A gentle breeze stirred the golden-red leaves in the valley, and the song of many waterfalls rang clear under the blue sky. Autumn was in the air. Peace and quiet reigned in Imladris. And though the virtue of the House of Elrond was that of healing both body and spirit, there was one guest there who could not find peace.
Dorean settled here, hoping that one day, the pain will ease, and the gaping hole that opened in his soul with Loreley's death will seal itself. But the days passed by one after another, and the emptiness lingered, his heart bleeding still. He spent hours walking among the trees and little glens of the valley, not looking where he went, his mind dwelling on memories of the days when his mentor was alive, when she was there to share her knowledge and skills. He was fading, wasting away, and he knew it. But it was not the worse part – he also knew, that even if he, too, died, they would still be separated until the world changes, for Dorean, though Half-Elven of blood, was still mortal and had to share the fate of Men. As for Loreley, he did not know anything about her origins, save that she was partly a Vampire, and also a sorceress. She raised him since the age of ten, and yet he never heard a word about her past, until the day when Fate brought his own past back to him. And the bitter irony was that his past now took the place of his present. That which was once became that which is now, and the other way round.
On the fortieth day after her death, Dorean woke up before the stars faded from the velvet sky. He dressed and went out into the almost frosty freshness of the valley, his feet carrying him down an often-trodden path, which led to a little glen, surrounded by birches and old oaks. A sleepy stream murmured there softly, issuing from a small pool, at the feet of a waterfall. Dorean settled on one of the rocks set round it, and watched the stars extinguish one after another, as the sky grew lighter. When the last one, Earendil, disappeared with a farewell twinkle, the Sun started to rise to begin her journey in the heavens. In her light fine gossamer strands on the branches glinted like silver, and drops of dew on the grass shone like small diamonds. A tinge of gold made the lingering leaves translucent, showing every vein, and the water in the pool now had a fine pink glow. Dorean looked around, and smiled, despite himself. The beauty of this spectacle moved him, and he drew a deep breath, drinking into the crystalline autumn air. He felt that something changed, about him, inside him. The pain of his loss did not weight heavily onto his soul anymore. It did not fully go away, only subsided, leaving place for other feelings and emotions. Dorean closed his eyes. When he opened them, the Sun was already high in the sky, and all the valley was bathed in her warm rays. He heard footsteps, muffled by the fallen leaves, and turned around to see a tall and slender figure emerge from the red-leaved branches. His heart gave a great leap at this sight, but then reason spoke its word: it was not Loreley, but her daughter, Morendil. She was the exact copy of her mother, but for her eyes. They were sightless and black, and Loreley's eyes shone silver. Dorean got up and took her arms in his, asking: "How did you find me here, muinthel nin?" She smiled, answering: "I know your favourite haunts, Dorean." She freed her arm to pat his cheek, and said softly: "You are different today, Dorean, I can feel it. You got over your grief, you have let it go. This will be good news to Rhiannon and Baltrok, we all were worried about you of late. But now you are back." Dorean looked away from her face: "Yes. Yes, I am." Though he knew she couldn't see him, he wiped his eyes hastily with the back of his hand. He will have to live on, without his mentor's wisdom and strength of will, but now he knew that what he will miss the most would be the glint of Loreley's eyes, the silvery tingle of her laugh, the fiery flashes of her temper. Suddenly, Dorean felt a hand on his shoulder. "I have got something for you. It came to me, but I feel that you will need it more than I do." With these words, Morendil found his hand and let something fall into it. Dorean looked down. It was Loreley's ruby ring. It fitted him well, and felt pleasantly heavy on the finger. When he put it on, the gem glowed softly, and the ring grew warm. Dorean embraced Morendil: "Thank you, named sister" She said nothing, but there was a mysterious smile on her lips when they made their way back hand in hand.