In An Age Before- Part 156
Chapter One Hundred-four
Imladris – The Third Age of the Sun
Now following their sojourn in the Woodland Realm and their visit to Rhosgobel, Helluin and Beinvír made their way o'er the Hithaeglir by way of the High Pass. They returned to Eriador and the Hidden Valley, coming thither on 28 Cerveth, to share tidings with their friend, the Lord Elrond. Having taken their leave of the Peredhel with a known destination and his blessings upon 21 Gwirith, they felt it only fitting that they give an account of the wedding of Thranduil and Inthuiril, and such other doings as would assuage his curiosity and provide for the enrichment of his lore. Despite arriving this time from the northern moors rather than the Ford of Bruinen, they were met in timely fashion by Lindir, upon a path leading down from the uplands.
"Mae govannen, mildis nín," the ellon said. "I am glad to see you safely returned."
"Our thanks for thy welcome, meldir nín," Helluin said. "'Tis good to be back in less peculiar surroundings."
At Lindir's questioning glance, Beinvír added, "we have been to a green wood and a brown compound with a cyclone of birds, bitter tea, and a buttered chipmunk. I wager thy lord shalt find interest in our tidings."
"Pray lead us hence, for we seek Lord Elrond's counsel, having been confounded by the Wise," the Noldo added, suppressing a grin at the astonishment on Lindir's face.
Shortly later, the two ellith were once again ensconced in Elrond's study, seated in comfortable chairs and enjoying cups of wine and seeded cakes. The Peredhel had welcomed them warmly, and he was eager to hear of Thranduil and Inthuiril's wedding, for obviously Helluin had not been minced and fed to the spiders.
"So how fared ye in the Woodland Realm, mildis nín? Did ye receive Thranduil's welcome? Does his kingdom enjoy peace, and art his people happy, having at last a new queen to go with their new home?"
"Indeed we were welcomed by the king and queen, more warmly than e'er I had expected, though some of Thranduil's subjects engaged in heated debate o'er whether I should be fed to the spiders," Helluin said with a straight face. 'Twas obvious to her that Elrond had known that the Tawarwaith had moved. "We found first a new realm of spiders and an Orch bewebbed 'nigh the Emyn Duir, whereat aforetime we had found only hostile Wood Elves and the Woodland King. Howe'er the Orch was most agreeable and gave us directions, and so we came to the Halls of Thranduil with two days to spare ere the wedding. Thereafter a good time was had by all, and so we tarried a week, feasting and making merry 'neath the trees, tra-la-la."
At the drama of her account, the Green Elf rolled her eyes. Elrond stared at her in surprise, realizing that Helluin and Beinvír had gone into needless peril whence the Wood Elves had fled o'er 450 years aforetime. Indeed old news was no news, and he had ne'er imagined that his friends weren't aware that Thranduil's people had left the Dark Hills centuries ago. He groaned and looked up at the ceiling.
"Despite our unfortunate detour, some tidings have come of it," Beinvír said, "for the bewebbed Orch was indeed helpful."
Elrond looked back at her with his full attention. If learning his lore from an Orch seemed ironic, he could ignore that for the sake of hearing whatsoe'er his friends knew.
"Say on then, my friends," the Peredhel requested. "What had the Orch to tell?"
"Amidst many threats and many excuses, we discerned that he served the will of the Nazgûl, and this after ten generations of his kind," Helluin said. "His was the esteemed position of Great Beast Master, of which he seemed quite proud, charged with o'erseeing the invasion of the spiders. We caught him at a moment most inopportune, for he had been betrayed by his charges and reduced to the status of a meal."
"T'would surprise us little if many Yrch and many evil Men continue the Sorcerer's policies, despite the long abandonment of Dol Guldur," Beinvír added.
"With the flight of Lord Oldbark and the Onodrim, the responsible management of the spiders was neglected and fell 'neath less savory influences," Helluin said.
The Lord Elrond nodded in understanding. Having driven its lawful caretakers from the forest, the Sorcerer could then send its spiders to torment the Wood Elves and drive them north, thereby removing the last hindrance to his control o'er the southern Greenwood. Though he was long gone, the Nazgûl's servants continued occupying the territory he had won, yet was the possession of that territory his only goal, the Peredhel wondered? The wraith served a greater master and acted at his command. What would Sauron want with the southern Greenwood? Was it simply malice and the suffering of Thranduil's folk that he sought, or was there a deeper motive? A dark suspicion took root in his mind, for he knew what Sauron most desired. Elrond determined to revisit these questions soon, and perhaps call for the counsel of the Lady as well. By the virtue of her Ring, she saw much that was hidden in Calenglad, 'cross Anduin from Lórinand, and knew much of the mind of the Enemy.
Helluin and Beinvír had indeed learnt things of value, yet the questioning of the Orch was but one incident in their journey. Surely there was more. He saw the two ellith watching him expectantly, and so he withdrew from his ruminations and offered them an apologetic smile for his mental absence.
"Pray continue your tale, my friends," he said.
The two ellith related the complete account of their journey, beginning with their prior leave taking from the Hidden Valley, their meeting with Tulus and the Laiquendi, and their stay in Khazad-dûm. Elrond marveled at their descriptions of the circlets the Naugrim had crafted, and in particular, their creation of the Ithilvírin was a source of wonder. Their journey to the Woodland Realm was related in detail, including the full encounter with the Orch and the spiders, and finally their arrival at Thranduil's Halls. They described the wedding ceremony and the feast that followed, and great was the Peredhel's joy for the royal couple's happiness. Finally, Helluin and Beinvír described the Forest Path and the Enchanted River. Of these the Lord of the Hidden Valley had only heard, but none he knew had e'er seen them. By this time, several hours had been consumed in the telling. Many were the details he could now add to his Narn in Ennin, Tale of the Years. Again he marked the two ellith regarding him expectantly.
"And so I trust your return to Eriador was without significant incident?" He asked, just to make sure.
"Indeed 'twas not," Helluin said, "and we deem some events of significance occurred during our return from the wood. Hast thou heard 'aught of Rhosgobel?"
The name was unfamiliar and Elrond sensed a revelation in the offing. 'Twas much in character for the two ellith to make important discoveries upon an otherwise predictable excursion. He focused his full attention upon Helluin and Beinvír, and being a healer, said, "nay, I have not. 'Tis some new medicine, this Brown Compound?"
His words brought a burst of laughter from both of his friends that left him scratching his head, figuratively. He waited for them to master their mirth.
"My apologies, meldir nín," the Noldo finally said after recovering her composure. "Rhosgobel is the home of Radagast, whom thou knows as Aiwendil, and despite its name, 'twas neither brown, nor a compound."
"I recall thee mentioning Aiwendil amongst the Istari, once a Maia of Yavanna with whom thou spoke in Aman regarding the wildlife. In all the years since his coming, I have not met him, nor heard 'aught of him. Pray share thy rede, meldis nín."
"T'would seem that Aiwendil has continued in his calling, caretaking the creatures of the Greenwood. We had our introduction to him by way of a cyclone of birds, which we followed to his abode that lies just within the forest. A stranger place we have ne'er seen, though the house of Iarwain Ben-adar comes close, for Rhosgobel is composed of a haphazard stack of bird houses, animal hutches, dens, and burrows, rising to a height of five fathoms, all roofed in thatch, and topped by the crown of a great oak."
Elrond's eyes widened in amazement at Helluin's description. Rhosgobel sounded like a junk heap teeming with life, and hardly a proper home for a distinguished Istar.
"Aye, a truly bizarre place 'twas," the Green Elf agreed, "populated with well 'nigh every creature native to these parts, bird, beast, and bug. All seemed to live cheek by jowl in peace, foregoing predation, and even aiding their host in his construction."
"The Wizard trades with at least one of the skin-changing settlers, bees for butter and the like," Helluin said. "The Man, Balorn, we met briefly as he delivered some mushrooms of strange virtue. He hath a lifetime's familiarity with Aiwendil, and t'would seem he finds 'naught peculiar about Rhosgobel."
"We, howe'er, found all things peculiar with Rhosgobel and Aiwendil," Beinvír said. "If the cyclone of birds and the construction of Rhosgobel weren't odd enough, there was the buttered chipmunk, an herbal tea and Balorn's mushrooms, the consumption of which saddled us with visions and a sleep of two days ere we took our leave."
"'Tis with those visions that we seek thy counsel, Lord Elrond, for we understood them not," Helluin finished.
For some moments the Peredhel simply sat, trying to digest all he'd been told. He tried to imagine the appearance of Rhosgobel and failed. The tea and the mushrooms he couldn't identify without more accurate descriptions. And for one charged to aid in the opposition of Sauron, the Istar's conduct just seemed 'off'.
Elrond needed more information, and the best way to obtain it was to share memories with the two ellith. That prospect made him shiver, for aforetime his only such experience with them had been when Helluin had 'gifted' him with her memories of the atrocities she'd committed during the War of the Elves and Sauron. Still, their tale contained more of the bizarre than the horrific, and so he decided to chance the process and gain what knowledge he could.
"If ye art willing, I may find wisdom in your memories, and perhaps be able to offer some counsel," he said.
Helluin and Beinvír looked to each other and traded thoughts in silence.
Brave is our friend, for in the past my memories brought him 'naught but torment, Helluin said.
I find myself curious enough about my vision to share it if t'would lead to some clarity, the Green Elf said.
As am I, meldanya, and I deem no words sufficient to describe 'aught that we have seen. T'will at least be entertaining for him. Helluin chuckled at the thought, whilst Beinvír rolled her eyes, thereby breaking off their conversation.
"We shalt share with thee, meldir nín, and perhaps thou shalt find enlightenment for us therein," Helluin told the Peredhel.
The Noldo leant forward o'er Elrond's desk and he leant forward to meet her, staring deeply into her eyes, and as aforetime his consciousness was captured and subsumed in hers, yet this time he knew what to expect, and his immersion in Helluin's memories brought astonishment rather than horror. In mute amazement he followed the cyclone of birds, as Helluin and Beinvír had done in her memory.
Now the Lord of Imladris had been born in the First Age and he had seen many places, but Rhosgobel was by far the most outlandish structure he had e'er beheld. 'Twas far beyond anything he had imagined, even after hearing Helluin and Beinvír's descriptions. Indeed he had ne'er thought there were so many birds in the whole of the Greenwood, vast as 'twas. The same held true of the other beasts. Species that should have been predator and prey cohabited there in such numbers as to produce the miasma included in Helluin's memory. And then there was the Istar, Aiwendil. It seemed to him that the Maia had lost all self-regard and a more beggarly figure the Lord of Imladris could not recall from any Age. Indeed his shapeless and filthy robes made the two ellith's travel garb appear the height of fashion. 'Twas obvious during his interactions with them that he cared 'naught a wit for his appearance, or it seemed, the dignity of his station as an emissary from the West. He had drugged them with tea and mushrooms, and then left them for to tend to his animals. There they had sat for two days, each seeing a vision, and then slowly recovering after.
Helluin presented the memory of her vision and Elrond absorbed it complete. The cavern was vast and shadowy, and only dimly lit by flames rising from a crack in the floor. Few details were clearly visible, and he deemed that he would have to review it more than once to make sure that he had missed 'naught of possible import. He also knew he had ne'er seen such a place with his waking eyes, and from Helluin's reaction, he knew that she too had found the place unfamiliar. The glittering sword, seen only in a quick glance down at her hand, was also unfamiliar. Then she had looked to the distance where far away a pair of ruddy fires moved, or more accurately, the sources of a wavering and ruddy light appeared to advance. He felt Helluin's certainty that they were portents of evil and her fear of them, as well as her determination to destroy them. 'Twas only her visceral reaction, not the result of reasoning based on any clear evidence.
In the next instant the vision had shown a huge cavern filled by a broad lake, and this place too was as unfamiliar to him as it had been to her. He felt Helluin's belief that she had to climb the walls to escape. As aforetime there had been no cause for her conclusion save her feelings only. Thereafter Helluin blinked to break their contact and they returned to the waking world.
The Peredhel sat in silence, thinking on what he had seen. In neither part of Helluin's vision had Beinvír appeared, yet Elrond knew that the Noldo had twice arranged less hazardous destinations for her beloved, and so he deemed that the Green Elf's absence meant only that Helluin had known aforetime that she was going into significant danger. He realized that much more was unknown than known. Neither the place, nor the time could he discern. Indeed 'twas no way for the Lord Elrond to have known 'aught of the settings, for none living had seen them. Of the sword, old and well versed in lore as he was, he was not old enough to have recognized it from memory.
"Alas, there is little that I can tell thee, for 'naught that I have seen is familiar to me," he told her. "Thou art far better traveled than I, and if thou dost not recognize these caverns, then I fear that I cannot offer 'aught to enlighten thee. Neither is the sword known to me, for I have ne'er seen such a blade. Only did I sense thy strong feelings, and I would counsel thee to trust in those. 'Twas a vision gifted thee apurpose, that I doubt not. I am sorry, meldis nín. I wish I could tell thee more."
Helluin dipped her head to her friend and said, "'twas but a chance that thou might recognize what I had not, meldir nín. I thank thee for the attempt."
Now Elrond turned to the Green Elf and asked, "shalt we view now thy vision, meldis nín, and perhaps enjoy better fortune?"
The Green Elf nodded in agreement and looked into Elrond's eyes. He returned her glance and found himself enveloped, as one surrounded by water after diving into a pool. His vision cleared and he beheld Beinvír's vision. 'Twas the Vale of Anduin, he was certain of it, for the Hithaeglir towered 'cross the river to the west, whilst Calenglad lay 'nigh at hand to the east. He saw the hamlet and the herd, and he felt her contentment and sense of belonging. A horse she knew well gave her a shove and she turned to see a pair of obviously mortal children riding up. Like her, they had blonde hair, a shock to him as Beinvír's hair was a deep chestnut brown. They addressed her as mother, and whilst she thought 'naught amiss in that, Elrond was amazed. Then the trio rode off together and he knew they rode to their home. Of Helluin, he saw 'naught.
Beinvír's vision had been straightforward and open to understanding, and whilst interpreted easily enough, many aspects were amiss. Where had Helluin been? Why had the Green Elf not seemed to miss her? How had Beinvír's hair changed color? Why did she feel at home in a hamlet of Men in the Vale of Anduin, and with whom had she started a family? And finally, when had she started to ride solo, with bit, bridle, and saddle? In the past, if she had ridden at all, 'twas behind Helluin together upon a single horse, and this usually bareback. He was still wondering about all these things when he realized that he was no longer immersed in Beinvír's memories. The vision had ended, he had been released, and it had happened unmarked. 'Twas a first in his experience. Elrond blinked and sat back in his chair.
"Beinvír, I can tell thee somewhat of thy vision, and yet I found as many questions as answers," Elrond said. "Like Helluin's vision, thine is set in some future time, but unlike hers, the setting is clear to me. 'Tis the Vale of Anduin, east of the river and south of the Men-i-Naugrim."
To this both ellith nodded in agreement, for 'twas just the conclusion they had come to on their trek back from the Greenwood.
"T'would seem Mithrandir's mission that ye undertook five centuries past shalt indeed bear fruit one day, for thou stood amidst a hamlet of Northmen," the Peredhel continued. "That said, the time is unclear to me, as art the circumstances of their coming thither."
Again the two ellith nodded in agreement. Few others amongst mortal Men in the northwest of Arda looked so akin to the House of Hador, and none held such an affinity for horses.
"Yet what baffles me is that thou had been transmuted so as to appear as one of them, pale of hair as they art. I know of no method for creating such a physical change, though there art spells which could provide the illusion of such. Still, within thy vision thine appearance seemed no illusion to me, and thou evinced no surprise at it," Elrond said. "Curious was thy riding of a familiar horse in the manner of Men, with saddle and tack. More curious still was thy motherhood of two mortal children. But most curious of all to me was Helluin's absence. In thee I felt no longing for her, nor even an acknowledgement of the loss of thy beloved. 'Twas as if thou had ne'er known her, and that I cannot imagine."
The two ellith turned to each other in surprise. Such a revelation, so basic and so profound, had escaped them entirely. Indeed so astonished were they now that they traded 'naught 'twixt them in silence.
Finally Beinvír said, "then the vision must have been of someone else and I but stood in her place, for Helluin I shalt not forget in life or in death, whether upon this Shore or the shores of the West."
To this the Lord Elrond nodded in agreement. Any other alternatives were hidden from him and indeed inconceivable, for the Elves forgot 'naught.
Now thereafter they spoke of other concerns, of the Greenwood and Vinyarion's war with Umbar foremost, yet eventually all their tidings were told and they adjourned for the evening meal. In the Hall of Feasting they told their tale to many friends who were eager to hear of the royal wedding, and so the night passed in good company and with good cheer. Helluin and Beinvír spent the next week in the Hidden Valley, enjoying a respite from wandering. Yet eventually that habit asserted itself and they took their leave, crossing the Ford of Bruinen upon 3 Urui, 1551, and heading west into Eriador. Thither they spent their time at their own discretion and involved themselves not in the doings of realms and kings.
News of the greater events of those years came to them by word of mouth, sometimes timely and sometimes tardy. In 1552 they learnt of Vinyarion's defeat of the Corsairs of Umbar and their Haradrim allies late in the previous year, after which he took the title Hyarmendacil II, South Victor.
In 1589, word came to them of the passing of King Araphor and the succession of Prince Argeleb to the throne of Arthedain as the tenth king. After ruling for but two years, Argeleb proclaimed the lands 'twixt Baranduin and the Far Downs upon either side of the East Road to be thereafter a holding of the Periannath 'neath the Crown of Arthedain. 'Twas the beginning of The Shire, a quiet land of which much later lore tells. The decree was followed by a mass migration of Halflings from Bree and other parts south and east, Cardolan, Rhudaur, and Dunland. With the increases in traffic along the Road, and the creation of settlements 'nigh it in northern Cardolan and reclaimed Rhudaur, the shy and retiring Hobbits had felt the pressure of encroachment by Big Folk. Their petition to settle further west was granted by King Argeleb in 1601, for few Dúnedain inhabited those lands at that time. 'Twas a fertile land of varied shapes to which the Periannath easily assimilated. Within a few years, farms and hamlets had appeared. Indeed it soon seemed that they had always been there. The Green Elves explored it thoroughly, watched all carefully, and traded observations. Much wine changed hands as wagers o'er where the next village or farm would appear were settled.
From the South Kingdom came tidings that Prince Minardil had succeeded Vinyarion in 1621 as Gondor's twenty-fifth king. Yet he proved short-lived, dying in battle with the Corsairs of Umbar but thirteen years later. Upon hearing that two great-grandsons of Castamir the Usurper had assailed Pelargir and slain the king, Helluin had been close to marching thither to offer her aid, howe'er she learnt that Telemnar the twenty-sixth king, was rebuilding Gondor's navy for to assail Umbar. She and Beinvír deemed 'twas Vinyarion's invasion all o'er again, taking a war of revenge south in a cycle of violence that could go on in endless repetitions. The remained in Eriador, for as their friend King Thranduil had said, "one need not seek out trouble when trouble finds one oft enough."
To Be Continued