Virtual Birthday Party, Day 2

[wiseheart]

Dear all,

Day 1 of the party has been a great success: 170 comments on 2 pages so far. As agreed, I hereby kick off the second day, so that we won't lose everything like last year, should LJ crash our party again.

Threads of interest can still be commented on, but I ask you to start any new threads here from now on

And now: on with the party!!!

Comments

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

“I do not understand,” confessed Aragorn. “If you truly are one of the Ithryn Luin, why have you come in the disguise of a man? And why have you spent all this time among such barbarians?”

“Your arrogance does not suit the blood of Elros Tar-Minyatur, Scion of the Sea-kings,” she said coldly. “The peoples of Rhûn are as much the Children of Ilúvatar as your own kind. They deserve a chance to struggle free from Sauron’s clutches; which, for them, is a much harder struggle than for those who have always been free. My brother in the thought of Ilúvatar, Rómestámo, who you know by the name of Pallando, and myself have been sent to the East. It was our task to hinder Sauron’s operations as well as we could, and to ensure that the forces of the East would not outnumber those of the West beyond measure.”

“Then you failed in your task, I would say,” commented Aragorn.

“You would say so, and you would be both arrogant and wrong,” she returned, her eyes glittering in cold anger. “For you do not know half as much as you think you do; nor do your tutors, for that matter. I am Morinehtar Darkness-slayer, and my brother and I came from the West a great deal earlier than the others. We journeyed the East for hundreds of years and aided the defeat of Sauron in the Last Alliance. After that, still wearing the mantle of a man, for that helped my advice to be heard, I went to Rhovanion as the advisor of their Kings.”

“You were the one who forged the bond between Valacar and Princess Vidumavi, Vidugavia’s daughter!” realised Aragorn in awe. She nodded simply.

“I did. That was a unique chance to forge a strong bond between all kingdoms east of the Anduin against a possible new threat from the Easterlings and Mordor.”

“A shame that it did not work,” said Aragon grimly. “In fact, it led straight to the Kin-strife of Gondor.”

“That it did,” she agreed. “But that was not my fault. Your forefathers have always been way too arrogant for their own good – and see where it led them! Arnor is gone, and Gondor has become isolated, under constant siege from all sides. With a strong kingdom in Rhovanion it would not have happened.”

“Perhaps not,” allowed Aragorn reluctantly. “But how did you end up here?”

“By my own choice,” she replied. “When Princess Freya was banned, I shed the mantle of a man and accompanied her on her flight to Rhûn and stayed here to keep the sisterhood of the shieldmaidens alive, as the only means for Khimmer women to break out of their subjugated position. I have been here ever since; and I have helped the chieftains of the Tribe of the Bear to rise in power; for only a strong and united Rhûn could hope to free itself from Sauron’s overlordship.”

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

“Would that not overthrow the balance of power in Middle-earth?” asked Aragorn.

“Oh yes, it would; and in a good way,” answered the norna… or rather the Blue Wizard, unlikely as that seemed. “Alas, it is slow work. It took me many generations to help Ragnar’s family to get where they are now. Oh, he and his forefather did their part, too; they fought very hard to become chieftains. But it was I who negotiated the marriage that helped them to gain ownership over the Deep Furnaces and made them Lords of Nimwarkinh.”

“Which was no small feat,” admitted Aragorn. “But how can you live with their barbaric customs? And their superstitions, all this nonsense about descending from a bear… I certainly had a hard time to keep my disdain under control.”

Now she did truly smile. “That part is actually true… in a manner. One of Ragnar’s female ancestors was a Beorning; a daughter of the leading clan that could change into the shape of a bear.”

“A match also made by you, I presume,” said Aragorn, and she nodded.

“Naturally. The clan supposed to lead the wild warriors of Rhûn had to be strong. And they are strong, as you can see. Of course,” she added with an amused snort, “the other tribes felt the need to find an animal ancestor, too, after that. They did not want to be outdone by the Sons of the Bear. They even created their own brand of shieldmaidens; although theirs are merely female warriors who are not taught any of the ancient knowledge our Guardians possess. ‘Tis my hope that one day Nimwarkinh will become the source of culture and wisdom for all Rhunic people.”

“You can wait for that,” Aragorn was not entirely free of the prejudices of his own people, he admitted freely; but in his case those prejudices were based on the experiences made among the Rhunim.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Tanfana… Alatariel… Morinehtar… simply shrugged. “That matters not. I have got the time; and the patience.”

“You shall need it,” commented Aragorn dryly. “What has become of the other Blue Wizard, though? Of Pallando?”

She sighed. “I cannot be certain. During the early Third Age and until the end of the Watchful Peace, we were tasked with finding where Sauron dwelt. We failed, and I turned back to go to Rhovanion. My brother went on… I never had word of him since then.”

“Can it be that he was slain?” asked Aragorn carefully.

She shook her head. “Had he been, I would know that. We are siblings in the thought of Ilúvatar; we would feel if the other one perished. Nay; he is still out there, somewhere. I strongly believe that we shall be reunited ere our task in Middle-earth is finished.”

“And what for now?” asked Aragorn. “Will you remain here, with the Tribe of the Bear?”

She nodded. “This is where I am needed most. More so as Ingolf Ragnarsson has weakened his own authority in the eyes of the lesser jarls. Ragnar Jarl will need my support; and he will have it, for he is the best possible choice to rule over a united Rhûn after the war – if there will be an after.”

Aragorn nodded in agreement, for that was certainly true. Then another question occurred to him. “Do the other Wizards know that you are here?”

“Nay, they do not,” she replied. “And they are not supposed to know, not even Radagast. They might try to use my influence for their own designs, which doubtlessly are noble, but it would upset everything I have worked for here for two thirds of the recent Age. I cannot risk that. So I must ask you, Scion of the Sea-kings to keep my secret as closely as you keep your own. Many lives depend on it.”

Aragorn nodded. “I shall do as you ask me, my lady. But allow me one last question: how can you know who I am? As you said, ‘tis one of the closely-guarded secrets of these days.”

“Child,” she replied with a true smile again. “My powers might be limited in this form, but do you truly believe I would not recognise Melian’s blood, even so? She was of the Lady Yavanna’s people, I was one of Lord Oromë’s, but we have known each other since the shaping of Arda. Go now; your secret is safe with me. Make sure that mine will be safe with you, too.”

Recognising a dismissal when he was given one, Aragorn bowed and left her chambers but did not return to his own just yet. Instead, he sought out one of the small balconies that could be accessed from the guest wing as he knew from his latest visit to Nimwarkinh, hoping that it would still exist. He had a great deal to think about, and fresh air made it easier to do so.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Very, very interesting! I really like the idea of a female Blue Wizard. She is a wonderful character - and I love the details her of her plans are their results. I really like the idea that things would have been a lot worse otherwise.
Aragorn seems to deal well with her and I wonder how this knowledge will effect his actions.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I had her pop up in other stories, i think - in Annúminas definitely, though I'm not sure about the other ones.