A/N: Although the whole eastern area of Middle-earth is known as Palisor before the change of the world, the area north of the Inland Sea of Helcar between the woods of Cuiviénen and Greenwood the Great (later known as Mirkwood) doesn't have a specific name, so I decided to name it after the inland sea and call it the Plains of Helcar.
The Chronicles of the Teleri
Helcar
Behind us is Cuiviénen. Ahead is the unknown. We have already travelled many leagues from our birthplace – around us is the wide expanse of the Plains of Helcar. To the south of us is the inland sea that bears the same name. But not even we the Teleri, ever the closest in harmony with the waters of Middle-earth, could distinguish the familiar sound of waves lapping the shore, despite the profound silence that hung around us. And the silence was complete indeed. For here on the plains there was not even the sound of rustling leaves, for there was not a tree in sight. And we were troubled.
But Oromë ever encouraged us onward, bringing joy and anticipation into our hearts whenever he spoke of the fair land of Valinor.
However, there came a day when not even the words of the Vala could dispel out uneasiness. Although we had at this time travelled far from Cuiviénen, we had traversed but a very small part of the Plains of Helcar. And before us, in the North, there hung a mass of dark clouds and smoke. And Oromë told us it was the fumes from the ruins of a great war. But more than that he would not say, although we now understood what had made the earth shake beneath us and the sky light up in the North many years since.
But it was not the rumour of war that brought fear into our hearts, for that conflict was long since over and we trusted to the might of the Valar to protect us. Rather it was the remains of such a battle that unnerved us. For the black fumes clouded the sky and obscured the stars of Varda, making travel in that direction seem ominous and forbidding.
And so we halted, fear and confusion replacing the joy we had taken in our journey. And it took many persuading words and reminders of the light of the two trees from our Lord Elwë before we would continue.
However, once again there was separation among us. For some, the fear instilled by the darkness was too great, and overshadowed their desire to see the fair land of Valinor. So they turned aside from our journey, wishing to return to Cuiviénen and rejoin the Avari. And in this way the great host of the Teleri was much reduced, although more than half still followed Oromë. Nor was it only Teleri who turned back. Some of the Noldor, the kindred of Finwë, also forsook the westward journey, as some had at the first sundering in Cuiviénen, belying somewhat the wisdom given to them in name, as they would in years to come. Only the Vanyar of Ingwë's kindred seemed immune to the unease that flowed among us. Their name of Fair Elves suited them well, for they were unshaking in their belief that they would eventually reside in the golden light of Valinor, no matter how many obstacles were placed in their path.
So yet more of our number left us, returning to the shadows, forgotten until such time as Ilúvatar sees fit to reunite us. And we moved on from the place of our hesitation unwillingly, saddened by our separation.
And that was not the only time we hesitated on that long, weary traversing of the Plains of Helcar. For there were times when Oromë had to leave us, having other matters to attend to. And without his shining figure to guide us the darkness ahead seemed deeper and more complete.
So when he left us we halted our journey until he should return. But these periods of rest were not comforting to us. For although Oromë always left us when we chanced to be near trees, a rarity on that lonely plain, and sometimes a river, so that we could take comfort from our surroundings, our unease never left us. Despite the welcome familiarity of rustling leaves and chattering, bubbling water, always behind these sounds hung the deep silence of the plains, reminding us of how far we had come, and how far we still had to go. And always the black fumes and ruin of war lingered in the northern sky, and the absence of the Vala made them seem ever more ominous and threatening, although our Lord Elwë attempted to banish our fears with more tales of the beauty and wonder of Valinor.
But ever and anon Oromë would return to us, ready to take up leadership again and guide us onward in the next stage of our journey. Many leagues we travelled in this manner, and it took us many years to travel them. However, there came a day when we suddenly perceived that our wearisome journeying over the sweeping, empty Plains of Helcar would soon be at an end. For on the horizon, below the clouded sky, there rose a forest.