Barzag's history

Barzag was born in the inland village of Udul, to the second wife of Varg the herdsman. The birth was long and hard, and although the babe was brought forth alive, his mother died in the bearing of him. Not only that, but the infant was deformed - a sure sign that he had been cursed by the spirits. The child would surely have been exposed, left for the wild beasts to devour, were it not for the intervention of the village wise woman, one Teihli by name. She took pity on the infant, who seemed strong and healthy, holding on to her finger as if trying to cling to life. So, looking down upon the child she stated, "This one will have the strength of stone. Marked in body he is, but that may be a sign that the powers that walk the land have claimed this babe as their own. We should not slay him, lest we bring the wrath of the spirits down on our heads." Hearing her words, the headman relented, and the young Barzag was brought up in the house of Teihli, for his own father would have naught to do with him.

Barzag's childhood was a lonely one, for the other children, including Teihli's own, feared and taunted him, and many of the adults shunned him on sight. And the constant reminder of the debt he owed his adoptive mother irked the boy greatly, for gratitude is like an ill-fitting garment; it chafes if worn too long. Little joy did the boy find within the village. Then, in Barzag's tenth year, a wandering flint-knapper by the name of Halmar came to Udul. Most of the villagers avoided the stranger as much as possible, for knappers were generally despised save when new tools were required, but the young Barzag was fascinated by the craftsman and his work. Seeing that the boy's interest was genuine, Halmar began to teach him the skills of his trade, and it soon became apparent that Barzag had an aptitude for working the flint. When Halmar left, he offered to take the boy with him as his apprentice, an offer Barzag accepted without a second thought.

Thus began Barzag's days as a knapper. He learned how to shape the flint into cunning tools: knives, axes, scrapers, awls, spear-points and many other useful things. He learned where to find the best deposits, how to keep the flint fresh and how to make poorer stone more workable with the aid of fire. And he learned to love Halmar as an adoptive father. The two wandered the land in search of flint - sometimes in the company of other knappers, who travelled in family groups on foot or by ox-cart, but more often alone - and travelled from village to village selling the fruits of their labours. After the death of Halmar in a rock-fall, Barzag continued his trade alone, but it became harder to find work. The demand for flint was lessening - the Men of the Sea known as Go-Hilleg began to be seen more frequently in the region, and men traded with them for the hard metal known as iron - and many distrusted the disfigured knapper. Finally, the Hill-man was desperate enough to seek out one of the Go-Hilleg encampments, for it was rumoured that the Go-Hilleg had need of labourers to build their mighty cities. Indeed, it was said that sometimes the Go-Hilleg rounded up whole villages and took them away on their great black-sailed ships, never to be seen again. Few of the Hill-Folk went voluntarily, for they feared the Darkness; tales spoke of a life of slavery at best, and death at the worst. Barzag was one of those few, for he had little left to lose.

Barzag was one of a group transported to Umbar to repair the city walls. Life in Umbar was harsh enough, yet it fell far short of the horror many had feared. The hours of labour were long, the overseers often strict, but in exchange food and lodging were provided, for the folk of Umbar considered themselves not unkindly when it came to such matters. Indeed, there were those within the city who considered it their duty to enlighten the savages of Middle-Earth - and how better than by occupying them with useful work? The majority of the Hillmen came to terms with their new life in time - after all, it was better than death. When the damaged walls were eventually repaired, most of the Hillmen were dispersed to work on other projects, such as digging drainage ditches to protect the city of Umbar from the effects of the autumn storms. However, Barzag's skill in working with stone had come to the eye of Ureziran, master mason, who chose to retain the Hillman as one of his labourers when he moved on to other building schemes.

Barzag proved himself to be a reliable worker, carrying out the tasks required of him with diligence, and with little complaint. As time went by, he was able to take on additional work in the evenings in exchange for coin - first simply unloading at the dock, and later one or two more sensitive tasks. Oddly enough, much of this coin was spent not on worldly goods but rather in the pursuit of knowledge. Under the tutelage of the diplomatic attache Inzilgadin, and with the aid of the scribe Roziliel, Barzag began to learn to read and write. Sadly, the lessons halted abruptly when his tutors became embroiled in certain other matters that were never openly discussed. Then, in the spring of 3186, fire ravaged Umbar's southwest quarter, where many of the poorest folk were housed. In the time following the fire, Barzag spent weeks without accommodation, and was one of the many who succumbed to a coughing sickness that forced him stop working for a time. To those who encountered him it seemed that the man had lost all interest in life. Yet out of this time of hardship came good, for Ureziran, wishing to retain a valued worker, chose to offer the Hillman paid employment, albeit at a rate lower than the standard one.

The next few months were good ones for Barzag. As a paid worker, he was involved in various projects, including the repairs to the King's Retreat. Yet in January of 3187 Ureziran announced that he was leaving Umbar to return to Numenor. The mason provided for his employees as best he might, but could find no-one willing to take on the Hillman labourer. Barzag, embittered and believing that he had no worth in this city, resolved to leave and return to Pelargir-on-Anduin, from whence he could make his way to the lands of his birth.

The Hillman left Umbar unnoticed, not even saying farewell to those few he held dear, and began the long journey northwards on foot. It was in the desert wastes of Harad that fate turned against him, in one single cruel stroke preserving his life and taking from him his new-found freedom. For as Barzag wandered, his water finished and his wits clouded by thirst, a band of Haradrim slavers led by Rashan captured him. The caravan was bound for Nurn, but unlike most of his fellow slaves, Barzag was destined not for the Temple but the open market.