Maedhros pov
I stood behind father as what was clearly not an elf appeared before us in a flash of light. Unfortunately, if things turned deadly only my father was armed, it was a precaution he took ever since he realized Melkor had an interest in the Silmarill's, just in case he tries to steal them.
There was a tense moment of silence as both sides sized each other up but he couldn't help but feel that despite one of them being armed and outnumbering this being two to one they were the ones at a disadvantage.
However, it was quickly broken by the stranger bowing his head, introducing himself and apologizing for some reason? There was an awkward silence that lasted for a few seconds before the thing that introduced himself as Ranma opened his mouth again.
"Where am I, who are you and if it isn't too rude a question what are you?" Ranma asked, seeming to be a bit nervous, not scared nervous but like a child doing something wrong nervous.
After getting over his shock father answered, "You are on the continent of Aman, at Formenos, as for who I am, I am the eldest son of the High King of the Noldor Finwë, crown prince Fëanor and this is my eldest son and heir Maedhros" clearly pointing to me by shifting his body slightly in my direction "as for what we are, we are elves or the Elder".
"Now I ask you the same question, what are you?" Fëanor asked, something that I was curious about as well.
"I'm human or I suppose you could also call my race man or mankind" Ranma answered.
MAN, MAN, that was the Secondborn, the race that was supposed to come after them, the second children of Eru Ilúvatar. So, that was what he was although there was a chance it was a trick by Melkor even if subtlety wasn't exactly his usual method of doing things that black hearted traitor was capable of it, if he wasn't father would never have been banished here. But that power that brought him here didn't feel like Melkor's in fact it didn't feel like any of the Valar or Maia although it did feel similar which left one candidate, The Creator Eru Ilúvatar himself.
"Father" catching both of the other people's attention "perhaps we should have this conversation with grandfather and perhaps call the Valar to confirm that he" shifting my head in Ranma's direction "is a member of the Secondborn and not some trick of that black heart".
Fëanor looked like he was starting to think and there was now a bit of suspicion at the indirect mention of Melkor but after a few moments his face showed he came to a decision.
Sheathing his sword "While I admit that your coming is suspicious this is something I should let my father decide what to do, will you come with us to Formenos?" Fëanor asked.
Ranma now had wide eyes and the look of a startled animal "Mmmee see a king?" an unbelieving tone to his voice.
Father simply lightly laughed in amusement at the now mildly panicking man and I had to admit it was amusing sight and then my checks and ears turned slightly red in embarrassment as I remembered I was exactly like that when I was first taught to ride a horse, my father looked at me and grinned. It seemed he was also remembering my horse riding lessons.
"There is no need to panic, you do not need formal clothes, to do an intricate greeting or be overwhelmingly polite, my father is an easy-going man who is very welcoming towards most people and his door is open to nearly all" he explained cutting off Ranma's verbal vomit and panicking.
Ranma seemed to think about it, but it was easy to see the uncertainty in his face "It seems my chooses are rather limited but seeing the man in charge seems to be the best option but who are the Valar and who is that black heart that you think I might be involved in?".
Fëanor sighed and I don't blame him as this would be a long topic that risked him losing his temper, but it wouldn't do to leave Ranma completely ignorant of everything, especially the rulers of the land and their enemy.
"Come, I will explain on the way to Formenos" father said.
"To put it bluntly the Valar are the stewards of Arda, the world" he explained when the word Arda seemed to cause some confusion with Ranma "in the beginning there was nothing or at least nothing physical but eventually one being was born and that was Eru Ilúvatar and he created the Ainur, beings created from Eru Ilúvatar thoughts but still had self-awareness and free will, each one representing some sort of concept. He then teaches them the Music and through the music he charges them to create a grand creation, however one of the Ainur decided that his designs and ideas alone should be used to create the grand design, leading to a battle of the music as the themes clashed. This being was Melkor, the oldest and most powerful of the Ainur" he paused and seemed to be trying to force himself to speak the name.
"Again, and again Eru Ilúvatar ordered another theme and again and again Melkor corrupted it, even convincing some of the other Ainur to join him until Eru Ilúvatar puts a stop to it by chastising him" fathers disgust and disbelief was fairly clear "The Ainur then entered what can be considered pre-Arda and begin to manipulate it to create the grand vision that Eru Ilúvatar showed them but once again Melkor decided must be his way or nobody's way. The Ainur created mountains, Melkor then leveled them, lakes were formed and then dried, each time the Ainur tried to create something Melkor would destroy of corrupt it in some way, on and on it went till Tulkas came to Arda and drove Melkor off".
Ranma was clearly enraptured by the story "The Valar are the leaders and most powerful of the Ainur that descended to Arda and stayed true to Eru Ilúvatar vision and opposed Melkor since he was cast out of the group although occasionally, he is still considered one of them. The current 14 Valar are Manwë Súlimo the King of the Winds, and the King of the Valar, Ulmo the Sea King, and the Lord of Water. Aulë the Smith, and the Lord of Earth and all that's underneath, Oromë Aldaron the Huntsman, the Lord of Forests, and the Great Rider, Námo also known as Mandos the Doomsman, and the Judge of the Dead. Irmo also referred to as Lórien the Lord and Master of Dreams, Visions, and Desires, and Creator of the Oloré Mallé, or Path of Dreams and Tulkas Astaldo the Wrestler, the Champion of Valinor, and last of the Valar to come to Arda. Varda Elentári the Star Queen, and the Queen of the Valar, and the wife of Manwë. Yavanna Kementári the Fruit-Giver, and the Lady of Earth, and the wife of Aulë. Nienna the Weeper, and the Lady of Mercy. Estë the Gentle, Lady of Healing and Rest, and the wife of Irmo. Vairë the Weaver, and the wife of Mandos. Vána the Ever young, and the wife of Oromë. Nessa the Dancer, and the wife of Tulkas" father finished listing.
"The other of the Ainur that whether they follow the Valar or not are called Maia or Maiar if plural but back to the story. With Melkor no longer interfering the Valar was able to create Arda, a singular continent filled with life with a Great Lake in the middle, there was a giant isle called the Isle of Almaren in the middle of said lake where the Ainur resided. To fill their creation with light they created the Two Lamps Illuin and Ormal. For a time, peace existed upon Arda but then Melkor returned. He threw down the lamps, scorched and shattered the continent into three pieces Aman, Middle Earth and the Eastern Lands and wreaked nearly everything in existence, the Valar were unable to chase after him as they spent their power trying to preserve what they could, but Melkor added something new to creation that would alter it forever, death, rot, decay, disease and many other horrible things. The Valar, seeing their efforts were in vain retreated to the westernmost of the three continents Aman and successfully managed to save it from Melkor's taint creating the kingdom of Valinor where we currently are but they had to sacrifice the rest of the world to do so" father had to stop for a few moments so he could calm himself down.
"The Valar raised the Pelóri Mountains to protect Aman and then created the Two Trees Telperion and Laurelin the Silver and Gold Trees to illuminate their new home. For a thousand years, the world remained the same, the Valar ruled Aman while the rest of the world cloaked in darkness was ruled by Melkor till Varda created the stars giving light to the rest of the world again. At some point past this the first children of Eru Ilúvatar the Firstborn the elves came into existence and were eventually discovered by both sides, Melkor desired to destroy or corrupt them since they were not his creations while the Valar desired to protect them. Thus, conflict resumed and the War for the Sake of the Elves or the War of Powers begun leading to the Battle of the Powers and the Siege of Utumno Melkor's fortress in the North. The Valar was victorious with most of Melkor's servants slain or scattered and Melkor himself captured, he was sentenced to be imprisoned although once again the world was damaged from the world and a new continent the Dark Lands were created" the talk of Melkor's defeat and fate during the war helped father keep his temper.
"The Valar decided that the best way to protect the Elves from Melkor's remaining servants and other natural dangers in Middle Earth was to encourage and invite them to live in Aman which many accepted leading to a great emigration to Valinor where under the tutelage of the Valer we prospered" he admitted with a bit of reluctance "however, eventually the Valar felt that Melkor was punished and imprisoned for long enough and decided to release him, he seemed repentant of his deeds and asked for forgiveness however we were fooled, we were all fooled" father nearly whispering the last bit.
"His imprisonment didn't teach him a lesson and didn't make him repentant, it just allowed his hatred to grow and fester but he hide it well. He secretly began to spread deceit amongst the people of Valinor, creating mistrust amongst even family and friends till he convinced me that my half-brother Fingolfin desired to steal my position as heir and my greatest creations, filled with anger I drew my sword against him. I didn't harm him" father was now holding up a placating hand to Ranma who looked slightly horrified "I just drew my sword and threatened him, of course such an act was investigated and Melkor's deceit was revealed to all, and he fled before the Valar could apprehend him. I however was punished by being exiled from most of Valinor for drawing a weapon with intent to potentially harm someone".
"Thats the current tale and a brief summary of our history what the Valar are and who and what is Melkor and why the heir and the High King of the Noldor is here in an isolated fortress instead of the big bustling city of Tirion" father finishing his tale, looking emotionally exhausted. I don't blame him, and I applauded him in keeping his temper with the continuous mention of the thing that caused his banishment and pretended to be his friend. Causing him to become the most disgraced elf in Aman and the first to actually threaten another one of the Eldar a unique and unfortunate distinction to make.
"Well, here is Formenos, one of my many creations small but defendable" waving at the now visible white stone fortress built into the side of the mountains, covered in battlements, towers and slit holes with a very impressive gate in the front that looked like it could stop a herd of stampeding Oliphant's and it being small, well comparable to Tirion which held a few hundred thousand people it was small, but Formenos could still hold thousands of people as the fortress extended into the mountains making it much bigger than the outer walls made it look. In short it was fit for a king (pun intended).
I turned to look at Ranma who had an awed look on his face combined with a look of I wonder what on earth I am getting involved in. And I had to wonder the same thing what on earth we were getting involved in with the coming of Ranma, hopefully Grandfather would have the answer.
…...Finwë Pov
I wasn't expecting anything that unusual or strange to happen today so when my eldest son and eldest grandson arrived with something that was clearly not an elf but similar to an elf, I was shocked and realized this was not going to be a normal day or even a normal several weeks. I wasn't the only one, everyone from the servants to the rest of my family were staring as well.
I however quickly realized what this being could be, after all he wasn't an elf, and he didn't feel like one of the Ainur and while my son was prideful, he was also fairly paranoid and suspicious with Melkor lurking around somewhere wanting to steal the Silmarill's and powerful enough to see through most disguises. So, the odds were if Fëanor decided to bring this stranger into Formenos then he wasn't one of Melkor's ilk which left only one option left the secondborn, man or perhaps their forerunner.
After all he remembered the day or perhaps night would be a better turn since there were only the stars illuminating Middle Earth, the elves awoke. There were 144 elves in the beginning and while it admittedly took them a while for them to find each other, no elf awoke alone yet his son brought only a single man with him. So perhaps this is a test case, to see what works or doesn't before Eru Ilúvatar plans to fully awake his new children, I thought.
"Well, Fëanor mind telling me who is our guest?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, Fëanor had a sheepish look on his face which was shared by Maedhros, and he begun to open his mouth to explain.
For those who think Fëanor is being stupid for inviting a total stranger into his home, remember this is before the wars before the elves truly understood danger and suffering especially those of Fëanor's generation and below as they lived in the safety and security of Valinor their entire lives. They have no concepts of spies, assassin's, treachery, murder and many other evil things so forgive me if the elves at this point are portrayed as a bit naïve.