The Embalmer's Apprentice by Lyra

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Fanwork Notes

Contains references to corporal and capital punishment, a rather medieval law code and colonialist attitudes that may be upsetting to some readers.

Many thanks to Elleth and Dawn for their proof- and betareading patience on the first chapters! I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Himring, Whitewave and Thai for their unflagging loyalty and encouragement.

The Stars of WesternesseThe Stars of Westernesse

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Faced with the choice between execution or working on the preservation of dead people, young Azruhâr finds himself drawn into an increasingly political struggle between faith and power, tradition and new ideas - and a journey beyond his wildest fears and dreams.

Major Characters: Original Character(s), Herucalmo, Tar-Ancalimon, Tar-Telemmaitë

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: Drama

Challenges: Akallabêth in August, Arda Underground, Middle-earth Olympics

Rating: Adult

Warnings: Check Notes for Warnings, Expletive Language, In-Universe Classism, In-Universe Racism/Ethnocentrism, Mature Themes, Sexual Content (Mild), Torture, Violence (Moderate)
Chapters: 69 Word Count: 446, 721
Posted on 4 February 2010 Updated on 29 October 2024

This fanwork is a work in progress.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13

Well, look who wrote a new chapter after almost three years! So, off to Andúnië!

Chapter 14

Matters of great importance are being discussed, people are playing in the sand, and Andúnië continues to be highly idealised. Somewhere has to be.

Chapter 15

Azruhâr has impressed the right people; time to pick a fight with the wrong people. Violence warning applies.

Chapter 16

Azruhâr does some heavy thinking, and has to appear at the palace again. Amraphel covers the research.

Chapter 17

Things progress uncomfortably, and Azruhâr's good deed has unexpected consequences.

Chapter 18

Azruhâr enlarges his household, has some awkward conversations, meets the executioner and the in-laws.

Chapter 19

Another happy Andúnië chapter.

Chapter 20
Chapter 21

There is a lot of crying in this chapter, some of it justified. -- Warning for the death of a supporting character.

Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27

Warning for some violence, and the death of a major supporting character.

Chapter 28
Chapter 29

Aaand we have a new King.

Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32

Story warnings apply to the second half of this chapter. Not a happy one, I'm afraid.

Chapter 33

It's not getting better. >_>

Chapter 34

Torture warning applies.

Chapter 35

Trial time!

Chapter 36

Warnings for the aftermath of the torment and vaguely suicidal thoughts.

 

Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39

Warning for discussions of suicide, and the off-screen suicide of a supporting character.

Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42

Warning for animal death. It's a hunting trip, after all.

Chapter 43
Chapter 44

Time to explore the darker sides of Umbar (and of Lord Herucalmo). Violence/torture warning applies, I guess.

Chapter 45

The trip to the mines has unpleasant consequences. Help comes from an unexpected quarter.

Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52

Azruhâr finally meets the apprentices. Intercultural communications are harder than expected.

Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56

Warning for some violence and talk about human sacrifice. What are we getting ourselves into?

This chapter covers some prompts for the Middle-earth Olympics (athletics; boxing; wrestling - both literally and figuratively). That is accidental, but I'm going to take it.

Chapter 57

Another difficult chapter.

Chapter 58

The spring festival is there at last.

Warning for athletic injuries and unnamed background character death(s).

Chapter 59
Chapter 60

This is a grim one. Warning for (non-graphic) mentions of childbirth going pear-shaped. If that's a touchy subject for you, I recommend skipping this chapter.

Warning for dark-ish themes and background character death.

Chapter 61

A (short) chapter of returns.

Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64

Azruhâr has to do some housekeeping.

Chapter 65

Dârujan is in trouble.

Chapter 66

Some letters home are in order.

Chapter 67

Azruhâr's mind is quite occupied, thank you very much.

CW for non-graphic mentions of contagious sickness (bacterial gastroenteritis).

Chapter 68

Lord Herucalmo comes to the morgue. Long and convoluted talking ensues. There even is an f-bomb. Oh dear.

Chapter 69

Not a fun chapter despite the fun chapter number. My apologies.

Comments

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Of course, if Darim very much works with a system of debts, and this is apparently the traditional way, then the apprentices would imagine they were incurring them, while it doesn't occur to Azruhar to explain otherwise!

Yes, they have completely opposed ideas about leadership and how to treat subordinates. And since it "comes naturally" to both of them, neither would've dreamt of forewarning the other. At this point, everybody is perplexed...

Somewhat ironically, if Azruhâr were in his apprentices' position, he'd probably assume the same. He just doesn't see himself as that sort of person and expects others to see him in the same way!

Absolutely. To him, it feels different - he knows he means well! They should know, too! - but it isn't any different from his own difficulties at, say, realising that Eärendur actually wants to be his friend, not just a benevolent investor. Amraphel or Eärendur (or both) would be quick to point this out, but unfortunately, they're not there, so Azruhâr has to puzzle through it himself. The advice he's actually getting is just making it more complicated, because none of it addresses (or even understands) the problem!

(I'm not sure any of this makes sense, of course.)

It makes sense!

I was glad for Urdad and his flexibility. But of course even Urdad has to be a lot more uncertain about things with Azruhar than his Numenorean friends would be.

(By the way, I am now signed up to following you, as well as just keeping an eye on Most Recent generally, and I am still trying to work out what notifications I get for what, on the new site. Oddly, I seem to have lots of notifications on the home page, that do not correspond to email notifications.)

Urdad is trying to please and has probably been trained out of questioning things (or worrying about them, at any rate). And his position is less uncertain than the apprentices', who are still trying to figure out how they got where they are if it's not a bad place. So for him, it may be confusing and against his expectations, but he figures that's best to nod and adjust his expectations.
The Númenórean friends, of course, have it easy - they can just shrug and go "Well, that's Azruhâr"...

(Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out my settings here, too! It doesn't help that my email inbox is acting up occasionally... sometimes I get mail, sometimes I don't, sometimes it appears three days later. So I never quite know whether I turned something off or whether it's just email being wonky!)

I've registered here just to let you know that I binge read the whole thing and really liked it :) Looking forward to the next chapters!

Maybe I'm not a great fan of the whole Umbar developement, but I guess that staying on Númenor was not an option for Azruhâr. I miss his family and Lord Eärendur.

Hello again! I was pleasantly surprised to find this update \0/ I didn’t get the notification…

Let’s bet on when Azruhâr will finally realize that, to some extent, what his apprentices are feeling is the same he felt at the beginning of the story. I think it will take a bit more time… But, at least, he already started thinking on how things used to be for him during his apprenticeship. He needs to focus more on how he felt while the changes in his life were occurring.

I hope this free day doesn’t have any consequences… like the apprentices getting into trouble in town because people know they were arrested once…

I look forward to Azruhâr socializing more with other numenoreans as well. It’ll be very interesting, now he’s on a different position them he was back at home.

Thank you for the chapter!

Welcome back! :D Maybe the settings got mixed up when the site migrated? Either way, lovely to hear from you again.

It'll probably take some external nudging, from people who are less caught up in the situation, before he really understands. It probably doesn't help that he hasn't exactly been encouraged to reflect on his feelings in his younger days, and he doesn't much like to think back on them now. But he's trying.

We will see! *ominous background music*

Despite what he thinks, it will be good for him. Confusing at first, but quite useful. It'll be enlightening for him to be treated as someone who belongs! And of course some networking can't hurt.

Thank you for your comment, as always!

I am very curious about Darrim a lot, I think we are able to see only a veneer--hope he can be an ally for Azruhar, instead of something else.   I feel a bit sorry but know the importance of what Azruhar is going through right now with the establishment of the morgue.  Hope he will be able to cope alone with what future events bring.  

Darîm definitely is only showing a façade. I'm not sure he could be an ally to Azruhâr; from his perspective at least, perhaps Azruhâr could be an ally to him. Not that he's going to ask! He'd need to get a feel for him first, and currently, Darîm is just as puzzled (possibly even annoyed) by Azruhâr's decisions as the other Umbari.

I hope so too! Thank you for your comment!

I did not receive a notification for this new chapter--but good thing I decided to check. Thank you for posting a new chapter and providing one of the reasons why Azruhar's staff seem to be hesitant in receiving tokens from him.  It feels a bit sad too because they seem accustomed to horrid treatment. I enjoyed the interactions of Azruhar with Laurilyo and the other Numenoreans--Azruhar is on his way to be a Numenorean Lord, albeit a "pretend" one. I hope Laurilyo will be an ally -- but then open to surprises! 

I am more curious about what has happened to Herucalmo and his troops.   

Much like Azruhâr himself, they're used to hard work, bad pay and few rights. Unlike him, they may not have met the occasional friendly employer - certainly not among the Númenóreans in Umbar, if they've worked for them at all - and they're still at the very beginning of the learning curve that started for him when he became an embalmer himself. They're very much suspecting a trap.

He is, isn't he? :D

Me too! Unfortunately, it's too early yet for nasty battle stories. We won't hear them until the council does and/or Herucalmo comes back, I'm afraid!

Life is messy and some growing pains are unavoidable. :/

Some of them are probably relieved to know what to expect if they make a mistake, yes. Though they probably don't feel like they can figure him out. Yorzim, for instance, probably operated under the assumption that "making excuses" would make things worse. And they're all wondering for what purpose Yorzim was kept, rather than sent back with no second chances, as he and the others probably expected. I hope the next chapter will clear things up further. If the planned events will finally fit in that chapter, anyway...

I had wondered whether a revelation like that might be coming up, about Umbarian embalming practices!

But the human sacrifice thing had me totally blindsided.

And Azruhar goes and hits someone! I mean, I see totally how that situation developed, but it was still pretty stunning.

Yes, it had to happen at some point, right? And in the long run, it'll probably help Azruhâr to redefine his work, but right now, it's just confusing. (Especially with everything else going on!)

The Giver of Gifts may have visited more people than just Adanel's. :/

Yes, it'll take him a while to come to terms with that side of him.

As always, thank you!
 

The "ancient" human sacrifices gave me chills but still very interesting -- it explains very well the behavior / reaction of the apprentices.   I hope Yorzim explained himself better but as they build a working relationship, the trust should be develop between him and Azruhar.   I feel so much empathy for Azruhar in his baby steps as a people "manager", but for sure he will be a well-polished one as the story progresses.  Thank you for this chapter. 

This chapter (and the next) were a pain to write, so it's a serious relief that you still enjoyed reading them.

The ancient tales might not be true, but there's probably some grain of truth in there. Both Melkor and Sauron probably had their dealings with the people who came to settle in Umbar in the long-ago (or not that long-ago).

It'll take a while until anything like trust develops, although the events of these chapters probably help the apprentices to become a little more confident as they see what happens (and what doesn't happen) when they offend.

It's a long journey! (She says, staring at her outline in growing despair) Thank you for your comment!

Thanks for the chapter.  Azruhar is getting deeper and deeper into Umbarian culture and it's getting more interesting for me as well. I hope his relationship with his apprentices and household get better with time. I am appreciating the apprentices more and more as you flesh them out.   About Darrim--what the apprentices say and feel about him feel quite ominous and the way he maneuvered the prisoners to be selected instead of free citizens creeped me out. I wouldn't trust him if I'm Azruhar!   Looking forward to the next one. 

Glad it's getting more interesting! I hope there will be some happier events soon. (Not quite yet, though.)

Darîm certainly has his own agenda. But to be fair to him, the prisoners being selected was Azruhâr's idea from the start; Darîm simply jumped at the chance of having them released, especially as it would free him of the obligation to ensure the upkeep of their families. But Azruhâr certainly should not trust him, and he's starting to realise it.

Again, thank you for your comment!

Well, well, things are getting interesting! The secret is out now, and I wonder what Laurilyo and the others are going to piece together from this. I'm really looking forward to the continuation!

I also couldn't help but snort at the idea of Herucalmo getting himself sacrificed by the desert tribes. (I'm as bad as Laurilyo) Of course we know he won't be, but I have to wonder what's taking him so long. I suppose you will tell us in due time.

Thank you!

As you say, Laurilyo and the companions will have to piece things together - only part of the secret is out. And they might not draw the conclusions from it that Azruhâr expects.

Well, here on the outside we know he'll survive to do further mischief, so we can laugh at the idea! :D He's on his way back, actually, so I hope we'll find out what he's been doing soon (ish).

I sensed something ominous about the exchange with Darrim.  I hope he will not do anything to the families of the apprentices.

This chapter piqued my curiosity about the ancient sacrifices--I suspect there's a lot more to it than it seems and perhaps Darrim's family was involved in it (at least that is my suspicion).  I am also interested to know how the other 3 companions of Azruhar will interpret or think of him now that they have seen the scars from his torture.  Hope Herucalmo is doing OK--it's been a while, he might be OK.  

Thank you for another chapter!

I think the apprentices share that concern.

Darîm's distant ancestors were almost certainly involved, but that must have been centuries ago, before the Númenóreans began colonising (but after they began interacting with the people of Middle-earth again). It's not something he'd look back to with pride, though. Which makes the subject even more touchy!

I'm currently working on the first (of several) conversations about the state of the Azruhâr and what led to it... so we will learn more about what Laurilyo and his friends think! They have some very interesting theories. Azruhâr will be horrified. >:D

He's on his way back, actually! But some things have to happen first before he can have his triumphant return. As usual, this story keeps taking turns that I haven't planned for...

Thank you for reading and commenting!

 

 

Another chapter in which there is a lot to unpack!

Really different assumptions here again, both between Azruhar, Darim and the apprentices, and between Azruhar and Laurilyo and his friends.

I'm interested in the theatre, too, even though Azruhar isn't very much, of course. Did you have any particular inspiration for  the Umbarian style of theatre? 

Yes, I fear we'll never actually get anywhere because of all the unpacking. :/

Azruhâr really is alien to all of them, poor guy - he feels too much like his apprentices, and is expected to be too much like Laurilyo's friends. He has yet to come to terms with it.

Oh, I'm sure he's interested - he's just confused. I don't have any particular inspiration for the Umbarian style, TBH, but his feelings about this are inspired by my first encounter with butoh dance theatre as a teen - I tried so hard to enjoy it and was mainly confused and overwhelmed instead! I don't imagine the Umbarian theatre exactly like butoh (or other Japanese genres of theatre), though - it's probably far less abstract than modern dance theatre, but still very ritualistic, requiring familiarity with the symbols and meanings in order to be understandable. In a few years' time, when he has come to understand how it works, Azruhâr might enjoy himself! :D

A very interesting chapter!

I'm glad that some of the things Azruhar feared did not come to pass.

Might we be going to learn more about that  bereaved family and the reasons for their behaviour in the next chapter?

Thank you!

He has a lot of experience in Bad Things, not so much in things turning out alright. I guess it's nice for him to be surprised sometimes. ;)

Yes, you might! Not a whole lot, but it's going to be addressed...

What an action-packed chapter!  It's so reminiscent of Gladiator!  I am relieved about the reaction of the other Numenoreans to Azruhar's wounds--so even Lord Roitaheru doesn't have all the details!   He is kind of a decent person too Lord Roitaheru I hope his son picks up some of it, not that Herucalmo is not decent.  He is ambitious yes, but I think also reasonably decent.   Darrim is acting suspicious (to me, at least), I hope he wasn't giving Elai a hard time.  I wonder when we will hear more about Herucalmo's adventure too.  I am also glad at the progress of Lord Laurilyo and company's regard for Azruhar.  Azruhar's humility is kind of a safeguard against being too proud but sometimes I wish he does not think himself as too lowly. Not everyone can say that they are remotely connected to "national security" concerns. 

Thank you for this chapter! I wish there could be a Netflix version of this story!  :-)   

Roitaheru has no idea about the details. Atanacalmo has kept it deliberately vague because it's much more convenient when the matter is forgotten, or at least, obscured by rumour - and among the Númenórean community in Umbar, which perceives itself as a single class of honourable people, the truth would be even less acceptable than it was even on Númenor itself, where ressentiments towards the "low-born" and Azruhâr's "criminal past" are working in the King's favour. Since Azruhâr neither wants to explain himself at detail nor knows for certain what he can share without being accused of fomenting rebellion, it will remain a mystery that Laurilyo and his friends will have to try to solve on their own.

Herucalmo (like his father and, ultimately, even Atanacalmo) certainly thinks he's a decent person! But their decency is limited to people and causes who are "worth it". And of course, it mustn't get in the way of ambition...

Darîm was absolutely giving Elâl a hard time. He was very disappointed by the outcome, although he'll probably get over the disappointment fairly soon; like Laurilyo, he didn't put all his eggs in the same basket. And he has a lot of other things to take care of.

It will take some time, I think, until Azruhâr will allow himself to be at least a little proud of what he has achieved. He's been taught for sixty years that he's worthless. And of course he'd prefer not to be involved in any matters of national security!

Thank you for your enthusiastic comment! It would be fun to have a Netflix adaptation (although they'd probably have to cut down on the endless dialogues!). I'd be very picky about the cast, though. XD

What a crunch of a situation!

But Azruhar does take those decisive steps back from those decisions he is being pushed to and could not easily live with afterwards.

I'm glad Sidi caved. Or at least I think so. But I am not quite sure I understand Yorzim's attitude entirely and all the possible ramifications.

He really is trying to do better.

The possible ramifications will become clearer in the next chapter. I know that some readers prefer to steer away from stories focused on childbirth, so that gets its own chapter that people can skip at will. Not sure how deeply the explanation of Yorzim's attitude and the birthing process will be intertwined, yet, but it felt safer to cut this chapter off now. Also more dramatic to end on the reveal! ;)

Thank you for your comment!

Thanks for giving us an insight on Azruhar's thought process---it made me think that he does have a chance to be like Lord Earendur!

Looking forward to the next chapter as well. I hope Yorzim will also explain his reasons.   

Probably not, but perhaps he'll grow more comfortable about being himself. In the meantime, it's an ambitious new goal. Perhaps even, deep down, a realisation that he *could* be like Eärendur - that there is no fundamental difference between them. Not that he'd dare to think such things consciously!

Yorzim's reasons will be explained. :) Thanks for your encouragement!

I have been reading my way through this extremely fascinating story for the past two weeks. The details of character and general world-building are very well done. I am amazed at your achievement so far, and look forward to reading more. 

Grim indeed! Poor Lidosh.

Yorzim seems very much inclined to take the darkest view of everything so that it is difficult to know how much to rely on his assessment of Darim and others.

But, to state the blindingly obvious, the degree of fear people exhibit is deeply concerning...

Let's just say that there are reasons why Yorzim became the way that he is.

It isn't yet clear (to me, the writer) how much of the fear is based on experience and how much is born from threat, hearsay and conjecture, but either way, fear is instrumental in the government of Umbar, both from the line of the Darîm and from the Númenórean governors. Azruhâr has begun to uncover things that will cost him a lot of sleep again...

Thank you for making it through this chapter!

The death of the baby is sad. What I found really interesting are the reactions and interactions with the midwife, villagers and Yorzim's wife that Azruhâr experiences here. There is something very seriously wrong with this society and its hierarchies. The injustices keep building up to greater (worse?) heights as time passes. 

I know! I wrote myself into a corner, really - it would have been too good to be true if Azruhâr's intervention just miraculously made everything better, but I feel bad about writing it all the same.

The visit to the village going to give Azruhâr a lot to think about (even more than his previous interactions with the Umbari). He is used to injustice, of course, but he isn't used to profiting from it or being expected to implement it, and it's going to be interesting (I hope) to see how he deals with it. He may not be able to stay out of politics.

Thank you for your comment!

I'm glad that Lidosh is receiving better care and I hope she will be able to benefit from it!

Of course, we knew that Herucalmo would survive, but it is somewhat of a relief to see him safely back. Trust him to create problems right on arrival, though!

How ironic to go almost straight from too few corpses to too many, for an embalmer!

 

Azruhâr is still trying to understand how his apprentices think, but it almost feels like a losing battle, especially as the cultural differences are so wide. He has to work hard to train them all to preserve dead bodies in the correct manner. And Yorzim's daughter feels like trouble....

Lord Herucalmo's impulsive actions will not have helped with discipline (not to mention having lots of extra decaying bodies to deal with).

Getting Sidi to explain (part of) the situation and the reasoning behind Yorzim's refusal was probably a step forward, even though it's uncomfortable and confusing. Baby steps...

There are lots of problems Azruhâr will need to solve in the upcoming chapters, but discipline probably won't one of them. The apprentices are convinced that he must be a close friend of the governor's son, so that makes him more intimidating than before!

Thank you for your comment!

I'm feeling sorry for Lord Herucalmo here, because he can't control what he feels for Azruhâr. Azruhâr is so stressed about his work and, ultimately, his exile from home.

As ever, such interesting and detailed worldbuilding underpinning everything. 

He can't control what he feels, but he can control how he deals with it, and he has botched that. I suppose we have to give him credit for being honest now.

Yes, Azruhâr is still very much feeling uprooted and out of his depth. He manages to do what he sees as his duty, but he isn't happy.

Thank you so much!

I guess it is good, in a way, if Herucalmo thinks about protecting Azruhar from Telemmaite all, since Roitaheru probably doesn't exactly understand that that is a consideration?

But this has all got hugely tangled and hurtful!

And we missed in all that, understandably for Azruhar, what the actual evidence for the alliance between the Tash-naga and Mordor was.

Not that even allies of Mordor deserve to be massacred...

(How sure are we meant to be that the Tash-naga even had that mithril? I have forgotten how this was reported.)

A lot of food for thought here.