmirih had said that they had come too far south. The Noldo determined that they would spend the day riding with their shadows always to the north as Anor crossed the heavens to their south. In that way, they should travel mostly east and with luck, bypass the area wherein most of the great worms abode. All agreed to this course, and in the first half-hour past dawn the company set out at a canter. It seemed they could not leave quickly enough.

O'er the course of the morning they made good time, or so they thought, for the steppe passed 'neath the hooves of their horses, their shadows shortened as noon drew 'nigh, and they marked no threats. After a brief stop for a noon meal, they mounted and continued.

Now after another hour, the land to the north grew increasingly more folded, and in the mid-afternoon, they came to a small stream, perhaps an upstream tributary of the Silys. 'Twas easily forded in the flat lands lying before the hills, for it ran both shallow and narrow. Upon its eastern side, in a distant bay amongst the hills, lay a walled town. As water was a valuable resource in this dry land, 'twas no surprise to find that a habitation of Men had grown 'nigh the stream. What was unexpected was the couple hundred loudly chanting riders circling before the gates and the arrows exchanged 'twixt them and archers stationed upon the walls.

To Helluin's eye, it appeared that the circling riders had no chance of succeeding in their siege. Those living within the town had no cause to sortie out to meet them. They had but to remain hunkered down within their walls and wait them out. As she watched, she marked the arrows doing little damage on either side. No bodies fell from the walls, and no bodies fell from their horses. The whole seemed 'naught but a formality required by some animosity, the cause of which was probably obscure and of no lasting import. She was about to dismiss the whole of it as the preoccupation of some with 'naught else more productive to occupy their time.

"They make too much noise," Kiana said, "riding so many together in one place for so long."

"Their shouting is just as dangerous," Ashti said as the chanting continued, reverberating from the hills behind as the two hundreds cried out in unison.

Helluin looked at them askance, but marked their heightened nervousness.

"We should be away, now, and far away at that," Tahmirih declared as she wheeled her mount and nods of agreement came from the other mortals.

Helluin was about to ask whyfor they should flee a siege in which they had no part, and whilst a good quarter-mile away at that, when she marked a subtle but growing tremor in the ground. A quick glance at the water in the stream revealed vibrations rippling its surface. She looked up to see the Mâh-Sakâ and the freed slaves kicking their horses to a gallop and blindly fleeing east. Barq took a few steps to follow, and Helluin felt him shivering with fear, yet she could not tear her eyes away from the town.

The tremors grew 'til it seemed the very walls of the town shook. Dust rose from cracking mud brick, and now the circling riders were fleeing south, away from the town and straight towards her. She saw a wall collapse, and then the sounds of cracking stone, rending earth, and falling buildings filled the air. The first of the riders galloped past her and spared her not even a glance. She saw the terror etched on their faces.

Then the very ground 'neath the town rose in a sickening heave and from within the ruined walls, something massive and cylindrical, textured with rings and spines, exploded upwards into the air. The Noldo guessed that it rose no less than twenty fathoms amidst a cloud of dust and falling debris. It reached the apex of its lunge skyward, the front end of its bulk waving blindly back and forth, and then it began to list, curling o'er to fall towards her, and for a moment she beheld a great maw filled with spiny teeth, and rimmed with five thick lips, each bearing a claw the size of a small tower. It crashed to the ground, collapsing the remains of the town's front wall 'neath its bulk, and the tremor in the ground well 'nigh tossed Barq off his hooves. Then a gust of wind hit them, bearing a cloud of dust and the foul stench of the were-worm's flesh.

Though Helluin was transfixed by the event and the sheer size of the creature, Barq could stand the terror no longer and he bolted, following the Mâh-Sakâ and the freed slaves, and carrying the Noldo away to the east. He did not pause 'til he caught up with them after four leagues, their horses lathered and panting.

The mortals were astonished to see her ride up, having given her up for dead when she had accompanied them not, nor appeared as time passed. They rejoiced in her return, increasingly unlooked for.

"I understand your fears at last," she said to them, "and find they are well founded. I cringe to imagine the horrors that would come should Sauron command such monsters amongst his host."

"The God of Fire that thou call Sauron," Tahmirih said. "Who shall say for sure that he has not always been Kerm-Khuda, God of Worms?"

To Be Continued