16
The Council of Manwë
The Silmarillion: P. 62: Of the Silmarils: "Now Melkor, knowing that his devices had been revealed, hid himsElf and passed from place to place as a cloud in the hills --."
P. 63-64: "Then Melkor departed in shame -- but his heart was black with anger -- the Elves had seen him pass in wrath as a thundercloud."
On the morning of the meeting to take place in the White Hall Frodo and Bilbo had awakened early, and were standing on the balcony which encircled their rooms, trying to enjoy the view. They were feeling very much alone and out of their element, attending a meeting of the Valar and their servants, the Maiar. At length two Elves appeared and announced that the meeting was about to begin.
"Come, we will accompany you there, as we too are going to the council," said one of the Elves.
When they reached the White Hall, they saw that some representatives of the Maiar were already seated around a great oval table. Estë and Irmo were among them, and beckoned to Bilbo and Frodo to sit beside them. The two Valar could see that the hobbits looked very uncomfortable. Estë leaned toward Frodo.
"I am glad that you have decided to attend, Frodo," she whispered. "Your journey has brought you to Mt. Taniquetil at an opportune time. How are you coming along with the map-making, Bilbo?"
"Very well, thank you," Bilbo replied. "But tell me Estë, how is it that you and the others are already here?" he asked, puzzled. "We did not see anyone arrive, and we have been watching out the window all morning."
"Bilbo!" admonished Frodo "You make us seem like spies!"
Estë laughed. "The Valar have a way, if they so choose, of coming and going without being seen," she said. "I am sorry that you have been disappointed in not having been able to watch our arrival."
Bilbo blushed. He realized then that, of course, the Valar could transport themselves to wherever they wished without need of walking, if they so desired.
Manwë, who sat at the head of the table, stood up to call the meeting to order, and at that moment, Olórin entered the Hall, looking rather out of sorts. He was quite agitated and fumbled with his chair as he sat down. "My apologies for arriving in a late manner," he announced. His face was flushed as if he had been running.
Manwë nodded to him with a look of understanding and did not admonish him, and then began the meeting. "My friends and colleagues," he started, "Let me begin by introducing you to each other. I have asked that two representatives of each group of people living in Valinor attend this meeting. Thus we have Irmo and Estë of the Valar here with us, besides Varda and myself." As he swept his long, regal arm in their direction, Irmo and Estë rose and nodded to the others present. "Next, let me introduce Olórin and Eonwë of the Maiar." Both Maiar representatives rose, and Frodo noticed that Eonwë had an Elf-like appearance although he was bigger and more muscular, and was dressed in regal-looking clothing of green and gold. Manwë continued. "Then please meet Andaram and Tasaran of the Elves, who live in nearby Tirion. Lastly, I will introduce Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. They are hobbits of the Shire, of Middle-earth, newly arrived in these Undying Lands, and just beginning to get to know the rest of us." Manwë smiled down upon the two hobbits, who rose tentatively from their seats and felt as if everyone was staring at them. Then, Manwë began the meeting by talking about the reason for the council, which everyone knew. He asked that they forego a preliminary discussion, explaining that he wanted to get right to the subject and asked if anyone would like to speak first and make known their observations. Andaram stood up. He cleared his throat and then spoke.
"My Lord, one of the theories that my colleagues and I have discussed is that various particles of metal could have somehow found themselves in the Void above us, and are being held there by a magnetic force," he said.
"That is a plausible theory, Andaram," said Manwë, "but Varda and I know that the answer is not as benign as that. I do not wish to hold back any information from you, and so I will speak plainly without any fuss or protocol. It appears that the Vala Morgoth has returned from the Void. The belief that some day he would return has ever been in our minds, and that belief has now proved to be of some validity."
There were gasps from some of those seated around the table. Bilbo and Frodo stared at Manwë in horror. They had heard of Morgoth from Aulë.
"My Lord, how do you know that this is so? Is it indeed true?" asked Andaram in a voice that rang with terror.
"The cloud is not a real cloud," Manwë replied. "It is made up of many small pieces of a matter that is not a living thing, yet it is alive in some evil, twisted sense of the word. We know not of what substance it is made. It is very far away and it appears to us as a cloud from this distance. I cannot say yet whether it is a form of Morgoth's evil that has power to harm us, or whether it is but an apparition of his making, which in itself holds no power except to frighten the people of Valinor. Please remember that Morgoth's ability to take shape again was forever removed from him and his once-great power became diminished. For a long while yet, no harm should come to us, but I fear," and there was great sadness in his voice, "that we are sure to a form of his evil again at some time in the future."
"How do you know this is so, My Lord?" asked Andaram.
"Morgoth's hatred of us is great," Manwë replied. "He has carried it through all the ages that he has existed in the Void, but we do not yet know by what means he would be able to harm us, or even whether that would be possible. The fact that he has managed to find us again, and that he is making threats and exuding his particular form of hatred, is very worrisome to us."
Andaram and the other Elves took a few minutes to digest the news, and spoke in whispers among themselves. Then Andaram stood again and appealed to Manwë.
"We have some questions, My Lord," he said.
"Please feel free to ask me anything that you wish," said Manwë, trying to muster a smile for the Elf.
"Where is the real Morgoth? And what do you think he is going to do to Valinor?" asked Andaram.
Manwë then understood that the Elves had not fully comprehended the meaning of the threat against Valinor. He realized that it had been, perhaps, a mistake to have let the Elves and the two hobbits attend the council. He did not wish their lives to be affected by any feelings of distress or helplessness because of this.
"My friends," he said then, "Please be aware that Morgoth has no real shape. He appears to be but mere thought. The black cloud that you see above Valinor has been brought there somehow by him in order to frighten us, but it cannot do anything except hang in the sky, making us aware of its presence. We, the Valar, will attempt to do something to make it disappear so that it will not trouble our people further."
Andaram looked puzzled, and was about to say something else, but at this point, Olórin stood up to speak.
"Begging your pardon, My Lord Manwë," he said, "but we the Maiar have just now had a meeting prior to this among ourselves, and have pledged that we will try to rid Valinor of this threat. We believe that we can accomplish what no other force may do."
Frodo and Bilbo, who had been following the facts and ideas being discussed at the meeting in silence, both gasped in unison at the thought that their beloved Olórin may have to leave them again.
Manwë spoke. "Please do not upset yourselves, Master Hobbits," he said. "As Olórin has told you, the Maiar spirits have pledged their help to try and rid us of the cloud of Morgoth. They will decide how it is to be done, but collectively they have power greater than any other group on Valinor by virtue of their numbers alone. I have the utmost faith in them to come up with a solution."
Shortly after this, Manwë adjourned the meeting. Olórin, with concern showing in his weary face, led Frodo and Bilbo out of the Hall. There was a great buzz of conversation among the others who had been present.
Estë and Irmo came to seek out the hobbits right away.
"We hope that you are not too distressed by Manwë's news," said Estë. "If you wish, you may cut short your map-making expedition, and come straight home with us, if it would make you feel any safer."
"No, My Lady," replied Frodo, "Bilbo and I would prefer to continue with the expedition. We have already discussed it and have agreed that is what we wish to do."
"Very well," said Estë, looking upon the hobbits with love and concern for them. "We will bid you farewell for now. We will see you when you have finished your work and have come home to us."
"Goodbye, Estë, and may I say that we cannot thank you enough for your kindness," said Bilbo.
"Come, my dear hobbits," said Olórin. "I will take you to your rooms, and we will have a talk."
Olórin led Bilbo and Frodo back to Frodo's room, and he asked them to make themselves comfortable. Food, drink, and pipes were brought for them, and they all settled down for a long conversation. The hobbits would normally have looked forward with pleasure to this chance to have a long visit with Olórin, but because of the news they had heard at the council, they waited nervously for more bad tidings from the powerful Maia.
"Now, my dear friends," Olórin explained, "I have told you before who I really am and what I actually appear as in my true form. There are thousands more spirits such as I. We have all taken forms other than our own original flame-like embodiments. Of course, I was privileged to be made one of the Istari, a wizard with special powers, and by the grace of our masters, I rose to the top of my order. However, all of we Maiar spirits were created to serve our masters. While there are thousands of us, there are only fourteen of the Valar. There were originally fifteen, as Morgoth was one of them before he turned to evil ways. Collectively, we are able to do more than our masters in terms of pure might."
"Will you be safe? Is there any possibility that you could die?" asked Frodo. "You were lost to us once, remember? I could not bear it if you were to be lost again!"
"Frodo," whispered Olórin, "the last thing I would wish for is that you should upset yourself over this. Why do you think that I will be placing myself in danger? I have only said that we, the Maiar, have pledged ourselves to try to come up with a solution for ridding Valinor of the cloud of Morgoth. You do not know what we are intending to do. Please understand, in any case, that we cannot actually die, no matter what happens. We are immortal spirits. Some of the spirits have, in the past, been permanently extinguished, it is true, but it happened under dire circumstances, and only to lesser spirits than us, such as the Balrogs. Please do not worry about us. That is really all I can tell you for now."
"Well, I suppose that I am somewhat comforted by the reminder that you are immortal," said Frodo, and Bilbo nodded in agreement, taking Frodo's hand and squeezing it tightly.
Olórin smiled at them. "If nothing else, please remember that," he said. Then he rose to leave.
"Will we see you again before we go?" asked Frodo. "We were planning to leave here in the morning, and continue with our expedition to the west coast."
"I promise I will come to see you off," said Olórin. He bent, and kissed the top of each hobbit's head, after which he departed.
The next morning, Olórin was good to his word, and joined the hobbits for breakfast before they left Mt. Taniquetil.
"Do not choose to look at the black cloud of threat in the sky," he told them. "Look only at the ground beneath your feet, and choose your paths carefully, and at all times, be aware. This is my advice to you now."
After leaving Mt. Taniquetil, Bilbo and Frodo continued on their map-making adventure, choosing to follow the coastline of Valinor. Olórin had assured them that they would always have the protection of the Valar, no matter where they traveled in the Undying Lands.
"After all," he had told them, "the Valar have always seen to the safety of these lands and always will until the end of time." And they were reassured.
The two hobbits spent many more months exploring and visiting many places, although their enthusiasm for their chosen task had waned, for it is one thing to be told not to worry about something, and quite another thing to force oneself not to do so.
By the time they returned once more to their home on the Isle of Estë on Lake Lorellin, Bilbo and Frodo were fully familiar with the Undying Lands, from the Halls of Mandos, which they had only looked at from the outside, and then skirted warily around, to the White Tower of Manwë on Mt. Taniquetil, which was a fine place of beauty and majesty. Although the hobbits could have chosen to live anywhere that they wished in Valinor, they had decided to stay on the Isle of Estë, where Olórin had first brought them.
Of all of the Valar whom they had met, Frodo loved Estë the most. In his esteem, second only to her would have been Aulë the Smith, who was amusing, warm and welcoming to the hobbits. He felt that Mt. Taniquetil, where Olórin and Manwë lived, was too grand and too remote for him. It was on top of a mountain, and Frodo did not care for heights nor mountaintops. The hobbits were glad and somewhat relieved when they arrived back home in Lórien, although it was unusually quiet. They did not see another person when they docked the boat that they had used to paddle across the lake. Bilbo was not concerned, and went off to find a meal before starting to make finished copies of his maps. Frodo decided to go for a walk to try to find Estë, whom he found that he missed greatly since the Council of Manwë. She had been occupying his thoughts of late. He was walking through one of her most beautiful private gardens when he found her, sitting on a stone bench by a small pond, beside a willow tree, and there was an Elf-maiden with her. As Frodo slowly approached them, Estë turned toward him with her blue gaze and soft smile. The Elf-maiden's back was to him.
"Dear Frodo," said Estë, as he drew closer to them, "welcome home." She smiled her radiant smile, washed in the soft blue light shining from her eyes. "I would like you to meet a new arrival from Middle-earth. This is Lindaril."
Lindaril stood then, and turned to greet Frodo. They reached out to shake each other's hands.
"Lindaril, please meet my dear friend, Frodo Baggins, recently of the Shire," said Estë.
Frodo and Lindaril then met each other's gaze, and Frodo thought that he had never seen such a beautiful girl. From her raven-black hair, to her pale ivory skin, and slender, tiny figure, she was perfect. There was a compelling sadness that shone from her violet-blue eyes, which held him in their depths. He clasped her tiny, cool hand in his, and it felt as soft as a young fawn's coat.
"I am very pleased to meet you," he whispered, feeling that the words were inadequate.
Lindaril was drawn to the gentle touch of his hand and the shy sound of his voice.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, too," she said, and the sound of her voice rang in his ears like the love calling of a nightingale in the dear woods of home.
9