Elrond, Lord of Rivendell

Part One

"My Lord Elrond?" I turned my head to see Lindir standing at the entrance to the dome. He was soaking wet from the rain that had been pouring for hours.

"Yes, Lindir?" I answered him. I detected fear in his young brown eyes. His hands trembled ever so slightly.

"My scouts have just reported the sighting of a lone elf entering the Valley of Imladris," he stated. "He is riding a warg."

"An elf riding a warg?" I had heard rumors of small bands of orcs riding wargs near Rivendell, but a lone elf? "Are you certain it is an elf, Lindir?" Lindir nodded. I asked for Lindir to guide me to where his scouts were stationed. I lifted the hood up of my cloak as we stepped out into the cold rain.

Lindir hastily led me to the outer gates of my home where a handful of scouts stood huddled close together. The scouts pointed out the intruder, who was only a few miles away. Though the night was dark, I still glimpsed the lone elf riding the warg. "Should I order my scouts to attack?" Lindir asked.

"No, wait," I placed my hand on his arm. I continued to watch the elf draw closer. "The elf is not the warg's master. See how unfamiliar the elf is with riding the warg? He's holding too tightly to the reins and is not sitting in the position the orcs usually do."

I could not distinguish the elf's face because of the darkness, though a strange feeling came over me that I knew who this elf was. When I briefly glimpsed a flash of long, silver hair, a face came into my mind. It cannot be her, I thought. But…it is. It's Riníth! How can it be her? What has happened?

"Don't shoot her. I know who she is." Lindir looked at me, surprised. "I must go to her."

"My lord, it could be a trap!" Lindir exclaimed. "Let me send my scouts with you for safety."

Though I wished to continue towards Riníth alone, I allowed Lindir to choose five of his scouts to accompany me. After I took a torch from one of the scouts, we hurried out the gate of my home. Riníth was so close I could hear the warg growling. It was only a matter of minutes until we met her. The warg snarled at us as we came close with the torches, but we stood fast. Riníth tumbled off the warg onto the muddy ground before I had the chance to catch her. The warg snarled for a second, but its snarl was cut short by the firing of arrows from the scouts. A moment later, the warg fell over dead.

I set my sputtering torch down and kneeled next to Riníth. "Riníth, are you alright?" She did not respond right away. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and it was then I saw her tattered clothes and searing wounds all over her body.

Her eyes then opened and met mine. She was weak but attempted a smile. "Elrond," she moaned. "Elrond."

"Yes, I'm here." I knew she wouldn't be able to walk, so I commanded for the scouts to assist me in carrying her. I stayed close to her, shielding her face from the rain.

"Stream…Is she…here?" Riníth whispered.

"Riníth, I am here," I answered. "I will care for you. You are safe here."

"Is Stream here?" she asked again. "Where…is she?" Her eyes searched mine for an answer I could not give her.

"I don't know who she is."

Riníth then tried to speak again despite the agonizing pain she had. Her strength began to fade, but not before I heard the name Nessa whispered from her lips before she fainted. My mind immediately recalled the time when Riníth had passed through my home fifteen years ago with a young child named Nessa. She is your Uncle Erwood's child, she had said. Yes, I remembered the young toddler with her short brown hair and bright green eyes. She must not have been more than two years old. Riníth had explained that she was taking the child to Bree. My mind knew something evil must have happened to them for her to be desperate enough to escape here.

I led the scouts to carry Riníth to my own quarters as quickly as we could. Once this was done, I ordered them to leave and then began to analyze Riníth's wounds. I discovered her wounds were severe burns caused by a heavy weapon. The only thing I could do was to gently wash her wounds with a remedy I made to soothe the pain and cleanse her cuts. I stayed by her side the remainder of the night, watching over her like a wild eagle does her eaglet. I didn't even know if she would make it through the night.

Galadriel soon joined me, saying that Lindir told her what had happened.

"Who is she, Elrond?" She asked. She had not been present when Riníth had last visited Rivendell, and to my knowledge had never met her.

"Her name is Riníth. The Daughter of King Oropher."

"The late king of the Greenwood?" Galadriel was astonished. "I had heard that Rinith Oropheriel was a good friend of Idril when she still lived in Gondolin. What happened to her?"

"She did not say. The last word she spoke was the name Nessa, who is the daughter of my Uncle Erwood." We said little else the remainder of the night.

The next morning, Riníth opened her eyes. Though still extremely weak, she was able to eat something. She continued to rest for several days and slowly her strength returned.

Riníth then shared with Galadriel and I what had happened. She told us how the pack of orcs had found her in Bree and captured her, bringing her to Amon Sûl. Her body shook with fear as she recounted the torture the orcs had inflicted on her and how she had stolen a warg and fled. Riníth again asked if Stream had arrived at my house, and I told her no. Her face fell at my answer. She continued to daily watch for Stream.

It was only a short time after this when Stream arrived.