Mioredan Dorenal (Taz. "?") was born into destitution, the fifth child of a down-on-their-luck Númenórean family in later Tûl Harár. His father had made his life and reputation upon the waters of the Bay of Ormal, becoming one of the most sought-after navigators in the region, yet he never had the chance to capitalise on his fame: his ship, Kamdelion Wind, under the command of Gûrfas Yabân, had been driven onto the rocks of the Yabûra coast and all hands had been lost.
After the loss of their chief breadwinner the family subsisted upon meagre savings until Mioredan’s mother was stricken by fever and the household funds were consumed by the efforts of numerous healers and apothecarys; she died seven months later. The children were dispersed to various temples and ward-houses in the city. Shortly thereafter Mioredan left his caretakers and engaged himself at a stable on the western edge of town. There he worked for ten years, beginning with sweeping and cleaning and rising to the post of Second Hand of the stables, which had grown as he had.
Appointment and early service=[]
Mioredan’s life might have remained within such bounds, with advancement to First Hand likely upon his employer’s death, but his fortunes lay elsewhere. The Harar lord Fûrd-Râmet hired him as a replacement for an injured quartermaster. Though the journey was only as far as later Tyarett, the lord perceived in Mioredan an aptitude for logistics and steadiness; thereafter Mioredan’s name circulated among the merchant-men of later Kûn Anyâm.
He led the first caravan across the Bóas Tânyel, opened the Arzal River as a route around the most perilous stretches of the Tûr Betark, and conducted the careful provisioning and routing that commerce in those regions demanded.
Foundation of Ûrg-vênza[]
In S.A. 1,887 an accident unwittingly produced the settlement later called Ûrg-vênza (Ap. Hollow Sky). The ship Mioredan had hired to assist his pioneering of the Arzal was captained by an adventurous but irresponsible man whose fondness for the spiced wine Iemro overcame prudence. On the fourteenth night out from later Tûl Harár the vessel struck reefs; its keel was broken and stores and men were cast into a narrow, boiling channel that opened into a sheltered cove ringed by steep slopes. Those who reached shore found themselves enclosed; the tide churned in the gap, frothing above sunken rocks and spouting from hidden blow-holes.
Mioredan and five companions made a months-long trek through unexplored jungle back to later Tûl Harár and returned with three ships laden with timber, labourers and supplies. From the survivors’ encampment a settlement was raised upon the cove; Ûrg-vênza became a waypoint for ships plying the western Bay of Ormal.
Civic office and military policy[]
Mioredan had lived in later Kûn Anyâm for ten years, and his mercantile standing had translated into a seat on the council later styled Êm Anyâm (Tz. "Council Anyâm") and ultimately into the office of Aparn Emel (Tz. "Voice of the Council"). He conceived the trust as a duty while preferring practical commerce to political ambition. He pressed the council to request military aid from later Tûl Îshra, for he judged the future Anyâman levies, organised under the Council of Warders, to be in dismal condition and ill-prepared against the rising Grapash (Ap. "Orc") activity at the feet of the Tûr Betark.
He sought to mediate disputes between Kûn Anyâm and Tûl Îshra and to preserve trading access to the land of Ti'ersh, even as exclusive contracts, such as that recently granted to Pem Yarrat, threatened to exclude his fellows.
Reputation, rumours and relations[]
Mioredan’s office brought him both allies and enemies. His Númenórean heritage was often the source of political tension, and rumours of ties to the Anbalûkkhôri crown and to the roving armies of Khôrahil circulated among the disadvantaged in Kûn Anyâm. These whispers lacked firm proof and were chiefly the coin of popular suspicion; Mioredan took offence at them but did not believe his station to be in peril because of such murmurs.
Notes[]
Names need to be changed as there is no way a Haradrim town of mortal men would exist over several millenia, names unchanged.
References[]
- MERP Fan Modules #3005: Kun Anyam the Spice Streets (.PDF)