Statues of elven Kings and Queens of old line our path. They watch us as we march toward our final destination: the last journey we will every take, and they know we cannot take them with us. The stares that contrast the white of our feet remind us of all the touches we ever had on this land. We stiffen knowing our last memory of this place will not be tall trees and long grass or even the mountains that ever gazed at us with knowing of our sad tired lives, for they themselves knew forever as the ground that pilled on their backs and made them grow. No, our last memory is sunlight on marble, and buildings created when the world was young. On this marble we leave our mark, for it is all that we can leave behind as we abandon the ever changing world we have always known, for those who will not even remember our names. Halls of stone they will build over our homes, and this is all that we can give in memory. We leave not footprints or carvings of names that lasted through the ages; we leave this song.
Elbereth…we come home to you
Elbereth, queen of the stars
Elbereth, A! Gilthoniel
And we still remember why we leave.
Why we leave the only home we've ever known.
And we take each step for the queen we never knew. We take each step for our fathers and mothers, and we know we will meet again on a far away shore.
We are the second generation. We know only forests and battle, we never saw the starlight on the western seas, but still we go. We are beyond questioning why. Forever lives in our souls; in the hands that Iluvitar gave us. We know our time here has ended.
And so we march…
The shore is only moments before us. Gray sails rise above our vision and we lose ourselves in the spectacle. There lies the sea… it sparkles, just like in our dreams; it sings, and we feel it call. We are home. The boat pulls on its reigns ready for the next adventure. We smile at the natural way Arda's tools have given us such life, to look upon things, not people, so infused with the Valars' many gifts. The wind of Manwe tells the sail to carry away, the sea of Ulmo holds it high, the stars of Varda guide the way, the craft of Aule forms it up, and the tears we cry are heard by Nienna alone.
It is the way of our people, so why do I feel so much regret? Is it for those I leave behind? Those I buried in this soil, and those who remain to protect the Valars' greatest gifts as they themselves pass away into legend. I feel some comfort in knowing this land is in their hands. Now it will be named with the blood they shed, unstained by forever. We leave and with us goes knowledge of the subtleties, power over time, and… forever. We leave this land for another time, another place. As we board these gray ships we cross our hearts we will see it again, we promise ourselves we will see it again.
So here I am, in the now that will soon be legend to the changing world. This is their story now.
And so I pass…
Into the West.
These are not original lyrics to the song. I changed them due to the circumstances, as I am sure they would do frequently in times like these.
A/N: This was inspired by a picture of the Grey Havens on the back of one of the extended DVD editions of LotR. I think it was RotK. Hope you enjoyed it, it was a blast to write, if not kind of sad. Well, how bout reviews?