By Anarithilien
Part
I: Into Fangorn
Chapter
Seven: Encounters with the Past
Lendglad set the tale and Legolas drifted into reverie as it was told. In it he was taken to a place he had never before visited. He saw the vision of a forest garden made gloriously beautiful to his mind. Elves were like that. They could see the full of a picture in their minds with the littlest of details spoken. How many times had he fallen into reverie in his own homeland doing such, allowing the treesong to set him free on paths from times before his birth? Or drifted off as Gimli spoke tales of the dwarves, becoming intertwined in the story as if he lived it. Occasionally voices from others who wandered near as he slept would mesh into his dreams. But always the dream was of his make, coming from his mind. His actions were always guided by his own will or memory of such. That was what it was to dream as an elf. It was also one of the reasons the Hall of Fire at the Last Homely House was so well attended. Elves loved to live in tales of the past, most especially if they could act witness to it themselves.
Of course, Legolas knew his present and what occurred about him even as his eyes glazed over and he fell into soft, even breathes. Beneath him he could hear Gimli settling into his own resting place while the music of the Ents continued, celebrating still the night (even though it was now morn). For a moment he amused himself by thinking that they might be still at the same song when he chose to wake. But then he focused himself on the treesong deciding that this was what would make up the fabric of his dream, with Lendglad composing the tale.
Legolas drifted. He fell. The branch that he lay upon was solid under his back, and yet he was elsewhere, swaying, dizzyingly stumbling. The world spun slightly, and he laughed. He suddenly found himself in the company of others tramping through a wood. Tramping. And then he realized he was in the company of Ents, plus others, though he could not fully make them out for the Ent bodies. The Ents seemed to be leading them, and there were three of them in all.
"It is not much further, friends. We are almost there," one Ent said, and Legolas suddenly realized this was Mithtaur speaking. Mithtaur? His immediate wariness almost forced him to wake. This was the Ent that had warned them away from the woods. But then he sensed the secure feeling of the trees as well as those around him and his mood lightened. It seemed this Ent was not as he had been when Legolas and Gimli had met him. He was smiling and laughing. "I get so few visitors, hoohoom, but I think you will agree, friends-of-Fangorn, that it is the most beautiful place in the wood. Yes, onceyouseeit you will agree. And once done you will never wish to go anywhere else! Ho ho hoom! Yes, I do believe it so!" And Legolas had to laugh despite himself, for the Ent's voice indeed was full of a rumbling good spirit.
"It was so the last time I visited here," Legolas heard a voice say from behind him. He tried to glance at the speaker but the Ents blocked his view. It did not matter for he immediately came to know who he had heard.
"Ah, but you, Master Narvi, are not the guest of honor on this day, now are you hooom?" Lendglad was saying this. "And since you have visited this part of the wood afore, it is no surprise to you, I would think. Let this be Celebrimbor's to reveal,"
Legolas then looked at the third Ent and he was pleased to realize this one was Treebeard. And then he eased entirely, for he trusted that Ent most of all. If Treebeard was present, nothing out of place would occur. He felt sure of it.
"I may have been down this path before, Greywood, but I do not recall it being so far away," the voice of Narvi said from behind Legolas, panting a little to keep up the strides of the others.
"That is because you were never quite as -- shall we say -- quenched of your thirst when we traveled here before," another said, and Legolas thought this must be the voice of Celebrimbor. He began again an attempt to see the speaker, but then he found himself stumbling slightly over a tree root that he had not seen ahead of him a moment before. How strange! Had he nearly tripped? But this was a dream! He should not trip in his dreams. He should glide. He should coast. But to walk? To trip? That was not something he had even experienced when living dreams in the Hall of Fire! Ai, but Celeborn had been correct when he had said Fangorn was a strange forest if tales could be told so in depth as the make the listener truly experience everything within the story!
Afraid he might fall and be left behind in this dream, Legolas redirected his attention before him. He felt sure he would get another chance to look upon the great Celebrimbor before long. And too, he sensed the trees were rather mischievous in this part of the wood. The travelers would have to be wary of their steps.
"Speak for yourself, brother elf. I am well," Narvi replied.
"I do, cousin!" laughed the other.
But then a third voice interjected with half-hearted mirth, "How you both can claim familiar ties, I cannot comprehend. If you are related to dwarves, Celebrimbor, then I am related to toads."
Celebrimbor laughed. "I do see the resemblance!"
"Hooooom hoomhoom," Treebeard laughed.
"You know what I mean," the other elf replied.
Celebrimbor's voice answered, and there was a commanding quality to the elf's words. "The green elves see it; so might we. We are all the children of Iluvatar. And being so, I have come to recognize Narvi as brother and cousin to me. Ah, but I see the scowl on your face, Faeldaer, even if you turn your head from me. You must stop being influenced by the Sindar. Such prejudices do not live well in Eregion and they will be the ruin of our races if we are not careful. There, that is better. Yes. But we will have to take up this discussion more fully at a later date. Look, we have arrived!"
And so they had, for the Ents entered a clearing in the wood and were leading the way out into what seemed to be the last rays of golden sun. But just as they were about to make way into the light, a grunt and a gasp could be heard from behind.
Legolas was finally able to turn about, and when he did he saw a dwarven figure sprawled upon the ground. A taller figure rushed to his side and was hauling him up, but the dwarf seemed to be unharmed and was laughing. The third figure, an elf was standing in silhouette, away from the two, hands on hips. He spoke. "As close as you are to the ground, one would not think it so hard to navigate your own steps, Master Dwarf."
Narvi merely brushed himself off, then looked up to the tree over whose roots he had tripped. "I may travel without axe, friend," he said to the maple, "but I can seek retributions if I have a mind to it."
But the darkened figure replied, "Blame a tree then for your awkwardness. Why not recognize your inebriation as cause for your fall and be done with it?"
"I would, Master Elf, but I am not drunk!" Narvi answered, and Legolas came to agree that he was not. If Narvi indeed had been imbibing in Ent draught, as Legolas had no doubt he had, the elf knew from personal experience that what he was feeling was not the same as a state of typical tavernroom drunkenness. Though Legolas could not understand how this drink worked, it did have the heady effect of an ale upon its drinker -- somewhat -- but at the same time it was cleaner in taste than ale, more refreshing and its effect was natural and enhancing to the body. Stumbling where he stood, Narvi continued, "Were it so, I would be feeling rather ill in the morn. But I know I will not. Will I Treebeard?"
"Hooomhoom, I cannot say what this drink does to a dwarf, but never in your prior journeys have you appeared to feel adverse effect, Master Narvi. Nay, do not blame the drink. This fall was not due to stumbling feet, but caused by the trees that guard this haven."
"See! It was the tree," Narvi sniffed at the shadowed elf.
"Mithtaur, you are too pliant with them," Treebeard said though his voice was not scolding. "You must apply a harsher rod. Do they not know you bring guests forth?"
"I will take them to task for their poor behavior, my lord," Mithtaur replied as he paled (at least to Legolas' eyes it appeared he did) and Legolas felt pity for the Ent's shame. The Ent bowed then and his servitude to Treebeard was very apparent. Somehow Legolas came to understand then that Mithtaur governed just one small sector in this wood. He wondered then which role of leadership Lendglad played in the hierarchy. Was he Mithtaur's superior?
The dwarf blinked at Treebeard then, changing the subject dramatically. "Seriously, Lord Fangorn. I am telling you, we should bottle this drink. Can you imagine the fortune to be had for its curative effects?"
Had that not been what Gimli had said? "So like a dwarf," Legolas heard the silhouetted figure say. "How much wealth do you need before you stop thinking of ways to create more?"
The dwarf just laughed. "I shall never stop conceiving ideas, if that is what you ask," he answered. "My joy comes in profit! Perhaps you should wonder more what it is I do with my earnings. Ho, there! Is that not what you really resent?"
"I wonder nothing of you, Master Narvi, and thus I have nothing to resent," this other elf said as he stepped forward into the light. And though the words were said with good humor, there was snide quality to the reply. Legolas felt certain then that this one could not be Celebrimbor despite an elegant beauty that was distinctly Noldo in the elf. The silhouette of high cheekbones and firm jaw line clearly gave the lineage of this elf away. However, as he came into the clearing, Legolas could see that the light brown hair that fell to his shoulder was left loose and unadorned, marking him of more common blood. Still, there was a regal air to this elf, and Legolas detected an import that had nothing to do with bloodlines. What was unusual was the elf's eyes. They were almost golden in hue. Light and translucent, like the color of clover honey, the color was unusual for an elf and Legolas found himself entranced by it.
But then this elf's eyes narrowed as a question formed on his brow. With quicker steps he moved into the full light of day, gasping, and Legolas followed his path. There was obviously something ahead worth seeing. He halted at the archway created by the sweep of tree branches, and Legolas felt his jaw drop as he too took in the sight before them.
"A lake atop a hill?" Legolas asked in astonishment. He had actually said the words aloud, but so had the other. He apparently was not alone in his surprise.
And from behind, elf and dwarf shared laughter. It was then that the elf Legolas believed truly was Celebrimbor stepped forward next to the Noldor elf. He placed a hand upon his shoulder as he said, "I had wondered how long it might be before you would notice. Is it not spectacular, Faeldaer?"
Faeldaer. So that was the name of this other elf. He knew nothing in history of a Faeldaer.
But then Legolas too turned his eyes to the landscape so that he might see what they did. That was when he fully came to appreciate Lendglad's gift of tale. No story Gimli had ever conveyed had done so much to fuel the images in Legolas' mind as this one.
In the full of early summer's array the region was showcased as a breathtaking spectacle. From this perch on the slope, one could see where the forest ended and all of the fields laid open below. His eyes traveled north to where the craggy-skinned mountains, white-crested still, tapered into flat land, trailing like roots into grass. He followed the rugged trail of the slopes with his eyes as it merged into the beginnings of their forest, the green of brush, bush and tree merging until it came to one mass and formed Fangorn Forest. But the incredible vista was not what made the scene so breathtaking. The trickling sound of water could be heard to his ears, and he knew that it played down the slopes of the ridge. This is where his eyes went and where the full of his appreciation could be found. The entirety of this vista appeared mirrored on the surface of a pristine pool, as clear and tranquil as any Legolas had known. There was a steep rise all around them making this plain more a terrace off the mountain than a part of the ascending hills one might expect, and other than the forest path they had followed, their appeared no other way to reach this part of land unless one were to scale the rocky crags surrounding it.
"It is impossible!" Faeldaer replied. Indeed it seemed only too true.
And then Legolas's eyes tried to follow to the place where his ears found water. So it seemed the ledge upon which they stood was the place from which the spring trickled free. He could hear it pour into the basin of a lake below them. Too, it appeared to open into a small river that trickled past the catch, chasing down the hillside and into the valley below. He could see the running ribbon sparkle in the evening light, like azure crystals, while it meandered through the tall grasses and on beyond his sight in the fields of the plain far below.
Narvi scoffed as he too came to stand beside the other two. "It is unusual, but not impossible. It proves that there is granite below the surface, a solid bedrock. Of course, there are minerals further beyond, in the caves we had already explored. Those entrances are just below, on the lower rise."
"Caves?" Faeldaer queried, but his eyes did not leave the scenery.
"There is nothing to speak of for riches in those places. Still, wealth in the earth or not, I think this is a lovely place," Celebrimbor said. At last he could be seen. Legolas gazed hard upon the elf, memorizing every detail of the Hollin lord as he marveled at what a wonderful bit of history he was being allowed to relive. Celebrimbor was tall and golden to look upon, though his coloring was more the hue of topaz -- rich and radiant and warm. His garb for this strange journey was of much the same tones -- browns and berries and golds. His hair, though plaited, was not done up in any elaborate style, as was the custom of the Noldor courts. Then again, the elf lord was traveling, and their entourage was rather small. The show of rank was really rather unnecessary here, save but to impress the Ents, and Legolas knew that was uncalled for. But most astonishing was not these outward traits of the elf lord but more the detail of him. The dimming light of Anor glowed on him and it flushed his skin in peachy tones as the sky radiated reds, pinks, lavenders and royal blues composing the full of a summer sunset. He was beautiful to behold. . .
And then Legolas turned to look fully upon Narvi and he found himself smiling at the sight. The dwarf told of in tale -- the constant friend to Celebrimbor -- the one who had built the Moria doors with magic of his own -- was dark in color. His clothing was the color of the earth -- charcoal and clay, and the fabrics were dense and heavy in weight but not of the metal and mail Gimli fashioned himself in. His hair was thick and black and wiry, but it was plaited into an intricate array of braids that showed an artfulness in his manner. That small detail told Legolas that he was not like Gimli, who plaited his beard in a simpler manner so that he might better fight. Narvi's burly body was the opposite of his elven companion' -- where Celebrimbor was long, lean, and stern of form, he was thick, sturdy and solid. There was nothing unfit in his appearance. In fact he looked rugged and strong.
Turning to the Ents who stood sentinel behind them, Celebrimbor said, "It is magical. I never grow tired of it."
"How is it done?" Faeldaer asked.
Treebeard voiced credit, "Hoomhoom. The art belongs to Mithtaur."
"Art?" Narvi questioned. "It does not just occur of its own accord?"
"Oh, no, it is art," Celebrimbor appraised, agreeing with the tree lord. And he said as he gazed upon the jewel-toned landscape, "It is like the craft put upon gem and metal, Narvi. So beautiful! Do you not see it as you would the light upon emeralds and sapphires? Surely you can see this is more than naturally made?"
"Aye, I suppose I do," Narvi said in humbler voice. "Yes, it is great craft, I will concede."
Turning to Mithtaur, the golden elf said, "You are exceedingly talented!"
There was what appeared to be a blush coming from the graying oak. With a dip of his head he said, "You are kind, lord elf. I merely do what I find natural as an Ent." Behind him, Treebeard smiled.
"Nay, I am honest," the elf lord replied, sounding earnest as he stepped nearer the Ent, laying a hand upon his bark-like skin. "You must share your secrets with me, for it is apparent your gift is magical."
"So says one whose talents might also be called magical," Narvi added, then turned to Mithtaur, nodding and winking. "Such praise does not come often, Lord Tree. If Celebrimbor respects your craft, believe me, friend, it is indeed fine work."
Mithtaur seemed suddenly shy with those words, and Legolas mused that he appeared almost bashful basking under the high praise. "Thank you. I believe, is it correct, that those are the words I might say. Yes, yes, thank you. That is what I must say." But the Ent seemed somewhat confused, and that was not lost upon the others.
Treebeard's brow screwed up as he watched the exchange. He cocked his head to the side. "You look perplexed, my friend. What troubles you?"
Mithtaur blustered, a look of surprise spreading across his face. "Troubled I am not, But perplexed I am. I… " Here the Ent seemed to pause, but then turned back to Celebrimbor and Narvi as if they held clues to what he was trying to say. "You will forgive me, elf-friend, dwarf-friend, dear companions of the wood. I recognize that you give me a compliment and truly do I appreciate your praise for these gardens."
"It is my pleasure to give them," Celebrimbor replied, but the slight smile nicking the corners of his mouth told that he awaited what more the Ent had to say.
"Yet your words…" Mithtaur continued.
"Do we speak in wrong terms?" Narvi interrupted, and Celebrimbor raised a brow as if it were not unusual that the dwarf would do such a thing. How many times had Legolas had such an expression himself? Dwarves were an impatient lot. But Narvi took no notice of any of this as he went on to say. "The Common Tongue can be confusing I suppose if one is accustomed to speaking only in Entish words. Tell us what it is you did not understand and we will explain what was meant."
Shyly the Ent glanced to his other Ent companions before turning to the elf and dwarf again. "You speak of gems and metals -- emeralds and sapphires I believe you also said -- and yet ….Hooooom… These words are strange to me. What are gems? What are metals?"
Celebrimbor burst into a sudden heart-warming laugh, and Narvi chuckled a deep rumble at his side. Even Faeldaer smiled. As Legolas looked upon the Ents for reaction, he realized then that neither Lendglad nor Fangorn knew these terms either and they seemed fascinated and perplexed at the elf and dwarf response.
Celebrimbor began, "Oh, but of course! Of course! What fools we are Narvi! We assume too much. Why would Ents wonder of jewels? See, Faeldaer, the good earth is where we must learn to focus our eyes. That is where the salvation of these lands will come. Prestige, heritage, pride mean nothing here. The Ents are much like our Nandor kin. The Green Elves are so right! Fine then," he said to the Ents as his face brightened in smile, "We must describe these things then."
"Start with the fires, Celebrimbor," Narvi suggested.
"Nay, not fire, for they would not understand such a force. The sun though…" the elf's eyes turned to the last rays bouncing over the mountainside behind them. "In the making of metals, Anar is like the fire of a forge. Yes, I think you might comprehend that more," he said as he glanced then at the Ents. "It brings out the beauty that is hidden beneath. Under layers of harsh rock, when a fire is put to it, similar beauty is brought out. Gold melts into new form when the heat touches it. It is amazing to watch it drizzle free from hard rock. For you, it is like the sun touching the muddy soil, except instead, for you, seedlings spring forth. This is what gold is like."
"Yes, I like that! How well put! And the gems. Tell of the gems," Narvi urged.
"Emeralds and sapphires and rubies and diamonds. They come in all colors and it is as if they enhance what is around them, reflecting life."
"Like a blossom? This is how I would describe a blossom," Mithtaur said and Legolas appreciated the simplicity of this comparison.
"Such is a gem," replied the elf, nodding. "They are like the blooms of the flowers or the growth of new leaves. And they are rich. Rich. Like the water of your pool. Translucent and deep, they radiate light like the sun -- like gold, like diamonds! They sparkle and flare. They enhance all that is around them and make the beauty even that much the greater."
"Hooooom, yes, I see. I see. I understand now," Mithtaur said, nodding and looking pleased. "They are miraculous. That is how I look upon them. Each blossom to me is like a gem to you. They are treasures. But tell me if it is the same for you, for I see these as life."
"Life. Oh yes! Life! That is exactly it! No gem-smith would say otherwise. For you see, when watching stones take shape, seeing metal take its form…why yes, dear Mithtaur, it is like watching a birth. Only more wondrous because I know this was conceived of my own hands. With the magic Iluvatar has granted, my crafts indeed are alive," Celebrimbor confirmed, "I can only imagine it is the same thing you feel when you dig your feet into the earth or tend a new seedling."
The grey Ent was smiling broadly, and he looked very pleased. "We are much alike then," Mithtaur agreed, his eyes lighting up with the vision, as if he was seeing Celebrimbor's art as his own.
"I will make a point of someday showing you some of what we create," Celebrimbor replied.
"We should drink to these talents then," Treebeard said. "And what united we might bring to one another."
"I will not object to that!" Narvi praised.
"Aye. For we gather as artisans and we salute those who share our brotherly concerns. Let us drink to our gems and our jewels and the powers we deliver upon them. Such talents are not small. Let us drink to the healing done by such gifts and the healing that is to come in days ahead," the elf lord added.
"Here here!" Narvi chimed.
The greying Mithtaur smiled, "Hoom then, hmm-hoom. Nothing you might ask would give me greater pleasure tofulfill than to offer you libation and whatever hospitality my wood can provide. My grove is your grove as we Ents might say. But rum-hum, please allow me to make some reparations. If you would make yourselves comfortable, I will return quickly."
Mithtaur turned away then, and Legolas watched him depart while Treebeard affirmed, "Mithtaur has done well here. He will make you very comfortable."
"He is an artist," Celebrimbor said. "We have common traits. He and I shall do well together in the years we will share here together, I think."
"Hoooom hooooom. I would agree. Ever since he lost his wife and maiden Entings, he has put himself wholly into his gardens. He is a nurturing soul -- always adopting creatures of the forest. You will find they are plentiful in these parts, so your people will want for little in their hunts," Lendglad added.
"But he is sad at heart," Treebeard added. "Your praise does him much good."
Legolas considered that. He had heard the tale of the Entwives, but he had never appreciated how deep such a wound might be. He only knew what an agony his heart felt in his longing for the sea. Was that pain akin? And if the sadness in this creature's heart mirrored his own, Legolas felt, should he meet Mithtaur again, he might be more sympathetic toward his plight.
Then again, the Mithtaur he had met was not like this one in the dream. Harmless though Lendglad professed him to be at present, something had occurred to cause the Ent his current oddities. That was, after all, what part of this tale was to tell.
Legolas turned as the last rays of sun parted the mountain peaks. His eyes strayed east as the first stars began to twinkle in the cobalt sky. The ascending silhouette of pines and cedars could be seen reflecting in the pool along with those pin dots of light. The water, subtly rippling and turning, made them shimmer as the light gave way to dark.
"Come, my friend. I have much I would show you," Celebrimbor was saying as he led Faeldaer down a stone path that led to the forested part that surrounded the lake. Legolas could guess that they were about to explore the area of this jutted plateau leveled out of the lands. He noted too that Faeldaer appeared distressed. Legolas then turned to see if the others would follow. He was eager to discover more about this place and what the elf lord and this other elf were about to say. It was an exceedingly beautiful place and he wanted to see it, and he thought there might be something of import that might be said between the two elves.
But to his disappointment, none of the three remaining appeared to follow. Narvi took a place on the rocks that crested over the lake as Treebeard and Sweettree came to stand as sentinels at his side. "I was thinking perhaps," Narvi said, "That my people might try again to find minerals elsewhere in these woods. Fangorn is a large place, and it might be that further south there is gold if we delve deep enough."
Treebeards voice rumbled a deep groan as he appeared to consider this, and Legolas heard objection there. "If there are caves and no excavation to take place, I have no objections, Master Dwarf. But if you are to delve, I must say no, for I would not have these lands cut open unless they were to split on their own."
"But there might be wealth to be found…" Narvi countered.
But Legolas paid no more heed to this bit of conversation. His eyes followed the trek of Celebrimbor and Faeldaer. Faeldaer seemed to be questioning something of the lord.
Legolas could hear the conversation between his three nearest companions, the talk of mining in these parts. Though such information might interest Gimli, Legolas had no interest in these details and he was a bit disappointed to think that the story would follow that course. He would rather know that of which the two elves spoke.
But this was Lendglad's tale, and the Ent could only provide what he knew from his own experience, so Legolas knew the story would focus on that, as it had in real history.
And yet, Legolas could hear the other two speak. Allowing his mind to drift with their direction, he wished himself there. And then he found something truly impossible occurring. He was! He was able to follow them!
How strange was this? He should not be able to do such a thing! And yet he could!
He was surprised and he could feel his brow furrowing as he tried to resolve this mystery to his mind. He put himself back in his mind to where he should be, not ending the dream, but simply assessing where everything might have occurred.
He realized his outward state then -- the part of him that lay yet in the tree branch with Gimli dozing beneath him -- and he came to know the sounds about him. Lendglad was speaking the words of his story still while the trees chorused in the background giving their details to paint it more fully. That was as it had been. But beyond that, there was another voice, soft and sad and distant. It had not been there before. Legolas recognized it as an Ent's song. So quiet was it in the hullabaloo of noises all around them that it was hard to pick out precisely. Yet Legolas' elven ears heard it. He could not make out the source precisely, but he came to see that it was only adding to Lendglad's story. Further, Lendglad appeared to be unaware of it.
Legolas faced a dilemma then. Should he wake and seek out the lone singer? Should he remain in his dreams and let this new teller unfold a different part of the tale? Or should he continue on with the path of the story as Lendglad would have it? Deciding any of the paths taken would lead to no harm, he chose the most alluring of them. He followed the new voice into tale, and that is where his mind went as he continued to dream.
TBC
