The Pretender Chronicles - Swords and Sorrows

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Weather:??????????? Clear

Time:?????????????? Dawn <07>

Season:???????????? Summer

Date:?????????????? Orgilion - August 19, 3046

Real Time:????????? Wed Apr 08 16:12:56 2009

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Minas Tirith Citadel: Embrasure Pinnacle

Here you stand on an embrasure hovering far above the hurly burly of the great city below. Indeed, the very embrasure is as if living rock, jutting forward from the Ered Nimrais thus splitting all the circles of the city in half as if a mighty keel on a great ship. The wind here is never calm and as you peer out below you are held as if in a spell by the Minas Tirith, Tower of the Guard which stands proudly at your feet.

Solid as the embrasure is it, more enduring than roots of tall mountains, here it stands in last defiance to the Black land which yet lingers as if a mounting tide to the east in the shadows. Beyond the city, you see the fair Pelennor fields, fertile and robust, as stalwart as the city itself. Even more distant, you can discern even with the naked eye the great ribbon of Anduin as it flows constantly toward the Great Sea, and there, about it, lie the crumbled ruins of Osgiliath, victim of the many wars of Gondor and Mordor.

Here where you stand a sturdy battlement rings the the circular area upon which you stand now, and at the very edge, a stone bench, where one may sit and gaze upon the city, either as one curious, or one on the serious business of watch for Denethor.

?

The mighty sun - Anor, yet hangs in the sky, casting a proud light upon the glittering black walls of Minas Tirith.

[Curugil(#10108)]

Standing alone at the embrasure is Curugil. He looks out upon the land, his purple cape blowing softly in the wind...

As the embrasure is empty at this dawn hour, footsteps, no matter how softly stepped, might be heard approaching. A young man, cloaked in forest green, black gauntleted approaches.

Ceredir nods in silent greeting to Curugil, his gaze casting about quickly to make certain they are alone.

[Curugil(#10108)]

Smiling Curugil says without preface, \"It was fifteen years ago. I remember it well when tales came from Belfalas of young Amrothos, the son of Imrahil being held captived by the Green Knight. A wraith, or spirit of some kind...\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"The wraith demanded a price for the freedom of Amrothos,\" Curugil continues. \"The sword of Anarion son of Elendil himself. Yet those pieces were far sundered and were among the dwarves, the elves, and even stranger places.\"

\"Then...the Enemy knows of the sword and must believe in the legend as well?\" Ceredir asks. \"That the King of Gondor must have this sword in hand before he will reclaim the throne?\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"The tale is very well-known in the South,\" says Curugil. \"But never had I heard any omen that would say thus, but Imrahil sent forth his knights.\"

?\"Indilzar the Black, Thorondur the White, and Arnafel the Silver. Forth they rode and were gone for well over a year as they travelled the lands on their quest. A full account of the tale was later written by Hadrian, chamberlain to Lord Sirion the Elder. I have a copy in the House of High Lore if you wish to peruse it. In any event, they returned by strange means with the pieces of the weapon. This was reforged in Dol Amroth and then with the sword they vanquished the wraith. Yet in doing so the sword was broken again.\"

\"A full account of it? In the House of High Lore? Yes, of course I would like to read it.\" And then Ceredir\'s eyes grow wider. \"Then..you have the sword..or someone in Minas Tirith or Dol Amroth does--the offspring of those Knights or the Knights themselves?\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

Holding up his hand Curugil says, \"Patience. When the sword was broken, its parts were divided as wereguilds. Thorondur Girithlin took the pearl of the sword, but as far as I know it is residing in Dol Amroth as well as the shards which were never returned to the North by Arnafel Isilrim. And the great ruby stone... that was taken by Indilzar Bragollach and I would guess he has it still.\"

\"Yet Ceredir,\" says Curugil. \"First we need to decide what to do. Tis true I spoke with Menawa and I think we must broker this deal. Yet, to obtain the pieces...\"

\"Indilzar Bragollach knows me and well...and is likely to ask many questions as to why I seek for these pieces, the answers to which will not sit well with him,\" Ceredir says.

Anger seeps into the edges of his tone. \"You may have spoken to Menawa, but...it is not your wife whose life hangs in the balance here.\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"Have no anger,\" says Curugil. \"For if he is in truth as you deem, by right a just king, then your wife could be in no safer hands. Far safer than you.\"

\"Truly said.\" Nonetheless, Ceredir continues to frown. \"Then what do we do?\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"I must think...\" says Curugil. \"I have friends in Dol Amroth who might be able to help us.\"

\"You really do wish for this weapons book, then?\" Ceredir smiles just slightly, the question more of an observation than query. \"And what of the Black Hand--the King\'s Men. Tell me more of them. Did you fake the attacks against your own household?\"

Curugil smiles, \"Yes. For the Prince I heard is leaving to go in search of his sons. A very fortuitous moment.\"

Curugil then laughs saying, \"Of course I wish for the book. It is all truth. If I can reconstruct this weapon, then we can help restore a just Numenorean Empire. One that will not be seduced by the Enemy, but one that will truly defeat him! All my skill of hand and mind I have put into the defeat of the common enemy of Men. This is but one piece of the puzzle. The other piece is to unite our land with others of the same lineage, however misguided they may be.\"

\"And as to your last question,\" says Curugil. \"No I did not. That was as I said, a misguided design of my enemies. They are those who believe in the defeatist policies of the White Tower. That will change soon.\"

Curugil then looks over the parapet and says, \"Black Hand you say? If that is what it is called, then that is what it is. I think it is an underhanded name by those who would say we seek to do evil. It is nothing of the sort. We seek rather to win this war through forward thinking and vision.\"

\"And as to this sword,\" says Curugil. \"What is a sword except a symbol? What is a sword except an heirloom? This man may be powerful, but to rely on the crutch of a sword is not pragmatic. Yet... he is evidentally compelling, as he has convinced you. And he may convince me yet. We shall fetch him this sword, or what parts we can in good faith. Then, we shall arrange a parlay. Yes, then we shall see.\"

Curugil says, \"I haven\'t done a pose that long since I was Sirion!\"

\"We will get the pieces of the sword then. It is that important,\" Ceredir answers quietly after all this is said. \"There is more than one in Umbar who wishes such information, though--I believe the enemies of our King or...rather, the claimant to the throne,\" he corrects with a quick glance to Curugil, \"wish for me to retrieve information about the sword and give it to them first. It is...delicate.\"

\"I tried to reserve my judgement, sir, truly I did,\" Ceredir then blurts out, suddenly sounding quite young. \"I warned Nelladel, too, but her heart was given to him from the first. And...I cannot help it--I cannot help but feel proud and hopeful around Lord Alphros. I -want- to help him--as I want to help you defeat the...the policies of the White Tower, as you say.\"

\"But tell me...when you speak of Numenoreans that are misguided--what do you mean?\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

All of what Ceredir says and does is carefully observed by Curugil. When Ceredir concludes he says, \"Well, I think you have enough information now, but you can certainly take a copy of the work. But let us do one thing more. We shall obtain a piece first. Possibly the easiest one to obtain: The Pearl.\"

\"Now to answer your other question,\" says Curugil. \"That is a long tale to tell.\"

\"In Dol Amroth? How and where?\" Ceredir asks, then folds his arms across his chest. \"I have plenty of time this morning. And perhaps not so much time soon--Ranger Tuivegil has decided to take me south with him to Ithilien to harden me up again. He feels I have grown fat and lazy like a cat in the sun from watching a boring old master of lore all summer.\" He smiles.

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"Never you fear Ceredir,\" says Curugil. \"I shall arrange for the recovery of the pearl. But I will need you again after that... not far mind you, but I will arrange for parlay to be made on Tol Falas.\"

\"Tol Falas? Where is that?\" Ceredir asks. \"And, your pardon for asking so many questions, but....what of the Numenoreans?\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"Tol Falas is the great island at the Mouth of the Anduin,\" says Curugil. \"It is largely empty save of some fisherfolk. Yet the Numenoreans... you are so full of curiousity! What would you know of them and why?\"

\"Because...you brought it up. Because you said that many of them are misguided. I would like to know exactly what you mean by this, Curugil,\" Ceredir says, dropping the formal title. \"I would like to know exactly where you stand and why. We...all of us...are in this up to our necks. It is time for honesty.\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"I have been completely honest in these affairs,\" says Curugil. \"When have I ever lied? Tell me that. But if you wish to know history from over 3,000 years ago, I may certainly tell it.\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

Curugil and Ceredir stand by the edge of the parapet, quietly in discussion.

\"No, no,\" Ceredir shakes his head, chastised. \"You have not lied. My temper, getting the best of me. My nerves, Curugil...understandably, so, given the circumstances? I, too, wish to see Numenoreans united as one. I ....I just was not certain of what you meant by that, for these politics are new to me.\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

Curugil considers Ceredir for a moment, his eyes searching him. At last he says, \"Long ago, at the end of the First Age of the world, the Edain, or the Elf-Friends fought against Morgoth the Great Dark Lord. As the myth goes, there was raised for these Men as a reward the Isle of Numenor in the midst of the sea. There they dwelt and built many great things in those days, and they had life spans thrice that of men of these latter times.\"

\"They grew great and powerful and they returned again to Middle Earth as teachers, but later as Lords. So powerful were they at their noon, that even Sauron, the Dark Lord submitted himself to the King of Numenor. Sauron was taken prisoner by the King and taken back to Numenor. There he poisoned the king and tricked him into leading an invasion against the lands of the immortals. Thus was the land destroyed and only some few of the Numenoreans escaped the wrack. That is the story. Personally, I think that if there is an explanation, it was an earthquake and great wave that washed that land away. Nevertheless, exiles came and established realms in exile. So there was Arnor in the North, and Gondor in the South. Arnor soon disappeared into the streams of time, devoured by their own strife. Yet Gondor grew strong under the union of the kings and its power waxed across Middle Earth... yet then again strife came in disputes among the heirs of the king and thus the Kinstrife... and also plague... Soon there was none of that line left and we are ruled by Stewards.\"

Curugil says, \"man co... your really sucking me up for these mega poses... is this revenge for me sending you down there for so long?\"

It is at this moment that a splash of red enters the scene in the form of Menawa. The wind pushes at her dress, causing the material to shape to her slender, youthfull self. It even tugs at her braid and pushes it off her shoulder so that it lays down the length fo her back. She pauses upon reaching this point, glances around, then narrows her eyes slightly on two familiar figures. She does not aproach just yet.

Ceredir says, \"it is!\"

Scout that he is, Ceredir\'s eyes are trained to the slightest of changes, and now he looks to the side, not turning his head, yet the red of Menawa\'s dress has surely caught his eyes. Still, he continues talking to Curugil, his voice half lost in the ever-present wind here.

\"And so...we can reunite again. Get past the Kinstrife of long ago and once again grow strong enough that we have dominion even over Sauron? And...the immortals did not destroy Numenor? Is that what you are saying?\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"Well Ceredir,\" says Curugil slowly. \"You must realize I am not especially a man of faith, or magic. I believe in logic, reason, and explanation. Certainly there are legends, but come now... it is a story after all. I look for natural causes. To me no ideology holds sway except pragmatics and reason. I am wholly given into our war against the Enemy, because he would enslave us. That I have no doubt of. Nor would we do well to be ruled by orcs. Nay! But to achieve that end, we must work with what knowledge we have. I know very well that in order to make us strong enough to even consider fighting the enemy we need to things: 1) New weapons. 2) Men to use them. Thus, I am given to these projects. First is the book. We must get it. Second is a change of governance in order to unite those Men who needlessly fight each other. Why should we kill fellow men when we should unite against one who will destroy us all?\"

Menawa looks down at herself, then back up again. Hands folded demurely and hidden by the extra material of her sleeves, she glides forward. Back straight and chin tilted marginally upwards, she is the young Noble her family expects her to be. She moves slow enough that the men will have ample time to stop talking about delicate subjects before she reaches them.

\"The Haradhrim will never see us as anything other than enemies to be slaughtered or enslaved or both. It is foolish to think otherwise...and men of Numenor in Harad..I fear there are few. Even Lord Alphros wears a veil to disguise his Numenorean blood from those who would hate him.\"

\"Weapons. And men.\"

Ceredir looks to Menawa. \"Yet you sent women to arrange it.\"

[Curugil(#10108)]

\"That is Men with a capital \'M\' Ceredir,\" says Curugil. \"Yet all men *and* women can change their attitudes. Even you have changed yours -- especially of late I imagine. I think that a powerful and compelling king may help in that endeavour.\"

\"Ah Menawa!\" says Curugil coming to the Lady and kissing her cheek, \"You look healthy!\"

Menawa tilts her head to accept that kiss to her cheek, as if it is her due and nothing less is expected. At the man\'s words, her lips quirk into a very soft little, amused smile. \"It is amazing what purging one\'s stomach repeatedly over a long period of time can do for one.\"

?A dip of her head as her smile, small though it was, dissapears, and she greets Ceredir. \"Master Scout.\"

?Now Menawa\'s attention drops minutely downwards as she pulls her right hand free of the left, tucks the right hand up into the left sleeve, then pulls out a smallish bundle wrapped in oilskin and tied with twine. Lifting her head, she holds it out to Curugil, \"This is yours.\"

Curugil smiles and takes the bundle, \"Well done Menawa. But there was more, wasn\'t there?\"

Ceredir nods to acknowledge the woman, but stays silent otherwise.

Menawa indicates the bundle, \"The page torn from the book you seek is in there, along with the note. I wrapped them both carefully in the oil skin to keep them safe from the moisture of the trip.\" With that, she folds her hands demurely once more, the material of her sleeves dropping over them again.

Curugil smiles and says, \"Good. What about the healing tome you sought? Was it found as well?\"

Menawa dips her head slightly, \"I did, indeed, find a tome that promises to be beneficial.\" She glances to Ceredir, then back to Curugil, \"I shall leave you gentlemen to your discussion.\"

Curugil bows his head and says to Menawa, \"Very well. But I too shall go. Ceredir, I shall see to some things and then we shall speak again.\"

\"And Menawa...? Might I say you are high quality. The very highest. If ever you are in need of aid, you may call upon the Lord of the Gildring.\"