Greetings Friend,
She still will not speak of who she is and why she knows of the Old One as she has taken to calling him. Even her name cannot be drawn from her. It is strange, that one who so willingly places her life in the care of others, strangers even, does not have the trust within her to give a name to call her by. She knows much of our troubles, whether by what Lady Éowyn speaks of or some strange means of communication that I cannot fathom. Sometimes it feels as though she is reading our minds…
Certainly she knows things we would not wish her to, we do not want the general public knowing of the sad state of affairs in Ithilien lest they are alarmed by it. And yet here she is, a mere maiden of no particular worth, knowing things that surely should never have left the chambers of Lord Faramir! Her explicit detail in describing what befell Handol and the way in which she described the Ent's ailment so well are alarming to the extent I feel she is not to be trusted. Kleo it seems is of the same belief and will not converse with her. Period.
However there is one peculiarity still to be discussed. Fréa, sweet and bumbling Fréa, has struck up an astonishing companionship with the strange maiden. He does not speak and she recites to him strange poems, limericks and tales of days gone by. Of the Elves and the Númenoreans. Morgoth and Sauron. The Valar and the Maia. None are left and all are treated with the same accord. By night she sings to him of Elbereth Gilthoniel; enticing Healer Imrain into verse and song that brings joy to our hearts. A fleeting one that is replaced, only moments later, by a feeling of overwhelming grief.
By day her tales of grim battle and breathtaking love and passion serenade him so that it is obvious for all to see that he desires such a life. Little does he know that such bravery, chivalry and honor are legends of past Ages and never to be revisited. They cannot, where is there left to perform such heroics? Assuredly not in Mordor, where soldiers toil and sweat daily to return it to a beautiful and bountiful paradise. Ithilien itself? Perhaps, yet we do not have a way to fight these creatures. It is a hopeless cause to chase dreams of heroism. But it lifts the spirits of Fréa, even to some extent Eithelfar and Undew.
If she would but tell us her name! I cannot see what purpose it serves for her to keep it from us, there is little she can offer apart from companionship and bardship. We have yet to witness her wield her blade against foe, striking at someone when they are cornered does not count according to Kleo… which she voices frequently. Simply put. She is useless to us unless she can prove otherwise. So why is she still with us? Why do Fréa and the Lady Éowyn value her so highly? Surely this is another riddle put upon our path to delay our return… but is it the Valar Mandos' doing? Is this his plan? Ithilien does not amount to much the tapestries of Vairë, the Weaver. Does he truly wish to wipe us from it?
Yours in troubled mind,
Malachi, Scribe of Ithilien.