Attrition by Dwimordene

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: O68: Rangers of the North: Fell Winter; Economy: War
Format: drabble
Genre: gapfiller
Rating: K+
Characters: Arador, OMC Rangers and hobbits and wolves, oh my!
Summary: Unquiet on the western front.



Attrition

They’d begged refuge in the Marish– almost the only place that could’ve housed Rangers. Days hobbits and Rangers live cheek to jowl, ere digging out.

Arador wonders how many Rangers survived the early cold. For however many, they must suffice: wolves appear. Arador sees one one evening, white on white, invisible, save for the eyes.

The hunt is deadly. Icy bogs are treacherous, as are cold, hunger, exhaustion: blood darkens the snow, beautiful and obscene.

His host, Ando, distressed by the bodies, protests: “This ain’t natural!”

War isn’t. Arador sighs, counts heads, decides. “Go home, Ando. We’ll keep watch tonight.”

Comments

[starli-ght.livejournal.com]

This was very nicely done, from your awesome choice of title, to the final line. What I like the most about this Drabble is how it conveys so well the spirit of what the chieftain and rangers do: They are the guardians of Eriador, there to defend those the crown should have been offering protection to. If they cannot do anything else, they'll do that. There's dime think about the way he tells Ando to go home that really spoke to me.

Well done!

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed this one, Starlight. I wish I could've gotten a better sense of scope packed into this drabble - I think it would've given some more punch to the last line.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Very poignantly tells of the hardship of that time, and of the thanklessness that was the Rangers' lot and their steadfast guardianship of Eriador despite that. That last line says it all, really. I really liked this.

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Cairistonia! Yeah, it's a tough job, and I imagine the Fell Winter would've been a real morale crusher that the Rangers would've needed time to recover from.

[aliana1.livejournal.com]

Wonderful evocation of the incredibly tough job that Rangers have to do, in some of the toughest and most thankless conditions on Middle-earth. I love the description of the wolf, and this line: blood darkens the snow, beautiful and obscene. Arador's right, of course--it is war, and one they can't fight with conventional weapons. All the more treacherous for that.

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

I love the description of the wolf, and this line: blood darkens the snow, beautiful and obscene.

Thanks! I wanted that line pretty badly - I think I was flashing back to the Kill Bill O-ren Ishii fight and its imagery. Hm - now there's a crossover someone should write...

[mrowe.livejournal.com]

Very nice (even if it makes me want to go and sort out my - non-B2MEM - Fell Winter story)

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

Ha! Feed that muse, Nath, you've obviously not been lavishing enough chocolate and what not on her.

[mrowe.livejournal.com]

She has all the what not she needs, the ungrateful hussy.

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Your ability to tell so much with such an economy of well chosen words and images always amazes me, Dwim.

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I always have such a great time trying to get the most bang for my vocabularic buck when drabbling.