Aule's Dilemma by Uvatha the Horseman  

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Tour of the Mansions of Aule

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The Mansions of Aulë - Present Day (TA 3018)

Aulë led the newcomers across the courtyard to the Mansions of Aulë. The Mansions of Aulë was a vast compound, three stories tall, addition upon addition. Extensions from the main building wrapped around a central courtyard. The Forge had its own wing.

The tall double doors were bound with iron strap-hinges, the decorative curlicues suggesting the branches of a tree. Aulë pulled the door handle. The massive door swung open on silent hinges as if it had no weight at all.

Inside the paneled entry hall, a broad staircase led to the upper floors. Walnut paneling, dark with age, covered every wall from floor to ceiling.

"What is that list, carved into the panel next to the stairs?" asked Rose.

She pointed to a panel carved with a list of names. Aulë normally avoided looking at it. Some of the Maiar named on it were no longer here.

Aulë kept his voice steady. "Those are the names of every Maia who ever served here, in the order they joined the household. Once you've settled in, I'll include your names on the panel, too."

Aulë led them deeper into the house. The dining hall had a high vaulted ceiling. A row of iron chandeliers hung from the ceiling over the table, spaced an arm's span apart. Each held half a dozen beeswax candles. The table ran almost the length of the room.

Brightly colored murals decorated the walls. "Do you recognize those images? You should. They're scenes from the Ainulindalë, the Creation of the World. Since you took part in the Ainulindalë, they should all be familiar to you."

"At least to those of you who paid attention through the whole thing." Rose and Copper exchanged a nervous look.

"But back to the here and now. There are a number of Maiar in the Mansions at any one time, but we need at least that many to run a house this size. You're here to learn the craft and to support me as smiths, but you'll also work as household servants."

Aulë led the newcomers through the door to kitchens, The thick door jamb revealed that the walls in this part of the Mansions were as wide as old-growth tree trunks. He ducked under the lintel and motioned for the others to follow.

"Watch your heads. That means you, Bronze. The ceilings are low, and the ceiling beams are lower."

Soot blackened the wall over the fireplace, as well as the ceiling beams above it. The floor had settled over time, making it slope towards the windows. A split of firewood under one leg of the worktable kept it level. He waited until they had all assembled inside, the three newcomers with Rhosfindel shepherding them from the back.

"You are standing in the oldest part of the Mansion, built when we cut a clearing in the forest and built these walls from the fallen trees. Look up, and you'll notice the ceiling beams are rough-hewn logs. You can still see the tool marks on them. The original Forge was housed in here, hearth and bellows and anvils."

"You can still see the ghost of the first Forge. Look on the slate floor for the outlines of the massive fireplaces and chimneys, and of workbenches that were built against the walls. In the earliest days, we kept our tools, and the hearth sheltered under a roof, even when we ourselves slept outdoors. Iron rusts. We don't."

"I only minded when it rained," said Rhosfindel.

Aulë continued with the tour. "Look around. Get familiar with the kitchens. You're going to spend a lot of time here. Besides your lessons in the Forge, which will take most of the day, you'll cook and serve meals, and do the washing up afterwards.

Copper whispered to Rose, "Now I get it. Maiar are slaves."

Aulë glared at them. "Maia means servant, it doesn't mean slave. You can leave whenever you want." Which some of his people had done: to join other households, to explore the world, to fight in the wars. It was their right to move around, but he still felt hurt whenever one of his people left.

There was a loud crack. "Ow!" Bronze rubbed his forehead. A red mark appeared above his eyebrow.

Aulë spoke sternly. "I warned you that would happen. When we're next in the Forge, I'm going to tell you not to touch grey metal and to think before handling sharp tools. Will you listen to me then?"

Bronze wasn't listening, as far as Aulë could tell. The new apprentice stared at the blackened beam where his head had struck, tracing the wood with his fingers.

"Are you blaming your injury on the beam? Somehow, I don't think it was at fault," said Aulë.

Bronze said, "There's something written here. It looks like a pair of initials."

Under the soot, the letters MA were carved into the side of the beam closest to the fireplace, the letters intertwined in a pleasing symmetrical design. Aulë's throat tightened.

"Who was MA?" asked Bronze.

"He was my first Maia, and the most gifted apprentice I ever taught. He went to war and never returned." Aulë kept his voice steady, but it was hard.

"What happened?" Bronze looked grave.

Aulë held up a hand. "Enough said. We don't talk about him under this roof."

In the back of the group, Rhosfindel whispered to Copper, "He can't come home because he committed war crimes. He'd be arrested the moment he set foot on our shores." Aulë shot him a look that could freeze fire.

They left the kitchens and made their way back to the Front Hall. Yavanna appeared in a doorway. Aulë's heart leapt. He hadn't expected her back so soon, not in the beginning of April when the farmlands and meadows of Arda, an ocean away, needed her attention.

She wore a green dress, closely fitted, with a wreath of wildflowers on her head. Her hair, the color of rich dark earth, hung in waves to her waist. There were women more beautiful than she, or of higher rank, but none were more beloved to him.

"This is my lady wife. You will address her as Lady Yavanna, or My Lady for short. You are my Maiar servants and not hers. She has Maiar of her own. But if she asks you to do something, like move heavy furniture or fetch something from upstairs, you will do it." The three apprentices nodded solemnly.

Aulë told his Chief Maia to take the new arrivals up to the dormitory and show them where they would sleep. The dormitory was in the attic of the Mansions, in a crowded space under the rafters. Narrow cots had been crammed together wherever they would fit. Aulë had all his apprentices sleep in the dormitory. He believed that being made to live in close quarters would force them to learn how to get along.

Their footfalls faded as the group climbed to the third floor, leaving Aulë alone in the dark-paneled front hall with his lady. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her hair. She smelled of wildflowers and moss and new-turned earth.

"Your body feels like a clenched fist," she said.

"One of the new people noticed Mairon's initials carved into a beam in the kitchen, long-since hidden under the soot. I'd forgotten it was there."

"How are you feeling about that?" Yavanna asked.

     I don't want to talk about my feelings. I'd rather hit my own thumb with a hammer, repeatedly.

She waited, watching him with kind eyes.

"I disowned him when I learned what he did. Since then, I've worked hard not to think of him at all." Aulë pulled away to end the conversation. She held on.

"Try harder."

"I'm angry. I'm disappointed. I have trouble believing he was capable of such terrible crimes. Of all the apprentices I've ever had, he was my favorite. I could … it's just that … When I think about what happened, I want to choke him to death with my bare hands."

The group came back downstairs, a clattering of feet on the stairway treads heralding their appearance. Aulë let go of his wife.

"We'll talk later." She squeezed his arm and slipped away.

Aulë took the newcomers on a tour of the Forge, where they would learn the craft and, hopefully, if they had a vocation for it and put in the work, they would gain a high level of skill.