Disclaimer: I'm just playing in the Middle-earth sandbox. If you recognize it from elsewhere, I don't own it.
Author's Note: In order to understand this story, you must first understand my general theories on two topics. Firstly, to my knowledge, very few Silvan Elves ever sailed to Valinor. I list reasons for this in Chapter 1. Secondly, I have created a family for Legolas in my imagination. He is Thranduil's youngest son, and therefore, not likely to become King of Eryn Lasgalen. His mother's name is Adonniel, and at the time that Legolas sailed for Valinor, she was alive and well in Eryn Lasgalen.
A big THANK YOU to my Betas, past and present: Annie, Clara, SML, and both Vickies! Thanks a million ladies!
The Trees Remember
Prologue
"The New World"
It seemed that the End of Days was near.
The world that the Valar had shaped was no more. The lands had changed with famines, floods, and earthquakes. Entire mountain ranges had plunged into the depths of the sea, lands were lost amid the rising oceans, and rivers changed their courses.
Magic disappeared from the world. The Ents stood still, turned to trees by despair. The forests fell beneath the axes of Men, and their wood fired the forges to make weapons for war. Wars wreaked havoc on the people of the world until the race of Men fell into the pitiful oblivion of nomadic life.
Some survived. The strong-hearted and valiant men of the line of Aragorn Elessar endured. They defended the remaining lands of Gondor with their lives while all other nations crumbled under the weight of oppression. The stories of Beren and Aragorn were not lost to these men, but they were few in number. When the realm of Gondor rose in glory again, its name became Rome. For a while, the Romans ruled the Earth.
Most men forgot their pasts. For some, this was good. The Easterlings and Southrons rose above the evil of their ancestors. Their tribes united under one banner, and they created a vast and powerful empire in the East.
The men of Rohan fell. Their lands lay in waste by the ravaging of war, and these men grew angry. They forgot the history of Rohan, their noble roots, and their Oath of friendship to Gondor. These men called themselves the Goths, Visigoths, and Vandals. They lurked through the forests of Northern Gondor, ever seeking to sack the wealth of Rome. The Romans called them the Barbarians.
They destroyed the Roman Empire, and claimed all those lands as their own. Only the men of Aragorn remembered the Oath between Rohan and Gondor. Those men would not fight their ancient allies, and the Empire shunned them as cowards. They fled into the North, and lived as peaceful tribal people in the land now called Finland.
The men of Rohan spread over the west, and their influence was infinite. Their language, their culture, and their blood replaced in supremacy that of Rome. They called themselves Anglo-Saxon. Under their influence, the peoples of the world changed.
Only the tribes in Finland now remembered the ancient past.
The last of the willing Elves departed Middle-earth in the year that men now date 3000 B.C. But some elves would not forsake Middle-earth. They remained connected to the land, inseparable from the trees. They lived as shadows in the forest, never appearing among Men for they feared the brutality of the Anglo-Saxons. Some retreated to Finland to live among the men of Aragorn. Others resisted, and remained in their ancient homes in Rhovanion.
Those elves suffered greatly for their choice. Men had grown fearful of magic, and they believed the elves to be demons lurking in the woods. The forests were burned, and many Elves suffered captivity and torture. The few who escaped to Finland were forever changed. No longer did they sing merry songs under the stars or whisper to the trees. They were stern and solemn. In their hearts, they hated Men.
The Valar never forgot about the lands they created. They sent their Maiar across the Barrier of the two realms. Those brave Maiar floated through the world unrecognized by Men. They whispered knowledge to the warmongers, the clergymen, and the scientists. Slowly, the peoples of the world changed again.
As the Sixth Age of Arda came to its close, the old ways of Gondor seemed restored. Men had become civil; some even claiming war was abhorrent. The men of Aragorn were free to return into the world. With them came the Elves. They walked disguised, ever wary of Men, yet unable to remain hidden in Finland forever.
Though the machines of industry and war forever marred the world, the Maiar were now free to return to Valinor. Yet, when they attempted to return to their immortal home, they found that their powers failed them, and they could not cross the Barrier. The Valar sent more Maiar. Yet they also found that once they crossed the Barrier into the realm of Arda, they could no longer return to Valinor.
The next wave of evil had swept over Middle-earth, and the servants of the Valar were unable to alert their masters.
It was 1942 and just as He had planned it.
Author's Notes:
About the passage of time: "I imagine the gap from the downfall of Barad-dûr to the present to be about 6000 years: that is we are now at the end of the Fifth Age, if the Ages were of about the same length as S.A. and T.A. But they have, I think, quickened; and I imagine we are actually at the end of the Sixth Age, or in the Seventh." Letters, 283 (#211)
Thanks to Ellisk for this research
I changed the time lapse to 5,000 years for historical accuracy. However, that number should not be thought of as concrete. 4,700 and 5,200 are practically the same when one thinks about the age of the Earth. This story is told from the perspective of the Elves. Time is relative for them, especially since arriving in Valinor.
3000 B.C. 120 Fourth Age, death of Aragorn Elessar. The tribes of Mesopotamia join together to form the Sumerian society. This is very close to the beginning of known human civilization.
About the downfall of the Rohirrim: "I have not made any of the peoples on the 'right' side, Hobbits, Rohirrim, Men of Dale or of Gondor, any better than men have been or are, or can be. Mine is not an 'imaginary' world, but an imaginary historical moment on 'Middle-earth' - which is our habitation." Letters, 244 (#183)
Again, Thanks to Ellisk