Post by ariinea on May 12, 2012 0:17:31 GMT -5
War was nothing new to Gondor who had been beating back the darkness of Sauron since his return to Mordor. While none dared to face Minas Tirith, the outlying towns were up for grabs as far as Sauron was concerned.
Though, not all received direct orders, some were chosen for certain tasks. Not all of them wanted direct orders, however. Direct orders meant you'd gained the attention of the Lidless Eye. Which meant that if you managed to fail...well, all knew that failure meant a slow and agonizing torture, death or worse.
Ari'inea closed her eyes and looked skyward as the goblin walked away. She was a bandit at heart, she liked capturing supplies and furthering her own lusts for fame and fortune, but since the forces of Mordor were building, as a Haradrim, she was duty bound to join in.
She brought her men with her, ten in all but each of them had specific training and they knew each other so well that in a tight spot they didn't even have to communicate to know what the other would do. Ari'inea lead them. Upon arrival, some were suspicious of a woman in even a small command, but those suspicions were quickly made silent by Ari herself or those that were loyal to her.
It is what lead her to where she was now. Standing in the smoldering ruins of what was more than likely a bakery of some kind. What little goods she was able to find were already being piled into a carriage to be sent back to the lines for supplies. She and her men remained behind.
With a quick gesture, her daggers slid back into their sheaths lashed to her thighs as she picked her way out of the rubble. Her horse stood with the other horses, merely picking at the ground looking for something green to eat. There would be none to be found in this small village.
Still, this village grew grain, their fields contributed to Gondorians. The orders that the goblin had given her was a tactic the Southron were proficient in; barren earth. A tactic that Ari'inea used often when someone had crossed her. It was because of that that her name was dropped and why she was given the orders to bring barren earth to Gondor.
Ashes and burning didn't do it. It actually enriched the soils and lead to the ability to rekindle the fields. Salting the fields, as many thought it meant, was simply foolish. The amount of salt that would be needed was incredible. Not to mention would cost a fortune.
No, instead Ari'inea gestured and her men began mounting up. Bags hung from the sides of the saddles. Ari pulled herself up quickly to the back of her horse and slid one dagger free and put a small hole in the bag hanging from her beloved horse.
Tiny seeds spilled out and she gave the signal for all of them to begin covering the fields as well as the town. Each rider spilling seeds in their wake as they rode.
In a week those seeds would have a hold of this land. The weed originated in her homeland and it flourished even in scorching sand. It was close to impossible to kill and could bounce back in two days from a place it had a foot hold in. Nothing else would grow here as the weed depleted all the nutrients it could find. Not to mention it could survive almost three years even when all the nutrients were gone.
Once her two bags were empty, she rode up to a rise to look over the village, still smoking. Leaning forward in the saddle, her crossed arms on the neck of her horse as she smirked softly.
"If this does not please the Dark Lord, then nothing will." The seeds were her idea and her tactic. Looking over to one of the still smoking corpses before chuckling softly. "Your body will serve to feed my favorite plants and ruin your own land. A fitting end for a Gondorian."
Though, not all received direct orders, some were chosen for certain tasks. Not all of them wanted direct orders, however. Direct orders meant you'd gained the attention of the Lidless Eye. Which meant that if you managed to fail...well, all knew that failure meant a slow and agonizing torture, death or worse.
Ari'inea closed her eyes and looked skyward as the goblin walked away. She was a bandit at heart, she liked capturing supplies and furthering her own lusts for fame and fortune, but since the forces of Mordor were building, as a Haradrim, she was duty bound to join in.
She brought her men with her, ten in all but each of them had specific training and they knew each other so well that in a tight spot they didn't even have to communicate to know what the other would do. Ari'inea lead them. Upon arrival, some were suspicious of a woman in even a small command, but those suspicions were quickly made silent by Ari herself or those that were loyal to her.
It is what lead her to where she was now. Standing in the smoldering ruins of what was more than likely a bakery of some kind. What little goods she was able to find were already being piled into a carriage to be sent back to the lines for supplies. She and her men remained behind.
With a quick gesture, her daggers slid back into their sheaths lashed to her thighs as she picked her way out of the rubble. Her horse stood with the other horses, merely picking at the ground looking for something green to eat. There would be none to be found in this small village.
Still, this village grew grain, their fields contributed to Gondorians. The orders that the goblin had given her was a tactic the Southron were proficient in; barren earth. A tactic that Ari'inea used often when someone had crossed her. It was because of that that her name was dropped and why she was given the orders to bring barren earth to Gondor.
Ashes and burning didn't do it. It actually enriched the soils and lead to the ability to rekindle the fields. Salting the fields, as many thought it meant, was simply foolish. The amount of salt that would be needed was incredible. Not to mention would cost a fortune.
No, instead Ari'inea gestured and her men began mounting up. Bags hung from the sides of the saddles. Ari pulled herself up quickly to the back of her horse and slid one dagger free and put a small hole in the bag hanging from her beloved horse.
Tiny seeds spilled out and she gave the signal for all of them to begin covering the fields as well as the town. Each rider spilling seeds in their wake as they rode.
In a week those seeds would have a hold of this land. The weed originated in her homeland and it flourished even in scorching sand. It was close to impossible to kill and could bounce back in two days from a place it had a foot hold in. Nothing else would grow here as the weed depleted all the nutrients it could find. Not to mention it could survive almost three years even when all the nutrients were gone.
Once her two bags were empty, she rode up to a rise to look over the village, still smoking. Leaning forward in the saddle, her crossed arms on the neck of her horse as she smirked softly.
"If this does not please the Dark Lord, then nothing will." The seeds were her idea and her tactic. Looking over to one of the still smoking corpses before chuckling softly. "Your body will serve to feed my favorite plants and ruin your own land. A fitting end for a Gondorian."