Shadows of Cuiviénen
Mar. 26th, 2015 01:41 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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b2memB2MeM Challenge: Anything dated from the shores of Cuiviénen to the early days of the march across the mountains to the sea. My favorite possible character would be Beleg mentioned in The of Lay of the Children of Húrin as:
. . . It was Beleg the hunter,
who farthest fared of his folk abroad
a hunting by hill and hollow valley,
Who care not for concourse and commerce of men.
He was great of growth and goodly limbed,
But light of girth, and lightly on the ground
His footsteps fell as he fared towards them,
All garbed in grey and green and brown—
A son of the wilderness who wist no sire.
That last line indicates to me that he was born on the shores of Cuiviénen. I talked about his origins in my character bio on the SWG site.
Format: ficlet
Genre: gen
Rating: G
Character: Beleg
Beta: randy_o
For Oshun
Beleg stood on the shore of Cuiviénen, looking upon the starlit waves. Something stirred within him, as it always did, at the sight of the great water. Sometimes he wondered what lay beyond. Was the sea so vast it never ended? He looked up at the stars twinkling above. Was the sky? Some of his brethren thought so. Some even talked of finding out one day, but his heart did not lie in either direction. The mystery that drew him was that of the dark woods and the mountains beyond.
He looked up at the stars. Why did they seem so close at times and so far away at others? What was the shadow that sometimes covered them and set the beasts howling in the deep forest? He had no way to know what lay across the sea, and the stars were too high to reach. But he could explore the forest and climb the mountains. He was loath to leave the shore, for the pull to stay was strong, but he wanted, was compelled, to traverse the vast, dark wood and ascend the lofty peaks in the distance. Perhaps from their summit he might even be able to gaze beyond the sea, like climbing into the upper branches of an oak or standing at the edge of the waterfall afforded a far off view. He might even be able to pluck the glittering stars from the black field in which they grew.
The clan was expanding now with the arrival of the children and that cast a shadow over his heart. He had hoped to have a son, to teach the painstaking lessons he and the others had learned to one of his own blood. But his mate had chosen another soon after their awakening. She was now heavy with her second child, a girl she said it would be. Beleg turned his thoughts from what might have been. Perhaps one day he would know that joy, but for now his heart lay elsewhere. He had taught the new ones all he had learned, learned all he could from the others. Now the clans were settling down, growing complacent, breaking from large groups into smaller ones, while he found his greatest delight in the quiet solitude of the mossy trees and birdsong of the surrounding forest.
Almost absently he tested the strength of his bow, remembering his first tries at making the weapon, the failures, the times when he thought perhaps it was foolish to think he could bring down game with a few pieces of wood. Now the others came to him to learn the art of crafting arrows. No one could make them fly as true as he. He trusted his skill with his bow, which had almost become a second arm to him, and the sharpness of his blade to keep him alive through his travels.
Beleg turned his back on the bay, possibly for the last time. He was leaving against counsel, leaving despite the scorn of many who thought the forests too dark and dangerous, that the great water was the source of all life and hope for their people, leaving for the love of the wild wood and the desire to wander its untrodden paths. He might fall prey to the shadows that stalked the deep woods, as his brethren feared, but maybe not. Perhaps he might return one day with a greater knowledge and experience to share, or even with a pocketful of stars.
. . . It was Beleg the hunter,
who farthest fared of his folk abroad
a hunting by hill and hollow valley,
Who care not for concourse and commerce of men.
He was great of growth and goodly limbed,
But light of girth, and lightly on the ground
His footsteps fell as he fared towards them,
All garbed in grey and green and brown—
A son of the wilderness who wist no sire.
That last line indicates to me that he was born on the shores of Cuiviénen. I talked about his origins in my character bio on the SWG site.
Format: ficlet
Genre: gen
Rating: G
Character: Beleg
Beta: randy_o
For Oshun
Beleg stood on the shore of Cuiviénen, looking upon the starlit waves. Something stirred within him, as it always did, at the sight of the great water. Sometimes he wondered what lay beyond. Was the sea so vast it never ended? He looked up at the stars twinkling above. Was the sky? Some of his brethren thought so. Some even talked of finding out one day, but his heart did not lie in either direction. The mystery that drew him was that of the dark woods and the mountains beyond.
He looked up at the stars. Why did they seem so close at times and so far away at others? What was the shadow that sometimes covered them and set the beasts howling in the deep forest? He had no way to know what lay across the sea, and the stars were too high to reach. But he could explore the forest and climb the mountains. He was loath to leave the shore, for the pull to stay was strong, but he wanted, was compelled, to traverse the vast, dark wood and ascend the lofty peaks in the distance. Perhaps from their summit he might even be able to gaze beyond the sea, like climbing into the upper branches of an oak or standing at the edge of the waterfall afforded a far off view. He might even be able to pluck the glittering stars from the black field in which they grew.
The clan was expanding now with the arrival of the children and that cast a shadow over his heart. He had hoped to have a son, to teach the painstaking lessons he and the others had learned to one of his own blood. But his mate had chosen another soon after their awakening. She was now heavy with her second child, a girl she said it would be. Beleg turned his thoughts from what might have been. Perhaps one day he would know that joy, but for now his heart lay elsewhere. He had taught the new ones all he had learned, learned all he could from the others. Now the clans were settling down, growing complacent, breaking from large groups into smaller ones, while he found his greatest delight in the quiet solitude of the mossy trees and birdsong of the surrounding forest.
Almost absently he tested the strength of his bow, remembering his first tries at making the weapon, the failures, the times when he thought perhaps it was foolish to think he could bring down game with a few pieces of wood. Now the others came to him to learn the art of crafting arrows. No one could make them fly as true as he. He trusted his skill with his bow, which had almost become a second arm to him, and the sharpness of his blade to keep him alive through his travels.
Beleg turned his back on the bay, possibly for the last time. He was leaving against counsel, leaving despite the scorn of many who thought the forests too dark and dangerous, that the great water was the source of all life and hope for their people, leaving for the love of the wild wood and the desire to wander its untrodden paths. He might fall prey to the shadows that stalked the deep woods, as his brethren feared, but maybe not. Perhaps he might return one day with a greater knowledge and experience to share, or even with a pocketful of stars.
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Date: 2015-03-27 02:15 pm (UTC)Sorry, I did not see it sooner. I was exhausted from going to the movie last night and then to the comic book store in the rain. As soon as we got home, all I could think about was getting Alex in bed and following him!
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Date: 2015-03-27 02:57 pm (UTC)No need to apologize. I know you had a big night last night. I went to bed at a decent hour, for a change, myself.
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