Project Rivendell Part Nine
The Shield of Valir
(A/N: the Shield of Valir is my own invention)
Amebrindra looked emotionally on as her lover embraced their daughter, whom Amebrindra had not seen since she was a babe in arms. The rest of the group merely looked on in wonderment, knowing nothing of Amebrindra and Connell's history. That was a story yet to be told.
It was some time before Gwyneth and Connell were composed enough to sit down at the table with all the others. Gwyneth kept her trembling hand in her father's as he told at least part of the story, though he planned to leave Amebrindra to explain the rest at her discretion.
Elrond looked at Gwyneth keenly, feeling he knew her from somewhere else. She met his gaze shyly. She too felt a connection, but as far as she knew she had never been to Middle Earth before. Despite that, she had often had a feeling of déjà vu over the past few weeks as she had travelled with the hobbits.
"My real name," Connell began, "is Colonel James Hadley. Hence the name Connell. It is what the people in Middle Earth began to call me when I first introduced myself. I am from the 21st Century, though I doubt that will mean a lot to the people sitting round this table. Many ages have … will have passed by the time I am born. This is my daughter, Gwyneth …" Connell stole a look at Amebrindra, who shook her head imperceptibly.
"How did you get to Middle Earth from your own time?" asked Gandalf.
"That is a long story," replied Connell. "It involves a dwarf called Valir, and a shield. The Shield of Valir."
Gimli was heard to take a sharp breath.
"I have only heard of it in legends…" he muttered. "It belonged to one of my ancestors from Moria. His name was Valir, and his shield was made of mithril. The only one of its kind…"
"What is mithril?" asked Gwyneth.
"It is a precious metal," Elrond explained, "which we elves call mithril, though I believe the dwarves have another name for it. It is used to make armour, though it is as light as silk to wear. Nothing that we have on Middle Earth can penetrate it. No sword, no bow, no axe."
"Valir was doing trade in Mordor at the time when Sauron was building his armies to fight against Isildur," Connell continued, nodding towards Elrond. He was aware of the story of Elrond and Isildur's battle. "Dwarfs were not shy about dealing with both sides, and he took his shield with him. Sauron was experimenting with many things that might help his cause. He took a fancy to this shield and wanted to use it to duplicate it for his army, but Valir would not part with it. When Valir had the shield made, he was intending to sell it to an elf, called Aniond, as part of a consignment of armour, but Valir grew attached to the shield, and decided to keep it."
"That's a dwarf for you," said Legolas, with a sly grin at his friend Gimli. They had long ago patched up their differences, so Gimli took no offence.
"The elf probably didn't pay him," Gimli quipped.
"Aniond was angry at being duped," said Connell, smiling slightly at the banter between the friends. "So, not knowing that Valir was in Mordor, he performed a spell that would take the shield far out of Valir's reach. Aniond's powers were greater than even he knew. As he performed the spell, Valir had his hands on the shield, and was taken where the shield was taken. That was in my time. It was the mid-sixties … which will only mean anything to my daughter, I suppose."
Gwyneth nodded.
"I was on a tour of duty in Northern Ireland when I was wandering back to the barracks one night, and thought I must have drunk too much. I was sure I saw a leprechaun in the road in front of me…" None of the other listeners, apart from Gwyneth, had a clue what Connell meant by a leprechaun, but they listened politely all the same.
"A leprechaun is a sort of elf, only very short, more of a pixie really, that is supposed to live on the shores of Ireland, and have stacks of gold hidden away," Gwyneth explained helpfully. "It's supposed to be kept at the end of the rainbow."
"Like that song you were singing to us!" Merry cried. Gwyneth, tired of singing Bridge Over Troubled Water, had amused the hobbits with the story of the Wizard of Oz. They had cried when it got to the bit about Dorothy waking up in her old bed again. "But I thought it was where happy little blue birds flew and your dreams come true…" Merry said, confused.
"Well, they will come true if you find lots of gold," Gwyneth replied, smiling.
Elrond looked at her sharply. Surely this woman from another world was not another one like Lady Rhonda or her friend Will. He had not yet told Gwyneth that her friends were in Rivendell.
"Anyway," said Connell, eager to get on with his story. "the leprechaun turned out to be Valir, who informed me that he was a dwarf. When I returned to England, he stayed with me for a while, until we could work out a way for him to return. We never really did. The way home for him just happened. There was a sudden thunder storm one night, while we were sitting in the garden. The shield was never far from him. He was sitting on it at the time, to get more height in his chair. Valir had just reached over to take a drink from my hand when lightening struck. I was thrown into Middle Earth in this time, but I have never learned what happened to Valir. I assume he was sent to his own time."
"As far as the legends tell, he never returned," said Gimli. "Our people never saw him again."
"I am sorry to hear that," said Connell. "I liked Valir. He was a sneaky customer, but he could hold his whisky."
"Dad…" said Gwyneth, as though she had just remembered something. "Isn't that about the time that I was born? Yet, you don't mention mum. Was she there? Did she know Valir?"
Gwyneth had been told that her mother had died when she was a baby and was always eager to hear more about her to add to the 'memories' that she tried to keep.
"No, she did not. It was before you were born, my love." Connell said, trying hard not to look at Amebrindra.
Elrond, however, could not fail to read the tension in Amebrindra's form. He struggled to read her properly, but her mind was closed to him. It told him better than her openness would that the beautiful young woman sitting opposite him was the daughter of Amebrindra and Connell.
"How did you get here, Lady Gwyneth?" asked Elrond.
"I'm an archaeologist, and we were digging in Wales, when there was a thunderstorm. I suppose I must have found the shield. I only remember seeing a glint of silver, then felt as though I was thrown down a tunnel. Goodness knows what my friends, Will and Gwyneth thought…"
"You will be able to ask them yourself." Said Gandalf, raising an eyebrow. "They followed you and landed in Rivendell."
"I don't understand," said Frodo. "Why do people not end up in the same place when they touch the shield?"
"I think I can answer that," Elrond replied. "I know of Aniond, and the spell he put on the shield was that it should go wherever destiny took it. It must have been Lady Gwyneth's destiny to find you in the shire, and her friends' destiny to land in Rivendell and corrupt all my elves." His voice was dry.
"Oh dear." Said Gwyneth quietly. "Rhonda, I presume?"
"Yes, Lady Rhonda." Elrond nodded.
"I am sorry if they have been a problem to you, Lord Elrond," said Gwyneth, blushing under his intense gaze. Any other time she might have enjoyed looking at his blue eyes. "They are not bad people really, but our manners and customs are very different in the future, though not all women are like Rhonda." She added hastily.
Elrond looked at Gwyneth and wondered. She did not seem as brash as Rhonda, that was true. He nodded courteously. Something in him wanted to believe the best of her.
