Authors Note: Sorry to leave you hanging for so long. Life has not been cooperating and partially due to that my ability to focus has been terrible. Started the new job today and I'm hoping that I will be able to knock out two chapters a week once I get situated. Anyway, this chapter we introduce a couple of the Valar, the main ones to be involved in this story. A lot of the plot is discussed in this chapter, especially a foreshadowing of what will be occurring in Thranduil's realm. Another reason why I've had an exceptionally hard time focusing is I keep thinking about that part… I'm really anxious to write it so that made getting through the chapters leading up to it difficult. Next chapter is from Dis' perspective… she has some dwarves and elf maidens to deal with. Thanks again for sticking with the story! And thank you for all of the reviews!
Just an addition note… Mairon was Sauron's name when he was a Maiar.
-O-
Chapter 50 – Death isn't always the end
Dax
He could hear the snapping and crackling of a fire nearby, he didn't recall there being one in the small room where Sabyn was. He was warm, nestled under a thick soft blanket; someone must have covered him up, Dis probably did he thought. Dax slowly opened his eyes, blinking several times until the ceiling came into focus. There were dark oaken support beams crossing the ceiling, he did not remember those being there before. Immediately he knew something wasn't quite right, the room was different. He reached to his side, his knuckles brushed into the soft but firm back of a divan; he was no longer in a bed! Dax sat up quickly in a near panic causing the blanket that was covering him to fall to the floor. Where was he? Where was Sabyn? He looked around him at the rustic room… like the inside of a forest cabin, nothing looked familiar.
"He is awake my husband," a serene female voice said. Dax startled then quickly turned towards the voice, he was shocked to see a beautiful woman with long curly ebony hair dressed in a flowing green dress sitting at a rough oaken table across from a rather large man in a room adjacent to his. The man had long auburn hair and a long beard of the same color that was intricately braided, his prominent features seemed oddly familiar. Dax felt that he should know this man even though he had never seen him before. The familiar stranger smiled at him and reached over to the spare chair at the table, the large man pulled it out.
"Join us Dax," he said in a deep voice as he gestured to the chair. Noting Dax's hesitation the man took a spare cup from the serving tray on the table and filled it with some tea. "Have some of Yavanna's spiced tea… it will help relax you, the death transition is never easy," he said sympathetically. Dax stared at the man in shock as his mind tried desperately to come to terms with what was going on. Yavanna was one of the Valar, she was the wife of… Aulë! The large man… the stranger… he was the Smith! He created dwarves! This had to be a dream, he told himself… but it felt so real. It couldn't be real, if it was real then he… no he couldn't be! Aulë said death transition, no he just couldn't accept it. Dax felt all of the air leave his lungs and his head start to spin. He started taking large panicked gulps of breath and he began to shake. "I think he's going to be sick…" the large man said with concern. He heard a chair scrape across the tile floor but he couldn't bring himself to look at them. He tried desperately to calm himself but he couldn't.
"He's not going to get sick," the woman said in an exasperated tone. "You could have told him better than that…" Yavanna chastised as she approached Dax, she knelt down next to the divan and started to rub his back gently. "Shh everything is going to be ok," she said gently, her soothing touch seemed to help, he was able to catch his breath. Dax turned and stared at her in disbelief.
"How is it going to be ok? I'm dead!" his voice broke. Sabyn… she was lost to him forever. The wizard had warned him that this could happen but he didn't have time to really think about the possible repercussions, saving her was all that was on his mind. Despair filled his heart at the realization of everything he had lost since that orb had found him, it all seemed so meaningless now. There was no guarantee that Sabyn survived, and if she did for how long?
"Oh I'll have none of that," Yavanna chided as if she knew what he was thinking, she pulled the shaken dwarf into an embrace. "Death does not always mean the end little one," she said softly. Her voice was calming and her embrace took away his despair. The Vala pulled away and cupped his cheek, she gave him a tender smile. "Come… have some tea. We have a lot to talk about before you go back." Dax mouth hung open as he looked at her in shock, he couldn't have heard her right.
"G – Go back? How? Am I to be a spirit?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. Yavanna laughed, her pale green eyes filled with amusement.
"Come," she said as she stood up and offered her hand to him. "We will explain everything." He felt some relief that she said he would be sent back but her vagueness worried him; he didn't want to be a spirit that was cursed to wander the land forever. Could he even trust that this was really happening? A part of him still wasn't convinced that this wasn't a dream. Dax looked at her extended hand and slowly took it. Yavanna pulled him to his feet and led him back to the table where Aulë still sat. He pulled himself up into the oversized seat and sat there uncomfortably, his eyes darting warily between the two Valar. Dax didn't know what to do, he was sitting at a table in a quant house and the Smith had poured him a cup of tea. How is someone even supposed to behave in a situation like that? "Here you go," the ebony haired Vala said as she slid the cup of tea in front of him. She reached over and grabbed a plate sitting next to her on the table. "Biscuit?" she asked holding the plate out to him. Dax stared at the plate of biscuits unsure what to do… to avoid taking one would seemed impolite so he picked up one of the golden biscuits off the plate. Dax sat there, a biscuit in one hand and a teacup in the other feeling extremely awkward and uneasy as Yavanna and Aulë smiled expectantly at him. He couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh or cry; the complete insanity of his circumstances nearly getting the better of him. He took a bite of the biscuit instead, he did not wanting to seem weak by crying or insane by having an outburst of laughter.
"Thank you… these are very good," he complimented the Vala. Yavanna smiled happily at him then sipped her tea.
"So Dax… you are probably very confused over what has happened to you," said Aulë as he leaned back in his chair. Confused is an understatement, he thought. Dax couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with the Smith, he felt unworthy and scared at the same time. The ranger kept his eyes downcast and nodded. "Well to put it bluntly you died… Radagast had to use all of your life force to bring Sabyn back. So we brought you here for a time, we have a lot to discuss before we send you back. We have a special job for you to do," Aulë said as he gave Dax an appraising look. The young dwarf swallowed hard and gave Aulë an anxious look.
"What kind of job?" he asked quietly, he was completely confused now. Why would the Valar need him specifically to do a job for them? Aulë tugged at a braid in his beard as he stared at Dax making the poor dwarf feel even more uncomfortable.
"I'm sure you were told about your role in saving the dwarf race?" Aulë said as his intense blue eyes focused on him. Dax nodded, it was explained to them at Rivendell what was expected of them, that they were supposed to create a new race with the elf maidens. Their children would stop the declining population. "Good… not a difficult task I assure you," Aulë said with a smirk earning him a glare from his wife. "Anyway," he said as he cleared his throat and avoided eye contact with his wife. "Besides that… I need you to be my voice throughout all of this. Galadriel's mirror cannot be relied upon and what she sees is very limited. I need someone that I can contact directly so that my will is carried out." Dax felt the color drain from his face as he stared at the Smith.
"You want me tell people what you say? Like a prophet?" he said quietly, his voice full of distress. Aulë nodded.
"More of a messenger than a prophet," he said with a shrug. "Through dreams I will be able to instruct you on what needs to be done. Maybe an occasional vision…" the Vala said dismissively with a wave of his massive hand before taking a sip of his tea.
"I beg your pardon my lord… but won't people think I'm insane if I say that I talk to Aulë? There was an old dwarf in our village that claimed he was Durin reincarnated, no one believed him. They would throw rotten vegetables at him to chase him away. Wouldn't that be my fate as well?" Dax asked, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Well, coming back from the dead tends to lend some credibility… wouldn't you say so my love?" Aulë asked his wife who had been sitting there quietly drinking her tea.
"Perhaps…" she said as her long graceful fingers traced the rim of the cup of steaming spice tea before her. "I think he'll need something more, they could always say that perhaps he did not die at all, that they were wrong." Aulë stared at his wife for a moment then nodded.
"Ok, a mark then," he said decisively. Yavanna shook her head.
"A gift would be better…" she said impassively. "A divine gift is harder to argue against or claim fraud." Aulë shook his head and glowered at his wife.
"Not yet… we've had this discussion already," the Smith said, anger laced his words. Yavanna raised her eyebrow and gave her husband a tight smile.
"We've discussed this but we did not reach an agreement. He will have the have the abilities in the future anyway, I do not understand why you are being so pigheaded about this," she snapped. Dax sat back in his chair, he was suddenly reminded of when he was little and his parents would argue. Except his parents were not Valar with the ability to create or destroy worlds. Aulë sighed heavily and rubbed his brow in frustration.
"It is not I who is being pigheaded wife," retorted the Smith. "You will not listen to reason…"
"Oh it is I who will not listen to reason is it? I am not the one who will not even consider another solution," she said through clenched teeth. Dax had never wanted to leave someplace as bad as he did right now.
"If any of the solutions were good ones I might consider them," Aulë said angrily. "Corruption…" he started to say but Yavanna cut him off.
"Do not speak to me of corruption dear husband, I believe my pupils have fared far better than yours in that area," she mocked. Aulë glared at her.
"That was low Yavanna…" he said, his tone a mixture of hurt and anger.
"Just making a point… perhaps it is best if this decision is not yours alone," she said coolly as she took another sip of her tea. Dax could almost feel the anger radiating from the Vala, she definitely did not look pleased. Dax glanced down under the table… perhaps it would be safer there?
"Yavanna… we've been over this more times than I care to count," he said in exasperation. "Until Mairon has been dealt with, we cannot risk the possibility of corruption." Yavanna glared at her husband and pushed her chair back, she stood up and walked over to the fireplace. "It won't be long… Isildur's heir has been born. Things are in motion…" Yavanna spun around, her pale green eyes flashed with a light of their own. She stomped towards her husband looking menacing, for the first time Dax was absolutely terrified to be in their presence.
"Another delay… always another delay! I have waited untold centuries to fix the land but it's always "wait Yavanna… wait Yavanna'! Well I'm sick of waiting," she yelled at her husband. She pointed her finger at the large man, Dax could have sworn that he saw Aulë flinch. "You promised me that after Melkor was banished that we would fix things."
"I did… and we will," Aulë said quickly as he tried to placate his enraged wife. "The dwarves are more conservative with their use of the forests and Eru gave you the Ents! Isn't that enough?" Dax thought about getting out of his chair and running out of the room but he had no idea where he would go, he was trapped. He huddled in the oversized chair wishing he could disappear.
"Is that enough?" Yavanna said incredulously. "Have you bothered looking at the Greenwood in the last century? It's half dead! Every year the forests dwindle, the elves are leaving… they no longer care to maintain them." She glared at her husband as she wrapped her arms around herself. After a few tense moments as they stared at each other, then she looked away. "You do not hear their cries Aulë… you do not feel the blades of the axes as your children are chopped to pieces," she said mournfully, her voice was full of pain. Dax suddenly felt guilty for every tree that he had ever cut down in his entire life as he saw the tears build in the Vala's eyes. He couldn't help but notice that the guilt was shared with the Smith who sat there quietly watching his wife. Aulë sighed, he got up from his chair and walked over to his wife. He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her gently on the forehead. They stood there quietly just holding each other.
"Alright… but we will need to teach him before he goes," the Smith said as he hugged his wife. The Vala pulled away from her husband and gave him a bright smile before she started to shower his bearded face with kisses causing Aulë to chuckle.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed happily. "You won't regret this!" Yavanna said as she pulled her husband into a tight embrace before stepping away. She gave Dax an apologetic look before returning to her seat at the table. The young dwarf averted his eyes and stared down at his half eaten biscuit feeling very awkward and out of place. "I am sorry Dax… we rarely have company, sometimes we forget how to behave." Aulë reclaimed his seat and gave Dax a sympathetic look.
"This changes things… there is much more that we need to discuss than before," the Smith said as he frowned. "It may be difficult for you to understand." A bitter laugh escaped Dax's lips.
"I'm sorry but this whole thing is a bit difficult for me to understand. I died… then you want me to be your messenger, now there is some gift? Why is this gift so dangerous?" he asked angrily but his tone was desperate. "Why are you doing this to me?" The Valar looked at each other before they turned their sad eyes on the young dwarf.
"Everyone has a purpose Dax… this is yours," Aulë said solemnly. We've been watching the threads for thousands of years. You have no other fate, it has been a solid thread from the beginning." Dax gave him a confused and frustrated look.
"I have no idea what you are talking about. What do you mean by threads?" he said shortly, his patience with all of this was wearing thin.
"Imagine the world as a great tapestry. There are a great many threads woven together to create that tapestry," Yavanna explained. "Everyone and all their experiences in life are a part of the story of the World. Vairë, my sister… weaves these webs of thread to create these tapestries of the Ages. What my husband meant by a solid thread was that there were no tangles, it has been straight and true from the beginning." Dax's mind mulled over what Yavanna had told him, it was slowly making sense. He had heard of the Weaver but never really understood how everything worked. He had never heard of a tangle though.
"How do things become tangled?" he asked, curious to know how something like that could even happen. Aulë frowned and glanced at his wife.
"A tangle can happen when there are many potential fates. When that happens we are given a few choices… either we can let it work itself out or we can fix it. Sometimes it cannot be fixed and we are forced to wait until it works itself out," the Smith said pensively. Dax frowned as he looked at the Valar.
"Why can't you fix it? You are Valar… I thought there was no limits to what you could do," he said in confusion. Both Aulë and Yavanna laughed at his words.
"We are not omnipotent Dax… we have our own rules and limitations that we must abide by," Aulë said with a chuckle. "I cannot just make things so… only Eru can do that and still there are certain limitations," the Smith said as he shook his head. "I wish I had the power to just fix things… I would undo the tangle that could undermine everything we have worked for." Yavanna reached across the table and clasped her husband's hand.
"It will work out… you will see my husband," she said with resolve. Aulë just nodded, he seemed upset about something. Again Dax felt like a child who was listening to his parents talk and only understanding part of the conversation. Yavanna glanced at him and smiled sadly. "The tangle involves Eliana, Fili and Thorin… we saw that there was going to be a problem and have tried to fix it several times but the tangle persisted. There is nothing left to do but watch it unfold and hope that the future we have worked for comes to pass. I believe it will…" Yavanna said firmly as she stared into her husband's eyes. "I have seen into Eliana and Fili's hearts, their love is pure and will withstand what is to come."
"I wish I had your conviction my wife," Aulë said, his voice full of worry. "If only I would have seen the corruption in Thorin sooner… this could have been avoided."
"Corruption?" Dax asked quietly. He had only heard tales of Thorin Oakenshield, his bravery was legendary. The dwarf was a hero in many aspects, how could he be corrupt?
"It is a problem that affects most dwarves… yourself and the other chosen excluded," Aulë said, his voice was distant and full of disappointment. "I made a mistake when I created dwarves… several actually but this was by far the worst. There is a sickness of the mind with your kin… you've seen it but probably did not understand what it was. The direct line of Durin was most affected." The Smith paused as if to collect his thoughts, he glanced at his wife who nodded in return. "Greed and obsession dominates the race, it has caused dwarves to abandon their home and family and dig into the deepest darkest parts of the earth for riches. They abandon all reason for a few gems or clumps of precious metal… that is why your race is dying out Dax. It is this corruption of mind and heart that has doomed the dwarves… it cannot persist into your offspring. That is why you and the others were chosen, you do not possess this corruption."
"I have seen it," Dax said softly. "My father had it to a lesser extent than the other dwarves he worked the mines with. It was one of the reasons why I didn't follow his profession and became a ranger. I hated him for leaving my mother and I for months at a time, she was always so sad when I was growing up." Dax remembered how his mother tried to hide her grief, their house was too small to not hear the muffled tears coming from her room.
"Your father was not as afflicted as others… he still managed to return home, others did not; they would forever be lost to the mountains in their pursuit of riches. Never fathering as many children as they could have… an imbalance was created. There are other ways this manifests… a much darker path, one that leads to obsession," Aulë said in an ominous voice. "It is hard to detect those who have this darker side of the corruption. It stays hidden until the object of their obsession appears and it is triggered… that is how I missed this in Thorin."
"It is not your fault husband… we all misinterpreted the signs. We thought the new King would be a son of Durin born from the parental line of kings back to Durin himself. It wasn't until Fili was born from a daughter of Durin that we realized our error," Yavanna said as she tried to comfort her husband. "All of us, even Mandos thought it was going to be Thorin until Eliana met Fili when he was a boy… then everything fell into place." Dax sat there and contemplated what they had said, while he did not know Fili personally he felt that he knew enough from talking to Lady Dis. He just couldn't see why they were so concerned unless…
"Thorin isn't going to try to kill his own nephew is he?" Dax blurted as he tried to wrap his mind around everything they had said about the corruption. Aulë shook his head.
"No but he will come in between Eliana and Fili, the full extent of how we are unclear… the tangle has many possible futures attached to it," the Smith said with regret.
"Well, from what Lady Dis has told me about her son I have to agree with Lady Yavanna! He has loved Eliana since he was a child, he would never leave her side," Dax said adamantly. Aulë smiled at him.
"I hope both of you are right," the Smith said as he leaned back in his chair. "It is getting late… we need to get you back, but first we need to talk about the orb of light that found you and the gift we are going to bestow upon you." Dax nodded, as interesting and surreal it was to be talking to the Valar he really wanted to go back. He needed to see Sabyn, he had to make sure that she was alright.
"Yes… I would like to get back before they bury me," he said anxiously. Yavanna laughed merrily at what he said.
"Don't worry, it will only be a few moments after you expired," she said her voice still full of humor. Dax didn't understand how that was possible but he didn't ask, instead letting it drop, but he was curious about the orbs.
"What were the orbs? I do not think even the elves even know…" he asked the Valar. "Were they just to make us seek out our mates?"
"No Dax, it is so much more than that…" Aulë said somberly. "Eru changed you to fulfill a role in the future, a very important role." Dax gave them both a confused look.
"Changed me?" he asked unsure what Aulë meant by that. "How?"
"First let me explain why the change was necessary. Within the next hundred to two hundred years the elves will be leaving Middle Earth. The dwarves were dying out, so that would have left only the race of men in Middle Earth… and that was an undesired outcome," the Smith said with a shake of his head.
"Why? Is there a problem with men too?" Dax asked.
"Yes, all of the races have their flaws, men's hearts are too easily swayed. They are far too easy to corrupt… wealth and power are coveted at the expense of all else. In a way it is more dangerous than what afflicts the dwarves now, but they are not dying out as a race and Eru still has hope that they will correct this character flaw over time. I am not so optimistic, neither are the other Valar… that is why we asked to combine the races of dwarf and elf to create a new race that will live alongside men. They will be the new guardians of Middle Earth taking over where the elves have left off," Aulë said as he tugged on his beard. "That is why we need the twenty-six of you… not only will your unions' birth this new race but you will be the new guardians, you will take over the Istari's role in protecting Middle Earth and all her creatures. You have been granted the powers of the Maiar… in a way you are Maiar just made not created that way initially." Dax felt his mouth run dry and his stomach start to twist into knots. He had no idea how he was going to be able to do what they were asking, he was only a simple ranger.
"H – How can I… we do this? I am just a ranger, I know nothing of magic," he said helplessly. "The others do not know it either."
"I will teach you," Yavanna said gently. "You, Sabyn, Kili and Laurwyn will all be my pupils… I will teach you to care and protect the forests and the creatures that call it home. We had planned to do this after Mairon has been vanquished, but you will be the exception for now Dax for I believe that it can only help us reach our goals. Especially with the consequences of the tangle looming in the future. The rest of the chosen's powers will remain dormant until Mairon is gone," Yavanna said with a soft smile. She reached over and took his hands in hers. "You above all the others has felt a kindred to my children, you have always been respectful and gentle. I have seen the peace that fills your heart when you are in the forest… I will have no other but you as my guard." Dax stared into her pale green eyes and was humbled. Yavanna had complete faith in him, he knew then that he would do anything to not let her down. He just nodded unsure what to say after that.
"What will you teach him?" Aulë asked his wife.
"I will teach him the basics, healing more than anything else. It will help him draw less attention to himself," Yavanna said decisively as she stood from her chair. She reached her hand out to Dax, "Come with me Dax and I will teach you what you will need to know, once we are done I will send you back to Sabyn." Yavanna gave him a reassuring smile as she waited for him to take her hand. Dax took a deep breath, he slid off the chair and took her hand. He knew at that moment everything in his life was going to be different.
ooOoo
