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Tales of Life  by Aelaer

Ok, if you look at the quote below, it says he went South and East before he returned to Lorien. However, he got to Lorien by summer 2980, but left Gondor earlier that year. I'm going to assume that he left Gondor in the very beginning of the year, so he has three to four months to explore the east and south, and about two months to make it to Lorien (since he made it all the way from the Dead Marshes to North Mirkwood in 50 days- bloody impressive).


Prompt 32: Stars
Ficlet: Where the Stars are Strange
Rating: G
The Harad Road, March 2980

'He rode in the host of the Rohirrim, and fought for the Lord of Gondor by land and by sea; and then in the hour of victory he passed out of knowledge of Men of the West, and went alone for into the East and deep into the South, exploring the hearts of Men.'- Appendix A

Aragorn was not quite sure how long he had been in this country. He knew it was a good few weeks- at least six, perhaps as many as eight. He was usually good at keeping track of the days, but for these long, long weeks, he had more important things to concentrate on.

Immediately after leaving Gondor and Thorongil behind, he had followed the road that led to the Crossing of Poros. He crossed the river a mile west of the crossing, and from there on made way to the Harad Road. He had followed it for many a long league, going across the Harnen and beyond the dotted line drawn on the old maps of Gondor. The farther he went south and east, the easier it was to find tribes unaffiliated with the Eye. He had, of course, encountered many of the Enemy, but that is a tale for another time.

Now he traveled north along the road, making his way to an oasis he knew to be but a mile further. He slowly, but surely put one foot in front of another, doing his best to ignore the biting winds tearing at his clothing and the little skin he had exposed. He was careful to not leave the road, for there was no moon that night, and the stars shone little.

The stars- oh, how could a thing of comfort bring such confusion and sorrow? He glanced up, wishing to see the familiar stars of the North, to see the stars he grew up with. But of course, the stars were of the South, and they were unfamiliar and strange. Aragorn almost wished that he were traveling by day; Anor, at the least, was the same. However, the southern Sun was cruel and unforgiving, and the chilly night air was much more bearable in the desert.

Aragorn turned his head from the sky back to the earth; he was being a fool, wishing for familiar stars. He would see them again, but he was simply wasting time by staring and yearning for something he could not have. For now, he needed to concentrate on getting to the oasis before the dawn came; his water was nearly gone.

With that thought in mind, he continued on against the wind at a steady pace; the sooner he was out of this desolate land, the sooner he could see his stars.





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