It had been a full week since Ingeras had first come to Imladris, and the entire household of Elrond was beginning to realize just how fresh the boy's grief truly was.
Elladan and Elrohir showed him around their beautiful home, which seemed to brighten his spirits a little, until they went riding. Ingeras had eagerly agreed to it, until he'd been sitting on the horse for a short time and burst into tears. "What's wrong, Tithen-pen?" Elrohir asked, coming up beside him. Ingeras was burying his face in the horse's mane. The horse arched his bead back and nuzzled the little boy.
"Do you feel ill, mellon?" Elladan asked, touching his shoulder.
"Papa...we used to ride together...I miss him!" Ingeras moaned in the horse's hair. The horse grunted and nudged him.
"Well, nice going, 'Ro." Elladan growled at his brother.
"Me?" Elrohir grumbled.
"It was your idea to go riding!"
"He agreed to it! I didn't know!" Elrohir snapped defensively.
"Stop it! Just stop." Ingeras told them fiercely. They both side. Their squabble wasn't helping matters.
"Forgive us, penneth." Elladan sighed. "Would you rather walk?"
"No." Ingeras shook his head. He felt safer on the horse, hiding his tears. "I like him." The horse whinnied and nuzzled him again.
The servants tried to tempt Ingeras when they saw how thin he was, but Ingeras refused to eat any of the delicious food numerously offered to him. He just didn't have the stomach for it. And any food that passed his throat still tasted like gravel. He would drink water, milk, and juice when it was served to him, but that was the only nourishment he didn't push away. Since he'd arrived in Rivendell, Ingeras had lost even more weight from the time they'd met him, greatly concerning Elrond.
Arwen did her absolute best to make him feel loved and welcomed, and Ingeras would stare at her for the longest time without realizing it. Save for her black hair, she reminded him so much of Mirena. He teared up as he listened to her angelic voice. "Are you alright, Ingeras?" She asked him.
"You're so pretty! So beautiful...just like Momma." Ingeras murmured. Which would instantly gained him a loving hug and a gentle kiss.
Ingeras suffered terrible nightmares every single night, of being separated from his parents, Vlad and Mirena, or seeing them killed before his eyes. Every night, someone sat at his bedside to be there to offer comfort if he woke up. Most of the time, it was Elrond himself or Aragorn, or Arwen. Elrond and his sons mixed heavy sleeping draughts and added nerve-soothing herbs to help Ingeras sleep peacefully, but they never helped him get a full night's rest. He would sleep heavily for a time, but the bad dreams would always wake him in the middle of the night. Elrond tried singing an Elvish chant over him, which made the boy sleep soundly, but only for a couple hours at the most. The child walked around the Elven city with coal black circles under his blue eyes, from the severe sleep deprivation. Elrond was finally at a loss for how to help Ingeras sleep, as he understood all too well the deep pain of grief. Still, his heart ached to see a child being put through this tremendous bereavement and he prayed to the Valar for a way to help the little prince.
It came to the point that Ingeras refused to go to sleep at all at night, unless Aragorn stayed in the bed with him. Aragorn would lay next to him and cradle him in his arms, much like Vlad had. Only then would Ingeras let himself sleep, but it only ever lasted for a few hours before he woke up crying again. It was starting to take a toll on the household, and throughout the day Ingeras would apologize over and over again for being so much trouble, then he would withdraw into himself, feeling bad for being the cause of their exhaustion when they had only been kind and generous to him. "I don't want to have bad dreams at night! I don't! But...they keep coming. And I can't make them go away." Ingeras moaned to Aragorn.
"I know, Ingeras." Aragorn told him kindly. "And it is not your fault. You are going through a major ordeal right now. If you weren't having a hard time, we would be more worried! You cannot help how your body and mind respond to the grief in your heart."
"You're not angry with me?" Ingeras gulped.
"No, little mellon." Aragorn smiled warmly, wrapping his arm around him. "You are suffering with a deep grief that you have no control over. Trust me, these first weeks are usually the hardest. But you have friends here, and we'll be with you through this every step of the way. We care about you, Ingeras. And we just want you to get better."
"I miss Papa." Ingeras sniffled. Aragorn rested his chin on the boy's head and ran his large hand through his hair.
"I know." Aragorn shushed him. "I just got an idea. Your body and mind might fare a little better if they had something to eat. Why don't we have a snack, huh?"
"No thank you." Ingeras shook his head sullenly.
"Hey, I know you don't want to eat." Aragorn said gently. "But it will help a little. And besides, we're all very concerned with you not getting enough nourishment." He lightly patted the boy's hollow little stomach.
"I don't want food. I just...don't want it." Ingeras said. Aragorn sighed.
"When you lived at home, what was your favorite food?" He asked curiously.
"Blueberry tarts. And sugar-sprinkled biscuits." Ingeras mumbled. "Sometimes Papa would...he would sneak me into the kitchen to get some, before dinner. Momma would always scold him for that, if...if she found out." Aragorn smiled. A clever idea was forming in his head.
It was the day to the month that Mirena had died. Ingeras had been so quiet all day, but that night his nightmares were the most severe they'd ever been. Aragorn instantly jolted awake as soon as Ingeras started whimpering, and he held him and tried to comfort him same as always. But this time, it didn't work. Ingeras was clinging to Aragorn so hard, that his fingernails dug into the ranger's arms, making him wince. "Ingeras? Ingeras! It's all right. I'm here!" Aragorn told him and tried to wake him. Ingeras's eyes opened and he looked up at Aragorn so dejectedly it broke the ranger's heart. "Hey." Aragorn spoke softly.
Opening his eyes, Ingeras felt as if a brick had crushed his chest, physically and emotionally, and his tears burst forth like a broken dam. "Momma! I want Momma!" He screamed in utter despair, clinging to Aragorn so hard that his arms trembled. "Nooo! Momma!" Ingeras yelled.
"Estel?" Elrond spoke as he opened the door and hurried into the room. Aragorn looked up helplessly but relieved at the sight of his father.
"Ada-" Aragorn tried to talk, but was shrilly cut off when Ingeras's broken voice echoed through the room. The boy's screams were so destitute, so laced with horror, and almost physical pain, as if he was in a torture chamber. Elrond hurried to the bed and gently shook the boy's shoulder.
"Ingeras! Ingeras, wake up, son!" He urged him. Ingeras looked up at the ceiling, his reddened, wet eyes glazed with shiny tears, and unimaginable pain.
"Nooo! Momma! Let me go! Mmmooommmaaa!" Ingeras screeched, like a soul abandoned to purgatory. Elrond gripped his shoulders.
"Ada, this is the worst I have ever seen him like this!" Aragorn told the healer.
By now, the entire household was awake and at the door. All of their attention was glued on Ingeras. He sobbed and wailed so hard, so loudly that he began to make himself physically sick and could not stop throwing up, choking on his own tears. Elrond quickly scooped him up in his arms and carried him to the healing wing. There, he and the twins helped Ingeras sit up when he vomited, and kept cleaning him back up. Once the vomiting had ceased, the child could not stop crying even if he tried. He wept painfully, the sight of the Turks attacking Mirena and kidnapping him vividly replaying in his mind over and over again. The images would not leave him alone but kept rewinding, cruelly taunting his mind.
Elrond and his sons stood there, watching gravely with tears in their eyes as the poor child lay on the hospital bed, sobbing in anguish, crying for his mother, like a helpless infant. They'd tried and tried to wake him up, but he was too dazed. Elrond took hold of Ingeras's hands and started trying to pour his energy and strength into the comfortless boy. He glowed brightly, willing his warmth into Ingeras, trying to give him some merciful relief. Ingeras continued to cry, but his body shook less manically, and his wails finally died down to small sobs. His weeping was endless, but at least now, he did not sound as if he had been thrown into a torture chamber!
Elrond had his sons tell the servants that they could all retreat to their beds, as they would need a good rest after what they'd heard and witnessed. Aragorn, Arwen, Erestor, and Glorfindel however, refused to go to bed. Elrond allowed them to enter the healing wing, but to not crowd around the bed. "How is he, Elrond?" Glorfindel asked.
"Well, at least he's calmer. But I'm afraid there will be no sleep for him tonight." Elrond sighed grievously, gently stroking the boy's forehead. Arwen still had tears in her eyes.
"I have never heard such pain, from a child!" Arwen cried.
"Did you enter his dreams again, Ada?" Aragorn asked tiredly.
"Yes." Elrond nodded soberly. "This time, it was his mother I saw. She and the boy were perched on the balcony of a watch tower. The enemy trapped them. There was no escape. They punched his mother then cruelly kicked her over the edge, like a barrel of ale!" Elrond gritted his teeth contemptuously, curling his fists. "She struggled to hang on. The soldiers grabbed the boy and took him away, just like that."
"Curse those maggots!" Elladan snarled viciously.
"Ada, how long ago did Ingeras say that his mother died?" Elrohir spoke up.
"Why, it was...oohh." Elrond shook his head sorrowfully. "I see what you are saying, son."
"Ada?" Aragorn pressed.
"According to the time Ingeras gave us, his mother died almost four weeks ago." Elrond explained. "Which means..."
"Today was the anniversary of her death." Erestor finished. They all grimaced empathetically. Arwen covered her face with her hands, the last bit of news being too much for her to even want to comprehend. Aragorn wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close.
"If only he had his father." Aragorn sighed.
"Ai. And we still don't even know exactly who he is!" Elrond mentioned. "And where has Gandalf gone to? It is not like him abandon a child!"
"We just don't know." Glorfindel shook his head.
"Momma…Momma!" Ingeras whimpered with his eyes squeezed shut, curling into a fetal position and hugging himself, clutching the necklace around his neck. Elrond came closer to his side.
"Ingeras? Can you hear me?" He asked. Ingeras mewed sadly.
"Ohhh, Momma..." He sniffled in a muffled voice. Elrond reached down and tenderly picked Ingeras up under his arms, and carried him to one of the private wards. Ingeras firmly locked his arms around the healer's neck. The others lingered and watched through the door. Elrond slowly sat down in an armchair and pulled Ingeras into his lap, letting his head rest on his chest. He gently rocked back and forth in the chair, rubbing soothing circular motions on the boy's shaking spine. He brushed the tears from his face and massaged his curls. "I miss Momma...sooo much!" Ingeras finally spoke in a more coherent voice. Aragorn and the rest listened dismally.
"I know, little one. I know." Elrond said soothingly.
"She died...today!" Ingeras looked up into the elf lord's kindly eyes.
"Ai." Elrond nodded. "I'm deeply sorry, Ingeras. She must have been a wonderful mother."
"She was!" Ingeras blurted out defensively. "And they killed her!"
"Who killed her, son?"
"The Turks!" Ingeras hung his head.
"Who are the Turks, Ingeras? I'm sorry, but I am not familiar with them."
"Our land's sworn enemies! They are cruel, and brutal, and so scary!" Ingeras faced him again, his lithe body trembling hard under the healer's arms. "My papa defied the Turkish Sultan, to save me! And to save all the boys in the kingdom. He wanted the boys to be his slaves and be trained to be his soldiers. Papa wouldn't let him. Because of that, they attacked us. We fled to Cozia Monastery for safety, but we were ambushed on the way. My papa's best friend, Dimitru, one of our most loyal men, died! He was only trying to protect Momma and me!
'The Turks came to the monastery. Momma and I ran up to the tower, looking for Papa. But he wasn't there! And then...then they trapped us! We couldn't get away. They...they...they…'" Ingeras curled into a ball in Elrond's lap and he shivered profusely, the tears never drying from his eyes. He clung to Elrond's arms, who held him protectively.
"Take your time, son. Just breathe." Elrond said, and patiently waited for the boy to continue.
"They hit Momma, in the stomach. She fell down and he kicked her over the edge of the-" Ingeras's entire frame shuddered with horror at the traumatic memory. "They took me away! They took me to the Sultan. He bound my hands. Then I saw-Momma...Momma..." Fresh new tears poured down his face and he buried his face into Elrond's chest. "She...she fell! She was falling, and...and Papa tried to save her!" Ingeras sobbed all over again. "He...couldn't... save her!" Elrond held Ingeras close to him, letting him cry, tears filling his own eyes at everything this child was already going through. He remembered Ingeras's other nightmares, about Vlad dying. Had his father died too? Elrond wanted very much to know, but Ingeras was going under enough stress as it was. When he was ready, he would tell.
"I'm sorry, Ingeras." He said gently. "More than I can say. And it's okay to cry. Even brave soldiers have to grieve sometimes." Ingeras looked up at him.
"They...they d-do?" He sniffled. Elrond smiled warmly, brushing the boy's sweaty curls out of his face.
"Yes, Tithen-pen." He said kindly. "They do. And you know something? It helps a lot. They still cry sometimes because they're still sad, but crying does help to make you feel better."
"I don't feel better." Ingeras leaned his head back down.
"I know. You don't right now. And that's okay. But, Ingeras, if you feel you must cry, don't hold back. Let it out. It will help you heal...with time."
"Papa always called me his big soldier. I wanted to be brave like him!"
"And you are indeed very brave, Ingeras. And you know something else? Sometimes crying is a sign of bravery."
"Really?"
"Ai. Because you care, and you let it show."
"I miss Momma, and Papa. So much!" Ingeras moaned pitifully, clenching his necklace.
"Yes. That is because they loved you very much." Elrond said, kissing the top of his head.
"Sir?" Ingeras asked timidly, his voice still quivering.
"Yes, child?"
"Will you...can you..."
"Yes? Speak to me, son."
"Will you...sing to me? Please!" Ingeras begged.
"Certainly, penneth. I would be happy to! If it will help you." Elrond smiled widely.
"Please! Momma always sang to me when I was scared."
"Of course. Is there anything special you would like me to sing? I am not familiar with all of your songs of men, but I will do my best."
"I wish you knew Momma's songs." Ingeras's lip trembled.
"Perhaps you can teach me some time." Elrond chuckled.
"Aragorn-Estel...there is one song he sings to me at night. I don't understand all the words in Elvish. But it makes me feel better when he sings it."
"Ahh. I believe I know that one." Elrond nodded. It was a song he and Celebrian had sang to his children when they were little, and he'd heard Aragorn sing it many times lately when he was trying to comfort Ingeras at night. "Would you like me to sing where you can understand the words?"
"Yes!" Ingeras nodded tearfully.
"Just close your eyes then." Elrond told him, brushing some tears away. Ingeras obeyed and rested his head on the elf lord's chest, as his melodious voice kissed the room's walls.
"Again? Please?" Ingeras begged. Elrond nodded and wrapped his arms tighter around the boy. He sang for over an hour. The tears still came, but Elrond was incredibly relieved when he felt the boy's tense limbs slowly relax and his small body rested instead of braced against his own. The sun was just coming up when Ingeras drifted off to sleep. When Elrond finally placed him in the bed, he tenderly brushed away the tears that were still on his cheeks. He stroked the boy's face.
"Eru, help this poor child." He prayed.
After that, it was as if Ingeras had spent all the tears in his body. He did not cry again for days. He was still sullen, but he spoke more instead of waiting to be spoken to. He still would not eat though. Aside from that, the elves hoped that maybe he was slowly on his way to recovery. That was until another ordeal struck.
Elladan couldn't sleep for some odd reason. He'd tried and tried. He finally decided to grab a snack from the kitchens and read a good book. Pulling on his bathrobe, he ventured into the hall then froze when he heard someone stirring. It was not his father's familiar steps. He came to the first balcony and was shocked to see a small figure standing there, attempting to climb the banister. "Ingeras?" Elladan spoke. The boy didn't respond but kept trying to climb. "Ingeras! What are you doing? Get down from there, penneth! It's dangerous!" The child didn't have the slightest intent of obeying him. He scurried over quickly to prevent Ingeras from falling to his death over the railing.
"Ingeras? Hey!" Elladan gripped his shoulder. Ingeras whirled back suddenly and whacked the elf very hard in the face. Elladan fell back onto the floor, grimacing and covering his face. Nearby doors burst open and a group of scurrying feet came rushing to them.
"Elladan!" Elrond gasped, coming to his son's side. "Are you alright?"
"I...aah! I think so." Elladan groaned.
"What happened?" Arwen asked.
"Ingeras? Are you okay?" Aragorn asked, kneeling in front of the boy and taking his hands. Ingeras didn't respond but just stared blankly. "Ada?" Aragorn turned to Elrond. Elrond came to stoop in front of the child while Elrohir and Erestor helped Elladan to his feet. "His eyes are glazed, Ada." Aragorn pointed out.
"Ingeras?" Elrond spoke gently. He waved his hand in front of Ingeras, but Ingeras didn't even flinch.
"I-I found him wandering through here and tried to...get his attention, but he didn't...seem to hear me." Elladan said.
"He's sleepwalking, that's why." Elrond frowned, rolling his eyes. Shouldn't he know the symptoms by now? "Did I not teach you the signs of a sleepwalker, ion-nin?" Elrond grunted in irritation.
"What? I...I'm sorry, Ada. I didn't realize...we've never had a sleepwalker! Save for Estel when he was little." The elf sputtered defensively.
"Ingeras, it's me, Lord Elrond. Can you hear me?" Elrond spoke gently. Ingeras blinked several times, looking very confused and gaped at him in alarm, and then he saw Elladan's bloody nose and bruised lip. The little boy trembled and looked at Elrond with large, frightened eyes.
"Did I do that?" He whimpered.
"It's alright, penneth. It was an accident. You didn't know what you were doing." Elrond said calmly. Ingeras broke down and threw his arms around the healer's neck and hid in his shoulder.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Ingeras wailed. " 'Dan, I'm so sorry!"
"Shh. Elrohir, would you tend your brother? Arwen, come with me." Elrond said, carrying Ingeras to his room. "Ingeras, try to calm down, son." Elrond said when he'd set him on the bed. "You were sleepwalking, child. You had no control over what you were doing. And honestly, it is my own son's fault. I have taught him that you must never startle a sleepwalker."
"I didn't mean to hurt him!" Ingeras insisted. "I didn't even know he was there!"
"Shh. We know that, Ingeras." Arwen said, pulling him close to her. "It was an accident and it's all over. And Elladan will not be angry at you."
"He won't?" Ingeras gulped.
"No." Elrond shook his head. "Ingeras, has this ever happened to you before, back at home?" Ingeras pondered for a moment.
"No, I don't think so." He shook his head. "Is 'Dan going to be all right?" He asked worriedly.
"Ai. He will be fine," Arwen smiled. "He's been roughed up much worse than that before!"
"I really am sorry." Ingeras hung his head.
"Do not worry about it anymore tonight, son. You just try to rest. I'll have some warm tea brought in to help calm your nerves." Elrond said, rising to his feet. Arwen nodded to her father that she had this covered.
"I feel terrible," Ingeras looked up at her contritely. She smiled down at him.
"It's all right." She said.
"Ai, that boy has a wicked right hook!" Elladan exclaimed, making himself grimace. Aragorn took the bloody handkerchief from him that he'd used to empty his nose with and Elrohir handed him a cold poultice for his swollen lip.
"Serves you right for scaring him like that." Aragorn scolded him.
"Hey! In the first place, who scared whom?" Elladan glared at him. "How was I supposed to know he wasn't focused?"
"You've been taught how to deal with sleepwalkers." Elrohir chided.
"Ha! As if you would've handled it any better!" Elladan glowered.
"That's enough." Elrond said firmly as he stepped inside. Elladan looked away, waiting for his father to jump all over his case again like everybody else was. "Elladan is right." Elladan gaped at his dad. "We have almost never dealt with a sleepwalker living in our house before. I am sorry, ion-nin. I shouldn't have berated you like I did. You had no way of knowing. And I'm sure you were taken by surprise as much as Ingeras!"
"You think?" Elladan sputtered. Elrond arched his eyebrow. Elladan bit his lip. "Sorry, Ada."
"Well, it appears we have a new situation." Elrond sighed.
"What do you think brought this on, Ada?" Aragorn asked.
"Sleepwalking can sometimes be a result of the subconscious responding to a traumatic event, especially if the details are not shared." Elrond explained. "In Ingeras's case, I would say that diagnosis would be the most accurate. Have any of you noticed him crying lately?"
"No." Elrohir said.
"No, not me." Elladan added.
"Not since the night of his mother's death." Aragorn pointed out.
"Once he broke down, I believe his mind and body are now switching gears and responding in a different way to the pain and the memories." Elrond said.
"Will he come out of it?" Aragorn asked.
"I think so, Estel. But we have no way of knowing how or when."
"Let's just hope he doesn't do something stupid again like try to stand on a banister!" Elrohir exclaimed.
"We will keep an eye on him, and see if this episode repeats itself. If it becomes severe, then we will have to try to end it somehow."
"Ada? Will you tell him I'm not mad at him?" Elladan asked pitifully. Elrond smirked.
"I think he will believe it better if he hears it from you."
For the next few nights, nothing unusual occurred and after a couple sleepless nights, everyone relaxed that maybe the sleepwalking scare wouldn't happen again. But they were wrong!
Most of the residents in Imladris were in bed, save Erestor, Elrond, Glorfindel, Aragorn, and the guards. Aragorn had fallen asleep reading to Ingeras. Elrond was searching his library for records that Gandalf had given him concerning other worlds. Many looked on this as an oddity, but Elrond agreed with the wizard that they should always be prepared for anything. And now, the lord of Imladris was scouring his collection for events regarding the Turks.
Glorfindel decided to take a stroll outside to clear his heavy mind before retiring. He was crossing the footbridge when he thought he saw a small white figure standing up on the high wall he'd just come down from. He peered closer and listened hard. Sure enough, someone was standing over the edge of the wall leading down to the courtyard! He rushed back up the stairs and gasped with horror when he saw Ingeras standing precariously on the ledge, his blue eyes unfocused, and he was speaking frantically. "Momma! No! Let me go! I have to save her! Let me go!" He cried in a distant, eerie voice.
Glorfindel wanted to shout at him not to take a step further, but remembered what his lord had said about the danger of startling a sleepwalker back to consciousness. Instead, he barked at some of the guards to fetch Lord Elrond on the double and to cautiously approach the wall. The fearless balrog-slayer was fighting panic, praying that Ingeras would not topple over the edge and fall to his death on the jagged rocks far below! He tried to quickly but quietly step toward him without scaring the boy. "Ingeras?" He spoke softly. Ingeras did not acknowledge him. "Ingeras, take it easy, son. Just stay there, okay? Don't move." Glorfindel swallowed hard.
"No! Momma! I have to save her! Let me go!" Ingeras wailed.
"Shh. It's alright, penneth. Just stay still for me, okay? Don't move!" Glorfindel begged as calmly as he could.
"Momma! Nooo! I've got to save her!" Ingeras yelled with tears.
"I know, I know, Ingeras. We'll help you, son. Just stay where you are." Glorfindel told him. He was just within grabbing range if he had to. All he needed was a few more feet to get there.
"Momma! No! I've got to save her! I have to! I have to!" Ingeras sobbed.
"INGERAS! NO!" Glorfindel's heart caught in his throat as he saw the boy's barefoot shift forward. Thank the Valar the guards firmly gripped Ingeras's nightshirt the second that they did and pulled him back. Glorfindel could not find his breath until he stood behind the child and let him fall back safely into his arms. The mighty balrog slayer was panting in tremendous relief, cradling the stunned boy close to his chest. "It's alright, son. It's okay...it's okay..." Glorfindel crooned as best he could with his shaky arms.
"Momma...I have to..." Ingeras's speech became incoherent as he blinked his eyes several times, and returned to consciousness. He stared fearfully straight ahead and cried tearlessly, confusion and terror running through him. Glorfindel could feel his little heart thudding wildly against his own chest.
"Shh. You're safe now." He whispered.
"Glorfindel!" Elrond screeched as he raced to his old friend, his usually calm eyes wide with panic. Aragorn, Erestor, Lindir, and the twins were at his heels. The elf lord's rigid shoulders slumped in relief as he saw the boy safe in the captain's arms. "What's happened?" Elrond panted as he came to his side.
"I noticed him while I took a stroll." Glorfindel explained quickly. "I tried to reach him. He almost..."
"Ingeras?" Elrond spoke worriedly, touching the boy's face.
"How did I get here?" He asked tearfully.
"It's alright now, penneth. Come here." Elrond smiled feebly taking Ingeras from the captain. "Thank you, mellon-nin! Thank you!" He told Glorfindel as he carried Ingeras back into the house to the Hall of Healing. Glorfindel nearly fell to his knees, but Aragorn and Lindir grabbed him by the arms.
"Glorfindel? Are you alright?" Aragorn asked.
"He nearly stepped over the edge, Estel!" The captain said in shaky voice. "If not for the guards, I wouldn't have..."
"But you did, and Ingeras is safe!" Aragorn told him. "Come, my friend. You are very shaken."
Elrond sat with Ingeras in the healing room that night. The boy had suffered a shock from this episode and the wise healer wanted to make sure it did not become worse! As he sat there, wondering if the little guy would ever get a break, he heard the familiar voice of his mother-in-law, the grand Lady of Light, Galadriel mind-speak to him.
"There is one that shall come to you that you do not expect. He is not one of us. A lost soul, eternally cursed to remain a scourge on mankind in his own world, a constant threat of terror to his own, until he finds one can set him free. He has committed the unthinkable to survive, and is greatly feared: a nameless, hovering monster hiding in the shadows.
'He wanders, endlessly despising his own person, what a vile thing he has become. Yet he is a deeply tormented soul, who has known great sorrow and pain. In all of this, he desperately seeks out redemption but does not know where or how to find it. Should he enter our beloved lands, we must welcome him, for he is in dire need and in great distress, forced to live with his monstrous sins as an only companion in a life of isolation. Perhaps the Valar will take pity on him. He must be set free! Or he will continue to wearily wander as a dark and dreaded phantom, for all eternity.'"
