Rowan — Refuge by Himring
Fanwork Notes
Warning for implied non-con, Saruman's experiments, heavy angst.
Possible warning for claustrophobia (but at least one sufferer said it was fine).
Fanwork Information
Summary: A victim of one of Saruman's attempts to interbreed orcs and humans becomes fully aware of the reality of her situation and manages to escape into the borders of Fangorn. Canon Source: Lord of the Rings Major Characters: Original Female Character(s), Orofarnë, Quickbeam Major Relationships: Genre: General Challenges: Rating: Teens Warnings: Check Notes for Warnings |
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Chapters: 2 | Word Count: 791 |
Posted on 28 January 2025 | Updated on 29 January 2025 |
This fanwork is complete. |
Rowan — Refuge
For prompts see end notes.
Read Rowan — Refuge
She scrambled up the slope and in among the trees. Driven as much by the horror of her overwhelming realization as by fear of her pursuers, she stumbled blindly onward. There was no plan; she was only running from unbearable existence. Disoriented, she ran straight into a tree trunk. The bruising impact left her a little stunned. The old rowan tree should have been easy enough to dodge around; not that there was hope of escape whichever way she turned. The Old Man had trackers on her trail. Beyond rational thought, she started pounding against the bark with her fists, as if it was a locked door or a wall that might yet give way.
Orofarne, already half-awake, was startled out of its leafy dreams by the furious knocking. Someone in need, seeking shelter? Orofarne opened a crack, just wide enough for her, and she tumbled in, feeling it close after her.
The trackers milled around at a loss among the trees, unable to guess where she might have gone, even under the repeated lashing of their overseers. There were no tracks, no clues. It was as if the grove had swallowed her up. Only, if any of her pursuers had known how to listen to trees, the voice of one of the rowans had changed.
Orofarne was softly singing to a desperate young half-orc in its close embrace: hush-sh, hush-sh-sh, hush-sh-sh-sh.
But all they felt was the gathering resentment of Fangorn and they had become far too used to ignoring that. Even Saruman could not detect how this subject of his experiments had eluded him, but he knew well how to bear a grudge and nevertheless henceforth nursed a strong dislike of rowan trees.
Chapter End Notes
I think Saruman is probably not really implied by Tolkien to have targeted rowans more than other kinds of tree, but I thought it would be interesting to explore this as a what-if.
I also was thinking of this as a kind of inversion of the canonical scene with Old Man Willow (and also of those hints about the Huorns and the orcs after the Battle of the Hornburg).
This first chapter was written for the November challenge at tolkienshortfanworks.
The prompts were: refuge; imitation of a sound (for example, sounds made by a tree or by Ents).
Quickbeam
Quickbeam comes to visit Orofarne and realizes something has happened to his beloved tree in the meantime.
(Originally, no second chapter was planned, but I started thinking through some of the implications and also a couple of readers said they were interested in reading more.)
Read Quickbeam
For a long time afterwards, there was just the gradual slowing of the galloping heartbeat and the panicky breath. Her mind filled with the soothing song of the tree that eased the pain.
But then another voice came, a stranger’s voice from outside.
Hm, ha, hey, my Orofarne! What have we here?
She shrank into herself and Orofarne’s woody embrace tightened around her.
The voice resumed, sounding surprised: Something you want to defend even against me? I will not harm it or take it away, whatever it is, I promise!
Do not trust them, they are worse when they promise, she thought.
But Orofarne was very sure of that voice and its trustworthiness. Nevertheless, it heeded her fears and eased only a fraction, opening no more than the slightest crack. The voice did not insist.
Hm hoom, it said, concerned. It seems you are hurt, young one, root and branch, leaf and bark! I see why Orofarne believes you need protection.
She began to hope that having conceded this, the voice would go away and leave them in peace together, her and the rowan tree, especially if she refused to react and maintained silence.
But I see a risk to you, young one. Orofarne has already begun to help you heal. That is good, but if you stay in there too long you will not be able to leave.
She did not see how that was a problem. She had no wish to leave.
You will no longer be able to survive outside Orofarne, young one, do you understand? Is that truly what you want? Never be able to go anywhere else at all?
I have nowhere at all to go!
There, she had been unable to resist answering after all! Why was she admitting she could hear?
Nowhere? Young one, the world is wide. Are you so sure there is no place for you outside?
The world she knew was full of prison walls, lies and chains.
If you choose, you could stay with me a while, said the voice. I can give you draughts to strengthen you, mind and body. I only have the lore to teach an enting—I cannot teach how to walk among Men—but I can teach you some of that. And, when you have spent some time outside, you can still choose to go back inside Orofarne, if that is what you really want to do. But I would like to think I had given you more of a choice.
She said nothing. But she knew that, despite herself she was listening, along with Orofarne, who was continuing to hold her, quietly, without protest.
You do not need to decide right now, said the voice. I will come back later and ask again. There is time yet… Also, my name is Bregalad.
She did not respond again, staying quite still, until she was sure he was really gone, just as he had said. Orofarne resumed softly singing to her.
Chapter End Notes
It is up to the readers to conclude what choices she makes, I think, but I wanted to give her a little more than she had.