A Father's Disgrace

Subject: A Father's Disgrace Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:47 pm

Family. In all the words in all the land, that was a word Telkun Bias could never fully understand. He knew it’s meaning of course and it’s idea but he had never known the feeling. The first time he experienced that feeling was the night Miss Rosemead had asked him to walk her home.

In hardly any time at all, Telkun was being introduced to not only her mother, but her father, brother, uncle and a stranger he’d later come to call a friend. He winced as he listened to family arguments erupt concerning father and son. He ate uncomfortably of food that tasted somehow different than the food he was used too.

The feeling of family set him on nerve unlike anything he had known. With the exception, perhaps, of the gentle caress of love, but that is another tale for another time. He had never known the warmth that was the Locksley Home and from that night onward he was scared of that feeling.

So it was, one night when a family was reunited in whole that he felt wholly out of place. A gathering at the Prancing Pony seemed to be stirring and that discomfort welled inside his chest . So much so in fact, the tavern he usually found so warm and invited was stiffly and only a swift escape could set him at ease.

The cooling of the days sun was well into it’s final stages by then. He heard two more of his friends conversing at the front of the Tavern but sadly their joy seemed to darken his mood. He forced himself onward, mind lost in though of letters from his own father. He couldn’t stop himself from comparing Telchind Bias to Nathon Locksley. One so cold and unrelenting, yet the other had warmth.

It was the warm voice that had broken him out of his mental foray and paused his wanderings. Nathon had seen him leave and out of what could be best described as fatherly warmth, sought to his friend. Telkun knew of the older man’s understanding and kindness but there was so much he had to keep from the others. Too many truths and things he felt he had no right to burden them with.

Perhaps that was the reason he lied to that warm, fatherly man. He knew Nathon would see through it like a clear day, but Telkun knew the night had promise of joys that in his heart, he just couldn’t bring himself to feel. Soon they were parted and Telkun found himself wandering again.

Subject: Re: A Father's Disgrace Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:48 pm

He soon found himself standing in a place not but a few days before he had almost lost his life. His friends, Miss Alestria, Camus Locksley, Penwyn… He whispered their names, recalling the battle that had almost taken all of their lives. He knew he had failed them, despite how they had said he fought bravely.

‘It wasn’t bravery..’ Telkun thought to himself. ‘I would have been able to save Miss Alestria from having to save me…if I were brave…’ The voice in Telkun’s head was not of his own, but of his father’s. Reprimanding him again for failing to be the warrior his father wanted him so much to be.

Looking around the empty field, he knew he had done something else terrible that day. His sword. He had lost his sword. The librarian’s eyes closed at this grave failure. His earliest memory of life was his grandfather. Sick and dieing in a plain farmer’s bed. That sword clutched in his withered old hands as he spoke to Telkun.

“K-keep this for me, little one…U-use it…w-when you have…the heart to do so…” Telkun felt tears sting his eyes as he looked to the empty field once more. Of all the questions he had asked in his life, why hadn’t he asked the most important. Why would an old farmer have such an elegant and well used sword?

The question seemed to only inflate his failure further. He had lost the sword in the fight against that Black Rider. Torretan. The name now screamed in his mind like the wail of a heart broken wight. Torretan would have no use for such a small sword., but at the time Telkun’s mind was clouded from injury and he thought not to ask someone to retrieve the sword, and so it was lost. A failure he had written his father and once more been reminded how much of a disappointment he was to his father.

He could feel the weight of the words, the tone of his voice as he read them.
“Son,
First you leave with only a note, telling me you must leave for lands unknown. Then you write to me telling me the only thing we had left of our families’ heritage has been lost? I trained you better than that boy! Be a warrior and stop disgracing our name!”

His father hadn’t even bothered to finish the letter. Telkun opened his eyes and found his feet had taken him to the road of his new home. Deep in Bree-land was a small house, barely big enough for more than two, but Telkun had loved it when he saw it. He stared down the lane, thinking perhaps that small stone building could bring him comfort…but soon his face turned away.

Subject: Re: A Father's Disgrace Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:48 pm

No, it was too close to that home. That Family Home that made him feel so out of place. They greeted him so warmly, so openly. Nathon and his family… and Rosie…

As the name slipped across his thoughts he felt his heart sink. He looked towards Chetwood, knowing Bree itself lay just beyond, and nestled in it’s fair streets was the woman he had come to love. He had no words to describe the feelings even just her name brought to him. ‘A librarian without words is hardly a man at all,’ one of the older wordsmiths had once told him, but when it came to Rosie, there was so much warmth and brightness in his chest there were no words in any language to describe them.

Suddenly, his father’s voice was loud in his mind. ‘You’ve failed her too, now! How could she ever love a man who is such a grave disappointment!’ His eyes tore away from Chetwood and turned east. A vague memory of the night he had been hurt had haunted him since. He could remember saying something to Rosie, and seeing a surprised look in her eyes, but then only blackness remained of the memory.

A man who lived his life in books and tales without ever living his own can not possibly understand the feelings that drive us. Nor did Telkun understand why he called out to his horse and took it’s rugged reins and began to ride. East was all he knew. He did not stop no matter the yell of orc, goblin or warg through the Lone-Lands. Nor did the brutish cries of the angry trolls that patrolled the roads of the Trollshaws, but by then Telkun knew his destination.

He had been there before, not so long ago, at the request of the reason he left Minas Tirith. That Reason he bid him to Bree-Land and that road he had been ambushed on by Brigands, and the subsequent settling in that land. Perhaps that man… if that was what he truly was, many a legend said otherwise… might still be in Rivendell. Maybe he could give Telkun the guidance to finally please his father and help him to understand the feelings that welled up inside of him.

It was the thought that, perhaps if he had chosen to open to Nathon or another of the family or Troop that he befriended, they could have given him the answers he needed to clear his mind, that distracted him enough for the Wood Troll to seize his horse and topple both rider and steed to the ground.

Telkun could not comprehend the visions he saw next, and perhaps if his mind and heart were not so burdened he could have defended himself. The horse itself screaming in pain. Flashes of brown and long muscular arms meeting hoof. Yells of pain and anger. A sickening crunch of bone. His own pain flashing through his body. Then arrows. So many arrows. Then blackness, and nothing more.

Subject: Re: A Father's Disgrace Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:32 am

‘What is that sound…’ Laughter beckoned in the darkness. ‘So familiar…smell…roses…’ A brilliant pale red light pierced the darkness further washing over Telkun. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from it, but it’s warmth flowed through him. Twin emerald’s appeared brighter still and Telkun’s eyes couldn’t break away. Lighter and lighter it became until the brightness appeared to him as a beautiful rose suspended in air.

Telkun walked from the darkness into the circle of light the rose made all around him. Two of it’s petals were such a lovely green that he lost hours staring at them. He floated in that small circle of light as it fended off the darkness around him. Scared that his touch may forever destroy the beauty of it, his hand slowly stretched out for it. His fingers brushed the stem, and he gawked I wonder that there was no thorns.

Soon enough, the rose was held gently in his hands, sitting on his palms so delicate and lovely. He pulled it closer, ever staring into the green petals. He hardly realized the rose changed as he brought it to his chest. In a moment of a heartbeat, the rose was no longer a flower, but another Rose altogether.

“Ma….Mast….wake….” A voice suddenly jolted him awake. A gentle, yet firm touch was placed on his chest pushing him back down upon the bed. Telkun stared up at the smiling Elf whose voice was just as his touch. “Master Bias…awake once more. I am heartened.”

“W-wh-” The elven man smiled. A smile warmed by more years than most men could ever hope to see. A smile that made Telkun fall silent.

“Do not speak, Master Bias. Your wounds are serious at the moment, but rest well you are in the house of Elrond once more and will mend far quickly than anywhere else.” Salabdur was the name that came to Telkun’s mind. He remembered the healer offering him advice for infected wounds on his last trip to Rivendell.

Subject: Re: A Father's Disgrace Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:07 am

Before he could piece together the memories of his last conscious moments, the darkness took him again into sleep. This time, much to his dismay, without dreams to find comfort. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a small room. Barely big enough for the bed he lay on, a burgundy dresser that looked very elegant, and a small chair close to the bedside.

He sat up slowly and let out a small yelp from pain in his side. He looked to his body to find several bandages wrapped around his arms and torso. Pressing a hand and gritting his teeth to endure the pain he correctly guessed he had several bruised, if not cracked, ribs. Cuts and other bruises lined his arms and legs but what brought a small smile to his face was Salabdur entering the room quietly.

“Greetings again, Master Bias. I’m glad to see you on the mend.” The elvish man stood at the foot of his bed, the ever warm smile on his face. He studied Telkun as the man winced and sat up a little more to address him.

“No doubt thanks to your kind care.” Telkun offered his own tired warm smile. “How long have I been asleep Master Healer?”

“Well, hardly time at all thanks to Lord Elrond.” The healer’s smile grew as did Telkun’s. “It has only been a day or so since you rode into Rivendell. Lord Elrond’s healing skills are far greater than mine, as you can clearly tell.”

With a nod, Telkun watched as Salabdur moved to the side of the bed. “May I?” He asked as he made for Telkun’s wounds. Barely did he nod before the healer’s ever soft and kind touch was exploring the battered parts of Telkun’s body. Once satisfied, Salabdur stood up with another wide smile. “I dare say, if you be careful not to hurt your wounds any further, you will be healed within a few days.”

“Truly? That quickly?” The man was astonished to hear this news, knowing full well it would take much longer to heal under the best of conditions. However, Salabdur only smiled a bit more, knowing he did not have to explain to the man why it would heal so fast. Telkun looked to the bed, his voice going soft and almost nervous. “M-Master Healer…w-will you write to Nathon Locksley, and tell him what has happened to me?”

The elven man bowed his head. “I will do so now, if you wish Master Bias.” Telkun bowed his head in response, but just as quickly lifted it.

“Oh! If you would please…write to Miss Rosemead Locksley as well, but please don’t tell her what happened. I’d hate for her to worry…or worse still…try to travel to Rivendell…” Telkun frowned deeply at the thought of Rosie sneaking off through such danger to see him, though her father wouldn’t let her. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he smirked, knowing full well even her father couldn’t stop her if she truly wanted to do something.

Salabdur studied the Gondorian man for several moments, clearly seeing something else behind those blue eyes. He bowed his head once more. “I will do as you ask.” The elf looked through the door to the room. He frowned deeply and looked to Telkun again. “You have a visitor. Do you wish to see him?”

With a slight frown of his own Telkun glanced to the door. Another elven man appeared, hooded with his arms crossed. Telkun’s curiosity was legendary among his colleagues at the library, so his head nodded slowly. The healer gave Telkun another look, before slipping out of the room silently.

Subject: Re: A Father's Disgrace Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:07 pm

“Greetings Master Elf…I’m afraid I don’t recognize you…”Telkun watched the new man stare at the door to the room until it was closed. Upon the quite sound of it’s closure he pulled his hood down to reveal typical elven features. Typical, of course, being lovely and beautiful.

The unknown man’s expression however, was not typical of most elves Telkun had ever met. “From what I have heard, you should know me quite well by now. Telkun Bias.” The voice wasn’t of fair tone as most other’s of his race. It was low and grave, something not unusual to find in a older gruff human but not in an elf’s voice.

Telkun searched his brain as he looked a bit closer. His face did seem so familiar, but as far as Telkun could remember, it wasn’t anyone he had ever met. The elf grew impatient and turned to look around the room. It was at his profile Telkun blurted out the name. “Durionas! The man Dry-…a friend was looking for! Forgive me, Sir.” Telkun bowed his head.

Durionas raises his eyebrow looking at the man. “Dryanis? …I see. So she is the one who must have asked you to find out more about me.” It was a statement, not a question. The man only nodded slowly as the elf was already turning to leave.

“W-wait Sir. Is that the reason you came here?” Telkun watched the elf perplexedly. The former librarian knew Durionas was very old, in spirit if not in body. He hailed from Mirkwood and fought in the Battle of the Five Armies. He was of great interest to the elf Dryanis, though Telkun was unsure why. It was her, who had asked him to research Durionas and find out all he could for reason’s he could only guess at.

Durionas said nothing, his hand poised to push the door open and leave, but something seemed to stay his hand. Slowly he crossed his arms again and turned to look at the injured man. “Yes. I would prefer not to go noticed in this age.”

With his lips opening to ask more questions, Durionas interrupted Telkun with his rough voice. “You were brought here by me. A wood troll wished to make you dinner. Your horse is being tended to.” The elven warrior let his arms rest at his sides watching Telkun’s face as he continued to talk. “For saving your life and that of your beast, I only wish you to stop researching into my past and focus on your own future. Are we at an understanding?”

Those were all answers Telkun had wished to know, but not the questions he wanted to ask. Still, he nodded his agreement, but yet again before he could speak Durionas interrupted him. “Salabdur has taken the task of getting you a new robe from Hammadelen.” Durionas glanced to where a tattered and ripped set of scholar’s robes lay previously unnoticed on the chair. “You and your steed will be mended in another day or two.”

The elven man was different from the few elves Telkun had met in his life. He seemed distant and lost in the past but hiding it behind a heartless mask. It made the man’s heart sink in his chest. Durionas moved to the door once more, but Telkun found the strength to say quietly. “Thank you, L-Lord Durionas.”

Pausing only long enough to nod his head once, Durionas vanished through the door with Telkun staring after him. The man sat in his bed, staring down at the light sheet that covered him. He had come to Rivendell in hopes he would find guidance and strength, but so far he had only found injury and questions to things that did not concern him.

Subject: Re: A Father's Disgrace Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:02 pm

As the mysterious elf Durionas had spoken to him, Telkun found himself feeling better as the day carried onward. By the end of it he was already wandering Elrond’s library and carrying a stack of books to his room. Much to the dismay of Salabdur who continued to fret over the young man.

His injuries seemed to heal in a pittance of time in the care of Lord Elrond and Salabdur. As did his horse’s injuries in the care of Ladrochan the stable master. Telkun spent much time wandering Rivendell, speaking to the people there, learning from Bailinn, a minstrel of great knowledge, sharing riddles with the famed Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins and his elven riddle cohort Lindir, and studying with the scholars; Deluros, Forgamthan, and Atharovor.

As beautiful and relaxing as The Last Homely house was, his mind could not stop itself from thinking so hard on his father’s words. He tortured himself for many hours in the beauty of the valley on the disappointment in his father’s words. The weight of the lost family sword seemed to battle the calm and peace Rivedell was so famed for.

As hard as Telkun searched, he could not find the reason he decided to travel to Rivendell a few nights before. Much was going on in secret in Rivendell and he could only assume that is what kept him from his goal. He would often catch elves, men, dwarves and even a few hobbits speaking quietly to one another and hurrying about the valley.

It was times like those that he remembered the oath he had given, so long ago, the night before he had left Minas Tirith. ‘Tell no one of this, Telkun Bias. Swear to me that not a soul will know why I’ve asked this of you, whether man or beast, friend or family. Swear to me you will not break this oath.’ And Telkun had sworn. When a wizard asks you for help and has you swear never to speak of it, you did not even tell someone you loved.

And so it was, Telkun had left the next day to make his way first to Rivendell, then to Bree-land. Wether the affairs of wizards were meant to guide man’s fate or just give men the chance to make their own, Telkun didn’t know, but the wizard had set him on this path and he had hoped the wizard could give him a bit more guidance.

Another day passed away in Rivendell and the young man was no closer to figuring out what he should do than he was to being able to fly with the birds. One thing was certain, his heart ached more each day. Not of the failures he felt he had committed, but for the great distance he was to the Locksley Family… and to Rosie.

Though his mind was most often occupied on how to please his father, or books with which he busied himself with, Rosemead was always there. Smiling over his shoulder, finding wonder in everything around him. Each day he came close to writing her a letter, knowing how much she’d enjoy it, but he never did. Too afraid that he’d open up to her and tell her of his failures.
So it was, that he promised himself another day in Rivendell was all he’d stay. If he caught sight of the wizard he’d ask of his help, if not then he would just have to admit his failings to Mr. Locksley and accept whatever the consequences might be.

Telkun closed his eyes, standing at the base of the Falls of Imaldris. The water’s spray washed over him as he held his eyes closed lost in his thoughts. He knew so much about the world, but nothing on how to live in it. His eyes opened and looked up to the sky. The bright blue mirrored in his orbs as he thought to himself. ‘Whatever may come…will come…I only hope Rosie knows that I’ve come to love her…’

His eyes lowered to the falls. ‘One more day…then I will face the failure’s I’ve done…one more day…’