Chapter 1 – The Fork in the Road

Island of Almaren, First Age of the Lamps

Mairon[1] raised his hand to knock on the door of Aulë's study. His hand was shaking. What he was about to say would change the course of his life

He had decided to leave here to follow Lord Melkor. Even before the Ainulindalë, Mairon was fascinated by Melkor, the mightiest of the Ainur[2].

Melkor was different from the others. He had walked alone into the Void, looking for the light from which to create new life. He was the only one among them who stood up to Ilúvatar. Melkor was magnificent, and Mairon adored him.

When the Ainur first descended into Arda, Mairon hoped to be assigned to Melkor's household. But Melkor was a fire spirit, and Mairon, an earth spirit, was placed with Aulë the Smith instead.

Mairon wasn't unhappy with Aulë. The life of a blacksmith's apprentice suited him, and while Aulë was strict, Mairon liked and respected him. Aulë was a master craftsman, and whatever skill Mairon possessed, he had learned from Aulë.

In the early days of Arda, Mairon and the others raised mountains, placed gems beneath the earth, and invented different kinds of metals. Mairon had so many ideas. He worked hard, and was able to make most of them real.

But lately, he found himself longing for more. He couldn't remember when he began to feel restless, but even though he was busy, he wasn't doing anything important.

Then, Melkor rebelled against the other Valar and asked others to join him. Melkor was aggressive. Melkor broke the rules. As a servant of Melkor, Mairon would be able to get things done.

It was a hard decision. Mairon hated to leave Aulë; he had been with him since the creation of Arda, but in the end, he decided to accept Melkor's offer. Now all he needed was Aulë's permission to go. He raised his hand and knocked.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Aulë was sitting in his study when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up and saw Mairon, the most senior of his apprentices, and Aulë's favorite.

"May I come in?" Mairon asked, his eyes on the floor.

That was odd. Mairon was many things: self-assured, industrious, and responsible, but never shy.

"Come in. Have a seat." said Aulë.

Mairon closed the door behind him before slipping into the chair in front of Aulë's desk. Shutting the door, that was unusual, too.

Aulë studied him carefully, trying to assess his mood. Mairon looked nervous, but excited and hopeful, too.

Aulë studied him carefully, trying to assess his mood. Mairon looked nervous, but excited and hopeful, too. Aulë had seen the look before, and it always meant the same thing. I've met someone and I want to get married. But Aulë didn't allow his apprentices to marry. He always said no.

Aulë steeled himself for what was sure to be an unpleasant conversation.

"So what's on your mind?" he asked.

"Melkor invited me to join his household. I came to ask your blessing before I gave him my answer."

Aulë leaned back in his chair, surprised. He knew that Melkor had been sniffing around every household in Ea, trying to find people to join him in his revolt against the Valar. But he never thought Melkor would be able to recruit Mairon, whom he had always thought was too sensible to be lured away by promises of excitement and power.

"This is very sudden." Aulë said.

"Not really. I've admired Melkor since before the Ainulindalë. But I don't want you to think I'm leaving you entirely; after all, there are other Maiar who serve two Valar." said Mairon.

Not in my household there aren't, thought Aulë.

Aulë knew Mairon hero-worshiped Melkor, but he hadn't worried about it much. It wasn't unusual for someone as steady and reliable as Mairon to become infatuated with someone wild and dangerous. But hero-worship usually involved admiration from a distance, not abandoning a well-ordered life to follow someone on a doomed adventure.

"Well, let's think about this. You're the most senior Maia in my household. The others look up to you. Melkor already has Kosomot[3] as his second-in-command. If you changed households, you wouldn't be the senior Maia anymore." said Aulë.

"I don't care about rank. I just want to join the Rebellion and return to Arda." said Mairon.

"Do you know what kind of people have been accepting Melkor's offer? They're the ones who are always in trouble, who can't follow rules, like Ossë." said Aulë.

No one was surprised when Ossë rebelled. Ossë was wild and reckless; he was responsible for the storms that lashed the coasts and shallow waters. Melkor could have him.

"You love order, but you'd be surrounded by chaos. And other than Melkor himself, no one in his household is as smart as you. You'd have no friends." said Aulë.

"I don't care about myself, I care about Arda. We abandoned it before it was finished, and now we're sitting here in Valinor, doing nothing." said Mairon.

Aulë wasn't unsympathetic; Mairon was a hard worker, and he didn't have enough to do here.

"There's something else you need to know." Aulë chose his words carefully. "Melkor is not a good person. He uses people. If something happened to you, he'd just replace you with someone else and never think of you again.

Mairon listened in silence. Aulë couldn't tell how he was reacting; his hair covered his face. Then Mairon brushed his cheek, and tried to make it look like he was just pushing back his hair.

"Look, I understand the lure of a charismatic leader and a life that's dangerous and exciting, but that's not your life. Your place is here. I know you're sensible enough to understand."

Mairon's shoulders sagged. He nodded and got up to leave. Aulë watched him go.

Aulë sighed. That was every bit as bad as telling someone they can't get married. He wasn't looking forward to the next few weeks, the inevitable bad temper and sullen silences before things went back to normal.


[1] Sauron

[2] The Holy Ones = angelic beings

[3] Gothmog