It is with great joy that I write in this book, a wide smile on my face and a glimmer in my eyes. I have seen much for the past days and would do myself a disservice to not record them. Where should I begin?
I shall start with Sawda, the first Southron I have met here in Bree! A heavy weight was lifted off of my heart when I laid eyes upon her sun-kissed face and the golden jewelry that adorned her figure. She is as precious and beautiful as I remembered the women of our home to be, and hope that I meet her again. It means so much to have one of my own kind around, for so long I felt so alone and stranded, but no more!
Then there was the hound-keeper.. Key was her name. She flooded my view and my space with dogs of all shapes and sizes. My camp reeked of fur and drool for a few hours, but it is not a smell that intimidates me. We spoke and exchanged much about animals, why I am here, and portions of her origins. She was a pleasant woman and I hope to speak with her again.
Ura and Heng invited me on their journey but I politefully declined, knowing I had associations and duties to attend to elsewhere. But, with wonder and surprise, I had completed them earlier than expected! I rushed as quickly as I could to this Mad Boar Inn and made aware that I was to join them--but at the dismay of hearing Heng would not be along. I am excited to see this "Shire" and hope that the halflings are as reputable and kind as they were in the Prancing Pony.
One thing that particularly stuck out in my mind was Ura's talk of home. She said that it is not always where we are from. What does she mean by this? That perhaps home is where our hearts lie, whether mine lies in Harad or in a strange land such as Eriador?
There is only one home to my people, and that is the desert under the sun. The sun! The giver of life and the bringer of death. We work and hunt under its flaming majesty, awarded blessings and delivered punishments because of our failures or our glory. The warriors who die beneath its fire are brought to peace early in their life, and those who live long are revered for their endurance and loyalty to its dominion. Perhaps I shall know not what home feels like ever again, until I die and the sun comes to reclaim my body.
