All Who Wander Are Not Lost

Chapter 8

If she had known that she would end up saving the chieftain of the Dunedain's butt and ended up living with his people, Thennil was sure what she would have merely been wandering around Middle Earth looking for something to occupy her time till she had felt that she was civil enough to be among people again.

It had been totally random when she stumbled upon a group of men, women, and children traveling that were being attacked by a large herd of orcs. She had instantly snapped into defensive mode and dove into the fight, not caring that she didn't even know who the people had been. There had been many men who had fought, but it was the tall, dark haired, man who seemed to shine with an inner light that had caught her attention. He stood alone, sword raised and flashing, fighting off six orcs that towered over even his tall height. She could tell that he was becoming weary, and was not aware of his surroundings. The orcs had noticed his slowness too, and had begun to circle around him, making him turn to watch each of them for a second. She had known that they would show him no mercy, and leaping over the fallen bodies of the orcs that she had slain, had sprinted through the malay, ducking and weaving around the swinging weapons of both sides. With a great battle cry she had flung herself in amongst the group that had nearly overpowered the man, hair splayed out, flashing in the sunlight like a ball of raging fire. Her sword cleaved the orcs like a knife through butter, smooth and clean, but they had seemed to never end. It was in that moment that she saw an orc with a twisted face and missing half of a nose sneaking up behind the man, blade raised to bring the killing blow. Within a moment, she had withdrawn one of her daggers and tossed it with the precision, embedding it deep within the beast's forehead; saving the man.

It was in that moment that everything slowed down to normal speed and the enemy had been vanquished. Everyone had paused to regain their breath, some closing their eyes, but others had turned their faces towards the being that had flown in like a protective mother bird against a large hawk or eagle, willing to give her life. The dark-haired man had risen from his place kneeling next to a comrade and bowed before her. She in turn had bowed deeply before asking who he was.

He was Arahad, chieftain of the Dunedain. It had been surprising how quickly they had gotten along. He had introduced her to his wife, son Aragost, and two daughters, then everyone had started thanking her for what she had done. Overwhelmed she had brushed off their thanks and told them it was an honor for her to come to their aid. Ignoring her protests, they had made her join them in their journey to one of the many settlements of their people that were scattered throughout the north. And she had.

For many years, she sat on Arahad's council, helping him protect his people, and encouraging him. Though they became good friends, it was his son that she got to know and teach. Aragost had begged her to teach him how to fight like she did, and she jumped at the opportunity. During many of their sparring matches they would speak of the differences between their cultures and argue over the way the advances of the elves could be applied to the daily lives of his people. He was immensely fascinated by her people's knowledge of healing, asking many questions, storing the answers and information up in his brilliant mind. He kept himself so very busy that there never seemed to be a moment of rest for himself unless forced to by herself or his wife. Thennil could not understand why he was so stubborn, kept himself so insanely busy, but she vowed that one day she would find out his reason.

T.A. 2496

"Seriously, Aragost, why are you pushing yourself so hard? I know that you want to please your father, but is it too much for you to slow down and take a break? Why must you continually think up things to do? What are you keeping yourself from thinking of that worries you so much?" Thennil asked one early morning as they sat around one of the ranger fires miles away from the settlement.