The Voyage of the Sand Piper by Himring

In that year, Cirdan boarded the good ship Sand Piper for a voyage south from Eglarest along the coast. He had his niece Halven with him, who had come for a visit from Nevrast, and among his crew were expert pearl divers as well as regular mariners.

In recent years, orcs and other dangerous creatures had been seen in Beleriand in sufficient numbers to become a real threat. Elu Thingol was having defences strengthened in Menegroth and armour made for his guard. He needed the assistance of Dwarves and that meant he needed a means to pay for it. Large pearls from the Bay of Balar would buy a great deal of dwarvish assistance, but more was needed and Thingol was running out of pearls.

Thingol had asked Cirdan for help, but Cirdan had already given him all the best of the pearls the Falathrim had in store, so he sent for divers and ordered the Sand Piper made ready. He spoke to Halven about this.

‘Oh,’ said his niece, ‘will you be going yourself, too? I would love to come along. It would be so interesting to watch. And you know how I love sea shells!’ And she smiled at her uncle.

Cirdan did know. In Nevrast, where Halven usually lived, the coast was wilder and rockier than farther south, the sea more violent. There were fewer intact shells to be found and they were smaller. When young Halven came for visits, she used to spend much time on the beaches at Eglarest, enthusiastically collecting shells, and would proudly show off her collection to him afterwards. Halven had been his nickname for her, on account of that early enthusiasm, and she had gladly accepted it as her use-name.

Cirdan had not had his mind made up yet whether to go with the Sand Piper or to stay in Eglarest. He felt that he ought perhaps to go, as the pearls were important to Thingol, but he had not wanted to desert his guest. Halven was not such a frequent visitor as all that and, although the voyage would not be a long one, they would still be away for some time. So, when she volunteered to accompany him, he accepted with relief. It was the perfect solution and a good plan besides, for he knew Halven had never travelled south of Eglarest and there would be plenty of other things to show her as well as sea shells.

Halven needed less time to be ready than he needed to make arrangements to leave the Havens and soon they were under way. While Cirdan was still speaking with the ship’s master, Halven began exploring the ship. Cirdan, out of the corner of his eye, watched her wandering about, studying its features, speaking to one or two of the crew, gazing up into the rigging. Halven was as familiar with boats as any, but this ship would be larger than most she was used to. Cirdan was happy to see her so animated. She had seemed a little subdued, on land, he had wondered whether it was to do with growing up…

‘She is lovely,’ Halven said, returning to his side. ‘Did you build her yourself?’

‘With a great deal of help from Veniel, Thavron and others,’ said Cirdan. ‘I am involved in one way or other with all the larger ships, but I do have a lot of competent ship builders around me and I have learned to delegate. The Sand Piper was not one of my occasional private projects, and yet I know her well.’

‘Of course, they are competent,’ commented Halven. ‘Haven’t I heard the occasional groan about the rigorousness of your training?’

Because Cirdan tried not to interfere with the regular crew running their ship more than necessary, he had more time to spend with Halven on board, even, than he might have at home in Eglarest. He talked to her about the currents, local sea life, weather patterns, and pointed out landmarks along the coastline. When they passed Arvernien, they admired the birch groves together—so many slender trunks gleaming white under the stars.

Chapter End Notes

Veniel is an early Elvish word for "mariner" (and not even Sindarin).

Thavron is an early Elvish word for "carpenter, wright, builder".

Yes, I needed a couple of names for Falathrim OCs in a hurry and plucked these from Parf Edhellen.

Soon they rounded the Cape and entered the Bay of Balar, their destination. The pearl hunters had no permanent base in the area, but with all their comings and goings a few customary camping places or ports of call had established themselves. The Sand Piper first made for one of these locations, which was in Lisgardh, at the Mouths of Sirion. There, they camped on an eyot surrounded by reed on almost all sides.

Halven had meditatively surveyed the swampy channel and the network of muddy islands, with few patches of firmer ground in between, as they approached, and now, casting a look at the towering reeds, remarked: ‘This seems a safe, sheltered space.’

Cirdan was a little startled, but replied: ‘Yes, definitely—except for the midges, of course,’ and he flapped his hand at a cloud of tiny insects.

Halven grinned a little.

After a period of rest, the pearl divers were ready to start and set about their task with great efficiency. Halven did not attempt to take part herself, except for minor support duties, leaving matters to the experts, but observed their daring deep dives admiringly.

‘Aren’t they amazing!’ she exclaimed. ‘Look at that one over there!’

‘Yes,’ Cirdan agreed, keeping his gaze on the diver who at this moment surfaced, smiling widely. ‘She is very skilled. They all are.’

Halven seemed to sense a reservation on his part; he felt her watching him attentively.

‘In earlier times,’ he said reluctantly, ‘we only collected pearls as we found them by chance. I can hardly fault my people for doing what I asked them to do, and doing it well, but I have been worrying… We may be depleting the oyster beds. But Thingol’s need is great.’

Halven looked at the growing pile of shellfish on the shore.

‘Have you spoken to King Thingol about your concerns?’

‘Ye-es,’ said Cirdan. ‘I did mention it.’

‘You were being polite, and now you are not sure how closely he was listening?’ guessed Halven.

Cirdan gave a little, slightly jerky nod.

‘It might be worth speaking to him more clearly,’ mused Halven. ‘Sometimes I gain the impression some of those people in Menegroth think we practically have fish tails. They might be convincing themselves we can somehow sweet-talk the oysters into giving up their pearls, not thinking too hard about it…’

Meanwhile the diving proceeded as planned. There was shellfish stew for dinner, after the day’s stint was done, of course, and it was delicious. Halven sat, spoon in hand, and looked over the rim of her bowl at the horizon, across the bay. She spotted a small low island out there, not too far off, little more than a perch for sea birds. A higher land mass rose farther out among the waves.

‘That is Balar, over there, isn’t it?’ she asked, lowering her bowl and pointing with her spoon. ‘The Isle, I mean.’

‘Yes,’ said Cirdan. ‘That is where we will be going next.’

Chapter End Notes

The Havens of Sirion don't actually exist yet, at this period, but you may already have realized that this piece is partly intended to suggest a bit of backstory for Cirdan's choice of both the Havens and of Balar as refuges later on. 

Cirdan seemed to be in a thoughtful, almost melancholy mood, as they tacked across the Bay.

‘This was the first voyage I dared to make away from the coast on a ship I had built myself, across the sea out to the Isle of Balar’, he told Halven, after a while. ‘I have built greater ships since and made more dangerous voyages, but I was so proud of my first sea-going vessel! I believed that I would be making the great journey across the Belegaer in no time, now. Then, of course, Ulmo and Osse advised me not to try…’

Halven, who had been born long after these events, put her hand on his arm. They stood in silence by the mast, watching the Isle grow ever closer, its outlines more clearly defined. There were low bushes, but not much tall growth on the Isle and its shores were rocky.

They landed on a small gravelly beach. Halven climbed up alone to get a wider view, while the rest set about their usual arrangements. After a while, Cirdan followed her. He found her on a small plateau high on a sea cliff, where there was both a sweeping view across the island and back towards the Mouths of Sirion.

He went and stood beside her, looking as she was looking.

‘It feels very safe, this Isle, protected by the Sea’, said Halven.

This time, Cirdan was alarmed. Safety—again? It was not a preoccupation he associated with Halven, as he had known her. He had heard of no sightings, but now it occurred to him that he had assumed too quickly that Nevrast would be protected by the Ered Lomin against the east and by its proximity to the Sea… And Halven was so young.

‘Halven’, he asked carefully, cautiously. ‘Can it be that you have encountered yrch, since the last time you visited me, or some other dark creature?’

‘Yes,’ admitted Halven.

‘Yes,’ she repeated, turning to him as if with relief. ‘I did not know how to bring it up, although I wanted to talk to you about it. You have seen so much worse and so much darker things, on the journey from Cuivienen—and I seemed to be making such a fuss.’

Then she saw that, far from taking it lightly, her uncle was looking thoroughly upset by this revelation. Of course—Cirdan, half the time, was still thinking of her as a child.

‘Do not worry about me,’ she said. ‘I am all right. I was frightened, but not hurt.’

She put her hand on his arm to reassure him.

‘It was very frightening, but I will be all right, in time.’

Chapter End Notes

Halven was first introduced in the pair of vignettes that make up Of Voronwe's Parents, but both of these are set considerably later, in Gondolin.

As I mentioned in the story notes, I was originally thinking of adding an epilogue or chapter featuring Halven in Gondolin, drawing on memories of this voyage (which would also show how she has moved on). I think I probably won't manage to write this before the challenge deadline (and am not entirely sure I can make it happen).