Other Worlds Than These

[feawen]

"Nolow live in Puki, tent made of fur, warm in snow." Anahera explained, the strange village thing scaried her slightly, she decided for the moment to ignor it and answer the mans question. He at least seemed to want to help her, the woman just looked puzzled!
"Doorway?..No i hunt" She pointed to the bow at her feet, "Deer good food for winter, feed many Nolow! Snow all over, i fell, wake up on grass! odd ladies there, wanted my eggs! they not helpful! Lady said i came from sky, they Macaian, magic" She spat the word. "no show way to Nolow, so i walk to find Nolow. End here!"

Elspeth meanwhile was just lost! How have i managed to find two odd people? She thought!

[Aikanáro]

Magic. Ashkaio sighed inwardly. From the sound of it, she had come through a doorway, yet had no idea what had just happened to her. The people waging war on Tathera must have a civilisation very much more advanced than hers or even Elspeth's, he thought to himself. Only children believed in magic. Children and primitive superstitious peoples, and that was likely what he was dealing with here.

'You were hunting,' he continued in that slow methodical way, 'and then you fell, and when you stood again it was in a new place. The snow was not there, and neither was the deer. You fell through a doorway. That is not magic, it is - a thing that happens, that takes you to a new land. You cannot walk back to the Nolow. The only way to return is through another door.'

Ashkaio did not mention the risk, the fact that nobody knew with absolute certainty where these doors would open to, or how to control them. None, it seemed, save Yagluk and his people. Instead, he shook his head. 'I wish that I could help you. But this is not my world either, and I do not know how, and I am sorry for that.'

[feawen]

"No my home?" Anahera asked slowly. "This place strange! It smell funny and is loud." She sat down heavly. "I want to go home." She said sadly. She had started to wonder at all the strange things she had seem on waking up. "Men from ships talked of light in sky that swollowed ships and not seen again, Nolow thought just story, not true. It is true, i swollowed, i no see home again." She pulled her bow onto her lap, not in a threatening way, more as a comfort, something of home.

----

Elspeth had not really understand Ashkaio when he had talked of coming from somewhere else, she had just figured he lived a long away a way. But now this Anahera seemed to have come from the same place or something like that. She diffinatly looked different, and spoke oddly. Elspeth was saddened by the womans own sadness at not being able to go home again, she wanted to go to her but she was afraid of this new woman with a bow. She turned to Ashkaio. "Does she come from the same place as you? Maybe she can come with us and we can help her get home when you have finished your task?"

[Varnafindë]

If Nightshade's surprise at falling out of the bushes and onto grassland had been formidable, it was at least matched by the surprise she could see in the woman in front of her. Nightshade got close to laughing at the other's confused stuttering - but more importantly, the stranger sheathed her sword.

Was this a reaction to be expected from a Telmarine? Certainly not from a spy, she was probably safe from her now. But neither was this the reaction from someone who was seeing for the first time something she had heard about and been warned against or told not to believe in. This was someone who had never even nourished the idea that badgers might be able to talk.

Where were there such people? Surely even the Archenlanders and other neighbours of Narnia would at least know the concept of Talking Beasts?

And then Nightshade realised the extent of what had surprised her. When she had fallen out of the bushes, she had fallen away from them. They were gone.

'What was she doing here?' Yes, what indeed?

"I only arrived a minute ago," she answered. She turned her head to look back, to look for the forest she had come from. As she feared, it was gone, too. Where was she?

"And if the forest isn't here any more," she continued, "then I'm afraid I'm completely lost. Unless ..."

The possibility that suddenly struck her, made her face light up in a beaming smile.

"You wouldn't be Queen Susan, would you?"

[Midge]

Though Aerin could have stared at the intelligent beast speaking to her for a very long time, she quickly mastered herself while the badger - Nightshade, she'd called herself - seemed to be talking to herself.

Then she addressed Aerin with what could only be a look of joy on her face. "You wouldn't be Queen Susan, would you?"

"No." The look of confusion on Aerin's face would be something that set Magor laughing, were he here. But if he were here, he would also treat this seemingly lost... guest (for so it seemed to her) as if the world were his own and he the gracious host, she felt sure of it. Pondering this, she felt it the proper thing to do, so thus she did.

"No, I am not Queen Susan, nor have I heard of such a person. My name is Aerin and I am an Elf of Lothlorien. You will find Queen Arwen on the throne at Minas Tirith, though, if you are looking for a Queen.

"You say you are lost. Perhaps I can point you in the right direction, although I can honestly say I know of no other colonies of beasts which speak the languages of Men, Elves or Dwarves, save evil ones, and you do not seem to be evil."

[Aikanáro]

'She is not Tatheran,' Ashkaio told Elspeth firmly, not knowing why she would ask such a thing. Was it not obvious? They were nothing alike, he and Anahera, not in appearance, dress or bearing, and certainly no resident of Tathera city or its environs would find the notion of a village so confusing. 'Nor is she from any of the city-states of the Free Lands. It may be that she came out of the savage northlands, from a place further away than even our merchants dare to travel, but it is more likely-' he stopped, frowned slightly, trying to think of the best way to explain it. 'We have spoken of your world, sera, and of mine, but it is a truth known to my people that there are yet other worlds than these, and when the doorways multiply, all manner of things are possible.'

It did not seem the best of ideas to Ashkaio, to take another person along with them who would likely be of little help, but he realized too that had Elspeth taken that attitude, he would still now be alone and lost on the plains. She had a soft heart, did Elspeth, and Ashkaio knew better than to refuse her on this little thing. 'She may come with us, if she wishes it,' he decided. 'I do not know that we can help her, for we do not know now where her home is, but there is a chance we may discover it, if we find those with knowledge of the workings of the doorways.'

He looked back then to Anahera. 'It is true,' he told her gently, even as he reflected on what she had said and realized that a doorway that would encompass a ship must be large indeed. 'But if you will come with us, we will try to find a way to get you home.'

~-~-~-

It was not long after Beryn's departure, then, that Rivailen and Barufiniel found themselves ready to depart. There was no trace now either of the portal or the sudden storm; the sky was clear, and as they rode off together, Rivailen reflected upon what she had seen. A circle of light in the sky, a dragon, an Elf - if one of the others from her village had told her such a story, she would have laughed and asked them what truly happened. Outlandish stories were good for the telling, yes, and she knew that the older ones often held some deeper truth even if they were impossible in the details.

This, however, was no story. She had seen it with her own eyes, the circle, the dragon - and the Elf at this moment rode beside her. That was before one even considered the idea of other worlds. The concept was not alien to her, there were the Fields of Sifral, but they were in a world ahead, not a world...beside? Rivailen could still not make proper sense of it, and she wished she were back at home, that she might discuss the idea properly with Irnilla and the others. It helped, to talk an idea out until all its corners had been seen.

She talked some with Barufiniel on the journey, which she had elected to take at a leisurely pace. Desultory talk, it was, she needed more time to think before she ventured anything further. It was enjoyable, though, and she resolved to stop classifying Barufiniel along with the other unusual happenings of the day. Elves, at least, were not unheard of, and it seemed unfair to Barufiniel, who was pleasant and good company, to think of her as a problem in need of explanation.

Some time later they arrived at the small village by the road that ran south-east to Minas Tirith, and Rivailen showed Barufiniel to the stable by the inn she had been staying at. The two women saw their horses settled, and then went inside to ask about another room. The innkeeper proved amenable to the idea, glad that Rivailen had thought to bring him more business, and before long a spacious room was found for Barufiniel. Rivailen, professing tiredness, said that she wished to rest a while, and so she suggested that the two of them meet for evening meal a little later, when, refreshed, they might speak more easily about what had happened.

Upstairs, in her room, Rivailen lay down, but, deep in thought, she did not sleep.

[feawen]

Anahera winkled her nose at the word savage, she did not fully understand the word, she thought it was somethingg like wild. But she let it pass, she needed help after all. People of this place seemed to like talking about her and not to her, how rude! But the Nolow were a patient people and she sat and listened and watched. She could not figure out the relationship of these too people, the man seemed incharge. And Anahera noticed he often spoke oddly to the woman, a little rough. The Nolow family she was with were all family and spoke only with love in their voices. Yes they had arguements but this was difference. It was the way the man of the ships spoke to their helpers, but she did not have a word for it. It was like he was better then the woman, yes that was it! But the woman had asked the man to help Anahera, for that she was grateful. Anahera stood up at their offer to help.
"I not stay here, if come with you find home maybe". It was the best she could do at the moment. "Kapula!" She said in way of thank you.

Elspeth was a little shocked by Ashkaio tone, there was no need to be rude it was only a question. She had started the day on her own and now she had an odd rude man and an odd armed woman. She started to wonder now if this was a good idea after all.

[Aikanáro]

'Yes, come with us,' Ashkaio repeated, smiling encouragingly at Anahera. 'We will look for your home. First we are going to the building-' he pointed back towards the inn. 'You must not be afraid,' he added pre-emptively. 'It is safe inside, and quieter, and we will stay with you.' If she had never seen anything similar before, it was going to be a dauntingly unfamiliar place, and he hoped his reassurance would count for something. 'When we go inside,' he said then, 'we shall have some food, if you would like, and something to drink. Will you come in?'

He glanced back over his shoulder at Elspeth, wanting to see if she approved. He had not missed the surprised look on her face when he had agreed that Anahera should go with them. Ashkaio supposed she was unaccustomed to having her ideas taken seriously, from what she had told him about the way her father and her community treated her simply because she was female. Perhaps she would see now that things might be different.

[feawen]

As Anahera draw nearing to the village thing with its building the smell and noise grow worse. Anahera was not a fearful person but as the buldings draw nearer they blocked the sun casting dark shadows that no Puki would cast. Her mind worked dark men and evil beings into the depths of the shadows. She stayed in the light as best her could. She had only seen this may people at the great yearly gathering of the wonders, to say the good byes before the winter cold moved everyone away. But the gatherings were full of music and happy talk. Here people pushed, shovered, grunted and looked angry. There was no happy greating. Ashkaio and Elspeth stopped in front of a building, many people were outside it and more were inside. It smelled stale and sweating, an odd smoke smell arise from it.

"Poor mite" Elspeth thought, "It seems like shes afraid of her own shadow." Elspeth was unsure what the woman ment by the place smells. It smelled no worse than the farms in summer!

[Midge]

Aerin listened carefully, hoping that she would recognize something so Nightshade wouldn't feel the need to go all the way to Minas Tirith to speak to the Queen. However, though Nightshade's words were clearly well-learned and heavy with meaning for her, Aerin couldn't place any of them.

There was something about the first thing she said, though...

"Narnia"... I know I've heard that word before somewhere... mused Aerin. Unfortunately she just couldn't remember. Well, I guess we'll have to backtrack a bit to get to the village.

"I'm sorry, Nightshade. I don't know where Narnia or Archenland is, and I've certainly never heard of any of your Kings and Queens. I cannot take you all the way back to Gondor and you probably couldn't go on your own - the road isn't really marked for miles.

"There's a village not too far from here. It's quite late tonight, of course, but we could make it going fairly easy by late morning or noon tomorrow. I would be happy to take you there and hire someone who can escort you to see the Queen. We would of course, take precaution with who we hire - Talking Beasts are not common in Middle-Earth - but I'm sure we can find someone trustworthy."

[Varnafindë]

The only word of what Nightshade had said that seemed to have any resonance in Aerin's mind, was "Narnia". At least as far as Nightshade could jugde. After that, the information she had given, seemed to be met with only a blank - but with interest to learn more. And she was willing to help.

"I am truly grateful to you for trying to help me," Nightshade said. "Hiring an escort from the village seems like a good plan. And I guess we're more likely to find one tomorrow - humans aren't expected to be very alert in the middle of the night.

"And I'm sure we'll find someone trustworthy. If Aslan has put me here for a purpose, he will make sure that I'm able to go through with that purpose. He's the Creator of the world - he'll be able to see to the needs of one of his creations, especially if he himself put me on this course."

[Midge]

Well, thought Aerin. At least that's settled. Though it was late, and the two travelers needed to sleep soon, Aerin's curiosity was piqued by something else.

"This Creator Aslan, Nightshade. You speak of Him as if you know Him well. Can you tell me more of Him?"

[Varnafindë]

Tell her new friend about Aslan?
What could be a happier task?

"All true Narnians know him," she answered, "but as for knowing him well - well, he knows me, I suppose is a better way to put it. But he hasn't appeared in Narnia for quite a while - he's not a tame lion, you see. I think he appeared more often during the reign of the Kings and Queens of old - the Royal Four, Queen Susan and her siblings.

"But even if we don't meet him, we still trust him. And at the end of our lives, when we leave this world (or our own world, I mean), we expect to be welcomed into his country.

"He is the one who gave us the Gift of Speech. When he had sung the world into being, he chose one pair of most of the kinds of beasts and woke them up to be Talking Beasts. He woke up the Trees and the Waters, too - there used to be Dryads and Naiads. But they have gone back to sleep again ...

"Some kinds of beasts were not chosen, though. At the beginning there were no Talking Mice. There are some these days, though, but I don't know for sure how that came to happen. Perhaps it was a reward for something."

She thought for a while, and added, "We are responsible to treat our dumb counterparts with respect and care, and we are not to return to their ways. Otherwise we may lose our gift. They say that it has happened in some cases."

~-~-~-

Barufiniel looked in the direction Rivailen discreetly nodded. She watched the woman and her companions for a few seconds.

"That is her alright," she said. "She seemed to be more frightened of us than she is of these people - but she doesn't seem to be quite relaxed with them, either. They look friendly enough, though. Do you think we should go over to them?"

[Midge]

Aerin listened while Nightshade expounded upon the Narnian Creator Aslan. There were several things she noticed, some that shocked her. However, as she opened her mouth to reply, a huge yawn is what came out instead.

Sighing, she said, "Nightshade, I am fascinated by what you have told me, and I would like to speak of this further, but for tonight, I am tired. We will have several hours of marching tomorrow morning, and I would be happy to continue this discussion then. I would, however, like to sleep now."

[Aikanáro]

Rivailen watched the group at the far table for a moment longer before giving a definite nod. 'I think we ought to,' she said quietly to Barufiniel. 'To be sure.'

To be sure of what she wasn't quite sure. Anahera was no more her responsibility than the dragon was, not really, but Rivailen couldn't help but want to make sure she was alright before they left her. It was as if by witnessing her arrival, by witnessing that portal, she had been drawn in. To whatever this was.

This wasn't something that displeased Rivailen. On the contrary, despite her misgivings, that part of her mind that told her not to spend any more time in the company of such strangeness lest it prove catching, Rivailen was in a way delighted to have seen something so rare and enigmatic.

She looked to Barufiniel again. 'Would you approach her first? She spoke more readily to you. I think that I frightened her.'

[Varnafindë]

Nightshade tried to hide a small amused smile at Aerin - all the new information had apparently been too much for her this late in the evening.

"Some sleep would be good," she agreed, "especially if we have far to travel tomorrow. Let's get ready - each in her own way," she winked, "and then retire."

[Midge]

After what proved to be a very refreshing sleep and a small but satisfying breakfast, Aerin and Nightshade set out for the village. Aerin supposed they would have maybe four or five hours at a pretty easy pace. For the first part of the morning, Aerin chose to walk beside Glaeren. She wanted to be closer to the badger, to hear better.

Aerin thought back to what Nightshade had spoken about the Creator previously.

"So... the first thing I'm wondering is.. Well, you mentioned he is not a tame lion. Does that mean he is wild, like a lion? I suppose you call him a lion because he is like a king, right? So he is your king, but you don't live in his country? And... did you say he appears to you? How marvelous! So you can see what he looks like and touch him? Or is he untouchable?

"As to the other story - the one where he sings the world into being - well, I can tell you the story that is told of our world. It is like yours, but different. But first, tell me what I want to know!"

[Varnafindë]

Nightshade was a bit confused.

"I call him a lion because he is a lion," she said. "The lion is the king of the beasts, like you say, and Aslan is king - but he is king of the whole world, not just of Narnia. He has other countries to take care of as well, he comes and goes like a wild lion, you cannot command him to stay in one place like a tame one.

"So he doesn't sit on the throne of Narnia. A Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve - or, as during the Golden Age, two of each - should always sit there. But the current king isn't a good one, nor was his father before him. We need Aslan's help to have him mend his ways. Perhaps the Royal Four can do something."

She sighed. She didn't know in what way the help would come, but surely, if she could only tell Queen Susan - or Peter the High King - about it, surely something would be done.

Meanwhile, she enjoyed telling Aerin about the Great Lion.

"Aslan is son of the Emperor beyond the sea," she continued, "when he visits Narnia, he always comes from the East. And I don't think it's possible to travel to his country. Perhaps if you sail east, all the way to the end of the world, Aslan's Country will be beyond that - but if so, you wouldn't be able to return.

"He hasn't visited us for a long time. Not during my lifetime, perhaps not for a few hundred years, at least that anyone knows about. I would so much like to see him - but if he never appears during my lifetime, I know that I shall meet him when he welcomes me into his country, afterwards.

"And the stories that tell about him appearing, tell that he is indeed a lion. And he is not untouchable, no, not at all! It is said about Queen Lucy that she used to hug him and bury her face in his mane. She and her sister even rode on his back, at least once - but that is part of yet another story."

The thought of that story made Nightshade very still and solemn.

[Midge]

Aerin's mind was clearer after Nightshade spoke.

"Forgive me," she said. "I mistook you. It does make sense that in a world of Talking Beasts, your King would be a Beast as well." Aerin fell silent for a while. Then...

"It is remarkable," she continued. "In your world, the East is a place of hope and good. In this world, the West is where people look for light.

"I would like to tell you of the story of our world's creation. There is One called Ilúvatar, and he is neither Vala or Maia. Before the worlds were, he created beings called the Ainur from his thought and they sang songs of the mind of Ilúvatar.

"Then Ilúvatar arose and gave the Ainur a theme and told them to weave into it their own ideas, based on their gifts and powers. And thus were many things, including evil, introduced. For then, Ilúvatar stopped the Music and bade the Ainur to behold the Music they made taking shape as Arda, the world.

"Since then, many things have happened to shape the world into what it is now, but I would need much more time than we have to tell you of them. The history of Middle-Earth is vast and complicated, weaving in and out of itself, and involving the mightiest Vala and the lowliest Man.

"And so it is - your world and mine were created with song. How wondrous that such a similarity could be seen!"

She looked about them. "We have traveled far! We have only a short while longer until we arrive at the village. Is there anything else you want to know?"

[Midge]

The flowers falling over their shoulders were red. Mother and Father had told them, many festivals ago, that the color was the same as the dew from the Thulcandrian, Ransom. He had called it "Blood" or, in their language, "hru". The petals were soft and smooth, with a beautiful sheen which winked at them under the dim light from the roof of the sky. Lur loved to touch them, to feel the sleekness of the petals on his fingertips.

Lantura loved the flowers too, but not for their feel. She loved their scent. They were heady, but not too strong. The smell caught her up and took her straight to the feet of her maker, Maleldil. It was the beginning of the Birthing Festival - the anniversary of the day long ago when the world was born anew, under the rule of the twins' parents - Tor and Tinidril, the King and Queen, Father and Mother, Lady and Lord of Perelandra.

According to the custom decreed by their father Tor, as the flowers fell down, those gathered at the celebration raised their arms to receive the deliverance from evil which allowed their world to be reborn. The shy singing beasts, in accordance with their purpose, raised their voices to praise Maleldil for His glorious plans. Though the twins couldn't see them now, they knew the singing beasts looked noble as they unwittingly fulfilled this part of the ceremony on yet another glorious and joy-filled day in Perelandra.