LOTR Ficlet: Wishing

[martasfic]

Title: Wishing
Fandom: Lord of the rings
Characters: Aragorn
Prompt: BMEM09 Day 28; fanfic100 prompt #55, spirit
Word Count: 200
Rating: General
Summary: In Harad, Aragorn muses on hope.

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The deserts were full of houseless spirits, jinn in the Haradric tongue. Aragorn had been warned to flee from their sight, for they had little love for outlanders. It had seemed an amusing story, when first the servant-child had told him not to polish his dagger overmuch. Yet grown men – even lords – seemed to fear them. The Haradrim thought them long-dead lords who lingered in Middle-earth, great princes who could offer great gifts – but at a price.

Aragorn knew better than to believe such things. Men did not linger in that way, or if they did they were bound to the Nameless One and so no longer had gifts to offer; but it was still tantalizing, to think of such possibilities. He so longed to see his mother’s face again, to feel Arwen’s warm breath behind his ear as she came close. Even robes free of the sand’s grit, would be welcome indeed.

But no. He was estel, fated to be hope for the whole world beyond himself; and so he must be perfect, complete. If he lacked in himself, what could he offer?

He shielded his eyes from the bright mid-day sun, and began to climb the next dune.

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Note: Obviously the jinn of Harad are different from the jinn of Arabic mythology. They are my own mythology for this story and, while I have coopted the name, I don't mean to make any claim about the truth of that culture's folklore or on Tolkien's world.