Topic: An Charraig Aonair (The Rock That Stands Alone)

Peredhil · Date: 2009-02-07 19:56 EST

Peredhil watched the sun?s last rays cast long shadows over the city below, like slim fingers grasping desperately at a cliff?s edge. A soft breeze stirred his blond hair and his grey cloak as he stood motionless on the hill, oblivious to the slow passage of time and the icy cold that burrowed deep into his bones.

He clutched two crumpled sheets of paper in his right hand. Both troubled him deeply, although for very different reasons. He glanced over his shoulder at the large manor home behind him. Juliane was somewhere inside, probably cuddled up by a crackling fire with a good book and a hot cup of tea. Wondering, no doubt, why he persisted in standing outside in sub-zero temperatures.

He had not told her about either of the letters. She had enough to worry about, or that had been his justification at least, although he knew that it was only partially true.

Peredhil · Date: 2009-02-08 00:20 EST

The first letter had arrived four days ago. His breath had caught in his throat when he?d noticed the return address. It came from Suzie MacMahon, his aunt?s best friend in Landar, his childhood home. With trembling hands, he ripped open the envelope and read the contents, eliciting a soft cry of anguish at the news that his Aunt Bea had passed away. Flopping down onto the front step of his home, he felt too numb to cry. She?d been like a mother to him, raising him in her home and showering him with love. Yet he?d turned his back on her, leaving in anger a few years ago, upset that she would not reveal anything about his parents and desperate to see the world outside of Landar over her objections that it was too dangerous. He could still see her standing there at the doorway, wearing an apron, her silver hair pulled back into a bun. She?d called out to him, begging him to turn around, promising to tell all if only he?d stay. But he hadn?t turned back, shutting out her pleas as he strode away. He?d never returned, and they never spoke again.

Rereading the last few sentences, each one felt like a hammer?s blow to his heart:

She never got over your departure, Peredhil. She never stopped blaming herself for it. But she never stopped loving you either. She loved you like her own son. Which you were, for she had nobody else. You were everything to her.

He had wandered around for three days in a state of listlessness, which Juliane, despite her own manifold concerns, had commented on. But Peredhil had lied to her, had told her that he was just concerned about Johnny, or Tali, or Hudson, or Sianna ? there were so many crises that virtually anything could have been an excuse ? and Juli hadn?t pressed the issue.

Peredhil · Date: 2009-02-16 00:07 EST

The second letter had arrived a few days later. Unlike the previous one, there was no return address. When he opened it, there was only a single written line:

You are not the only one to uphold the family name.

At first glance, it had seemed to be a cruel hoax, some last-ditch effort by one of his former tormenters in Landar to heckle him for being different, for being parentless, for so many things. Anger coursed through his veins as he was seized by a furious desire for vengeance. But the fury quickly subsided when he took another glance at the note, noticing that he?d overlooked the obvious?it was written in Elvish. Nobody, least of all the boorish bullies who?d tried to make his childhood a living hell, spoke or wrote Elvish in Landar.

The next thought was of Eadwine. But he?d turned out to be nothing more than a clever shapeshifter, not Peredhil?s ?dark twin?.

Letters in hand, Peredhil went off in search of the only one he felt he could burden with this unexpected turn of events.

Peredhil · Date: 2009-03-25 16:42 EST

"He's the wanderer looking for his long lost home
He's only got one place to go." - O.A.R.

For the past month, Peredhil had ignored the urge to seek out answers. When he wasn't busy redecorating the home according to Juliane's good taste (far better than his!) or accompanying Sianna and the new twins, he took long walks in the woods around Rhydin, trying to lose himself in nature in order to forget his worldly problems. It had worked for a while, and he'd almost forgotten the two letters, but eventually the novelty had worn off.

So he'd sought out Wes, who, after reading both letters, had promptly removed several Badsiders from his icebox. Opening two of the bottles, he handed one to Peredhil and leaned back in his chair, taking a long swig of ale.

"It could mean many things, Peredhil," he said. "Or nothing. Why worry about it now when you have everything you need here in Rhydin?"

Peredhil shook his head. "I don't know. Juliane is everything I need." He did not tell Wes how it had felt to grow up without parents and siblings, but Wes' expression was a clear indication that he was able to read between the lines.

"Does Juliane know?" Wes asked. When Peredhil shook his head, he added softly, "Then perhaps it's time to tell her."