Time is passing. Much has changed since the death of Léofwine. No longer does his sword and his shield fight to defend the land of Rohan. His life is spent now - like a fire burnt down to mere embers after his passing. Flowers grow on his burial mount. Ivy twines around the trees of the forest.
Much is different - yet now at the threshold of this age, when Mearhe of Rohan stands ready to engrave her own permanent mark on the history of her land, some things remain. Old memories alive in the heart, like a fire ready to be rekindled.
ALDBURG, ROHAN February T.A. 3011
Closing the door behind herself, Mearhe slip silently over to the flickering flames of the fire where two thick logs were burning into the hearth. For a moment, she waits and stares into the fire, watching as the wood is beginning to be consumed and enjoy the warmth upon her face.
Her sword, too, feels nice and heavy in her hand, somehow… ready. Urging her to strike. How to find her enemy, she know not....not yet at least, not today.The daughter of Éodain directs her steps over towards the cradle.
Rubbing a hand across her eyes, Mearhe looks upon her infant son, young and strong, dressed in the colors of his father's House. Her face lit up in a rare smile of joy as she stretches her arms out towards him.
Gently lifting the child from his bed, she cradles him tenderly, ignoring the stiffness in her body after the long ride. Suddenly a tall figure appears to take shape behind her, there a man stands towering over the mother and the son.
Mearhe turns and face Léofwine, appearing with his arms wide open, ready to hold her and their son, but as soon as takes a step towards him he begins to fade and only dust motes of a memory swirls in the golden light of the sunset as her name is called in a whisper on the breeze.
He came to save her, and then he was gone. Gentle, caring, solid healing mountain, protective as a tree in the forest. Shining a light of joy and happiness every day. Simple things, precious moments.
The mother and the son live. Their life goes on full of hope that shall not fade. Léofwine has passed from substance to memory, and there he shall remain until such time when they will be reunited.
There are other, more immediate signs that life is moving forward. Her smile once often shared has faded somewhat, but can still be seen at times. Léofwine's circlet on her brow- its weight a welcome reminder of him.
Mearhe is not the darkness she endured, she is the light that refuses to be dimmed. She is not what happened to her, she is what she chose to become - dignity, honor, kindness, and above all, hope!
Artwork by me
