The Tale of Uinen and the Mariner (a short story, dont worry)

[Beor]

Here is a little story that I jotted down today. I like it, so I am posting it. Please, if you read it, let me know if it is any good, or if it is garbage . Just thought it might be cool. Here ya go.


The Tale of Uinen and the Mariner

Long ago, in the early waning days of Numenor, there was a mariner who owned a small fishing boat, and never went far from the coasts. His boat was small, having but one sail, and two oars, and had only enough room for a man and a day’s catch. The mariner fished everyday off the coasts of Rommenos, catching fish for the people of the coast. His love was for the sea, for the calmness of the vast waters, and for the fish he caught, loving them for offering themselves to make other lives more full and pleasant. The people to whom he gave the fish he caught were always happy and never greedy in receiving his store, and he was always generous.

Now, little love had the mariners of the big boats for this little fisherman, though he could drive a ship as well as any of them. They laughed at him, and scorned his pride whenever they saw him in his little vessel in the bay of the city of Rommenos. He never said any ill in retort, rather, he held his tounge, and continued to bring in his fish, for all the people who depended upon him for their meal, for in the later days of its noon, not all had such things as the king and the lords, as they hoarded much, and demanded taxes even from their own people, if they did not fit in with the king’s narrow mind.

On a time, it came that many ships were put in port, and many a warrior and mariner stayed about the coasts of Rommenos. Many of these men would taunt him, and they would drive their ships at him, veering away only at the last moment, before they crushed the hull of his little ship. Fishing became more difficult in this time, as the fish refused to be ensnared by such men, and they fled, and only a very few fish could he catch in a day. He began to sail further then, to find the fish that he used to catch. It was one of these days, when he was sojourning far, following a school of brightly colored fish north, towards the opening of the bay to the sea, that he came upon a rock jutting from the sea. The rock was sharply pointed with a somewhat flat surface at its top, level and big enough for no more than three men to stand upon. Upon the rock, was a maiden. She sat upon the rock and played a soft melody upon a conch shell, and this melody seemed to have the sound of many strings and harps and chimes upon it, so that it sounded like the sea, and he was entranced by it, but moreso by the maid, for she was lovely beyond his reckoning. Her hair fell in tangled brown locks to the middle of her back, and her face was fair, as if she was of the firstborn. She was clothed in a raimament that was as seaweed, gnarled and torn, yet beautiful with the light of the sun reflecting off of it, as it did off of the sea. She played on her shell oblivious to his gaze, as he drew closer to the rock.

She turned towards him, and when she met his gaze, she smiled gently, and turned back to the sea. He stood upon the prow of his little ship and wondered at what such beauty was doing playing such beautiful music upon a little rock in the bay.

She continued her tune for a moment, and he sat there looking awefully upon her, unaware that the wind had begun to blow back towards the coast, and that it was moving his ship upon its gentle breeze. Perhaps he would have noticed, had he been moving away from the rock, but he was not. The magic in that tune moved it with the ship, upon her command, so that he did not know that he was moving within sight of shore, and the men on the ships laughed that his little ship was sailing backwards, against the will of its master.

Then the wind stopped, and a gust hit his sail from the other way, stopping the ship, and the rock with the maiden stopped. The arms of the shore reached out on both sides, but he did not see them, he saw only the woman playing the shell upon the rock.

When all had stopped, she stopped her tune, and turned to see him. He wanted to hear more music, so beautiful had it been, and the ceasing of it saddened him. She stood, and her full beauty was displayed before him, with the light of the morning sun behind her. He was amazed, and could not move, until she withdrew her gaze, and the sea seemed to become calm beyond calm. All noises ceased, and there was silence even as far as the shore.

Now a new tune started, and he could not see the players of the instruments, if any indeed existed. It was the sound of hollow wood as drums and many different chimes, and had a melody of a large bass, and flutes and other pipes of wood. The maiden smiled upon him, and extended her arms at him. He put out his oars to row to her, mistaking her gesture for a beckoning.

Before he could get closer to her than oar’s reach, she began to dance upon the stone, a vigorous dance, and confusing, a beautiful intricate dance, and it began to accelerate, until the movements of her arms and body were as the waves breaking against each other in a gale, and as the tides swallowing the shore, or the ships.

As the dance accelerated, so did the wind, and he felt it hit his body, and his sail was filled. The sound of waves being kindled was heard as thunder in the deeps, and small laps of water broke against his ship.

He was released from his trance as a wave overtook his ship, and he was soaked with the salty waters. He felt again the wind, and his boat was tossed back. He ran to the mast and furled the sail, trying to stop the wind from moving his ship against his will. The wind continued to gain speed and dark clouds gathered over head. The mariner turned to row his small vessel in to the safety of the shore, but wanting another look at the maiden, he turned to see her. Her dance had stopped, and a massive wave had picked up behind her and the rock she stood upon. He was filled with dread, feeling that the maid would be crushed by the wave, so he unfurled his sail and turned towards the rock against the wave. Just as the wind caught his sail, she began dancing even more vigorously than before, and there was such a sudden gust of wind, that it blew his small ship past the rock and directly into the massive wave. He looked as he went by and she was dancing happily away, smiling sweetly at him as she did.

He had no other choice. He was now caught in the middle of a sudden spring gale, with nothing to do but ride the wave and keep his ship and his life only with what skill he had as a shiphand.


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