Violence - Jordan/Tolkien Short Story

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

"Why? Why do you thirst for blood? Why do you desire it? Why do you want another to suffer? Why do you take someone else's breath away? Why do you shut their eyes forever? Why?"

 

- Words of a woman that died during the battle of Gaelin, in the year 977 of New Era. She supposedly worked in the camp of Cairhienin army as a prostitute. What is noteworthy is that she was supposedly literate, as in her hands she held a copy of an ancient text from ages long past, Ainulindalë. Survivors of Gaelin that knew her say this text gave her comfort in the darkest of days.

"We have always been warriors! Always! To the beginning of time!"

 

- spoken by Couladin on the day Truth was revealed

 

 

OoO

 

 

Those were the darkest of days, when the tears and blood were still fresh in the hearts of those that survived the Breaking of the World. When the last of those poor men tormented by the cruelty of the Dark One had died, the world lay in the trauma and sorrow that could not be healed. Nations and tribes spread to all four corners of the shattered lands that were now desolate and wild. The sisters of the Aes Sedai alone kept a semblance of civilization and shared it, though begrudgingly, with the few peoples that were blessed enough to live near them.

But others had no such gifts and were forced to find their place under the ships of Sun and Moon. Some had luck and settled in the lands rich with growing things and peaceful animals. They became workers in the fields, builders and craftsmen. Others went further away, finding their homes on the shores. There they built havens and boats, and they came to love the food that the sea gave them. The animals in the waters, though violent, posed no challenge to them, for what sea animal would not fear man, who is the lord of green and grey lands? 

But there were some who were not so lucky. Some people had no choice but to travel to the distant lands on the East, where the Sun, instead of being a good mother, reigned as a tyrant over all things. There the green things did not grow, the waters did not find home and the wind only aided the scorching heat. There the animals became cruel and heartless, and they grew fangs and horns. Ravenous lions,  leopards, snakes and wolves hunted and the vicious elephants, rhinos and other horned things saw everything as the enemy. 

When that tribe of sons and daughters of men arrived there, they found themselves alone, with nothing to value or love but one another. Already their fathers and mothers had witnessed the cruelty and madness that ensued in the Age when the Father of Hatred ravaged the land through his servants. They saw sweat, blood and tears that were shed. And now, as they arrived to this new land, in which one might as well have believed he still reigned over as its true god, they understood the true depths of violence and carelessness that pulls both the man and the animal into the abyss for both the soul and the body. With their hearts shattered, they made a vow to the heaven, to the earth and to the water - never again would they raise their hands at one another, to slay, to protect or even to discipline their children. Never again would they pick up weapons at anyone, except in the hunt and in defense from another beast. "But if the foreigner comes with a weapon, we will not raise a hand against him." And: "At the young of the animals we will not raise our hand."

 

They succeeded. After thousands upon thousands of years of humanity's existence, they broke through. Their will was strong enough, their love for one another powerful enough to make them hold fast to their integrity. It was long and hard, and it was a great temptation in that land of eternal famine, but they succeeded. They accomplished what no other tribe or nation before them had, what no one could hope for, except the very First Men and Women and the Mariners of the West - peace. Not forced, false peace and tyranny as it was in the age now called the Age of Legends, but true peace.

There was no enmity or grudge between any family. No one in their people was ever left alone to starve, no one was sent away in the times of greatest need, no one was shunned. They spent their days wandering the Great Desert, going from place to place. As scarce food and water were, no one was jealous or selfish to keep what he had found. Children ate and drank first, with the grown men and women following after. In such land of cruelty, where disease spread as easy as fire on the dry grass, no illness touched them. After their first years of trying to find peace and struggling with their basest instincts, things changed for them. Less and less people became sick, less they had need for food and water, less they wanted to wander alone. Less people died of sickness, less women and children at childbirth - all would reach a good old age and their deaths were all, though sorrowful, peaceful. And they stayed together, even after the families became clans and grew to large numbers - therefore, evil did not come for them. This love lasted for ten generations. 

Only during the times of the hunt did they pick up spears and venture into the night to spill the blood of animals. Each family had two men chosen and trained with spears, and the chosen of every family would meet one night every week and then they would go into the darkness. They would stay together at all times during the hunt and gather the meat they managed to find. But before returning to their tents, they would find a river to wash themselves in and the meat also, purifying their bodies from blood as the Sun would rise. The meat would afterwards be eaten only once a day, a piece for every man, woman and child, and on special occasions such as births, weddings or deaths. 

For a long while these were the ways of that people, who named themselves the Aiel, meaning in the language of their time "Dedicated", for they swore to follow peace. But after a few generations, some of the hunters started to grow impatient and they would go into the night more often, sometimes even alone. And if they succeeded in their task, they would hide the meat from others and eat it during the blackness of night. Sometimes their loved ones would find about this and, at first, they raised voices them, but because they wanted peace, they, eventually, let them do as they wanted.

But the beasts became more ruthless and started to approach their homes during the night. No one had yet been killed, but there was roaring, howling and hissing, and no one dared to walk out into the darkness, but had remained inside their tents. In the dreadful morning, the spearmen walked out to the cries that, for the first time, continued even after the sunrise. But no beast was there. Instead, as the clouds were still red and the hunters stepped forward, two figures walked to them from the distance. One was like a woman, while the other was like a man. They wore armors of hard steel, painted red, which covered their entire bodies and glittered like sapphires even after the sunlight had disappeared, but despite this, their legs walked on sand without a sound and without a fall. On their heads were iron crowns and they bore long and sharp spears in their hands. 

"Who are you?" the spearmen asked.

"Friends - the only ones you have." the woman answered. And like friends they did appear. Throughout the entire day, they spoke with everyone among that people, and used sweet words and smiles to entice them. They called everyone by name before it was told to them, and they taught them all they knew about the world and the beasts. Then Saralin, the Wise One, spoke to the Two about the horrors that haunted them in the night.

"Why do you dwell here as rats, scavenging for remains," the man said. "when you could reign? Why do you surrender to the land and its whims when you could subdue it? Why do you fear the beasts when you could lord over them? Do what they do to you and you will have the land and all its inhabitants as your slaves."

For moments, the Aiel had forgotten their vows and asked: "But how will we do that?"

The woman held up her spear under the dark sky and it glowed with a light of its own. "We will teach you." Then she asked: "Who is willing to come?"

All the hunters took up their spears and followed the Two of them. The whole night they walked without rest, until the two had brought them to a lonely river in the desert. There both the predator and the prey would be at peace and enjoy the water. The Aiel were so amazed at the beauty of this river that, for long years, they held it sacred, and believed only animals were allowed to walk near it. And when they had told this to the Two, they laughed.

"The gifts belong to those that take them." the man said. Then he and the woman took out their spears and slew every animal that had come to the river. They slew both the grown and the young, and then river ran red under the sunrise. The stench filled the air, so foul even the flies and worms died. The Aiel fell to their knees and were afraid, but the wind then flew from the East, and the man and the woman stood there on the banks of the river, looking now like a god and a goddess to them. "Do you see now?" the god asked. "Do as we and you will be as gods over everything."

The fall was quicker than believed. It began first when the spearmen took all the carcass that stood beside the river and brought it back to their families. And for thirteen days and nights, they ate nothing but meat, all the children, women and men tasted nothing else. Then the hunters went out every night to hunt, and they killed every animal they came upon and did not spare the young, but bore their skin and fangs as trophies. Soon every man started hunting alone or only a few together, and they would return to their homes and be too jealous even of their families - of the rest of the tribe even more. Everyone kept all things they had found, or even stolen, to themselves, whether it was meat or a seed from the earth. 

In that way, Maigran had baked a loaf of bread, on her own, and refused to share it with any. And Lewin, her brother, came to her, demanding she share it with him. But she refused, cursing him and claiming the loaf was hers alone. Then Lewin cried: "The gifts belong to those that take them!" And he and those who were with him seized Maigran and beat her. Then they grabbed their spears and beat her again with the heels. And Lewin took the red-stained bread for himself.

That was merely the beginning. Now whenever words were spoken, a beating by the spear heels followed. Whenever a child was disobedient, a lashing followed. Whenever one felt anger, for the smallest of offenses, he would seize the other person, dress them in white and make them his slave. All this was done and the Two would come every night to see what new word of theirs was followed, and in what ways the Aiel went even further than their own words.

Only one had remained to look at this all with horror. Saralin had watched it all, and remained silent, for, as her father had taught her: "Words have weight." And so she waited, hoping this was all a passing temper, believing in the Aiel as she never had before. She had tried to help and welcomed every man or woman that was abused into her tent. And while she would speak to them the ways of peace and love, they all left while uttering a single sentence: "He struck me once, and I shall strike him ten times in return!" 

And so she witnessed revenge and curse, repeating in an endless cycle, with the god and goddess returning every night to see how much fruit the evil seeds they planted bore. New weapons were soon being made, a man beat another man for the sake of women he desired, telling them that, if he approached her again, blood would be spilled. The opposite happened as well. And those who were the most violent and cruel were praised and revered, while those who were plagued by guilt would be beaten by everyone else.

How have we fallen so low? Saralin wondered. How can someone endure to do this? This is not a life worth living! The Creator made Man to rule, yes, but He took fangs and claws away from him because He wanted Man to be the light in the world covered by Shadow, a light to all other creatures, not to partake in the cruelty they revel in.

And she looked up at the strangers who had come into their lives. She wondered who they were. Are they of the Thirteen? But if they were, she would have known. These were not one of the Forsaken, who were, despite tales, men and women of flesh, blood and bones. 

These Two were his Heralds. 

With this in heart, she left her tent and passed through all the Aiel, walked up to the god and goddess and stood before them, proud and stern.

Then she spoke: "Is this what we have sworn to do? Is this the vow we have made? Were the days of quiet so hateful to you you would choose the noise and screams? Was love and compassion so dull that you would rather gnash your teeth at each other than say: 'Come with me, my brother, my sister, and let us be together.' Look at yourselves and tell me you do not understand why we have taken these vows if you dare! Is this the worth of rulership? Is jealousy worth the tears and sweat? Is the shame and anger worth the pains you bring to one another? You say: 'He struck me first, I shall strike him ten times in return!' Where is good will in this? Where is the justice and truth? Do you not see - your own anger and cruelty eat you, like the snake that crawls up your skin and bites you! The spear that cuts through flesh is dulled by the skin and blood. So how can you blame anyone for what has been done?"

Then her mind cleared and she turned to the Two figures that stood behind her, and she gnashed her teeth. "Forget what I have said. There! Before them we had lived in peace and love. Now we cannot look at one another. They are liars, they are murderers! The Fingers of the Sightblinder! They are his crows and worms. They are not our friends, but our enemies. Let us not have anything to do with them!"

The Aiel were all silent and some felt shame at her words. 

But then the god spoke: "One final test lies before you, for you to cast the chains that hold you down in dumbness and weakness. As I have told you! If the sick are left to rot, all others will grow weak. So choose now: weakness or strength!"

All the Aiel then cried: "Strength, strength! Ode to the glory of war!" 

Then, for the first time in her life, Saralin felt the hands that pulled her against her own will and she felt the hands and legs she cared for strike at her body, without ceasing. Darkness became a more welcome sight than the faces and voices she loved now twisting and screaming at her, like animals. Worse than animals.

Blood went down her nose and cheeks. Her body quickly became numb and ears heard no sound. She could not even cry, except in her heart. Only her eyes, though dim, still had some strength left and she glimpsed one of the men breaking his spear in half and lifting up the point. Then they grabbed her by the feet and the world turned upside down for her and her people.

 

 

OoO

 

 

Note:

 

 

This story is, as seen, a "crossover" between Jordan and Tolkien. I put it in brackets because, as much as the Legendarium is through implication a part of this story, I do think it works absent from it. It is an alternate myth about the story of how the Aiel actually became warriors and abandoned the Way of the Leaf. I have always seen them as a unique culture, though also had a (sort of a) gripe with them, so, yes, this is a bit biased.

 

 

However, this story is inspired by two of Tolkien's stories: Tale of Adanel, his own version of the biblical Fall of Man, and Akallabêth, his own version of the Fall of Atlantis. In the first story, Morgoth came himself to the lands of Hildorien to corrupt the first Humans ever awakened by Ilúvatar into worshipping him and choosing acts of evil. In the second, Sauron was the one that corrupted the great island-realm of Númenor, inspiring them to worship his banished master, which led to the eventual Drowning of Númenor.

 

 

This story was made as an attempt to show the Aiel had, as the very First Humans and the Númenoreans, truly managed to build a near-perfect society, in which everyone and everything mattered and in which love and compassion were the the most important values. In case anyone wonders, the two strangers are actually Makar and Meássë. (link about those two charaters here https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Makar) You will not find a mention of them in your copy of The Silmarillion - they are from the very earliest versions, in which they were the Valar of war that, though they did not directly serve, supported Morgoth in everything he did. For the context of this myth I have repurposed them as fallen Maiar that directly served Morgoth and were the demons most associated with violence and war.

 

 

Please tell me what you think and thank you in advance:)

[Aan-Alone]

Thanks for sharing this with us. I enjoyed it, and was sad when it ended as I wanted the story to continue. I was confused in the beginning, as I wasn't certain if you were referring to after the Breaking or after TG.

 

Only detractors worth mentioning are the lack of collective wisdom among your WOs. They should have known you can't continue to commit violent acts and adhere to the Way of the Leaf, not without consequences.

 

And that your 3rd Age Aiel were founded by agents of the Shadow. That do no sit well with this WoT

fan. I also thought your Aiel gave up, or fell, much too quickly. Where were all the WOs?

 

 

Edited March 19 by Aan-Alone
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