Title: Blue Vault of Varda
Disclaimer: Professor Tolkien and his estate own the characters and the setting; I own the plot. No profit is sought or desired.
Summary: My variation on the theme of Elrond and Gil-galad's relationship. In this chapter we continue the events of the camping outing.
Rating: PG.
Website: http/ 9: Preparations, Part Two
A short distance from the camp, Gil-galad, Ceremir, the two guards, and Eregrîn assembled to discuss tactics.
"Did anyone else hear them besides Ceremir?" Gil-galad inquired. At the negative replies he continued, "All right, we head east and search for their tracks. Eregrîn, you stay beside me. Keep within a two-league radius. We meet here again in an hour, if we do not see or hear anything before."
About half an hour later, Gil-galad and Eregrîn heard a whistle. "They have heard something. Let us go." When they reached the two guards, they stopped and saw the group of men that the guards were watching. "Call the others," Gil-galad commanded.
Gil-galad watched the men while he awaited the rest of the company. They were in a clearing ahead and seemed to be hunting for food. One had a fox slung over his shoulder, another carried a bundle of smaller animals.
After Ceremir arrived and spotted the men, Gil-galad spoke again. "Eregrîn. What would you suggest we do about these men?"
Eregrîn looked slightly surprised to be called upon, but stepped forward. His dark braids blew behind him in the breeze and he seemed to look past the company as he spoke. "They do not appear to be evil of heart or attention, sire. We cannot leave them be if we do not know for sure, though. Not while we have children in our camp. I suggest we reveal ourselves and see what they do."
"Thank you, Eregrîn. Anyone else?"
"We cannot just step forward and see what happens, Majesty," Ceremir spoke up. "Eregrîn's plan would work if we first found their camp and were prepared to seize them if they should attack us."
"Finding their camp will take more time than I want to spend right now. Besides, there may be women and children at their camp, and I have no wish to get them involved. But you are right: we need to have a plan in place in case they attack us. We will create a trap. Eregrîn, you are the fastest of us on foot, and the Men have no horses. You will step forward and reveal yourself, and if they don't attack, open a dialogue. If they do, lead them down the path on the back, and the rest of us will waylay them. Do not harm them unless you have to, any of you. I would like to find out who they are first. Agree, everyone?"
After a chorus of affirmatives, the group made its way carefully and silently to hide near the path, and Eregrîn prepared to reveal himself. At the go ahead he stepped out, and took a few purposeful strides toward the clearing. It was apparent the moment the men saw him: heads snapped toward him and then consulted with one another. They watched as an archer loosed an arrow. Eregrîn easily avoided it by stepping to the left.
The other Men, looking more than a bit annoyed at the archer, nonetheless grabbed their spears and approached Eregrîn.
The younger squire of Gil-galad had watched mortals often and his observations served him well now. He waited until they were closer before shooting an arrow through one of their spears, breaking it in half. This made them visibly angry and he backed up as they continued to approach him. He broke another spear with an arrow, and this time turned and ran as the remaining four charged him. The next moment, the rest of the Elves appeared, some jumping from trees, some simply stepping out of the woods, and surrounded the Men with their swords and spears.
The Men's faces fell, and they threw down their spears. Gil-galad's two guards were well practiced in the taking of prisoners: Tatafin swiftly bound them while Aglonael took up their discarded spears and blindfolded them.
oooooo
Elrond jerked awake to voices in the camp, angry at himself for falling asleep. Thelagon had stayed with him for awhile, and Elros had fallen asleep in his tent too, but now he was alone. Hearing Gil-galad's voice, he focused on it. "Put them in that tent and tie them in a way that discourages sleeping. Thelagon, you will question them, but not till morning. Make a schedule to guard them, and put every one on it except for Elrond. There's no reason why Elros can't learn how to take a guard shift. You may schedule Elrond on the watch list instead. He doesn't need to be armed for that. I wish to be on both schedules.
The voices were replaced with rustling as the Elves hastened to do the King's bidding. Elrond did not dare leave his tent until he was given permission, and he contented himself with trying to work out what had happened while the others were away.
After a few minutes, Gil-galad entered the tent, dragging with him a sleepy Elros. "I tell you what I am about to tell you, Peredhil, because if I do not, I fear you will find out anyway, probably incorrectly. We have, obviously returned with prisoners: a group of six men who attacked us when we revealed ourselves to them. No one was harmed on either side. They have been put in Tatafin and Aglonael's tent, and there they will stay until we learn more about them. Neither of you are to speak to them, or even greet them in passing. There is a slight exception for you, Elros: you will be given a guard shift with your tutor, and, only if necessary, you may speak to them then. Ceremir will brief you on that later. Elrond, you have been given a watch shift instead, it will be the first shift tonight, and Thelagon will be with you. Other than that you are both to stay within either my sight, or the sight of your respective tutors while the Men are in the camp. You may return to your tent, Elros. I suggest you get some sleep before your shift, or at the least, try to meditate.
After Elros had left, he addressed Elrond again. "Go and take up your watch," he said, as he mussed the Half-Elf's hair. "Thelagon awaits you. He will show you what to do."
Thelagon smiled when he saw Elrond approach him. "You first watch, lad. Are you excited?" At the youth's enthusiastic nod he beckoned him to follow him up a small rock ledge, about seven or eight feet high, that overlooked the camp. "We will keep watch from up here. That way we will be able to quickly spot any approaching parties, be they Man, Elf, Dwarf, or beast."
Elrond climbed nimbly up the ledge, despite its steep height. He looked around when he reached the top, orienting himself, and then sat down next to his tutor.
"You already seem to know what to do first, Elrond, that is good: orient yourself. Now do you know what to do next?"
Elrond thought for a moment. "Talk to the watchman you are relieving?"
"That's a good guess, for it is necessary to hear what the guard has seen during the last watch, but no. Next you need listen for the song of Arda, and to make sure your breathing is in line with it. You should become relaxed and serene. Then, you can gradually add the sounds around you back in to the Music, and last all the sights, starting with the big ones, like landforms, and then adding the details. Do you know whether you should start with the far sights and sounds or the near ones?"
"The near ones, because they are closer to your Music; you understand them better."
"Very good." He gave Elrond a rare smile of praise. "Once you complete this process you should hear and see everything more clearly. And you need not focus only on your hearing and sight. You repeat this process with your sense of smell, touch, and taste, if you have time. Many have perceived danger by a fowl smell or odd breath of wind.
"Do I always have to do these exercises, herdir?"
"You should do this every time you stand watch until you do not need to anymore. You will know when that day comes."
"How?"
"You just will. But it won't be for a while. I'll tell you a secret:" Thelagon leaned close to Elrond's ear and lowered his voice. "Our King still does them." (1)
"He does?" The question came out as almost a squeal.
Thelagon laughed. "He does," he confirmed. "You will also need to arrive on watch early enough to complete them before your scheduled time. How early will vary depending on how long you like to take. There is no rule. I suspect you will want to take your time, though, so, at least at first, you should arrive at least a quarter of an hour early."
Elrond was listening intently now. His grey eyes were bright and focused on his tutor, and his jaw was set a little more tightly than was common for a full-blooded Elf.
"So. Shall we begin?"
oooooo
The watch went quickly, it seemed to Elrond, and without mishap. Soon he was back in Gil-galad's tent, Eregrîn having been sent out to replace him.
"Go to sleep, Elrond," the King said, after he had questioned Elrond about his experience. "You will need the rest tomorrow."
But after what seemed like an eternity of tossing, and trying to sleep, Elrond was still not asleep. Gil-galad, who had entered a meditative state some time ago, blinked and said, "If you cannot sleep, meditate—I know Thelagon taught you how—but give your body and mind some rest."
So Elrond obediently sat in the meditative posture, glad to have something to focus on besides trying to sleep. After several more eons of imagining circles of energy flow about him, concentrating on his breathing, concentrating on relaxing, and concentrating on his energy fields some more, he had yet to achieve a meditative state.
"Peace, Elrond, you're trying to hard," came the King's gentle chiding.
Silently muttering something sarcastic along the lines of, "Thanks, that helps," (and receiving a stern look from his guardian), he nonetheless continued his effort.
oooooo
Elrond was tired and frustrated. He could not rest his mind, it was too full of excitement, curiosity, and anxiety about his first camping experience with Gil-galad. He knew that if he could not get rest he would be grumpy and cross tomorrow, which would in turn aggravate Gil-galad. His weariness did not allow him to keep up the control over his emotions that he maintained during day, and this minor annoyance compounded everything. His breathing sped up instead of staying slow like it was supposed to, the heat of his self-anger rose to his face, his vision became blurry…
A small sob brought Gil-galad again out of his meditation. He sighed as he got an indication of what sort of emotional state his charge was in. But suddenly he was moved by a command of his heart, and he lay his hand upon the Half-Elf's head, and peered into his mind.
Once, when he was young, Gil-galad stood upon a pier during a great storm, watching the waves break about him, aware that a stray splash could take his life. So he felt now, surrounded by the torrents of the Eärendilion's emotions, thinly veiled by a grey mist.
For the Son of Earendil's mind reminded him much of the sea: it was deep and broad changeable, and thoughts seem to ebb and flow, never resting. For a moment, the young King thought he himself might be swept away by the surf and fierce torrents.
But then he stilled himself, and he was able to identify each individual emotion and thought that whorled with the others, like so many grains of sand stirred up in a river bank. And when he saw them, he held them each for a moment, revealing them to both himself and to Elrond, and then watched them settle, one by one, back the depths of his mind. No longer was it a storm of chaotic, strange emotions, but a soft rain of familiar ones, that could be dealt with in their own time.
oooooo
Elrond did not notice his tears until he felt a powerful hand come to rest gently on the back of his head. The next thing he knew he felt Gil-galad's presence inside his mind. He had heard that Lady Galadriel could do such things, but he did not know that Gil-galad could. He had never mentioned it before. Still, he was not afraid, for he felt a great calm infuse him, the beginnings of peace, clear and fresh like a starry night after a storm. He felt as if some one took a lantern and illuminated for them both all of the dust and filament suspended in the night air, impossible to see before, and a great burden fell away from him.
When he returned to the present he felt Gil-galad's gaze upon him, strong and unyielding yet compassionate, and intimately kind. He returned the gaze with awe and wonder and perfect trust. Then, it was as something connected between them and they saw each other anew: Gil-galad smiled broadly, and he returned it, gladly accepting the embrace his guardian pulled him into. There were no words between them for the remainder of the night, until the king took his watch shift in the morning.
Notes:
1 We have to remember that Gil-galad is only about a century, give or take 20 years, older than Elrond. Little more than a boy in the eyes of the Elves who saw the first rising of the sun, the destruction of the two trees, or the shores of Cuivienen. What would appear as his wisdom, I think, come from hard experience in his youth, out of necessity per his duty as High King, and mostly, through ingenuity that will eventually temper into true wisdom.