war

((A summary of the last year in West Rohan, and the events leading up to it. Get ready for links!))

CADWEN’S LAMENT
 

I never expected to cradle you in my arms
With such tenderness and fear.
Your eyes, unopened, your skin
Dark like the man I loved for only a passing night.
Your delicate lips, your hands:
So small and so fragile.
I fear you will crumble at my touch.

They wrap you in blue, my daughter—
My warrior, my fighter
My child.
They wipe away the blood,
The sweat,
The grime that comes from dancing
On the edge of life and death.

LIONESS 

Little girl
Too long you have wandered in the open.
Too long you have bowed your head.
Too long you have fought without cause.

Little girl
You never weary of raising your voice.
You never tire of the burn in your throat.
You never feel your fervor diminish.

But now is not the time for outrage.
Now is not the time for war.

Hello, old friend! I haven't written to you for some time, have I? How have you been? Sitting in my saddlebags, gathering dust, I see.

I know it's been far too long, and perhaps you'd like to hear what I've been up to. No, not yet. I have more pressing concerns. But you know how I can be; how I tend to ramble, covering ideas from here, there, and everywhere in between. Maybe you'll catch snatches as I go.

Battle raged about Seronaer, the screeches of orcs and the roars of trolls mixed with the battle cries of men and elves and the clatter of steel and wood. It was messy, the ashen ground was turned muddy with blood as the mountain before them spewed yet more foul ash into the air.