Author's note: What happens when you spend the holidays at a grandmother's house with no Internet connection?  You post your Christmas story three days late, that's what.

This entire story – fragment, more like – is based on a single statement from Tolkien's Letters: "Thank you very much for your letter….It came while I was away, in Gondor (sc. Venice), as a change from the North Kingdom, or I would have answered before" (Letters, #168).  As such, what I've worked out here is a bit of a stretch (literally and figuratively) geographically, but perhaps it's not completely inconceivable.

A previously-undiscovered scrap of the Dead Sea Scrolls…

After the Fall of Barad-dûr, peace and great happiness reigned in the Reunited Kingdom and across the whole of Middle-earth.  The restored King Elessar and his fair Queen Arwen Undómiel ruled in glory and goodness, and their people loved them well.

The first trial of Elessar's kingship was the settling of matters after the War of the Ring.  With those who had borne arms against him, the minions of Mordor and the Haradrim, King Elessar was kind and magnanimous.  To the slaves of Mordor he gave Lake Núrnen and all the lands thereabout, and bade them labour now to heal what they had harmed.  The Easterlings he pardoned and sent away in freedom, and Harad was made a protectorate of Gondor until it recovered from the collapse of Mordor, its longtime ally.  In later days the King Eldarion granted the governance of the protectorate to his sister Lindórië, who was a just woman of firm will and mind to rule, and thenceforth the authority over the region passed from generation to generation of her descendants.  And Elessar's people, though they hated the servants of Sauron who had come so near to destroying their city, loved their new King all the more for his mercy.

Long and fair was the reign of Elessar Telcontar, as was that of his son Eldarion, and his son after him.  Under their rule, the lands and people flourished in safety and contentment for many years.  Being of the lineage of Númenor and the Eldalië, Elessar knew a life longer than any other Man of his time: a tale full tenscore years and ten; and Eldarion's was nigh as long.

But though the Ages after the Elder Days belonged to Men, for the last of the Firstborn had passed over Sea or faded entirely from mortal sight, yet their blood perforce was slowly diluted, and the span of their lives began to dwindle.  And when the generations of Kings saw this, they were afraid, for they had placed great pride in their longevity as a mark of their high ancestry; wherefore they grew jealous and tyrannical, lest seeing their weakness some lower lord should rise to usurp the throne.  So it was that Gondor, once known for its wisdom and clemency, became a cruel and high-handed realm, subduing its provinces and exacting from them harsh tribute, even from the land of Arnor which had once been Gondor's sister-kingdom.  At this, the old enmity of the people of Harad rose up once more, and they would have refused to pay the tribute; but the land still was ruled by the descendants of Lindórië who remained loyal to the sovereigns of Gondor, and who had even presumed to take for themselves the title of King of Harad, as though it were indeed by the will of the people that they reigned.

In the stead of their longevity, the Kings of Gondor began once more to take names in the High Speech of the Eldar, as did the long-ago Kings of Westernesse, to mark their nobility.  The first to resume this practise was Elendur III, who took to himself the name of Tar-Rómalussë, and founded a new City of Kings in the Ethir Anduin, by name Róma, for Rómalussë her founder said, "She shall be a call to all of Arda, and a signal and a beacon of how high may rise the glory of Telcontar."

For six generations did the descendants of Tar-Rómalussë reign in Róma, and the city grew in power for nigh twelvescore years under the Kings.  But it came to pass during the reign of the seventh King, Tar-Quinius, that there was rebellion in the city because of the cruel burdens that Quinius placed on the people.  And the people established their own rule, so that Róma became a Republic rather than a City of Kings.

By the time of Rómalussë, the realms of Gondor and Harad had grown much estranged, though still ruled by kin, so that Harad was nigh independent, and Gondor was little concerned with her affairs.  But in that time, the heir to the throne of Harad was a man by the name of Alacáno, who was a man frail and indrawn, of disposition unfit to rule.  His wish was to return the control of Harad to the King of Gondor, renouncing his claim and that of his line to the rulership of that land.  But in the period of upheaval and change during the founding of the new City, Tar-Rómalussë rejected the offer of Alacáno, and the land of Harad was left to its own governance, and open to invaders.  In the long years that followed, the land and the inhabitants thereof were sorely treated by foreign peoples, until less than a third part of the Haradrim remained to dwell in the land of their forefathers.  Then Gondor and the city of Róma, by then much grown in size and glory, took back Harad and made it once again a protectorate, and the Council of Róma deliberated, and designed to set a King of their own to rule the land in the name of the City.

Then there was made King a man by the name of bâ-Zabathân, of passing arrogance.  And it is said that upon ascending the throne, he spoke to the court, saying, "It is not by the will of Ilúvatar that I am King, nay, nor even of the Council, but rather by the will of the realm and land itself.  Therefore call me not Zabathân, but rather Harad, for I am both King and Kingdom."  In haste his counsellors bade him put aside his pride, for they feared the wrath of the people.  But the tale was noised about despite, and there were more than one of his subjects with whom the name remained as a jest scornful and bitter, and who altered it in secret to "Herod," signifying "the Arrogant."

There was in that province of Harad a town called Ostolwa, though better known by the name of Næzareþ, which had been bestowed upon it by Círdan, Maia-friend, before he passed into the West with the sailing of the last ship.  And within Næzareþ there lived a young woman named Meril, who was betrothed to the woodsmith Yosapth.  But during the betrothal and before the wedding was come to pass, Meril was one day weaving in her father's house alone, and there stood before her suddenly a person in the form of a man clad all in white.  And he spoke to her and said, "Hail, Meril, beloved child of Ilúvatar!  Rejoice, for thou art blessed among women!"

She was troubled at his greeting, and replied to him, "Who are you, that you know my name?"  And he answered, "Many names am I called, for many forms can I take.  But thou mayst know me as Cabrilel, for I bring to thee news of great joy: behold, thou hast found favour with the One, and wilt conceive in thy womb and bear a son, whose name thou shalt call Yéhyiua.  He will be called the Son of the Highest, and Ilúvatar shall set him on the throne of his forefathers, and of his Kingdom there will be no end."

Then she said to him, "How can this be, since I have not known a man?"  And he said to her, "By the love of Eru Allfather wilt thou conceive, so that the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of the Most High.  And indeed, also has thy kinswoman Eleisarbeth, who was called barren, conceived a son in her old age.  For with the Lord of All nothing will be impossible."

And Meril said, "I am the servant of the One!  Let it be with me as you have said."

When Yosapth her betrothed heard these things, being a just man, he thought to put her away from him secretly, and dissolve the betrothal, to keep her from public shame.  But when he had determined to do this, a holy one appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Yosapth, do not be afraid to take Meril as thy wife, for the child which she bears is conceived of the love of Ilúvatar, and thou shalt call his name Yéhyiua, for he will save his people from their sins."  And all this was done so that it might be fulfilled what was written in the Elder Days: "The virgin shall bear a son, and his name shall be called Ímenyél," which means, "God with us."

And in those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.…All went to their own towns to be registered.  Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.  He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

—Luke 2.1-8

Names

· Lindórië – Quenya; also the name of Ar-Gimilzôr's mother-in-law, one of the Faithful of Númenor.

· Tar-Rómalussë – Romulus, mythical founder of Rome.

· Tar-Quinius – Tarquinius Superbus, last king of Rome.

· Alacáno – Quenya, "not-ruler"

· bâ-Zabathân – Adûnaic, bâ = "not" + zabathân = "humbled".

· Herod – This is 100% made up by me.  I've no basis for presuming that such a word ever existed in any language of Arda – but its similarity to "Harad" was actually what inspired this story in the first place.

· Ostolwa – Quenya, osto = "city" + olwa = "branch" (the English translation of Nazareth).

· Næzareþ – this is just "Nazareth" adapted to Valarin orthography.  I thought it was not inconceivable that Círdan would know something of the language, since he was buds with Ossë.

· Meril – Sindarin, "rose".

· Yosapth – Adûnaic, yô = "gift" (back construction from Yôzâyan = "Land of Gift" [i.e. Númenor] + sapth = "wise-man" (from sapthân = "wise-man", minus common-noun subjective ending –an; the p can be pronounced as an f).  One of those ones that sounded decent as opposed to actually being relevant or accurate to the original meaning.

· Cabrilel – This is truly cringeworthy as far as its strained translation.  Actually derived from cabr, an attested variant of cabor = "frog" (which stems from Old Sindarin kapro = "leaper", which is the connotation this word is supposed to have; from there – if the reader will humour me – one might think of "joyous"?  Maybe?) + Ilu (one of the various renderings of Eru/Ilúvatar…I think…) + elo – an exclamation of wonder.  So…"joyous exclaimer/messenger of God"?

Maybe not.  All right, all right, just keep reading.

· Yéhyiua – Quenya orthography for Yeshua, the Aramaic form of Jesus.

· Eleisarbeth – Sindarin.  Meh…elei = "dreams" + sarn = "stone" + peth, lenited beth = "word".  Again, like Yosapth – it sounded right.

· Ímenyél – Quenya.  This one made me shiver in how well it fit "God with them". Ímen = "in/with them" + ye = "is" + El – yes, as in the Hebrew term, but I fudged since it's so similar to the other names for the One.  Also, my handy-dandy Holman's Bible Dictionary says that "the word is common to Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic, yet the origin and root from which the word was derived is obscure.  'El' is a general term that expresses majesty or power."  And you've got to wonder where a word common to all three languages might have originated…

· Ar-Kûstis – Also my invention, "Augustus" reworked to mimic Adûnaic.

Am now considering changing my major to linguistics…

And if anyone can help me figure out how to center text on ff.net, please help me!