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writeonkate
Oct. 19th, 2010 04:50 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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narniaexchangeTitle: A Kingdom For Second Sons
Author:anachronisma
Recipient:writeonkate
Rating: G
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: None.
Summary: Archenland is a wild land, but so are the people who love it.
Notes: Thanks to my betas.
one. the first prince
Archenland is a wild, untamed land in the south, nestled between the mountains and the river, the last green place before the desert, and Henry wants it. He yearns for it like nothing he has ever known, wants to walk beneath its green trees and taste the fruits of the great apple trees. Albert, his younger brother, talks of nothing but the sea, and his desire to sail into the east, and explore the islands there. But Henry's heart is set on Archenland, and nothing else will do.
"If you want Archenland," King Frank says, sitting beneath the great tree that marks his court, for all these years he has lived in the woods with the talking beasts, his people, "go with my blessing. But know that none live there, and few ever shall, unless you bring them, too. If you find Archenland too harsh, too lonely, return home, my son."
But his mother is less certain, and sadder when he talks of leaving to live forever on the wide plain and beneath the tall trees. "Must you go?" Queen Helen asks. "It is not an easy land, not like Narnia, sweet Harry."
But Henry has chosen his inheritance, and he has his fill of the trees and the plains. He is the only man to dance with the dryads, and lives contented under the stars in a world without evil, enjoying the sweet kisses of an oak-maid, until he is old and not even the wild plums will sustain his strength.
The willows along the River Winding Arrow sing laments and weep for their prince, but Narnia forgets that Archenland loves the house of King Frank.
two. the first king
Prince Col chafes beneath the requirements of his station. His father is a good man, but being the second son is never easy. Narnia is changing so fast. He is the first of the line of King Frank not to have an English name, and it chafes at him, to be so set apart. The humans are changing. They have lived long under the Narnian trees, and have begun to have their own way of life, not so distant from the tree-spirits and the river-spirits with whom they have become so deeply entwined.
He is not like his older brother Frank, who is like his father; Col is like the dryads in his grandfather's generation, and it is finally too much for Col to bear, to live beneath his father's roof and watch the royal family, surrounded by talking animals who put aside their own ways to mimic the dress and talk and habits of the Franks, so apart from the world in the woods that he knows and loves.
"Let me go south," he pleads, "and take Archenland as my inheritance. It has ever been the inheritance of second sons." Frank V is a reasonable man, for all that he has put Col in a terrible place in the world, and promises to let Col take as many men and animals and dwarfs and dryads as he wishes.
Col's heart eases, a little, when he settles on the other side of the mountains, near Anvard Pass, with his human wife. She had been called Laura, once, but now they call her Marin, a maiad name, and it pleases him that they both have their own names. They work hard, but not everyone is willing to live in peace with the trees, in the shadow of the mountains. Some men wish to tear down the trees to make a great fortress, and Col's first terrible choice is whether to defend the dryads or his fellow men.
Col and Marin drive the outlaws from the hills and out into the plains, but will not cross the river into the desert. Together, with the other humans who would not desecrate the sacred trees of the dryads, they build a safe place out of red stone, made strong with dwarfish help, and watch the south with wary eyes.
The dryads rejoice that humans live among them once again, and Col's colony prospers. The people call him King Col, mindless that there is a king in Narnia, and fear no rebuke, for Archenland belongs to those who love it. In the days of his sons, the red stone city is called Anvard Castle, and Archenland is their own inheritance, all the trees and stones.
three. the hunter.
When the long dark winter falls over Narnia, Archenland harbors the humans who flee the great cruel witch, though there are not many. Winter storms are fierce, but the mountain protects them from the worst of the snow, and spring still comes when it is due. King Alain sends his daughter, swift-footed Cara, to see what has become of their cousins, the kings of Narnia. But she brings only reports of endless snow, and the ruined western castle. Cair Paravel upon the sea lies abandoned, she tells him, no one has taken refuge there. But worse, the human settlements by the sea lie cold with slaughter, and the ships sail no more. The stories of her harrowing journey through the ever-growing snow, and the wolves that hunted her, frighten the people greatly, and it is widely declared only such a skilled huntress and tracker could have made the terrible journey and returned alive.
The mourning in Archenland is great, and so is the fear, as people fear the witch will destroy all the humans she can find. The houses of the plains are emptied as people turn to stone for safety, and Cara spends many nights upon the ridges of Anvard Pass, watching for spies of the White Witch with her strong bow, for the shapes of wolves. None shall report to the witch that humans still live behind the stone walls of Anvard, and when Jadis' spies do not return, she gradually forgets the rumors of the southern stronghold of Adam's seed.
Archenland watches for two sons and two daughters to be born from the same family, but the promised saviors of Narnia do not come from inside the stone city.
four. the free king.
King Lune is fierce and merry and kind and terrible in war, because that is what a hundred years of fear have taught his family they must be, to keep Archenland from feeling their hunger and their fear. Calormen grows bold, in the south, and to be fenced in by foes is a terrible thing for a small kingdom.
So it is not entirely out of charity that he rejoices when his spies tell him that spring has broken and Narnia is free, and sends emissaries to see what great conquerors have come out of the West. His cousins, distant though they were, the line of King Frank, is not recovered, and though Lune regrets this, he cannot fault Aslan's choice of the new monarchs.
"Archenland shall always be a free country," High King Peter promises Lune. "Long you have held her, and long you have loved her, and Narnia is glad for such warm allies. However we may aid you, we shall, whatever the danger."
That promise is kept entirely too soon, but the people of Archenland are people of hills and trees and plains, and they endure, even when other men do not.
Original Prompt:
What I want: Fics about Archenland, perhaps how Frank's son came to found it OR Lune during the Golden Age
Prompt words/objects/quotes/whatever: See above, I suppose.
What I definitely don't want in my fic: I'm pretty open to anything. No brother/sibling bonding fic, no overly-cutesy language.
Author:
anachronismaRecipient:
writeonkateRating: G
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: None.
Summary: Archenland is a wild land, but so are the people who love it.
Notes: Thanks to my betas.
one. the first prince
Archenland is a wild, untamed land in the south, nestled between the mountains and the river, the last green place before the desert, and Henry wants it. He yearns for it like nothing he has ever known, wants to walk beneath its green trees and taste the fruits of the great apple trees. Albert, his younger brother, talks of nothing but the sea, and his desire to sail into the east, and explore the islands there. But Henry's heart is set on Archenland, and nothing else will do.
"If you want Archenland," King Frank says, sitting beneath the great tree that marks his court, for all these years he has lived in the woods with the talking beasts, his people, "go with my blessing. But know that none live there, and few ever shall, unless you bring them, too. If you find Archenland too harsh, too lonely, return home, my son."
But his mother is less certain, and sadder when he talks of leaving to live forever on the wide plain and beneath the tall trees. "Must you go?" Queen Helen asks. "It is not an easy land, not like Narnia, sweet Harry."
But Henry has chosen his inheritance, and he has his fill of the trees and the plains. He is the only man to dance with the dryads, and lives contented under the stars in a world without evil, enjoying the sweet kisses of an oak-maid, until he is old and not even the wild plums will sustain his strength.
The willows along the River Winding Arrow sing laments and weep for their prince, but Narnia forgets that Archenland loves the house of King Frank.
two. the first king
Prince Col chafes beneath the requirements of his station. His father is a good man, but being the second son is never easy. Narnia is changing so fast. He is the first of the line of King Frank not to have an English name, and it chafes at him, to be so set apart. The humans are changing. They have lived long under the Narnian trees, and have begun to have their own way of life, not so distant from the tree-spirits and the river-spirits with whom they have become so deeply entwined.
He is not like his older brother Frank, who is like his father; Col is like the dryads in his grandfather's generation, and it is finally too much for Col to bear, to live beneath his father's roof and watch the royal family, surrounded by talking animals who put aside their own ways to mimic the dress and talk and habits of the Franks, so apart from the world in the woods that he knows and loves.
"Let me go south," he pleads, "and take Archenland as my inheritance. It has ever been the inheritance of second sons." Frank V is a reasonable man, for all that he has put Col in a terrible place in the world, and promises to let Col take as many men and animals and dwarfs and dryads as he wishes.
Col's heart eases, a little, when he settles on the other side of the mountains, near Anvard Pass, with his human wife. She had been called Laura, once, but now they call her Marin, a maiad name, and it pleases him that they both have their own names. They work hard, but not everyone is willing to live in peace with the trees, in the shadow of the mountains. Some men wish to tear down the trees to make a great fortress, and Col's first terrible choice is whether to defend the dryads or his fellow men.
Col and Marin drive the outlaws from the hills and out into the plains, but will not cross the river into the desert. Together, with the other humans who would not desecrate the sacred trees of the dryads, they build a safe place out of red stone, made strong with dwarfish help, and watch the south with wary eyes.
The dryads rejoice that humans live among them once again, and Col's colony prospers. The people call him King Col, mindless that there is a king in Narnia, and fear no rebuke, for Archenland belongs to those who love it. In the days of his sons, the red stone city is called Anvard Castle, and Archenland is their own inheritance, all the trees and stones.
three. the hunter.
When the long dark winter falls over Narnia, Archenland harbors the humans who flee the great cruel witch, though there are not many. Winter storms are fierce, but the mountain protects them from the worst of the snow, and spring still comes when it is due. King Alain sends his daughter, swift-footed Cara, to see what has become of their cousins, the kings of Narnia. But she brings only reports of endless snow, and the ruined western castle. Cair Paravel upon the sea lies abandoned, she tells him, no one has taken refuge there. But worse, the human settlements by the sea lie cold with slaughter, and the ships sail no more. The stories of her harrowing journey through the ever-growing snow, and the wolves that hunted her, frighten the people greatly, and it is widely declared only such a skilled huntress and tracker could have made the terrible journey and returned alive.
The mourning in Archenland is great, and so is the fear, as people fear the witch will destroy all the humans she can find. The houses of the plains are emptied as people turn to stone for safety, and Cara spends many nights upon the ridges of Anvard Pass, watching for spies of the White Witch with her strong bow, for the shapes of wolves. None shall report to the witch that humans still live behind the stone walls of Anvard, and when Jadis' spies do not return, she gradually forgets the rumors of the southern stronghold of Adam's seed.
Archenland watches for two sons and two daughters to be born from the same family, but the promised saviors of Narnia do not come from inside the stone city.
four. the free king.
King Lune is fierce and merry and kind and terrible in war, because that is what a hundred years of fear have taught his family they must be, to keep Archenland from feeling their hunger and their fear. Calormen grows bold, in the south, and to be fenced in by foes is a terrible thing for a small kingdom.
So it is not entirely out of charity that he rejoices when his spies tell him that spring has broken and Narnia is free, and sends emissaries to see what great conquerors have come out of the West. His cousins, distant though they were, the line of King Frank, is not recovered, and though Lune regrets this, he cannot fault Aslan's choice of the new monarchs.
"Archenland shall always be a free country," High King Peter promises Lune. "Long you have held her, and long you have loved her, and Narnia is glad for such warm allies. However we may aid you, we shall, whatever the danger."
That promise is kept entirely too soon, but the people of Archenland are people of hills and trees and plains, and they endure, even when other men do not.
Original Prompt:
What I want: Fics about Archenland, perhaps how Frank's son came to found it OR Lune during the Golden Age
Prompt words/objects/quotes/whatever: See above, I suppose.
What I definitely don't want in my fic: I'm pretty open to anything. No brother/sibling bonding fic, no overly-cutesy language.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-19 03:09 pm (UTC)This is marvelously vivid:
But she brings only reports of endless snow, and the ruined western castle. Cair Paravel upon the sea lies abandoned, she tells him, no one has taken refuge there. But worse, the human settlements by the sea lie cold with slaughter, and the ships sail no more.
And now I want a dozen stories about Cara the Huntress.
This is excellent: thanks so much for writing it.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-19 05:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-19 06:12 pm (UTC)Great work.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-19 07:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-19 08:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-19 08:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-20 10:59 pm (UTC)(But most of all, I love Cara, and her quest into winter-bound Narnia.)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-22 01:10 am (UTC)And Cara the Hunter is a fantastic creation.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 06:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-01 12:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-01 05:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-19 05:48 pm (UTC)