(The continuation of a sidelined story, taking place 2 years past, Sorry for the delay - Xan's Humble Chronicler)
In the dark, time loses meaning,
Xanderian and Cyndwin descended down through the Mines of fabled Moria for weeks, or months. Perhaps forever, or a single day.
Xanderian knew time was passing for she could see the changes wrought in her fair companion. Every day underground Cyndwin grew stronger, more skilled, more confident...like a moonlit garden coming to life before her very eyes. She had feared bringing the girl here to Khazad Dum, feared that she would not emerge safely... but now she saw it had been the right thing to do. Truly Cyndwin would not be the same woman when she emerged to Lorien as she had been when she followed Xanderian through the Hollin Gate....but clearly the changes would be for the better, preparing her for the trials still awaiting them.
Cyndwin stepped over the mangled body of the orc she had just bested, its body still twitching slightly from the caress of the Shieldmaiden's greatsword, and wrenched a broken bit of pickaxe loose from the dusty red stone that had trapped it. She brandished it in annoyance and snorted. "You know, I STILL do not see why the dwarves can't clean up after themselves. Lazy it seems to me. Ah well, if they are willing to pay us to gather this trash, so be it. Better than goat droppings, I say." The memory of THAT particular task still made her shudder.
The Shieldmaiden turned to note Rian seated daintily on an outcropping of rock, just watching her with a soft smile. "What....?" the girl asked self-consciously and smoothed the line of her hauberk with one gloved hand in a gesture better suited to the maiden of the Riddermark she once had been.
The huntress laughed, the sound like crystal bells in the dark cave. "I am simply remembering you as you were when first we set forth in Breeland, you and Fillegedhiel seeking adventure like new born colts, so eager and nervous. You were both so naive yet certain. You wished so powerfully to do well, to out do one another...to impress me. My heart ached for both of you as we road forth into the barren country seeking our treacherous foes. I felt as if I were leading precocious children into battle."
Cyndwin blushed despite herself then sat down heavily beside Rian, regaining her pride as she bristled. "Were we as bad as all that, love? As I recall, those first ventures against the half-orcs in Naerost blooded the new blades of both Fille and myself quite well, and we gained much knowledge about the relic-thieves. Fille and I forged a true bond of sisterhood that day. In fact all three of us did. We came away winded, but with not a scratch and cut quite a path through our foes. They must still speak of our passage through their camp with fear."
The Elleth nodded...casually sorting her arrows as she spoke. "Indeed I would hope they do, and I knew that you would need to face such a trial and the sooner the better. Straw dummies are of little use in the end, for you have no fear that they may strike you back. Before you learn to prepare a feast, you must cook. Before you learn to win a battle...you must fight. As we rode, the eagerness in your hearts mirrored the trepidation in mine, but I knew there was no other choice. I had been much as you when first I marched out to begin my service in Mirkwood. I knew how to fight, but not how to make war. That is a lesson only experience could teach, as dangerous as the gaining of it can be. However, I stood upon the ridge behind you if you recall...and Heartbreaker slew any foe that broke your guard before either of you could come to harm."
The Shieldmaiden thought for a moment, then nodded, her blue eyes going wide. "At the time I thought it good fortune you managed to cut down the ones that seemed more able...now that I have learned more, I do see...you were tending us like a mother hen, all the while praising our courage! You fooled us! It was like a game to you. We must have seemed so pitiful yet we thought ourselves so mighty."
"Nay, do not think me false or yourselves pitiful..." Xanderian laughed again, holding up her hands. "Your might was not a falsehood, it was clear in your brash aggression and resolute eyes...nor was your skill. You each surprised me with both your nerve and your efficiency. I simply wished you both to challenge your new skills without too much danger yet you did so much more...and in my favor, no two foes broke your guards in the same way. You each learned from your errors without my having to correct you, which was my hope."
Cyndwin relaxed, and cleaned her blade slowly. "That is true enough. Sometimes facing the filth of these chambers I remember those battles. The lessons I learned there, under your tutelage, beside Fille, have served me well. I was so afraid, my love...but could not admit it to even myself, and yet so filled with passion. I truly felt like a heroine from song, smiting the wicked."
"You were, my Limula Khazush, my Golden Sister...you have ever been like a heroine from a song to me, and one day I will sing it in your mead hall." Xanderian drew the girl close.
Resting against the Elleth, Cyndwin nearly wept at the thought, her dream of returning to Rohan beside Xanderian always powerful within her. She stared off into the darkness as her mind turned again to their first days together. "I miss Fille. I worry for her. Are you sure she is alright off in Thorin's fortress, all alone without those who love her?"
Rian nodded. "I see no reason why she would not be, far from the wrath of her father and his kind..and she is not alone, she is surrounded by thousands of Dwarves. She wished to advance her craft and stay out of the light, and she should be accomplishing both amongst the wisdom of the Longbeards."
"While we labor like dogs for the Sons of Durin. Ironic. There is a song in that too I would imagine. Well, once I have returned these bits of tools, what next?" Cyndwin stood up and adjusted her helmet smartly. She never could bear to stay idle for long and was itching for the next challange.
Xanderian rose as well, almost reluctantly. "Next, I believe our path will take us deeper, into the realms even the wise avoid, but we have tasks to perform and information to gather there for Forglinn in Gwathrendath. Can you not feel that the stones seem to grow warmer, my Aza?"
The Shieldmaiden shrugged. "I had noticed it, but did not think much of it. What does it mean, my love? Great lakes of lava? Do giant flame beasts born of elemental fury await us?" As she spoke, the Shieldmaiden was growing excited to face the foes her mind devised.
The Elleth shook her head. "Far worse then creatures bred in fire..we face creatures bred in darkness. Our tasks call us down into the Foundations, the realm of The Mistress of Pestilence. A place I had hoped never to see again...yet I feel the strong certainty that something does indeed await us there."
Cyndwin nodded and sheathed her blade. "Then come, the sooner we have vanquished it the better!"
Xanderian fell in behind her as the Shieldmaiden dragged her bag of broken tools behind her, marching off to the Grand Stair. "Somehow, I do not think vanquishing a foe is what awaits us..." she whispered.
