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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Atanacalmo is quite shrewd indeed--what is in it for him if he "warns" Azruhar about his nephew?  I'm really dreading the time when the Crown Prince assumes the throne--hope that Azruhar's "acquaintance" with the beekeeper will help somehow.  

If it weren't so stressful or life-threatening --I think Azruhar should be a bit flattered that the Crown Prince is so focused on him--for sure there are more powerful, higher people that he should watch out for instead of an embalmer/daytaler. But then Azruhar has certainly evolved. 

I found Azruhar's particular line about the government structure of bees: "If they are born and raised for it," I said, "I don't see how it is strange."  I wonder what the Crown Prince will think of it IF/WHEN it reaches his ears since he probably knows at this point in the story that a daughter will suceed him (?). 

Looking forward to the next chapters---BTW - will you be adding more chapters to "Golden Days" too?  ;-)

 

Entertainment! And of course this isn't necessarily the most trouble-free family relationship, and Atanacalmo has as much reason to frustrate his nephew as he has to support him.

There are definitely more powerful people to watch out for, but they behave in predictable ways, whereas Azruhâr does weird stuff that nobody expects. A poor scheming Crown Prince never knows whether that pesky fellow isn't accidentally supporting a revolution next! Well, and there's also a bit of a petty obsession. It would all be easier if Azruhâr weren't so frequently visible.

I wonder, too! He definitely knows that he isn't going to have a son at this point. On the other hand, his strongest rival also "only" has a daughter, so it may not be as important as Azruhâr suspects.

So glad to hear that you're still invested in this story! And that you're still interested in Golden Days, too. I am absolutely planning to add more chapters and finish that story, too, but the muses are fickle! But yes, young Nerdanel is definitely still on my mind, and I do hope I'll be able to continue writing her story - maybe when I'm done with this one? If that ever happens! >_>

I had either forgotten or not quite awoken to the fact that Tar-Vanimelde's reign is coming up and that Ancalimon is her grandfather. I'm trying to remember whether Azruhar met her and spoke to her in Andunie? Is Atanacalmo the grandfather of Herucalmo? And what is that hint about his absent son-in-law about?

The government of bees was historically used as an argument for authoritarian monarchical rule at a time when it was still thought that the queen was male. Obviously, the Numenoreans know better than that. All very interesting...

I like Azruhar's household philosophically enjoying the rejected fruitcake.

And I'm inclined to hope well of Saphadul. I'm possibly prejudiced in favour of bee-keepers!

Hey, I haven't even buried Tar-Ancalimon yet! ;) Azruhâr reported greeting her in Andúnie, but they didn't exactly speak - except for polite smalltalk, I suppose. Her mother - the Crown Prince's wife - is Lord Eärengole's sister-in-law though, for what it's worth. Yes, Atanacalmo is Herucalmo's grandfather. Canon doesn't tell us about Herucalmo's parents, but we know that he is "descended from Tar-Atanamir in the same degree as Tar-Vanimelde" so one of his grandparents must be either a brother or sister of Tar-Ancalimon. So that's how the House of Armenelos will return into the main line. -- The absent son-in-law was, at the time of writing, simply my unwillingness to introduce yet another previously unmentioned nobleman. I dumped a lot of people - including the future Tar-Vanimelde! - into the Andúnie chapter and had only just named Lady Arancalime, so I just thought "Nah, not another one" and wrote him as absent! By now, I've actually decided on a backstory for the guy, so maybe he will appear (or be mentioned, at any rate) in a later chapter.

I know! But the Númenóreans have their information on biology from people who actually talked to Yavanna, who is rather more reliable than Pliny the Elder!

No reason to let that fruitcake spoil just because other people are snobs. XD

I have no idea what to do with Saphadûl, but I will take your and whitewave's hopes into account! As ever, thank you for your comment!

I kind of expected the Crown Prince doing something like this, unfortunately for Azruhar.  Oh gosh, that's pure hate.  I hope Saphudal will somehow help to "soften" the Crown Prince's opinion of Azruhar-- I don't expect it to disappear though--that would take some of the fun out of the story. ;-)   I hope the Crown Prince lets Azruhar do his embalming job first before he does more harm.

Ancalimon's death was quite tragic in that he truly does not want or is not ready for it.

Oh, ouch, I had not expected Telemmaite to go critical quite so rapidly, although of course those scenes around the king's death bed would have been very tough on him. 

On the other hand, that Azruhar made it through all this, and so soon, perhaps increases his chances for later on. Although I fear that handshake is not too much to be relied upon!

At any rate Azruhar is coming across as more professional as an embalmer than Telemmaite is as king...

Yes, if we want to be kind on Telemmaitë, it is a very stressful situation and Azruhâr makes a way too convenient outlet.
Heh! Well, Azruhâr has had several years to grow into the job, whereas Telemmaitë's only been King for a couple of days. There may yet be room to grow. (One hopes!)

I never thought I'd say this but I really felt sorry for the new king--he behaves like a plain school yard bully at times yes, but the scene with the amber pendant was such a character-defining moment for me.  I really wish Azruhar gets the pendant back somehow.   Lord Atanacalmo's reaction is interesting as well---I am soooo curious to know how the tapestry will look like.  Hope Azruhar does not do anything "unreasonable" during the coronation ceremony. 

 

 

I'm so glad you can spare some pity for Alcarmaitë - maybe I managed to make him a bit sympathetic after all, bully though he is. I do hope Lord Atanacalmo will get to explain his motivations at some point! I'm constantly torn between explaining everything, or keeping Azruhâr ignorant and my readers guessing... Azruhâr will be doing his best to be reasonable! As ever, thank you for being so invested in this story! <3

Curious that only the King is crowned but not his wife.  I'm worried about what Azruhar commented to the townspeople "I think it's a bit too early to tell."  Hope it will not be used against him.   I don't really envy the new king---there are already "rebels" to his rule among his own nobles.  But I admit I'm a bit curious what could have happened if Azruhar spoke up. 

I appreciate the very helpful presence of Lord Earendur he is like Azruhar's guardian angel. 

Well spotted! I'm afraid she's mostly meant to adorn him, no need to give her a crown of her own. That's (part of) what differentiates "normal" Queens from Ruling Queens. I was thinking about having Vanimelde declared Crown Princess at this point, but then I decided that the chapter was pompous enough already. Aldarion and Erendis suggests that the proclamation of the King's Heir is a cause for festival in its on right, so we're going to have it some other time!

It would certainly have put an end to the celebrations. There are two scenarios, really. Either way, the allegations would have to be investigated (so basically the councillors would have to decide just how much they dislike Alcarmaite), and then the council would either decide that the offense isn't serious enough to keep the King's Heir from the kingship, in which case a very disgruntled Alcarmaite would have been crowned a few weeks later; OR they would decide that it actually is serious enough, in which case they would have to find a new ruler. The problem is that the likely candidates are either very old (Lord Atanacalmo, who is at best 30 years younger than his brother) or women (Princess Vanimelde, who could in theory follow her grandfather directly) or both (Lady Calamíriel, who is not much younger than Atanacalmo). Since the chronicles suggest that the Númenóreans weren't all that enthusiastic about their Ruling Queens, it would hardly be plain sailing for Vanimelde if she became Queen right away, and there would probably be a lot of opposition and quite possibly various attempts at installing different (male) candidates. Depending on the number of these rivalling candidates, the number of supporters they win, their attitudes towards each other, and the attitude of the young Queen (Vanimelde is 109, which is no age for a Númenórean woman! She doesn't even have children yet!), there would be an indefinite period of uncertainty. What happens when there are several candidates to the throne, but none of them can achieve an overwhelming majority? -- On the whole, Azruhâr probably did the right thing.

He is trying! They didn't have any time to sit together and talk about this beforehand, or things might have been rather less complicated for Azruhâr. Of course, the Artist formerly known as the Crown Prince knows that, and he doesn't exactly want Eärendur to help his personal enemy. That's one major disadvantage of Lord Eärendur's open friendship to Azruhâr!

Impressive coronation ceremony!

At the same time, rather hollow--the need to impress by piling up the silverware is rather pathetic, even though apparently it actually works for Telemmaite.

Azruhar has come an awfully long way that he is even considering disrupting the coronation. But unless Earendur himself were willing to make a grab for the crown, which he clearly isn't, it seems very uncertain whether he would gain much by it.

He manages one good save, with his compliment to Telemmaite, and it's understandable that in the end he slips up a bit, after all that, but like whitewave I'm worried that comment about "too early" could come back to haunt him.

Telemmaite knows that a lot of people resented the austerity policies of the past years, and displaying silverware is his way of promising a more lavish time ahead! And perhaps he wants to flout the fact that he more or less had to buy his right to the throne, as a signal to those who might want to use it against him: I have nothing to hide, I can show it to everyone!

Well, he has learned to speak out when necessary, and now he managed to keep his mouth shut when necessary. ;) Eärendur is too far from the main line to make a serious grab for the crown. Atanacalmo is going to lecture Azruhâr on the likely candidates in the next chapter (probably), so I'm not going to bore you with the detail right now! Suffice it to say that Azruhâr indeed wouldn't have gained anything by it.

Yes, life will continue to be complicated for Azruhâr. There are a lot of cliffs he's got to circumnavigate, and he can't evade all of them...

As always, thank you so much for your thoughts!

Lord Atanacalmo's conversation is really the kind that puts you through an emotional wringer!

I suppose emigration to Umbar and finding private customers there might be an option, although not one Azruhar is considering for himself yet. He would find it hard to leave Yozayan behind and I guess he hasn't even thought of it as possible.

 

It scrambled the diacritics and some punctuation! Combined with a space that was where it didn't belong, that resulted in lots of italics where they didn't belong. XD I actually had to fix all the "exotic" signs (including dashes and apostrophes, weirdly) manually even after the diacritics were back on the archive in general. No idea what went wrong there. Maybe the archive just didn't like this chapter?! >_>

Very intense cross-examination / trial / interrogation by Lord Atanacalmo.  He is quite the sly one.  I feel a bit suspicious that he is one of the leading puppet masters / schemers worthy of Game of Thrones / Machiavelli's Prince.   All the details he shared with Azruhar seem to point out that he has put a LOT of thought into treasonous topics. 

And I'm more afraid now for Azruhar--he is like a lamb trapped among wolves. The revoked laws felt like they were addressed more to Azruhar than the general populace.  The King is quite petty and a real bully--not sure why he still seems to be insecure of a peasant embalmer since he is already crowned!  He can't openly kill Azruhar so maybe a "slower" death is what the King is going for.  :-)  I wonder how Azruhar and family will cope with the more restricted finances. 

Interesting exchange with Lord Atanacalmo's son-in-law.   Perhaps Lord Atanacalmo is also trying to "corner" or prevent Azruhar from talking to Lord Earendur?  :-)    He did sound a little put out about Lord Earendur's attachment. 

 

Wow, three comments at once! What a delight to come home to! <3

Lord Atanacalmo definitely puts a lot of thought into this kind of thing, and he rather enjoys pulling the strings. Which is why he is somewhat displeased by Azruhâr's connection to Lord Eärendur - he doesn't like competition, even though Eärendur's interest in Azruhâr is of a completely different nature. (Not sure that Atanacalmo actually realises that, though.)

Yes, the King is definitely a bully, and like all bullies, looks for easy targets. If he were a bit more noble (in mind), he certainly wouldn't stoop to pursuing a simple embalmer. Yes, as far as Alcarmaite is concerned, a slow death is desirable... >_>

It's always good for Azruhar whenever he gets to talk to Lord Earendur and by the end of this chapter, I find myself wishing that Azruhar DOES move to Andunie.  But of course--it would be less interesting for him there :-).   The new king isn't so smart -- this bit about his uncle's schemes made me feel a LITTLE sorry for him.   Very enjoyable reading!

It would probably be interesting enough, but Azruhâr would at the very least need Lord Atanacalmo's permission, and since he is technically still alive and free under condition, he would also need the King's permission. Neither of them are likely to give it!

Yeah, the old King wasn't wrong in waiting so long to declare his son crown prince. He probably shouldn't have done it at all. Uncle is scheming, yeah, but at the same time he's keeping the kingdom from collapsing into chaos...

Phew! I'm always afraid that I'll lose my dedicated readers, one of these frustrating chapters, so it's such a relief to know you're still enjoying it! <3

I have the feeling that things will get much worse from here  but as always, still very much glued to this story!   I can't help but suspect that Atanacalmo was somehow a puppet master or hidden schemer in the plots against his nephew. 

The fact that the King asked Azruhar to join him may be an indirect threat or punishment--but it made me think how much of a clout or "power" Azruhar has--this might make him a target of other nobles.  I'm scared for him--Lord Earendur's protection might not be enough.

Very interesting new character Herucalmo, the future usurper! 

Looking forward to the next chapter! 

 

 

 

 

Aw, thank you so much!

FWIW, while Atanacalmo has his hands in a lot of things (to the point that I am no longer certain what plots he isn't somehow involved in!), he'd never actively get involved in a treasonous plot. Much too dangerous! His power and safety both depend on his nephew's trust, so he can't risk that.

You are absolutely right that Azruhâr's apparent closeness to the King looks very different to other people than it looks or feels to either Azruhâr or Alcarmaite. I'm a bit scared of the future, too.

Yes, time for the new generation to enter the scene more prominently! Herucalmo is hard for me to figure out, since I am not entirely sure how I interpret his time on the throne (and of course he still has to be a believable grandson of Atanacalmo). I hope I won't make too much of a mess of him.
Or of the next chapter, of course! Thank you so much for your trust and encouragement.

Not pulling any punches! I really don't think Elros would approve of his descendant's interpretation of the rule of law.

So Azruhar really did help to avert a civil war, but the cost is high.

We also now get some idea how Herucalmo may have been able to pull off the Tar-Anducal thing, later. Of course, all the manoeuvering to get these new farmers to be grateful to him, and definitely not at all to Azruhar, is deliberate! More manipulating human beings like chess pieces... But I don't get the impression Herucalmo is as clever at it as his grandfather or at least not yet.

 

It could have been more graphic. >_> Elros would be very unhappy indeed; he probably wasn't entirely happy when the law code was written, but since he didn't want to come across as ignoring the experience and advice of his councillors who'd been brought up in mortal traditions, permitted it. Well, some of it. There are plenty of later amendments, of course.

He did! Well, to be fair, the council could also have decided that the Crown Prince's transgression wasn't that bad. But presumably, Arnavaryo and his supporters would've tried to keep that from happening.

Herucalmo isn't nearly as clever as his grandfather (and probably won't be), although he's trying. Thank you for your comment!

It is very realistic that Azruhar would be wounded in more than in body. It hurts to read, though.

Atanacalmo's behaviour is very characteristic. I suppose he may actually be showing a kind of concern, although it is buried underneath so much plotting and arrogance that you really need a team of excavators.

Now that it has become obvious that the king's promise was worth nothing at all, I wonder whether this incident may actually have made Azruhar paradoxically safer, in a way. The king may not dare to do anything again to him, at least for a while, for fear of rebellion. It seems a very perilous kind of safety, if so.

It hurt to write, too, and there are probably several more chapters like that before it gets better. :/

Atanacalmo is definitely concerned, but he wouldn't be caught dead showing it! Better not to excavate or he'll pile it on more thickly!

Yes, Tar-Telemmaite will have to watch himself. Violence is a no-go, for the time being; he'll have to think of subtler ways...

As always, thank you so much for your thoughts!

I'm afraid so. Families stay behind to keep the household running, or maybe to make convenient hostages in case anyone gets up to ideas.

Besides, the King has to be convinced that it's going to hurt before he agrees to the arrangement. Otherwise, Azruhâr might *gasp* enjoy it, and we can't have that, can we? >_>

Atanacalmo may have his frustrations and also possibly be in considerable danger, if his political games should go awry--but if he equates that with the kind of adversity others like Azruhar have endured, then there is (still) a massive gap somewhere in his world view. He also loses sympathy points with me for that comment about Vanilote.

I guess he may have been afraid he had given away too much of his plans, at that one point? 

 

 

 

He's meant to come across as self-centered and occasionally callous. So I suppose that worked out. Of course, you never know how much he actually believes what he says, and how much of it is just posturing. But he definitely deserves to lose sympathy points for the way he views other people as means to his end.

Absolutely! For a moment there, he might almost have trusted Azruhâr...

As always, thank you so much for your thoughts.

I do love Atanacalmo as a character, though.  I fully get that he drives Azruhar insane, but he's just such a multilayered and complex character.

My impression is that if he'd been born in an earlier era of Numenor (pre Tar-Ciryatan, say), he'd have been straightforwardly good (but intelligently so).  But he was born the second son of Tar-Atanamir and grew up in that environment, where instincts towards "goodness" would be seen as naive and foolish, so rationalised into self-interest.  Plus a serious amount of feeding of the ego (coupled with "Oh, by the way, you're the 'spare' and will never be king, sorry, ah well.").

I think he genuinely wants to help Azruhar and even help him to grow ("teach a man to fish... etc") but the other layers of his personality, evolved onto him by his background and growing up in Tar-Atanamir's court, throw extra complexities into it.

 

Sometimes I'm afraid that he's too complex for me. XD But I am delighted by your analysis! That is basically the idea. He got the full training of a king (you never know!) but was also told (more or less openly) that he had to stay in his lane, or else. Then he got put into a useless position and languished in obscurity while his brother rose as king. For a short while, he had some hope of succeeding his brother, but then Ancalimon decided to trust his slightly disappointing son after all. So cynicism more or less became his shield against disappointment. Ultimately, Atanacalmo's best chance to get the power he (feels he) deserves was in becoming the man behind the throne. Tar-Telemmaite hasn't had the easiest upbringing, so he is grateful for a father figure, but he definitely doesn't have the easiest character, so that adds further complications.

And just in case that isn't complicated enough, there's also the trouble of who Azruhâr is! Atanacalmo simply can't get too friendly with him - it would risk everything he's built for himself. And, as we've seen, it wouldn't help Azruhâr either. So it's not just his background and his ego, it's also the politics of the day that interfer.

Anyway! I'm glad you like him as a character, even though he isn't likeable as a person! Thank you so much for your insightful comment!

Thank you so much! I feel awful for him, too.

If you do start over, let me know if the whole thing still makes sense. This story went places I didn't plan at all, so I'm actually a bit afraid of going back to the start and discovering that the latter half doesn't fit with the first half at all!