Legends of Belariath
Sarai
Part 17: Undertow
A talk with Sir Undertow...Which I think might upset Mistress Cleothina some...
UnderTow “My full title is Sir UnderTow the Unforgiven but most people merely refer to me as Under or UT. Born in the Moriel society an albino I was instantly labeled a freak. In the Moriel house I was part of it was illegal to own a surface elven slave as they were considered not worthy so I was the closest thing anyone could have had to it. Subsequently I was sold to the Matriarchs seven sisters whom took great delight in the many wicked acts they wished they could be doing to surface elven.. that just about covers my first century of life”
sarai{Ehl} "But you escaped?"
UnderTow “Actually thanks to the Matriarch herself.. little did I know she was actually my mother and as much as she thought me disgusting and even worse, a male, she decided to save my hide and banish me to the surface. Might explain my slight distaste for most Moriel females.. or it could be that most of them are emotionless assholes. When I finished clawing my way out of the ground I found myself rather close to here, out in the woods about a half-days travel”
sarai{Ehl} "But I thought you once owned lots of dark elf slaves...or is that to far ahead in the story Sir?"
UnderTow “That is a bit of a twist in the story my dear.. but where was I... oh yes. I eventually found my way to a smithy whom got me some rag tag armour, a sword and a shield and I was able to steal a mount, setting myself up to actually survive on the surface and this inn was the first place which had a bed I could get to so naturally this became my home for quite a while.. I originally had a disgust for those whom owned slaves until I noticed how slavery is quite different here.”
sarai{Ehl} "So then you began to take slaves?"
UnderTow “I actually remember my first slave rather well.. her name was Amber, quite a spirited young kitten whom made quite a reputation for herself in this inn as well.. she was simply insatiable, she eventually became my first wife until she couldn't handle a monogamous relationship... hey, during those days I was still a goody two shoes so I wanted the good life.. it was after I was forced to kill her that I believe the chaos and darkness within me took root”
sarai{Ehl} “I remember her Sir, she was crazy, kept wanting to kill Cleothina....she wasn’t right in he head Sir”
UnderTow “I know that now, but try and convince me of that then and you'd have been most likely torn to shreds.. I've noticed that doing the right thing leads to wanting the right thing.. and wanting the right thing leads to ignorance. I chose to live my life in worship of chaos, dedicating myself to the dark because I'd rather see the world for what it truly is and play by it's rules than try to trick myself and live a life of misery”
sarai{Ehl} "So then you went all dark and moody, then what happened?”
UnderTow “I studied the art of torture, became damn good too.. Spent a little time as an enforcer in the old slavers guild and saved up enough money to buy my own cabin and finally move out of this place and that was the season I met Cleothina.. I remember her well when she was younger, ambitious and strong willed but lacking appropriate skill.. most people don't know this but did you know I was her first combat trainer in these lands?”
sarai{Ehl} “No I didnt know that Sir...I understand she upset a barbarian and you collared her...I understand she was a slave before that as well, down below...”
UnderTow “that is correct.. Cleo reflected a lot of what I felt when I was younger.. I saw a lot of potential in her and in order to defend her from that particular barbarian whom shall remain nameless I took her under my collar.. Taught her the ways of the surface and was by legal rights able to prevent harm coming to her for her slip ups.. it was the best-worst idea of my life. Her potential was eventually realized and she has climbed to the top of this place.. unfortunately forgetting those whom helped her on her fledgling steps once again a case of good will blinding someone to truth”
sarai{Ehl} "Does that upset you?”
UnderTow “In all honesty that shouldn't even surprise me.. it's dog eat dog and I should have remembered that. My goal came to fruition and I helped along the way one of the powers that be here so in essence I should be proud. After the Cleothina debacle I took a long vacation from these lands, travelling afar and seeing fully what the surface had to offer, coming back and then to see what had happened to the place before shipping off again.. many seasons and many slaves later I decided to return, a rather recent development actually”
sarai{Ehl} "And what does the future hold for Sir UnderTow?"
UnderTow he lifted one hand and tapped the chaos star symbol on his forehead “My faith is my future my dear, chaos. The future simply cannot be predicted nor foreseen but my current plans are to take a slave, perhaps open my own shop, and crush the will of all in this land whom might dare to stand against the coming tides of darkness.. to defile the pure and to remedy the ignorant”
sarai{Ehl} "Well, good luck with that, now if you could sum this all up in one word, what would it be?”
Undertow “Adaptation.”