Feet of the Dark Mountains. June 6, SA 722

OROPHER greeted Istuion with open arms.

"Good to see you again, old friend." Oropher offered Istuion a glass of wine. "I thought we were going to see you when we arrive at Amon-thon in a few days. How is your family? Did your daughter give birth?"

"Yes. It's a boy." Istuion's usually solemn face was bright and full of light. "He arrived with the end of Stirring. I would have sent you a word, but Wood-elves do not announce birth until three moons past. We will announce the birth at the start of the Midsummer celebration." Istuion smiled, his eyes sparkling like adamant.

"Congratulations," Oropher padded Istuion's back with enthusiasm. "So, how does it feel to have grandchildren?"

"Grandchildren are wonderful, Oropher. You need to have them. Unlike your own child, you need not worry about anything except spoiling them."

"If I can have them at will, you think I would not?"

"He still has shown no interest?"

"When did he ever?"

"Where is he? I haven't seen him since I was at Lindon to celebrate Aron's millionth Begotten Day."

"He is about. You know how young ones are. I sent someone to get Aron and Thranduil, so they should be here soon."

Just as Oropher said so, Aron stepped into his tent.

"Uncle! I did not expect to see you for a few more days." Aron laughed as he greeted Istuion. "How is my cousin? Elruniel, was it? I heard she was with child."

Istuion's face beamed. "She gave birth to my second grandchild a few months back."

"Second?"

"You will get to see them when you come up to Amon-thon."

Aron looked incredulous. "Isn't she less than three centuries old?"

"Most Wood-elves, should I say, are eager to have children. But how about you? You reached your first millennium over five decades ago—"

"And thank you for coming to Lindon to celebrate it with me. I had a great time, thanks to you." Aron turned to Oropher before Istuion could add another word. "You asked for me, my lord?"

"Thranduil not with you?"

Aron's face barely changed, but the youngster blinked and looked away briefly before looking up again. Oropher knew even without having to ask.

"You have no idea where he is."

"Ah… he is around."

Oropher and Istuion shared a look.

"He should be back before the sun goes down." Aron smiled at them, but Oropher knew Aron well.

"There is no way to reach him?"

Aron made a face, but nodded, his hand scratching the back of his neck.

"I will send people to look for him," Aron said. "I will do that right away." The young warrior turned to go, but Oropher stopped him.

"Does he know we will decamp in two days and will leave for Amon-thon?"

"He does."

"Then let him be." Oropher sighed. "He knows what is expected of him."

"I will make sure," Aron said. "Let's have a drink later, uncle." Aron ducked out of Oropher's tent.

"How has Thranduil been adapting to the life in the forest?" Istuion chuckled, watching Aron practically run out of there.

"I am unsure. He likes the tranquility. I think he missed being in a forest, but he traveled through one for the past six months. He is restless."

"Perhaps you need to give him something to do?"

"What he needs is some peace."

"He is young. Too much peace can be dull for him. Perhaps you should give him some warriors to manage, as he had done at Lindon. He is used to rigorous training and having a schedule. Perhaps there is too much freedom. That can be overwhelming to someone who is used to much bustle."

"Too much freedom, Istuion? There is no such thing. I would be lucky if he feels he has freedom. His life has been anything but free. He knows what is expected of him, and there is much expectation. It is a heavy burden."

If he could, he wanted to shield his son from all the duties and obligations, but some things could not be avoided. If Thranduil's destiny was tangled with this forest, as Oropher believed, then Thranduil had to face them and learn to manage them.

"But I am beginning to think that we should train warriors. It may be necessary." Oropher sipped his wine, feeling sorry to see the brightness in Istuion darken.

"I heard about your encounter with some mortals in the forest. But you think they will return?"

"It is not just those men, Istuion. It is how they proliferate. When we first arrived at this forest, there were hardly any men near us. Only a handful to the east by the Sea of Rhun, a few up north near the Ered Mithrin (Grey Mountains). In only six centuries, the number of men had tripled."

Oropher wondered how much he should tell Istuion. He was a good friend, someone Oropher trusted. But, for the past century, Istuion had retired to the land far east of the forest, devoting his time to the winery that was in his wife's family. Istuion was happy there. As much as Oropher valued Istuion's advice, he did not want to drag his friend back into the mire of politics and duty. But Oropher needed to make sure he was seeing clearly, and there was no one he trusted more than Istuion to have a level head and to steer him in the right direction. Once, back when they were like brothers, it used to be Celeborn that Oropher looked to, but that was long ago.

"And now the Edain who were given their own island returned to Middle-earth and made contact with the Noldor."

"Elrond is in Lindon. Edain were led by Elros. It is natural for them to be in contact."

"And the Noldor are allying with the Dwarves of the Misty Mountains."

Istuion's face froze. He sat forward in his chair. "How do you know?"

"Celeborn. He sent me a letter with Thranduil."

"So he and Celebrimbor are here. Did you see him? Celeborn?"

"He was to come to Lorinand with Thranduil, but he didn't want to leave Celebrimbor in charge when the fundamentals of the new city are still unsettled."

"That is understandable. We do not want Celebrimbor to control the new region, not when they are so near to us. But what is this about the Noldor making an alliance with the Dwarves?"

"According to Celeborn, that Feanorian scrap formed some sort of camaraderie with the Dwarves from the Blue Mountains when he helped them migrate to the Misty Mountains. Now, he's using that to approach the Anfangrim (Longbeards) who rule over the mountains here."

"Celebrimbor is a smith. Perhaps he just wants to corroborate with the Dwarves on some project?"

"How do you think alliances are made?"

"I like it not, but how would it affect us?"

"Did you know the Dwarves want to make a road through our forest?"

"Lord Laegir mentioned it. Some Dwarves approached the villages near the sections of the forest where they want to put a road. But then, that has been going on for some centuries."

"The Longbeards stake claim to most of the Misty Mountains east of us and the Grey Mountains to the north and the entire Iron Mountains to our east. In other words, Istuion, the Dwarven territories surround our forest. And they want to build a road through here."

"Probably to move the ores they found from the mountains in the east to their stronghold in the Misty Mountains."

"But is it only for that purpose?"

"Are you not being too suspicious? They have not threatened us in this forest."

"Not yet, certainly. But have you thought about how quickly the Dwarves were able to enter Menegroth?"

"We lost the girdle that protected our boundaries. Our Lady…. She left us vulnerable."

"Even when Lady Melian left us and our boundaries were exposed, the Dwarves with their heavy armor and weapons should not have moved that quickly to the gates of our great city if it wasn't—"

"For the Dwarf-Road." Istuion sat back.

"Yes. The Dwarf-Road that we helped to build from the gates of their cities all the way to the gates of Menegroth. The same road those kinslayers used to move so quickly into our realm."

"You think Maedhros received help from the Dwarves?"

"Without a doubt. They had the means, and they had the friendship with them. The kinslayers knew exactly where to enter and how our gate worked. They knew the layout of our city. Only the Dwarves who worked on Menegroth knew that besides our people."

"But Gil-galad is not like that. He was raised by my uncle. He doesn't have the ambition or desire to rule over others. He has none of the arrogance of the Feanorians."

"Can you say the same of Celebrimbor, Istuion? He is next in line for the throne. He who had the audacity to call me the murderer of his father." Oropher fisted his hands to stop them from shaking. "When it was his father and his uncles who… I who lost my father, my first-born son, and my… my…" Oropher sat back in his seat and closed his eyes to calm the ocean of emotion that swallowed him. His heart caught in his throat, quickening and tightening, making it hard for him to breathe. Oropher opened his eyes when he felt a warm hand on his arm. "I don't trust them, Istuion. I don't trust the Noldor, and I don't trust the Dwarves."

"As long as Gil-galad remains the high king of the Noldor, he won't allow such conflict to exist. He can't. And I pray for all our sakes that what you believe does not happen. This woodland folk is not ready to face any of them, neither the men, the Dwarves nor the Noldor."

"I know. But praying alone will not deliver us. And Amdir is not interested in uniting the Silvans. If we want to keep those around us from having any notion that they can enter this forest with no consequences to them, we must unite the Silvans and strengthen them."

"I thought you wanted to leave them as they are, and not influence them. I thought you just wanted to be part of them." Istuion's eyes wavered.

"I still do. But if we blind ourselves to what is going on around us, to the changes that are coming, we will only repeat what happened to us at Doriath and at Sirion. And I won't let that happen again. I can't. I won't."

Istuion sat back and remained quiet for a long time.

A servant entered with a candle to light a lantern. Through the open flap of the tent as the servant left, Oropher saw that another night had arrived.

"If we are to raise up an army, Gil-galad may become alarmed." Istuion took another glass of wine.

"He has been training and building an army for centuries now. Why should he say anything to us? And why should we care what he thinks? He is not our king. Besides, he knows that no matter how much we build up ours, we cannot challenge him. We do not have the means to secure better arms and armor than the Noldor. And we are not building up an army. We are just making sure that no one will take us lightly. That in itself can be a deterrent."

"Silvans could be alarmed, too."

"I never want it to be Sindar against Silvan. I want all of us to know that we are the same people. I want to do this not to protect just the Sindar, but everyone in the forest. I want Lord Laegir to understand that." Oropher gazed at Istuion.

"And you want me to talk to Lord Laegir."

"You are in a unique position as his in-law. I hate having to drag you back into politics. I know you are happy at Dorwinion, away from all these…." Even as he said so, Oropher realized he had already dragged Istuion into it. "It is a matter I plan to bring up at the meeting of the chieftains. Are you going to be there?"

"Lord Laegir asked me to attend." Istuion put down his glass and met Oropher's eyes. "And he asked me about Thranduil."

Oropher frowned. "I planned to take Thranduil to the Sacred Grove, maybe introduce him to Lord Laegir. But Thranduil has not left Amon Lanc since he joined me. How does Laegir know about my son?"

"There's something you need to know about Lord Laegir, Oropher. He knows- and I don't know how- everything that goes on in the forest."

"I've heard that he speaks with the Mother of the Trees, and he can converse with other trees and the critters of the forest. Is there some truth in that?"

"Well, I haven't seen him do any of that, but if he speaks with the creatures of the forest, that is not surprising. I know of few among the Green Elves who could as well."

Oropher thought back to Menegroth and his youngest child. "I always thought Thranduil has some of those talents. Lady Melian spent a lot of time with him in the forest."

"Has he ever spoken to you about them?"

Oropher let out a long sigh. "No. We never had enough time with each other."

"How about when you and he were wandering the wild? You spent a good century with him there. Did you not notice anything?"

"When we were out in the wild…. I avoided him." Now that he said it, the truth of it broke his heart. He had known it, but like all other sorrows and grief he had to put away to do his duty, he had put it away deep inside and had locked it away. But now, as the night fell like rain around him, the pain of it flashed like a lightning into his heart, wrenching the breath from him. "I couldn't look into his eyes. They are so much like hers. He looks so much like her…." His throat tightened, and it took him a moment to go on. "I avoided him when he needed me the most." Oropher turned away when Istuion's hand squeezed his arm. "I was not a good father." So why would his son talk to him?

"You needed time, Oropher. I think Thranduil would understand that better than anyone."

"He was a child. And he needed me."

"And you did what you could. With very few choices available to you. You took those warriors whose blood boiled for revenge and gave them a purpose so they could focus their energy on something constructive rather than more bloodshed. That night. The night the Noldor announced the building of the White city. You remember? That talk of rebellion and assassination…. And even if these Noldor are not the kinslayers, do you think they would not have defended themselves against our warriors who wanted blood? It would have been a disaster. And you cut that nonsense in the bud. You who had more reason than they to want it. And through it all, you kept Thranduil close. Give yourself some credit, Oropher. You did what you could under the circumstances. No one could ask more."

Istuion rubbed his arms as if he felt chill. "By the stars, I still remember that night like it was yesterday. That look of horror on Celeborn's face that night. I don't even know why he came, at that particular time, to the woods. As far as I know, he was not invited."

"It's Galadriel. She always had foresight on her."

"If she had the foresight, she should have known better than to send him, in that crowd."

"I don't think foresight work like that," Oropher said, remembering the red anger that ran through the crowd that night. Celeborn had tried to calm them, but the crowd which had at one time adored Celeborn had turned against him.

"They would have killed him if you did not intervene. There was bloodlust on them. Otherwise, how could anyone call Celeborn traitor?" Istuion got up as if he could not sit still. "I have never been more frightened than I had that night. Not even when I received the news of the attack at Menegroth and the death of my sister did I tremble as I did that night."

"They don't know him like we do." Oropher frowned down at his glass. He, too, had not expected the crowd to turn suddenly deadly like that. That dark night had engraved in his heart the danger of an angry crowd. It had convinced him that he needed to take those warriors and get them away from Lindon. And the timing had been right. Oropher had planned to take Thranduil away from Lindon as well.

"And what happened, at least what almost happened that night, it was my fault."

"How was that your fault, Oropher? Not everything is a fault of yours."

"I was the first one who called him a traitor."

Istuion's eyes bulged. "Why? You know better."

Yes, he should have known better. Celeborn was acknowledged the noblest and the wisest amongst them. His letter to him, despite what happened between them, was a testimony to that.

"When he refused to come with us, I got angry. It may sound like an excuse, but it came out before I could stop myself. And it was only that one time, Istuion. I never repeated it." But once had been enough. Oropher would never forget the look of shock and hurt on Celeborn's face. And he had never expected it to be repeated by anyone, but somehow, it circulated among the Sindar.

He should have known better to utter a word that he did not mean, no matter how angry he was. He sorely regretted it, but once a cup of water was spilled, it was hard to put it back to what it once was.

"You don't believe it, do you?"

"No, of course not."

"You need to make it right, Oropher. Let him know."

Oropher knew that. But it was a difficult thing to do. Istuion did not know it, but Oropher had also told Celeborn to leave his wife. He didn't know what made him say such a thing. At one time, he had loved and admired Galadriel like a sister than the cousin she was. But now, it was she that Oropher feared more than the young king. He knew her influence on Celeborn, her talents and intelligence, but more than anything, her ambition and her desire for power.

Anfangrim (Sindarin. Long beared Dwarves)—refers to Durin's Folk, those Dwarves who belong to the House of Durin the Deathless who settled at the Misty Mountains. Thorin (Fili and Kili) and his cousins are from this clan of Dwarves. During the early part of the Second Age, Longbeards controlled most of the mountains around the Greenwood.

Dorwinion (Sindarin, Young Land)—Land east of Greenwood and northwest of Sea of Rhun. It is known for its strong wine. In Hobbit, the special wine from the court of Thranduil is known to have come from Dorwinion.