October 22, 3018
Bellethiel, being so tired, had fallen asleep relatively early. Her slumber made her ignorant of the secretive plans her family was drawing up for her birthday the next day. Normally, such events were not of great importance in elvish society. However, tomorrow's was a very special event. For it was to be Bellethiel's 3000th year.
It seems that her mother and sister had little need for the secrecy that they employed, for Bellethiel had forgotten that her birthday was the next day at all. Her mind had been too preoccupied to think over such matters. So she continued to sleep peacefully on, unaware of the excited whispers and giggling coming from the next room.
October 23, 3018
It was the middle of the night, and everyone in their household was at last asleep. Bellethiel had been enjoying a night free of puzzling dreams for what felt like the first time in ages. Unfortunately, this did not last for long.
Soon, she found herself in the hall that she had been visiting of late. Although, now it was all clear to her. There was still a bright light at the end of the hall, but she could see all of the details around her.
She was standing at one end of an enormous golden hall. The ceilings soared high above her, covered in the most beautiful frescos. Behind her was a door made of a wonderful solid wood that she had never seen before.
Still in awe of her surroundings, Bellethiel missed the sound of a voice calling to her. She slowly began to walk down the hallway, when she heard the voice make its second call. This caused her to snap to attention.
"Remember, this is still the same dream," she thought to herself. "Except this time you can see more. You are going to have to keep your senses open so that we do not miss a single detail. Anything could be the answer to this riddle."
As she began to near the end of the hallway, she noticed that it fed into a large gathering room of sorts. Plush seats and benches could be seen about the room, with a large space cleared in the middle. She looked to the ceiling expecting to see more frescos, but was shocked to see that it was made entirely of crystal. The room was filled with the bright sunlight that was amplified by the ceiling.
Reaching the end of the hall, she stepped into the room. From this vantage point she could see a figure standing on the other side of the room. Following her instincts, she approached the figure. She was a step away when the figure turned around to face her.
Shock was the only word that could describe Bellethiel's reaction when she finally saw the face of the figure that had been haunting her dreams of late. She quickly dropped into a bow to show her reverence.
The figure could be heard approaching her, and she dared not to lift her head for fear of disrespecting him.
"There is no need to bow before me, my child," came the smooth, yet rough voice above her.
He lifted her chin to look her in the eye. Though still on edge, Bellethiel allowed her body to relax somewhat. Noticing this, he smiled at her.
"Much better. I can imagine that you are rather confused as to why you are here, are you not?"
"Yes my lord."
"There is much that I must tell you," he said. "Follow me and all shall be explained."
With that he proceeded to lead her through a maze of hallways in silence. Bellethiel did not mind the silence in the slightest. Her mind was still trying to process that she was in the presence of Oromë, one of the mighty Valar.
He slowed to a stop and opened up a large door made from the wood she had seen earlier. The door was inlaid with gold and jewels that shone in the sunlight. When he opened the door she followed slowly behind him. Before her was the most beautiful room she had ever seen in her life. The ceilings seemed to soar above her, with an enchanted image of the starlit night sky. All around her the walls were lined with books and paintings documenting the history of Middle Earth. Taking a step towards the closest painting, she noticed it was a depiction of the awakening of the elves. But the most fascinating feature of the room was the large wind across from the door showcased the beautiful forest below them. She was able to gather from her view of the forest that this palace, for it was surely a palace, was set upon a hill or mountain.
Remembering that she was not alone, Bellethiel walked to the set of chairs in which Oromë was seated. When he gestured for her to sit in the one across from him she did so. Unsure of what to say, Bellethiel sat in silence trying to gather her thoughts. It was not that she was afraid him. No, in fact she found his presence to be rather comforting. The fact that she was sitting across from one of the Valar, the creators of Arda, was what caused her shock. It all felt and looked so real, there was no way that this could just be a dream. Yet it was.
"Is this a dream?" she asked, forcing herself out of her stupor.
"If you mean to ask if you are asleep, then the answer is yes. But this is no dream. It is very much so real."
"How can it not be a dream if I am asleep?"
"Because it is a memory."
"Surely it cannot be a memory, for I would have remembered a place as enchanting as this if I had seen it before."
"Ah it may seem impossible to you, but all will come to light soon. How about I start at the very beginning?"
Bellethiel merely nodded at this.
"Many thousands of years ago myself and the other Valar were created by the great and all-powerful Eru. Soon after, he created Arda. He granted us the power to go to Arda and to shape it. Many of us did so, but not all. At the time, Melkor was the most powerful of us all. Rather than create in peace in harmony, he chose to follow us and ruin all that we had done. For he had been corrupted by his pride and greed and desire for power. His destructive nature caused much discord on Arda, something that we did not desire for the fledgling world. We fought Melkor, although he challenged us easily. It was not until Tulkas came to Arda that we were able to drive out and expel Melkor from Middle Earth.
So began the Age of Lamps, a time during which Melkor's power grew. In secret he began to seduce many of our own over to his cause. Among those he converted was Mairon, one of the Maiar who served under Aulë. For a time, Mairon's betrayal was unknown to us.
We had created Almaren as our home. There the light of the lamps mingled in peace. But this peace did not last for long. Mairon had told Melkor of all our doings. Seeing the beautiful realm we had created in Almaren, he sought to destroy it. He brought down Illuin and Ormal, the two lamps, which destroyed our beloved home. At this time, Mairon openly claimed allegiance with Melkor and was thereon known as Sauron.
We moved then, further west, to the Undying Lands, where we built our great kingdom of Valinor. Each of us created our own mansions and gardens in which to spend eternity in addition to the creation of the great city of Valimar. Wishing to put an end to the darkness that came about from the destruction of the lamps, we lit the land with trees that shone beautifully with an eternal gold and silver light. The Ages of the Trees were a time of contentment and great happiness.
It was during this time that I discovered the elves, a race that had already awoken underneath the stars of Lady Varda. They were created by Eru to be the most wonderful of all the races, fair in beauty, rich in mind, and immortal as the earth. The elves were not the only race to be awoken, though. During this time the dwarves and ents also awoke, and life began to fill Arda.
While we had witnessed the wonder of life in this new world, we were not the only ones. Melkor had created orcs and trolls in the Pits of Utumno. All manner of evil took up residence in his horrid domain beneath the mountains of the North.
Having seen the awakening of the elves, I came to greatly desire to create a life of my own. Soon, my wife, Vána, and I had a child, a beautiful girl named Nielíqui. She brought us great joy, and we loved her immensely. We would always find her dancing about in Vána's gardens, singing light melodies. For many years she enjoyed a carefree existence as a child under the lights of Laurelin the Golden and Telperion the White. But as she grew older, she began to see that there would be darkness in the world as long as Melkor survived. She held a great appreciation and fascination with the elves, especially after many of them ventured to our Undying lands. The very thought that Melkor could have committed the great evil of torturing them till they took the form of orcs pained her.
When Melkor was brought before us to be judged, Manweë felt that he had truly repented of his evil ways. However, my darling Nielíqui did not trust Melkor. Her distrust proved to be correct, as Melkor had aligned himself with Ungoliant the spider. He brought the spider to the Trees of Valar, which he struck with a spear, allowing it to suck all of the light and life from the trees. The darkness of Ungoliant's Unlight spread over Valinor. He then killed the Noldor king, Finwë, and stole the Silmarils from him. Thus began the War of the Jewels, in which many elves lost their life.
It was this offence against the elves that pushed Nielíqui to her limit. She came to me after she heard the news of Finwë's death and begged me to train her. Being unable to say no to my daughter, I agreed. She trained under me for 2000 years. Under my tutelage, she became a mighty warrior who fought with a fierceness that was a glorious sight to behold. Her strength lied not only in her fighting skill, but also her heart, for her love and kindness ran deep.
She fought alongside of me in the War of Wrath against Morgoth, as Melkor was now known. When Morgoth was defeated and sent to spend eternity in the void she was vastly relieved. However, being the wise and perceptive woman that she was, she knew that it would not truly be the end of his evil. That day she swore that she would fight to see the end of Morgoth's evil in Arda.
In the wake of Morgoth's overthrow, Sauron made his grab from his throne in Mordor. We chose to not interfere for an age, having faith that the free peoples of Middle Earth would band together and cast out Sauron. When Isildur defeated Sauron, Nielíqui held a great hope that the ring would be destroyed with him. Isildur's failure to do so dashed those hopes. She refused to see Sauron's reign return due to the folly of one man.
It was then that she made her second request of me. Her request was one that I wanted to deny with all of my being, but could not. She had asked that I should send her to Middle Earth am so that she could aid in bringing about the fall of Sauron. I granted her wish, and said goodbye to my beloved daughter. However, I did not allow her to enter Arda in her true form, for fear that she would be recognized by the enemy. So I sent her down in a new form, one that I knew would suit her and her purpose on Middle Earth. But before she left, I informed a Maiar, one of the Istari, of her passing to Middle Earth. He was the only one to know, apart from the Valar, of Nielíqui's mission.
And now we come to the true reason for our talk. For up to this point most has been background, which I am sure you have already learned in your reading. When Nielíqui passed to Middle Earth, she took a new form and was reborn as the child of a family residing in Imaldris. The father was one of the warriors who had fought in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, and her mother was a lady of Lord Elrond's court."
Bellethiel had been listening up to this point. As Oromë had guessed, she had read much of what he had told her. Nonetheless, his telling of the tale enthralled her. It was one thing to read about it in her books, but to hear it from a person who had witnessed it all... she was at a loss for words. When he began to tell of his daughter her interest piqued. The last part left her floored though.
"You could not possibly be talking about me, could you?" she choked out.
Oromë looked at her with warmth.
She knew that look. It was a look she had received from her father many times as a child. She often received it when she would say something particularly insightful, as she was known to do.
"Vanessë and Beriadan seemed the perfect choice for my daughter. They had been married for 300 years and were finally ready for a child. Beriadan's experience as a warrior would aid her when the time came for her to train once more and Vanessë's position at court would allow her access to Lord Elrond. So in the eighteenth year of the Third Age, Nielíqui was born into her new form."
Bellethiel had a death grip on the arms of the chair, fearing that she would fall out of it if she loosened her grip. Now that she had heard the entirety of his story there was no doubt that it was true. But she could not stop herself from think how it was at all possible. She let out a shaky breath before looking Oromë in the eye.
"So I am your daughter, Nielíqui?"
"Indeed," he said breaking out into a large smile that helped to comfort her. "And hence we return to your earlier question. This is not a dream, for it is a memory from your time here. Although that is not entirely true either. All that you see here is a memory, however the conversation which we have partaken in is occurring in the present."
"Then you have visited my mind in my sleep?"
"Yes my child. It was the only way that I could recount this tale to you without putting you at risk."
"What does this all mean? There is still much that I do not know!"
"This is true, but I cannot reveal your path to you. But you will find your way. Just remember, you do not have to go through this alone. There have always been and always will be someone beside you to help you through."
With that, he stood and walked over to her.
"Come child. It is time for you return to your home."
Bellethiel took the arm that he proffered and walked with him to the spot where she had arrived.
"Goodbye for now, my beloved daughter," he said, kissing her lightly on her forehead.
The world around her began to fade to blackness until she knew nothing.
