Legends of Belariath

Krom

The Journey North

Far off in the great mountains of the North lays a village. A village that was once strong, that once teemed with the burning passions of hundreds of Barbarians. The cold chill of the night air seemed to surround the mountains, nipping at the noses of the small travelling party heading north towards that same village, their eyes following the road with a quiet somber mood. These travelers were heading for Heldar, ruined Barbarian village of the Clan of the Wolves Blood.

The trio trudged through the night, not stopping for rest or nourishment, seeing the slight plateau in the hills were the ruins of Heldar surely lay. The air about them was silent save for the clanking of metal and the chiming of little slave bells that seemed to announce the presence of Krom and his two slaves janessa and nimiane. The two slave girls held one another close as they walked, huddled beneath a thick fur coat, whispering softly to one another as they traveled, but now within almost sight range of Heldar even the two giggling slave girls were quiet.

Krom had told his slaves of what to expect, mentioning that his village was nearly burned to the ground and that all but a few had died in a raid on the village. He spoke of visiting his brothers’ graves and then he said nothing more, the remainder of the trip he kept his silence, letting the thoughts and memories flood his mind. As his boots stepped over the snow he had to blink once, thinking for a brief moment that the blood that had stained the snow so many years ago was still running through the path that they walked upon. His nostril’s flared slightly, smelling the sulfurous scent of fire, turning his eyes towards the flickering glow upon the plateau. There was life within Heldar, but the question was simply what sort of life would he be walking in upon?

The group walked quietly up the hill to the plateau, Krom gently nudging his two girls behind him, stepping cautiously in concern of what might await him. With the soft crunch of his boots upon the freshly fallen snow a tiny twig cracked beneath him and all within the span of a few seconds four large barbarian men rushed forward with a loud cry that seemed to echo through the mountains. Two of the men quickly seized Krom before he had the chance to reach for his great sword, the men holding him firm, pulling him towards the village as the other two men caught the two girls, grabbing each of their leashes to tug them forward behind Krom.

A million thoughts raced through Krom’s mind in the instant of his being caught. His first instinct was to wrestle free and slay these men where they stood, but their strength was superior, having him off guard and unarmed. His eyes glanced back towards his slaves, with a stern look as if to indicate that they should be quiet and calm. His head snapped back to face forward as a bare chested man strode forward, the imprint of a large hand burned into the flesh of his chest.

"I am Karoth, Elder of the Clan of the Red Fists!" the man said loudly, his voice booming out over the silence of the others. "Who are you and from where do you hail?"

Krom’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the man, the muscles of his arms flexing beneath the grasp of his captors "I am Master Krom of the Wolves Blood Clan of Heldar, son of Faldan, destroyer of Dancrak’s minions" he said with a sharp intonation, grinding his teeth together as he looked at the man standing before him.

"I should have assumed as much, there are others of your Clan here. Release him. I have many words to share with this man." Karoth said, motioning the two large Barbarians away from Krom with a flick of his wrist. The men released Krom as he pulled his arms back sharply from them. "And take the trained ones to the hut of the Great Mother." He finished as the two men began to pull the girls away. Nimiane’s eyes flashed with anger while janessa’s began to swell with tears, her scream echoing out through the village as she was pulled away. Nimiane turned quickly, pushing away from her captor with a burning fury as janessa cried out "Master!"

Krom’s hand shot forward quickly, wrapping his thick meaty fingers around Karoth’s throat. "Where ye be takin my slaves?" He growled, clenching his hand around the man’s neck. Then suddenly to Krom’s own surprise the man snapped back quickly with a sharp swat of his forearm against Krom’s pushing it away.

"I advise you to control your anger Wolves Blood, the Red Fist now run Heldar. Your slaves will not be harmed, now come with me." The man said firmly, his eyes shifting once to indicate the positions of men posted around the fenced wall of Heldar, their spears and cross bows trained on Krom.

Krom nodded to him and stepped back once, motioning with a flick of his hand for the girl’s to follow those who were to take them away and with that the two slaves were gone from his sight with no more than a whimper from their throats. The man who called himself Karoth led Krom to a large open arena where two large Barbarian men were battling in full armor, practicing their skills. As Krom looked about he saw that Heldar was not the decaying ruin he had expected it to be, it was in fact teeming with life. A large hut lay off in the distance, surrounded by three smaller ones. The houses had been rebuilt and from them swayed the alluring bodies of women moving through the street ways.

As the women stepped past Krom and Karoth their eyes would flicker over them briefly and would smile slightly as they noted Krom’s tattoos. One such woman passed by Krom and as she did he noticed something unusual about her, a painted palm gracing the back of her gown, the print about the size of a warrior’s hand. Her soft hips swished the skirt of her gown with an alluring grin to her lips as she cast her eyes back to him and continued moving down the path along with the other passing women. Karoth smirked slightly as a thick hand moved to smack against the other barbarian’s shoulder.

"Come Krom of the Wolves Blood. We have much to talk about." He said with a strong nod of his head, turning to walk around the arena, moving towards the large hut that Krom had previously noticed. As Krom followed behind the rather large man before him he let his eyes move cautiously out over the village that had once been his home. Many things had changed and even the barbarian could sense that something great was about to happen to him here. The men approached the hut and Krom noticed behind it a hut of smaller size. On the outside of the building the shape of men’s palms were etched in the wood crudely. The man before him pushed open the wooden door of the hut and motioned Krom inside.

Inside the hut Krom balked slightly, the thick scent of smoke assaulting his nose as the room was filled with the smell, trickling up through a tiny hole in the ceiling. It took him a moment to adjust to the dim light and the smoky haze of the room but eventually his vision cleared and he could see all that was before him. Karoth moved to sit down on one of the benches that lined the main room they sat in. Krom could see in the room two other barbarian men, the one seeming vaguely familiar to him as his eyes shifted over to the farthest corner of the room, pausing there for a moment as he saw a kneeling slave girl. He watched her a moment, noting the fall of her long blond hair that tumbled down and over her shoulders, brushing against the soft gown of silk that she wore. Her bright blue eyes lowered submissively to the ground. He grunted slightly and nodded to himself, acknowledging the girl’s beauty as he sat down on the bench across from the three other men. Once Krom was seated the slave girl immediately moved to kneel before him, holding her self in a slave position so similar to that which he demanded of his own slaves.

"May this slave fetch you something Master?" she whispered in a soft sultry voice, her ice blue eyes lowered down to the boots of his feet. Krom opened his mouth to speak but as he did so he was interrupted by Karoth.

"Bring him some of Father Red Fist’s wine girl, and be quick about it. Our friend has had a long journey" the man demanded loudly, his voice booming through the hut. Without even so much as a wince or a hesitation the girl rose to her feet and moved to the doorway of the next room. As she walked she drew her hair over her one shoulder, revealing a flash of something just below her collar. Krom looked at her, narrowing his eyes slightly to make out the mark that was upon her flesh, seeing it to be a small red brand of a clenched fist. The girl smiled softly, blushing as she saw his attention and drifted into the kitchen. Krom’s attention was drawn back quickly by the chortling of Karoth across from him.

"Ah, how the slave can capture even the attention of the most hardened warrior. And well she should Krom. That is torina, the slave of the Elders. She will serve you tonight if you would like and tomorrow she will tend to your own slaves. I have faith that you will find her to your liking." He said, the man’s eyes moving to watch the slave girl move back into the room. She smiled softly and silently served up the glass of red wine that Krom quickly snatched away from her hand, waving her off dismissively as he looked back over at the three men before him.

"Get to it. Speak your business then. Why are you in my Heldar and what is it that ye keep saying that we have to talk about?" Krom snapped, drinking back a long draught from his glass.

"Durmbar!" The Red Fist man hollered, the man beside him quickly rising, walking around the fire towards Krom. He stood before him and pulled his shirt from his body, revealing two strange sights to Krom. The first of which was the scar of a man’s palm across his chest, but the second mark was even more intriguing as Krom’s eyes shifted seeing the twists and turns of scars upon the man’s arm revealing the few mangled remains of what used to be a Wolves Blood tattoo. Krom looked back to the man’s face, puzzled for a minute as he looked over him. Indeed this man had one time been of his Clan, one of the rescuers that had saved him from his cruel torture when Heldar was taken.

"Ah, confused Krom? Let me explain." Korath began, waving his hand so that the two other Barbarian men left the hut, leaving within only he, Krom and the quiet slave named torina in the corner. "I have heard much about you Krom, the men that have joined us from the Wolves Blood Clan have spoken highly of you, but they also spoke of your absence. We had you tracked all the way to Nanthalion, but we decided to wait, to see if you would return to your homeland."

"It ain’t no business of yers where I be or what I be doin!" Krom hollered loudly at Korath, now left alone with him. "And what ye mean my Clan be joining ye? We are Wolves Blood!"

"I will be explaining it all, but I ask your silence first Krom so I can explain it all to you." Korath said coldly. Krom grunted slightly and then fell still his eyes upon the man before him. "I needn’t explain to you the attack on Heldar, I am sure you remember it well. After you left the Clansmen from your neighboring village had tried to rebuild Heldar, but they too were attacked shortly afterwards, Heldar was burned and ruined, and their own village left in shambles."

"That is when we of the Red Fists came to Heldar. We are people of great defensive abilities and Heldar branches the distance between two of our other major villages, it was a strategic position we could not afford to be lost to our enemies. And so we came here, to rebuild Heldar ourselves. We built walls around the village, raised the survivors up from their state of despair. We never forced any of your Clan to join us, but they did so in turn, some for their love of Heldar, others for the appreciation of our strength. You see my savage friend, the ways of the raiding barbarian are coming to an end and a change is coming where those who follow Red Fist will rise above, protected by the Great Father Red Fist himself and their superior skills of defense!"

"We are interested in you Krom, because we have heard of your prowess of a warrior. We have heard of your loyalty to Heldar, and we have also heard of the treatment you have received in the township you have recently moved to. The Red Fists can teach you the restraint you need to survive there; we can give you the Heldar you once hand. To put it quite bluntly my friend, we are in need of more men of your strength to join our ranks, breed our women and help the Red Fists progress and build a greater future where Barbarians are not pushed down beneath the treads of the other growing races. We have seen the change in events, as have you. Join us and you will not only have honor and glory, you will also have some of the most beautiful and well trained women in all the lands, the strongest brothers in arms and the great village of Heldar to call home. We can not force you to join us, but I ask you, will you spend a fortnight in Heldar, testing our strength, or women and our loyalties. If at the end of that time ye want nothing to do with us ye may leave and we will expect to never see ye within Heldar again, but if ye wish to join us we will bring you to the Great Spirit Hut and you will face the trials. Is this agreed?"

Krom snorted slightly, but the man’s words played upon the memories of his Clan fading, and he had indeed seen not only this man’s superior strength, but all the aspects that he had spoken of. He nodded slightly as he spoke.

"I will stay, for one fortnight and then I will make my decision."

"Very good then, we leave you to rest this evening. Torina, show Krom to his room and give him all the comforts that you would an Elder."

The girl nodded to Karoth slightly and rose to her feet, nodding her head graciously to Krom to follow. The slave girl moved out of the hut, into the cool air of the mountains dressed in nothing but her silks but she didn’t even hesitate as her bare feet stepped over the snow dusted path, leading Krom to one of the homes that lined the arena. The slave reached for the door and pulled it open, motioning him inside with a graceful sway of her hand. Krom grinned at her widely, his yellowed teeth pulling into a bit of a sneer as he grasped her hand and pulled her into the room with him. The barbarian shoved the door closed and began to roughly tug at her clothing as she held still for a moment and then whispered quietly.

"If this slave is allowed Master, please let this one show you the ways of Red Fist servitude." Krom released her slightly with a grunt and then moved to sit against the edge of the bed, watching her as the girl stood up proudly, pulling her stomach muscles in tightly her breasts thrust forward. The silks of her gown were laced down the center and slowly she began to untie them, letting the fabric fall down seductively over each inch of flesh. The cool silks drifted over the slave girl’s body, her nipples hardening beneath the cold mountain air as the rest of her form allowed herself not even a tremble of nervousness. She drew her hair back over one shoulder once again revealing the little brand as the long blond locks tumbled down over her shoulder, licking against her bare and exposed breasts as she walked forward to him and then proceeded to give Krom the greatest passion, the greatest pleasure that he had ever felt. The sounds of their joining escaped the door of the hut, filling the area outside long into the night, much to the amusement of those passing by but as the girl finished and fell asleep beside him Krom looked longingly over her body once more. It would certainly cause no harm for his slaves to be trained by one such as she.

The next few weeks were filled with a variety of activities. Every morning Krom would sit with Karoth in the hut where he was first taken, learning of the history and the philosophies of the Red Fists. Shortly after, he would be taken to the spirit huts of Father Red Fist, and of Orvin where he learned of the religions of the Red Fists. The men spoke with such conviction that as Krom learned and worked with them he found it hard to remember what he had believed before. Perhaps it was the smoke that had left his mind in such an intoxicated state but as the weeks progressed what the Red Fists said began to make more and more sense. Every afternoon Krom would spar, some days against true Red Fists, and other days against ones who had converted from the Wolves Blood Clan. He grunted, sweated with the effort. He couldn’t help but to admit that these Red Fist barbarians from Heldar had him outmatched and that he would surely be beaten. Perhaps this was mostly the driving factor for Krom, the desire to be the best warrior that he could, the most dominating of all other races.

In Heldar Krom saw many strange things that he had not witnessed among the Wolves Blood, men commonly mated with other men being one of the most blatant. Occasionally these men were joined by marriage to one woman whom they shared, leaving a double print upon her back and the two men would share themselves with each other as well in the process, but more often than not the men would mate due to a fight or argument, the winner taking his pleasure of the other man to remind him of his superiority. Somehow this entire notion seemed to make a surprising amount of sense to Krom, he had been proving his dominance to women this way for years, why should men not be included as well? The other strange sites included the mark of marriage, the women’s gown’s painted with the open palm of their husband, although clearly the bonds meant little sexually as quite often he was offered other men’s wives in shows of good will. Krom enjoyed these women but his mind was always brought back to that one night with torina, and whenever she was in sight his eyes would be drawn to her, mentally undressing her body in his mind. In fact his desires for her were so strong that at times he had to leave the hut to simply be away from her and to keep his attention.

With Korath’s permission torina was given to Krom’s company for a day of rest during the week and instead of leading Krom immediately to his hut to give him the pleasure that he so longed for she lead him to the smaller ones around the village, letting him catch glimpses of his own slaves being trained in their slave positions, in their dancing, and in their skills of pleasure. Torina lead him through the town, letting him see the treatment of the slaves amongst the Red Fists where the girl’s who wore collars were treated with even higher regard than the free women, as they were known to be some of the best trained slaves in all the North. What seemed to be one of the most fascinating things for Krom was that as he watched those slave girls that were thrown about and used with force actually brought the men much less pleasure than those girls who were asked to serve with the respect and dignity that they carried in their positions. It seemed to very much echo his activities with torina that first night. Finally she showed him the branding tent, where the slave girl’s were marked with their commitment to slavery. She explained to him that not all slaves were branded, some were tattooed, and others were marked with paints on their bodies rather than their gowns. When asked why she chose to be branded the girl only smiled softly and stated "because being a slave always has it’s sacrifices".

This night with torina was his last night before his decision was to be made and in the haze of his desire and his pleasure with the slave girl’s body he sent her back with Korath, with the message of his acceptance. The next day Krom was brought to the Great Spirit Hut and was brought to stand before a large flaming fire. In the room were the Elders of the village, Korath leading amongst them as he stood opposite Krom across the fire.

"Oh great ancestors, we bring before you one who has already come of age and taken his own quest of life, but was taken down the path of the raiding barbarians. We have shown him our ways and taught him of Father Red Fist and his superior strength and he wishes to join us. Read this man’s soul and place your mark upon him if he is indeed worthy and true to his word."

Krom’s heart pounded, the fire swelling before him, swirling about in a thick mass of smoke. He thought of his brothers, his family all of whom had been Wolves Blood. But then the memories flashed through his mind almost involuntarily of the destruction of Heldar, of the rivers of blood that flowed through the mountains. Then quickly his thoughts flashed once more and he thought of torina, and the strong warriors he sparred against, and the massive walls that wrapped around his precious Heldar. All that they had taught him seemed to fill his body with a strength, a burning desire to be the best even if it meant changing of his Clan. Then suddenly as his body stood braced, filled with this strength a fist formed from the fire and slapped down against his chest with a searing slap, leaving the mark of a red fist burned into the flesh of his bare chest. He snorted slightly and took the pain as the fire flickered back down to a low glow and the men around him cheered and came to place their own slaps against his skin.]

"Welcome now Master Krom of the Red Fist Clan, son of Faldan, defender of the great Heldar!"

Krom was taken away immediately to the brander’s hut where his tattoos were seared away, his flesh now burnt and tender, but his body filled with pride and glory as the rest of the night was filled with celebration. The slaves danced, the free women flirted and the warriors all took their fill of everything that was around them. That night ended near the rise of the sun, the men passed out in the arms of women that quietly slipped away at the coming of the morning to return to their work.

That morning Krom announced his intent to return back to Nanthalion, to continue his work there, now as a Red Fist. He pulled Karoth aside with a sharp swat to his shoulder as he looked at him seriously.

"Karoth, my brother and mentor, I ask you, what the cost would be of the slave named torina. I wish her as my own."

Karoth chuckled slightly and patted his hand down gently against Krom’s arm as he watched janessa and nimiane being lead out from their hut towards Krom. Though they moved as one, arms wound with each other’s, janessa’s eyes reflected a radiant glee at the things she’d been taught, while nimiane’s appeared a bit cornered, and eager to be with her Master again. She saw Krom’s short cropped hair, so different from the other men’s and pulled her slave sister with her to meet him faster. The tall slave latched herself to her Master’s side and turned her face into his shoulder, dark hair falling like silk against his warm clothes as the shorter fell to her knees at his feet. Janessa’s beautiful body arched and straightened into a pleasing shape, compact and feminine before her Master, though her hand rested around nimiane’s ankle, understanding her emotions well.

"Ah Krom, a slave like that has no price. She is a jewel that I would not let be sold away. But perhaps I can offer you a compromise. Leave me one of your slaves for a good amount of time, and I will let her train with torina. I will be sure that she will be taught everything torina has been and our jewel will make your girl shine with beauty of submission. My one word of caution being though that she should be rather accustomed to submission already, torina is an excellent slave but she would be hard pressed to train the wild to be so tamed." Korith’s eyes slid over the two slaves, one classically beautiful and delicate, the other sensual and fiery. Either he’d take to his bed furs and his gaze showed it as he looked back to Krom, the faint trace of lust a compliment.

Krom nodded slightly, reaching out for his two slave girls, letting his fingers run down their hair, looking to each one in turn.

"Nimigirl, my eagle, your spirit is so bright and free that you will stay along beside me. Your training is still left within my hands." The half elf breathed a sigh of relief. Hospitality was not unappreciated, but another while in a den of females would like to drive her insane. "Nessagirl, my owl, I trust you can have the restraint to do as you are told and to learn from torina. May you grow in her care my slave," he said, brushing his hand down her back once before curling his fingers beneath her arm to pull her up and offer her leash toward Korith. She nodded back to her Master slightly murmuring "this girl will bring You honor Master." The slaves reached out, even as janessa stepped forward with quiet obedience, linking fingers for a moment in goodbye. Nimiane’s eyes misted now slightly and she took the comfort of her Master’s hand readily as she watched the other Barbarian curl janessa’s silk rope leash around his fist.

"I am glad to see that you are taking my offer Krom. We will escort her back to Nanthalion with some of our strongest men when she is ready. I would not expect her to return until at least the coming of the autumn when the leaves begin to fall from the trees. She will be in good hands with torina as I am sure you already know." Karoth replied.

With that said Krom thumped his fist to his chest in farewell to Karoth, the others doing the same as he passed. Janessa watched them move off, heart pained with the thought of separation, but she took a deep breath as duty and the desire to please overwhelmed her. Still, she smiled when she saw nimiane glance back and call out to her. "Amin mela lle, aier!" The elven words were only vaguely familiar, but their meaning clear. And when Krom, too, glanced back under the guise of bringing nimiane’s attention back to the path, she understood her place in their hearts.

Krom cleared his throat and tugged his slave’s chin, giving her a stern but understanding glance. He kept her to his side for several paces until the threat of tears left her eyes, then took up her leash. Krom began his journey, taking with him nimiane, as they began down the pathway to head back to Nanthalion, returning a changed man, but not a changed soul.

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