Black Swans

The fair valley of Rivendell, upon whose house the stars of heaven most brightly shone.
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High Lord of Imladris
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Posts: 2755
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:53 am
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There is no house, no uniform for members of the Black Swan House. No ranks or insignia only gained trust, a knowing look, a slight movement of heads or hands between members of this house and little more where anyone else can see. The closest one would get to imagery would be waybread shaped like a swan that could be crumbled All of this done under the nose of Aigronding and Elrond...both of which would disapprove of such methods no matter how effective.

A secret sect of elves hidden in the Valley; hot blooded and as fearless as the Lords of old that drew swords against Morgoth. Their mission to gain as much intel as they can and to use it to scour Middle-earth of the plague that are the allies of Sauron since their formation 2570 TA well after Gandalf had tried to confirm that Sauron had returned but the head of the Black Swans knew well enough, the Nazgul draw their power from the one Ring, which to them could only mean one thing.

To become a Swan you will have shown a certain level of disdain for the repeated reprieves of men that fall under the sway of Sauron, and brutal violence against Orcs and goblins. You will generally get an invitation to the Swans only if you are seen doing something a Swan would do on mission, you are welcome to either have been a member for some time or a new recruit brought to the groups attention. Should you fail to prove loyalty, you may very well find yourself hamstrung by orc weapons and left to die surrounded by orcs and goblins in the Misty Mountains if you're lucky.

Once you are a Swan though, there is no turning back, there is only Blood and Silence.
Rules
This is a secret group despite this thread being out in the open - IC this accordingly.
Only elven characters are permitted, with the exception of Mordagnirs.
No IC Mordagnirs, users that are Mordagnirs, or have Mordagnir mains MAY play alternative elven characters
Activities of the Black Swans will not be limited to this thread but spread out across any free rp thread.
OOC should be done in here and tagged to those it affects.
Please allow at least 24 hrs between double posts.

All missions will come through here as all Swans will tend to have an idea what other Swans are doing, some will be able to be carried out in this thread others you will need to go and interact in other threads, a list of appropriate threads to partake in an event will be given in the mission post.

You are welcome to casually interact as a Swan in this thread with other Swans - This thread covers all of Imladris, but assume any posts in here are wherever you like with a moment of privacy as other elves move away to do other things and you and who you are interacting with are alone.

You are also welcome to post flashback mission either failed or successful in this thread and intel that would go with them.

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en route to the abandoned well at the remnants of Ôborr Gurí
on the borders of northeastern Haradwaith

~ Several Months Ago ~

Kelebek rested her head against her mother’s collarbone, as the dry heat of the wind beyond the wagon beat ceaselessly against the canvas cover that shielded them from the brutal sun. She smacked her coarse, moistless lips, yearning for another drop of water from her master. They had been sustained with only just enough food and drink to keep them alive, and the one responsible for her misery and that of the other fourteen men and women onboard the carriage was named Såhib Moğhadam, a slave trader in the service of a cruel Haradrim warlord.

Her mother had served as an attendant to the harem women in the palace of Methusėlah, known as the Razor of the South. Kelebek had even helped wait on them with her mother as soon as she was old enough to walk. Perhaps they had done their job too well, for what other reason could their master have seen them fit for slavery now? Kelebek contemplated these things, as the incoherent mumblings of another caught her attention. It was the Elf.

The day that Kelebek and her mother had been torn away from the somewhat tolerable life they knew, Såhib had been in high spirits. Apparently, he had been successful in acquiring an Elf-woman and intended to use his newfound prize to make an upcoming trade more advantageous. Kelebek looked at her now. She had heard of the unparalleled beauty of the Elves but had disregarded their very existence for myth. Looking upon one of such fair a race was absolutely surreal, to say the least.

Her hair was the color of a winter moon, long and windblown. Her eyes were like a pair of polished aquamarines in the light of the sun. Her skin was smooth like a white-fleshed peach. The color of apple nut berries captured in the lines of her lips. Yet, for all the striking aspects of her appearance, the Elf-woman had proven to be as weak as the rest of Såhib’s enslaved properties. She rocked in place, hands trembling at the level of her chest and making strange gestures. Overcome with some sort of madness, a result of powerful grief mingled with fear no doubt.


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As the carriage approached the ruins of what appeared to have been a Southron town once, Kelebek rubbed her eyes awake. She heard the intimidating Såhib command his men to slow down and then navigate through certain abandoned streets until they had arrived at where an old well stood at the center of what would have been the grand public square. One of his men fingered the keys swinging at the side of his hip but Såhib raised a hand, signaling for him to wait.

Silence overcame the ruins, and not even the wind dared to stir. Then, from the broken door of a clay building, a creature armored in black iron, stepped out to greet Såhib. Others like him scampered to his side and followed to where the slave trader waited. “My master Methusėlah sends his greetings, Ongaik of Nurn,” said Såhib reverentially, bowing from his waist, “I have been sent to give you a gift on his behalf. He reassures me that should your Dark Lord follow-through on his promises, the Razor of the South will march his forces upon receiving the order to do so.”

Ongaik grinned widely. “A gift you say? How very thoughtful,” he hissed contently, rubbing his sickly-colored hands together, “Show me what it is you have brought me.”

With a jerk of his tanned chin, and the keeper of the keys opened the cage door of the wagon. Såhib then yanked the young woman out, pulling at the chain of her bronze choker. “My master said the first Dark Lord was fond of having thralls work in his forges and quarries. He wishes to give you the privilege of having your own Orc captain,” explained the slave master, stroking Kelebek’s unbrushed hair.

“He did indeed,” returned Ongaik, looking the mortal slave up and down as he circled her, “but we caught some in Ithilien when we ran the Men out of there. Even the lowliest Orc already has a mortal footstool in his chambers, am I not worthy of a more unique gift, slaver?”

Såhib gulped nervously, thinking quickly. Methusėlah had warned him that if he failed to gain the favor of the Orc captain, the warlord would have his head. Now, desperate to present something more uniquely impressive before Ongaik, the slave trader had the Elf-woman removed from the wagon hurriedly and showcased.

“Ah!” expressed Ongaik, now far more pleased with the slaver’s offering. “Others may have mortals to wipe their mouths for them, but you will be the first Orc captain to have an Elf do his every bidding,” declared Såhib proudly, holding the Elf’s chin in his dominant hand. His catch had taken the bait, now it was time to reel it in.

Ongaik gnashed his teeth, approaching the supposed pièce de résistance. “I can think of a few things for this wretch,” he chuckled with wicked delight as the weak Elf whimpered, unable to look the Orc captain in the eye. Ongaik curled the fingers of his left hand into the crown of her head, forcing her face in his direction. The look in her eyes, however, would not be at all what he expected.

“Ongaik the Dreadful,” she stated levelly, flashing a little smile, “I knew that I would find you.”

Lúna Oro threw aside the act of the helpless and mentally-broken victim she had taken in order to infiltrate the infamous slavery ring in Haradwaith. It had all been part of a mission she had been assigned, one that would now at last reach completion.

She quickly gripped the arm that Såhib extended as he held the chain of her choker, and twisted it broken. Såhib let out a sharp, anguished cry, falling to his gold-plated knees. Quickly his men drew their scimitars, rushing at her.

Lúna grabbed the wrist of the sword hand of one, punching him sharply in the gut. The air in his lungs escaped him, and Lúna took his curved blade for herself. Slicing across his throat. She secured her hold on the handle, striking an elbow against the nose of another man before cutting across his chest. Blood flew from him, drizzling her exposed skin. As she pivoted, Lúna drove the blade into the gut of a third man. Then the brawny arms of the key-keeper wrapped around her shoulders from behind. Lúna kicked her legs up and then swung them down, sending him flying up and over her back.

“Kill her!” exclaimed Ongaik, fear-struck now.

After acquiring a second scimitar, Lúna positioned the dual blades above her head with her right leg bending to one side. She darted forward and swung herself up and around the first Orc, twisting his neck in the process. Her bare feet pushed against the Orc behind him, sending him tumbling back. Lúna then split that same careening Orc in half, from groin to forehead with an upward and precise thrust of both scimitars.

Ongaik fled from her, but Lúna robbed an Orc of its shortbow and loosed an arrow into his spine before he could get away. The Orc captain fell forward like a felled tree, the limbs of his putrid body spazzing uncontrollably.

“Will you kill me now, assassin?” inquired Såhib bitterly, having difficulty breathing. Lúna turned to him, stone-faced. She seized him by the collar of his embroidered tunic, hardening her mellow voice as she addressed him. “You would like that, wouldn’t you? A nice swift death?” Lúna dragged him to the waterless well. “No! You cannot do this!” he yelled, attempting to pull himself back as she lifted him up, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Såhib Moğhadam dropped five-hundred feet and met the bottom of an empty well, breaking his back upon impact. A bright line of blood welled between his lips. The last thing he saw was the face of Lúna Oro, covering the top of the well with a square of thick gray wood. Muffling his screams.

Lúna allowed the scimitars to slip from her fingers, and they fell to the sun-baked ground with a ringing melody. She unhooked the keys from a man she had killed earlier and opened the cage door of the covered wagon, offering her hand. The slaves, after witnessing her deathly dance, had become more fearful of the Elf than the mortals who had whipped their backs for sport.

Kelebek however, rejoiced in her heart. She jumped out of the prison cell of the wagon and proffered the Elf her choker eagerly. Lúna selected a thumb-sized bronze key and unlocked it. Seeing the young Kelebek shed tears of joy, the other slaves crowded the Elf and allowed her to remove theirs too. Lúna did so but was forced to rummage through the belongings of the slaver for a tool that would break the layered chains from the men Såhib had subjugated.


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After scavenging for the available waterskins and food packs the slain Haradrim had left behind, Lúna directed the freed captives northwest, urging them to get as far away from their homeland as possible. The only repayment that she asked of them, was a single horse and waterskin for herself. Kelebek embraced her mother as they began their journey to a new and better place, taking notice that Lúna had not chosen to drink from the waterskin but wash away the blood on her skin with its contents instead.

Lúna stole various blackened articles of clothing from her kills, those that had not been drenched in blood that is. Concealing the silver of her hair. She seized Ongaik, who still lay convulsing on the ground, and threw him over the saddle of her newly-acquired horse. Lúna had been careful not to kill the Orc captain earlier, for if she had, the grueling months she had spent being dehumanized throughout the eastern lands would have all been for naught.


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When night came, she made camp under the light of the stars of the barren landscape and tortured Ongaik. Lúna had learned long ago from her Night Angel sisters, an ample number of ways guaranteed to draw necessary information out from those she desired. Holding the flames of an ignited torch to the Orc captain’s feet worked well, digging a dagger into his rib cages fared even better, but what proved to be most effective was pulling out his fingernails. One at a time.


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“If Aragorn is the greatest huntsman and tracker in Middle-earth. Lúna Oro is the second.”
~ Unknown


Lúna Oro
{ Bounty Hunter publicly and Black Swan secretly }

entering the borders of Imladris on the eastern edge of Eriador
waiting to meet with @Fuin Elda and share some intel

~ Present Day ~


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Months had passed since that scorching day in Ôborr Gurí, and the journey back to the Hidden Valley had proven to be far more difficult to make than the one she had made going east initially. A testament to the growing darkness now spreading across the lands. Lúna Oro gazed out into the mist-shrouded woods, searching for any sign of the expected Fuin. She and a handful of the Black Swans had raised some tents by a cool pond, careful to avoid the detection of the Halcyon Guard scouts. Were they to be discovered however, they had brought fishing poles, buckets, and several different kinds of bait with them to serve as an alibi.


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It had taken some time for the apricot color of her cheeks to return, but now the bounty hunter was back to the athletic and strong state of health with which she had left Fuin; she was cleaner and more neatly dressed now too. Lúna hoped she would not be asked to endure another period of malnourishment and back-breaking labor, at least for a while. Volunteering to go undercover as a slave had been a dangerous gamble, but the results had been worth the suffering.

Lúna held a small, tightly-rolled scroll in her dominant hand. Turning it over and over again as she waited anxiously for Fuin to arrive. Normally, Lúna would never have bothered to jot down the information she had acquired, but Ongaik the Dreadful had divulged something so paramount to the plans of the Dark Lord, that Lúna had prepared to fly the message to Fuin by means of messenger raven, should Sauron’s spies cut her down before she could reach her. Lúna let out a lengthy exhale, resting the reins of her white horse across her waist.

High Lord of Imladris
Points: 5 208 
Posts: 2755
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:53 am
Fuin
The Eastern edge of Eriador
Getting a Report from Luna Oro @Annúnfalas


She had heard that Lúna was back from the mission that Fuin had sent her on many months ago. It had made the old elleth breathe a sigh of when she had heard that her Swan had returned. It had been a dangerous and possibly lethal mission that had required a lot of the woman in order to get the mission finished. Fuin for her part had made it to the Black Swan's fishing camp as quickly as she could without rousing the suspicions of the Lords of Imladris including her good friend Aigronding.

She smiled seeing the cygnet Swans fishing keeping up the cover incase anyone stumbled upon them when she saw Lúna on her horse. "Catch any decent fish?" She asked pulling her horse up beside Lúna. Here they could speak freely as it were. Fuin for her part kept her calm as much as she could given the information that she now was faced with. The Black Swans had been working constantly for years now to foil and disrupt exactly what was apparently happening. She didn't question if Lúna's information was good, she didn't risk her people on missions like the one she'd sent her on to question if the information was correct. She tossed the rolled tiny piece of parchment into a fire not willing to risk the information falling into the wrong hands and exposing the Swans to anyone outside the group. "Rest up. We will have many more missions. Soon." She said calmly.

She would be sending a few of the cygnets off to make sure several goblin clans were wiped out before they would be able join up and create a force that was dangerous to Eriador, she would likely send a few of the more experienced Swans to watch and make sure the job was complete and to report back to Fuin if they were ready to become full Swans.

Missions Available:
Clearing of the Ettenspur Clan (can be done in this thread or a Free RP thread in Imladris)
There is a small clan of goblins that live off of the foothills that spur into Arnor currently they have not joined with a larger group and we want to keep that from happening, destroy the entire clan. Starting with the Head of the clan and clan shamans

Badgering the Gram Goblins (can be done in this thread or a Free RP thread in Imladris)
The goblins of Mount Gram are too big of a group to easily kill off as a whole. If the leader of the Clan can be killed or the clan shamans that is best, however killing as many hunters and gatherers as possible without them realizing it is an elf doing so will also help the cause.

New Soul
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“When the Enemy returned our folk were driven from Ithilien."

"...in the days of June, sudden war came upon us out of Mordor, and we were swept away. We were outnumbered, for Mordor has allied itself with the Easterlings and the cruel Haradrim; but it was not by numbers that we were defeated. A power was there that we have not felt before. Some said that it could be seen, like a great black horseman, a dark shadow under the moon."

"Only a remnant of our eastern force came back, destroying the last bridge that still stood amid the ruins of Osgiliath.”

~ Boromir, Book II: Chapter II: The Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring


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Lúna Oro
disclosing her acquired information with @Fuin Elda

“A bigger fish than I even expected,” replied Lúna, bowing her head respectfully to the commander of the Black Swans but unable to hide her troubled countenance. “Yes, I will rest. But first, may we speak privately?” she requested, the usually steady and confident voice of Lúna Oro now hushed and distraught. Lúna flicked her head toward a nearby tent, dismounting her horse and entering the shelter cautiously. It was only after her leader Fuin had followed that Lúna lowered the entryway flaps of the tent and lit the lantern hanging from its raised pinnacle.

Its illumination wavered, sending ominous shadows of the Elven women stretching across the canvas walls like quivering black fingers. Lúna sat on an embroidered rug with her knees bent, resting her hands on her thighs; a position she usually held during her spiritual mediations. She closed her eyes momentarily and exhaled deeply, strengthening her resolve. This would not be an easy discussion. “When you first asked me to track down the Orc captain of Nurn by infiltrating the slavery ring in Haradwaith, I thought the best possible outcome would be to discover new smuggling routes being used by the minions of the Dark Lord. I must admit, I even came to doubt your capabilities as commander, and for this, I sincerely apologize.”

Her blue eyes fell to the patterns of the rug in shame. Lúna had done no wrong, but she felt the need to confess her previous doubts in an effort to remain transparent and authentic with Fuin. “I was under the acquisition of the trader Såhib Moğhadam when we came to an abandoned settlement. There, I and other prizes of battle were to be given to Ongaik the Dreadful as tokens of goodwill from the warlord Methusėlah. I revealed myself before this exchange could happen, punished Såhib and his men for their sins, and forced Ongaik to tell me all that he knew.”


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Lúna shuddered, fear taking hold at last. “Fuin, the power of the Dark Lord is growing not only in Mordor. He has been sending out his servants to act as his ambassadors to the lands to Rhûn, Khand, and Haradwaith. Even now the warlords of the East swear their oaths to him in blood. They intend to launch a conquest of Osgiliath, the once capital of Gondor. They will drive the Men out there as they did in Ithilien not too long ago, and the Dark Lord will send out his Nine northward, here to the lands of Eriador from there. The Nazgûl do not leave their Master for idle tasks. They intend to find something Fuin… or perhaps, someone.”

No sooner had Lúna finished than the flame of the lantern was snuffed by a draftless wind. Darkness quickly filled the tent, the air within the shelter become frozen with the cold of death. Lúna rubbed her arms, white steam escaping from her mouth. She struggled to reignite the candle within the metal and glass fixture when another Swan threw open the flaps of the tent and rushed in. “What is it?” asked Lúna, giving up on the lantern and making do with the early morning light pouring in from outside. “Fuin!” he said breathlessly, green eyes shining with dread, “We just received word from Humeldor, in southern Enedwaith, that the Dark Lord has abandoned his attempts to create alliances with the warlords in the East and has turned his attention instead to the Wildmen of Dunland, the western neighbors of the Rohirrim. According to the Orc lieutenant he questioned under torture, Sauron intends to launch a joint attack upon the capital of Edoras and send his Black Riders south to Gondor.”

Lúna was struck with bewilderment. “That is not possible…” she said to the Swan in disbelief, “Ongaik would not lie to me, not with what I was doing to him.” She looked at Fuin with supplication. “I would not bring you false news, I swear.”

“Neither would Humeldor,” returned the intruding Swan with a frown, “and we have all known him much longer than you bounty hunter.”



Lúna Oro accepts the Black Swan mission: Clearing of the Ettenspur Clan

High Lord of Imladris
Points: 5 208 
Posts: 2755
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:53 am
Fuin for her part listened to what Luna had to say, apologizing for her thoughts on the assignment and her leadership. "It is fine, it is information that I worked hard to seek out before I sent you on such a mission, I hope that you understand fully I would not send a skilled Swan like yourself with your previous skill set, on such a mission if I did not thing those skills would be better used elsewhere." She said calmly as she sat and waited for the information that Luna had gathered. It was worse than she had imagined indeed if the Nine were on the move, she had been there when they were fresh terrors a sign of the corruption of the rings of power. And if Gondor lost Osgiliath than indeed it would be an easy crossing for the Nazgul if that river was no longer in the way. It was hard to stop nine riders unless you knew exactly where they were hunting so small and dangerous a foe would not be easy. "You are right Luna, and that must also mean that their master is getting strong enough to exert some control over his wraiths." She frowned her senses on edge as the flame snuffed out Luna attempting to relight the wick. If she had not recognized the voice when the tent through open there were a good many Swans that were outside the tent that would have been reprimanded harshly for not giving up some form of warning.

She turned and listened to him the breathless explanation of the interruption. Her eyebrows raising slightly at the conflicting information though the Riders movement was still to Gondor, instead of simply through it. Luna for her part for her was in shock about the different information. She held up her hand gently with a small nod to the bounty hunter that had joined their numbers not that long ago when Fuin had spotted her.... at work as it were.

"Enough, it is my task to decide on what information is acted on and which is false. I did the ground work for Luna's mission before I sent her on it. You are questioning my work." Fuin said calmly raising herself to her feet in a fluid motion that made the other Swan that had burst in take a step back, worried he'd offended the lethal elf. "We will act on both, though the Swans can only easily manage one, I am not above finding some way to pass information into hands were it will be seen by elven Lords well above me in status and position so that they need to deal with that which is easier for them to deal with." She turned to the intruding Swan. "And you have no place to question who I bring into the bank." She said calmly. Another hard swallow as the much older elleth stared down the younger hot headed elf that had dared to intrude so rudely without warning. "I need to know what information Humeldor provided as this is news that we have not ourselves confirmed, was there some extra proof of this that you came running here rather than investigating the source of his information first?" She asked her blue grey eyes settling on his partially silhouetted form against the grey morning light.

"Yes Fuin, this scroll he found it in a tent of an orc who said a messenger of Sauron had delivered him the scroll and leaving swiftly sharing the orders for they had other people to deliver the orders to." Fuin narrowed her eyes at this.

"Remember to give me all the information on such things when reporting such news. You know I very well hate having to pull information from anyone I can't slice to little ribbons until they talk." She said dead panned and held out her hand to see the scroll. She read it over it seemed as legitimate as Luna's news. "Thank you both of you I will consult with a few of the elder Swans on which task is better suited to me risking getting that information to an elven lord so we can deal with the other. I feel we will have a mass mission soon." She said calmly and slipped from the tent and headed to her own she'd leave the flap up and speak with a few other Swans and then she would move on. She never stayed long in the fishing camp.

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