Gloming Dark: Beowulf shortfic
Or: In which I abandon my standards at the behest of goblinpaladin.
Title: Gloming Dark (Yeah, uh. Didn't know what to title it so I followed the grand old Medievalist principle of naming the text by the first noun phrase therein.)
Fandom: Beowulf (Various eds & trans used- Klaeber's ed; Liuzza's trans; Heaney's trans.)
Characters: Beowulf, Unferth and Wiglaf in an unpleasant triangle which I shall not honour with the term 'slash'.
Rating: R, for non-con.
Word Count: 279. This one was hard enough to do without forcing it into a neat word count.
Appertaining Warnings: As above, non-con. Also, I've been translating Beowulf for several hours tonight, so have a Weird Medieval-oid Syntax Warning.
Prompt: goblinpaladin wanted Beowulf/Unferth, which isn't what he's getting, but this will have to do. It is written, it shall be read, and it shall never be spoken of again. Particularly not in the hearing of certain lecturer-types, understand?
In the gloming dark one slinks, unblessed creature in the fearful night; in the shadows of the lesser hall he waits: with eyes and ears he observes the great hall-building. The thoughts of his heart are unpeaceful and begrudging.
Comes another- the young warrior, a loyal follower and true, he has yet barely reached full manhood. He seeks out the wretched one, the shadow-lurker, and speaks angry words to him. He did not love the words the other spoke in the hall; the young warrior loves the honour of his lord too well. They two speak hateful words; the younger seeks to shame the elder one by a test of strength. They struggle together in the shadows: they are well matched. The young warrior is bold and keen, but the cunning one has more years of strength, and he is not honourable in the fight.
From the great hall strife rings out: the sounds of struggle, noise of destruction- a terrible cry. The young warrior fears for his lord- although the hero is mighty- and he falters in his struggle. The older one is not honourable- he presses his advantage, pins the younger at his mercy: he inflicted great shame upon him there.
After that shameful time, Unferth cast Wiglaf from him, and returned himself to the lesser hall to wait for tidings of the great hero. He was not unhappy, that unblessed man, when Beowulf came forth in victory. It pleased his ill-thinking heart to join brave warriors to celebrate the triumph of the Geat in the hall of the Scyldings, for he knew the secret shame a Scylding had given to the loyal one of the Geats.
Title: Gloming Dark (Yeah, uh. Didn't know what to title it so I followed the grand old Medievalist principle of naming the text by the first noun phrase therein.)
Fandom: Beowulf (Various eds & trans used- Klaeber's ed; Liuzza's trans; Heaney's trans.)
Characters: Beowulf, Unferth and Wiglaf in an unpleasant triangle which I shall not honour with the term 'slash'.
Rating: R, for non-con.
Word Count: 279. This one was hard enough to do without forcing it into a neat word count.
Appertaining Warnings: As above, non-con. Also, I've been translating Beowulf for several hours tonight, so have a Weird Medieval-oid Syntax Warning.
Prompt: goblinpaladin wanted Beowulf/Unferth, which isn't what he's getting, but this will have to do. It is written, it shall be read, and it shall never be spoken of again. Particularly not in the hearing of certain lecturer-types, understand?
In the gloming dark one slinks, unblessed creature in the fearful night; in the shadows of the lesser hall he waits: with eyes and ears he observes the great hall-building. The thoughts of his heart are unpeaceful and begrudging.
Comes another- the young warrior, a loyal follower and true, he has yet barely reached full manhood. He seeks out the wretched one, the shadow-lurker, and speaks angry words to him. He did not love the words the other spoke in the hall; the young warrior loves the honour of his lord too well. They two speak hateful words; the younger seeks to shame the elder one by a test of strength. They struggle together in the shadows: they are well matched. The young warrior is bold and keen, but the cunning one has more years of strength, and he is not honourable in the fight.
From the great hall strife rings out: the sounds of struggle, noise of destruction- a terrible cry. The young warrior fears for his lord- although the hero is mighty- and he falters in his struggle. The older one is not honourable- he presses his advantage, pins the younger at his mercy: he inflicted great shame upon him there.
After that shameful time, Unferth cast Wiglaf from him, and returned himself to the lesser hall to wait for tidings of the great hero. He was not unhappy, that unblessed man, when Beowulf came forth in victory. It pleased his ill-thinking heart to join brave warriors to celebrate the triumph of the Geat in the hall of the Scyldings, for he knew the secret shame a Scylding had given to the loyal one of the Geats.