Ja-zel's words resonated beneath the fatalistic mantle that had settled over the council, as all awaited the words that would officially seal the doom of the twins. Mithrandir looked at the arisen Lyoness, feeling once again the strange sense of connection that he had first experienced when she was introduced to him as Erestor's bonded mate.
{ Aye, ancient one. Your kind were known and honored among my people. }
Along with those mind-spoken words, Ja-zel sent an image that profoundly shocked him, though only the widening of his eyes betrayed any hint of his emotions. He recuperated quickly, however, as understanding dawned.
" Come forth, Lady Ja-zel, and speak what you will before the council." He said.
At that point, Calenorn once again rose to his feet. " Nay!." He cried. " The doom of the accused has been decided. By what right does this lady now seek to have her say?!."
It was Ja-zel who answered him, thus also giving answer to all those present.
" By the right of kingship." She said, simply.
A stunned silence fell over the council as the elves and Aragorn gaped at her, their faces fully showing the shock that Mithrandir had managed to conceal, only moments before. Even Erestor looked at his mate thus. For although he had known that there were some things she had been forbidden to speak of, never would he have guessed them to be of such import to the fate of the twins. But like Mithrandir, he recuperated quickly, his agile mind figuring out what his beloved was about.
Only one remained serene in the wake of Ja-zel's words.
The Lady of Light relaxed into the backrest of her chair, a nearly imperceptible smile curving her lips, for this moment was one she had long ago seen in the waters of her mirror...
The next elf to rise to his feet was Elrond. His grey eyes bore into those of the Lyoness with such intensity, that a lesser being would have crumbled under their stare. But she returned it calmly, understanding the reasons behind it.
" How can this be?." He asked, his voice harsh from the effort of containing the sudden rush of his emotions. " How can you now make such a claim?. In all the lore of the elves, there has never been any mention of your kind!."
" Aye, my Lord Elrond." She answered. " Yet you know that two of our respective races did cross paths, once. For is not my mate the very evidence of it?." She voiced her own question, sweeping one arm towards the place where Erestor sat.
All eyes followed her gesture to alight upon the stoic figure of the advisor.
" Yet it is neither through the blood of elvenkind, nor of Lyons that my claim is made." Ja-zel continued, bringing their attention back to where she stood. " For my connection with your cubs, Lord of the waterfalls, comes from a far more ancient source."
That statement served to fully engage the curiosity of her listeners. Even Calenorn put aside his rabid objections, in favor of this titillating mystery. And with one last smile to her mate, Ja-zel set about satisfying their curiosity, sending images into the minds of her audience, as she began to speak...
" Long ago, a large group of humans chose to part ways from the cities of their kin, going deep into the harsh land that lay at the very heart of Harad. There, they became a nomadic tribe, herding their sturdy flocks of goats from desert, to savannah and back again. These people called themselves the Be-D'uin; people of the sand. And they not only survived, but thrived in this enviroment that all others had forsaken.
They knew where to find the great waterholes, hidden among the seemingly endless dunes. Oasis, was the name given to these havens, where lush grass provided forage for the herds and where low trees, covered by small leaves, gave welcomed respite from the searing heat. There too, were found the Pal-ma trees that grow nowhere else in all the lands. These Pal-mas became the very staple that nourished the lifeblood of the tribe. Their bark and fronds were used for everything, from fuel for the cooking fires, to fibers for the weaving of baskets and sleeping mats. While their clustered fruits, called Da-tes, were as nutritious and tasty as the traveller's fare you call Lembas."
The eyes of the Lyoness became distant as she, herself, was lost in the images her mind was conjuring for the others. And her voice took on an almost sing-song quality, as she continued.
" It was a simple life they led, these simple people. No cities did they build, for it had been the desire to escape the fettering of such that had driven them to the desert in the first place. Instead, they crafted great tents, tightly woven from the thick winter coats of their flocks, for the cold season of these lands were as harsh as the summers. And thus, each family carried their very home and all their wares with them, strapped onto the backs of Ka-mels, which were the tribe's prized beasts of burden.
In their isolation, they answered not to the great rulers of the cities and likewise ignored, they suffered not under their often brutal dominion. But the Be-D'uin were not without laws. The tribe was headed by a ' Sheik'. It was a title that passed to the first-born of every ruler, be the babe male or female, for our people depended equally on both genders. Nor was the task of governing the tribe the sole province of this Sheik, for he or she was aided by the wisdom of the D'uin-Al-Lajim: The Council of Elders. It was a benevolent and beneficial form of rulership. And under it, the tribe grew exponentially over the next few generations.
Until at last a Sheik, Nu-san, saw the wisdom in dividing what had become an unmanageable number, into smaller populations. She bestowed mantles of leadership upon three others -two males and one female- who all came from families known for their wisdom and honor, bidding that they take as many people with them, as would follow. And so it was that the immense heart of Harad came to be roamed by four newly-named tribes: The Ber-Ber; the Jal-Pur; the Teh-Ran and the Ral-Kir. Though they all still considered themselves to be Be-D'uin, as a whole.
It was towards the end of the third century after the splintering of the great tribe, that I was born. A second daughter to the Sheik that was himself, a descendant of the female who had founded the Jal-Pur tribe."
Ja-zel's lips curved into a smile as she saw the atonished looks from those gathered at the council.
" Aye, I was born human." She said...
TBC...