Since leaving Lorién Arwen had walked through the night, through dawn as light painted the sky in soft radiance and now as the sun reached its zenith, beating down mightily upon the land. Looking far across the windswept plain her eyes detected no respite from the glaring heat and not for the first time that afternoon she wished she had thought to saddle a mount for herself. She would still have had to travel during this time of day but at least she would have made better time.
From her vantage the night before, the peredhel had estimated that it would take her almost a full days travel to reach the place where the shooting star had fallen. But as yet there was no sign of it. Until she found some form of shelter, Arwen made do by pulling her hood further down across her face, thankful that the galadrim cloak offered some protection from the elements. Walking automatically, with her senses attuned to the background, Arwen let her thoughts roam over the nooks and crannies of her mind.
As soon as her feet hit the road, that vexing feeling of restlessness had been lifted, as if it had been a great weight constricting her, and for the first time in weeks she felt as if she were able to breathe easily. Still unable to form a connection between her sudden serenity and the things she'd seen during the night hours, Arwen attributed the agitation to a case of wanderlust. After that decision, the peredhil's steps were decidedly lighter, as she walked with a grin playing on her lips and her mind traversing the familiar roads to all the places she would go visit soon.
There was Rivendell of course, to visit with her kinfolk although this time she wouldn't give in to any pleas for her to stay longer. After that there were her Hobbit friends, from Bree to the Shire as well as the Splintered Chamber Pot somewhere along the way. The Bard's Guild, the Mithril Knights at Eryn Lasgalen and last but not least the Ring's Guild. As her joyful memories of these people and places came pouring back, Arwen crested a small hill and a sudden frown marred her smooth brow. Her smiling lips pursed in confusion as she considered the addition to the landscape. The last time she had come this way hadn't been so long ago, even in the years of Men and this had definitely not been here before…
Where before there had been nothing more than rock and grass spread out far as eye could see, now great silver trees rose to screen the horizon. Sensing no danger Arwen laid a hand upon the rough bark, the trees were normal… as normal as any tree could be in a land full of strange magic. In any case, though the trees had not come here by themselves their advent was mystical in nature. Shielding her eyes against the sun's glare, the peredhel searched for signs of whoever had done this; surely whoever it was would not go through the trouble of growing a forest in the middle of nowhere and just leaving.
But finding no sign that another had traversed there recently Arwen was wary of staying. With her hand trailing over the tightly interspersed trees she prepared to walk through the wood and soon discovered that the trees did not stretch all the way across but in fact formed a circle that could have been no more than a few meters through. It was easy to pass by if one so wished and somehow this reassured the peredhel, also this was the first shade she had come across all day and she was loathe to leave its cool respite.
Setting her bag down Arwen gladly leaned against a tree trunk, availing herself of the food and water she had packed along for the journey. Then replete and comfortable she leaned her head against the silver bole; breathing deeply of the earthy smells of the wind-swept plain and soon drifted into unbidden slumber.
The sky had darkened; just a faint gold line still shimmered on the horizon until it too was swallowed by the night. Arwen awoke with a start, her eyes dilating in the darkness as she remembered where she was. She had not meant to fall asleep but the day's travels had taken more of a toll on her than she would have thought and oddly disoriented, the peredhel rose to her feet. Turning to pick up her bags, Arwen took a step back for the landscape she had come upon was changed yet again.
While she slept the trees had moved, so silently that it had not awakened her though she wondered with some uneasiness if she would have awoken even so. In the day the trunks had grown close together so that even her slender body would have found it hard to squeeze through. But with the coming of night the trunks had moved farther apart and their silver bark gleamed with a strange luminosity. Trying to look through the woods to the other side, Arwen was faced with a pure white light that blocked her view. Where it grazed her face, the skin tingled though it was not an unpleasant experience. It reminded her of when she heard the elven choirs, their songs too moving to put into mortal words.
Knowing that nothing which caused such a feeling could be bad Arwen felt free from worry, thus shouldering her bag she pushed through the outermost trees to find the source of light contained within. She did not have to walk long, for the circle of forest was not so large, and as she came closer to the middle the light grew brighter, enfolding her in warmth. At the heart of the wood a space had been hollowed out, with trees ringing all around though overhead the moon could be seen clearly through the canopy. Around the edges of the glade, ferns and mosses vied for space and small night blooming flowers waved in an invisible breeze.
Thought it did not hurt her eyes to look upon it the peredhel found she could not see what lay at the very center of the light. It seemed just a place, a point in the air from where the radiance emanated. After a time of peering closely, Arwen realized that the light was fading, slowly but surely, though its brilliance remained undiminished and she was soon able to see what lay at the core of the light. Her gasp of incredulity was the only sound in the hushed night, for what she now gazed upon she would never have thought to find in such a place.