Other Worlds Than These

[Aikanáro]

'I am not certain of your meaning. This land falls under the jurisdiction of King Elessar of Gondor,' she said slowly.

Was he quite mad? Tanwendë hoped not. Yet even the questions he asked didn't make sense. She had understood him wrongly. He believed he had already come from a ship in the sky. That was clearly absurd, but it was also obvious that he wasn't from anywhere around here. She thought again on the circle of light, the circle she had seen on the sky above them. By no stretch of the imagination could it be called a ship, and yet...

'Your ship,' she said to him plainly, hoping to appeal to whatever sense of reason he possessed. 'If it carried you hence, then where does it now lie?' The plains were empty. No sign of a ship, wrecked or otherwise. 'How did you come from there to here? Had it anything to do with the circle of light?'

~-~-~

Rivailen blinked, not quite comprehending. The words the woman spoke were of no language she had ever heard. She was alert, though, and that was a good sign. It didn't seem that the fall had hurt her much.

She glanced back towards Beryn and Barufiniel, and then decided that her own efforts were hardly going to do any harm. 'Rivailen,' she stated clearly, tapping at her own shoulder. Then she pointed back at the woman sitting on the ground. 'Ishal-Nolu?' she ventured, trying to imitate the sounds she had heard. Then she reached out further, intending to help her to her feet.

[Earniel]

Well, it was a clearer answer than Beryn had expected from an Elf, but as all Elven explanations it wasn't really answering anything at all. A door to another world, what a strange notion was that! What other worlds, there was but one surely?

Perhaps the Elf simply meant another region? Beryn knew stories that there was a region that Elves believed in, a region that lay beyong the confines of the round world where Elves could go and Men could not. But if she had been referring to that place, surely she would have named it. And wasn't sailing required to get there in the first place? At the least Beryn suspected that no Elven paradise would harbour dragons, however small they were.

Beryn was only more confused, but she had brought that on herself, asking Elves for answers!

But if it was a 'door' as the Elf suspected, maybe it led to the Withered Heath in the Far North. There were dragons there, that would make sense. Which reminded her again of her second question she had posed just earlier. Beryn hadn't been talking about whether the portal itself was safe to stay close to, rather about what came out of it. Considering a small dragon had just come out, just maybe his big and angry mother was about to follow suit.

She was just about the rephrase her question in that way, when something else indeed came out of the portal. To Beryn's great relief it was not a few tonnes of angry dragon, but a woman. Well, there went her theory about the Withered Heath being at the other end of the strange circle... While the mountains near the heath had snow, even at this time of year, they certainly didn't have any people living there.

The woman in the snow didn't seem to know what was going on anymore than Beryn and her two new acquintances did. She didn't look too pleased to be here either.

"Maybe we should give her some space, Rivailen," Beryn said. If the woman became frightened, she might lash out.

[feawen]

The woman near her pointed to her shoulder and said something, maybe it was a form of greating, what she said next 'Ishal-Nolu?' was something along the lines of do you have eggs? Now that could not be right. Anahera stared at the womans out stretched hand, was she trying to take her eggs? Anahera pulled back.
Another woman steped forward, she spoke words that sounded familar, it was almost the speech of the man from the ships from across the wide blue, who the Nolow traded furs with when the snows melted in the spring. Standing up slowly she turned her attension to this second woman and introduced her self in the traditional way, even if her speech of the ship man was a little patchy, it was worth a try is they could tell her why she was no longer with the Nolow.
"Well greating, I be Anahera of Nolow peoples." She touched her middle figure to her forehead and then to her heart, saying the word Nolow with pride "Are you peoples of ships from the big blue? Where I find the Nolow and where be the snow?"

[Curufin]

"I was asleep. Woke up here," he said, hoping that a satisfactory explanation for why he had no bloody idea where his ship was. "Where is it? I have no more idea than you do."

Well, at least it seemed that she didn't know any more about Fleet than he did. That was a good sign.

"What is this place? The chords are strange."

[Aikanáro]

Rivailen looked dismayed as the woman pulled away from her. Beryn had been right, likely she had frightened her, and Rivailen felt a stab of guilt. She had only been trying to help, and there she had made it worse. That was always a sign that more caution was needeed. What this woman - Anahera, as she told them - needed wasn't for Rivailen to rush in and try to help, even if it has seemed like the right thing to do.

Standing, Rivailen took a couple of backward steps. She listened to Anahera's questions, but resisted the temptation to answer. It wouldn't have done much good, she had never so much as heard of the Nolow people. Wherever that doorway lead to, if indeed that was what it was, it had to be a place very far from here. What had Barufiniel said? A different world?

~-~-~-

'The chords?' Tanwendë blinked. 'I have heard no music here save your own,' she said slowly. This was altogether too strange for her liking. Either he was accustomed to speaking in a strange sort of metaphor, or...

Or those circles of light were ships, or lead to ships that sailed to somewhere in the Beyond. Tanwendë tried to think back on all she had read about sailing beyond the confines of the world. It was no use. Most of the surviving texts were translations of translations - and poor ones, to her mind. She recollected nothing of the Gone Beyond or ships of light.

Shaking her head, she looked back at Fearghan again. 'I do not think I can help with your questions,' she told him. 'I am sorry to have troubled you - listen, there are few travellers across these plains. The city of Minas Tirith is a few days ride in that direction.' She pointed back the way she had come. 'Perhaps there will be someone there who knows of your ship?'

~-~-~-

It felt like falling. Ashkaio raised his hands to shield his face from it, and it was just as well that he did, as he landed heavily on the ground. As he stood, he saw the portal sputter its last and close behind him. Typical, he thought to himself. No turning back - and where exactly am I? He glanced about, seeing nothing but flat grassy plainsland in every direction. No city. Not even a ramshackle hut where he might ask for direction.

That left Ashkaio with two options. He could stay where he was, and hope that some soul passed by, or he could start walking, and hope that it was in the right direction. The decision might have been easier if he wasn't alone. If I ever have to do this again, he thought, with a grim sort of humor, I will take a retinue no matter what cousin Lontir might have to say about it.

Time to choose a direction, then. Looking to the sky, he noted the path of the sun. South, he decided. I will go south, and hope that it leads to something other than blasted wasteland.

Ashkaio had been walking for long enough for the pack full of supplies he carried to begin to feel heavy when he finally spotted a human figure in the distance. A shepherd, from the look of things, for there was his - no, her - flock. Striding over to her, he gave her his best Kazhrun courtly bow. 'I cry your pardon for approaching you thus, sera,' he said formally, even though it was clear that she was no daughter of a noble house. Formality could make a person more amenable. 'I confess that I have lost my way,' he explained carefully.

[feawen]

Elspeth sat watching her flock, night was drawing in and she had little desire to move any further today. Her family, among other, had a small holding on the banks of the River Erul and as a coming as age test as her father liked to think of it, she had been sent was a few sheep and some small things to trade in Minas Tirith. It was only a few days walk there and she had made the trip before, just not on her own. She was not scared. The area was safe enough and the sheep as well trained as sheep could be. At least she had puddled for company. It always helped to have a dog when with sheep!
Puddles eyes prinked and a low rumble rippled though him. "Whats up you old thing?" It was then that she noticed a figure coming towards her. As it draw near to her she noticed it was a man, a very well dressed man, on his own. She stood up, Puddles standing by her side. He made its introduction and she could not help but stare. "Erm...i guess i could help you find your way if i know were you were heading?" She pulled at her patched dress, painfully aware that his clothes along cost more that her families whole belongings.

[Aikanáro]

Ashkaio's eyes flickered from the young woman with her dog to the sheep and back again, and then he gave her a soft smile. 'I must also confess that is part of my very problem,' he said.

He was unsure of how much to reveal. Clearly this woman was in no position to take action even should he tell her the whole truth. The moment he mentioned Tathera, however, it would certainly frighten her. He had no wish to do that. She was the only soul he had seen, and he was sorely in need of her assistance. He would simply answer her question, then, he decided, and worry about any subsequent queries only should she choose to raise them.

'I am seeking out the household of your lord, Yagluk the Mighty,' he said to her finally, managing to hide his distaste as he spoke. Ashkaio thought there was a particular sort of crass arrogance in giving oneself titles of that nature. They were so rarely deserved. 'I must speak with him regarding a most urgent matter. Would you direct me to his residence, or at the least to the city he holds?'

[feawen]

Elsbeth gave the man a puzzled look, "Who? There is no one by that name here. My lord and the only lord around here is King Elessar of Gondor, he lives in Minas Tirith". She pointed in the direction of the city. The name sounded evil, Yagluk the Mighty, it sounded like a name the older members of her family would use when telling the story of the great war. She gave the man a worried look, placing her hand on Puddle, "I am not sure i can help you sir."

[Midge]

Aerin led Glaeren through the gates of Minas Tirith. She'd basically been sight-seeing for some time, at the urging of a friend she'd met on a previous journey. He'd started by dragging her to Rohan, but soon the dragging part stopped and she began to enjoy herself.

Most of her "sightseeing" in Rohan had involved horses somehow, and she got many compliments on her own horse, which she'd bought from her Rohirrim Ranger friend. After nearly a year in Rohan, he'd insisted she see Gondor, down the Anduin to the Sea. Indeed she'd seen nearly all of Gondor over the past months. Her friend, Magor, had need to depart a few days ago and she was tired of her nomadic habits. She wanted to find a place to settle.

She knew (from experience now) that Ithilien was a beautiful country, and though it was not completely empty as it had once been, neither was it overpopulated. The Prince there would most likely be glad to allow her to live there if she wished. And, she thought, I almost do wish to live there. Nevertheless, she felt a duty to return to Lothlorien and see if any of her kindred remained. When she left many years ago, there had been very few Elves that intended on staying there. Most desired to follow the Lady across the Sea, and she would guess that by now, they had done so.

And so the Elf-maiden headed north through the plains of Gondor.

[Varnafindë]

Sniff.
Sniff.
Could that be a hint of truffles? And were they close enough that she might be able to dig them up?

Her late husband would have loved a dinner of truffles. Badgers generally liked truffles, but her husband more so than most.

Nightshade sighed. After only three years, the hurt was still very painful. She missed him a lot.

Her children and her grandchildren were a comfort to her, though. Her eldest grandchild, Trufflehunter, especially - at least until he moved into that new cave with those two Dwarfs three months ago.

What would he do with them? Wasn't it safer to stay on his own - or to find a nice young badger girl and start a family? Then if he was spotted by Prince Miraz' spies, he could at least try to pretend to be a mute animal - but if he was found with Dwarfs, the spies would know at once that he was an Old Narnian.

Nightshade sighed again.

It hadn't been too bad in the days of Caspian VIII. It was illegal to be an Old Narnian, everyone knew that, but in these parts of the country none of the New Narnians ever travelled, so they were safe enough. It seemed that the Telmarine King didn't really care that there might still be Old Narnians about. He never hunted for them.

All that had changed last year when the King died and his son, Caspian IX, took over. Although it wasn't necessarily the King's fault. His younger brother, though, Prince Miraz, was really bent on extinguishing all memories of Old Narnia. He had got the King's approval of sending spies out across the country to search for remnants of the Old Narnian population and to kill everyone they could find.

You had to be more careful these days. Especially careful around people you didn't know.

[feawen]

Elspeth watched the richly dressed man slump on his pack. She felt a little sorry for him, his face was so long. But she still wished it would go away, he scared her a little. When he spoke around she realised she wasnt getting rid of him that easy. "I am not sure if he is an ensi but he is our King! And he is a good man. He lead us in the great war and he would listen to you, he listens to all who need him so i hear!" She paused a second, thinking before she carried on, "I am going to Minas Tirith, it is a day or so's travel from here, you can come along if you like?"

[feawen]

Anahera turned around and saw for the first time the shining blue light in the sky. She pointed at it puzzled, "From there? Nooo, i no hape," She flipped her arms like a bird, "I no fly." She looked up at the sky again, troubled, she turned suddenly as if you had realised what had happened. "Maca lights! You Macaian," She pointed at them, "Magic uses, send home! I go home!" Her voiced raised and she started walking backwards trying to put distance between herself and them.

[Varnafindë]

"No, we didn't put the magic lights there," Barufiniel said, "they just appeared, and you suddenly appeared as well - you seemed to be falling through them. We don't know who put them there. Magicians, perhaps, but we are not those magicians. And now that the lights are fading, you cannot use them to go home either, I'm afraid."

[Aikanáro]

The Great War? Was that what they called the slaughter of innocents within city walls?

It was not the time for Ashkaio to be thinking about what was happening back home. There was no way of knowing. Despite their best efforts to study them, the opening of the doorways remained at best unpredictable. He looked at the woman again and nodded.

'I will accompany you,' he agreed readily, and then, for one who had offered aid should know with what they dealt: 'First there is a thing I must tell you,' he said. 'My name is Ashkaio Mirat dan-Kazhrun. Of Tathera.' This last was necessary. Likely she knew as much about House Kazhrun as he did about this King of theirs. 'I am, in travelling here, claiming the right of an emissary to safe passage. If you will guide me, you also will be under that protection.' That much was basic law of the realm, between cities, and yet it too needed to be said. 'It is my dearest hope that you are right, and that your king will listen.'

[feawen]

Anahera look at the place were the light had been back to the others, "That no right, tell me where home be and i walk if needs. If snow gone, Nolow be in heartlands now, point there, i walk!"

------
Elspeth inwardly sign, she was stuck with this strange man.
"My name is Elspeth Tinder i come from the banks of the River Eru. I do not know if a place called Tathera, but i am sure its very nice! And dont worry about me needing protection, the lands here are safe enough, save the odd wolf or wild dog, thats why Puddle is there!" She rudded the dogs ear as she sat down, unsure as to what to say next.

[Aikanáro]

'It is not the sort of protection that is of any use against wolves or dogs,' replied Ashkaio with a frown. He was going to have to tell her, and tell her in a blunt manner to be sure that she understood. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he picked up his waterskin and drank deeply from it. Then he told her.

'Your land and mine are at war, sera. It seems to me now that it is a war shrouded in secrecy, for you do not know so much as the name of the city your king wishes to destroy, but so it is. He has sent his soldiers, those who are alike to men but not, sharp-toothed and merciless. He has sent them with Yagluk who calls himself the Mighty to command them, to attack my Tathera.'

Ashkaio shook his head, trying to maintain neutrality in both face and voice. If he spoke too disparagingly of the ruler she admired, then she would not help him. 'We fought,' he went on to say. 'The Ensi of our city is a good man, and my kinsman. I am of the ruling House Kazhrun. I was there at the deliberations. We decided to fight, to hold the city, and we did - until your people attacked us from within our very walls, through the doors of light.'

He sighed. The less that he said about that, the better. 'That does not matter to you now,' he said. 'What matters is that we wish this war ended. I am here to speak with your king and learn the conditions under which we may negotiate peace. Until I am able to do so, sera, there are those who would call me your enemy. I hope now that you are not among them.'

[feawen]

Elspeth frowned, she wondered if this man was a little soft in the head, doors of light?
"well" she said at length, "Since i do not know that we are at war you can not be my enemy now can you." She reached into her bag, pulled out two biscuits and handed him one while she thought. "Now i really dont think we are at war. I dont know any sharp toothed people, but then i have never meet an elf or one of the short people so maybe they have sharp teeth? Although from what ive heard elfs are not really around anymore and the short people are just well, short and hairy from what ive heard. I do not think it would be dwarfs, although well armed and grumpy most of the ones ive met have been nice enough. Of all the races of the free people of Middle Earth i can not think of any with sharp teeth." She nibbled her biscuit a bit. "My nan tells us stories from the wars, they ended before i was born, she says there were these ugly men like things who were cruel and have sharp, evil teeth. We have a big war against them and their lord. He wanted to make the world dark. The King and the armies of the free all rose up against him and since im sitting here we won! There was a wizard who fought in the war, but they say he died or went somewhere far away so i he could not make these doors of light i guess." She brushed crumbs off her hands, "But i am sure the King will help you...i do hope there has not been a misunderstanding. If someone is using magic or something against you it does seem unfair if you can not fight like with like."

[Curufin]

"Great. But I'm without a horse. And my, er, ship, is nowhere to be found. Are you headed in that direction?"

As cautious as he was of her, it was better to have her with him than to try to find this place alone. He wasn't <i>terribly</i> out of shape, but walking three or four days wasn't his idea of a fun time.

[feawen]

Elsbeth took a green berry with a smile. "I shouldnt really going into an ale house, someone needs to look after the sheep but i guess since the situation is so important it wouldnt hurt just this once!"

[Aikanáro]

'Yes,' Ashkaio said as he settled down to enjoy the small meal. 'It is rather more important than sheep. I am glad we are in agreement on that point. I will of course see that you are properly reimbursed for the time you devote to assisting me.' He gave her a small smile, and said no more on the matter, just handed her another piece of fruit.

~-~-~-

Tanwendë shook her head, a hint of disappointment written on her features. 'I am not,' she told him. 'I have departed the city and will be heading north.' She was silent a moment, considering their options. She owed this man nothing, he had not even done so much as answer her question about his song. Yet his appearance, together with that of the circle of light above him, signified that something interesting was occurring.

Tanwendë had a habit of being drawn towards the interesting.

'You may ride with me, if you will,' she said almost before she had thought it through. 'I am staying the night at a small village some hours from here. It is not Minas Tirith, but it is likely better than remaining here.'