NOTE: I would like to give my great thanks to Ithildin over at the Tolkien
& the Inklings Forum at Xenite.com, whose assistance with Middle Earth
astronomy was most helpful. A deep curtsey to you my lady!
Urime (August), Fourth Age Year 3, (Shire Reckoning 1424) Just a bit later that day
A soft "Oh" escaped Sulewen's lips as the wagon emerged from the forest they had entered shortly after leaving the town. Fields of lavender stretched along either side of the road and beyond them marched orderly groves of young olive trees. Some distance before them was a large intricately wrought gate of iron set in a wall of finely carven stone, and beyond the gate the road continued gently upward through a swathe of verdant lawn to the crest of the ridge and there, rising amidst graceful gardens, stood the new manor house.
At a motion from Legolas, Dirion stayed the horses, and the three men sat smiling at the expression that had appeared on Sulewen's face. While not of imposing stature, those who saw the new home were struck with the sense of calm created by its airy symmetry and overcome by the sense of joy that was inspired by its whimsical, yet elegant decoration.
Broad stairs nearly as wide as the house swept up to a terrace backed by a loggia of arched pillars. Slender towers stood at all four corners of the building and between them, above the loggia, was a row of tall windows, the opened glass casements of which seemed to burble with laughter as the breeze tossed curtains billowed from within. Between the windows were fanciful statues set in niches and under the eaves were samll round windows that seemed as winking eyes. The roof was crowned with a silvered dome that shone gold in the noonday sun.
"Legolas it is so beautiful!" Sulewen murmured, "First the fountain, and now this! I can only think that the homes in Gondolin and Numenor must have appeared thus." "There is some truth to what you say, for we studied ancient texts and drawings, and drew inspiration from them. I did not want halls such as my father's - the land is more gentle here, the air is warmer and life is changed from the days in which my father's halls were built. There is no need to shelter below ground to escape from cold, nor any longer cause to provide a bastion against nearby enemies. It was my idea to build this home as a beacon of hope that life in South Ithilien will remain such for many ages to come. And for the days that I have remaining to me in Middle Earth, I wanted a home that would reflect both the sunlight and the starlight of this new age."
"And you have built one Legolas," Sulewen murmured still gazing at the graceful house that lay before them, "You have."
"But let us not tarry here too much longer," he said after a few minutes had passed, "you are hungry and I have much to show you. Though I hope you will understand that while the bulk of the work is done, there is much that remains within that needs attending to."
* * * * *
Gimli leaned back in one of the chaises set on the western terrace overlooking a long rectangular pool the size of a small lake.
"Ah yes," he sighed, "the irrigation system is working even better than I hoped. It appeared that all the principles would lend themselves to working well, but no one has ever used water pressure or valves in quite the same way."
The three companions reclined side by side gazing at the last remnants of the sunset lingering in the sky, replete after a meal of medallions of pork tenderloin that had been gently simmered in a puree of plums and lime juice, a salad of tomatoes and basil, and another of potatoes with a dressing made from eggs whipped with oil and flavored with tarragon.
"Gimli, you are a veritable prince of water pressure," Legolas said as he cut a small wedge from a round of soft, rind covered cheese placed it on an oat biscuit and offered it Sulewen who accepted it with a lazy smile.
"Mmmm, this is delicious," she said, "Gimli, the 'Prince of Water Pressure' - Legolas that is quite an apt description, but I would go one further, and say he is a King - the King of Fountain Mountain! I am so dazzled by your artistry Gimli, that I would count you among the Noldor did I not know better."
"The King of Fountain Mountain?!" Gimli chuckled, "Well, perhaps I am at that. There have never before been irrigation systems such these in all of Middle Earth."
"Oh Gimli, it was not the irrigation system I was talking about!" Sulewen laughed, "Though I realize that perhaps the irrigation system you have devised is perhaps the greater, though less apparent marvel. But your fountain! Oh Gimli! I have the good fortune to live in a home appointed with Dwarven stone and metal work, with running water indoors and fountains without. I have spent a goodly portion of my life in Minas Tirith where beautiful fountains abound, albeit they were dry for a goodly portion of the time I spent there. But never did I imagine a fountain such as I saw, nay played in, great child that I am, this afternoon!"
"It is wonderful is it not?" Legolas said, "And it remains strange to me to think that when I first met Gimli I considered Dwarves a crude people with limited appreciation of beauty - even after the Battle of the Five Armies, with the Dwarves returned to Erebor. And despite the fact that we were ever trading lumber, produce and game for the fine metal smithing and stone carving of the Dwarves, I allowed myself to be swayed by the ancient feelings of my people. I do not know how you can forgive me my friend."
"Allow our work and our friendship speak for itself Legolas," Gimli said as he selected a peach from a bowl set on the small table beside them.
"That the Dwarves' love of Beauty is a powerful force in their lives must be apparent to anyone with a thinking mind," Legolas continued, "but it has long been accepted lore among Elves that Dwarves were but a rude and untutored race, despite the fact that we often craved Dwarvish skill. It humbles me to think that I held such feelings for the people of the one who is now my greatest friend, and an artist of wonders in his own right."
"Legolas, I grow uncomfortable when you become too flowery in your repentance and your praise."
"Elrond used to counsel me otherwise," Legolas pressed on, heedless of Gimli's discomfiture, "and my earlier feelings now make me cringe, but my father was not known for his love of Dwarves, and so my mind was swayed by grudges held from earlier ages. Though in truth he greatly respected Dwarvish business acumen, as his annoyance with their agreements is any indication. Oh Gimli, on behalf of my people, I do apologize."
"Legolas my friend, you have already apologized numerous times and at the moment you seem to forget that I myself labored under the misguided lore of my own people and believed that all Elves were but a fading and feeble race, grown disinterested in Middle Earth, caring only for reminiscences of elder days and song and starlight. Your wine is very good sir, and I am very much enjoying it myself, but you might consider eating some of this excellent cheese to bring some substance to your thought, instead of continuing to sip your wine, which I find dilutes your speech."
"Oh Gimli, how we Elves could maintain this attitude now confounds my thoughts and causes me no end of puzzlement! And I am filled with."
"Legolas, I must insist!" " Gimli interrupted, "If you say no more about it, I will forgive you on behalf of my people. But if you continue on in this fashion, I will have to extract a contingency fee for the discomfiture you cause me. Sulewen, please take his glass before he starts to weep!"
"Gentle Dwarf and gentle Elf!" Sulewen interjected, "I am mightily impressed with you both. Legolas - your love for your friend is admirable and noted. And Gimli - your modesty becomes you. And if you will not allow Legolas to beg your forgiveness for ages of misunderstanding between your peoples," she continued with an arch smile, "Perhaps you will allow me to sing praises to your skill. The fountain is a marvel - beautiful and cunning. And what is more besides, it is as safe a pool as might be for children. There is hardly a place where a child could slip or fall or come to grief in any serious way, and it makes me wonder about the fantastic toys that must occupy the children of the Dwarves."
"Oh Sulewen! In truth, the toys of Dwarven children are fantastical things!" Legolas said, brightening again at her words, "as I have had the opportunity to note. Elven children have delightful playthings, and the dolls that are made for them by caring relatives and friends, seem wonderfully real. But Elven toys are often simply smaller forms of tools and such things as grown Neri and Nissi might use - a small bow or a set of pots and pans. And Elven children often make their own toys out of such things that they find about their homes, and spend many hours in imaginary games. As a child I played for hours with nothing but such sticks and stones and mud and vines as my friends and I would find in a glade by a stream near to my father's halls.
"I was enormously happy, but had I known of the toys of the children of the Dwarves, I may not have been! One would think that they were raised by wizards their playthings are so magical! Interlocking blocks with which they build small palaces that they can then step into, dolls that move when a key is wound, puzzles of beautiful intricate metal shapes that would even take an Elf hours to disentangle, bags of crystal cut in every shape and color of gem that can be found, pipes and fittings of clay and glass with which they can build mazes and then send water through them! If truth be known, I myself could spend time playing with the toys of Dwarvish children!"
"And if truth be known Sulewen" Gimli said in a low voice, "he has."
"Well my friend, the blocks were a wonderful help in designing Laug Suilanna, as you will agree," Legolas responded, "Sulewen, some of the sets of Dwarven building blocks are not only intended, but are also used by grown Dwarves to make models of the designs they wish to build. And I fully admit to spending many enjoyable hours using them to plan the town and this manor house, and the other projects that have come under my purview. And Gimli will admit that he did too. And if he does not I will take the bowl of peaches out of his reach."
The sky deepened from gold to purple to darkest blue until night was truly fallen. Their conversation dwindled to desultory comments and then the three sat in companionable silence, listening to the chirping of frogs and crickets, and the cries of owls and nightingales. The windows of the manor house behind them no longer glowed with light. The lamps set on the tables beside them guttered and then went out, leaving them to bask under the profusion of stars that shined above and were reflected in the lake that lay before them.
"Ah!" Sulewen drew a sharp intake of breath, "I saw a falling star! And look! There's another. Oh, it is the twenty-first of Urime! I had forgotten - it's Aule's Rain! The Smith of the Valar begins his season of labor and the sparks are flying," she whispered as yet another meteor gleamed in the heavens.
They sat transfixed by the display, quietly remarking from time to time at the magical beauty of the sky. Then, turning to pour himself another glass of wine, Legolas saw that Sulewen's cheeks were traced with tears.
She remained staring overhead, and in a moment she wiped her eyes with her forefinger and spoke, "As a child my parents would awaken me in the middle of the night on the twenty-first and twenty-second of Urime during the peak of the Auleo Rossë and we would sit making wishes until I nodded back to sleep. And then, years later, during one of Anarion's leaves from duty, we walked to Lake Mirusalpë and lay on our backs on the shore watching the falling stars, and that night we plighted our troth.
"But oh, so many of my wishes have never come to pass. And though I desired with all my heart that evil would be driven from the land, sometimes I can scarcely bear the pain that victory has caused me. Legolas, Gimli, your friendship does so much to give meaning to my life and fill those times when my heart sinks beneath the burden of emptiness. It seems to be a night for thanks, and I can not thank you both enough."
She reached her hands to the Dwarf and Elf who sat on either side of her, and the three remained thus late into the night, sitting linked in wordless thought as the stars traced an evanescent tapestry in the velvet sky.
Urime (August), Fourth Age Year 3, (Shire Reckoning 1424) Just a bit later that day
A soft "Oh" escaped Sulewen's lips as the wagon emerged from the forest they had entered shortly after leaving the town. Fields of lavender stretched along either side of the road and beyond them marched orderly groves of young olive trees. Some distance before them was a large intricately wrought gate of iron set in a wall of finely carven stone, and beyond the gate the road continued gently upward through a swathe of verdant lawn to the crest of the ridge and there, rising amidst graceful gardens, stood the new manor house.
At a motion from Legolas, Dirion stayed the horses, and the three men sat smiling at the expression that had appeared on Sulewen's face. While not of imposing stature, those who saw the new home were struck with the sense of calm created by its airy symmetry and overcome by the sense of joy that was inspired by its whimsical, yet elegant decoration.
Broad stairs nearly as wide as the house swept up to a terrace backed by a loggia of arched pillars. Slender towers stood at all four corners of the building and between them, above the loggia, was a row of tall windows, the opened glass casements of which seemed to burble with laughter as the breeze tossed curtains billowed from within. Between the windows were fanciful statues set in niches and under the eaves were samll round windows that seemed as winking eyes. The roof was crowned with a silvered dome that shone gold in the noonday sun.
"Legolas it is so beautiful!" Sulewen murmured, "First the fountain, and now this! I can only think that the homes in Gondolin and Numenor must have appeared thus." "There is some truth to what you say, for we studied ancient texts and drawings, and drew inspiration from them. I did not want halls such as my father's - the land is more gentle here, the air is warmer and life is changed from the days in which my father's halls were built. There is no need to shelter below ground to escape from cold, nor any longer cause to provide a bastion against nearby enemies. It was my idea to build this home as a beacon of hope that life in South Ithilien will remain such for many ages to come. And for the days that I have remaining to me in Middle Earth, I wanted a home that would reflect both the sunlight and the starlight of this new age."
"And you have built one Legolas," Sulewen murmured still gazing at the graceful house that lay before them, "You have."
"But let us not tarry here too much longer," he said after a few minutes had passed, "you are hungry and I have much to show you. Though I hope you will understand that while the bulk of the work is done, there is much that remains within that needs attending to."
* * * * *
Gimli leaned back in one of the chaises set on the western terrace overlooking a long rectangular pool the size of a small lake.
"Ah yes," he sighed, "the irrigation system is working even better than I hoped. It appeared that all the principles would lend themselves to working well, but no one has ever used water pressure or valves in quite the same way."
The three companions reclined side by side gazing at the last remnants of the sunset lingering in the sky, replete after a meal of medallions of pork tenderloin that had been gently simmered in a puree of plums and lime juice, a salad of tomatoes and basil, and another of potatoes with a dressing made from eggs whipped with oil and flavored with tarragon.
"Gimli, you are a veritable prince of water pressure," Legolas said as he cut a small wedge from a round of soft, rind covered cheese placed it on an oat biscuit and offered it Sulewen who accepted it with a lazy smile.
"Mmmm, this is delicious," she said, "Gimli, the 'Prince of Water Pressure' - Legolas that is quite an apt description, but I would go one further, and say he is a King - the King of Fountain Mountain! I am so dazzled by your artistry Gimli, that I would count you among the Noldor did I not know better."
"The King of Fountain Mountain?!" Gimli chuckled, "Well, perhaps I am at that. There have never before been irrigation systems such these in all of Middle Earth."
"Oh Gimli, it was not the irrigation system I was talking about!" Sulewen laughed, "Though I realize that perhaps the irrigation system you have devised is perhaps the greater, though less apparent marvel. But your fountain! Oh Gimli! I have the good fortune to live in a home appointed with Dwarven stone and metal work, with running water indoors and fountains without. I have spent a goodly portion of my life in Minas Tirith where beautiful fountains abound, albeit they were dry for a goodly portion of the time I spent there. But never did I imagine a fountain such as I saw, nay played in, great child that I am, this afternoon!"
"It is wonderful is it not?" Legolas said, "And it remains strange to me to think that when I first met Gimli I considered Dwarves a crude people with limited appreciation of beauty - even after the Battle of the Five Armies, with the Dwarves returned to Erebor. And despite the fact that we were ever trading lumber, produce and game for the fine metal smithing and stone carving of the Dwarves, I allowed myself to be swayed by the ancient feelings of my people. I do not know how you can forgive me my friend."
"Allow our work and our friendship speak for itself Legolas," Gimli said as he selected a peach from a bowl set on the small table beside them.
"That the Dwarves' love of Beauty is a powerful force in their lives must be apparent to anyone with a thinking mind," Legolas continued, "but it has long been accepted lore among Elves that Dwarves were but a rude and untutored race, despite the fact that we often craved Dwarvish skill. It humbles me to think that I held such feelings for the people of the one who is now my greatest friend, and an artist of wonders in his own right."
"Legolas, I grow uncomfortable when you become too flowery in your repentance and your praise."
"Elrond used to counsel me otherwise," Legolas pressed on, heedless of Gimli's discomfiture, "and my earlier feelings now make me cringe, but my father was not known for his love of Dwarves, and so my mind was swayed by grudges held from earlier ages. Though in truth he greatly respected Dwarvish business acumen, as his annoyance with their agreements is any indication. Oh Gimli, on behalf of my people, I do apologize."
"Legolas my friend, you have already apologized numerous times and at the moment you seem to forget that I myself labored under the misguided lore of my own people and believed that all Elves were but a fading and feeble race, grown disinterested in Middle Earth, caring only for reminiscences of elder days and song and starlight. Your wine is very good sir, and I am very much enjoying it myself, but you might consider eating some of this excellent cheese to bring some substance to your thought, instead of continuing to sip your wine, which I find dilutes your speech."
"Oh Gimli, how we Elves could maintain this attitude now confounds my thoughts and causes me no end of puzzlement! And I am filled with."
"Legolas, I must insist!" " Gimli interrupted, "If you say no more about it, I will forgive you on behalf of my people. But if you continue on in this fashion, I will have to extract a contingency fee for the discomfiture you cause me. Sulewen, please take his glass before he starts to weep!"
"Gentle Dwarf and gentle Elf!" Sulewen interjected, "I am mightily impressed with you both. Legolas - your love for your friend is admirable and noted. And Gimli - your modesty becomes you. And if you will not allow Legolas to beg your forgiveness for ages of misunderstanding between your peoples," she continued with an arch smile, "Perhaps you will allow me to sing praises to your skill. The fountain is a marvel - beautiful and cunning. And what is more besides, it is as safe a pool as might be for children. There is hardly a place where a child could slip or fall or come to grief in any serious way, and it makes me wonder about the fantastic toys that must occupy the children of the Dwarves."
"Oh Sulewen! In truth, the toys of Dwarven children are fantastical things!" Legolas said, brightening again at her words, "as I have had the opportunity to note. Elven children have delightful playthings, and the dolls that are made for them by caring relatives and friends, seem wonderfully real. But Elven toys are often simply smaller forms of tools and such things as grown Neri and Nissi might use - a small bow or a set of pots and pans. And Elven children often make their own toys out of such things that they find about their homes, and spend many hours in imaginary games. As a child I played for hours with nothing but such sticks and stones and mud and vines as my friends and I would find in a glade by a stream near to my father's halls.
"I was enormously happy, but had I known of the toys of the children of the Dwarves, I may not have been! One would think that they were raised by wizards their playthings are so magical! Interlocking blocks with which they build small palaces that they can then step into, dolls that move when a key is wound, puzzles of beautiful intricate metal shapes that would even take an Elf hours to disentangle, bags of crystal cut in every shape and color of gem that can be found, pipes and fittings of clay and glass with which they can build mazes and then send water through them! If truth be known, I myself could spend time playing with the toys of Dwarvish children!"
"And if truth be known Sulewen" Gimli said in a low voice, "he has."
"Well my friend, the blocks were a wonderful help in designing Laug Suilanna, as you will agree," Legolas responded, "Sulewen, some of the sets of Dwarven building blocks are not only intended, but are also used by grown Dwarves to make models of the designs they wish to build. And I fully admit to spending many enjoyable hours using them to plan the town and this manor house, and the other projects that have come under my purview. And Gimli will admit that he did too. And if he does not I will take the bowl of peaches out of his reach."
The sky deepened from gold to purple to darkest blue until night was truly fallen. Their conversation dwindled to desultory comments and then the three sat in companionable silence, listening to the chirping of frogs and crickets, and the cries of owls and nightingales. The windows of the manor house behind them no longer glowed with light. The lamps set on the tables beside them guttered and then went out, leaving them to bask under the profusion of stars that shined above and were reflected in the lake that lay before them.
"Ah!" Sulewen drew a sharp intake of breath, "I saw a falling star! And look! There's another. Oh, it is the twenty-first of Urime! I had forgotten - it's Aule's Rain! The Smith of the Valar begins his season of labor and the sparks are flying," she whispered as yet another meteor gleamed in the heavens.
They sat transfixed by the display, quietly remarking from time to time at the magical beauty of the sky. Then, turning to pour himself another glass of wine, Legolas saw that Sulewen's cheeks were traced with tears.
She remained staring overhead, and in a moment she wiped her eyes with her forefinger and spoke, "As a child my parents would awaken me in the middle of the night on the twenty-first and twenty-second of Urime during the peak of the Auleo Rossë and we would sit making wishes until I nodded back to sleep. And then, years later, during one of Anarion's leaves from duty, we walked to Lake Mirusalpë and lay on our backs on the shore watching the falling stars, and that night we plighted our troth.
"But oh, so many of my wishes have never come to pass. And though I desired with all my heart that evil would be driven from the land, sometimes I can scarcely bear the pain that victory has caused me. Legolas, Gimli, your friendship does so much to give meaning to my life and fill those times when my heart sinks beneath the burden of emptiness. It seems to be a night for thanks, and I can not thank you both enough."
She reached her hands to the Dwarf and Elf who sat on either side of her, and the three remained thus late into the night, sitting linked in wordless thought as the stars traced an evanescent tapestry in the velvet sky.