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| 6 Fourth Age: Sandstorm | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 25 Aug 2008, 02:22 AM (593 Views) | |
| Deleted User | 25 Aug 2008, 02:22 AM Post #1 |
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The wind had been shifting all morning. As Ilkay had opened the wooden door of their home to bring in the daily water, Aydin had caught a glimpse of the rivulets running off the dunes. He had felt the particles lingering in the air. By noon, the sand had kicked up into a misty haze. Many years in the desert had taught Aydin how to judge the earth’s mood. “Inside!” Aydin ordered the boys in the training yard. They dashed across the barren square where he had been going through fighting stances and dropped their wooden scimitars into barrels, then scurried home to their mothers. Only Skandar remained beside his father. “Go and secure the stables.” At this simple directive from his father, the young boy bolted down the single sandy track leading through the poor village of Ateker. Aydin walked with long strides down the path, banging on certain doors as he did so. The double tap was a signal to all his fighting men that they were given a direct order to get their families inside and to secure all their water and food. Up ahead, the youngsters sitting for their lessons were streaking along the road back towards their homes. The War Lord arrived at home as the looming cloud of angry sand appeared over the far distant reddish dunes. Sand stung his eyes as he ducked inside the house. Anahera had already sealed and barricaded the pantry. Ilkay, Derya, and Skandar were were running around to the windows and shoving heavy cloth into the gaps. Aydin lowered himself onto the pillows his wife had piled in the center of the room. As he sat, he unconsciously wrapped his neckerchief over his mouth and nose. His family was doing the same as they too came to the center of the house. The hardships of living in the Sunland Deserts were too great. The village would lose half a day’s labor from one sandstorm. They would be lucky if it was the only one this week. Not for the first time this day, and certainly not the last, Aydin cursed the Emperor for this lot. The house turned dark as the storm approached, blotting out the sun as it gained momentum and fury. If Aydin listened hard enough, he could just begin to make out the sound of sand particles digging into the north wall of the house. |
| Deleted User | 25 Aug 2008, 10:50 PM Post #2 |
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“Go now, Ilkay, I’ll finish this story for you later.” Ayla’s gentile voice detours from its course of tale telling and gives the boy leave to help his siblings rush about Aydin’s home to prepare with the others. Ilkay, the youngest of Aydin’s children had been sat upon her lap, listening to her latest story that had been filled with noble desert warriors, a proud prince and a country ripped apart in turmoil. It was no surprise as Ayla had always told good stories and the children, even though they were never hers, loved to listen. Both with studious attention and mighty imaginations that behind their eyes, Ayla knew, painted the picture her words told. This story though, even Ayla thought, had been inspired more from life than she would admit. A thing that could have caused as much trouble as it could have entertained but still had not been left untold. Her clothes spoke little of her noble line, the simple sarong of deep earthen red silk and tan soft leather wrapped around her hips and stopped in a smooth sewn line just above her knees. A top, which matched, showed off the smooth inclining flat of her lower abdomen and neatly addressed the mature rounds of her bosom through a narrow V neckline. Flat sandals with lacing ribbons worked up as twining serpents along each of her calves and tied together at the back of her knee. Her hair was down and near the front of her temples were a few strands set in thin braids and bound with leather thongs. Yet Ayla managed, as she always had, to imply nobility through the language of her body and the graceful caress of her eyes. Her stare filled with wisdom that went beyond simple suggestion and provoked a kind of confidence in her ability to those she interacted with and a glance that fell upon her brother at his entrance. She smiled, despite the storm that caused the winds to whip harshly around her brothers home and the sand to grit and burn inside of any small notch it could find. Ayla has always thought highly of Aydin, respected him as a person and for more than the simple fact he was her eldest brother. She often contemplated him, comparing him to a lion, a beast of noble and valiant breeding. Both strong and wise, and it went without saying that Aydin possessed a very animal-like grace and wonder when he walked. “Brother,” Flashing Aydin a smile from her settled position on the mass of pillows in the center of the room, before likewise drawing a veil over her features. “You look well, if it weren’t for the storm I see raging in your eyes.” |
| Deleted User | 26 Aug 2008, 05:08 PM Post #3 |
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Aydin sighed softly, trying to hide his mood from his children. It was important for them to understand the politics of Harad, and one day they would, but he did not want them to know how court intrigue had beaten him down. However poor his situation, Aydin refused to show them the burden. They would never know the lush gardens, lapping pools, and comfort of courtly life. But they would learn how a noble behaved, they would learn how to keep their heads held high when others were waiting for it to fall, and they would learn this from their father. “You judge my mood well, sister,” Aydin admitted. Through the cloth covering his face, his rough baritone was muffled. Over the four decades of his life, he had become a man of few external emotions. The only part of him that ever expressed what he truly felt were his eyes. His sister had always been able to read the depth in the coal black orbs. Even Emir had not been able to guess what he was feeling. “We need to rebuild the southern wall of the city. These storms are breaking apart the mortar more every week. I saw the wall of Laal myself. They did it with no mortar and not an inch of space between the stones. I’ve never seen such a thing before.” The War Lord lifted a hand and ran it over his brow. “But we won’t be able to unlock the secret anyway. If these storms drive us into our homes much longer, we won’t be able to hunt or gather enough fruits. You won’t like to hear it, sister, but I want you to take the older girls from the school with you the next few times you pick the dates and figs. They’ll have to miss some classes. I am sending the older boys in training on the hunt.” The storm was whistling through the street and between homes now. The plinking dust particles tapped in rapid succession against every surface in the village. Aydin could scarcely see Ayla’s form only a foot away. He might have thought he was alone in the house except Derya curled up into his lap. He placed comforting arms around his little daughter. “Do not fear the dark,” he whispered. “It wants you to be afraid because, truly, it has no power. Light has real strength, and it does not ask you to quake in its presence. Your aunt will tell you this too, and she knows better than all of us.” Aydin offered a smile to his sister, even though she could not see it. |
| Deleted User | 26 Aug 2008, 10:02 PM Post #4 |
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Ayla sat with her eyes lowered but her chin level. The presence of her mighty soul obvious in the flicker of her gaze, no matter which direction it swept. A proud and yet humble woman, that would see nothing but the best of any situation and only continue to make it even better. Even now, as she caught glimpses of flesh settled close enough to her to notice - despite the dusty sands that tried to swallow each one whole - Ayla was deliberating on the positive and negative of her brothers orders. To have the girls loose time in their studies was something Ayla was, as her brother predicted, very unimpressed by but a fact she knew she had to accept. With the storms coming more frequent and the work needing to be done, it only made sense and was literally the only option available. "Yes brother, but I'm not restricted to teaching indoors and fortunate enough for my students, I can walk and teach while they can harvest and listen." Was Ayla's collected response, never one quite willing to 'just' give up on any child's education. It actually was a situation Ayla had never thought of before but was quite comfortable with the idea of. There was nothing better than good hard physical labor that mixed brain matter in with muscle power. It would serve the children well in the end. "It's very true, Derya. The dark is jealous of the lights greatness, the only power it has is the one you give it by being afraid;" Ayla reaches out blindly towards where she instinctively knows her niece's face is located. Brushing a thumb down along her cheek to comfort the small lamb before dropping her hand back into her lap and continuing, "Would you give it that strength, Derya? Or are you your fathers daughter and will see yourself bravely through it with honor, courage and love for your family?" |
| Deleted User | 28 Aug 2008, 01:03 PM Post #5 |
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Aydin nodded at his sister’s easy grasp of the situation. How she had maintained her superior airs after living so long in the harsh climate was quite beyond him. He held that noble training only when fighting or defending his people. If they were recalled this very day to the capital, Aydin did not think he could adjust to the double talk and unctuous mannerisms again. The desert had made him too forthright. “Glad to hear it,” was his only response. There was nothing more to say, really, about the subject. It must be done, and it had just been decided on. Aydin moved on now, whereas in another time, he might have debated the merits of Ayla’s argument that physical and mental labor went hand-in-hand. There was no room for philosophy in his life now. He felt Derya’s head bob up and down. The combined wisdom of a father and aunt would do that to any child, Aydin thought, but he felt a resolve in Derya’s decision. That, at least, gave him some comfort today. If nothing else, he was keeping his duty to his children. “Have there been any disturbances in the village while my men are away?” Aydin posed the question to his wife and sister as casually as he could, but there was a hint of steel beneath the words. He had heard news of Orcs in Khand and as far east as the River Harnen. Although Aydin did not relish their presence after enduring them during the Ring War, it was not the foul creatures that worried him. It was the unknown reason they had left Mordor at all. |
| Deleted User | 3 Sep 2008, 10:44 PM Post #6 |
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Ayla had gone a long time without going anywhere. She had pledged herself completely to her people and her family, which was probably why she went unwed to this very day. Though men had tried, suitors of all kinds, none had managed to separate Ayla from her duties and most of them had not the patience to deal with a woman with a sharp mind and tongue as Ayla had. Aydin always said the duality of her mind and tongue together was as sharp and sleek as a double-edged dagger that would get her in trouble more times than not if she wasn’t careful. He was right of course, about it all. In times that mattered most, Ayla’s wisdom served everyone for the better. In times that mattered very little, they caused grave trouble and undoubtedly would in the future still. Not so reckless as untamable, Ayla liked to consider herself truly one with the harsh desert land her people lived upon. Unpredictable and dangerous. Ayla leaned back, letting her brother’s wife respond to his question. Anahera detailed out that very little had gone awry in his absence aside from a few small animal scares. She was a good wife and a smart selection for a bride on her brother’s part. A pretty woman that could bare the work and still be pleasing to Aydin’s eyes. Not to mention her skills as a mother were commendable. Anahera always seemed to know what her children were up to, good or bad, and how best to handle them. But Ayla hadn’t missed the steely grit of Aydin’s words or the cast iron hardness of his gaze despite his efforts to soften it. There was a cause for concern in his eyes, weariness she hadn’t seen surface since the war of the ring itself. “Should we be keeping a closer watch, brother? For things on the move other than animals?” |
| Deleted User | 4 Sep 2008, 03:51 PM Post #7 |
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Ayla asked the perfect question. Should he put the village on alert? Marauding tribes were a problem they’d always been prepared to deal with, so there was some level of watchfulness already. Other tribesmen, however, did not come into settlements with the sole purpose of death and destruction. And he had never asked the villagers to anticipate these problems. It was for his warriors only. “Yes, I think you should,” Aydin said simply. The wind outside was beginning to die down. The War Lord focused on the retreating sand and lessening roars of the wind for a full minute. As the sunlight began to filter through the heavy blankets covering the windows, Derya jumped up from his lap. Her father watched as she removed the linings from under the door first, making sure to keep the accumulated sand cradled in the blanket. Aydin only spoke again after all three children were occupied. “Orcs,” he said to Anahera and Ayla, “as far east as the River Harnen. If they are able to cross the river, they’ll be no stopping them from coming here. Vigilance is required of all our people now.” The Emperor had sentinels along the river. If this was truly an invasion, they would be stopped. The Haradrim Army could not be destroyed by Orcs. But if it was something deeper, like the persistent alliance with Lord Sauron, then the sentinels would simply stand aside while the Orcs penetrated the desert. “I’ve felt something stirring,” he began again, hesitantly. “Memories of battles long forgotten and fervor men feel in war have returned to me. It is like an awakening malice.” Aydin pulled down the cloth covering his face. The air was dusty, but free enough of sand that he could breathe. A frown marred his lips. “I fear something more than Orcs approaches.” |
| Deleted User | 6 Sep 2008, 03:06 AM Post #8 |
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She watched it in his eyes before she heard it from his lips. That restless spirit, the ardent warrior that he had buried deep some time ago returning. And Ayla saw that warrior clearly now, as she had seen in the days of the War of the Ring. Could envision the battles and the blood as if they had been her own to witness. It made Ayla's spine stiffen and the sensual stare of her eyes sharpen. "Then we need to be prepare for what comes, no matter what comes." Ayla stands also, flicking her stare towards her brothers children as they so naturally scamper to their tasks. How easy they assist in duties and the life of in the desert. It made her heart sing, knowing that the future would lay in their trusting capable hands. "The girls will double their efforts in harvesting and storing the crops. As will the hours they spend with bow and arrow." Looking to Anahere for agreement, Ayla nods, before continuing and changing the pace to the entire villages defense. "And I think it best if our look outs are changed more frequently. Fresh eyes at all times may be key in all of this, Aydin. Your instinct has always served the people well, so we must watch for what comes. Knowledge is power and the sooner we see the sooner we can prepare more efficiently." |
| Deleted User | 8 Sep 2008, 01:31 AM Post #9 |
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Aydin nodded twice. They were all good suggestions. His sister had a solid grasp of the situation, and that gave him some comfort for when he had to leave the village for longer periods of time. “I will tell my men, and you inform the women, Ayla. Tell them … Tell them nothing is too insignificant to report.” The War Lord had seen enough to know that even the smallest detail could alter the future forever. Marched forth from the prison cells of Minas Tirith after his pardon, Aydin had caught a glimpse of the race that had defeated Lord Sauron. He had never looked at the desert mouse or cactus bloom the same. “Now let’s go inspect the damage. Ilkay, Derya, go with your mother to the larder. Skandar, run along to your friends and assemble them back in the practice yard. We pick up where we left off.” Aydin turned to his sister. He did not doubt she would inspect her papers and books most carefully, but it would have to wait for a later time. “Will you see that the well has not been clogged, my sister? I go to inspect the horses.” His warriors would have assembled in the stables already to see that their most prized possession, their horses, had come through the storm without injury. It was the speed of the horses that gave the village an edge over their neighbors. Although it cost them dearly in water, their enemy’s fear of pursuit and death had kept Ateker safe for many years. The world outside was a foreign land. The distant dunes had changed shape, but the roads through the village were filled with sand banks. One step and Aydin sank to mid-calf. A viciously yellow desert snake hissed as it slithered past him. “Or perhaps we don’t pick up where we left off,” Aydin said, with a sigh caught in his voice. “Skandar, bring the boys with shovels. Be careful of the Sidewinders.” |
| Deleted User | 9 Sep 2008, 05:37 PM Post #10 |
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Ayla, as the dutiful sister and wisdom of Ateker, had been about to nod in agreement and make the trip to the well as requested - paused just after her first step towards the exit. Narrow cat-like eyes focusing in on her brother as he sunk into the ground like quick-sand. There was a moment of fear that he'd fallen and twisted his ankle or worse, but Ayla was not rash or unthoughtful of her choices ever. Her steps began, slowly. Placing the weight of one foot into the sand and prodding firmly before continuing with the next. It took her a couple of minutes to gain ground and lessen the distance between her and Aydin but she did it none the less. "Aydin?" Tracing her eyes along his body for any signs or symptoms that suggested he may have been in pain but neglecting to let it show. "Are you able to pull free? To move your leg brother?" In the distance she can hear the muffled sounds of feet rushing through the sand, light steps that suggest it is the boys scampering about to find the shovels, to light themselves to sink as deep as Aydin had. The hard sun making the sand glitter like gold beneath its beams and quickly bring it it's temperature to a boil. Now, only but a few steps away she offers Aydin her hand for assistance. His weight she knows is far greater than her own but determined and one of the strongest amongst the Ateker women, she trusts in her ability to pull him free. Keeping a cautious watch for the sidewinders around them and in the short distance watching for the boys to arrive. |
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