Fourth Age of Arda Revised

by Caillin Fynn

This is a revision of the first submission. Lord Aglarien continues to tell of the story of Finmal and Daefiniel. Aglarien will accompany Nimros to Middle Earth and face the Evil Shadow.

Draft Two - 3/2005

The Return of Morgorth

and the Fourth Age of Arda

By

Daefiniel

Based on the masterful works of JRR Tolkien

Escriptorium

A shimmering ray of the enmeshed light of the Two Trees beamed upon the parchment as the ink drenched quill tip formed the graceful lines and curves of the ancient alphabet devised by his forefather, Feanor Curufinwe, greatest of the Noldorian craftsman that ever lived. Feanor the Master - whose skill rivaled that of the Vala Aule. Feanor the Mighty - who dared to defy Manwe Sulimo, King of all the Vala. Feanor the Steadfast - who hunted Melkor down , mightiest of the Vala and challenge him in battle for the rape of the Silmarils and the murder of his father, Finwe. Feanor the Vanquished - who was lost in Arda during the first age and who has not yet been released from the dark Halls of Mandos. Carefully the scribe continued, artfully drawing out the living characters of the genealogy and history of the accursed House of Finmal.

The intensity of the light of the Two Trees wearied the eyes as he labored on for many hours. Putting aside the plume he raised a trembling hand to his dark brow. Few in the Blessed Realm of Valinor dared to recite the history of the wretched kin of Finmal. It was an infamy cut deep into the hearts of the Great Ones. In one fell strategic coup Sauron the Terrible found means to strike all his enemies at once. This was accomplished not by violence and destruction but by enchantment and the creation of life. He confounded the love of the Eldar for their own kindred. The mighty pride of the House of Feanor was humbled forever by the union of Lord Finmal with the daughter and only child of Celebrimbor of the House of Feanor and thus this line earned the title of the Accursed Ones that are never mentioned.

The scribe was Lord Aglarien, scholar and pupil of the Vala, Aule and Mandos who labored on alone and secretly in his clerical task, recalling the events in vivid detail. He often considered his efforts futile and driven by guilt to discard the unlawful writings into the fire but always he returned to his work. He passed from madness to reason, now the turmoil resumed within him, his body tense and uncompromising. He closed his eyes and immediately a vision flooded his mind.

A voice called out amid stormy dark waters. A grey distant shore appeared in the horizon. Then cold, still darkness, like death followed.

A voice startled him away from his writings and dark thoughts. He glanced from the open window to find a tall figure robed in pale blue in the garden path below.

"It is time." Nimros, Herald of the Doomsman proclaimed solemnly. "I fear this task! Nimros lips did not move as his thought was projected into Aglarien's mind.

"It has been ordered by Mandos and it is your duty to comply." Answered the scribe with profound pathos for his friend. "I bid you the Blessings of the Valar until we meet again at the appointed time. The ships that will bear us hence to Arda await at Aqualonde!"

"So we will journey in friendship to Arda and fulfill the fate that is preordained. Farewell until our next meeting Lord Aglarien."

"Fare thee well Nimros."

He watched as Nimros vanished in the light of day and returned reluctantly to his agonizing work. It read so -

Of Aldrian the Betrayer of Eryn Lasgalen

In the third age of Arda Celebrian of Lothlorien was wed to Lord Elrond of Ilmadris. She bore to him three children fair and noble. After many joyous years together the golden haired Celebrian was captured by a company of mercenary orcs while journeying from Lothlorien where she spent a time with her kinfolk. Word reached Elrond from the Rangers of Arnor of what peril had befallen his wife. His sons, Elrohir and Elladan journeyed northwards in haste to join forces with the rangers in the rescue of their mother.

The expedition was successful but Lady Celebrian could no longer find healing from the hands of Elrond for the torture and misery she endured in captivity was so great. For her their was only one hope, to search for peace in the gardens of Lorien and Este in the Blessed Realm. Elrond would not restrain his wife and with a heavy sorrow he set her free.

Thy bitter lament, O my beloved,
deepens the darkness in my spirit.
Ah! torments unspeakable in the hollow dens
of the Misty Mountains!

Ah! the weapon of my doom, red and fiery iron!
Like the swift clouds of the air, for ever,
My joy in Middle-earth has passed from me,
And the Dark Angels shadow licks at my soul.
Now must the swells of countless waves lie between us ,
O Star-descended !
and lost to me is the Golden Land,
where, beneath the golden trees, I filled
the air with my songs.

Who will renew the light of the stars for me ?
and who will bring back to me the gold of the sun ?
Not the Lady of Lorien… not even thou, Vilyas master !
for, in the western wind has come to me
Tintalles sweet-voiced golden song –
Let me find the ships strand,
where, in breezes from the Sea, the burning torment
of my soul may pass away; now I will find
a path to Valinor.

Here an eternal autumn has fallen around me:
for me there is no light in the halls of Middle-earth.
O Nenyas Queen… O Evenstar of the Elves…
shall I ever again behold those two in the glory of
a sunset? A Higher Power hides their fate from me.
Ah! no longer distant is the ending of the Elven-years!
Farewell, Half-elven! Though I may no longer tarry
here beneath our roof ,
yet thou must soon come after me! May all the stars of
Varda shine on the hour of our reunion!
Farewell… now I will find a path
to Valinor!

Bjørn Fromen

Accompanying Lady Celebrian was the daughter of King Thranduil of Mirkwood Forest, the Princess Laure the Golden.

The folk of Mirkwood had recently suffered a tragedy that was beyond endurance for the frail woodland Princess. Queen Aldrian had been bewitched by the gathering power of Sauron that took refuge on the depths of the southern region of Mirkwood. Throughout the years Queen Aldrian had grown distant from King Thranduil and often roamed the forest paths alone. Thus she was eventually lured into his web of malice.

Sauron promised to make her the greatest Queen of elves and men in the history of Arda. Thranduil would be destroyed and all the treasures she desired would be laid at her feet. Thus he sent her back as a spy and she proved to be an efficient, obedient servant of the Shadow Spirit.

In Lothlorien dwelt the Lady Galadriel, mother of Celebrian and one of the Keepers of the three elven rings of power forged by Celebrimbor in Eregion. Galadriel had great foresight and summoned the White Council of the Istari to discuss the gathering threat of Sauron. Galadriel and tranquil together with the Istari brought down the tower walls of Dol Guldor. In an attempt to escape his destruction Sauron attempted to incarnate in the frail body of Queen Aldrian but she was completely destroyed, her body fell to ashes among the ruins of Dol Guldor and thus she ended forever. Unprepared by the attack, Sauron had no other recourse but to flee.

Thranduil was grieved by the betrayal and the loss of his Queen, as were their children. Prince Elrenduil was firstborn and the heir of Eryn Lasgalen. Their twin daughters Princesses Laure and Lothlaure born early in the Second Age of Arda. The youngest son was Prince Legolas of the Nine Walkers born during the Third Age of Arda. Of all the children of Thranduil and Aldrian, Laure was the most devastated by the betrayal of the Queen. She therefore endeavored to journey to the Blessed Realm in companionship with Lady Celebrian, forsaking her marriage to Lord Rumil of Lothlorien. So it was that Princess Laure dwelt in the Blessed Realm for a time seeking healing in the Gardens of Este.

Of Finmal the Dark and Lady Daefiniel

In the early bloom of her youth, Princess Lothlaure of Eryn Lasgalen was wed to Celebrimbor of the House of Feanor, Lord of Eregion. At that time Celebrimbor was building his fame as the greatest of the Noldorian craftsman in Arda, his skill unsurpassed by any of his peers. Yet there was one among them that was greater, Final the Dark. He kept his mastery and true identity veiled in a mist of enchantment. Often, he assisted Celebrimbor in his tasks and from Finmal he learned much. It was at this time that Celebrimbor forged the Three Elven Rings in secret, just as Finmal forged the One Ring of Power.

To Celebrimbor and Lothlaure was born a daughter in Eregion. She was named Daefiniel for her hair was as raven a impenetrable midnight. Finmal smiled upon the child at the moment of her birth as a fleeting vision crossed his mind from a distant time, almost lost in memory. It was sprung from the ancient Theme of Illuvatar before the World was formed by the Ainur for Eru the Great. Daefinel was to fulfill an inevitable, dreadful Fate. Celebrimbor read in the face of his child a doom terrible and unspeakable. He sensed the cold, evil that lurked so close, blinding him with blackness although the sun was bright overhead in Eregion.

Daefiniel delighted in running free in laughter and joy with the other children of the Eldar as she grew. But often she was haunted by dreadful visions and dreams. She would suddenly burst into fits of despair, drift into a feverish delirium and awake refreshed as if nothing at all had troubled her. Among his great works, Finmal crafted a golden necklace inset with a fiery stone as a gift for the daughter of Celebrimbor. Finmal held aloft the great treasure before Celebrimbor who was held in enchantment. With a trembling hand he accepted the gift but never did he give it to his daughter. Instead Celebrimbor hid it away from all eyes, he forbade some evil power in the necklace but was still loathe to destroy it. Despite his efforts, Daefiniel came across the hidden treasure and marveled upon it. She placed it over her head so that it fell gracefully upon her pale breast. There it burned in secret as Daefinel delighted in it's intense fiery beauty. Then one morning Daefiniel ventured into the smithies in search for her father and there she came across Finmal. She watched in silence as he pounded molten metal with powerful strikes. He turned his dark eyes to her and she was held captive. Daefiniel desperately reached for the stone upon her breast and swooned into a delirium.

When she awoke Celebrimbor was at her side looking grimly upon her face. Daefiniel immediately reached for the necklace but it was gone. Before she could protest her father spoke in a terrible voice.

"Why did you take that which was hidden? There is naught I would deny my only daughter but this thing has some power to beguile that is perilous!"

"I prithee father, do not deny me this precious thing. I will keep it safe!"

"Nay. You were lost to us and under the power of this talisman until it was removed from you. I must have it destroyed."

So it was, despite all his daughter's pleas, Celebrimbor took the necklace but again could not find the power to destroy it.