AN: There was meant to be some invisible text here, I don't know how well it works without it. I can't get FF to cooperate so let me know if you think you think the chapter lost something by having the bits at the end or not.
Crossing the Border
The day has arrived, and it is a disturbingly familiar sight. A great line of people, with sleds, wagons and hand-drawn carts carrying all their worldly possessions. It brings to mind your brothers' people after the Battle of Sudden Flame, or your own after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, of proud Noldor forced to live like refugees as they flee the ruins of their once-homeland.
You gaze past the slowly advancing column, newly mounted; you have no idea how Orundómë found you, but he had. And as you stare at the slowly emptying village, a thought occurs to you, with the press of a knee you set the Lord of Horses on course towards Velkind.
The Clan Chief is preoccupied with overseeing the coalescing refugee train, trying to bring some order to the inevitable chaos, an action you approve of.
"Velkind, a moment of your time, please," You call out, staying mounted.
The Clan Chief turns away from the old woman carrying a crying child, asking, "Brightstar. How to help?"
You gesture at the village around you and said, "Do you want to burn the village?"
The Chief's expression of surprise and fear is a welcome sight, heartening given the severity of this suggestion.
"Burn village, Brightstar?" He asks, voice shaky. "When… Whyn? I… Sorry. Know not words."
You raise a comforting hand. "Be calm. I am asking, not telling."
You politely wait as the old Chief calms himself. He takes a while, stilling his beating heart and short breath, the woman having long moved on.
Eventually he turns back to you, eyes full of unspoken questions. "Why burn?"
"There are arguments to burn and to not burn," You explain, "If you burn the village, there will be nothing for the Darkspawn to use - nothing for them to build with - and stiffen the spines of those who might desire to return in the face of danger and deprivation."
You wait to see how he takes your words. As expected, he grimaces with reluctance, but his eyes eventually soften as he slowly nods, and he then closes his eyes as he heaves a heavy sigh.
"If you do not burn, you can one day return, and it will not involve violence against all that you have built here," You finish.
The chief looks around, mournful but accepting. "So, burn?"
You turn your horse away, saying, "You are the leader. You choose."
As Orundómë trots away at your command, your ears register orders from the Chief's raspy voice, and soon the orange flames begin to consume the first house.
Great plumes of black smoke billow from behind you as the column heads east towards the forest, the part of it that extends past Ferelden's border that you intend to use to bypass their patrols.
It is not a path without danger, filled with Sylvans, Spiders and bandits as ever. More so in fact, with no one to bring any stability to the region. You take careful note of the warriors placed at the edges of the column, all relatively unencumbered. Hopefully they will not be needed, and if they are, you hope they are enough.
Perhaps your brothers have a point about you worrying too much. The column passes one of Lanaya's scouts, concealed better than they used to be. The journey had been admittedly perilous, but you have spent enough time in the forest to know the signs; you ambushed or avoided many Spiders or Sylvans that thought you easy prey, and few bandits ever wanted to accost such a huge gathering protected by so many armed warriors.
To your immense surprise. there was hardly any dissent from the Chasind, their faith in you solidified rather than shaken by the journey. You arrive at the clearing by a small stream that you marked as a potential village. If two villages are needed, the next designated spot is another two hours' journey north. Which brings you to the decision before you: What to do with the Chasind clans
After thinking it over, and examining the Chasind behind you, the choice is clear. Two villages. There really is no other option. You can see the tension between the different clans. The fear and wariness on both sides is almost palpable. You can only imagine what might happen if they were forced together in a small space. Even the Eldar had separated over their great journey, it would be madness to not learn from that.
The decision of which clan to leave here and which to take to the nearby spot is one made in moments. You would like to claim that is due to your decisiveness, or perhaps some deep understanding of those involved. Unfortunately for you there is a far more mundane reason, you are only capable of communicating effectively with one clan.
You find Velkind quickly. He has been loath to stray too far from you since the Chasind departed their homes.
"Can you inform the other clan that they are to begin encamping here?" You request. "You and your clan will continue to another site with me."
Velkind nods and goes about informing his group.
While he is doing that, you turn your attention to the clan that will be remaining. You find the old woman who is the leader of the other clan. You do not need to reach out to touch her mind this time. You convey to her that this will be clan's new home. You even help setting up some tents as the others prepare to leave.
The two hours journey north leads you to a different stream. You believe it feeds into the same river but does not give one clan control of the other's water supply. The Chasind begin putting up rough hide tents and settling in. Leaving you to find a way to make yourself useful.
The first thing you need to do is to make certain that the foundations for the village are set well, so as to prevent problems arising in future. To this end you find yourself arguing with Velkind.
"Why change tent?" He asks, clearly struggling to remain respectful. "Tent work always."
This language barrier is going to drive you mad. You make a mental note to try to teach him proper grammar later.
"Tent placement should serve as a mark for future housing." You explain. "If you are not careful then you will end up with chaos as things are placed for access from tents, but the houses will be elsewhere."
The worst case scenario is that this tent village either becomes permanent or displaces the permanent structures into a state of utter chaos.
Velkind glares. "We not need baby. We know build how village."
"I am not trying to question your abilities. Merely hoping to aid logistical efforts." You insist.
Your words prevail, eventually, and you ride back to the other clan. You find that they have a significantly more chaotic camp. You suspect that this is due to the lack of leadership, and the death of most of their hunters. You do your best to help them. Mostly by drawing some rough roads into the dirt. You also help dig some latrines. Because you can never escape latrine duty.
As the sun sinks below the horizon and the humans depart for breakfast, you remain beyond the camp's boundaries, thinking. You can clearly tell that these people are not as those of Gladesville. They do not need to be babysat through the creation of their villages. You will need to aid them in integrating into the local economy but that is all.
This leaves you at something of a loss for what to do. You still feel responsible for these people and there is a niggling feeling that you are forgetting something. You wrack your brain trying to find what it is. A chill wind blows from the south, and you pull your cloak closer. Before you end up freezing you make a decision on what you will do this evening.
Your thoughts do not let you simply disappear into the celebrations that have, even without your prompting, begun to develop in the villages. You ponder the events that have transpired since you left Endataurëo. After a full quarter of an hour, you think you have found what was bothering you. Maybe. Why are you still uneasy?
Nebulous feelings of dread aside, you have something you need to do. You recall that Velkind mentioned that the Chasind tribes often fought each other. It was important to stress that such behaviour was to end immediately. Perhaps if you are suitably charming, you can even get some semblance of a positive relationship going between them.
You start with Thea, since she is the closest and also the most difficult to speak to. You waste yet more time finding her among the celebrations, then still more attempting to find a way to ask complex political questions in pantomime. Finally, you give up and just reach out for her mind again.
However much this method of talking makes you feel like a boorish child, Thea seems to be growing used to it. As far as she knows, and she stresses that she is not the leader and does not know everything, there is no history between her clan and Velkind's.
Informing her that there should be no violence, war or raiding between the two clans results in wry amusement. Given that she currently can call upon a dozen warriors at best, thoughts of war were already far from her mind. Content with that, you mount Orundómë and ride to speak with Velkind.
Velkind's tribe are far more unified in their celebrations. You would guess the more experienced leader has organised something. You are welcomed, or so you assume, when you enter the empty space at the centre of the camp. The chief sits on the ground like everyone else, but clearly in a place of honour.
"Brightstar!" He cries as you approach. "Come, be joined in feasting!"
"Thank you for your generous offer." You reply calmly, inkling your head slightly. "Sadly, I have come to speak of matters of import, and cannot rest until that duty is discharged."
The stunned silence that follows makes you curse the language barrier once more.
"I need to talk to you." You simplify.
"Speak then" The chief says, waving a bowl of liquid as red as his face.
"You cannot attack the other clan. They are under my protection." You proclaim.
There is a moment of silence, then Velkind laughs drunkenly.
"It is funny joke Brightstar." He says.
"It is no joke." You state flatly.
There is another moment of silence, then Velkind lurches to his feet.
"Why!? We far from darkspawn. They weak. You fa… hel… Like them more!" He accuses, swaying slightly. "No break clan. No raid. No be Chasind, be like men of iron."
"I would hope compassion was not the sole domain of Ferelden." You retort, maintaining your calm. "Both of you are in a position of vulnerability, by cooperation you can benefit far more than anything you might gain from raiding. Take a lesson from the division of the Noldor and unite against your common foe."
The chief glares at you. "You speak many talks. Not understand talks. You think Chasind stupid, you think we be like men of iron!"
"I assure you…" You begin.
Velkind yells over your words. "I chief! Not you! I decide if we fight or if we not! I decide!"
With your own words thrown back at you, it is difficult to argue through the language barrier. With a sigh, you resign yourself to making an enemy today.
"You decide." You nod. "But if you decide to attack, I will fight against you."
The silence is no longer stunned or confused, now it is fearful.
You draw yourself up to your full height, looming over Velkind.
"Do not attack anyone." Your quiet voice rings through the silence. "Am I clear?"
Velkind stares at you angrily, but nods. "Clear."
Oh Knowledge~
Getting Settled
For some reason you find yourself on edge. You shake off the feeling of unease and focus on the task at hand. Now that the Chasind have a place in the ecosystem you are creating, the time has come to start integrating them into it. The first thing you have to do, before anything else, is teach them the language.
You might be able to learn the Chasind language in a short time frame, but most cannot, so if they want to trade or coordinate with the others who live here, they need to learn Thedaslta. It helps that some of them clearly have a foundation in the language already, which will speed progress along significantly.
You take a moment to despair over the fact that you had an opportunity to teach multiple polities Quenya but have been unable to due to circumstance. You envy Felagund, you really do.
Gathering together the three people who already know some of the language takes relatively little time. Getting a representative from the other clan takes longer, due to both a lack of candidates and the fact that none of them speak a language you understand. This barrier, like all others you face, is overcome in time and you gather your four students together for a lesson.
"Today I am going to be giving you a crash course in Thedaslta." You inform the Chasind. "I want you all to be able to understand and communicate with the others in this land."
You look over your students, awaiting questions. There are none, fortunately.
Your lesson begins with a single question. "Can you write?"
What follows is confused whispering and glances at each other. This continues until the woman who helped you when you first arrived in the wilds, Meen, asks the question they all want to.
"What is 'write'." All eyes turn to you when the words are said.
Idly miming writing you attempt to explain. "It is when you put words down as symbols."
There is a long pause, as they clearly do not understand your words. You try to think of a better way to explain it, when the representative of the other clan, Harald, suddenly says something. You do not understand it obviously, you do not speak Chasind.
After a short conversation among the Chasind you are presented with a strip of bark with some strange markings on it.
"Write!" Harald pronounces with a wide smile.
You cannot comment on the complexity of the writing, as you do not understand it. Still, you decide to take a risk and begin getting them to write down words in Thedaslta.
To your disappointment, their writing system is based on concepts rather than sounds. Still with some effort you manage to teach them an alphabet and together you put together a guide to common phrases they may need to know. Useful as a shortcut in learning the language. More importantly it should allow them to effectively teach others of their clans the words.
After making sure that everybody has a copy of the phrasebook, you look over the rest of the Chasind. You are looking for things that you might be able to help with. There is construction ongoing, but you decide not to help there. Unlike Gladesville, these people have both the manpower and the knowledge to build things without you.
You would also rather focus on integration with their neighbours. On that front you have many different options. You will need to introduce them to the others, but that can be something you come back to. For now, you want to focus on the immediate survival of the people who live here. You consider the options you have available.
You have at bare minimum secured enough of a base that you can expect slow improvement in the Chasind's common. As much as your inner perfectionist demands that you teach these four until they are fluent, you force yourself to relax. They just need to know enough to function, anything else is a waste of time.
You are also feeling, for want of a better term, on edge. You feel as though something is about to go wrong yet you do not know what. It is a factor in your decision to move from language lessons to a quick overview of the hunting system in the area. If it aids those you consider your responsibility in feeding themselves, that is simply beneficial for all involved.
You do need to send Harald out to find the old leader of his clan. Once she arrives you finally learn that her name is Thea. This is actually your first conversation with her that uses words. Hence why you are now learning her name. Talking through Velkind, Meen and Evora is a little awkward, but it seems to largely work.
With all parties that need to know gathered in one place you are able to begin an explanation of Ranger's hunting system. At least in so far as you understand it.
Given that you are not exactly a hunter yourself you can only rely on rote recollection of what Ranger has said. So, you begin a lecture about areas of hunting, the amount of time people hunt. Frankly you are not surprised when everyone has questions. The fact that Velkind and Thea are included, is impressive when you recall they were busy with the translating.
"Why change hunting?" Velkind demands.
You have a sneaking suspicion that he is going to be a source of continuous resistance to any changes you propose.
"To make sure there is enough hunting for everyone in the forest." You explain calmly.
"Was never bad before!" The chief exclaims.
"Did the Kocari wilds have a plague of giant spiders eating everything that moves?" You ask rhetorically
With Velkind's complaint silenced, you address Thea. Her words are interpreted a few different ways by those who speak a language you understand. The gist of them is that she is not sure how to define each local area.
"That is an excellent question." You note, chewing your lip. "For now just hunt no more than three hours from your camp and I'll ask Ranger when I get home."
Naturally there is a minor fuss as that comment is translated for Thea. You take the time to answer Evora's question.
"No, I will not be hunting any more darkspawn. They are both not native to the area, and it is far too dangerous to be wasting my time on." You inform the woman.
"You warden. Your job." The old healer stubbornly insists.
"I am not a Grey Warden." You sigh. "As I have told you several times now."
To your immense relief Meen interrupts Evora's continuing demands to end the darkspawn threat alone.
"Who Ranger? Why matter?" She asks.
It takes a few moments to phrase it in a way they will understand it. "Ranger is the head hunter of my clan. He decides who hunts where."
Naturally this results in another argument with Velkind, who does not want to obey anyone else. In the end pointing out that he lives on your land and a reminder that he is free to leave your protection whenever he likes ends the discussion. It does raise an important question though. What kind of relationship do you intend to have with the Chasind going forward?
Your heart does go out to the Chasind. Fleeing from their homes with only the mercy of a stranger to count on would be hard on anyone. It is also painfully similar to your own fate when Himring fell. This sympathy does not quite extend so far as to allow them to live in your lands for no cost.
You intend to treat these people as you might a vassal. They are free to rule their lands as they see fit. You will not ask much beyond that they do not interfere with others under your protection. In return you will expect them to lead their warriors to fight by your side. It seems a reasonable compromise to you, given the looming blight.
By this point your lesson has clearly concluded. The four Chasind are beginning to nervously sidle away, unsure whether to leave without your permission or not.
You break the tension by speaking. "The lesson is over, I would like to speak to Thea and Velkind, Meen do you mind staying to translate?"
Harald and Evora are swift to move away. The two leaders look nervous, but Meen does not.
"Of course, Brightstar." She bows.
"I will not keep you too long." You begin.
"Brightstar. I do not understand." Meen interrupts.
"Sorry, I will speak more simply." You say. "This will be short."
You spend the time Meen is translating changing the wording of what you were going to say. You would not demand an oath from anyone, not that you thought the two would give them. This left the normal relationship between vassal and lord somewhat in the air. You had to make the arrangement you intended as clear as possible.
"While you are here, I want you to do something for me." You begin, watching for any confusion in the translator.
You notice the young woman consulting her new book, but the message seems to get across.
"What want?" Velkind asks suspiciously.
"If I need to fight someone, I want your warriors to help." You explain.
After your words were translated Thea immediately starts talking. Meen looks rather overwhelmed.
Hesitantly the young Chasind says, "Thea say, her clan have small warrior. She no want lose many."
You tilt your head. "I will not call on them soon. And I will have my own warriors fighting by their side."
Thea remains uneasy, frankly you do not blame her. You have a group of people smaller than her clan and you still have twice as many warriors defending them. Velkind watches the interaction with a thoughtful expression.
"You understand that we will need to fight the darkspawn." You soothe the old woman. "If we face them united, we will be more likely to succeed than if we are scattered and alone."
Thea eventually accepts this logic, and you turn to face Velkind. To your surprise he shrugs.
"We fight if you fight." He says carelessly.
You watch him, looking for any signs of deceit or agenda. You find none.
"I am glad to hear it." You smile.
When Velkind thinks you are not looking, he smirks at Thea. You realise his game when she glares back. Humans.
I Have Something of Yours~
Stubborn and Proud
Before you return to your home, you decide train your resolve. It would likely not surprise any who knew you, that training resolve is something you were well acquainted with. You and your brothers had a number of games and contests that did so. Contests of will in the mind, physical endurance games and many more. You can thus be forgiven for assuming the task would be easy.
Unfortunately, after you handily defeat one warrior in an endurance game, you realise there is a problem you had overlooked. You do not have your legendarily stubborn brothers, or the cousins and friends who had crossed a frozen wasteland, to compete against. You do have to spend some time besting everyone who thinks to challenge you, but you remain undefeated.
With a small pile of groaning men behind you, you wrack your imagination for ways you could practice alone. The first thought is a simple physical exercise, an extended run through the forest, perhaps all the way home. That would have few if any additional benefits but, between the boredom of the task and the physical exhaustion it would cause, it would be a true challenge for you.
The downside of course is that it would be very boring and potentially interrupted by the various denizens of the forest. Mostly what concerns you is the fact that it will be a dull and boring endeavour.
It is this distaste for boredom that sees you seeking some other method of practicing resolve. A number of options present themselves after you watch the various warriors training. You could practice an associated skill in order to improve both simultaneously, though you are unsure if you are willing to accept the slower progress in training your resolve it would involve.
There is one other option that you turn over in your thoughts. There is no shortage of creatures that can contest you in the realm of the mind. They have no souls, so dominating them should not have any repercussions. The only trouble is the dangers you have heard of dealing with the creatures.
You could, in theory, enter some kind of contest of wills with a spirit. Assuming you can find one. Or that you even want to. You still cannot shake the uneasy feeling you have been having since you arrived. You feel as though someone is whispering, too quietly to hear.
You find the Veil and pause. Are you really going to do this? You are going to make your first trip into the Beyond since you escaped. And the reason for this trip is so that you can get into a contest of wills with a creature that is nothing but a will. Putting it into words makes it sound like madness.
You also note that it sounds exactly like the kind of thing your father and brothers would have done. Frankly you doubt there is anything anywhere in this forest that could match you on stubbornness alone. So, you have no choice. Hesitation would be cowardice at this point.
Step one, flood your body with the concentrated light of the Eldar. Then you invoke your weave to part the Veil. You have all the attempts you will ever need to work said weaving so there is little difficulty there. After several attempts, a flickering shift in the reality around you reveals that you have cracked the mystical defences enough to enter the Beyond. You do so.
You do not experience the lancing pain you had expected. Entering in physical form seems to be far safer than the alternative. Though perhaps that is because it is elf flesh suffused with the light of the Eldar. You doubt anything is safer from intrusion on the mystical plane.
The Beyond is a strange place at the best of times. You were not expecting to arrive on a battlefield that would not have looked out of place in Beleriand. That where you have ended up though. If you squint slightly, you can even imagine that the bodies are humans and elves instead of whatever those lizard things are.
Now that you are in the home of spirits, the time has come to find one. Your senses are unlikely to help you, given that spirits are made of the same substance as the surrounding area. Instead, you slowly, carefully, send out a tendril of your will. Given what you seek you lace it with curiosity and a desire for competition.
When doing things of this nature you expect a meeting of minds. It would be the result of doing so in Arda. Not so in this land where desire is reality, and the past is the present. Here you are disrupted by a voice.
"Oh! Another knowledge? Stupendous!"
You turn your head to see a silvery ball with wings. You have many questions, yet you fear to ask.
"I am not a spirit of knowledge, though I take it that you are." You respond with forced calm.
The spirit bobs up and down. "Yeppers! Knowledge at your service! Can I ask you a question?"
You know how this game is played. "Yes. Moving on, would you like to play a game?"
The creature shivers in place. "Oooh. You're good. No thanks. If you're not knowledge, what are you?"
In hindsight you should have assumed that spirit of knowledge would value questions more than anything else. "I am an Eldar. I have a proposal for you."
"But I wanna ask more questions!" The being complains but stops speaking afterwards.
It seems to still be bound by the 'rules'.
"I wish to test my will against yours. May I?" You explain quickly.
The creature considers for a moment, then bobs again. "Alright sounds new!"
Swift as a serpent your mind lashes out at the creature before you. There is an initial connection. Through that connection you sense what would, in any other creature, be a deeply diseased mind. Soon, the connection slams shut and Knowledge pits its desire to keep secrets against your will.
It is a contest you have an edge in from the beginning. Your will is laced with intention, you have experience in such contests, and you have the initiative. The creature resists surprisingly well for something formed out of another's desires, but the result is inevitable.
Slowly, steadily your will squeezes around the creature. Eventually it abandons defence and lashes out, trying to harm you. You anticipated such an attempt and thwart it with ease. You break through its defences. Satisfied with the experience you are about to withdraw, when a piece of knowledge in the sea that is this creature catches your eye.
Within the sea of curiosity, facts and memories drift and bob here and there. The one that catches your eye is seemingly meaningless. As your passing brushes against it you know it contains only a name, but something about the name pulls you up short.
Closer inspection reveals the reason. Knowledge considers this an important piece of information. As you focus more attention on the memory it begins to play out for you.
A single beam of light pierced the gloom of the tower through a narrow window. An elf lay dead on the floor, throat cut. Above his body a wild eyed man in robes that were once fine stared up at Knowledge, bloodied knife in hand.
"I have bound you. Obey me!" He cried.
"Nope." Knowledge giggled. "You're wrong."
"If you're not bound to me, how are you here?" The old man yelled in frustration.
"If you want me to answer a question, you have to tell me something." Knowledge said.
"What, that's preposterous." The man brandished his knife.
Knowledge ignored the weapon, it was no threat in this state. "Then I guess I'm staying here until you run out of magic."
"If I tell you something you don't know, you'll serve me?" The blood mage bargained.
"I will answer one question." Knowledge said, beginning to tire of this pointless discussion.
"I can work with that." The human muttered. "What to say, though…"
Minutes passed as the mortal thought.
The man smirked. "Sethius Amladaris."
"What?" The spirit asked.
"It's a name. Do you know it?" The man asked innocently.
"I do not." The spirit began, then paused. "Clever human."
The old man smirked, "Excellent then answer my question…"
"You had enough power to talk, but not enough to summon. Bye." Knowledge interrupted then began to fade away.
"That's not what we agreed!" The man howled.
"If you're not bound to me, how are you here?" The spirit replied in the man's own voice. "That's what you asked."
The spirit laughed mockingly as the connection between them faded away.
You withdrew from the spirit's mind. That was strange. Why would the spirit consider such a memory important? For that matter, who was that person? You have many questions.
"That was an experience. Are we going to do it again?" Knowledge asked eagerly.
"No. What is important about the name Sethius Amladaris?" You reply absently.
"He was a servant of Dumat before he became the first Archedemon." Knowledge replied. "Then mysteriously he disappears. Nobody knows anything about him, not even when he died. What's an Eldar?"
You can see why that would be considered important to a spirit of knowledge.
Still, you have lost interest in this spirit. "I fear this is the end of our game. I have no desire to ask further questions and given that you led in this exchange…"
"Oh poo." The silvery ball manages to sound and look like it is pouting. "You're no fun Eldar. We have tonnes of time; stay a while and we can play forever!"
You ignore the spirit, unwilling to reveal your ability to leave the Beyond to one of its denizens. Eventually it grows bored of attempting to annoy you into answering another question and flutters off.
You breathe a sigh of relief and slip out of the Beyond. It takes several attempts to do so, your skill with magic is still in development. When you return to the real world you realise that the sun is already sinking behind the horizon. Your stomach rumbles with sudden hunger and you shudder.
This has been a sharp lesson on the danger of spirits. Who knows how long Knowledge might have kept you talking if you had given into its whims? You set off to find some food. It will be hours before you notice the gnawing curiosity.
Who is Sethius Amladaris?
Come and get them~