Journey to the Uttermost East by Lyra

Journey to the Uttermost East

Taking apalling liberties with canon, geography and time spans probably. I apologise in advance.

(from the logbook of the Venturer's Ship Alcarinquë, with annotations from a later Age)

Samindórë* - 23rd Lótessë, 1738²

The locals - mortal and Qin³ alike - have long claimed that the Dark Land is by no means burnt and inhabitable as we have been told by the Eldar, but we have so far dismissed such claims as uneducated. Certainly no life would be possible so close to the sun. However, our own Carweg [EN: the ship's astronomer] has pointed out that if the heat of the sun were intense enough to burn the land, then it should also boil the sea, which is evidently not the case either west nor even east of the Dark Land. This suggests that the sun is much further away, or not yet at its full strength, when it rises beyond the Walls of the World, which in turn suggests that life in the Dark Land may be possible. The folk of Samindórë indeed say that there are several settlements with which they habitually trade, and they call it the Sun-Roots rather than Dark. We are now preparing to put their stories to the test and venture even further East than we have gone before.

Samindórë - 28th Lótessë, 1738

We have made port in Lungtu⁴ to bring fresh water and provisions on board in order to prepare for the journey into the unknown. The citizens of Lungtu agree with their compatriots that the Sun-Roots, as they say, is inhabited, and we have even found two youngsters who claim to speak the language and were willing to travel with us and serve as interpreters. Since we will not be able to make shore in Morcondórë after the events of 1715⁵, this will likely be the last time we walk on land until we reach the Dark Land itself.

Orronairë - 30th Lótessë, 1738

We have half circumnavigated Morcondórë, and are now within sight of the coast of the Dark Land. Although we have yet to find proof of human settlement, already we can see that the ancient reports of a barren land are clearly untrue, or have become untrue in the meantime at the least. In fact, the land is currently under heavy rain-clouds (as are we, for that matter) and although the torrential rain is warm to the touch, it is certainly not boiling hot, though not all of our sailors are taking it well. It is certainly a struggle to keep the ship on course. The land, however, does not seem to suffer from it, and it is by no means black and burned. Whenever the rain lets up, we can see green growth on the hills to the east - lush growth, too, that is clearly decades if not centuries old. The name Dark Land is clearly misleading, and we have decided to adopt the name used by the folk of Samindórë and call it the Anartalmar.

Orronairë - 1st Nárië, 1738

Never mind green growth - we can see houses!

Anartalmar - 2nd Nárië, 1738

While we were still discussing how to best approach the natives without giving them cause for alarm, the natives decided to approach us. Although their own vessels are much smaller, they did not appear concerned about the size of our ship. Although their language is utterly alien to our ears - it appears to be wholly unrelated even to the tongue of Samindórë - our young interpreters appear to make successful conversation with them. This is fortunate, since we have found a confident and well-structured people who clearly would take grave offense if we were to force our presence on them, however peaceful our intentions. As it is, our interpreters have negotiated permission to anchor in their harbour for a month while we learn more about these lands that have turned out to hold so much more than our lore ever taught us.

Anartalmar - 10th Nárië, 1738

The warm rain still has not ceased, and we are told that it is seasonal and will last for weeks to come. Against the rains, the houses of the natives are thickly covered in straw, which they also use to make capes for themselves. Like the people of Samindórë, they grow rice in fields like terraced pools, since the land is mountainous and leaves little room for farming otherwise. It is evident that they have been settling and farming the land for centuries, and it is a mystery why we did not discover their existence before. When our own ancestors began to journey West in search of light and security, the ancestors of these people must have travelled towards the rising sun in the same pursuit. Athaenis [EN: one of the ship's chroniclers] is trying to find out more about their past. As for the present, they are great fishermen but venture rarely from the coastal waters. They also dive for pearls, which they use in trade, and know a great number of crafts.

Anartalmar - Erulaitalë, 1738

We have been able to prolong our stay (the natives were, evidently, meaning one of their own months, which is only four weeks long) in order to dispatch an expedition further inland. Naudhrain and Dan (as interpreter) will lead it. We now know much about the harbour town of Na - as the locals call it - and its people, and Athaenis has written a great deal about it. Together with the findings of Naudhrain's expedition, we shall present these writings to the King upon our return. It is to be hoped that with such intriguing material, we shall not lack sponsors for future journeys. Once the expedition has returned, we will set sail first for Samindórë, to return our interpreters home, and then homewards, to inform the King and his scholars that the inhabited world is larger than previously known, and to request permission to set up a permanent trading post in these parts.

- - -

* It is no longer certain whether samin is a transliteration of a name the local people use for this land, or whether it refers to the silk which is certainly one of the most important trade goods of this region in eastern Middle-earth.

² of the Second Age.

³ The Qin appear to be an Elvish people.

⁴A major trade port of Samindórë.

⁵Sadly no records of this incident appear to have survived. We do not know what happened in 1715.

Chapter End Notes

Very little is known about the continent east of Middle-earth that briefly appears as the Dark Land or South Land. It is supposedly barren and uninhabited, but that's such a sad waste of space (it appears to be a huuuge continent!) that I couldn't resist putting people on there. They probably deserve a longer story, but this was all I could manage to cook up just now.