Meaning: In Shadows Lies Hope
Pairing: n/a
Type: AU; X-over; action/adventure; fantasy
Rating: PG
Note: Hey-lo there! And we're back with another chapter of Lumbulëssë Caita Estel, which means 'In Darkness/Shadows Lies Hope' in Quenya, the language of the High-Elves. I'm sure you've all forgotten that this story even existed, and to those of you who actually liked the damn thing, I'm sorry. I've been experiencing a bit of a writer's block, as well as being over worked by school; I haven't had time to write anything. This is going up in honor of Girl-chama-san, who has always encouraged me and provided much constructive criticism when I felt my stories were lacking in something.
Disclaimer: Anything owned by me will be duly noted. Until such a time, you may safely assume that everything belongs to someone else.
Warnings: Spoilers for The Two Towers. Usagi is NOT betrayed by any senshi. She does NOT realize "how the senshi really are", and will NEVER realize how wonderful they are. She does NOT dump Mamoru, and Mamoru does NOT dump her. She does NOT gain new powers. She does NOT go to another dimension. She does NOT run off into the Wild Blue Yonder with the Outer senshi. Come to think of it, she's not even in this. If you have a problem with this, then leave; otherwise your prerogative is furthermore inane.
A little way beyond the battlefield, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli made their camp under a spreading tree. It looked like a chestnut, but it bore the leaves of a former year, like dry hands with long fingers; they rattled in the night breeze mournfully. Gimli shivered. They had brought only one blanket apiece.
"Let us light a fire," he said. "I no longer care about danger. Let the Orcs come like moths to a flame if they will!"
"If those hobbits are astray in the woods, and Makoto has in fact not found them, if might draw them hither," said Legolas.
Though it wasn't an outright agreement, Legolas' vote of confidence in Gimli was gratifying to the dwarf. He nodded a quick thanks, though the Elf was not looking at him, knowing that Legolas' keen vision was not likely to miss it.
"And it might draw other things, neither Orc nor Hobbit," said Aragorn. "We are near to the mountain-marches of Saruman. Also to the very edge of Fangorn, and it is said that it is perilous to touch the trees of that wood. I would not risk it without a guide."
"But the Rohirrim made a great fire here yesterday," said Gimli, "and they cut down many trees for the flames, as can be seen. Yet they passed through the night safely when their labour was done."
"They were many," said Aragorn, "and they do not care for the wrath of Fangorn. They seldom come here and they do not go under the trees, whereas our path may lead us into the very forest. So have a care not to cut any living wood!"
"There is no need," said Gimli. "The Riders have left dead wood lying in plenty for us." He went off to gather fuel, and busied himself with building and lighting a fire.
Aragorn sat in silence with his back to the big tree; and Legolas stood alone looking towards the deep shadows of the forest, leaning forward as if listening to voices calling him from far away. When the Dwarf had a small but bright fire blazing, the three companions drew close around it and sat together, their hoods shrouding the light. Legolas looked at the branches of the tree reaching out above them.
"Look!" he said, "the tree is glad for the fire!"
Though it might have been the dancing shadows from the fire, it looked to the three that the boughs of the tree were bending so as to rest above the fire, while those higher branches stooped down. The brown leaves were now stiff, and rubbed together like old hands taking comfort in warmth. There was a silence, for suddenly now the dark and unknown forest made itself felt as having a great brooding presence, full of secrets. After a while Legolas spoke again.
"Makoto said this was her home, yet Celeborn warned us not to go far into Fangorn," he said. "Do you know why, Aragorn? What are the tales of this old forest that Boromir had heard?"
"I have heard many tales in Gondor and elsewhere," said Aragorn, "but had deemed them all stories made by Men as true knowledge faded until the words of Celeborn. I had thought of asking you for the truth. And if an Elf of the Wood does not know, then how shall a Man answer?"
"You have traveled farther than I," said Legolas. "I have heard nothing of this in my own land except songs that tell of how the Onodrim, the Ents, dwelt their long ago; for Fangorn is old, old even as the Elves would reckon it."
"Yes, it is old," said Aragorn, "as old as the forest by the Barrow-downs, and it is far larger. Elrond has told me often that the two are akin, the last strongholds of the mighty woods of the Elder Days. Yet Fangorn still holds a secret of its own; what it is I do not know."
"And I do not wish to know," said Gimli. "Let nothing in Fangorn be troubled on my account!"
They then drew lots for the night watch, and the lot for the first watch fell to Gimli. The others lay down. Almost immediately sleep claimed a hold of them: "Gimli," said Aragorn drowsily. "Remember, it is perilous to cut living wood from the trees of Fangorn. But do not stray too far in search of dead wood; rather, let the fire die. You have but to call me if you need me! And wake me if Makoto should come here."
With that he fell asleep. Legolas already lay motionless, his hands folded over his chest and his eyes open, as all Elves sleep. Gimli sat hunched by the fire, running his thumb thoughtfully along the blade of his axe. He watched Legolas sleep in wonder, for he knew not the sleeping habits of Elves. That they could blend the living night with the deep dreams was a wonder to the Dwarf. The trees rustled as if speaking to one another. There was no other sound for a very long time.
Suddenly Gimli looked up. There stood an old bent man, leaning on a staff, just on the edge of the firelight. He was wrapped in a great cloak and his wide-brimmed hat was pulled down to cover his eyes. Gimli sprang to his feet, too amazed to cry out at the moment though in his mind he thought 'Saruman has caught us!' Both Aragorn and Legolas, ostensibly roused by his sudden movement, though Gimli wondered if either had really slept at all, sat up and stared. The old man did not speak.
"Well, father, what can we do for you?" asked Aragorn, leaping up. "Come and sit by the fire and be warm, if you are cold!" He stepped forward, but the old man was gone. There was no trace of him near at hand and they did not dare to wander far in search of him, for the moon had set and the light from the fire was very dark.
Suddenly Legolas gave a cry. "The horses! The horses!"
The horses were gone. They had pulled themselves free of their pickets, or dragged them along, and disappeared. For some time the three companions stood still and silent, troubled by this new misfortune. They stood under the eaves of Fangorn, and an endless number of leagues lay between them and the Men of Rohan, who were their only friends in a dangerous land if they did not find Makoto. As they stood, it seemed to them that could hear, far off in the night, the sound of horses whinnying and neighing. Then all was quiet but for the talking of the trees.
"Well, they are gone," said Aragorn at last. "We cannot find them or catch them; so that if they do not return of their own will, we will have to do without them. But we started out on our feet, and those we still have."
"Feet!" said Gimli. "But we cannot eat as well as walk on them." He threw some fuel on the fire and slumped beside it.
"Only a few hours ago you were unwilling to even sit on a horse," laughed Legolas. "We'll make you a rider yet!"
"It seems unlikely that you shall have the chance," said Gimli. "If you want to know what I think," he began again after a while, "I think it was Saruman. Remember the words of Éomer: he walks about like an old man hooded and cloaked."
Legolas frowned, trying to remember if Éomer had indeed said anything of the sort. He caught Aragorn's eye and the Ranger nodded, "Those were his words." Almost sheepishly, Legolas realized that it must have been said while he had chosen not to pay attention.
"And he has gone off and taken our horses with him or else scared them away. There is more trouble coming our way, mark my words," said Gimli.
"I mark them," said Aragorn. "But I noted also that this old man had a hat and not a hood. Still, I do not doubt that you guess right, and that we are in peril here, by day or by night. Yet for now there is nothing we can do but rest while we can. I will watch for a while, Gimli. I need more time now to think than to sleep."
The night passed slowly from then on. Legolas took watch after Aragorn, and Gimli took watch after Legolas. But nothing happened. The old man did not appear to them again, and the horses did not return.
Realizing that at some point he had managed to crawl into Súrë's lap, Pippin looked up to see if she was very annoyed at him for it. But quickly he saw that she really wasn't paying much attention to him, rather, she was looking at Treebeard with a facial expression that didn't quite suit an Elf. He tried to place that emotion to a name and was startled to realize that it was a look of mischievous excitement, and an expression that he and Merry had often shared in the Shire. He then looked at Merry to see if his friend had noticed; and saw that he had not. But thinking of his home was now rather painful and he forcefully wrenched his attention back to Treebeard.
"Yes, you may be able to help me. And you will be helping your own friends that way, too; for if Saruman is not stopped Rohan and Gondor will have an enemy and in front. We go together – To Isengard!"
"We will come with you," said Merry, "We will do what we can to help."
"Yes!" said Pippin. "I would like to see the White Hand overthrown. I would like to be there even if I could not be of much use: I shall never forget Uglúk and the crossing of Rohan."
If either hobbit had turned to look at Súrë, they might have seen her smile for them, proud though it was small. But neither did for their attention was riveted on Treebeard.
"Good! Good!" said Treebeard, "But I spoke hastily. We must not be hasty. I have become too hot. I must cool myself and think; for it is easier to shout stop! than to actually stop!"
An annoyed sigh followed him as he strode to the archway and stood for a while under the falling rain of the spring. Then he laughed and shook himself, and where the drops of water fell they glinted like red and green sparks. He came back and lay on the bed and was silent.
"You should take some rest," said Súrë, almost startling the hobbits. Up until now she had been very quiet. "It will be a while yet before he speaks again, and you are both weary. I myself am tired, but I will wait for a little longer to see if he will say more."
"I am so tired I could sleep standing if it were asked of me," said Merry. "But I would so like to enjoy a bed. It seems forever since either of us last slept on one."
"Oh, of course. You shall sleep in my bed - I daresay there is room enough for two hobbits! Treebeard sleeps standing you see, as all Ents do. I shall sleep on his bed."
Merry and Pippin moved to allow Súrë to stand and then curled up on the soft grass and fern mattress. It was fresh, and sweet-scented, and warm from their sitting on it. Their Elven cloaks became their blankets once more but this time there were no Orcs, no Uglúk, to torment them. There were only the protective and watchful eyes of Treebeard and Súrë, and listening to the tinkling of the water in the archway, the hobbits fell asleep.
After some time, Makoto heard Treebeard murmuring again. He seemed to be counting on his fingers. "Fangorn, Finglas, Fladrif, aye, aye," he sighed. "The trouble is that there are so few of us left. Only three of the first Ents remain: only myself, Finglas and Fladrif, and all three of us are not much use for this business. Finglas has taken to standing in the meadows all summer and now is too drowsy to walk far even in the winter."
"Aye, and I've not seen Fladrif since he was wounded by Orcs," Makoto agreed, nodding grimly.
"Yes, he went up into the high places and has yet to come down," Treebeard said, "Still, I daresay I could get together a fair company of our younger folks - if I could make them understand the need; if I could rouse them: we are not a nasty folk. What a pity there are so few of us! But there have been no Entings for so long."
"Not since the Entwives were lost."
"Do you suppose that Merry or Pippin might know where the Entwives are? We have never searched far past Rohan or Gondor for them; perhaps we lost them to the Shire - they would like that land. Many gardens, and the hobbits whom they could learn from and teach. Aye, maybe the hobbits know what happened to the Entwives."
"Treebeard - Fangorn," Makoto said gently, "I don't think that Merry or Pippin would know of the Entwives. I think that maybe the songs of the Ents hunt for their Entwives has yet to cross the mountains into the Shire. Remember they didn't know you were an Ent, or what an Ent was until they came here. I don't think they would know of the Entwives."
"But I have not asked them yet - and I think they might rather enjoy the tale. It is a rather strange and sad story, but they are strange as a people. Ah! the loveliness of Fimbrethil, and of Wandlimb the lightfooted in the days of our youth so long ago. But our hearts did not grow the same way, and the Entwives made gardens in which to live, but we Ents went on wandering. Many Men learned the crafts of the Entwives after the Darkness was overthrown, and honoured them greatly; but we were only a legend to them. And yet here we still are, while the gardens of the Entwives are wasted: Men call them the Brown Lands now."
"Fangorn, it has been so many years - "
"The Elves made many songs about the Search of the Ents for the Entwives. And some of the songs passed into the tongues of Men. These hobbits seem to have a deep fondness of singing and for stories, and I daresay they have had contact with more than a few Men by now. Even if the songs have not crossed into the Shire perhaps they heard them on the Road." Treebeard stood. "But now I am going to take a little sleep. Seeing as the hobbits have taken your bed, you can lie on mine. I am going to stand in the rain, Lintëmi Súrë."
Makoto nodded a goodnight. She looked to the Halflings once more, to see for herself that they slept well and were warm. From a chest that sat at the foot of her bed, which they had not noticed, she drew two blankets of an Elvish weave. She removed the Elven-cloaks from their small bodies, and these she folded to make pillows, all the while singing quietly in Sindarin a song that she had once made for her cousin. 1
"O môr henion i dhû: Ely siriar, êl sila. Ai! Aníron Undómiel. Tiro! El eria e môr, I 'lîr en êl luitha 'uren. Ai! Aníron ... " 2
After covering Merry and Pippin with the blankets, she withdrew one for herself and, using her own cloak as a pillow, she lay down on Treebeard's bed. She could see the old Ent standing motionless in the archway with his arms raised above his head. Bright stars shone down from the sky and lit the falling water as it spilled onto his fingers and head and dripped to his feet in hundreds of silver drops. At last, Makoto slept the deep and dreamless sleep of a weary Mortal.
She awoke to the cold and darkness of pre-dawn in Fangorn Forest. Instantly alert and awake, Makoto's first thoughts were for the halflings, who still slept soundly in her bed. She removed her blanket and stood, stretching her arms in a very Mannish way. Then she quietly slipped it back into her chest and removed a bar of soap she had made herself. Treebeard was not in Wellinghall, which told her he had gone to tend to his trees and gather up the Ents, and she took the opportunity to indulge in a shower. Treebeard would return before the Sun rose, if not slightly later, Makoto knew, and so she dressed in new raiment, more fitting of a Ranger, and set out. She had been born with some gift of foresight and much desired to speak with Mithrandir before he left the Forest.
Merry and Pippin woke to a cool sun shining into the great court and onto the floor of the bay. Shreds of cloud passed overhead, running on a stiff easterly wind. With surprise they surveyed the blankets that covered them, and noted for the first time the chest, upon which Makoto had left out for them her bar of soap. Treebeard was not to be seen; but while the hobbits bathed in the basin by the arch they could hear him humming and singing as he came up the path between the trees.
"Hoo, ho! Good morning, Merry and Pippin!" he boomed, when he saw them. "You have slept late. I have been out many a hundred strides already. But now we will have a drink and go to Entmoot. If you desire, Súrë has dried some, hoom, what were they called? Rabbits, yes, Makoto has dried some rabbit meat. You may help yourself as you like."
He poured for them two full bowls from a stone jar; but from a different jar. The taste was not the same as the night before: it was earthier and richer, more sustaining and food-like, so to speak. Still Merry and Pippin did take a few of the strips of rabbit meat to have with it. While the hobbits drank, sitting on the edge of the bed, and nibbling small bites of the meat (more because they felt that eating was a necessary part of breakfast than because of hunger), Treebeard stood, humming in Entish or Elvish or some strange tongue that they did not know, and looking up at the sky.
"Where is Entmoot?" Pippin ventured to ask.
"Hoo, eh? Entmoot?" said Treebeard, turning round. "Entmoot is not a place, it is a gathering of Ents – which does not happen often nowadays. Still, I have managed to make a good number promise to come. We shall meet in the place where we have always met: Derndingle Men call it. It is away South from here, and we must be there before noon."
"And where has Súrë gone?" Merry asked, noticing for the first time the missing presence of the Elfling.
"Who can know but she?" Treebeard replied. "She will meet us at Entmoot, no matter where she has gone, the Ents are very fond of her. She is perhaps the last person, Elf-kind or Mortal, who cares for the Forest anymore. But she is hasty and may have gone to look for me when I did not return before light."
The hobbits accepted that as an answer and contented themselves with drinking. Before long, however, they left. Treebeard now carried the hobbits in his arms; though they could keep pace with Súrë, she was not an Ent and did not walk in the huge ent-strides as they did. At the entrance to the court he turned right, stepped over the stream and walked away southwards along the feet of great tumbled slopes where the trees were scanty. Above these the hobbits saw thickets of birch and rowan, and beyond them they saw dark and climbing pines. Soon Treebeard turned a little away from the hills and plunged into deep grooves, where the trees were larger, taller and thicker than any that either Merry or Pippin had ever seen before. For a while they felt faintly stifled, as they had when they had first entered into Fangorn, but it soon passed. Treebeard did not talk to them, instead humming to himself thoughtfully, but Merry and Pippin caught no actual words: it sounded like boom, boom, rumboom, boorar, boom boom, dahrar boom boom, dahrar boom, and so on. They heard a constant change of note and rhythm, but that was all. Now and then they thought they heard an answer, a hum of sound, that seemed to come out of the earth, or from the branches above their heads, or even from the very trees; but Treebeard did not stop or look to either side.
They had been going for a long while – Pippin had tried to keep track of all the 'ent-strides' but had lost count somewhere around three thousand – when Treebeard began to slow his pace. Suddenly he stopped, put the hobbits down, and raised his curled hands to his mouth; then he blew or called through them. A great hoom, hom rang out like a horn in the woods, and seemed to echo from the trees. Far off came a similar hoom, hom, hoom from several directions in answer. Treebeard now perched Marry and Pippin on his shoulders and walked on again, every now and then sending out another horn-call, and each time the answers came louder and nearer. They came at last to what looked like a wall of evergreens, trees of a kind that the hobbits had never seen before.
Turning to the left and skirting the huge hedge Treebeard came in a few strides to a narrow entrance. Through it a worn path passed and went suddenly down a long slope. The hobbits saw that they were descending into a great dingle, very wide and deep, crowned with the dark evergreen hedge. It was smooth and grassy inside, and there were no trees except three very tall and beautiful silver-birches that stood at the bottom. Two other paths led down into the dingle: from the west and from the east. Several Ents had already arrived. More were coming in down the other paths, and some were now following Treebeard. As they drew near the hobbits gazed at them. They had expected to see a number of creatures exactly like Treebeard as one hobbit was to another (at least to a stranger's eye); and they were very surprised to see nothing of the sort. The Ents were as different from one another as different trees were. There were a few older Ents (though none looked as ancient as Treebeard), and more tall strong Ents; but no young Ents, no saplings. Altogether there were about two dozen standing on the wide grassy floor and at least the as many were still marching in.
"Hello, Treebeard. Good afternoon, Masters Merry and Pippin," cried a joyful voice.
Merry and Pippin looked down and waved happily at Súrë, each echoing her greeting. She seemed more like an Elf today, joyful and beautiful as they remember the Elves of Rivendell to be. They watched her greet some of the other Ents, but soon turned their attention to the Ents. When all the Ents gathered around Treebeard, bowing their heads slightly and murmuring in their slow musical voices, the hobbits realized that though the Ents were very different, they were all of the same kindred. They all had the same eyes: not all so old and or deep as Treebeard's, but all with the same green flicker and slow, steady and thoughtful expression. As soon as the whole company was assembled and standing in a wide circle around Treebeard and Súrë, a curious and unintelligible conversation began. Though he could not tell one apart from the other, or understand any of the words - he assumed the language was Entish- Pippin found the sound very pleasant to listen to as first; but he attention began to waver. After a long time he found himself wondering, since Entish was such an 'unhasty' language, whether they had gotten past 'good morning' or not. He then began to wonder that, if Treebeard was to call role, how many days would it take to sing all their names.
"I wonder what the Entish is for 'yes' or 'no'," he thought. He yawned.
Treebeard immediately became aware of him. "Hm, ha, hey, my Pippin!" he said. The other Ents stopped chanting. A soft laughing below caused Pippin to blush brightly. "You are a hasty folk, I was forgetting; and anyway it is wearisome to listen to a speech one doesn't understand. You may get down now. I have told your names to the Entmoot, and they have seen you, and they agree that you are not little Orcs, as they thought when you entered the Forest. A new line shall be added to the old lists. We have not got further yet, but that is quick work for Entmoot. You and Merry can stroll about the dingle with Súrë if you like. There is a well of good water that she can take you to if you need refreshing. There are still some things to say before the Moot really begins, but I will come and see you and tell you how things are going."
He put the hobbits down near Súrë. Before leaving with her, they bowed low. This seemed to amuse the Ents, judging by the tone of their murmurs and the flickering of their eyes; but they soon turned back to their own business.
"Where shall I take you, little Masters?" Súrë asked.
"Is there any chance to see Rohan, or Isengard? They are nearby, are they not?" asked Merry.
"Yes indeed," replied Súrë. "You are well learned in the layout of the land for one who did not know what Ents were. But perhaps they truly have become naught but legend among Men and even perhaps among Elves."
She led them up the west path and they looked through the opening in the hedge. Long tree-clad slopes rose from the lip of the dingle, and away beyond them, above the fir-trees of the furthest ridge there rose a high mountain peak. Southwards they could see the forest falling away into the distance. Súrë pointed in that direction to the pale green glimmer.
"Those there are the plains of Rohan. I will not take you all the way there now, for I think you shall be crossing them quickly enough."
"That peak is Methedras?" asked Merry.
"Yes, and the ring of Isengard lies in a deep cleft at the end of the mountains. Look there, you can see the smoke rising from near it. There is always smoke coming from Isengard these days."
"What is Isengard like?" said Pippin.
"It is not a place I would deliberately travel to anymore, though once Saruman was a quiet neighbor, and a decent one," said Súrë. "I have not been there in many months but I fear for the gardens that used to flourish. Smoke means fire, and fire cannot be sustained without fuel."
"I wonder what the Ents can do about it anyway," the young hobbit said.
"Isengard is like a ring of rocks. There is a flat space inside that ring, and in the center rises a pillar called Orcthanc. That is the tower of Saruman. There is more than one gate in the wall, but one allows a stream to run through; which comes out of the mountains, and flows on across the Gap of Rohan. It is not the sort of place one would expect the Ents to tackle, but Treebeard means to try and rouse them."
"But they don't like being roused," said Merry. "Treebeard himself got roused last night, and he bottled it up again."
"True," said Súrë. She spoke no more, but turned back to the dingle.
The hobbits followed her. The voices of the Ents were still rising and falling in the conclave. The sun had risen high enough to shine over the top of the hedge: it gleamed on the tops of the birches and lit the north side of the dingle. As promised, there they saw a little glittering fountain. The three walked along the rim of the great bowl under the evergreens, then went down to the gushing water. The hobbits drank a little, and sat down on a mossy stone, watching the patches of sun on the grass and the shadows of clouds as they passed on the floor. It seemed a very strange and remote place, outside their world, and far away from anything that had ever happened to them. A sudden great longing came over them to see the faces of their friends, especially for Frodo and Sam, and for Strider. Not even Súrë could ease the pain of that separation.
OTHER NOTES
1 Elrond had a brother, according to Tolkien. They were both half-Elf and so were given a choice: to live as an immortal, or live as a mortal. Elrond chose to live as an Elf, his brother chose to be mortal. (In this way, incidentally, Aragorn and Arwen are related, though they are many, many times removed for Aragorn's part.) Makoto's father, for all intents and purposes, was Elrond's second brother (and is completely my creation) and was given the same choice, as explained by Aragorn in a previous chapter. So this means that she and Arwen are cousins (and she is also related to Aragorn, but I promise that will not affect her story).
2 I'm sure you all recognized the song from the movie, but incase you didn't; Makoto's 'lullaby' is none other than "Aníron (Theme For Aragorn And Arwen)", which can be heard on the OMS - track 10 'The Council Of Elrond'. It was composed and performed by Enya, the lyrics are by Roma Ryan, and it was stolen shamelessly by me for use in this chapter. I didn't put the translation but if anyone wants it, just e-mail me and I'll send it along. By the way, since all my writing is based on the books, it's also based on how Tolkien himself wrote. If you are having problems understanding any part of this, please let me know so I can make it easier for you.