Ah, Curufinwe the hypocrite. Anything he says or thinks that goes against his actions in the Silmarillion is on purpose. He doesn't realize what he's doing. Warning: though I wrote this with my copy of the Silmarillion by my side and "Nightfall in Middle-earth" playing on iTunes, I make no guarantees about staying in Tolkienese or a semblance thereof. I will try. That is all I can promise, especially this late at night.
And one more thing: Anything about Folken's appearance that goes contra his appearance in the show is also purposeful. He pulled a Darth Vader after his death and reverted to his younger form, remember? So he has two biological arms, no tattoos, longer bangs, and white wings.
Judecca, Canto XV: Feanor
The human child's name was Koichi Kimura, and he would prove to be either my greatest tool or largest weakness. At present I could not ascertain which, though my opinion had begun of late to incline towards the latter.
"Okay, we're close. Should we spread out or clump together?" the boy Ken hissed through the shadows as our sorry vagabond band pressed closer to the enemy's obelisk stronghold. He had insisted on following the group of volunteers for this suicidal mission, much to the dismay of his comrades. In fact, I would have been perfectly content to enact the movement alone. Anything but dealing with these insufferable bumblers. I distrusted their magicks, their motives, and most of all their capabilities.
"Clump together, obviously. Better yet, get in a single file line. We'll need that formation to press through the door." Brave words from a shaking black-haired boy. Children, I was leading children to battle. The son of the High King had been reduced to this? Degrading. I could practically hear Nolofinwe's laughter.
Nay, I was not even leading. I was being led. The instigator of our attack team bit his lip and set his face in a mask of bravado, unorthodox in his bright dress compared to the more somber tones of our attire. At least they weren't cowards; all those had been left in the snug safety of their guarded house. These marched forward into the unknown, yet they marched blindly, with no thoughts save reclamation of the stolen objects in their minds. They did not understand the true opportunities presented by such an operation. Could I let their ignorance hinder me? Was I here for their purposes or my own?
The matter merited not a whit of debate; it deserved none. These children could not hold me back. I had not allowed even the gods to do so! The only individual ever to best me in matters of my own will awaited me in his blockaded house with the remainder of the cravens. He would be dealt with in time. But first, I had property to recapture. Both the human's and my own.
Silently I slipped my hand in my pocket as the children squabbled about the best way to deal with guards at the gate. By the time they noticed my disappearance, the guards would hopefully have ceased to be of import. My fingers met with the object they sought; I slid it on and slunk forward, drawing my sword. Let them talk at the enemy's very gates all they wished if they could act no better. Fortunately for them, others among them knew how to accomplish things.
The door was, to my great disturbance, unguarded. For a moment I thought perhaps the sentinels were lying in wait and surveyed the area, but there truly were none to be found. What a simpleton this Kaizer was! Had he no fear of invasion? My very blood heated within me at the thought of being tricked by such a careless opponent. He would pay for such an oversight.
The statues he had stolen from the child should be ensconced, as far as anyone in the unfortunate confederacy who considered me their fellow could reason, in a treasure room below the main level of the building. I was well-acquainted with the area and made for it immediately, with all the grace and silence of the Elder Children. No clumsy skulking mortal, I. My dealings with the race post mortem had left me far less than impressed. I would leave them to create a disturbance upstairs as I sought the true objective. No doubt they in their ineptitude would conjure one for me somehow.
True to my thoughts, I had no sooner turned down a hallway than my sensitive ears burned from an explosion, set off in the direction whence I had come. Anticipating guards, as I had, they had voted to forgo subtlety. Did my absence thus go unnoticed? I would likely fare better, were that the case. But I could not worry about baggage I had left behind. What lagged behind my footfalls was always soon forgotten. Those who could not keep up with me deserved such treatment for their weakness.
So why then, prickled a feeling in my gut as I descended the stairs, sword held before me should a member of the opposite number come stumbling up, have you come? You care not for the boy's plight, nor for his stolen treasures. Yours alone are bane enough. Why chase after what you have left behind?
Self-doubt was in my bosom an uncommon and unwelcome visitor, so I banished it with nary a further thought. I sought my objective for the same reason I still sought, in some desperate corner of my desires, those Jewels which had been wrested from me: they had been taken against my will. The ignominy of that defeat rankled my senses and had to be corrected. Never in my long life had I sought anything other than what was rightfully mine; to be deprived of any of it stung bitterly. Had others but heeded my philosophy and acknowledged my rights, they would have avoided much grief, but I did not regret their fates.
Yet this was not the place for reflection, safe as I might have been courtesy of the artifact around my finger. I rubbed it with the thumb of the same hand thoughtfully, marveling as I always did at its smoothness beneath my skin. Not for the first time my artisan's mind wondered who had crafted such a precious thing, and to what end. For surely it had not been the creature the prince whose body Nelyo and I had found had defeated. No base spawn of such vileness could bring forth such beauty. The very nature of the thought screamed anathema to the workings of the universe.
The doors of the treasure room approached in my vision as I strode down the long hallway, the stairs now far behind. All too well I remembered the sound of my boots striking the floor, the smirk on the twisted child's face as he humbled me by taking what was mine by every verdict in Ea. I cared little for verdicts and rules, normally. Yet this one felt just and right in my mind, but this boy violated it. Apparently he did not know the price opposing me carried.
Resting my hands on the handles of the doors, feeling them cold and unblemished in my palms, I braced myself for the Valarauko within. Those scum of Morgoth would not be able to see me, I knew—not as long as the precious artifact was mine—but that did not guarantee absolute victory. No, the only thing that could achieve that was my gallantry. So I would not let them cow me.
Pushing the doors open with a mighty shove, I sprinted in and towards the chest on the opposite wall—only to cross swords almost immediately with a tall man in a cloak, who stepped forward to intercept the sound of my footsteps. Of the demons no sign could be seen. I recognized my assailant: the man who had opposed me at the library. His ridiculous aquamarine hair betrayed his identity almost immediately.
"I apologize," he told me in his deep voice, "but invisibility is useless."
So he wanted to provoke me into speaking? Oh, I'd give him a speech as his lifeblood stained the floorboards, but not before. Dodging to the side, I tried to run past him. Let him wonder in puzzlement as to from where I would attack! Yet he matched my motion, reached out to grab me with his other hand. I pulled away and dashed for the treasure, not fearing his sword. How could he stab in the back what he could not see?
Yet I heard him pursuing me, trying to trap me against the wall. Playing clever? That I could do as well. Pivoting, I thrust out behind me, fully expecting him to impale himself on my unseen blade. Instead he jumped, something brilliant and white erupting from his back as he soared over my head and landed squarely between me and my goal. Turning, I could see what had happened to him; wings had grown from his shoulderblades and filled the air with floating white feathers with each beat of their massive span. What sort of creature was this man? One of Morgoth's dark twisted creations, no doubt. I had to dispose of him quickly, before his comrades had time to arrive and assist him. He had been lucky so far. His instincts would not save him this time.
Rather than running at him as I had before, I instead launched myself bodily at my assailant, choking back a laugh as my unexpected weight dragged him to the ground. Yet as I readied my weapon his was already prepared; it bit into my arm and I grit my teeth in pain for a moment before banishing my discomfort to the back of my mind. One little cut mattered not.
"Stop," he ordered calmly, pushing me off his body as I drew back my hand for the killing blow; I cursed the lightness of my race as he stood. "Don't do this."
"Why shouldn't I?" I asked him haggardly, caring not that my voice would betray my position anymore; circling him, spots of my blood falling from my wound marked my location in scarlet. "You have wrenched from me all I have left to call my own. Why would I wish to leave it in the hands of monsters?"
His brows tightened, his wings wavered. Yet he made no move to stop me from reaching the cabinet containing the treasures. Opening it so that a mere crack of light forced its way into the dim interior, I peered inside with one eye while keeping the other on my watchful adversary. Quickly I spotted the quarry: two black leonine sculptures on hexagonal bases, shot through with gold and adorned with gems in places. The craftsmanship was nothing to boast of, the poses blocky and the jewels dim. I sniffed in scorn as I pocketed the statuettes. Well, the boy Koichi was only a child. He knew not yet how to discern quality...Making a mental list of the contents of the rest of the cabinet, I shut the doors again.
"So you let me pilfer your master's collection?" I inquired lightly, hoping to relax my opponent, let him think I had put all thoughts of killing him from my mind. Reality would prove a far harsher mistress for him to embrace.
"He is not my master. Why have you come?"
"Do you not know?" I backed towards the door, sword eager in my hand. "Have you not seen?"
"I am here only to obtain information. You do not wish to destroy the chest?"
"I do not as a matter of principle engage in the wanton destruction of artifacts. But do you not know the one called Nelyafinwe?" Let him see my justice with his dying eyes. I stepped forward, flicking the wound on my arm so blood would fall behind me instead. Soon the flow would congeal and I would be unseen once more. Then I would strike.
"The red-haired man. One of his many names." I realized with some alarm that, while his eyes should have been fixed on the blood or darting the length of the room in search of me, they were locked firmly on my own. He could truly perceive me, then. Very well.
Slowly I removed the golden band from my finger, savored its feel in my hand before dropping it safely into my pocket once more. I wanted him to see the hatred in my eyes as I cut him down. "He is my son. And Kaizer stole him from me."
The man flinched, though soon his face smoothed over with placidity once more. "Then Kaizer deserves that blow."
Abomination. Did he fear death after his arrogance had been stripped from his freakish form? Coward! Would he not join me, if the truth so shocked him that he dropped his mask, if only for a minute? Traitor! Fire filled me, and I surrendered to the flames, for I knew they would deliver my vengeance. They would consume first this man, and then anyone else who dared defy me, until I reached Kaizer himself. He would beg for mercy before I finished with him, he would free Nelyafinwe and sob on his knees to be spared. But I would be stone, unmoving. And I would laugh as I cut off his head...I was already laughing, charging my first opponent, the first rung on the ladder that would lead me to fulfillment...his sword dropped, he had accepted his fate like a fool...
"Father!!"
The sword fell from my numb fingers; I was close enough to the winged man to touch him had I wished to. Blinking and shuddering, my foe forgotten in my shock, I turned to meet the clear grey eyes of one I thought I had lost.
"Nelyafinwe..."
I staggered to him, gasping for breath; my wound throbbed in new pain as the haze of battle lifted its gauze from the surface of my mind. With one arm, he supported me; in the other he held the limp form of the boy Koichi. "He was hurt badly in the fight upstairs," he told me, laying the boy on the ground; I could see the telltale red blossom spreading across the boy's chest. "And you...you have also suffered injury."
I shook my head. "It is nothing, unworthy of fretting. But you...you know me?"
He smiled; vaguely I saw a white silhouette slipping out of the room, shedding feathers in its wake, but paid it no heed. "Of course. You are my father. How could I help but remember you?" Clutching me close to him, I felt his body heave against mine as he choked back tears unseemly in a prince such as he. "Where have you been? I have been so worried, Father...worried you would die before..."
"I, meet my end at the tip of Kaizer's blade? Don't be ridiculous, Nelya--"
My eyes rolled upwards as my brain blasted starry with pain and my stomach doubled over as his dagger tore into my side, ripping across the exposed skin with vicious delight. "...worried you would die before I had a chance to smite you myself," he finished, eyes now cold with joy and fulfillment. "Kaizer will be most pleased." His sleeve slid back on his slender arm as I crumpled to the ground, and even through the red mist tearing my vision I saw the black bracelet gleam on his arm. "But do not think I do this because of the Ring I wear. This is the fate all your sons have wished on you, that the world has wished. Did not the Curse say our end would come by treachery of kin unto kin? This then is its ultimate conclusion. You betrayed us all by leading us to damnation, so I avenge the lives you threw away by turning traitor to you. I detested you always, Father. Now at last Ea will be free of your brilliant blight."
The darkness was blotting out his face, and I was shamefully glad of it. Some part of me told me to reach out to the unconscious boy beside me, to return his tokens in hope of some miracle, but I had given up on the miraculous long ago.
"Above my comrade already spells the doom of your new band of gullible followers. In fire they will crackle and die as the hopes of my uncle's people seared away on the shores so long ago, when you ordered the ships be made into a preemptive pyre. They are only children; it is a pity that they must suffer so. But you had no mercy on the children whose parents left to follow you, whose parents you slew on the shores of the Sea, on the wife who loved you too much to accompany you."
He dared bring that woman into this? But no, this new Nelyafinwe would dare anything to achieve his savage goals. Such a drive sounded similar...but my brain grew heavy, I could not comprehend who he now resembled...I smelled the hot tang of iron and gagged on the scent of my own blood. Closing my eyes, I tried to fight the agony eating away at my side and arm, groped in my pocket for the object within in hopes just touching it would bring a soothing comfort. But my fingers already grew heavy and sluggish, unwilling and unwieldy. Even this body revolted against me...
Exhaling, I let the roaring darkness claim me. The last thing I heard before the blackness invaded my ears was the sound of my eldest son, my heir and my hope, laughing aloud, blissful in his triumph at last.
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a/n: Yes, I AM sadistic enough to end it there...but so as to avoid being lynched, the next Canto will be Soren-centric and we will indeed find out what will happen to Feanor and what has happened to Maedhros. I think I promised Dilandau in this last Canto and he never showed, so he'll be certain to crash the party next time. Gotta keep HWB happy, after all.
I think you all only have to wait a week, too, as my fall break has screwed up the movie schedule...so see? It's not that bad.
p.s. As to how Folken could see Feanor...well, he was bored in the afterlife and decided to take up dowsing. Van picked it up pretty quickly, and Folken is more perceptive than Van...he'd probably be a natural.88;