Somewhere in the beginning of the First age
"Well, the skins are dry and cured. We can now fill them with water,” Degan said to anyone who was listening.
"Then let us get whatever we can together and fill the skins with water on the way. Even though we have a skin each, we should still ration the water just in case we do not come by any body of water on the way," Otetiani told his
comrades.
"You know Otetiani, that heavy fog-like mist we had encountered on the ship had given me a very eerie feeling," Dadah said to him. "I know! It felt strange. Not normal at all, but I didn't question it. I figured it came from the Great One in response to what those men did. I felt that it was their way of dealing with the strangers atrocity towards our people, our village, and our beloved forest. It is a good thing they didn't find the Winono’s. The warriors I sent with some of our people, the elderly, the women, and children have taken them safely into the protection of the Winono's realm. So I believe they are safe with them," Otetiani replied. "You know, Otetiani? I believe they are too!” Garak nodded in agreement.
"Let us go now and leave this place. Maybe we will find out where we are if we find someone friendly we can ask," Otetiani said to his comrades. "I don't know if I want to deal with the inhabitants of this land, let alone ask them any questions. What if there aren't any friendlies here or they don't like the way we look?" Dadah asked. “Maybe we should wait to see how the people are, if there are any. After what happened, I am a little leery about trusting strangers.”
"Do not worry so much, Dadah. They may be friendlier than those we encountered from the ship. All strangers cannot be like that. I do not think that they will be like the Captain and his crew. Do not be so judgemental my friend. We have not met anyone yet to decide such things," Otetiani said to his friend. "Let us continue our journey and figure those things out later."
SSo the five continued from where they started, which was by the gulf of Lune and continued on foot east towards the Grey Havens. Little did they know that their journey actually started because of the Valar, who had been watching them from the beginning. They were way off course from their actual destination, and they can thank the Valar for that.
What the Valar did for the five warriors was save them from an uncertain future in the hands of the men of the ship as they were sailing towards England. They were the ones that caused the strange, heavy, fog-like mist and the great storm that cropped up instantly. They had transported them back in time to
Middle-earth to begin a journey they will never forget! Their reasons were their own as to why. Perhaps they may reveal their reason later, just not now.
So on they went to discover what this place had in store for them. As they walked, they thought how beautiful this place was. It was so green and serene looking. "This place is beautiful and so peaceful. It reminds me of our home in the village and the surrounding forests. How I wish we were back there. This place will help us to remember." Gawas said. Otetiani thought to himself, `This place is beautiful and does remind me of home, but..'
By mid-afternoon they decided to stop for a few minutes and take a couple of sips of water. They were certain they didn't need to ration the water since they were walking east and the great Gulf was there to their left along the way. Resting time they also decided to save for the night time if they needed it.
Degan spoke up before they decided to leave, "Otetiani, maybe I should run ahead to see if anyone or a village is ahead. I will be careful and silent so no one can see or hear me. I will bring back any news if I see anything." "That is a good idea, Degan. Thank you for volunteering. Keep your senses open about you, come back on swift wings if there is any news."Otetiani told him. "I will." Degan said before he left quickly.
Otetiani said to his comrades, "This may be a beautiful place to look at, but we must keep our eyes and ears open at all times. Even beauty can hold dangerous secrets, especially at night."
"Yes! Ask me about beauty holding dangerous secrets!" Gawas exclaimed. "That is your fault for sneaking around the village late into the night with those young maidens. You always manage to get caught with them when their fathers, brothers and their betrothed find you in their beds. And, as always, I am always there to bail you out from those angry men. Not to mention that one time Dadah and I had to rescue you from being cleaved in two when one of the fathers caught you with his daughter who was to be married the next day!" Garak scolded his brother. "I didn't know she was betrothed or a virgin either! She didn't tell me she was or that she was getting married. She didn't act like a virgin!" Gawas tried to sound innocent while smirking. "Feigning innocence doesn't help either!" Garak replied.
They just sat for a few quiet moments before Garak broke into a smirk himself.
"Although that one time.. do you remember Dadah? When the last time he got caught he didn't even have time to grab his clothes." "Yes, I remember that. He ended up running from his house through the village with not a stitch on." Dadah said while laughing. Otetiani who was laughing also replied. "Yes you did look a little hilarious running around without your breechclout on!" They all laughed so hard from that memory that their eyes were tearing up as they rolled around the ground. After a few minutes, they were finally able to compose themselves.
Gawas spoke up. "Ha Ha! Real funny! That didn't stop me from roaming the village again the next day after that incident. I just had to be careful when I would meet with the women and where." "Yeah, real careful because the fathers and their sons took turns watching outside their homes to make sure you stayed away from the young women." Said his brother.
Just then Degan, who had run up ahead, came back to tell them, "There is a village by the water. There are some men by the water building a boat. They look different than any I have ever seen built. They look like giant white birds, but they are boats. One of the men there looks like one of the Winonos back home. He has long hair like ours only very light, almost white, and his ears look pointed like the Winono's. He is also very tall. I think he is their leader." Otetiani looked at Dagan and replied. "We will speak to this man. Maybe he can help us, but be on your guard just in case they may be hostile.”
So they all made their way together to the village. They saw the boats that Dadah was talking about and thought how beautiful they were. Never had they seen a boat like that or how well these men made the boats. But the closer they got to the shore, the more they noticed that the men were not men. They all had pointed ears! Yet they went on to talk to the leader of the boat makers anyway.
As they approached, the leader and the rest turned to look at them. Both sides looked at each other for a minute then proceeded to go on with their business. Otetiani spoke to the leader. "She ko'lih!*, Hello" he said to the leader.
"I am Otetiani and these are my comrades. We are not from around here, and wish to know where we are. Could you please tell us what the name of your village is called? The leader looked at him and his comrades with a raised eyebrow and said to him. "I can see that you are not from around here. I am Círdan, the Master shipmaster here, and this,” he swept his hands open to emphasize, “is the Grey Havens in Middle-earth. Where did you come from, and how did you happen to come to Middle-earth?”
Otetiani replied to him, "We were on a ship that was destroyed making its way to 'Ing land. We were the only survivors. Where we came from is known to us as 'The Great Turtle Island.' We ended up back that way,” Otetiani pointed toward the Gulf of Lune, “and now here we are. We are lost and would like to find a way back to our land. Do any of these vessels travel to where we are from, or is there anyway we could build a boat for ourselves so that we may get back home? We would offer our services in exchange for you to lend us some wood.”
Círdan could see that they were very sincere about their offer, but as for the location from where they came from he did not know where it was. He thought of writing to someone who could help them out.
“Have you or your comrades had dinner yet?" Círdan asked him.
"No, we haven't.
We have not eaten since early this morning," Otetiani replied.
"Good! You may come and join my family and I for dinner. You may also stay in my home for the evening and rest. We will talk about this situation you have after dinner if you like. We will come up with a solution on how to get you back to home.”
Otetiani smiled at Círdan and bowed his head while putting his hand over his heart. "Y^awanko, thank you for your very kind offer, but we do not have anything to pay you for your kindness.” Cirdan smiled at the five and said, "That is okay I will put you up for the night and if you would like I will have tubs set up if you wish to bathe as well."
"Thank you very much. We appreciate it. Yes, we will take up your offer, Cirdan." Otetiani responded while the others nodded their heads in approval. "Wait here while I tell the others they
can go home for the evening," Cirdan said to him.
As they waited for Cirdan to return, they talked amongst themselves. Otetiani turned to Garak. "You know, that wasn't so bad. They weren't hostile as you thought they would be now were they? Cirdan seems to be a very helpful and polite man. I feel nothing hostile or evil about him. In fact I feel he is genuinely concerned about us and will help us with our situation. I can usually tell when someone is not right." Garak nodded his head. "And I trust your feelings when it comes to someone's character. You are right, Otetiani. I should not despair and trust you." Otetiani and Garak grasped each other's arms in a friendly embrace. "We must trust each other as we have always done. That is what has helped us out in these troubled times.” Otetiani said to Garak.
"By the way, Otetiani. Do we call Cirdan a man? Garak asked with a frown on his face. "He seems to be more than a man to me. He looks exactly like the Winonos back home. He is also very tall. We are taller than most of the people in our village, but he is TALL!" Garak said a little loudly. " I don’t know. We will find out later," Otetiani whispered. "Here he comes."
Cirdan approached the five and motioned for them to follow. They walked a ways before they finally reached his home. It was near the water and it was beautiful. The house was large and built perfectly, they thought. The doorway to the house was arched with vines and leaves carved around the door frame. The large doorknob was made with a metal they had never seen. It was in a shape of a leaf. As they were lead inside they were awed at how huge it seemed on the inside. Every bit of furniture was beautifully carved with vines and leaves. Not a lot, but just enough to give it that homey look. Everything in the house as well as the outside had the five in awe. They had never seen anything so beautiful!
Cirdan smiled as he watched them. "My home is your home. You are welcomed here. I will show you to your rooms if you will follow me," he said to them. They followed him as he showed them their rooms. The twins shared a room. Their friends shared another room. Otetiani was shown to his room. They couldn't believe the rooms they were given. They even had a room with a tub, cleaning blocks, and towels. "I feel like we are in a dream, or a fantasy!" Gawas said excitedly. "Now the dream would be complete if there were a couple of beautiful females to share with us," he told his brother Garak. He just looked at Gawas, shook his head and sighed. "Only you would think of such things now!" Gawas looked back at his brother with big, innocent eyes. "What? I don't know what you mean," he grinned. "Let’s go and see how the others are fairing in their rooms."
The two friends had just come to the door as the twins were exiting their room.
"Hey we were just coming to see your room," Gawas said. "We were just coming to see yours." Degan chuckled. "But since we are close to Otetiani's room, why don't we go and see how he's doing?” “Hey he's not here! Where can he be?” Degan said looking around Otetiani’s room.
Otetiani looked around the house to see how magnificent the view was from all sides. It made him a little homesick thinking of his home and the forest he loved so much. 'This place is so wonderful and serene. I wish we were home right now.' "Otetiani! Is everything alright? Is the room to your liking?" Cirdan was there suddenly. Otetiani turned to see Cirdan standing there with a look of concern. "Oh, everything is just great. The room is very comfortable. The views here are magnificent!" Otetiani said with a small smile. "But?" Cirdan inquired.
"It's just that it reminds me of home and I wish we were there. I mean, I like this place and all, but I just miss my home, my village, the forest, and the Great Ones who live there. The Winonos," Otetiani said with a sigh. "I understand how you feel. I too miss the place where I came from originally. Someday I will be able to go there again. But for now, I have a mission to fulfil To build the swan ships until I am no longer needed to build anymore. But we will talk about that another time. And maybe we can talk about these 'Winonos' you talk about with such reverence then also?” Cirdan asked. "Yes, we will do that another time." Otetiani responded.
"For now, my comrades and I would like to wash up before dinner," Otetiani said to Cirdan. "I will have my sons bring up some warm water to bathe if you wish to and some clean clothes you can wear for tonight. It will be no problem!" Cirdan offered. "That would be great! My comrades and I would greatly appreciate that, but we could lend a hand in bringing in the water," Otetiani replied. "No, that won't be necessary. You are our guests tonight. I will see you for dinner this evening." Cirdan bowed his head with his hand over his heart and left.
A moment later the others came into view. "There you are Otetiani. We were wondering where you disappeared to. Dadah said. "Well, I was taking in the view of this wonderful place and felt a little homesick. Cirdan was here and we talked a little. You know he is not originally from here? He didn't say where he is from. He will tell me that later.
For now though he and his son's will be bringing up some warm water for us to bathe with. Also he is giving us some clean clothes to dress in for now. I have never met anyone who is so invitingly warm and polite who opens up his house to us even though we are strangers, so willingly! The only other place like that is our village and the Winonos Realm," Otetiani said as his thought went back to his homeland. Gawas saw Otetiani's sadness and replied, "Well then let us get going and clean up! I also would like to take a tour of this wonderful place! Maybe we can see the other locals and get friendly with…" "You mean look for any females here that you could..uh..warm up to don't you brother?" Garak retorted.
"Aw come, come now brother. Loosen up! Come with me and have some fun!" Gawas laughed at his brother. "No, thank you! Behave yourself brother while we are here, please! I don't want any trouble from you!" Otetiani just shook his head at his cousins and laughed. "Come on now you two. Lets get ourselves cleaned up for dinner. Thanks for cheering me up. I don't know what I would do without all of you here. Y^awanko*.”
When they reached their rooms three young men were just finishing up loading water into their tubs. "Hello, my name is Kaman. The other two are Gildreth and Kryturn, my brothers. We have just filled your tubs with warm water. If you need any more warm water, just let us know. Our sisters will be here momentarily with some vials of hair soap and fresh clothes for you to wear. If there is anything you need at all, do not hesitate to let us know. We want to make your stay comfortable with us." "My name is Otetiani and these four our my comrades, my twin cousins Garak and Gawas, our friends Dadah and Degan." They all bowed their heads to Cirdan's sons. "Thank you for filling the tubs for us!" Otetiani said to the brothers. With that, the brothers bowed their heads to the comrades and left.
A moment later, two young women appeared with fresh clothing for the evening.
"Hello sirs. I am Shana and she is Triana." She pointed to her sister who was smiling sweetly at Gawas. She noticed he was staring at her and smiling so seductively. She blushed very rosy cheeks. Garak moaned mentally inside, 'Oh no, there he goes!'
“Here are some fresh clothes to wear. I will take your garments and freshen them up a bit." Shana said. "..Ah.." Garak's only reply when she cut him off. "Do not
worry sir, I will make sure they are clean and will handle them carefully. You have my word. I will be careful with your garments." "Okay." Garak replied nervously. "If there is anything else you need, all you have to do is ask. You can put your soiled garments in this basket here." She smiled. Meanwhile, Gawas who had heard what she said was smiling even bigger and thinking 'Hmm..I do have needs and all I have to do is ask..Hmm"
"Come sister, we need to get the table ready for tonight. We will see you and your friends later" Triana said to Gawas, smiling. 'And see me you shall hopefully tonight' was Gawas's thought as they left. All Garak did was moan and shake his head at his brother.
Just before sunset, Kaman came and knocked on the door of Otetiani's room. "Come in." Kaman came in and bowed his head. "Dinner is ready. We will be eating in the garden area." Kaman told him. "Thank you. I will tell the others. I know where the garden is. We will be there shortly," Otetiani said to Kaman. "As you wish. We will wait for you to come before we proceed." Kaman bowed his head and left. Otetiani then proceeded to knock on the others’ doors to let them know it was time for dinner. The twins and the friends came out at the same time. "It is time for us to go for the evening meal. It will be in the garden where we were earlier today," Otetiani told them. They all left together for the garden smiling and hungry from the smells coming from the kitchen.
Cirdan and his family were in the garden waiting for their guest to arrive. They had not sat down yet. They had decided to wait for the five to come before sitting down.
When all five came outside, Cirdan greeted them, "Our guests have arrived. Let us all sit down and enjoy this wonderful meal that my daughters have made for us this special evening."
"Thank you for inviting us into your home and sharing this meal with us as well. This is so overwhelming! My comrades and I have never seen such magnificence in all our lives! Everything here is beautiful and breathtaking and we thank you for it." Otetiani said in humbleness to Cirdan and his family. “You are very welcome, and now to begin dinner." Cirdan announced to everyone.
They all nodded in agreement and enjoyed their meal. To the five, there was a lot of food on the table. Roasted vegetables, fresh fruit and baked bread, roasted succulent venison, boiled potatoes, and roasted corn too. There was also wine and water at the table. "Howah!" was all Degan could say at the amount of food at the table. Cirdan smiled at the remark and thought to himself 'I will have to ask him after we eat what that means.' The five helped themselves to the food enjoying each morsel they ate. "This is very good I must say. Very delicious!" Otetiani said to the young women. They both giggled and said in unison, "Thank you!"
Gawas noticed the red colored liquid and asked Cirdan what it was. "It is called Miruvor and comes from Rivendell, the Realm of Lord Elrond. Taste it, it is very good and can give you energy when needed." So Gawas decided to give it a try. He drank some and immediately had a look of surprise on his face. With wide eyes he looked at Otetiani and said, "Drink it, cousin. It is very good and taste very familiar!" Otetiani looked at him, frowning a little, and decided to try it also. He sniffed it, put some in his mouth for a couple of seconds, drank it, and he too had a look of surprise. With raised eyebrows he said, "Yes, it is very familiar." He looked at Gawas, then at Cirdan. "How is it familiar?" Cirdan inquired. "Well," Otetiani started, "Back home, the people of the forest known as the Winonos made something similar to this. I remember this because on occasion we would be invited to come and share a meal with them and they would serve a similar drink. That is, when my cousins and I, with our two friends here, were invited by them for dinner, they would serve this similar drink." Cirdan looked at Otetiani and said, "Really! We must talk later. After dinner that is." Otetiani replied "Sure, that would be fine."
They finished up the evening meal and sat back to relax; all except for Gawas. He was busy smiling at Triana, who happened to be sitting right across from him. She blushed and smiled back. She was the younger of the two and a little more well endowed then her older sister. She was also very pretty with red hair and sparkly sky blue eyes. Shana had blond hair and very light blue eyes with a pretty smile.
Gawas couldn't help himself and his mind started working overtime on his lustful thoughts about Triana and him.
It didn't go unnoticed. Garak sighed to himself while rolling his eyes. 'There he goes now' and promptly kicked his leg. Gawas, who felt the pain of the kick, just kept smiling and in a very low hiss replied, "Alright!" The others noticed the exchange and snickered and chuckled quietly.
Shana, however, was too preoccupied to notice what was going on. She was busy focusing on the object of her growing desire that sat in front of her. Otetiani. She noticed how handsome and well built he was. He was broad shouldered with well toned muscles from head to toe. His hands were large and strong, but not rough and cracked as she has seen on others. They looked strong, yet gentle at the same time. She quietly sighed and thought, 'I wish I could have those hands touch me.’ He had long, beautiful black hair that reached to his hips. It looked shiny and soft. It seemed to beg her to touch it. But what really caught her eye the most were his eyes. They were a bold lavender color with the outside of the iris trimmed in a gold color. They were almost brilliant, even in the night. She had never seen colored eyes like that in her entire life. Not even amongst the elves who came to the Gray Havens to depart for the Undying Lands did she ever see such color. They were mesmerizing and hypnotic. She sat there dreamily staring, her thoughts off with him to another place. "Shana." She heard her name being called by him dreamily. "Shana"..He kept calling her. "Shana!" Cirdan said for the third time.
She jumped out of her dreamy state, blushing hard from her embarrassment when she realized who was calling her. "I..I am sorry," she said quietly. "I..I did not hear you,” she replied, very embarrassed at being caught in her dreamy state. "Indeed!" Cirdan chuckled lightly. "Where has your mind flown off to my dear?"
Otetiani, who noticed her staring at him, didn't even look up. He felt too uncomfortable and embarrassed for her and himself. Seeing that he was the object of her dreamy state, he knew he would be a target for a relentless teasing from his cousins and his friends for a long time. Otetiani thought to himself, grimacing, "Great! Now these four will tease me forever! I will never hear the end of it!" "The other four, her brothers and her sister were all snickering now at both of them. Otetiani gave them daggered looks. Shana could not even look up, or move from her chair if she wanted to.
Cirdan noticed her embarrassment and put his hand on her's and asked, "I was wondering if both you and Triana would bring out the tea and honey for our guests before they retire this evening."
"Yes, Ada, we will bring them out immediately!" Shana replied. "Oh, and don't forget those tea cookies you made as well," Cirdan added. "We won’t, Ada." The women hastily retreated into the house. Shana was, indeed, relieved and thankful that her father rescued her at that moment of her distress.
While they were inside, Shana spoke to her sister. "I can't believe that I just did that! I feel just horrible!" Shana looks in a mirror hanging in the hallway.
"Oh my goodness, look at my face! It's just as red as beets!" she cried. "Shana, it is not so bad! Here put this cold wash cloth on your face. It will help cool down your face and take some of the color from it. Calm down! Everything will be alright!" Shana told Triana. "But what will they think of me now?" she exclaimed, running around in circles. "Shana, I am sure they have forgotten about it by now! And if they did not, just ignore them. Don't even look at them! We will soon retire for the evening and everything will be forgotten!" Triana said to Shana, reassuring her and thinking, 'At least I hope so.'
"Come sister, let's get the tea and cookies out to them before they wonder where we are."
Triana said to Shana. They both carried trays with cups, cookies, tea container and honey for everyone. "I'll come back to get the hot water for the tea, Shana."
"Thank you, Triana for helping me and calming me down." Triana just nodded her head as they hurried to the garden.
Trianna and Shana quickly set the tea container and cookies out on the table. Triana was just about to go back inside to get the hot water, when her brother Gildreth came out with two tea pots and placed them on the table. "Thank you, brother, for helping!" Triana said in surprise. "You are welcome, sister!" Gildreth replied with a smile.
"Would you gentlemen like some chamomile tea?" Shana asked them. “What is tea?”
“It looks like this!” She showed them the tea from the container. "Ah!" Dadah replied his recognition of the tea. "Otlat'ukli!* Yes, that is what we call it. Otlat'ukli,* tea! Yes, I would love some Y^awanko*, thank you. We shall have some too, please." Otetiani pointed to the rest and himself. "Here is some honey to sweeten the tea if you like" “Honey?" Otetiani replied confused.
"Yes, this golden colored thick and sticky liquid here. It is quite sweet, so a little goes along way." Triana responded to his question. She then showed him the container with the honey in it. "I see! We call it 'ohses tsi nuhneh klis' back home"
When they were finished, Cirdan asked Otetiani if he would like to finish the conversation they had earlier. Otetiani said, "Yes, I would like to do that."
The others told him they would retire to their rooms for the evening. "Then I will see you in the morning. Sleep well." They nodded their heads and went inside.
Cirdan and Otetiani walked for awhile until they reached the boat landing. “So what questions do you have on your mind, Otetiani?” Cirdan asked him. "Well, some questions might be a little personal. You don't have to answer them if you don't want to," Otetiani said, still walking. "Ask away!" Cirdan stopped and replied.
"Well, I noticed your ears. Um.. actually we all did. We couldn't help but notice how similar you look to our Winonos. You are as tall as them and walk as they do: very light footed. The only thing is, your hair almost seems like silver and you have a beard. They do not. The others who work with you have the same ears as you and the same kind of walk."
"Before I answer that, would you tell me what Winono means?" Cirdan inquired. "It means 'First Born' in the Iroquois language. They were the first to be born on 'Arda' as to what we call 'Mother Earth.' Then Man who is the 'Second Born.'
"
"Mother Earth?" Cirdan looked at him, confused. "It is a story told by the Iroquois on how 'Mother Earth' came to be. I will tell the story as was told to me by my father long ago. Another time perhaps?" Otetiani replied "That would be nice. But back to why I look this way and those who work with me; I am an elf, as they are, and I am older than I appear. Much older. We are also called the First Born. Your story of those you call the Winonos interest me. Did they say where they came from originally?" Cirdan inquired.
"Yes, as a matter of fact they did. They said they came from a land very far away many millennia ago. They were from the 'Isle of Balar’ he called it. There were seven ships sailing from the Isle of Balar to the Undying Lands to seek help from the Valar, but they didn't make it to the lands. Most of the ships didn't make it to the undying lands. They were lost at sea, except for one. There were quite a few elves that were tossed into the sea and drowned. There were only six left in the battered ship. Four males and two females. They didn't have much food or fresh water left after the storm that hit them. Almost a week before they saw land, they ran out of supplies. Then they spotted the 'Great Turtle Island'. They thought the Valar took pity on them and sent them there. They have lived with us in the forest all those years since they first stepped on the Great Turtle. They have taught us many things, many cures, many ways to help us live in harmony with nature and with ourselves. We built an alliance with them and showed them many things we knew. We pledged undying loyalty to them and protected their whereabouts so no one would ever know and bother them. They allowed no one to enter their forest realm. They fiercely protected it. Our village was the only one allowed to ever enter their forest realm. Then one day, everything changed when the strangers came from another land.”
Otetiani then proceeded to tell the story about the battle and then how they all of a sudden ended up here.
"There is one more thing, Cirdan!" Otetiani looked around to see if anyone was in hearing distance. "I am half Winono, as well as my cousins. The two friends are not. Our village knows this about us and have excepted it long ago when my father and his brother married female Winonos. They were twin sisters. Their names were: Caladiel and Malfineil. They both faded when their husbands died of old age long ago. My father whose name was 'Ganeodiyo' was married to Caladiel. He was also the tribal leader for the village. His brother whose name was 'Dekanawida' was married to Malfineil. They were the parents to my cousins 'Garakonthie and Gawasowaneh'“
"Ah, I see! So… how old are you actually, Otetiani?” Cirdan inquired with a raised eyebrow. "I… I am over two hundred and sixty seven years old. The twins are only two hundred and forty," Otetiani said slowly.
"I thought so! I could tell you where not the same as your two friends. Your eyes told the whole story. They are not like a man‘s. The Eldar shows clearly in them. And I assume you do not sleep, but rather rest with your eyes open, as opposed to what men do with their eyes closed,” Cirdan said to him. Otetiani chuckled, "Yes! My cousins and I do while our friends do not! It is kind of odd to see them with their eyes closed with movement under their lids. I am getting used to it even though it has taken so many years to, but it is still a little eerie."
Cirdan smiled and nodded his head before asking, "So, what happened to their ship?"
"They took the ship, somehow, and hid it deep into the forest. It is well concealed so no one can find it no matter how hard one looks for it. Yet I have seen it! The leader who is also my 'Yaralatatar' showed it to me around the time of my majority. He wanted me to see it and to help the Winonos keep it safe. But unfortunately, I am here now. They were hoping someday they could be permitted to go to the Undying Lands once again. I hope they are allowed to, for I know they are homesick for the lands," Otetiani said with sadness for them. "I hope they can too, Otetiani." Cirdan put his hand on Otetiani's shoulder and smiled kindly to him.
Then, Cirdan asked him. "Do you know the names of the survivors who made it to your land?" Otetiani looked at him and said, "Yes, and they are still alive! The four males are: Belegorn, Hirmegil, Hinsael, and my Yaralatatar Minion. The two females are: Lothrin and Tadiel. All of their family tree is through them. Started with six and now there are one thousand strong! All full bloods! Except now. My father and uncle fell in love with two Winonos and mixed things up a bit. They were the granddaughters of Minion, my Yaralatatar. He was not very happy with the union, but loved his grand-daughters very much. So to him, their happiness overrode his feelings. He came to like my father and saw that he was a very wise and honorable man. When his grand-daughters died, he became very distraught and nearly faded, but decided not to for his grandsons and his peoples sake.
His wife, my Yaralatnanneth, faded long ago when a son she was carrying died before childbirth. She had fallen from a flet in a tree she climbed up to meet some lady friends for lunch. Her husband told her not to go up into the flet, but he said she was very stubborn and went anyways. It was only ten feet up and was mainly used for get togethers etc. She blamed herself and couldn’t get over the death of her unborn child. She wasn't the same after that and eventually faded. He was saddened for many years. He loved her so much. He just wanted to give up and fade. But the people talked him out of it.
Cirdan said to Otetiani, "I am sorry to hear that, but he will see her again. He knows this. He will be reunited with her when he finally sails to the undying lands.
Otetiani asked Cirdan, "What about your family? I know they are not elven. I can tell by their eyes. Where is their mother?"
"Actually, they are not mine. Some men who were riding by a settlement in their horse-drawn cart saw total destruction of the village. They were wondering what could have happened. There was a lot of grizzly carnage as well. They said from the looks of it, it could have been some orcs and wildmen who massacred the people there. They decided to investigate to see if anyone was alive. They did, eventually, find a young man just barely alive who told them the story of how large group of orcs, wildmen and wild wargs came into their tiny settlement and killed everyone mercilessly, from the smallest to the eldest. As far as they were concerned, none mattered and all were dead. Then the young man died. So they did what they could and buried all the bodies they could find. When they were done, they cleaned themselves from a barrel of water they found.
They were on their way when they heard faint crying. They got off the cart again and followed the sound till they came to a tree next to a hill. They proceeded to dig into the hill and found five children who were buried inside with food and water. Apparently, the three parents of the children, trying to save them, put them in the pre-dug out hole just in case they were ever attacked. They saved the children, but the parents perished in the raid. So the men brought them here. There was no one to take care of them and the two men were sailors getting ready to leave for another land. So I took all five of them in and brought them up as my own. They call me 'Ada' because I am, basically, the only parent they know. They were in ages three to six years old when they were found. So their memory of their parents are almost gone.”
"It must have been very hard to bring up five young ones all by yourself being as you are a shipmaster who builds ships for the departing elves. I must commend you for your strength, wisdom, and courage to be able to be their Ada and a shipmaster at the same time all these years," Otetiani said to him. Then he added, "You very much remind me of my great-grandfather Minion."
"Why, thank you, Otetiani. I am flattered. Then, if you don't mind, I will call you my grandson until you see your Yaralatatar," Cirdan stated, clearly honored.
"Thank you, Cirdan. I would greatly like that," Otetiani replied, equally honored.
"I knew your Yaralatatar many millennia ago. He is a good elf and has a kind heart. I am glad to hear that he had survived the storm. We thought all had perished. The only one that was left we thought was Voronwe, who was washed ashore. This is good news for our people to know that at least more than one survived the sea. They will be surprised how many of the Teleri are alive and well, not to mention three of Minion's descendents are here in Middle-earth!" Cirdan declared. He continued, "The Valar must have a reason for sending you here with the others. They do not do anything without a purpose. They will reveal their reasons sometime on your journey as to why they sent you here. I had a vision not to long ago that showed me five people would come to me in the spring, but there was also a young woman with two companions who will accompany her here. Was there a young woman with you on that ship?" he asked. "No, there were no women at all on that ship that I saw."
Otetiani frowned at the question thinking, 'I didn't see any when we were brought to the ship. I hope that there wasn't any. If there were, then they perished like the men on that ship.' "Did you see what they looked like in your vision?” he asked Cirdan. "Yes, I did. She was very beautiful with long black hair like yours, only it reached all the way down to her ankles. Her hair shined like black diamonds, if they existed. Yet, her eyes were like yours, lavender with gold outlining the iris. She was something to behold! She looked like a sister or maybe a daughter, she had the same resemblance as you!"
"Howah!" was all Otetiani could say at the moment. Then he said, "Well, I know I don't have any sisters, nor do I have a daughter. I have not been intimate with any woman yet! I have been too busy running a village and making sure all was right.”
Cirdan replied, "It may be the future I saw, or not, but there is someone who could help you out with that. That person is Lady Galadriel of Lothlorien. She has a gift of foresight to see into the future, the past, and present. She may already know that you are here! I will send her a letter about you. I am also sending a letter to Lord Elrond of Rivendell. He may also be able to help you as well. There is another thing about the woman. She dressed very strange in clothing I have never seen before. She was also in some kind of strange vessel that moved across the ground. It looked like metal and it was bright red!"
Otetiani, with raised eyebrows, replied, "Hmm.. that is very strange!"
“Well, Otetiani, it is very late. I shall retire for the evening, I have a long day tomorrow. We can continue this conversation on the morrow if you like?"
"That would be fine Cirdan.. I mean grandfather!'“ He bowed his head to him with his hand over his heart.
Cirdan started to walk away, but then stopped and turned around. “By the way Otetiani. What does ‘Howah’ mean?” Otetiani looked at him and smiled. “It means like saying ‘Really’ or a surprised sound. Why?” He asked softly.
“Because it sounded very interesting and was used quite often by the other four. Howah? Hmm. Interesting! he chuckled to himself. Thank you for telling me.”
Cirdan said to him. “You are welcome Cirdan” Otetiani replied with his hand over his heart.
Cirdan replied with the same gesture and said. "Until tomorrow.. grandson. He smiled as he left. Otetiani stayed where he was for a few minutes more to ponder all that was said so far. 'Yes, there will be a great surprise when they meet Minion’s grandsons.’
He started to leave when Garak came out and whispered to Otetiani, "Have you seen my brother around? I got up and found him gone. He has been gone for a while. I knew it, I knew it! I bet you he snuck off with Triana somewhere! They were talking just outside our room so I went to bed to get some rest. I assumed he would follow, but I guess not!" he said with much anger and irritation towards his brother. He was worried that he was going to 'get to know her better' as he was talking about earlier. "Don't panic just yet, Garak. He might just be taking a walk somewhere and will be back shortly," Otetiani assured him.
No sooner had those words left his mouth when Gawas and Triana came walking from the corner of the house, holding hands and smiling with their hair messed up with leaves and grass in it.
"Good evening, brother, Otetiani," Gawas said to them. "Good evening sirs!" Triana also said as she blushed. She noticed the look on Garas face. He looked angry! She thought to herself ‘Now is the time to make your entrance into the house FAST!’ "I must go in now. Goodnight, Gawas and thank you for showing me a.. ahem.. wonderful night!" She said as she quickly rushed inside the house past the three.
Gawas looked at the both of them as they stood there with their arms crossed and staring at him with narrowed eyes. "WHAT?" Gawas replied. Garak just looked at him and hissed rather loudly, "You know what, brother! You bro…“
At that moment, Otetiani stopped him before they would get into a shouting match. "Enough! We will discuss this tomorrow!" Otetiani hissed quietly at the two. "This is not the time to be discussing this situation. Everyone is sleeping! I will not tolerate any arguments from either of you. Is that understood?” Otetiani looked like the warrior leader he was as he spoke. They both replied, "Yes, Otetiani. We will not argue. We will wait until tomorrow to discuss this.”
With that said, they both went in quietly even though Garak was still shooting eye knives at his brother.
Otetiani went to his room and stripped down to nothing as he was preparing for bed. He was thinking to himself 'I better talk to Gawas about his behavior alone. If I let Garak speak to him, they will end up in a shouting match and we can't have that. I will not have Cirdan's house disrespected by Gawas's behavior to his daughter and his household.' He put out the candle that was lit and got into bed. "What to do with those two!" He shook his head and chuckled quietly to himself.
Finally, he closed his eyes. Five minutes later, they opened to half slits, glowing eerily in the dark.
TWO WEEKS LATER:
Much had happened since that night Gawas had his little 'night out' with Triana. After Otetiani talked to him of the prospect of losing any chance of getting help to get back home, Gawas agreed to keep himself under control for the duration of their stay.
They learned a lot about ship building. Cirdan supplied them with some extra supplies to make their own boat, but deep down inside, he knew they were not leaving anytime soon. The Valar had given him visions of the five. He didn't tell them, but did as the Valar told him, steering them towards the elven realms. Their destiny awaited them there.
The five, when they had a chance, did some hunting for deer and made themselves some leggings and breechclouts to cover their private areas. They also had enough to make sleeveless tunic-like shirts with fringe on it. It showed off their muscled arms. They also made their own bows and arrows from fallen mallorn trees that were given to Cirdan some centuries ago. Cirdan gave them some to make their equipment with.
Cirdan was impressed with their workmanship on the bows and their arrows. The details were perfect. They had etched into the bows: bears ,eagles in
flight,wolves, and turtles. On their arrows they etched eagle feathers
intertwined with leaves as they did with their bows. Cirdan asked them if they could make a bow like that for him to keep in his home with the arrows. Otetiani told him he and his cousins would make him a special design just for him. It would include the sea and the ships he makes on his bow. He thanked them for that
Cirdan had written to Lord Elrond, Lord Celeborn, and Lady Galadriel about the five and their situation two weeks earlier. The five were anxiously awaiting any news from the two realms. Especially the twins and their friends. Then one day, it happened.
Cirdan, after breakfast, announced to the five that an answer came from the two realms. It was decided that in one week, a procession of thirty elves were to come and escort the five to Rivendell. They were to stay with them for a couple of months, at least until they had received the help they were looking for. From there, they were to be led to Lothlorien to meet with the regal couple in Caras Galadhon. They would then be staying with them for awhile. The Galadhrim’s wardens would come and retrieve them from Rivendell and escort them there.
"Oh my!" was all Garak could say. "Well, I guess we will be well protected. But from what? We can fight well if we need to!" he said. "That maybe true Garak, but nonetheless they are there just in case there maybe a raid of orcs, wargs, or wildmen in the countryside. A lot of times it can be a small legion or larger. You don't want to be outnumbered at that time." Cirdan told him.
"What are orcs and wargs?" Gawas wanted to know. This time, Cirdan’s eldest son replied, "They are the ugliest things you have ever seen and they smell like dung, death and like they have not bathed for a century or two! The Wargs are the size of two horses combined with great claws and sharp teeth!
Dadah, with eyes wide, said. "Howah! Now that's disgusting!" Degan laughed at the funny face his friend made."Don't worry! We might not even run into them at all!"
"For now, let's not worry about that until the time comes for us to think about it. We have time till they come for us. Let us just wait and be patient. In the meantime let’s just enjoy the time we have with Cirdan and his family. We should also try to finish up the last touches to our small ship before we depart. Right now, I think I would like to talk with Cirdan for awhile," Otetiani said to them. 'I want to know more about my people and Cirdan knows a lot of their history.' Otetiani thought to himself.
TBC.
***
Howah stands for: Like 'Wow, or Really! Y^awanko=thank you
Yaralatatar=great-grandfather in quenya Otla t'ukli=tea
Yaralatnanneth=great-grandmother in quenya
ohses tsi nuh neh klis=Honey
(or honey bee food)
Also as you may have noticed; the friends and cousins names have been shortened. That is what they usualy call each other in normal times and before the trouble happened in their land. Once again the cousins names are: Garakonthie or Garak,
Gawasowaneh or Gawas. The two friends are Deganawidah or Degan and Dadgayodah or Dadah. Otetiani their Leader. It's also easier for everyone to remember. Especially for me cause I kept misspelling or blending names together(lol!)
Howah stands for: Like 'Wow, or Really! Y^awanko=thank you
Yaralatatar=great-grandfather in quenya Otla t'ukli=tea
Yaralatnanneth=great-grandmother in quenya
ohses tsi nuh neh klis=Honey
(or honey bee food)
Also as you may have noticed; the friends and cousins names have been shortened. That is what they usualy call each other in normal times and before the trouble happened in their land. Once again the cousins names are: Garakonthie or Garak,
Gawasowaneh or Gawas. The two friends are Deganawidah or Degan and Dadgayodah or Dadah. Otetiani their Leader. It's also easier for everyone to remember. Especially for me cause I kept misspelling or blending names together(lol!)