Rand and the Ring: Chapter 7: News of Umbar, Meeting Elrond of Rivendell
Essenia, Tear:
As Captain Faenoryes was lead through the gigantic fortress these people called 'the Stone of Tear', he couldn't but marvel at the sheer size of the imposing structure.
He'd asked questions about it and received varying answers;
a) How old was it?-Around 3,000 years!
b) How long did it take to build?-No straight answer, varied depending on whom he asked.
c) How did they manage to build such a monolithic structure?-By using the 'One Power' and 'hard work'.
Their use of the 'One Power' seemed to be a point of conversation none wanted to talk about, though, considering that it must be how they refer to as 'sorcery', they didn't like to talk about. On that point, Faenoryes could understand to a mutual degree.
"Sir Rodrivar Tihera, by whom is everyone referring to as 'Scum' and 'Bastards' anyway?"-Faenoryes asked after a while.
Faenoryes could almost hear the grimace form over his features though he walked behind him and therefore wasn't able to see his facial expressions.
"The people...no, Pirates and Slavers of Umbar, whom i believe your people refer to as: Evil Men and Haradrim, attacked Illian and burned a good half of the city to the ground before being repulsed. Then there's the fact that they took our people as slaves!"
"This may be...wrong of me to say, but, i believe that if Tear here had been burned, there likely wouldn't be much left standing other than the Stone we're currently in."-Rodrivar said.
First Captain of the Defenders, Rodrivar Tihera, felt a kinship or familiarity with Captain Faenoryes. They both commanded soldiers and were both recognized as Captains...though Rodrivar didn't know what the actual significance of being a 'Captain' was in Gondor.
"So Umbar invaded your people a few weeks ago?"-Faenoryes said, mostly to himself but was overheard none-the-less.
"Yes and No"-Rodrivar began, "Hmmm, i'll explain this first so you may better understand..."
"Essenia is what all our people unite under, true. But under that banner, Lies the two former and separate lands of Tear, ourselves, and Illian. Until a few years ago we had been rival countries."
"Then the Lord Dragon came and we both ended up having him as our King. Essenia came about after he revealed to us that we had both once been a nation called that, so now we once again take up the identity of Essenia for the first time in 2,000 to 3,000 years..."-Rodrivar explained to the younger Captain.
"That is rather incredible, how have you managed to cooperate with your former rivals, even if you now know that you were all of one people at one time?"-Faenoryes asked, curious. After all, being enlightened in this matter could help unify and solidify it's own peoples and lands.
"Having the same king helps."-Rodrivar said with a small smile.
"A good point to make in that regard however is this: We are no longer in our world, we are now in an unknown world that seems to be going towards its own 'Tarmon Gaidon'"-Rodrivar continued.
"Our very lands themselves have changed along with the world."
"For instance: The coastline that runs along the Poros river as you call it, that used to be mountains but is now coastline."-Rodrivar finished saying, allowing the younger man insight to their own problems.
"I see, i don't know how, or even if, my own nation would be able to cope as well as you seemed to have done."-Faenoryes admitted.
"Our biggest issue, other than other countries, is the land itself. Our fertile lands are now gone, mostly replaced by desert. Though, that is changing thanks to Lord Al'Thor's quick action to create Canals so that we can continue to grow food."
"We hope to create a water-course, or a river of a size where ships can travel along too. "
"There's also the matter of very little vegetation, so woodworking is at an all time low since trees have become so rare and expensive to import."-Rodrivar further explained the issues his nation was currently facing, though said nothing yet about the annexation of Umbar as he was unsure what the younger would think of that.
'Clak, 'Clak', 'Clak'...'Clak', 'Clak'...'Clak', 'Clak'!
*What is that noise?*-Faenoryes wondered as they approached a doorway...
"Sounds as though our king is exorcising..."-Rodrivar seemed to chuckle as he opened the doors...
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Rand was enjoying his time sparring immensely. He'd been too busy to do this, no, that wasn't quite right...he'd been too fatigued, mentally, with all that was going on lately.
His 3 remaining adversaries, out of 5, circled around and positioned themselves so he had to keep turning in a circle in order to see them all. Though he didn't technically have to see them to know what they did...
He'd trained blindfolded before...
So sight wasn't everything, it just helped...a lot.
Scar-face to the left and slightly behind him made his move, lunging toward him at the same time baldy in front did, as the last man to his right approached more cautiously...a returning sparring opponent.
Rand smiled at the slower man to his right as he dealt with the other two:
Scar-face got 'Ribbon in the Air' to his face. Continuing the motion from his momentum, Rand took on Baldy.
Baldy tried using 'Rain in the Wind' but was too slow to complete it.
Rand attacked with 'Twisting the Wind' after twisting his body and slightly ducking in response to his opponent's poor choice of form and hit him with three successive blows, extremely fast;
1st) was his face, causing him to lose balance.
2nd) was the back of his legs, starting a backward flip.
3rd) was a slash downward as he fell, a real sword would likely have cut him in two.
The last man proved to be made of sterner stuff Rand realized...perhaps it was because he'd been on the receiving end of his practice sword before?
The man used 'Reaping the Barley', a generally good move, though somewhat slow and obvious.
Rolling backwards, Rand avoided the man's attack and retaliated with 'Leopard's Caress', to which the man countered with the appropriate 'Folding the Air'.
Rand was barely able to keep his practice sword in his hands, much to the man's surprise, as evidenced by his raised eyebrows and shocked expression that quickly seemed to sour.
Regardless of what the man thought, Rand countered the surprised man by using 'The Cyclone Rages'.
Though the technique was mostly used defensively against multiple opponents, against a single surprised opponent, it could be devastating.
As the man fell on his back, clapping could be heard behind him...he offered his hand to the man that had just fallen, "Nice try...?"
"Bryant Aliodan, my Lord"-the man said, taking his hand.
"Well, Bryant, could i ask you to try again tomorrow or the day after if i have time?"-Rand asked
"If it would please you, of course sire"-Bryant said, bowing.
"This man receives 2 extra gold crowns!"-Rand announced for the man's effort and as a motivation to return, he hoped.
"My lord? How did you manage to hold onto your sword earlier? My counter was nigh perfect and yet...?"-Bryant asked, confused.
Smiling, Rand said-"Because you weren't going all out against me...if you had swung with full force, i would have lost my weapon".
Bryant smiled, "I shall endeavor to try harder next time then my lord." he said bowing to Rand and walking away.
Turning to the clapping, Rand noticed a familiar man in Gondor armor...
*What was his name again?*-Rand asked himself.
"You got lucky Al'Thor"-Rodrivar said.
"Indeed i did, Captain"-Rand nodded in the affirmative and with a small smile in embarrassment. He had the title of 'Blade-master' after all, and losing in such a reckless way could tarnish that reputation for more than just himself.
"That was quite impressive, your highness"-Faenoryes said, praising Rand defeat 5 men by himself, though he did enter as the first two were hitting the ground.
"I was reckless...i'm sorry, but i forgot your name..."-Rand said, scratching the back of his head.
"Faenoryes, Knight-Captain of Gondor...We met back when the Uruks attacked?"-Faenoryes said.
"Ah, yes, how are things?"-Rand asked, opening a dialogue to begin learning why he was here now, and fearing the possibilities.
"Well, in short, i noticed the lack of Tairens patrolling your side of the river and came to investigate."-Faenoryes smiled as he said the next-"Besides, since your arrival here, my job has become so easy that it's become trivial. In fact i may just get transferred to the Northern or Western borders"-Faenoryes said, though by the end his smile had turned into a small scowl.
"Is that a such a bad thing?"-Rand asked, curious about such regions he'd had no contact with yet.
Rodrivar was also curious, going by his posture and seemingly sudden interest from the scrutiny he began conveying of the man.
"Honestly i'm not too sure. Our ally nation on our north and western borders, Rohan, have been unusually...hostile and distant. Then there's the Orcs of mountains and Mordor itself. I've even heard rumor of even more orcs massing beyond Rohan further to the West."-Faenoryes said, troubled.
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Essenia, Harad(Border) Road, Refugee Camp:
Lukas Zarench had finally made it. The first sign of settlement by these unknown peoples. He'd been traveling for some time now, angling his way south and west till finally reaching the Harad Road and then crossing the Harnen River.
At the Harnen Crossing he had his first glimpse of these people, or at least of it's military anyway. The armor was different than those he knew of or had seen before but not in any drastic way. They were well organised and generally hostile to outsiders, though he didn't know why.
The soldiers had directed him to keep moving west along the road, as they did with everyone else, some with obvious contempt.
Making his way into the small village, or camp, he began asking directions to the nearest town or city.
This didn't go to well for him, he'd been met with hostility and a general sense that he was unwelcome.
Regardless, he pushed on, eventually coming to learn of the cities of these peoples by overhearing drunk soldiers talk about them. He learned a few things:
1) The nearest city, Illian, had recently been attacked, partially by soldiers disguised as refugees, which explained a few things.
2) The largest western city, Tear, was something of a rival to the Illianers and would likely be more welcoming of foreigners.
3) The cities, were named after their countries...or it might have been the other way around, had united into a single nation called Essenia. This bit had taken a while to learn, talk of Tear and Illian becoming one as Essenia.
4) Essenia was ruled by a King, something about a Dragon, of all things, who was apparently revered by the people of this land.
5) This 'king' was some kind of sorceror, if, by the incredible feats and stories he heard, were true.
This last point, inspired or motivated him to seek this individual out and speak to him on behalf of his masters', generally known as the 'Blue Wizards'. He hoped, that because of this, he would speak to him.
The only remaining problem now was finding him...
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Near Harad, Aurokon:
"My Lord, Umbar has fallen to an unknown people that seem to have taken up residence in the lands of Harondor".
"Oh? And how do we know of this?"-The Lord of Near Harad asked.
"Sir, many people are fleeing the lands of Umbar and are entering our city, some even continue to flee south or east..."
"Do we have any descriptions of these invaders? Their tactics, numbers...culture?"-The Lord of Near Harad inquired of his pathetic weasel of an informant.
"The testimony of the refugee's vary my lord, but some relative information has been gathered, yes."
"Ehm."
"During the initial siege of the 'Havens of Umbar', the enemy lost many ships. Large numbers of troops however seemed to appear from no where, as if stepping out from the air itself."
"The following battle for the City of Corsairs was more...traditional, excluding reports of men appearing suddenly near the roads going in and out of the city."
"There is a rough estimate that the unknown enemy lost around 10,000 men, the total number of enemies are unknown as they continually appeared from nowhere, without end."
"Lastly, it would seem that a great and powerful sorceror leads them..."-the informant finished, bowing to the Lord.
"Hmmm, interesting...but also very troubling"-The Lord of Near Harad said as he scratched the stubble on his chin in thought.
*A powerful sorcerer and an unknown amount of soldiers that can step out of the air itself...this is troubling indeed.*
"Gather the Council, tell them that Umbar has fallen"-The Lord of Near Harad announced.
"As you wish, at once sire"-the frail man said, bowing and backing away as he did so...
*Is it Lord Sauron? Has he come to punish us for our squabbles? A great sorcerer...hmmmm*
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Far Harad, Karna:
The Lord of Karna was very displeased with the numbers of pirates and other scum of Umbar that began flooding their city the past 2 days.
Reports of invaders and the conquest of Umbar troubled him greatly.
He cared not, for surely, the great and powerful Lord Sauron would retaliate against these invaders.
The biggest question was what to do with the wretches that were filling his city?
*Sell them to the Khund slave-farms?*
*Make them fight in the arena's of death?*
*Just simply kill them and use them as food for our beasts?*-he quietly laughed to himself as he thought about that last idea.
*Honor-less pirate scum, they should have known better than to come into MY CITY with their stink!*
Standing, the Lord of Karna decided to go with all his ideas on what to do with the refugees of Umbar that were continuously entering his city...
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Unknown location:
Rand had finally given in to Gandalf's plea's to head to the North-west of Middle-earth.
They spent the last few days Skimming from one area to the next.
Gandalf would explain the area and try to convey just how far said area was away.
At the moment, Gandalf was explaining a place called Rivendell. A beautiful town, in the mountains, with many waterfalls...located near a major water-way.
"Okay, okay, let's give it a try then."-Rand said, doubtful of further descriptions were necessary.
Opening a Skimming portal and making a platform for everyone to stand on, he would try this one more time before calling it a day...
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Misty Mountains, Rivendell:
Elrond was growing impatient, waiting for Gandalf to arrive. Also, Gandalf nor any of his Istari brethren had come to the council he had called.
Worry, he was deeply troubled by the lack of contact by the Istari, Gandalf in particular.
There was also, though troubling regardless, the 8 of the 9 ring-wraiths that were after Frodo and his friends. Well, more specifically, the One Ring he supposed.
He sat on a veranda, overlooking the natural beauty of his home for the past 3,000 years or so, when he noticed something odd...
The air shimmered and then split, opening into a portal of some kind.
Standing up in shock, Elrond called for his elven soldiers to attend him at once. Where he immediately had them go and investigate.
As he began giving the orders however, one of the people jumping out of the portal looked to be Gandalf-long grey beard, pointy hat, tall and had a 'walking stick' as he often called it.
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Rand looked around, admiring the beauty of the place.
"This is it, right?"-Rand asked Gandalf as he stepped off the platform and down to the ground.
"Mmmm, yes, this is Rivendell indeed"-said Gandalf, looking around and nodding his head.
...
Making their way towards the buildings, they were suddenly surrounded by quick, silent, pointy-eared soldiers. Rand, and his Defenders were immediately put on edge. No one had heard a thing!
One of the 'pointy-eared' started speaking in a language that Rand couldn't understand, though it did sound kind of like a song...
Gandalf answered back in that same 'song-like' language after a few seconds of pause.
The strange people lowered their weapons but encircled the group as they were lead to the town.
"Gandalf, these people..."-Rand began.
"Yes, Rand Al'Thor, they are elves, more specifically, they are Eldar Elves"-Gandalf said.
...
After a short time they came before Elrond, a very sour-faced Elrond.
"Gandalf, where have you been and who are these people?"-Elrond asked, saving choice questions for later.
"Sorry my friend, but first i should let you be aware first, that Sauroman has betrayed us all and now sides with Sauron"-Gandalf said gravely, while Rand just listened, not really knowing the full importance of either.
"This is grave news...but please answer my questions Mithrandir"-Elrond said sternly.
"First, i went to Orthanc to consult with Sauroman about the troubles before us, he then revealed that he had sided with Sauron and...imprisoned me"-Gandalf said.
Elrond caught the pause, assuming it wasn't quite such, they likely fought with Gandalf losing.
"I was rescued by the King of Eagles, who agreed to bring me to Essenia. Essenia is a new land where Harandor, or South Gondor, once resided. It's king, Rand Al' Thor, is the red-headed man with me."-Gandalf said.
Elrond looked towards the youth mentioned. *This child is a king?*
"Upon arriving there however, I learned that Essenia and Umbar were now at war with each other. The result was a city half-burned to the ground and Umbar falling under their rule."-Gandalf said.
Elrond's surprise at this is evident. *So quickly!?*
"After...annexing, as they call it, the lands and cities of Umbar, i managed to convince Rand Al'Thor here to come here...by way of..."-Gandalf was saying when Rand finished for him.
"by Skimming"-Rand said, uncaring if they knew what it meant.
"Skimming?"-Elrond said, puzzled.
Rand just shook his shoulders.
"I open a weaker form of 'Traveling', a 'gateway' of sorts. Possible a corridor between time and space, maybe another dimension, none really know for sure, at least not that i'm aware of."
"When someone is too weak or simply does not know the place well enough that they wish to 'Travel' to, they can use 'Skimming' instead. It is far faster than a galloping horse could ever travel in a single day."
"I put forth that for every second one spends 'Skimming', multiple leagues are covered in the world."-Rand finished saying, now looking thoughtful and contemplative.
Elrond-"That sounds like quite the amazing feat, boy, how did you learn to do such a thing?"
Rand did not like being called a 'boy', and neither were his Defenders-as they shuffled around and gained a sense of 'hostility' toward Elrond.
"One, i'm reborn through-out the ages in 'My World' and gained all my knowledge from my previous lives in the past several ages, i'm far older, mentally than i am physically."
"Two, do you not know what even courtesy respect is when meeting a ruler of a foreign land?"-Rand asked, with a look at his soldiers and a wave to signal to them, 'at ease'.
"Three, i honestly can't remember when i first learned how...but in this current age, i learned how to do it about, egh, 4-5years ago i suppose, not too sure."-Rand finished.
Elrond huffed a little, turning to Gandalf-"Gandalf, why did you bring him here anyway?"
"Because i believe this man can help us greatly."-Gandalf said, emphasizing 'greatly' to a large degree.
"From everything i've heard about the troubles in this world, i figure that, with an army at my back, i could simply assault and destroy this...Sauron you all seem so afraid of."-Rand said...a bit haughtily, hoping to resolve the world's danger.
"That is quite the arrogant boast, Rand Al'Thor!"-Elrond said angrily.
"Lord Dragon fought the Dark One and lived, re-sealing him away from the world again, I would take his majesty's offer..."-A Defender said
"Who was this Dark One you speak of?"-Elrond said nearly dismissively.
"Not who, what"-Rand informed the stuck-up, noble-like, Elven man.
Rand sighs, another noble-man mentality to deal with.
"The Dark One, is the center for all that is generally considered bad, the anti-creator if you want to think of it that way. Like i said before, i'm reborn though out the ages to confront 'him' as many would say, to keep the world within the Creator's light and out from the Shadow."
"There were things known as 'Portal Stones' in my world that have been theorized to reflect possibilities of the world. However, the darker theory is that they weren't reflections at all, but parallel worlds, alongside our own. In those parallel worlds, most anyway, were taken by the Shadow and Ruled by the Dark One. None of which are desireable by any good and sane being."
"Hmmm, sorry i may have gotten a little off-track there. The Dark One, is pure Evil and Chaos incarnate. Created at the moment of Creation, the creator imprisoned Shaitan"-Rand was saying as all the Defenders suddenly cowered and fell to their knee's in fear.
Noticing this Rand turned to them, "Don't worry, he does not seem to exert influence over this world, do not fear that using that name will draw attention."
"As i was saying, the Creator imprisoned Shaitan in a separate dimension, away from the pattern-the pattern is the overall fabric in which every living thing is intertwined, each represented as a single 'thread' in the fabric."-Rand continued saying.
"Interesting, i had not read that while staying in Tear, very enlightening"-Gandalf said, pleased to learn new, specific knowledge on the subject.
"Anyways, though Shaitan is often referred to as a 'him', 'it' is not of any gender...i held 'it' once in my hand as i contemplated what should be done in the interests of all life. And as i held 'it', i began to pity 'it'-"
'What!'s' are heard behind him.
-"as 'it' would never, ever know what love, compassion, or even friendship was.."-Rand, who'd been holding his palm up and looking at it, dropped his arm and looked at the ground.
"A being so impossibly malicious that it could never know the opposite nature of that which is sapient..."-Rand said, shaking his head.
"Interesting story b-"-Elrond began...
"Don't"-Rand said with a look that frightened, even him, the great Elrond.
Rand had assumed the 'Flame and the Void', other wise known as the 'Oneness' without realizing he'd done so. As a result his voice came out cold and emotionless.
"This is the first i've spoken of this..."-Rand said coldly.
"Defenders, none are to speak of what is said here today, understood?!"
"Yes! Lord Dragon/Your Majesty!"
Elrond was looking at Gandalf, who in turn was giving him a look saying 'it's far-fetched, but i wouldn't don't doubt it if i were you'.
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A/N
Comments? I'm having trouble with finding anything consistent with regards to the East and South Middle-Earth. If anyone knows some reliable, good, information on the matter-please leave a review or PM me.
I'm of the impression that Elrond is kind of 'stuck-up' and arrogant when something happens that he doesn't like, like Rand showing up.
-please note that there's been a time skip of about a month since Annexing Umbar by the end of this chapter.
Suggestions/ideas: It is said that the Blue wizards were doing something 'big' that ended up helping to defeat Sauron/Mordor, but they then disappeared. Also mentioned that they were sowing discontent and rebellion to Mordor among the Easterlings but ultimately failed.
So...idea's on what they could have done in regards to this 'big contribution'? Since it apparently wasn't the discord of the Easterlings as evidenced by failure.
Current idea: Rand and company shows up and takes out a large number of Easterlings where the Blue Wizards get caught up in the attack and killed?
Have a Good/Happy Saint Patrick's Day!