Hold Each Other by Grundy

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Adaneth

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He had heard of Men long before he actually encountered any.

The Nolofinwions may act as if the cousins they were so close to in their childhood fell at Alqualondë and have as little to do with him and his brothers as possible, but the Arafinwions were a different matter. They wrote regularly – Findarato in particular was an indefatigable correspondent, sharing with his cousins anything that crosses his mind may interest or be of use to them.

So given Ingo’s fascination for the firimar, hearing about them was unavoidable. But until now Carnistir has had no opportunity to see them for himself, for there were none in Thargelion.

His scouts’ report some time ago of a band of the Secondborn coming down the dwarf road from the Ered Luin had been the most interesting thing to happen in several years, but curious as he was about them, it had not occurred to Carnistir that they would need or want him to ride out to greet them personally. He had sent a messenger with a welcome, telling them they might stay or pass through as they would.

They settled in small groups in the south of his lands, and though he had not formally granted them any particular area as their own, he was pleased to have the land populated by people who were no friends of the Enemy. They contributed to trade with the dwarves, and his scouts had no trouble keeping track of their movements from a distance, for they were not a stealthy people.

For some years he gave them little thought. Then the orc raids began. The foul creatures began in the north, as one might expect, but found the elven outposts too well defended to try more than once.

He sent warnings south, but his frustrated messengers reported that they were unsure if the warnings had been received by the correct people, much less whether their seriousness had been understood by the firimar.

He discovered to his regret that they clearly had not been when a host of orcs swept down from the mountains they had used to hide their movement, sweeping many of the small settlements away in the first wave of their assault.

By the time Carnistir and his forces reached Sarn Athrad, where most of the surviving Men had gathered into a hastily constructed stockade to defend themselves, they were lucky to still be alive.

He did not expect much gratitude from their leader, but he had expected some thanks.

Instead, he found the young leader of the people who called themselves the Haladin almost contemptuous of his aid. It was not until she spoke that he realized he dealt with a woman.

“You took your own good time getting here, master elf. A few more days, and you would have had naught to do but bury us,” she said coolly.

“I sent warnings to your people some time ago,” Carnistir replied, nettled. “It is hardly my fault if they went unheeded, or if you did not think to send messages yourselves when you saw the orc hordes coming down on you.”

She frowned, but her manner thawed somewhat.

“If warning you sent, my lord, none reached our village,” she replied, scrubbing at the hair plastered to her forehead irritably. “Perhaps my words were overhasty, for we have been sore pressed here. For all I know, one of the dead may have heard your message, but they are beyond asking, and they are many.”

“Your losses were heavy?” Carnistir asked with a frown. Ingo had written of the younger race being doughty fighters at need, and he had been framing his plans as such, expecting them to be able to hold the southern part of his lands without over much support.

“We have lost more than half our numbers, lord,” she replied. “Most that survive are women or children too young to take up arms. That is how I myself come to lead.”

One of his captains silently handed him a paper with a tally of their hasty survey of the living and the dead. Her words were no exaggeration –the Haladin were no more than a quarter of what they had been this time last year. The orcs had been more than twice the number of the Haladin at the start, and all of them fighters.

“This is not usual among your people?” he said in some surprise. He had assumed the mortals were not so different than elves, where nissi were not barred from any particular role by their sex, and might pursue whatever calling was suited to their skills.

She looked at him as if he were daft.

“I lead because my father Haldad was chief. But he and my brother Haldar were both slain,” she replied. “Haleth am I.”

“I salute you, Lady Haleth. It is no mean feat to hold against the orcs when so outnumbered.”

She couldn’t seem to decide whether to bow or curtsey, and in the end settled for inclining her head. He suppressed a smile.

“I am Carnistir, lord of Thargelion. If you would remain in my lands, I would offer you a more protected fief further north, where you would be closer to my own stronghold that I might better see to your defense until your numbers have grown.”

She nodded, then swayed on her feet.

“I thank you for the generous offer, my lord. Perhaps I might have time to consider before I make my answer?”

“You should certainly take time to sleep,” he replied, waving at one of his attendants to make ready a tent. “If I might be of service?”

He offered his arm, and could see her consider refusing.

“Do not be foolish,” he murmured in an undertone. “I care not whether you be woman or man, nor do any of my soldiers. You have been fighting for days, and are all but falling over for exhaustion.”

She gritted her teeth, but took his arm and let him steer her toward the clean tent and hot bath waiting for her.

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The Haladin were not minded to serve any lord, Haleth told him some weeks later – weeks in which he and his followers had fed and sheltered and healed what remained of her people. Moreover, they sought a land of safety, where orcs could never again come on them unawares.

Carnistir had by then seen enough of the Haladin to believe it was not ingratitude, but fear that motivated them. Thargelion was bounded by mountains in both the north and the east, and they had already seen to their cost how well the dark creatures could use them to hide.

He had also grown rather fond of the Haladin’s brash young leader, who he had of necessity spent some hours with each day – fond enough to disquiet him.

“Very well,” he replied. “Remain a few seasons by Lake Helevorn, where you will be directly under the protection of my garrison. Regain your strength and prepare for your journey westward. By the time you are ready to move on, I am sure we can have found a more agreeable place for your people.”

He had several in mind. Estolad, Talath Dirnen, the coastal plain between the Nenning and the Narog – all would suit the Haladin’s stated wishes, and he might even be able to secure guarded passage for them if he could convince his brothers and cousins to take an interest. It went without saying, unfortunately, that he would have to work around Doriath, for Thingol detested mortals nearly as much as Kinslayers.

Haleth regarded him with pursed lips before finally nodding.

“It is good that I trust you, Lord Carnistir,” she said wryly. “Else I might suspect you of trying to delay us.”

He shrugged, and chose not to ask why she thought he would wish to delay them – for he hoped he had not noticed his fondness. No good could come of it in any case, an adaneth and a ner.

“It is only sense to plan such a journey,” he replied. “If you set out now, you will travel in the kindest part of the year, it is true. But unless you travel much swifter than I expect, you would arrive with the growing season already at an end. How then would you survive the winter with nothing put by?”

She blinked, and he reminded himself that she was new to leadership. He was also not sure of her years- for all he knew, she was young enough that she had only known settled village life, not what an undertaking it was to move a large number of people, their animals, and household goods halfway across Beleriand.

“You have considered our movement with some care,” she said slowly.

“You may have declined to stay in my lands, but the places I think you will wish to settle are near to my kin, and you might be their allies,” he told her, deciding to explain as he would have to his brothers or cousins had they still been young. “If I send you to them as beggars, needy and dependent on their charity, they will think less of you and be displeased with me. If I send you to them as an independent people with some strength left to you and the prospect that you will soon enough be stronger, they will like you better- and me for sending you there. That will benefit us both.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds so logical,” Haleth said drily. “Less a favor than something both parties benefit from.”

“Of course. Is that not best when dealing with other groups?” Carnistir asked, trying to cover that he might perhaps be overstating the benefits to himself. “To seek an outcome to the good of both?”

Haleth regarded him for a moment, then let the topic drop.

“When you speak of a few seasons,” Haleth began uncertainly.

“I mean the remainder of this year, and at least the growing seasons of the next,” Carnistir told her. “Possibly longer, but that cannot be determined with any certainty yet. You will need this year merely for your people to heal, regain their confidence, and begin to rebuild your strength. Then next year you can direct your efforts to preparing for the journey, and laying in your stores of food, clothing, and other supplies you will need both on the road and once you arrive, enough to see you through the first harvest in your new lands.”

Haleth looked off into the distance, where some of the boys old enough to be useful were helping elves guide the livestock they had been able to round up into makeshift paddocks. They had been working on this task for several days, trying to gather all they could of the surviving animals, for the Haladin could not afford to lose more through inaction than they already had at the hands of the orcs.

“When did the Haladin come down from the mountains?” Carnistir asked, knowing that in his own lexicon it was ‘not so long ago’, but unsure how mortals would measure it.

“My father was but a boy when we spread out in the river valley,” Haleth answered.

Carnistir nodded.

From what he had seen of the survivors, he doubted there were more than a handful among what remained of her people who would remember those days. Fortunately for Haleth, most of them were women, which meant she would have little difficulty obtaining their advice without losing face among the men. The men of the edain, he had noticed, often discounted conversation among their females, deeming it all ‘gossip’.

“So you, and nearly all of your people, do not remember the journey across the mountains,” he said quietly. “You should use the move to Lake Helevorn as a trial – it will give you some better idea of what an undertaking it will be to move to the places I suggest.”

“Bearing in mind that the journey to your place will doubtless run smoother as we will have a small host of elves with us,” Haleth snorted.

“Indeed,” Carnistir agreed, pleased afresh at her quick mind. “You may be thinking of this journey merely in terms of relocating to this site from Sarn Athrad, but even moving you as far the lakeside will not be so easy.”

Once the initial triage of the living and rituals for the dead had been completed several days after the battle, he had moved the survivors to a site further up the Gelion, where the water ran clear and the land was unstained by the foulness of orcs and showed no signs to remind them of the battle at the ford. It was but a day’s ride at an easy pace, but even so, for many of the mortals it had been a difficult trek.

Her eyes showed well-concealed worry at the prospect that the journey ahead of them would be still more difficult.

“Do not worry overmuch,” he reassured her with a small smile. “As you have already realized, we will be helping you. But it will give you some idea of why I counsel you to plan your longer journey well before setting out.”

He did not want her intimidated by the undertaking before her – much less to change her mind and reluctantly accept his first offer only to chastise him later for manipulating her if her people complained. Much as he enjoyed her presence, he would not buy it at the expense of her position among her own people.