Book Three Love and the Shadow
v Mithrandir's feast
Having grown tired of silence, it seemed, Elrond now bestowed a public honour upon Eären. That same afternoon, while at her work, she was surprised to receive a visit from Elladan, the elder twin of the sons of Elrond. Erestor had told her one day that Elladan was the eldest, adding that he ever seemed to carry a greater seriousness about him, as though he knew his greater responsibility, from the first - for he would inherit his father's place in the fair valley one day. Elrohir, on the other hand, the younger twin, was a charming, witty, and irreverent elf, excellent company, and one whose love of life and the earth were always uppermost in his heart. Both went elegantly clad in soft grey cloaks, and wore the amethyst stone of Elrond's house upon their handsome brows, and Eären had grown fond of them both.
Bowing low, Elladan said gravely, "I am sent by my father, my lady, to invite you to dine with us upon the High Table this evening. There is to be a feast in the hall in honour of the recovery of Mithrandir! If you will consent to honour us, I shall come to your room to escort you there, at dusk, when the Tower bell rings."
Eären was surprised and gratified by this invitation, for she had rarely dined on the High Table before. She thanked him, saying, "I am grateful for this kind invitation, Lord Elladan. Perhaps, then, I shall return to my room and change my dress, for I wish to do your table honour!"
He bowed low, and withdrew. Asking Erestor if she might leave her work a little early, she went back to her room, and looked ruefully at what she had in her wardrobe, for she had had no space to bring much clothing of a festive kind to the valley. Indeed, she had imagined little use for it. However, soon after her arrival, there was a knock on the door, and Miriel, the elf maid whom Fin had assigned to her, entered.
"My lady, I have come to help you dress," she said. "And I have brought you a gown, which the Lord Elrond sends, with his compliments, if you will do him the honour of wearing it."
The dress she bore over her arm was astonishing, and Eären gazed at it in awe. It was made of a fine silvery material, so skilfully woven that the light seemed to rebound from it in a thousand gleaming points. It was simple in shape, like many elvish dresses, and yet mysteriously fluid. It seemed close fitting - indeed so exact was the fit that she wondered how she would get in and out of it, for she could see no fastening of any kind down the length of its long line to the ankle. It seemed multi-layered, made of some gossamer-thin material, through which many silvery gleams of other layers of fabric shone, but subtly, as though the moon were seen through wisps of white cloud.
"Where did this come from?" asked Eären in amazement.
"It belonged to the Lord Elrond's mother, the Lady Elwing of Alqualondë, my lady," said Miriel, touching it with respect, evidently in some awe of it herself. "It is a dress of great age – for that lady was the wife of Eärendil the Mariner, whose resting place is our beloved star, by which we light our way at night. It is a dress of great art, beyond my skill to make, or any here today in the valley, I think. Shall we try it on?"
Wondering why he had sent her this dress at this time, Eären nevertheless assented, sliding the dress cautiously over her head and shoulders. Mysteriously - and no matter how often she put it on, she never saw how this occurred - somehow it fell into place, and clung to her slender figure, a perfect fit. Miriel clapped her hands in astonishment.
"It fits you exactly, my lady!" she said. "Come – let us remove it again, bathe you and dress your hair. I have some jewels for your hair, which the Lord Elrond also sends. I see that he greatly admires you, for I have not known him compliment any lady thus these long ages – not since Celebrian went to the Undying Lands! You are a fortunate lady indeed, to win the admiration of our beloved lord!"
Eären said nothing, yet she saw now that in giving her the dress, Elrond was giving the most open signal to the valley yet, of what they had pledged together. Part of her heart warned caution, and she hesitated about wearing the dress, thinking carefully about the propriety of it. It would not have done in the White City at all, she thought ruefully! Yet, she sensed that here, it represented an important gesture, recalling, as it did, memories of the great days of the Noldor in Middle-earth, which many now said were gone forever. Elrond of course knew what he did, as always. Her heart told her that her wearing it today, when all seemed at its darkest, was the greatest possible gesture of defiance he could devise against Sauron! It was a declaration of hope, for all to see – that the darkness should not prevail forever!
Miriel helped her brush out her long, gold-bronze hair, until it gleamed, dressing it, elf-fashion, off her face, by making a handful of fine braids and drawing them behind her head in an elegant knot, pinning them there with a beautiful silver hair ornament. Then she wound a long line of white gemstones on a silver thread round her hair, letting the largest rest upon her forehead just below the hairline. She put fine silver sandals on her feet, and last of all drew the dress carefully over Eären's head again, letting it fall in its soft fullness to her ankles. It was as though it had a mind of its own, and merely fitted itself to the shape of the wearer if it chose to do so.
Eären looked well in it. The bright dress seemed to bring out the rich colour of her hair and the violet of her eyes, making their large shapes seem more colourful than ever. She was accustomed to wearing fine apparel, for her life had been lived at the court of Minas Tirith. Yet in her short life, she had given little thought to her appearance, beyond what duty required. She had had few compliments from her father, who had not led her to believe she was a beauty, and though her brothers had been stalwart admirers, there had been little time for such triviality in the citadel of late.
She was the more startled when Miriel said, "It is beautiful, my lady! You are beautiful! Only a very beautiful lady can wear this dress, and I knew in my heart that you could."
Miriel sat her now before the finely-beaten silver-coated panel that served them as a dressing table mirror, and hung some tiny seed pearls in her ears, which made her face the more luminous.
"Now!" she said happily, standing back to admire her work. "You look just as I have wished to make you since you came to our valley!"
"Thank you, Miriel," said Eären in wonder, surprised by her own face.
A knock came to their door, shortly after, and Elladan appeared, wearing his finest silver-grey cloak and a white gem at his throat, his dark hair flowing free about his shoulders. He too looked startled when he saw her, and bowed low.
"You are very beautiful, my lady!" he said, his voice full of admiration. Then, laughing merrily, he held out his arm, adding, "Shall I not be the envy of our hall, having the privilege of escorting you? Take my arm, and we shall step forth together proudly, and let all admire us!"
"I shall be proud to be escorted by you, Lord Elladan!" she responded, smiling.
They walked serenely down the long corridor together and down the stairs to the wide entrance to the elven hall. At the threshold, they paused, awaiting the arrival of Elrond, for it was his privilege ever to lead the party to the High Table. Meanwhile, Elladan chatted to her cheerily, full of jests and good humour, and she thought fondly what a fine elf he was, ever concerned for the ease and happiness of his guests.
Soon, however, Elrond arrived, with two or three of his elf retainers, and with Hador escorting him, as usual, at his right hand. As he stepped over the threshold, his face fresh, with a little colour whipped up in it by the wind, he saw her, and paused. If she had had any lingering doubts about his feeling for her, they were quenched now. His face was suffused with a joy she had seldom seen in one so contained, and he came towards her, taking both her hands, and saying quietly, that none should hear but her - for Elladan tactfully stepped back, to allow them a moment together - "I see that Miriel's task has been well performed, Lady of Gondor. You are beautiful indeed, tonight! Thank you for gracing our table!"
"Thank you, sir, for your gift to me," she said softly. "The dress is beautiful! And so are these gems!"
He acknowledged her thanks with a brief nod and said softly in return, "I should, perhaps, have talked with you before this feast, my love, for our dining together will be as good as an announcement of our betrothal in Imladris. Are you ready for this?"
"I am not ashamed, my lord, to love you, if you are not ashamed to love me!" said Eären simply.
He smiled then, full of happiness, before turning to Elladan, to include him in their conversation, saying ruefully, "Alas, it is your appointed task to escort this fair lady to our table, and I shall not take it from you, my son!"
Elladan's response was as humorous as she would have expected. He bowed, saying, with a twinkle, "Yet it is fortunate, father, that you did not see the lady before I did, else I should not have kept this task long, I think!"
Elrond laughed good-humouredly at this, and moved gracefully ahead into the hall, she and Elladan following, with their retainers behind. Now she saw that all the elves of the valley were assembled, awaiting them there, for this was the manner in which things were done on special occasions in the Lord Elrond's Hall.
Elrohir, Erestor, Alrewas and Glorfindel already adorned the High Table, dressed in their finest garments. Soon Niniel and Fin joined them from their labours, and so also did Hador, who took his usual place at the end of the dazzling row of elf lords. Even Arwen Undomiel was there that night, wearing a midnight blue dress of finest sheen, her dark hair sweeping the length of her shoulders, with fine jewels at her brow. All who were present stood to welcome their lord and his guests as they moved through the hall. The hall itself was decorated with torches everywhere, and glittering silver streamers ran along the galleries and drifted down the pillars on every hand. Moreover, on the tables stood colourful winter foliage and bright garlands of berries, on beautifully painted platters. Fresh food was piled in heaped bowls and plates down the centre of every long table. Ever after in Rivendell, that feast was celebrated yearly, and it was called Mithrandir's Feast Day and proved a welcome break in the long northern winter.
Elrond now went to his usual place, at the head of the High Table, facing the hall, while Elladan led Eären to the place of honour, beside him, and then he took his own place next to her, and they all sat down. The minstrels played tunefully, while more great steaming platters of hot food were brought forth from the kitchens. When all were served, they began to eat heartily.
Eären and Elrond were now able to converse a while, under cover of the noise and movement. Eären said to her lord, "Your hall is beautiful and welcoming tonight, my lord," and he said, looking pleased, bending his fair face towards her, "I am glad you think so, my love. It is good, in time of war, that we take what chance there is for celebration. For none can live in darkness forever, I think, otherwise faith grows dim and hearts fail."
"You think we are at war, my lord?" she asked seriously, noticing that he had used the word more than once, and he nodded.
"My heart tells me so. There is now no pretence of peace in the woods and mountains," he said sadly. "Lord Celeborn tells me that a great host gathers behind the high defences of Dol Guldur, in southern Mirkwood, which was ever the resort of Sauron. He begins to think that more than one assault will come forth from Mordor, when the time is ripe. Therefore we must be ready."
"Might there be an assault on Imladris?" she asked quietly, looking round at this cheerful, beloved company of wise innocents, as she saw the elves now, in many ways. For she had grown to love the valley and all her friends in it, and it pained her to think that so much love, light and joy might be extinguished, perhaps forever.
"It is possible," said Elrond calmly, breaking his bread with his delicate, long fingers. "Though I think not yet. There can be no great advantage to the Dark Lord in doing so, for the moment. First, he needs to capture those territories closest to his heartland. Yet if Gondor falls, and Lórien, perhaps, then will he gradually range further afield, and Imladris will be his next goal. No land in the north will be safe, once Sauron is master of the south, for he desires power over the whole world. Moreover, if Lórien is assailed, I must send aid to my kin."
Eären was shocked, for she realised she had somehow managed to believe in all this time that those who dwelt here were immune from the disasters of the world outside. That, in short, Elrond was himself immune!
"Then – will you go yourself to the battle?" she asked, a new anxiety gripping her heart.
He glanced at her soberly, reading much in her eyes.
"Long have I battled in the causes of Middle-earth," he said, with a rueful sigh. "If I must go - then I shall do so, though not with the gladness of my youth! Yet I think, perhaps, that my days as warlord are behind me, for someone must keep watch on events in the north, I think, and perhaps that is my part today. But I will not be able to keep my sons from the fray, or my elf lords!"
He turned anxious eyes of his own towards her companions. She sighed, and fell silent a while. After a time, Elladan, seeing her gloom, and perhaps guessing its cause, said, "Come, Lady of Gondor, let us make merry - for this night, at least, we are free of care and we must make the most of it!"
He proceeded to tell her some wonderfully amusing stories of his ancestors in the First Age and their exploits, and soon she was laughing at his jests and feeling more cheerful.
After the meal, Elrond rose and announced the recovery of Mithrandir to all those assembled, and he spoke moving words of praise for their friend's courage, and of hope and encouragement to all his followers, which were greeted with clapping and great joy among the elves. Then he led the guests at the High Table through the hall to the Hall of Fire, where the greatest fire she had yet seen flamed high up the wide hearth, fed by many great logs brought in specially from the surrounding woods. Eären was honoured to be asked to sit beside Elrond, in the place usually reserved for the Lady Arwen, who sat beside her brothers without demur. Much singing, playing and mirth followed, and the brothers Elladan and Elrohir played their haunting pipes to the silent, attentive throng, to great approval.
It was late when they finally retired to their bed, feeling happy and at peace. Eären was conscious of the lively glances she received from her lord's elves on all sides, but was aware of no sense of jealousy or dismay, even from Elrond's closest comrades, his elf lords, or his own sons. Moreover, at the end of the evening, Elrond took her by the hand, and brought her to his house openly, and all smiled on them on every side, as though at an acknowledgement made of a new beginning, that gave every heart in the fair valley fresh hope.
When they had divested themselves of their cloaks, and sat at peace in Elrond's sitting room a while, she put out her arms and drew him close to her, saying, "How good it is to know that our love for each other is known to the world, and that the world can rejoice with us so unselfishly!"
He bent to kiss her lips tenderly, before saying, "I did not doubt that they would! Yet, I fear that you have now become the Lady of Imladris, my love, as I warned you - and this will change your life, as well as mine. For it is a role, once accepted, that is not given up in Middle-earth!"
"I do not care!" Eären said, stoutly. "You will not dismay me, my dearest love, with these warnings! I would be that and much more for your dear sake!"
He brought her fingers to his lips, and said in wonder, "I do not know what I have done to deserve you, my spirited Eären, but I am overwhelmed by it!"
This joyful interlude, however, proved an oasis in a time of worsening gloom. A few days passed uneventfully, while Eären worked away at her tasks in the Healing Houses, growing a little more knowledgeable of the healing arts each day. Then, one day, the cold weather having lifted a little, she happened to be taking the air at the porch of the Healing Houses, when she saw Halbarad of the Dúnedain ride fast into the valley. Having given his horse's bridle to one of Niniel's servants, he walked quickly across the greensward towards Elrond's house.
After he and the Master of the elves had been closeted together a while, Elladan hastened forth and came to the Healing Houses, his fair face serious, saying to her, "Come, Lady of Gondor, for we have news which concerns you! Lord Elrond bids you join his council."
Hastily she washed her hands and removed her apron, and with a word to Erestor, she followed Elladan across the still-waterlogged greensward. They entered the Lord Elrond's study together, to find Halbarad seated at ease, drinking a glass of Elrond's wine. He rose and bowed courteously when he saw her, but his dark face was grim and he was evidently ill at ease.
Elrond stood tall and thoughtful, with his back to his long window. He presented her by name to Halbarad, however, his face unreadable, and to her, he said, "Halbarad's rangers have brought news of the fellowship, my lady, and of your brother Boromir. I have already heard part of his story, but I think it best you hear it from him, as he has just told it to me."
He indicated that Halbarad should tell his story, saying, "You may speak frankly, for we are all friends here and keep no secrets."
Halbarad, nonetheless, seemed reluctant to begin, looking from one to the other a moment. Elrond, for his part, seemed resolved to give him no help and so the dark ranger began to speak.
"Two of my rangers met me at Hollin Ridge two days ago, my lady, "he said awkwardly. " They had met elves of Lothlórien, west of the mountains, sent by the Lady Galadriel, to bring us news of the fellowship after they left the Golden Wood. Elves of the Wood followed the Company of the Ring, it seems, when they set forth from Lothlórien, though they were obliged to follow at some distance behind them, for the company could travel only under cover of dark, for fear of orcs on the eastern shore. Naturally, the Galadhrim did not wish to put the fellowship in jeopardy by following them too closely. The trackers came to a place two days ago called Sarn Gebir, in the Western Emyn Muil, where it seemed that some unknown assailant had recently visited our friends' camp. However, they found no signs of struggle, and the company had evidently rested a night there and moved on."
Eären looked from one face to the other, fearing that this was not all the news, her breathing tightening. Elrond saw Halbarad's hesitation, and said calmly, "Continue, Lord Halbarad, for this is a brave lady, as I told you, and will hear what must be heard."
The remark told her much, but the manner in which it was said also steeled her. Elrond held her eyes a long moment and it seemed to her that he told her, in the silence, to prepare herself.
"The elves followed the shore-line further south, looking for signs that the company had disembarked again," said Halbarad. "They passed the Argonath, the ancient gates of Gondor, and came to a landing place beside a green lawn, known as Parth Galen."
"I know it!" she said quickly, looking from him to Elrond. "I visited it during holiday times in my childhood, when Rohan was free. It is a green slope above Rauros Falls, which runs down to the water's edge, and there is a shingle beach there, broad enough to beach a boat. Above it there are woods and low hills and atop them some old and curious stone monuments, and a High Seat, which my honoured father said was once a watchtower of the Kings of old. It is called Amon Hên."
Halbarad nodded, looking at her with a fresh respect.
"That is indeed the place, my lady," he said.
He gathered his thoughts, and continued.
"Here, our friends the elves found many signs of an orc attack. There was a great heap of the slain, piled with their weapons about them. It seemed that the company of walkers had acquitted themselves well, for there were more than forty dead orcs, but none of the bodies was of the company that set forth from Imladris – none that they could find. Some of the orcs were unusually large and ugly creatures, heavily armed – larger than the orcs of the Red Eye of Barad-Dûr, I fear, though both were there in plenty. Indeed, Lord Elrond surmises that these larger creatures belong to Saruman the White, for their faces were evilly painted, with a great white hand. The same emblem was upon their shields."
Elrond intervened to say darkly, "The White Hand is the sign of Isengard, my lady. But this news is ill indeed, I fear, if I understand it aright, for it means that Saruman has created some evil creatures of his own, and now joins battle with us from the West, even as the Dark Lord readies himself to assault us from the East!"
She nodded, aware of what he was saying, and only looked into his beloved eyes when she could, for what strength she could find there. She found it – for it seemed that, somehow, when she met his eyes, she did not fear being overcome by her despair or behaving in a way that did not befit her father's house and his name. Yet she also knew that worse was to come, and she stood silent as a statue, and awaited it, her face now pale but composed.
Halbarad took up his story.
"The news I bring now is unhappy, I fear, Lady of Gondor," he said cautiously. "I do not know for certain what has happened, yet the signs conveyed a good deal. It seemed to our elf friends who searched the site of the battle that the fellowship had broken into at least two parties, maybe three. There were signs of skirmishing all along the lawn, and up the hillside, even as far as the High Seat of Amon Hên that you spoke of, and a great deal of orc blood had been spilled. There were spent arrows everywhere, and a few weapons overlooked, found by the elves in the high place and not piled with the bodies."
He cleared his throat uneasily - a good man, unhappy to be bearing bad news, she thought gloomily.
"I come to my main point, my lady. We know that our friends left Lórien with three boats. Nevertheless, thought they searched the area painstakingly, the elves found only one boat, hidden beside the water, covered by heavy branches of the trees nearby and evidently abandoned. It suggested that our friends decided to travel no further by the Great River. Indeed, such a decision would make sense, since Parth Galen is, as you know, within hearing distance of the Great Falls of Rauros. To pass the falls would be impossible by boat, and by land, they would have to carry their boats and packs a great distance over rough terrain."
Here he frowned.
"Yet the signs which remain are puzzling to read. If they went on foot, why did they not leave all three boats behind? It seems that one was concealed, while the other two boats left the landing stage, when the company departed that place. Moreover, there are two sets of tracks on the ground, which lead away from the scene of the battle – going not towards the river, as I expected, but away from it – into the west!"
"You judge, then, that they divided into two camps?" Eären asked him, keeping her voice even.
He sighed.
"That is the puzzle, my lady," he owned. "One set of tracks seems to be that of the orcs, who are not hard to read, for they ruin everything in their path as they go. They seem to have set off in a directly westward direction – running towards the sun, and at great speed. The second set of tracks followed them later - so say the elves - and they are surely the tracks of our friends of the company – at least, some of them. One print belongs to a man, probably Aragorn, whose boot is known to the elves of Lórien - and the other two belong to a dwarf, and very likely an elf, though elf markings are harder to read, for their feet are light."
Eären tried not to think, for her conclusions were already forming in her mind, and they were the worst.
"Perhaps Aragorn, and Gimli, son of Gloin?" she hazarded. "And Legolas with them? Where then did Boromir go? Did he take one of the other boats?"
Halbarad looked at her grimly a moment. At the same moment, she understood the impossibility of that, and she froze inwardly.
"But then – why so?" asked Halbarad. "My lord Elrond suggests that if the orcs went west, they went towards Isengard, perhaps to report to Saruman on the outcome of the attack. If so, it seems that our three friends decided to follow them on their return journey. But why did not Lord Boromir go with them?"
"Boromir would have wished to go directly south to Minas Tirith," she said, strenuously fighting the truth, though her voice lacked hope. "He did not want to go to Rohan, I think. Yet whoever followed the three to Isengard had some goal in mind."
Elrond intervened again, at this, saying gravely, "Remember what Mithrandir told us. He believed that Saruman had betrayed us utterly, and turned to the service of the Dark Tower. Saruman has deep knowledge of the Rings of Power. If the orc troop went directly west, they were returning to Isengard, to report to him, and by the shortest way."
"But what were they reporting to Saruman?" asked Eären anxiously, feeling impatient to know the worst. "They did not kill our friends, it seems, as we might have expected. At least, they did not kill Aragorn, Legolas or Gimli! My lords, I fear that the orcs already had what they came for, and left with it – could it have been Frodo and his burden?" She lowered her voice instinctively as she spoke the last words, for her heart almost failed her at the idea.
Halbarad looked at her with interest now, discovering her quickness of mind as Elrond had attested it.
"I at first thought so myself," he acknowledged. "And it would make sense, if Saruman wishes to capture the One Ring for himself. It is ever thus with the rings of power – endless coveting, and endless fallings out over them! Yet – if Saruman's orcs took Frodo, would they not take all the hobbits, for they could not know which of them bore the ring?"
"I doubt," said Elrond, witheringly, "that Saruman would have trusted orcs with the knowledge of the ring at all. He would have told them to bring hobbits back to him – and alive, so that he could question them!"
Halbarad did not dissent.
"So then, let us assume that the company of walkers was separated in the battle," he said patiently. "Say that the orcs took the hobbits, alive, after the fray, which, by the way, is at least some cause for blessing. Say that Aragorn and the two remaining companions saw it, and set forth to hunt them. Yet this still does not account for Lord Boromir, and there are no separate tracks leading south, as you suggest, my Lady Eären. Naturally, the elves looked long for them, and I doubt their keen eyes could have missed them. Alternatively, if we suppose that the orcs seized the hobbits, but took only their burden, and not the hobbits themselves, then why did we not find their bodies? For they would surely have slain them, rather than left them alive – for what? So we would have found their bodies. Yet, if the hobbits were taken by the orcs, as Lord Elrond says, then who took the two boats that departed shortly after the orc company left?"
He glanced from one to the other listener again. They began to see his point. It was a puzzle even for a skilled tracker to read.
"Our elf trackers could not ford the river at that point, for it is deep and wide," Halbarad went on, seeing he had their attention, "and it is many miles to the next crossing. However, they saw signs that possibly one boat had landed on the opposite bank. It had been abandoned, covered in brushwood, much like the boat they found on this side. However, they were less certain of any sign of the third boat. Did Lord Boromir take the third boat, and go after the second boat, across the river? If so, why did they not all go together in the same boat? For, surely, hiding two boats, on the eastern shore, would be more hazardous than one? Yet if the third boat did not go to the east bank, and was not hidden on the west bank, where did it go? It could have gone nowhere else except over the Great Falls."
Eären's her heart was becoming colder and colder within her breast, as she followed his careful hunter's reasoning – for Halbarad was no fool, she saw, but a ranger of great experience. She saw that he already had a theory of his own, but he did not want to thrust it upon her, until she had had time to absorb the details of the story for herself. As she stood silent, her vision of Boromir dead of a few days ago floated into her mind again, and it was clear and sharp, as though a waking dream. She looked at Elrond, who nodded, but remained grave, inviting her to speak. He knew well what was in her heart, she realised.
"My heart tells me that Boromir is dead, my lords," she said, with infinite sadness. "Two nights ago, I thought I heard the sound of his great horn in a dream, while I slept. It is said that if the Great Horn of Gondor is sounded in distress anywhere within the bounds of Gondor, it will be heard. I know we are not in Gondor, yet my heart is ever there, I think! He is my brother, and such closeness makes hearing keener."
Tears began to gather in her eyes, and Elrond came to her, and took her hands, with great gentleness, but said nothing, waiting for her to speak further.
After a moment, she spoke again.
"In a vision I saw the fellowship at Parth Galen. I think I can read the signs for you, Lord Halbarad," she said now, wearily. "Frodo and Sam escaped during the orc attack, and went by boat to the eastern shore and thence south towards Mordor together. The other two hobbits, Meriadoc and Peregrin, were taken by the orcs. They were cruelly bound with leather thongs and carried on the backs of two great orcs, with Saruman's White Hand painted upon their faces. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli set out after them. Nevertheless, not immediately - because their comrade Lord Boromir was dead, slain by the orcs, and they must first decide how best to honour his passing. Three deadly orc arrows in the chest had killed him! They put him in a boat, with his weapons, and spoke words of grief and farewell over him, and then they drew his boat out into the current, and sent him over Rauros Falls to the Great Sea."
A heavy silence fell upon the room. Halbarad bowed his head, for he sensed that what he was hearing was a true vision. Elrond, still holding her hands, looked deeply and calmly into her eyes and she felt the great strength in him now, that silently entered her heart, sustaining her. She was gladder than she could say for his presence, for it was the moment she had most dreaded since Boromir left Imladris.
"I am grieved," said Halbarad, looking up, now, and seeing the pain of her face, and she did not doubt the grief in his eyes. "Grieved beyond what I can find words for! For he was a great warrior, and will be sore missed by all his countrymen, and by you most of all, my lady."
"His father and brother will look for him from the White Tower of Ecthelion, and he will come no more," said Eären sadly. It seemed that her voice spoke from far away, as though she herself stood on the White Tower, even then, and gazed northward longingly, up the flow of Great Anduin, and the river was silent as the grave.
Deeply moved by her sad dignity, slight a lady though she was, Halbarad drew his sword, and knelt before her, presenting the hilts, and saying, "Command me, my lady! If there is ought I can do to serve you, that is in my power, I will do it and gladly!"
Sad though she was, she was deeply touched by this gesture, and Elrond was clearly very glad of it for her sake. She touched the hilts gently a moment, saying with the utmost solemnity, "Then avenge my brother's death, Halbarad of the Dúnedain, for a time of reckoning will come, I doubt not! Do so, and I give you my oath that the Lords of Gondor will not forget your fealty!"
Halbarad nodded, saying no more, and his stern face was darkly resolute as he rose and sheathed his sword once more.
Elrond now thanked the ranger for his pains, saying that he hoped that he would join them at table that evening, when he and the Lady Eären would speak further with him of these matters.
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