Preface: I must confess I've been rather disappointed by the writing I've seen in the latest Tolkien screen adaptation (personally I describe it as a bunch of old horror and sci-fi plot devices strung together by a lot of Shakespearean rambling), and of course they've changed so much of what little is written that I'm pulling my hair every ten minutes of trying to watch it. So I thought to myself, if I as a Tolkien geek were to write a screen-friendly and non-geek-friendly (and modern audience-friendly) telling of the Second Age, how would I do it? This fanfic is my answer… (and for modern I mostly just added more females (and a few males) in for some fun non-canon minor characters)

…Ok as I've plugged along I realize this may not be as screen-friendly as I'm hoping, but it is a fun way to kill time at my very slow desk job. It has also ended up being mostly focused on Elrond, hence the title I decided to give it.

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Of Elrond and Friends

Tales of the Second Age

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Part One ~ New Beginnings

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A Meeting Of Great Ones

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By the mild inlet waters of a great harbor that the elves called the Gulf of Luhn, a gathering of high leaders sat in the audience of a minstrel on a warm summer's eve amid a new town still under construction. All around them, from tree boughs and ropes strung from tall poles, hung the bright blue lamps of the smith elves of the West, and the soft yellow lamps of woodland elves of the East. More such lamps glittered in the high hills surrounding them where others of their folk were gathered among themselves for songs and celebration and good cheer in the early evening. Before them the rising moon and emerging stars lit the calm waters of the bay, whose soft splashing waves called to their hearts with the siren song of the sea day and night.

Before this gathering of leaders the minstrel sat with his harp and gave a song of the great battle which had recently concluded. He sang of sadness and sacrifice and valor and victory. He mentioned by name those elves in his audience who had all joined the vast host of gods and angels and elves and dwarves and mortals that marched to vanquish the foul servants of the one they called Morgoth who had once been named Melkor, captured at last after the many long years of suffering and destruction and death he inflicted on his enemies, and who was now finally banished into the Void. The singer was a powerful minstrel, and by the arts of his enchanted voice there appeared before their eyes a vision of that great battle in a phantasm of figures of dancing light: the valiant knights and the armies of orcs and onslaught of dragons, and the fleet of eagles who came to the rescue.

At length the minstrel finished his song, and the audience moved on to their meal. It was a feast of celebration for the gathering of their peoples, small by their usual custom, but there they raised their cups to new beginnings. As the weather was fair the tables were set outside, on a field near the shores of the inlet, not far from the stone and wood bones of the new dwellings still in progress that lay quiet for the night. At the head of the center table sat the elven king. Tall and fair he was, and he was wearing a crown of branches of full green leaves adorned with summer wildflowers which could be found in the fields and hills at that time of year.

"Your crown is lovely, cousin, but not quite fitting for a son of the greatest jewel smiths to walk the world," said the king's kinswoman Galadriel, alone of the women of her people to ride forth to the battle alongside her husband and kin, leading what remained of the fighters from the fallen kingdoms of their kin.

The king laughed and smiled grandly. "It will do, good lady, in honor of the woodland folk who have gathered to us and serve us and fight with us. But I do have plans for another. Celebrimbor has offered to pay a visit to Belegost and what remains of the dwarf kingdom there to commission or ask for guidance in fashioning a new one."

Now Galadriel stood and made a toast to her kinsman. "To Gil-galad, high king of the elves of Middle-earth! Long may he reign here in peace and happiness!" she called out, which earned a round of cheers and applause from their fellow diners. And the king toasted to her in turn, and also to their more distant kinsmen, the brothers Elrond and Elros - the four of them together the last children of the mighty elven kings in Middle-earth who had perished in the First Age.

As they began to dine and converse, Galadriel brought up a subject of concern which weighed on her mind. "My king," she said, "the defeat of our greatest foe at long last is an occasion for great celebration indeed. But let us not forget his dreadful lieutenant who fled from the judgment of the gods into hiding."

This earned a round of sighs and grunts and boos. "Enough! Enough for now!" came a call from across the table.

Lord Celeborn laughed softly. "Spoil not the joyful mood, dearest!" he said to his wife.

Círdan, lord of the elf mariners who was also dwelling among them, came to her defense. "But indeed we should not forget it, my friends," he said. "Such a foe is likely to grow formidable again before long."

The king laughed merrily. "Tomorrow, my friends!" he called. "I have not forgotten. I am young by your measure, but do not think me so unwise as that. Let us meet on it, in the morning. Allow our peace and happiness to last one evening at least!"

To that their guests gave a roaring round of cheers and applause. And deep into the night their people continued their singing and dancing and tale-telling as elves so love to do, and it was long before they at last retired to rest.

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In the morning the king obliged his kinswoman and called a meeting of the leaders to discuss the escaped enemy. They sat in a circle set between the huts in which they were living for a while - which the woodland elves living with them could assemble hastily. From not far away came the muted sounds of sawing and pounding and chipping down in the lowland fields by the waters of the gulf which glittered like white firelight in the bright morning sun, as the builders worked to erect fair new halls for their high lords and ladies, and new docks and piers and ships for the mariners. Around them in the tall hills of the Blue Mountains shining in the greens of high summer a remnant of the master smith elves, those folk who were called the Noldor that still remained in Middle-earth, quarried stone for the new buildings. And along the River Luhn which led into the inlet of the gulf, the foresters driving many carts laden with lumber harvested from the thick vast woods nearby came laboring toward them from the southeast.

But in the circle Cirdan the Shipwright, held to be the wisest and most foresighted of his people the mariners, was the first to speak. "Lords, ladies, high king," he said. "In the aftermath of the long war and great battle we will indeed enjoy a good long while of peace here in Middle-earth, that much I foretell. But as the wise and powerful Lady Galadriel has pointed out, Sauron, Morgoth's most fearsome servant in all his long wars against us, fled from the judgment of the gods after the end of the battle, and could not be found."

"Yes," said the king, "and I would gladly rally my knights and hunters, to avenge the torment and demise of my great-uncle King Finrod in the dungeons of Tol Sirion tomorrow if I could. But I would not know where to lead them. Where now do you think he hides?" he asked.

"In the distant East, would be my guess," answered Galadriel. She now sat quiet and grave, remembering the cruel fate of Finrod, her brother. "Those places were always the safest to the servants of Morgoth, his lord and mentor. There many mortals swayed into his service remained, few coming to the western lands with the true-hearted mortals friendly to the elves. Certainly, cousin, I would not expect you to abandon your new realm, on a wild goose chase without clue or lead or hope of finding what fortress deserves such an assault. He may yet be just a shadow lurking and ruminating on his losses in hidden corners at the far reaches of the world."

"Then what course would you suggest?" the king replied.

"Well," said Galadriel, "My brothers and I first came to Middle-earth desiring to each establish fair realms of our own to rule and manage and protect. My brothers are gone now, all perished in the war, but the flame of this desire still dwells in my heart."

"At some point when our peace grows more uncertain," she continued, "I think it would be good if we had more such realms as the one you have here, inland havens in their own right. Refuges in which our kindred out in the wider lands may come to dwell in peace and safety. These may also serve as outposts from which we might keep a watchful eye on the lands and peoples of Middle-earth for any signs or clues that need heeding."

King Gil-galad nodded. "Wise counsel indeed lady," he said. "For I know you two, Elrond and Elros, also have a desire to lead such realms. As you will one day, but not for a while yet, as you are yet young and have much learning of lore and experience yet to do before you are ready for such a task."

"Yes," said Círdan, "but when that time comes, there are two passes through the great mountains, for which it is my counsel to take heed. Each pass would be a good place from which to gather news. The northern pass is higher and a more dangerous climb, and is less used. But in the western foothills below it, there is a fair valley where a gathering of folk may dwell relatively hidden. It also lies along the ancient dwarf trading road."

There were a few grumbles and sighs of dismay at this. Then Galadriel added, "I know some of us are ill disposed toward dealing with the dwarves, but they travel and traffic much between their far-flung realms, from the Blue Mountains near to us here, all the way to the Iron Mountains far in the east. If we would keep apprised of news in the wider world, it would be wise to maintain some level of contact with them."

Celebrimbor now chimed in. "Speaking of the Blue Mountains, I will soon depart for that place with some of my kin. I will ask the dwarves of Belegost for any news they might have that may aid us in our watchfulness."

"Perhaps then we shall wait until Celebrimbor returns," said Galadriel. "And bring us what news he can find. It may influence our next choices. Then we may also part with our king after he dons a new crown fitting of a leader of the Noldor."

To this notion the attendees gave their praise, and shortly they concluded their meeting. And soon the master metalsmith Celebrimbor prepared to depart for the mountain caves to the south.