Third Age 2998, The Sunken City of Annúminas
A typical, quiet breeze, akin to those chilly winds in the far northern reaches of the icebay, blew through the sunken city without a care in the world, hurrying along it's course like a river that poured out all it's sorrows. A woman with black hair stood hidden amongst the bushes of the overgrown patches of vegetatiom, her strange eyes gleaming in the moonlight as they darted to and fro, searching for an unknown something within the city.
Strange eyes they were indeed. Unlike the typical normal human who had a pair of evenly-coloured eyes, a set of two eyes whose irises are identical of colour, this woman's eyes were bizarrely unusual. Her left eye, exposed within the moonlight like silver, was a solid steel colour of grey, while the right eye, looking more natural, was a warm shade of brown. She looked and seemed to act like a fierce and odd-eyed feline, crouching low by the thick grass, her weapons sharp and lethal. A shield was strapped to her back, and she held a spear in her hand; A spare was on her back as well, securely fastened within her shield.
"Filthy tomb-robber..." Sounded a harsh, noble female's voice from somewhere behind the woman, "It shall be a great pleasure to make you pay for your ill deeds."
Shrill laughing was heard, and the woman whipped her head behind her in alarm, and she saw a tall, slightly taller than her, cloaked figure camoflauged behind a tree, long, raven hair cascading from the hood, and her face hidden beneath her hood. She wore an assortment of ragged garments that seemed quite weatherworn, but still able to conceal the user in nature. Her bow was raised, an arrow already on the string.
"Filthy? Quite not, my dear." The other spoke, smirking cruelly. Without another word, she sprinted out of the overgrown grass.
Clang.
An arrow harmlessly bounced off the shield as it rebounded to the ground, limp and useless, the tip of the arrow bent from the force of the impact. The woman grinned to herself, thanking the strong metal of her shield. Hiding behind a wall, she smirked as the other immediately yelled, "Coward! COME BACK HERE!" In random Sindarin, understanding every word that had poured out of the Ranger-woman's mouth.
"There you are!" The ranger-woman said forcefully, rounding a corner and finding herself face to face with the heavily-armed woman. Drawing her sword and charging rather recklessly towards the older, more experienced fightress, she yelled out loudly. Rather young... The older thought, as she swiftly side-stepped the foolish woman and stuck her foot out to make her trip.
"You think this to be filthy?" The tomb-raider spat out, scowling, "I would choose thy words more carefully if I was you..."
It seemed that the younger woman was rather speechless as her eyes fell upon the pair of differently coloured eyes. Laying helplessly on the ground, defenceless, mesmerized and without any manouvre that could save her life from the imminent doom of death she was about to face, she examined the older woman with desperate and frantic looks. She seemed to be tracing something within her mind. Tears formed on her cheeks.
"Please.. if you kill.. me. Bury me at sea." She said, looking terrified and pleading for a merciful death. Umbaindes' eyes glinted maliciously, yet there was a hint of warmness to be seen within the brown of her eyes. A hint of sympathy and understanding. Umbaindes felt a rush of respect for the bravery of this woman. They stared at each other for a long while, Umbaindes doing her best to show her respect towards the young ranger by using eye contact. The young woman seemed to understand the kindness beneath the stares, but she ultimately ruined the moment by gasping, coming to realization of something.
"Thou are not a mere tomb-robber..." She said slowly, "Thou art one of the Dúna--!!"
A swift and cruel spear penetrated the throat of the Ranger-woman and ended her life. She fell limp, lost to the world, never to breath again, never to return to the Island of her Home and to talk and laugh among her own kin. Umbaindes looked down upon her vanquished foe in arrogance, a cruel smile playing on her lips.
"Not quite, my dear, but you are correct," A tinkling laugh emmited from Umbaindes' mouth, lovely yet cruel at the same time, "I am a half-Dúnadan, but I do not care. I shall never care!" And, respectfully heeding the Ranger-woman's last request, she buried her body at sea, extinguishing all evidence of her presence, and of their encounter, by a swift step. She watched as the woman's solemn, and now unmasked, face drifted peacefully to the bottom of the lake, looking calm and at peace.
"Oltho vae, Randir." Umbaindes smugly grinned. Turning by the heel, she left the scene of the murder, her heart, which had been temporarily melted, now back to the cruel and merciless state it had always been. A single tear drop fell from the tomb-robber's cheek, however, as she thought of the warm grey eyes of the Ranger-woman, Big and Grey they were, shining with life, before Umbaindes had extinguished her final breath. A flock of birds flew in the distance as the sun rose above the horizon, engulfing the leaving Umbaindes' back in a bright light. Blood gleamed on the tip of the Númenorian spear.
