The Avari's Song [ Lord of the Rings x Silmarillion ]

Chapter 2

Brilien was up at the break of dawn, as soon as the brilliant Sun rose in the sky. They called her Caranorien, "Of the Red Fire". Some believed her to be a spirit, like until the gods that had first found the elves. Others disagreed. Brilien liked to believe the eldest of her people, figuring they knew best, so she honored the Sun as a god.

She packed her camp up, rolling her mat into something that fit on her back. She pulled on her armor pieces that covered sections of her arms and legs. Trophies, won from her expeditions into the ruined mines of Utumno. She knew not what they were forged from, but they were light yet strong. It was similar to the mithril that the Orocarni dwarves mined, yet slightly heavier. She placed the armor fractions over animal fur to facilitate comfort. The rest of her clothes was layered cloths of varying browns, with decorative red and blue beads sewn to the edges.

She bore three weapons. The first, a spear little less than her height, about five feet, had a dagger point at the end forged of a viciously sharp metal, also found in Utumno. Her actual dagger was more a hunting knife, used for carving meat. And at last, she bore a bow made of yew and elven hair as string; it was nothing fancy. Just a good hunting bow. She preferred her spear in combat.

At around noon, Brilien clambered up onto a large rock to get a better view of the surrounding territory. She was pleasantly surprised that just over the next big rock was the exit of the mountains. At last the Orocarni were over, and before her she saw long, green grass that stretched for leagues in each direction.

Her face lit up in excitement. She was getting close. It was almost over, her long journey to Cuivienen. She scramble down from the large rock and hurried forward, running and jumping between rocks.

Within a minute or two, Brilien hit the grass. She looked up to see which way the sun was headed and aligned herself with it to journey west. With a happy cry, she took off at a run.

She didn't know how far it would be before she reached the birthplace of her ancestors. However this mattered little to her. She knew she would reach it, she trusted in the sun and stars to guide her.

Brilien took a rest that night, finding herself in a small forested area. She climbed a tree to hide herself from any wildlife, tying a rope around her waist and the trunk. Her spear was in her hand as she fell into the dream state all elves rested in.

When the morning dawned, she reoriented herself and untied the rope. But a skittering noise halted her actions and she froze. She knew that sound, she had heard it plenty in the Eastern forests. It was the sound of spiders.

She readjusted her grip on the spear and twisted her neck to take a look. Indeed, right below her were three large spiders, red on their backs and lower legs.

Curse the spawn of the Great Spider, she growled inside.

Quickly she formulated her plan. Drawing her dagger, she glanced once more over at the spiders to line up her shot. With a swift movement she pelted the dagger into the closest of the spiders. It let out a shriek before dying.

Brilien stood on the branch and flipped out of the tree. She stuck her landing well and stabbed the next spider with her spear. The third one skittered over to her and she ducked away from it with a tuck and roll. The spider leapt but Brilien stuck her spear out. She ended up with a dead spider on top of her.

With a disgusted snort, she pushed the squishy spider carcass off herself. She remained lying on the ground for a moment before picking herself up. She cleaned her spear on the ground and ripped the dagger from the other spider. Before setting off again, she retrieved her pack and rope from the tree.

She ran off and on the whole day, heading West, always. Her mind was far afield, looking forward to Cuivienen and what she would find.