2. Beyond the Quays of Umbar
Summary: The problem of unintended consequences. Religious prejudice may not *need* an excuse to rear its ugly head, but it will certainly take any one that's handed to it...
The shipyard fires had barely cooled when the rumors began: Hurrhabi could not have been breached without help. The look-outs must have been paid off. Someone must have helped the tarkili.
Old slanders revived – the a-lehani knew them well, and feared. As ugly rumors spread, and the Khan's Children shunned them in market, muttering darkly against heretics who usurped the khan's place, forsaking their fathers for foreign prophets, many left the city.
"Where will you go?" their neighbors asked.
"North," they answered; "'Tis but justice. If for the tarkili we are hunted, then let them shelter us!"
Notes: A-lehani - my fanonical reform sect of Haradrim, who form a minority religious community.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
