W by Himring

Chapter 1: Wains

A glimpse of a female Wainrider and her younger sister on their retreat eastwards, after attack.

No warnings, except for a hint at a darker background.

On a more usual day, they would have halted at sunset, but now the wains went rumbling on as dusk deepened about them. Her arms felt stiff with holding the reins so long and her eyes felt gritty with the dust churned up by the hooves and the wheels.  Mian pushed out her head and shoulders from behind, peeking out under the cover, and, when this earned her no reproof, clambered out beside her on the driver’s seat. She lifted up her arm, allowing Mian to snuggle up against her side.

It was now fully dark and still they went on, slowing, but not stopping.

‘Look,’ said Mian, ‘the stars have come out.’

It was true. The night was clear, away from all the smoke, and the stars shone bright.

‘Look,’ she said herself, with a gesture of her chin. ‘Do you see those seven stars over there? That is the Wain. Can you distinguish the axletrees and the shaft?’

‘Like our own wains?’ asked Mian, craning her head.

‘Exactly like our wains,’ she answered. ‘The Great Wain above guides our wains below. And so, wherever we go, we can never be lost.’

Chapter End Notes

During the revolt in T.A. 1899, camps of the Wainriders south of Mirkwood were burned and young women fought to defend their homes and children. They did not all retreat eastwards, after the battle, but they were weakened and some may have thought it the wiser course.

The Great Bear (or Big Dipper) is sometimes called the Wain or Charles's Wain (and the Little Bear the Lesser Wain). This name occurs in The Hobbit, although in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings the constellation is called by other names.

Tolkien would have encountered the senses "wagon", "chariot", and "Great Bear", when working on the Oxford English Dictionary entry wain. But it is doubtful whether he had any ideas about Wainriders yet, as they did not appear in his writing until much later. It is I who have connected the celestial Wain with the Wainriders.

As far as I know, we know nothing about the language of the Wainriders. The name "Mian" was just my fancy.