Entry the Second – Lothlorien
The Lady is going west, to someplace called Valinor. Heaven only knows why she's going, but she asked me to go with her. I politely refused, since I was summoned to Middle earth, I'm evidently needed here. She did not attempt to convince me otherwise, as I thought she would. She simply said that I would have another chance when she returned to the woods. A part of me wanted to go with her, but I have not yet learned the reason for my summons, and so I must stay.
Either way, she leaves for the western sea tomorrow, and she granted me a glance in her mirror. In it I saw many things, none of which make sense. I saw a forest, not Lothlorien, and yet somehow it was more beautiful. I saw a great battle raging around a magnificent palace. The warring armies were both of great multitudes, but both fought well. The numbers of the dead and dying swelled and were virtually equal on both sides. I saw myself, dressed in finest satin, leaving the battlefield without a scratch. It was as if this great carnage somehow paid for my life. Then a ring appeared in the mirror, a beautifully wrought mithril band, gracefully closing in a pronged setting around a marquise-cut black stone. The significance of this ring is great, but I know nothing else about it.
Now I feel as if I must leave this place. The lady will be gone very soon; tonight is her last night in this forest. But where will I go? Perhaps into the land of men, if there is any race more aware of current events, I am unaware of them. I will need a map, weapons, and provisions. Also some sense of why I'm going away might help. Perhaps some sleep will clear my head of questions and I will think with greater clarity tomorrow. But this intention must not be forgotten. I must leave in the very near future, or I fear I will be here forever, never to fulfill my purpose.
