Female Protagonist Challenge - Shield maid of the Rohirrim: Tales Told in Rohan, by Himring
Title: Tales Told in Rohan (cont.)
Author: Himring
Characters: Eowyn, her father Eomund, her mother Theodwyn, her grandmother Morwen of Lossarnach (brief references to Gleowine the minstrel and Grima Wormtongue)
Rating: PG
Warnings: reference to canonical character deaths
Book/Source: Lord of the Rings (and Appendix A), Unfinished Tales
Disclaimer: Tolkien wrote Eowyn's story first and the section on Rohan in Appendix A later--Himring turned that around a bit.
'It is too far, Eomund', counselled Theodwyn. 'You will be too late to prevent them and you may be cut off without succour. Do not ride out!'
But Eomund went nevertheless and little Eowyn watched during the long hours as Theodwyn dispatched messenger after messenger--to the householders nearby, to lords of the Eastemnet, to her brother at Edoras--and began to receive the reports of scouts.
At dusk, Eowyn's mother stood by the gate with clenched fists--and although her mother said nothing, Eowyn knew she had wanted to ride out with sword and shield after Eomund, regardless of the cost.
***
'Word came from Dunharrow, dark news they brought, and Folca dashed his cup to the floor, swearing he would hunt none but orcs until he had fully avenged the death of his father...'
The tale went on but Eowyn's eyes filled with tears--for the grief of kings of old-- for her father's death and her mother's.
She felt Grima's eyes on her. Until that moment, she had counted him a friend, but something about his gaze disturbed her. Suddenly, for a reason she could not quite fathom, tears felt like a weakness. She shielded herself, lifted her chin high.
***
'You must not call her the Sorceress of the Golden Wood!' said Morwen of Lossarnach. 'She is Galadriel, a princess of the Noldor, and her husband is a Sinda. Do not the Rohirrim themselves say she summoned a fog to be a shield to Eorl's eastern flank when he rode from the North?'
Eowyn listened carefully; her grandmother was not as learned as Lord Denethor, but she could teach much history not well known in Rohan.
When she fell silent, Eowyn asked: 'So she left her home across the Sea to come to Middle-earth and fight, this princess?'
***
Eowyn listened to songs of valiant women in the North, when Frumgar drove out the followers of the Witch King of Angmar east of the Mountains.
'Why do they not have names?' she asked Gleowine, but she saw that her question puzzled him, so she asked Morwen instead.
'The songs speak of Frumgar and Fram, of Leod and Eorl. But when they speak of shield maids, there are no names...'
'I don't know why,' said Morwen, interested. 'Maybe they gave up their name to become shield maids?'
'But why? I would want everyone to know my name,' said Eowyn.
A/N: This is the rest of a series I had originally planned for the Peoples of Middle-earth Challenge, so the first two drabbles also fit the prompt "Orcs" of that challenge, the third is for "Noldor and Sindar", the fourth is for "Men".
The first two drabbles of the series (for "Hobbits" and "Dwarves") are archived here: http://www.lotrgfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=3506
The stories about Frumgar and Folca are in Appendix A. It is also said there that the songs of Rohan about the North name "many lords and warriors, and many fair and valiant women", but the Appendix then proceeds to name no women at all except Hild until Morwen of Lossarnach (we know the name of Hild, Helm's sister, only because she explains the genealogical link between Helm and Frealaf).
The story about Galadriel summoning a fog comes from "Cirion and Eorl" in Unfinished Tales.
I used a free online word count tool (at wordcounttool.net) for this set, being temporarily without access to Word. This gave 4 x 100, but in other counts the word count may be slightly off, sorry.
Author: Himring
Characters: Eowyn, her father Eomund, her mother Theodwyn, her grandmother Morwen of Lossarnach (brief references to Gleowine the minstrel and Grima Wormtongue)
Rating: PG
Warnings: reference to canonical character deaths
Book/Source: Lord of the Rings (and Appendix A), Unfinished Tales
Disclaimer: Tolkien wrote Eowyn's story first and the section on Rohan in Appendix A later--Himring turned that around a bit.
'It is too far, Eomund', counselled Theodwyn. 'You will be too late to prevent them and you may be cut off without succour. Do not ride out!'
But Eomund went nevertheless and little Eowyn watched during the long hours as Theodwyn dispatched messenger after messenger--to the householders nearby, to lords of the Eastemnet, to her brother at Edoras--and began to receive the reports of scouts.
At dusk, Eowyn's mother stood by the gate with clenched fists--and although her mother said nothing, Eowyn knew she had wanted to ride out with sword and shield after Eomund, regardless of the cost.
***
'Word came from Dunharrow, dark news they brought, and Folca dashed his cup to the floor, swearing he would hunt none but orcs until he had fully avenged the death of his father...'
The tale went on but Eowyn's eyes filled with tears--for the grief of kings of old-- for her father's death and her mother's.
She felt Grima's eyes on her. Until that moment, she had counted him a friend, but something about his gaze disturbed her. Suddenly, for a reason she could not quite fathom, tears felt like a weakness. She shielded herself, lifted her chin high.
***
'You must not call her the Sorceress of the Golden Wood!' said Morwen of Lossarnach. 'She is Galadriel, a princess of the Noldor, and her husband is a Sinda. Do not the Rohirrim themselves say she summoned a fog to be a shield to Eorl's eastern flank when he rode from the North?'
Eowyn listened carefully; her grandmother was not as learned as Lord Denethor, but she could teach much history not well known in Rohan.
When she fell silent, Eowyn asked: 'So she left her home across the Sea to come to Middle-earth and fight, this princess?'
***
Eowyn listened to songs of valiant women in the North, when Frumgar drove out the followers of the Witch King of Angmar east of the Mountains.
'Why do they not have names?' she asked Gleowine, but she saw that her question puzzled him, so she asked Morwen instead.
'The songs speak of Frumgar and Fram, of Leod and Eorl. But when they speak of shield maids, there are no names...'
'I don't know why,' said Morwen, interested. 'Maybe they gave up their name to become shield maids?'
'But why? I would want everyone to know my name,' said Eowyn.
A/N: This is the rest of a series I had originally planned for the Peoples of Middle-earth Challenge, so the first two drabbles also fit the prompt "Orcs" of that challenge, the third is for "Noldor and Sindar", the fourth is for "Men".
The first two drabbles of the series (for "Hobbits" and "Dwarves") are archived here: http://www.lotrgfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=3506
The stories about Frumgar and Folca are in Appendix A. It is also said there that the songs of Rohan about the North name "many lords and warriors, and many fair and valiant women", but the Appendix then proceeds to name no women at all except Hild until Morwen of Lossarnach (we know the name of Hild, Helm's sister, only because she explains the genealogical link between Helm and Frealaf).
The story about Galadriel summoning a fog comes from "Cirion and Eorl" in Unfinished Tales.
I used a free online word count tool (at wordcounttool.net) for this set, being temporarily without access to Word. This gave 4 x 100, but in other counts the word count may be slightly off, sorry.