daughter of the west.

independent, selective & low activity original character based in tolkien's legendarium. sideblog; can't follow. written by luca.

[annuniel]

— sister.

          More CAREFUL she should be as the transfer of kretek into           the tiny metal bowl almost concluded with dropping and dumping           the pouch’s entire contents on the ground. ❝Oh, that was close,❞           sheepish grin follows as the pouch is safely stowed back in her             sash. ❝Alright. All set to light and for you to try first.❞

             ❝ If there will be a next time for this, let me do the transferring.                   I believe you lack the DEXTERITY to perform this safely. ❞ A                  jab––––– most likely out of nervousness. It’s not as if she goes                  any less clumsily about bringing the flame to the leaves, but                  once the smoke begins pouring out of the bowl, she puts the                  lamp aside. A final look of anticipation she exchanges then with                  her sister before bringing the stem to her mouth. It takes her a-                  -bout half a puff and a weak attempt at inhaling the fumes for                  her eyes to crack wide open and begin coughing ( violently ).

[annuniel]

— tuiwel.

@annuniel

            “I’ve seen books on at least two types of Sindar, short biographies of Green-elves, a slew of them on Noldor histories and settlements through the Ages, but precious little on any of the Avari tribes.” With a huff, she sets a stack of books on the table to go through. “Am I going to have to write my own book on such subjects to be able to read about them and analyze them? If so, I fear this paper will be ridiculously late and I don’t think my professor will appreciate that.”

              ❝ There are papers on them. I think my father might have written one or two about the ones he met after helping king Elessar with the eastern border disputes, but he never ventured far past the borders for obvious reason. ❞ She puts her own scrolls down on the table and sets her hands akimbo. ❝ He even met the elders of a few small tribes that lived close to the border of the Reunited Kingdom though. Not all of them were eager to share their histories with one of purely Eldar descent, but he took what he was given and put everything on paper. I’m quite certain he had copies made and distributed here, somewhere. ❞

[annuniel]

— mother.

          ❝I know. And undeserving I am to have such a family.  All I can             say is politics is much more complicated. It is tied to histories,             cultures, religions, trade. When one is pressed, another folds             and give sway to deals that may not otherwise be considered.             What I mean is, Mordor and her allies were not formed on hate             alone. For instance, the lands of the East and South are harsh.             The soil, if any, is infertile. Famines, disease, extreme weather             — while Western lands are green and full of life. You may call it             greed, but many saw taking the West as survival.❞

         ❝ I was made aware of those factors–––– but I suppose I will             never really need to take those into consideration whilst in             and on these lands.   If the conditions in the east and south             were so harsh though, what happened for negotiations be-             -tween the east, south and western lands to wind up out of             the question? Were the Gondorians and what other realms             existed that far in the past so unwilling to sacrifice for their             fellow people? ❞

[annuniel]

— sister.

          ❝These look the same as tea leaves, don’t they?❞ A pinch of             tobacco is released upon her sister’s palm before she takes             an elongated sniff of the pouch’s contents. ❝It doesn’t smell             too bad — Cloves. And is that rose?❞ She shoves the open             pouch into her sister’s face.  ❝Smell it!❞

      She looks on with a certain wariness––– its roots of suspicion       which are confirmed as soon as the pouch is shoved into her       face. ❝ Careful! ❞ A thoughtful pause and careful sniff follow.    ❝ I... think? Let’s light it and see if it actually smells and tastes like       it then. ❞

[annuniel]

— mother.

          ❝Perhaps. I once was a member of a family.     Apologize not. It             is not your fault that your history books paint ill-formed pictures             of people the writers knew not.     But Rhûn, it was not a place             in Shadow. Only Mordor deserves that attribute. Easterlings are             Men, the same as Gondorians. And Men are capable of equal               parts kindness and cruelty.❞

       ❝ You’re a member of a family now too though.   But, fine. If it was            not a place in shadow, then what? I’m trying to... figure out why            whole nations would accept SAURON, a tyrant, as their leader.            The idea of getting revenge, or maybe even justice, must be            appealing, I know, but was it ever worth the cost? The lives, the            slavery, the produce and the currency––– did they, or you, really            hate the west so much? ❞

[tofindthesun-archive]

[annuniel]

tofindthesun:

—cousins.

[annuniel]

— sister.

          ❝The bowl is solid gold, so it should be safe. Wait —❞ Flat              palm smacks her forehead, ❝We need to put the dried leaf              in first. But then, I have no idea how to get that lit instead.❞

             ❝ Well… You did bring the dried leaves, yes? ❞ She                  holds out a hand. ❝ Give them to me and I’ll… try                  something. ❞ Preferably without burning her own                  fingers.

[annuniel]

— mother.

           ❝Dishonorable? I have bore witness to slaughter perpetrated                by Gondorian hands. Whole villages leveled. Burnt remnants              of babies whose skulls were cracked open on stone walls. Of              mothers raped and slaughtered. The very cruelty marring the              Westerner’s name for my adopted people offers only a self-              reflection of the very same deeds. But you do not hear those              stories, and perhaps even if you did, would you ask if Gondorians              lacked compassion for their own?❞

             ❝ ––– Did you once care about cracked open skulls and slaughter?                 I’m not… trying to be insensitive. I ask all those things because I                 want a clearer picture.        But, no, you’re right. I wouldn’t ask a                 Gondorian that because I have descriptions, each of them kind.                 Apart from you, I have only heard and read horrific things about                 the Easterlings. I’m sorry. ❞

[annuniel]

— mother.

          ❝Relative are notions of morality. But I believe the people of             Rhûn suffered enough from the constant territorial expansion             of the Westlands. An alliance with Shakhburz, with Sauron,             was the only way vengeance could be wrought and oppression             excised. Not virtuous work necessarily, but such ideals are              consumed with a good measure of salt in harsh lands by harsher             people.❞

      ❝ ... I know where their choice of siding came from and I understand           they were angry, as far as I can with my peachy life here. But even           so, the underlying morals are dishonourable, from what I have heard.            Did the Pultai not get the name of Balchoth for a reason? Have they           always lacked the sense of compassion the tales say they did? And           were they as cruel to their own people as they were to all others? ❞

[annuniel]

— sister.

         Pure glee beams from the trickster’s faster one’s face. ❝Fear          not, dear sister. If mother can manage, we can. We are her          daughters after all.❞ Assurance easily afforded to the one not          going first. ❝Let’s figure out how to light it!❞

        ❝ Easily said by you, ❞ she counters with raised eyebrows. ❝ I             think we might have to hold the pipe by the lamp and hope it             won’t set the entire thing alight, no? ❞

[annuniel]

— mother.

         ❝Depends on what you mean by intuitive? But that sounds            like your father. I like to pretend I enlightened him on a few            occasions. But I find he is more open-minded than most elves            his age or older. He was willing to listen to me, and deem my            opinion as holding any value at all when first we met.❞

           ❝ A gut feeling, maybe? And I’m not even certain you would                be pretending by assuming that. He has said a few times                that you... ‘helped broaden his horizons’, I think it was. Did                you really think the Dark Lord was doing good work at the                time then? Good as in virtuous? ❞

[annuniel]

— sister.

                ❝ — And the last one there has to smoke the pipe first!                   Ready… Set… GO!❞

          ❝ What?! ❞ She already runs behind by a few steps— and               arrives just a second or two after her ( clearly more guileful )               sister. She scrunches her nose. ❝ I don't like this idea anymore... ❞

[annuniel]

— mother.

         ❝Is it wrong to rationalize good and evil? Some would say            that is being ethical. Of course I am not the best to speak to            on matters of deciding. Your father is more adept at it with all            the decisions he has had to make over time.❞

          ❝ I incline toward a different answer to that question. Good and              evil are intuitive, are they not?   I suppose. But he is also older              than you by over two thousand years. But talking to people who              aren’t that old can also be... enlightening, I think he said. ❞

[annuniel]

— sister.

            ❝We should be safe until suppertime. Nana’s busy with Ada,               and she never needs her pipe when she’s with Ada.❞

         ❝ Good. Let’s... ––– She doesn’t? I never knew. We should              dash before they’re done being busy though. Let’s run! ❞

[annuniel]

— mother.

              ❝Offensive to me, or just simply offensive? I raised you with                 the intent that you’d find your own moral alignment. Not                 expecting it to be similar to my own, of course.❞

         ❝ Both. Offensive to you for never really understanding, and              offensive in general for trying to... sympathise, or at least              rationalise everything.   It seems I can’t make up my mind. ❞

[annuniel]

— sister.

        ❝But I thought knocking once was run? — But right! Doesn’t matter.           Let’s go to the far end of the gardens. That place where Nana usually           goes to smoke and walk around before her evening bath.❞

         ❝ Was it?   Oh, well. Let’s go there and hope she isn’t looking              for her lost pipe there now by chance! ❞

[annuniel]

— mother.

                     ❝Please do not carry that awkwardness with you, especially                        not when your parents forged past it long ago. But know I                          am always willing to discuss my life as it was opposed to                         your father’s. I promise it is a history your tutors could never                        provide.❞

           ❝ I know you have. I’m only trying to wrap my head around it;                 around both your motives. And I’m aware. I’m at a loss for                what to ask though––– especially without sounding offensive. ❞