Post by Angmar on Feb 9, 2009 6:21:36 GMT
This unedited section of the unpublished Chapter 25 of the unpublished Book One of The Circles is dated May 17, 2005. At this point I was still mulling over the Witch-king's ancestry. (I still am, for that matter *laughs*) Be that as it may, here in his memoirs dictated to his devoted scribe, the King tells of his return to Númenor from his governorship in colonial Umbar (which he felt was a really wretched place populated by barbarous savages who needed to be "civilized" *grins*). He has come back to Númenor on orders to the king so that he might be betrothed to Zimra (a heroine whose name really should have been in Quenya). Not happy with his betrothed, he decides to go on a trip to the country and forget the whole matter for a while.
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Therefore, a week after the betrothal, I rode out from the capital, Armenelos, with an escort provided to me by the king. Heralds went ahead of me, proclaiming my arrival at each estate of the lord that I was to visit. They considered me to be a man of great importance, a part of the royal family, for I was to wed the granddaughter of the king. Many were the toasts to my honor in the great halls of these lords, and I found them to be as much akin to the king's thought as I was.
After journeying far into the west to Andustar - a land of great beauty, of peaceful countrysides, quiet streams, and pastorages and sheepfolds - I arrived at the hall of a lord of high repute, counted among the friends of the king and was welcomed to his house. Many were the feasts held in my honor, and my health was drunk to by all his lords. He hosted great feasts and merriment, and long were the nights of revelry in his halls.
'Twas one morning after of these nights of riotous merrymaking that I arose early and finding my host still recovering from the effects of his bout with the goblet the night before, I determined to leave him to his recovery and ride out by myself into the countryside. His servants had been ordered to bring me all that I required and I asked of them for provender to last me until I returned in the evening. The king had provided me with a fine steed and I enjoyed his smooth effortless stride as I cantered him through the early morning, which was alive with the day song of birds. After riding for some time, I reined my horse in as I beheld yet another scene of rustic beauty. Just beyond me in a pasture green as an emerald was a stand of honeybees, secure in their many hives which had been provided to them by their keeper. I watched as the insects, laden with pollen, returned to the hive, and I was caught up in the peace of the scene.
Turning my horse from the main thoroughfare, I rode up a small knoll where stood a large tree, its leafy branches extending far out and offering a protective shade where I could eat my noonday meal. Unsaddling and unbridling my horse, I tethered my mount with a long rope and watched as he grazed upon the green grass. Thoughts of Zimra, my betrothed, were far away from me, as were the concerns of my kingdom.
As I sat under the tree, my back leaning against its trunk while I ate the bread, cheeses and fruits and drank of the wine flask that had been provided for me, I looked out over the knoll and saw in the distance a flock of sheep tended by a few children. As I watched them, I could hear their boisterous cries of playful youth and heard the gentle bleating of their sheep. I wondered to myself about the life of a shepherd, and I was overtaken by the thought of why fate had deemed that I should be born a prince of a royal house and not the son of an humble shepherd. How much less must be the cares of a shepherd that the concerns of a king, and for a while I envied their lives. Here, with nothing but the wind's gentle rustling of the leaves and the shouts of children amidst the bleating of sheep, my mind seemed at rest, peaceful for a change amidst its restless course. I resolved to saddle and bridle my horse once again and ride out and speak with the young shepherds.
****************************************************
Therefore, a week after the betrothal, I rode out from the capital, Armenelos, with an escort provided to me by the king. Heralds went ahead of me, proclaiming my arrival at each estate of the lord that I was to visit. They considered me to be a man of great importance, a part of the royal family, for I was to wed the granddaughter of the king. Many were the toasts to my honor in the great halls of these lords, and I found them to be as much akin to the king's thought as I was.
After journeying far into the west to Andustar - a land of great beauty, of peaceful countrysides, quiet streams, and pastorages and sheepfolds - I arrived at the hall of a lord of high repute, counted among the friends of the king and was welcomed to his house. Many were the feasts held in my honor, and my health was drunk to by all his lords. He hosted great feasts and merriment, and long were the nights of revelry in his halls.
'Twas one morning after of these nights of riotous merrymaking that I arose early and finding my host still recovering from the effects of his bout with the goblet the night before, I determined to leave him to his recovery and ride out by myself into the countryside. His servants had been ordered to bring me all that I required and I asked of them for provender to last me until I returned in the evening. The king had provided me with a fine steed and I enjoyed his smooth effortless stride as I cantered him through the early morning, which was alive with the day song of birds. After riding for some time, I reined my horse in as I beheld yet another scene of rustic beauty. Just beyond me in a pasture green as an emerald was a stand of honeybees, secure in their many hives which had been provided to them by their keeper. I watched as the insects, laden with pollen, returned to the hive, and I was caught up in the peace of the scene.
Turning my horse from the main thoroughfare, I rode up a small knoll where stood a large tree, its leafy branches extending far out and offering a protective shade where I could eat my noonday meal. Unsaddling and unbridling my horse, I tethered my mount with a long rope and watched as he grazed upon the green grass. Thoughts of Zimra, my betrothed, were far away from me, as were the concerns of my kingdom.
As I sat under the tree, my back leaning against its trunk while I ate the bread, cheeses and fruits and drank of the wine flask that had been provided for me, I looked out over the knoll and saw in the distance a flock of sheep tended by a few children. As I watched them, I could hear their boisterous cries of playful youth and heard the gentle bleating of their sheep. I wondered to myself about the life of a shepherd, and I was overtaken by the thought of why fate had deemed that I should be born a prince of a royal house and not the son of an humble shepherd. How much less must be the cares of a shepherd that the concerns of a king, and for a while I envied their lives. Here, with nothing but the wind's gentle rustling of the leaves and the shouts of children amidst the bleating of sheep, my mind seemed at rest, peaceful for a change amidst its restless course. I resolved to saddle and bridle my horse once again and ride out and speak with the young shepherds.
