Category: Lord of the Rings
Rating: M
Couples: None
Warnings: AU, Blood, Character Death (sorta), Mention of Rape
Chapter: 9
Copyright: Characters & places © By Tolkien, Plot & OC´s © by me
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The move from Imladris went smoothly and the emptying of both Ithilien and Mirkwood was a fact soon thereafter. The end of the immortal race in Middle-Earth had officially come to an end as the last of its' members left for shores barred to the other Children of Iluvatar. The race of the Eastern Vassals, at least those that had been chosen by Rogan to accompany him and Shilene, boarded the very last ship sailing for the West.
No word had come whether they could sail or not and he had been unwilling to risk any more elves than necessary. Much to his consternation, most of the former rulers had declared him mad and were using the same ship.
His children slept much, saying the elvish food would do little to sustain them and they had to save their energies and what food they had brought on board. Only the parents remained as active as ever and when asked about it they explained that their great age allowed them to find energy from other sources than food, even if that was a much harder way to do it.
It wasn't entirely sure when they crossed the invisible line that marked the border between the Straight Road and the normal seas, but once they did it was obvious.
Stars shone beside their ship, throwing ghostly shadows across the wooden deck. A few hours later another ship seemed to dive from the skies, escorting them. There were elves on the other ship too, among which several Celeborn recognized. Foremost being Eärendil, grandfather to Elladan and Elrohir and father to Elrond, who waved joyously to his grandchildren.
The next day they were traveling over water again and Vingilot had disappeared again. Rogan and his family had been accepted by the Valar.
Yet they stayed away during the joyful reunions once they actually reached the harbor, only leaving the ship when Elrond all but dragged them down.
Here, in the Blessed Lands, the aura of strangeness around them had grown more pronounced, setting them apart from the elves almost as much as the few non-elves which had traveled here too. Gimli was greatly saddened when he was told that his father had died a few months after he had accompanied Legolas on this final journey.
Oropher was almost as welcoming to the Vassals as Elrond had been. He had been told by the Half-elf how Calon had saved his son and grandson.
That evening the Valar appeared on the doorstep of the mansion Elrond and his family lived in. Rogan and his family had joined them, deciding that they would once again serve him even now that they were theoretically free since both they and Elrond no longer lived on the shores where their oath was in effect.
The following talks lasted well into the night, after which the agreement was met that they would indeed be Elrond's Vassals for the duration of their stay on these shores and keep both the revelations of their true forms as well their breeding to a bare minimum, since Manwë doubted that Aman would be able to sustain both them and the elves if their numbers grew even more and they'd take up life in their true forms.
As time passed they became true members of society, even if their past was still pretty much shrouded in mystery.
It was Legolas who heralded a change in that last one. He had asked his grandfather to tell him and the dwarf the story of how the wood-elf had finally joined the Last Alliance. Shilene, who had overheard their conversation, had then suggested that it might be time to reveal the true story, if her Lords agreed.
Elrond deferred to Rogan then, saying that that was his Vassal's choice. Rogan, much to the elves' surprise, agreed that perhaps it was time that while their forms were not revealed, their roots should be.
So in the end, what should have been Oropher's story to tell to one elf and dwarf, became Elrond's to tell to a small audience.