The Embalmer's Apprentice by Lyra

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Fanwork Notes

Contains references to corporal and capital punishment, a rather medieval law code and colonialist attitudes that may be upsetting to some readers.

Many thanks to Elleth and Dawn for their proof- and betareading patience on the first chapters! I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Himring, Whitewave and Thai for their unflagging loyalty and encouragement.

The Stars of WesternesseThe Stars of Westernesse

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Faced with the choice between execution or working on the preservation of dead people, young Azruhâr finds himself drawn into an increasingly political struggle between faith and power, tradition and new ideas - and a journey beyond his wildest fears and dreams.

Major Characters: Original Character(s), Herucalmo, Tar-Ancalimon, Tar-Telemmaitë

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: Drama

Challenges: Akallabêth in August, Arda Underground, Middle-earth Olympics

Rating: Adult

Warnings: Check Notes for Warnings, Expletive Language, In-Universe Classism, In-Universe Racism/Ethnocentrism, Mature Themes, Sexual Content (Mild), Torture, Violence (Moderate)
Chapters: 69 Word Count: 446, 721
Posted on 4 February 2010 Updated on 29 October 2024

This fanwork is a work in progress.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13

Well, look who wrote a new chapter after almost three years! So, off to Andúnië!

Chapter 14

Matters of great importance are being discussed, people are playing in the sand, and Andúnië continues to be highly idealised. Somewhere has to be.

Chapter 15

Azruhâr has impressed the right people; time to pick a fight with the wrong people. Violence warning applies.

Chapter 16

Azruhâr does some heavy thinking, and has to appear at the palace again. Amraphel covers the research.

Chapter 17

Things progress uncomfortably, and Azruhâr's good deed has unexpected consequences.

Chapter 18

Azruhâr enlarges his household, has some awkward conversations, meets the executioner and the in-laws.

Chapter 19

Another happy Andúnië chapter.

Chapter 20
Chapter 21

There is a lot of crying in this chapter, some of it justified. -- Warning for the death of a supporting character.

Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27

Warning for some violence, and the death of a major supporting character.

Chapter 28
Chapter 29

Aaand we have a new King.

Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32

Story warnings apply to the second half of this chapter. Not a happy one, I'm afraid.

Chapter 33

It's not getting better. >_>

Chapter 34

Torture warning applies.

Chapter 35

Trial time!

Chapter 36

Warnings for the aftermath of the torment and vaguely suicidal thoughts.

 

Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39

Warning for discussions of suicide, and the off-screen suicide of a supporting character.

Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42

Warning for animal death. It's a hunting trip, after all.

Chapter 43
Chapter 44

Time to explore the darker sides of Umbar (and of Lord Herucalmo). Violence/torture warning applies, I guess.

Chapter 45

The trip to the mines has unpleasant consequences. Help comes from an unexpected quarter.

Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52

Azruhâr finally meets the apprentices. Intercultural communications are harder than expected.

Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56

Warning for some violence and talk about human sacrifice. What are we getting ourselves into?

This chapter covers some prompts for the Middle-earth Olympics (athletics; boxing; wrestling - both literally and figuratively). That is accidental, but I'm going to take it.

Chapter 57

Another difficult chapter.

Chapter 58

The spring festival is there at last.

Warning for athletic injuries and unnamed background character death(s).

Chapter 59
Chapter 60

This is a grim one. Warning for (non-graphic) mentions of childbirth going pear-shaped. If that's a touchy subject for you, I recommend skipping this chapter.

Warning for dark-ish themes and background character death.

Chapter 61

A (short) chapter of returns.

Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64

Azruhâr has to do some housekeeping.

Chapter 65

Dârujan is in trouble.

Chapter 66

Some letters home are in order.

Chapter 67

Azruhâr's mind is quite occupied, thank you very much.

CW for non-graphic mentions of contagious sickness (bacterial gastroenteritis).

Chapter 68

Lord Herucalmo comes to the morgue. Long and convoluted talking ensues. There even is an f-bomb. Oh dear.

Chapter 69

Not a fun chapter despite the fun chapter number. My apologies.

Comments

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Oh Azruhar.

Because I still hope things might get better for him, I'm glad he was stopped.

In fact, it sounds to me as if Atanacalmo, thrifty grandfather or not, had worked out a way for an eye to be kept on him, maybe?

Balakhil. 

Had you known that was what going to happen when you introduced him as a character? I guess he really was desperate, just not quite in the way Azruhar thought.

I had thought he might be that shadow in the garden in the previous chapter, but clearly I was wrong.

They will get better! (Or so I hope! I have to keep telling myself that, because this part is seriously hard to get through.)

You're absolutely right about Atanacalmo. Whatever Herucalmo says, he absolutely is there to babysit Azruhâr. He might even be a sort of life insurance - ships may be expensive, but the King could probably bear losing that one. Not with his future son-in-law aboard, though!

I knew that he would turn out to betray Azruhâr. There was supposed to be a confrontation after the trial, in which Balakhil should have confessed what he'd done (or been made to do) and tried to justify himself, but it just wouldn't have worked at that point, what with the state Azruhâr was in. And later, the opportunity no longer offered itself. So Azruhâr didn't get the chance to dishonorably dismiss Balakhil himself. (OTOH, he probably would have felt too guilty about the outcome, so it may be better this way.) It is possible that Amraphel knows more than she has shared with her husband, for fear of giving him ideas, or at any rate more to fret about.

Balakhil definitely was desperate, in several ways. Before he'd secured his employment in Azruhâr's house, he had no alternative - the condition of his return into the royal service was acting as a spy, after all - and at first he probably felt perfectly justified in tricking the upstart embalmer - how dare he even think that an honourable (well, almost) palace guard would stoop so low? And later, when he realised that maybe the embalmer wasn't so bad, there was no way back, because you just don't walk away from a deal with the Crown Prince. At least Balakhil never made up any incriminating stories, as he could have done (as Herucalmo points out, accusations don't have to be true). I think he did try, with the limited options he had, to be loyal. But it couldn't work out forever.

He could have been! I'm kicking myself that I didn't think of that. They could even have the conversation/confrontation at that point. Maybe I'll change the story to incorporate this idea, it if I ever finish and rewrite this monster! For now, the shadow was just one of Lord Atanacalmo's regular informers, keeping an eye on the situation.

Thank you so much for your thoughts!

I keep getting the feeling that this is as "down" as it gets for Azruhar.  (Well, possibly apart from the potential difficulty of integrating into Umbarian life, but I have a sneaky feeling he might find the wheels being greased for him behind the scenes).  That could, though, be wishful thinking on my part.

Herucalmo is a later-generation slightly-degraded version of Atanacalmo, I think - not quite as bright or quite as (hidden even from himself) "well-intentioned" as his grandfather, but really, despite Azruhar's perceptions, wanting Azruhar to succeed and prosper.

As long as it doesn't put him (Herucalmo/Atanacalmo) out too much, of course, and as long as there's some enjoyment in it for themselves.

Really, I think the ****-calmos are a fantastic snapshot into the long and progressive degradation of the Numenorean "goodness".  Had either of these been born in the time of Aldarion or earlier, they'd have been far more Earendur-ish (to coin a phrase), but growing up in the more-Shadowed era and in Armenelos (and away from Andunie, where the Shadow lies least), the positives of the Numenoreans are twisted, degraded, and stunted.  

Drive, intelligence, desire for order and so forth, all forced down by ego and the ingrained belief/outlook in self-interest, ruthlessness, and aggrandisement above all others.  You can see how this can and will evolve into the ever-greedier, ever-more-ruthless and ever-more-selfish outlook of the Kings Men in the times of Ar-Gimilzor and Ar-Pharazon

I definitely hope he won't surprise me with further downs! (For what it's worth, I'm not sure the wheels need to be significantly greased. Umbarian society is different in general and in the Adûnaic community in particular; as a member of the colonial power, Azruhâr's status there is very different than it was back at home. He will have to find his place and come to terms with it, though.)

Herucalmo tries very hard to be like Atanacalmo, but as you noticed, he doesn't quite have the edge (yet?). As it happens, he probably isn't actually interested in Azruhâr - his indifference may be real - but he follows his grandfather's lead, more or less willingly. Atanacalmo is a lot more well-intentioned than he wants to admit! And his ego isn't the only reason; he also feels that it's safer to play his cards very close to his chest. And he may be right. That's the tragedy of his time! And in turn, it step by step breeds harder-hearted, more selfish people. (I think part of why Atanacalmo is interested in Azruhâr is that he's quite fascinated by his straightforward, somewhat childlike approach to goodness. To some extent, Azruhâr is an ongoing experiment.) I'm thrilled that you see it as a stepping stone on the road to the Fall of Númenor, because that's exactly the idea. It's not even a question of the Shadow lying less on Andúnie; to some extent, it simply is a lot easier to be good in Andúnie, not just for its citizens but also for its lords. There are fewer people, a stronger sense of community, tried and tested safety nets, and the nobility hasn't felt the need to breed idealism out of their line! In an earlier draft of Azruhâr's first stay in Andúnie, he and Eärendur actually had a conversation about that, but it didn't quite fit in at the time. Bits and pieces of it have appeared in other places, though.

Officially, of course, all the noble houses uphold ideals like honesty, loyalty etc.; but often, self-interest and entitlement dictate a more pragmatic approach. Noble trappings are more important than noble deeds...

Enough rambling! I hope I didn't accidentally put spoilers into this response. I continue to love your observations. Feels like I'm doing something right! So, thank you so much!

Very ominous--what's supposed to be a spiritual day turned out to be a very worldly day.  The new king's tactics are quite juvenile and I felt so bad for both Lord Earendur and our favorite embalmer. 

Azruhar's side "hustle" - hope this is a good intro of what will come soon and hopefully not get him into deeper trouble!  

BTW, I can't believe I let 8 chapters have been published and I haven't checked till last night!   I read all 8 in one go and will comment on all today.   I enjoyed EACH one! 

WOW! Woke up to find 8 new comments - what a feeling! Thank you so much!

Poor Tar-Telemmaite will forever be a teenage bully in my book, I'm afraid. Some people are like that, of course! But if this were a historical novel, I'd have to add a historical note explaining that we have no actual information on the character of this king, aside from his love of silver and mithril, and that his pettiness and cruelty is my invention. >_>

Oh gosh what a very chill-to-the-bones chapter with the spotlight on Lord Atanacalmo.  It has never been easy for me to figure him out -- but especially so with this chapter.

I felt very very bad for Azruhar, but the fact that he comes out of this chapter alive also tells me that even our Bully King can't easily have Azruhar killed so he does the next best thing---make Azruhar as miserable as possible.   For this chapter and the previous one---hope Azruhar finds more confidence/strength in his innate abilities and his resilience (so far).  

Atanacalmo is very hard to write because he's trying to be so many things at once. So it's hard for me to figure him out, too! ^^

There are (I assume) laws in Númenor to protect its citizens to some extent. Unfortunately, the King is the final authority, so he can get away with a lot; but ironically, he's standing in his own way.

Azruhâr has to unlearn a lot of things about himself. He probably will come to understand that he's not as weak and foolish as he's been told he is... eventually!

Azruhar may not have been that "presentable" here but he has become quite "potent"--having all the blue bloods listen to every word he says and taking him seriously (not all of them, but...)  I really enjoyed the exchanges in the trial and a very touching close to the chapter in the scene with Lord Earendur and Azruhar.  In a way, this was a reversal of roles.   

 

In terms of credibility, the King has done Azruhâr a favour. Previously, the rest of the council probably thought "Ugh, why is Eärendur dealing with the embalmer, that's beneath him" or at most "Aww look it's Eärendur's little pet", but here, Azruhâr actually get to appear as a bit of a hero (a little misguided perhaps, but still brave). He could never have achieved as much if he'd been able to follow his original plan of rehearsing good answers and dressing respectably.

Glad you found the final scene touching. It was hard to sneak out of this very intense chapter, so it's a relief to know that it worked!

Another "role" reversal this time with Lord Atanacalmo---I can't help but think that Lord Atanacalmo wants to be a mentor to Azruhar.  

Azruhar is getting sharper insights into the nobles he interacts with--such a diamond in the rough!  He is also getting bolder.  And there is a sort of build up in the scenes with Lord Herucalmo---I think Azruhar will not leave the spotlight in Valinor for a VERY long time.

Atanacalmo would absolutely love to mentor Azruhâr, if he didn't also want to control the King, who hates Azruhâr's guts. Reconciling these two desires is what makes him so hard to figure out (both in-story and while writing). As it is, he has to try pushing Azruhâr in the direction that he thinks he should go without anyone noticing that he's doing it on purpose!

He's getting bolder, but that's because he has stopped caring what happens to him. Accordingly, he dares to think and say things that he normally wouldn't permit himself to think.

He would definitely stay in the spotlight for a long time. That's part of why he has to be removed from the stage...

I hope I'm not telling you too much. I love the things you've picked up on, so I can't help rambling about them!

I got the impression that there is little rivalry between Lord Earendur and Lord Atanacalmo on Azruhar's attention? time? affirmation? (maybe its just me). 

Scenes with Lord Earendur bring so much clarity on the situation, whereas interactions with Lord Atanacalmo bring a bit of confusion/vagueness.   But I enjoy all scenes with these two nobles and how they interact with Azruhar. 

And the scene with the old Queen is very telling, I think, on the capabilities (or lack thereof) of her son.  She is quite an interesting character as well.  I feel sad that Azruhar has to be parted from his family but also excited that us readers will get to see Umbar through his eyes. 

Azruhâr isn't actually wrong in that Atanacalmo is a little jealous. On an intellectual level, he's perfectly aware that Azruhâr likes Eärendur better because Eärendur is kind and generous and openly helpful. Atanacalmo isn't inclined to be kind or generous, and due to his personal ambition, he has to heavily disguise his help. But at the same time, he actually does think a lot more highly of Azruhâr than Azruhâr realises, and it annoys him that Azruhâr doesn't understand that. (He also genuinely thinks that Eärendur either doesn't see Azruhâr's potential, or, even worse, doesn't care about it.) It's a mess! Which probably explains the confusion.

The old Queen has probably very few illusions concerning the capabilities of her son. She loves him, as mothers do, but she's also aware of his shortcomings. She tries to mitigate in the limited ways that she has.

Yes! Umbar is going to be interesting. :D

The relationship between the new King and his wife is also quite interesting--feel sorry for the poor woman.   Will she be playing a more active part in future chapters?  Just curious about her and her daughter. 

I suspect that Lord Atanacalmo will miss Azruhar and is trying to mentor him (just my interpretation).  And certain lines of Lord Atanacalmo did make me wonder how it was like for him being the "spare" and not showing emotions, etc.  

This is a very sad chapter to read since Azruhar will be torn from his comfort zone.  Though I'm sure he will be able to make the best out of the situation.  

 

The Queen probably won't, the crown princess might. I feel very guilty that I'm sidelining the women almost as much as Tolkien is. But for the time being, since we won't be on Númenor, we won't see much of the people and events there.

Your interpretation is spot-on. Lord Atanacalmo is trying to teach Azruhâr in his own complicated way. Of course, he has to survive first, so for the time being, he has to be kept safe...
It can't have been easy being the spare in that environment. Simultaneously being prepared for the throne (just in case) and told that he won't get it (and don't you get any funny ideas!), and finally being given a useless post as a sort of consolation gift. He's made the best of it, but he's bitter because he had to go to such efforts in the first place, of course.

Yes, Azruhâr will have to make the best of the situation, too!

So that's what happened to Balakhil!   Poor guy!   Must have been difficult to betray someone who has been nothing but kind to him.  

And Lord Herucalmo and Azruhar!  What a tandem! Oh gosh!  This means Azruhar will still be very much moving in the highest circles for many, many years to come.  Not really sure what Lord Atanacalmo's objective is with facilitating Azruhar's "exile" but to me it seems like he wants Azruhar to be separated from Lord Earendur.  

Hope Azruhar's family will do well--I think they will be safer with Lord Earendur honestly. 

The initial encounter with Lord Roitaheru is very interesting--wonder how he will contribute to Azruhar's well-being (or not).  I'm also curious how Herucalmo will make the most out of his time in the colonies---there might be very flashy moments ahead for the very ambitious guy. I wonder too how Azruhar will do as a transplant in this very very different world.  Not sure if you were implying something about Azruhar's ancestry -- because he couldn't adjust to sea travel as easily as the average Numenorean. :-)  

I could tell you, but then I'd have to... uh... probably deal with the characters having different ideas actually. They never do what I want them to!

Herucalmo's mission is fairly simple. He has to spend some time in the colonies because Tradition, but since there are no urgent campaigns going on, it's basically just an extended holiday. If he comes back just a little wealthier than he left, it'll be a rousing success!

Azruhâr will find it both more easy than he expected, and complicated in ways he didn't foresee. His ancestry is actually purely Númenórean (as far as that is possible for an island that didn't even exist before the 2nd Age, at least). There are other Númenóreans who couldn't warm up to sea travel (such as Erendis!), so the sailors' comments are hyperbole rather than reliable fact. Of course, those Númenóreans who go to sea are probably the ones with an affinity for it!

" A lot of people starved back then. None of our own, of course!"

Hmm.

Has Azruhar walked in on the kind of colonial situation here where he becomes more upper caste because he is Numenorean and there are fewer Numenoreans out here and so he is "one of our own"?

But Kalil and Simar may be on the other side of that divide?

And they may know exactly what "warm my bed" means to Numenoreans?

In which case, Roitaheru's welcome may well be more genuine than Azruhar thinks. But the place is nothing as safe as Andunie, regardless...

[Rather late answer to previous remark:]

Not obvious and especially I wouldn't expect it to be obvious to Azruhar yet, given where he is coming from.

But of course we are quite sensitized to the subject and also have the benefit of hindsight. (I happened to be re-reading the description of the reign of Ar-Pharazon and its colonialist oppression yesterday.)

No, Azruhâr will take some time to pick up on it (I assume). First he has to trust it, and then he'll probably enjoy it, for a while, at least...

That would tip you off, naturally. :D Although Ar-Pharazôn is just the last in a long chain of increasingly ruthless oppressors, these are the seeds of that...

Happy to see another chapter.  Very curious as to how Azruhar will interact with the other council members and the Umbarians! The new legislation about torture must have been another bitter pill to swallow for the king and it's good that Azruhar is very far from him--though I hope his family won't take the heat.   I suspect this was led by Lord Earendur?  

Interesting insight about Lord Atanacalmo not being as ruthless as he looks.  

Lord Eärendur isn't going to lead any motions for the foreseeable future. He's still dealing with the fallout of the last time, after all. He doubtlessly supported it once it was proposed, but it wasn't his initiative. Nah, the motion was probably brought forward by someone safe and respectable like Pallatan of Rómenna, or maybe Marapoldo. (Not pictured: Atanacalmo talking to whoever led it one evening earlier. "We really need to change that law. Ah, if only someone had the courage to propose that......")

Bearing in mind that Laurilyo is seeing this from a very different perspective, it's certainly something for Azruhâr to think about, isn't it!

 

Very vivid painting the picture of Umbar - I enjoyed that.  The impact of the heat in the different climate is well-described (when you think about it, Numenor must be at a latitude not much north of Umbar, but a cooling ocean current can make a big difference - if we can even consider much on climatology in a Flat Earth!  But it is clear that the Forostar is fairly cool and even the Hyarnustar and Hyarrostar are no warmer than, say, southern France, or Italy, so I'm mentally sticking with a cooling ocean current in my minds eye :) )

Roitaheru is trying to be nice to him and almost implying that he should take it as a holiday (after all, he can read between the lines and know it's specifically to (temporarily?) exile Azruhar.  He might, though, not realise just how petty Tar-Telemmaite can be towards Azruhar - our protagonist's instinctive work ethic might be critical in keeping him from giving Telemmaite a further excuse to punish him more.

The colonialist attitude of superiority to the natives and instinctive arrogant subjugation is nicely and subtly drawn.  And bless Azruhar's innocence in assuming that "warming his bed" actually DID mean something different in Umbar than it did in his language - the subjugation of the native Umbarians gets more chilling the more you think about it.

Such a lovely thoughtful comment! Thank you so much!

You are right, Númenor would be easily as far south as Umbar, but from the description of its climate in UT, the climate seems to be fairly central-to-southern European. I can only assume that, with no mountains or other obstacles in the way, the northern parts get their air currents directly from the Helcaraxe, whereas the southern parts may profit from some warmer winds and balancing ocean currents. It seems to be comparable to the modern-day Azores rather than the Canaries...

Not necessarily a holiday, but certainly something like convalescent care. I haven't actually decided what exactly Atanacalmo told Roitaheru, and how much of the information Roitaheru pieced together himself - I should probably draft the letters before I get myself into trouble. Suffice it to say that Roitaheru doesn't know every detail. He certainly doesn't understand that the King has a petty vendetta against Azruhâr and would love to have an excuse for punishing him further. He's fairly used to people being sent to Umbar because for some reason or another they shouldn't be on Númenor for a while, and he's mentally put Azruhâr in the same category as "young noblemen who have embarrassed their family and need to be gotten out of the way until the scandal's blown over".

I'm glad you find it subtly drawn. I was worried that I might be too ham-fisted about it. I wanted to make it clear to the reader even though Azruhâr is (as yet) fairly oblivious about it - and I found that surprisingly difficult. So it's a relief to hear that you think it's chilling but not "in your face".

Again, thank you for your thoughts!

This chapter made me very curious about how Azruhar will interact with the Umbarians and if he and his family have some connection with them.   I'm also quite intrigued with his ancestor Harukhil!   For sure there are some seriously delightful events that happened with him in the past--at least I'd like to think so.   

The hunting trip is a nice initial "tour" of the landscape of Umbar and I am wondering how the Umbarian servants, staff and leaders will see Azruhar.   

The "onboarding" talk of Lord Roitaheru with Azruhar sounded so Imperialist and chilling--it reflects in a way the general attitude of the Numenoreans on their 
colonies.   Looking forward to the next chapter!

Unfortunately, I know very little about Hârukhil so far. Until this chapter, he didn't even have a name other than "Grandfather"! Other than that, I know that he always remembered his time as a soldier fondly. Due to his low birth, he never achieved any significant rank, but it was clearly better than day-taling. He would have liked to continue working in the service of whoever he was assigned to during the fighting in Umbar, but due to an injury that left him with a permanent limp there was no hope of that. However, he managed to guilt his superior officer into taking on his young son (Azruhâr's father, who had already been born before Hârukhil left Númenor) into his service. For various reasons, that was not a happy time for Azruhâr's dad, and eventually he quitted of his own will (to his father's great disappointment) and used the dismissal wage to build the small house that Azruhâr is so fond of. Because Azruhâr and his father are both gentle-hearted and (as Azruhâr believes) unheroic, Azruhâr has always been skeptical about his grandfather's war stories. Maybe we'll find out a bit more about that in upcoming chapters.

They servants and stuff are highly suspicious of him right now. Who is this guy and why doesn't he behave like we expect? Unpredictable people are dangerous...

The Númenóreans' attitude towards their colonies must be shifting from benevolent (but already overbearing) lordship and "teaching" to open entitlement and arrogance around this time, and I wanted Roitaheru to reflect that. Seems to have worked! :)

Thank you!

Well, Roitaheru so far seems to be genuinely decent (underneath the now endemic Numenorean patina of superiority and ego), and wants to help Azruhar.

Well, as long as it doesn't put him out too much, I guess.  But he does really seem to want to put Azruhar at his ease and make him feel accepted.

He can also willingly accept the just course of action when pointed out, even if he's got a high level of cynicism.

And I think we can now see why Laurilyo is seen as "frivolous" and unsuitable - and Azruhar never twigged that he was making a pass at him.  Which is completely compatible with attitudes in our own history - in analogous(-ish) time periods, the upper classes tended to the attitudes shown here on sexuality (matter-of-fact but keep discreet/quiet) whilst pretending to sober conformalism whilst the "lower" classes actually lived the attitudes that the upper classes espoused (but did not usually follow).

And Azruhar really is up in the world now hes away from Numenor.

Roitaheru is not a bad person (although he's far from being a good person). He has no reason to harm Azruhâr (and has been asked to look after him), so he won't - at least not intentionally!

Laurilyo's situation is a bit more complicated than that (as the future may show) - or rather, his peers are not so much worried about his social mores (they're fairly pragmatic about that sort of thing, as long as you don't father "bastards") as they are about his tendency to overshare and his disregard for class difference. You've got to be able to keep secrets and you certainly have to know your place, even as a nobleman! Laurilyo, however, would've chatted with Azruhâr as freely if they'd met on Númenor as he's doing here. And even in Umbar, it might be frowned upon to discuss openly what's going on in other people's bedchambers...

He is. It'll be strange for him to get used to it!

As always, thank you for your thoughts!

And Roitaheru proves that he actually is wanting to help Azruhar.  Whether Azruhar wants it or not.

(Which is an excellent example of the paternalism-->condescension--> "I know better than you what's good for you" attitude that we discussed before, and the ideal route for well-meaning nobles to slowly wander down towards the latter, harsher days of Numenor).

The characters you portray continue to be very well-fleshed out and enjoyable - I think it's a key strength of yours.

Yes, the teaching and care-taking is already degenerating into just plain taking. Not even necessarily out of cruelty, but mostly out of convenience...

Azruhâr finds himself in a strange position, to be sure - expected to be part of the ruling class, but much closer in experience to the ruled. In many ways, the general attitude he witnesses here isn't that different from the attitude he knows from home towards his fellow day-talers and other low-born commoners. So while his approach to the situation isn't exactly analytical, he certainly has a strong base for emotional reactions.

They're impressed he managed to get all the way down and back up without needing to be rescued, certainly, and that he didn't complain either during or afterwards. Even Captain Gohenor! (Good soldier material, actually, even if he wastes arrows. ;)) What Azruhâr cannot know is that they've all been on hunting trips with overenthusiastic and/or incompetent youngsters before, and to them, he's no worse than any other beginner.

Yes, for the limited information that he has, Roitaheru is doing quite well. As I've said elsewhere, to him Azruhâr is much like the young men that get sent over to the colonies either to prove themselves, or to get out of the way of some scandal. Accordingly, he has a rather different view. Azruhâr is a lot easier to handle than most of the young noblemen Roitaheru is used to, so that's working in his favour!

A good glimpse to the Umbari culture.  I am getting more interested in Azruhar's family history -- the how's and the why's.  I am very interested in Lords Terakon and Laurilyo as well.   There are subtle signals I think about Herucalmo's reaction to Azruhar's night in town. I am looking forward to the next chapter where we hopefully get to read more about Lord Terakon and perhaps news from Numenor.

Only a glimpse - but I suspect we're going to learn more about Umbar and its culture as the story goes on!

The hows and whys are a mystery to me as well. Until this chapter, I had no idea that Lord Terakôn was involved in it, although in retrospect it checks out. (What a silly thing to say about my own story, but there we are!) Herucalmo has his own issues (and probably the same tendency to get others involved in them as his grandfather does). The next chapter probably won't bring any news from Númenor yet, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway! ^^ Thank you for your comment!

Maybe Laurilyo really cares more than he admits, and not just about the hows and whys of khoosh?

I suppose Herucalmo might like to keep Azruhar away from anyone whose champion he might become?

 

[Possible minor slip-up:

"Lord Roitaheru, on the other hand, was still glaring."

Is it Herucalmo who is still glaring?]

I assume (but of course that is subject to change) that Laurilyo doesn't particularly care and certainly doesn't want to exert himself, but that doesn't mean he doesn't pick up and remember some things. Perhaps it would be better to say that he cares about people-as-people, but not about people-as-political-subjects. Or about things people do to make life enjoyable, but not about organisation or making a living. He's not meant to be bad or heartless, at any rate.

In a way (I noticed this as I typed this reply) he has the same "ambition" as Azruhâr does: he just wants a peaceful and pleasant life. Like Azruhâr, he has to deal with other people having different plans for him. So in spite of all the differences in background, station and life experience, that's something they have in common. I'm not sure either of them are aware of it, but perhaps Laurilyo has picked up some sort of kindred spirit vibe, and that's why he keeps coming back?

Herucalmo's motivations are currently even more of a mystery to me, to be honest. I can see various possibilities, including (but probably not limited to)
- he's just spiteful
- he's doing Atanacalmo's work
- he's doing Tar-Telemmaite's work
- he's running an experiment of his own
- he's attracted to Laurilyo and jealous of Azruhâr
- he's attracted to Azruhâr and jealous of Laurilyo
- he's attracted to neither of them but jealous of their tentative friendship
- he's worried that Laurilyo might "mislead" Azruhâr
- he thinks Azruhâr is getting ouf of his place
or, as you say, he doesn't want Azruhâr to gain new supporters (or to support someone other than himself).
I don't really know what it's going to be. So uh. Things are going to remain interesting, I guess? >_>

As always, thank you for your thoughts!

[It is indeed Herucalmo! Thank you for catching that.]

Poor Azruhar being forced to punish another person still quite fresh from his own ordeal back in Numenor.   Herucalmo gave me the creeps--feel worried for Azruhar.  As for the mines--I wonder if Azruhar will be put in charge of the mines (hope not) but reading about the labor conditions and Azruhar's opinions about them made me think that you might be hinting at that.

Thank you for another chapter.

 

Yes, it's rather harrowing for him. Herucalmo probably expected it to be empowering or satisfying instead. They absolutely do not understand each other (which is what makes Herucalmo so creepy, I suppose).

Azruhâr probably wouldn't mind being put in charge of a mine (after the initial shock) and being in a position to change the conditions significantly, but he's still expected to do his embalming. So he isn't going to become a mine manager himself. (Phew!)

Thank you for reading and commenting!

 

 

I read all the chapters so far and loved your story, It's so well written! Thank you for this, really.

I decided to reread everything and this time leave coments, don't get your hopes high though I'm not very eloquent... I feel it's the least I could do since your story has been the hightlight of my quarantine days.

This chapter is very good, the first time I read it I immediately wanted to know what would happen next, Azruhâr is a very likeable charecter!

Now on to chapter two!!!

Don't worry about not being eloquent - I love all comments! (But I'll try not to get my hopes up too much. ;))

I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed this story so much and that it could brighten your quarantine days a little, especially as it isn't always a particularly happy story. Thank you so much for letting me know!

Azruhâr is such a pessimist…but them again he has lived a difficult life a has recently gone through an almost execution experience so is very reasonable that he wouldn’t believe the prospect of payment for his work.

It’s a good thing that his coworkers told him that they were equals there, they all had committed crimes and received mercy so he wouldn’t feel completely out of place.

This story portrays the early stages of the Númenorean decline very well by showing the king so afraid of dying and wishing he was immortal like the elves that he puts great value in ways to preserve his body and studies to bring him back to life eventually… The recipe for future chaos! But hey my boy Azruhâr now has a “good” job so I won’t complain.

He's previously had to haggle for pay, too. Being assigned a job without having agreed on a wage first suggests, to him, that there will be no wage. Especially as it's a "get out of jail" job. So he's just being realistic - and very lucky that reality is better than what he expected, for once.

Recipe for future chaos indeed! But yes, for Azruhâr it's a great opportunity. :)