I know, it has been a long time, but I didn't feel inspired to write this chapter until now. I hope you like it now. Again, I do not own much here, but am grateful to the one who first wrote of them and it, and to the one who inspired him and inspires me.

"So, you did not know? You were protecting your family at the time?"

Celuant swallowed and replied in a tone like the words passing through his mouth were the most bitter thing he ever tasted. "Yes …"

The judges looked to each other. Then one of them stood up and addressed the crowd of all the other green elves there. "We will now discuss the fate of these two elves we have made green elves, members of our people subject to our judgement …"

Before this elf had finished speaking, they were interrupted by another sitting among the judges. "Yes, but can we judge deeds done by them before they were among us and thus under our judgement and our laws?"

The one who'd addressed the crowd turned to the others and to Sarnhael's shock seemed neither angered nor surprised by the other's interruption. Another elf among the judges spoke then. "Are there not laws though, common to all elves they have broken?"

Yet another elf among the judges spoke. "Indeed, according to the tale that has come to us, the Valar themselves have passed judgment on them already according to these laws you have spoken of so well. Must we add to it without their direction? What would 'the Merciful,' whom we depend upon, along with his friends and fellow Valar, think of our doing so? Would not even 'the Judge' take issue with us finding it necessary to add upon his work without his commanding us to do so?"

Another spoke up from this last speaker's side, "But can we be sure this curse placed upon these elves by that great Judge will not follow these elves here and hurt us too?"

Sarnhael himself nodded stone-faced after these words were spoken. But the judge who interrupted, before, did so again. "But how can we, who ourselves disobeyed and have never before been in the position of killing another elf to save one closer kin to us, deny mercy when we might need it indeed, when even our king whom we followed needed it?"

Sarnhael stiffened and straightened. His eyes widened at this. The one who'd addressed the crowd before stood, raised his hands and addressed them again. "Let it be remembered here that a dear friend of our king, Denethor, one loved by him, according to our kings own words, attacked him. And in their fight, during which his friend tried to kill him many times, our king said he pushed his friend away. He said he did this so he would not be killed only, but that his friend fell back so far from his push, he fell over the side of the high mountain he'd led him up. When he found his friend again, he was still alive, but soon perished from his injuries from the fall. And if we had not believed this tale of Denethor's, that the action that cost his friend's life was an accident due to an attempt to save his own life from this once friend, so imbittered by choosing with the rest of us to stay in the aast with Denethor rather than following the Valar into the West, we ourselves would not have followed our beloved king into the west long after we no longer had the Valar to lead us. We became a people by settling here after our long journey with him. We ourselves became a people following one who had taken an elven life by accident. Can we then cast these two elves out from among us for taking elven lives purposefully."

Another spoke from among the judges. "Can we not see this as a great enough difference to do so?"

Sarnhael stared silently himself in shock as he thought about this story he'd never heard before. Lathwinn then stood up among the judges. The speaker, the crowd, her fellow judges, and the elves on trial looked to her. She raised her head and told her own tale. "Let it be known, I, Lathwinn, was kidnapped and carried away by orcs before I had even reached half a hundred years of age and reached the first hundred years of my life far from home. I returned, but on my way was stopped by a half-orc, one escaped while being turned from one of us, into one of them. Embarrassed to go with me but determined not to lose my presence with him, he tried to stop me from going home. Though it was my wolf friend, who in the end pushed him off me and over the side of the cliff he'd pushed us both to, I have always felt responsible for his death."

Sarnhael's mouth fell open as he watched Lathwinn close her eyes and bow her head. A teardrop emerged from one shut eye and slipped down her face. She continued, "I, and even our dear king, had not the excuse of fighting to protect loved ones from other elves, when other elves died because our actions, including calling another to our aid."

Her second eldest brother rose to his feet and shouted, "But you had a right to protect yourself!"

Others in the crowd stirred. Some turned to each other and spoke. Lathwinn's brother who was "Not" seated or standing among the judges, continued, "What sort of ruling will we make on this to endanger ourselves if we say, here, now, that we cannot defend ourselves against even kin, when apparently kin-killers are on our very shores?! What if one day, they attack 'us'?!"

More talking broke out among those gathered in the crowd as the judges sat, all of them, with furrowed brows and bowed heads, Lathwinn included. Finally, after some time of silence, during which only Sarnhael had his eyes wide open, one of the eldest among the judges stood and raised her hands and head before speaking to all there. "Have any other words to be spoken by any here before we make a judgement on this matter before all who call themselves green elves?"

One quiet, female voice in the audience spoke. "Can we really say that it 'is' not wrong to kill another elf that there should be no consequence for this?"

Lathwinn spoke harshly from where she sat. "There are 'always' consequences. The great Judge of all things will not let it be otherwise. The question before us now is, do we ourselves add to it?"

The eldest male elf among the judges spoke softly then, "And can we, truly? As with our king, there are no witnesses other than the one who took the life accidentally, purposefully, under bad guidance, or in an attempt to protect kin. Those killed were not our people to give justice to, as we have been appointed to for our own by others. And their rulers have already given judgement rulers greater than us. So, can we possibly add to it with their blessing?"

Another, hereto quiet lady, among the judges spoke. "Will we not be more likely to gain the favor of the Merciful if we show these elves mercy?"

The tallest and most noble looking among the judges rose back to his feet and spoke. "Can we not say if this happens among the people we are over to judge between that we will judge each killer as he, or indeed she, comes to us, taking into consideration their story and possible danger to another elf's life and also leave open the possibility of having to defend ourselves from kin set upon murdering us for some reason or another? I do not think it likely one of these Silmarils will come to us, here, but if one or more should happen to come among us, what then shall we do?"

An angry voice spoke from the crowd then. "Give it or them back to the Noldo who have claim on them! We are not thieves!"

The tall, noble looking judge turned to this speaker and replied, "But to which Noldo then shall we retutn them thus? Perhaps two or more among our kin from across the sea or even on this side of it will claim it, and it will be hard to judge between the two claims of our distant kin from the western shores."

A solemn silence fell over all as nearly every elf in the crowd and among the judges bowed their heads and contemplated such a fate possibly coming upon them. Sarnhael himself was doing so. Lathwinn and her eldest brothers held their heads straight but were clenching their jaws and shutting their eyes tight, brows furrowed in unpleasant thoughts and unpleasant memories.

Finally, the judge who spoke oftenest to the crowd rose and asked all there, "Are any more thoughts among you that must be spoken before we speak together and form a judgement on these elves among us now?"

Everyone in the crowd looked back at him in silence, except for Lathwinn's brothers. The second stood and spoke again first. "Simply this, we cannot always expect our kin to act with gentleness toward us. Our own mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and children may indeed become endangered by other elves. Will we then simply let ourselves and closest kin be slaughtered before us, when we have ourselves sworn to protect so much? Can we call ourselves protectors if we do so?"

His eldest brother stood at his side. He added solemnly, "And can we judge those whose crimes were against, not us, but against those who were under better judges than us, who have already had judgement passed on them by the Valar themselves? Shall we add a greater weight to that already carried by these two, when we ourselves carry the weight of not listening to the Valar's counsel either?"

What do you think?

God Bless

ScribeofHeroes