Seeds of the White Tree

Chapter 51 - A Discourse of Equals

From the vast Dome of the Sun in Minas Tirith to the Golden Hall of Meduseld in Edoras, meetings of the lords of the West tended to be conducted in settings of equally befitting majesty. This made the gathering, convened around the paper-strewn table in Elboron and Eruthiawen's study inside the half-constructed Tower of the Moon somewhat out of the ordinary to say the least. The presence of Haradrim as allies at a debate over military strategy was also a first for both Gondor and Rohan. And yet it was so. As Elfwine had requested, all leadership - of Gondor, Rohan, and Harad alike - present in Minas Ithil gathered upon the fifth day to discuss what was to be done concerning the fate of Rhûn. 

"What do the scouts report from Cair Andros, my lord Aragorn?" Elboron, recently prised away from Eruthiawen and Barahir's side, sat next to Éowyn with a thoughtful expression. "Have all remaining Easterlings fled the region?" 

Aragorn - who still wore his rough work shirt with the sleeves turned up after yet another morning spent overseeing the first reconstruction efforts of Minas Ithil's bridge - nodded. 

"Bergil informs me that the rangers in the area have all reported back, with no further evidence of an Easterling presence this side of the Plains of Dagorlad. It seems any remaining stragglers have chosen to flee back to their homeland." 

"For now," commented Elfwine. The king of Rohan sat with his double-bladed axe resting casually across his knees; a silent statement which did not escape notice. "They did so once before, after the Sea of Rhûn."

Éowyn was of a similar mind as her nephew. "Twice have the Easterlings been permitted to flee a field of defeat unchallenged; once in the aftermath of the War of the Ring, and again five years ago. Both times, they have returned to make war upon Gondor." 

"Not only Gondor," added Túrien. She and Na'Man exchanged glances. "Following their defeat at the Sea of Rhûn, traders and warriors alike from Far Harad have brought word of mercenary-like attacks on caravans near the northern border." 

"Was there an apparent goal or pattern to these attacks?" Eldarion wondered aloud. 

Na'Man shook his head. "No, Prince of Gondor. We in Near Harad had taken to dismissing these raids as the concern of the tribes of Far Harad. Suspected 'undue' interest in their lands might have provoked a fresh conflict between Far Harad and Pâzghar, perhaps even catching up Harmindon this time...a thing which Ramyahs Sawda and Gulim have been keen to avoid." 

Arwen touched Aragorn's arm. "It may be that the raids on the border of Far Harad and the siege upon Minas Ithil are unrelated. By all accounts of the deeds of Dagmar in Rohan, Serthîk in Gondor and the attack of the Easterling army, Rhûn and its agents acted in a highly coordinated, calculated manner." 

"Perhaps unrelated, perhaps a symptom of bitterness toward Gondor and its newest ally," Aragorn inclined his head respectfully toward Na'Man, and Na'Man returned the gesture with a touch of fingertips to brow. "On that note, what of Gïdjls?"

"The Bone Mother has seen to the rite of Diyariya Dawîn. Now there remains only to return Gïdjls to the desert that bore him. There death will feed life, as has been our way since the first tribe," said Na'Man with the utmost gravity. 

Seeing the looks of quiet confusion on several faces, Túrien stepped in to translate. "In the Common Tongue, Diyariya Dawîn means 'The Last Gift'. The Mûmakil carry the Haradrim people in life, and so we carry them in death." Reaching up, she touched a new pendent which lay in the hollow of her throat. The white, rough-hewn spindle of tusk stood out starkly against the embroidered hem of her red shawl. "The Bone Mother took enough for Sufyan, Myriam, and I, as well as Qufar, who alone among Gïdjls's drivers survived the siege." A distant look came into Túrien's eyes as her thoughts left the gathering and turned to a room and its occupant in the tower above. "Sufyan will carve them for us, when he is healed."