A great fleet was assembled, hundreds of ships lining the coast with their sails furled and their banners flapping in the wind with countless elves scurrying around like ants doing a million duties, loading the ships, forging weapons, sewing tents, armor and many other supplies. Herbalists were making medicine, gathering herbs and other necessary ingredients to create their brews, people were training in the fields, one could see shield walls and other battlefield formations being practiced, while others were being taught on how to sail the ships. While horsemen constantly patrolled around and among the people with several messengers riding and running all over the place.

In short it was busy as heck Ranma thought, the Noldor were mustering all their resources, preparing to return to Middle-Earth, preparing for war, against the greatest and oldest evil of this world, Melkor, now more commonly known as Morgoth. A more fitting name which meant "The Black Foe or Dark Tyrant", it was especially fitting since Morgoth brought eternal night by destroying the Two Trees with now only the stars giving any natural light to the world, the only other source of light were our torches, lamps and braziers which could be seen in many miles in every direction.

I thought back to the day that this fight had begun.

Flashback

It had been nearly a year (a year here nearly equaled ten back home) since I came to this world, I was walking among the mountains surrounding Formenos, I was exploring the area and even after a long while exploring them I still found new caves, valleys and rivers and other stuff every time I entered the mountains. However, this exploration turned out to be very different from previous explorations.

"Huh? It's getting dark already I thought we had plenty of time" turning south to get a better view of the glow from the Trees.

"Your right it shouldn't be getting dark this early" Amrod said frowning and sharing a brief glance towards his twin Amras before looking again in the direction of the Trees.

Amrod and Amras were the youngest sons of Fëanor and the ones I was closest to (despite meeting Maedhros first), they were the most outgoing and inquisitive of their siblings and I often joined them on their explorations like we were doing today.

Suddenly we froze as one of the trees turned completely dark and the other was darkening "Something is wrong, very wrong" Amras said barely above a whisper as a feeling of cold and dread seemed to pass through the landscape, and we shivered.

"Let's hurry back" a sense of urgency in my tone, getting a quick nod from the twins. With that we began running down the mountainside, I had to wait at several points to allow them to catch up as with my ki, I was much faster than them. Although I did teach them and any other elf willing to learn the basics, so they weren't that far behind me.

By the time Formenos came into sight both trees had gone dark and had been for several hours, we had to stop at some points to allow the twins to catch their breath and as we waited, we saw darkness approaching the fortress.

It was already dark but what that thing was a different kind of darkness which seemed to absorb the lights that were too close to it, devouring them, like some cloud or wave of pure darkness that was seeking to engulf all before it and even from this far away we could feel an aura of fear surrounding this darkness.

Quickly I activated my Ki sight to try and see what was going on with that darkness, the twins recognizing what I was doing from previous demonstrations "What do you see?" worry clearly in their voices.

Ki sight can't see in the sense that it can see the outside world but what it can see is the energy and outline of the things with life energy "A Spider" I said a bit shocked "a giant spider as big as a house with enough life energy to equal an army and their appears to be a person by its side "I shuddered a little looking at the black and tainted life energy of the being "a powerful person who has the blackest, foulest, most tainted ki I have ever seen! But it's not an elf or human, it must be one of the Ainur" I said turning off my ki sight glad that experience was over as even looking upon those two monstrosities felt unpleasant and wrong (not wrong as in I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar but wrong as in that it shouldn't exist, that it goes against nature itself).

It only took a second before a look of realization appeared on Amrod and Amras faces "Melkor!" both snarling, saying it like a curse word, "He must be here for the Silmarill's" Amas said.

"Or perhaps revenge" I said both now looking to me "your father threatened him the last time they saw each other and refused to hand over the three jewels. And from what I have heard said about Melkor he won't take such insults without exacting a price, with Fëanor and his siblings gone Melkor may attempt to either kill or kidnap their children as revenge or a way to make a deal for the Silmarill's" many in my home dimension called me an idiot and after a few months of education by the elves I can certainly see why but what I am an expert in is revenge and kidnapping plots.

Both twins looked startled, pale and very worried now as the possibility of Melkor targeting their family entered their minds. "Run, run ahead and warn everyone and if you can't get there in time protect our family" Amrod desperately demanded almost tripping over his words as he was speaking so fast.

I nodded and then ran down the mountain closing in on Formenos but so was the darkness and despite the speed I was going at, I could see that the darkness would reach the fortress at least a few minutes before me. I could also sense the distress of those in the fortress as the darkness got closer, there was panic in the fortress and then people began to pass out, being overwhelmed by the aura of fear the darkness was radiating.

Only a few were still awake by the time the pair in the darkness reached the gates of Formenos, I hoped that the gates would delay the two enough for me to reach the fortress in time, but the gates barely lasted a minute before they were literally knocked off their hinges.

I wasn't sure what exactly the spider was or how powerful it was as ki, and the magic of this world were two separate things, and I couldn't measure the latter, but I had heard tales of what Melkor was like and what he did during his last rampage across Arda. Luckily, he wasn't that powerful anymore, something about dissipating a good portion of his being into Arda, corrupting it but weakening himself as well. Even though I wasn't arrogant enough to believe I could take someone who caused natural disasters on a whim (even if I caused a few in my time) but this weakened version I might stand a chance against.

I passed through the ruined gates, all I could use was my ki sight, my normal sight completely blacked out from whatever surrounded those two, but the greatest difficulty was trying to press onwards despite hitting into what at best could be described as a wall of fear. Every signal in my body was screaming for me to run away, to hide, to avoid combat but I had made a promise to Amrod. I WOULD STOP THOSE TWO!

With that resolution it felt like some sort of rope that was surrounding me snapped and the fear I felt diminished greatly.

"That's it" I thought "the elves have never faced true danger before, they don't know the fear of losing their lives, that is why they are so affected by the fear, while someone like me who has faced life or death situations more than once was able to shake off the effects".

With that thought I pressed on till my sight caught something, it was Finwë who somehow was still awake, stumbling in the dark, his sword drawn but he was waving it a bit widely, however, that wasn't what made my eyes open in worry but the fact he was between Melkor and the vaults where the two invaders were making a bee line too. So, the Silmarill's were the target, but Finwë was in their way.

I found enough will to create an extra burst of speed, but I was too late. All I could do was watch in horror as Melkor created a blade of his own and cut Finwë down and then step over his body like he was some sort of insect.

Anger surged through me, my code of honor always said protect the weak and while Finwë wasn't a weakling being the second most powerful Noldor after his son Fëanor but this wasn't a fair fight in the slightest. He was completely blinded, unable to protect himself from a child let alone a God and the callous way Melkor treated Finwë had my blood boiling. I never used more force than necessary to subdue my opponents and I only killed once but Melkor despite only needing to push Finwë out of the way instead cut him down.

"Mōko Takabisha(Pride of the Fierce Tiger) Double" I shouted, and two circular blue orbs left my hands and plowed into the back of Melkor and the Spider knocking both off their feet and they crashed into the ground face forward.

I wanted to continue to attack them but then Finwë gave a pained groan, "he was alive" I thought "he was alive". Somebody's life was much more important than beating up the bad guys or some jewels, bad guys could be beaten up later and stolen treasure reclaimed but lives couldn't be replaced especially when that someone treated me so well and was family to my friends.

Quickly making a decision I grabbed Finwë and placed him on my back and began running away before the two villains could get up. After giving myself a few streets worth of space between them and me I began to treat Finwë.

The wound he had was deep going from his right collarbone to the left hip and it was bleeding heavily. I then began using a technique I rarely use since it wasn't a combat technique, and it only works on others Shinpi-tekina iyashino tenohira (Mystical Healing Palms). In fusing some of my ki into Finwë to accelerate his healing and before my eyes the wound slowly began to close, I wasn't sure how much time had passed as I was absorbed in my task. But when I was finished, the darkness had disappeared, meaning Melkor and his helper had probably broken into the vault and stolen the jewels.

But I wasn't in any condition to try and chase after them, my ki was fairly low, after several hours of ki reinforced running then a Mōko Takabisha and finally the most ki intensive of them all, healing. I fell over backwards lying on my back, "well" I thought dryly "there is going to be some explaining I need to do when everyone wakes up".

Flashback end

I was walking through the camp the many tents making it the fields look like a sea of silver and white while the banners were flapping in the wind and in the center of this camp was several large tents several times the size of the others, with the center tent of those central tents being bigger than the rest, a cloth house would be a better description. Bright red with golden patterns such as flowers throughout its design.

There were nearly a hundred guards clad in silver and gold ornate armor surrounding the tent, as inside were the leaders of the expedition to return to Middle-Earth and to deal with Morgoth. In the opening one could see Fëanor on a small wooden throne in front of a wooden rectangular table which was messily covered in reports. Beside him were his half-brothers with Fingolfin on his right and Finarfin on his left along with their children. Fëanor's children Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod and Amras. Fingolfin's sons Fingon, Turgon and Argon. Finarfin and his sons Finrod, Angrod and Aegnor and his grandson Orodreth. While their sisters, wives or daughters were either in the camp or in Tirion deciding to remain behind in Valinor like Indis Finwë's second wife and mother of Fingolfin and Finarfin.

However, the majority of the Noldor people were in this camp, only one in fifty were remaining behind so great was their wrath at the near murder of their king and the stealing of their treasures, along with the charisma of Fëanor himself rallying everybody with his fiery speeches that nearly the entire Noldor population was leaving Aman.

And they weren't alone as behind me came the leaders of the other people of Valinor willing to join this expedition, Tintinamoi the third son of Olwë was leading 10,000 Teleri Elves to Middle-Earth while the eldest son of Ingwë High King of the Elves of Valinor and King of the Vanyar, Ingwion was leading 3000 Vanyar elves. All volunteers, wanting to either avenge the death of the Two Trees or the wounding of Finwë or just wanting to stop the Dark Lord or frustrated by the lack of action the Valar were willing or able to take against their fallen brother. This was best exemplified by the banner the Vanyar volunteers chose, the two trees' dead with a black background signifying the darkness Melkor both hid in and brought.

With our arrival there was a pause in the whirlwind of activity and energy in the command tent lessened.

"I hope that everything is going on schedule?" Fëanor asked waiting for our report.

Tintinamo in his silver swan armor stepped forward "My people are training yours to sail but it will be a while before they are adequate enough that I would risk sailing the fleet on the open sea" he reported.

"Do you have any idea of the amount of time it would take to train enough Noldor to be able to sail the fleet to Middle-Earth" Fëanor asked his impatience easily recognized.

"Two months at bestii, your people are driven and determined to learn, I will give you that, but no one is instantly good or competent at something the moment they decide to learn a new craft. Not even you were a master smith let alone the greatest elven smith in Arda in a day" Tintinamo explained, the explanation helping to calm Fëanor down a little as he realized that Tintinamo and his people were going as fast as they could in training the Noldor.

"How about your people prince Ingwion? I know they are eager to avenge the loss of the Tree's but they are also the most loyal to the Valar and they haven't been exactly the... the most supportive of our efforts" Fëanor said diplomatically "I'm afraid their fervor may cool off by the time we are ready to sail if the Valar do not openly support our cause".

Ingwion grimaced slightly "I admit that is a concern I also share, my people are the most loyal to the Valar and usually this is a trait that has served us well, however how many of our current volunteers will lose their nerve when the time comes to step on those boats despite the oathsiii they took? I know not" his face hardened along with his words, determination laced through them "but I will swear this, I at least will join you on this expedition".

Fëanor nodded accepting the oath before turning to me "General Ranma how goes the training of the soldiers?".

Yes, I was now the general of the first elven army in the world and as I was about to give my reply, I thought back on how on earth I got myself in this position.

Flashback

Finwë was lying in bed, still unconscious, you might have thought that it was a normal slumber if not for the scar that ran down Finwë's chest, "I might have been able to save his life, but that scar will stay with him for the rest of his life" I thought gazing sadly at the elf whose family took me in when I came to this new world. With the majority of said family in the room and his wife Indis was right beside him her eyes rimmed red from her crying after she learned of what happened to Finwë when she was unconscious.

The door was then flung open as Finwë's three sons burst into the room their faces haggard, their hair untidy, their clothes unkept and black bags under their eyes showing a lack of sleep and I had little doubt there was exhausted horses in the courtyard below.

All three sons froze at the sight of their father bedridden with a large pale scar going across his chest "Ffffather" Fëanor whispered, shock on his voice and face as he beheld perhaps his most treasured person in such a state.

Both Fingolfin and Finarfin appeared in a similar state, the stress and grief etched onto their faces.

Fëanor hands clenched and unclenched as the shock began to wear off and everyone in the room could see the telltale sign of his famous temper began to show. His face contorted and twisted into a visage of rage.

"Who is responsible for this this this OUTRAGE" Fëanor seethed clearly looking for a target to release his rage on.

"Melkor" was the reply coming from many people at once, the mere name seemed to cause the temperature to drop, and the three brothers went rigid.

Slowly they unfreeze themselves "Melkor I should have known, first he destroys the two tree's and when everyone especially the Valar are distracted and are desperately trying to save the tree's he strikes Formenos where no one was looking" Fingolfin said as his wisdom began to shine through his grief.

"That black heart was the one responsible for the tree's going dim?" Maedhros asked.

"The tree's are not just dimmed but dead, there mighty trunks are now merely a shell, Melkor somehow discovered a way to drain their essence from them, to somehow take the very light out of them, although the wounds on their trunks are... unusual, the initial blow looks like they were pierced with some weapon but on the edge on the blow it looked like it was savaged by some sort of beast" Finarfin confirming the fate of the tree's.

"There was a beast accompanying Melkor on his assault on Formenos" catching the brother's attention "there was a spider, a giant spider the size of a building with him" I informed the princes.

"Truly?" Fingolfin asked.

"Only Ranma could see through the darkness thanks to his ki sight, so only he could see the creature but judging by the tracks Melkor was accompanied by something that had many legs, so he probably was with a spider like creature" Amrod said backing me up.

That seems to satisfy his uncle "And if it wasn't for Ranma grandfather would have died" Curufin informed his father and uncles.

"WHAT!" the princes shouted, the last of their restraint broken through at the thought of their father dying or perhaps dead.

"The king" I wasn't family so I couldn't call him so informally and while I would usually bristle at showing anybody such respect Finwë earned mine, him and his family were the first nobles I met that actually deserved the title (Herb, Kuno's, Saffron and the rest certainly didn't deserve any respect) "would have bleed out in a few minutes, I used one of my ki techniques to heal so only that scar remains. Unfortunately, I had to choose between saving your father or letting Melkor and his accomplice get away with the Silmarill's and your other treasures. I'm sorry".

Fëanor seemed to go into shock and swayed slightly, Maglor and Maedhros quickly went over to their father and helped him into a chair, after a minute of what could be called shocked panicking Fëanor seemed to pull himself together slightly.

"Tttthheee Silmarill's my greatest creations are gone" he responded sounding lost and I don't blame him, first the tree's were destroyed, then his father attacked and finally something that contained his own soul was stolen.

Then there seemed to be an explosion as Fëanor leaped up from his seat startling everyone "Thhhat That That, damned monster that dammed Melkor no Melkor is not a fitting name for that creature, he doesn't deserve a name that means Might One, Morgoth I name him The Black Foe is much more fitting" and so the tirade continued for several minutes but at least he had the sense to move into the hallway rather than his father's sick room.

Once he left "I'm surprised he didn't blame me" I said dejectedly, as if I was a little quicker than Finwë may not have been injured at all.

Amras snorted "It's not your fault, the odds of Melkor or I suppose Morgoth since I agree with father that that is a much more fitting name choosing to attack the on the day the one person who could see through that darkness was out of Formenos was chance, pure chance. And I know you are a powerful warrior, but do you think you could have stopped either of them?".

"The spider probably I could see that it has, maybe not a cowardly streak, but a great self-preservation instinct would be a better way to describe it, it would probably retreat at the first sign of serious opposition or danger but that black thing" I shuddered as I remembered Morgoth's aura "I haven't seen anything that vile or powerfuliv before, he was stronger than Herb and Saffron combined, and I barely won those fights, but I think I could have delayed him for a few minutes, perhaps enough time to evacuate Formenos and get the Silmarill's away".

"That wouldn't have worked" Celegorm said "a few minutes wouldn't have been enough, you saw how fast they moved from the trees to here, no elf could have moved that fast to get away or hide safely in the mountains in a few minutes".

Then a pair of arms made their way around him, turning his head he saw it was Indril "This isn't your fault, you did everything you could have done in the situation we found ourselves in and in the end, you saved my husband, you did what you could while everyone else couldn't do anything" with her words a lot of tension seemed to leak out of me, before coming to this world I was always blamed for everything no matter if I wasn't involved or not. For someone not to blame me, to say that I did the best I could, that there wasn't anything more I could have done, meant a lot to me. I had only been here for a short time but already they were more of my family than Genma or Nodoka ever was. Because they did something simple, they believed in me.

"Thank you" I whispered, and I got more than a few pitting looks from everyone, they used their music to help I suppose translate my life story, it was the condition that Finwë put to allow me to stay with them. To make sure I wasn't some trick by Melkor, using a form of telepathy called Ósanwë where no one could lie not even Morgoth could outright lie using that as a form of communication. What I had gone through, the lies, the abuse, the attempts of others to foist their responsibility, mistakes and faults on top of me horrified and disgusted the elves.

From my song they learned of various evils that existed in my reality that didn't exist in theirs such as theft, murder, injustices, disease and many others but despite coming from what could be considered a tainted world they were impressed by me. My strong will that refused to crack or break under the onslaught I was under, by all rights I should be mad or dead, but I was till sane and my body whole, I didn't hold grudges or give into a desire to get revenge despite having plenty of reasons to seek revenge.

I was honest, hardworking and while my manners and social ques needed to be worked on my good qualities were greater than my bad ones, so I passed Finwë's test to make sure I wasn't a threat to his family.

Fëanor finally reentered the room looking merely angry instead of furious before heading in my direction as I prepared to receive a tirade about what I could have done or was my fault but the words I received "The Silmarill's were my most prized creations with my own Fëa(soul) inserted into them as part of their forging they are precious to me" he seemed to catch himself slightly "but my father is vastly more important than them, I would be more than willing to give them up to ensure he was happy and safe".

"So, I will not take my anger out on you, you don't deserve that Morgoth does, and even the Valar deserve some blame as Melkor is their responsibility to deal with and they are unable to do so, but not you. You may have lost the jewels, but you did it to save my father and for that I thank you" Fëanor said bowing his head in thanks.

That was enough to have me nearly burst into tears, how often did someone thank me or acknowledge me in a positive way? Nearly never, yet here despite only being in this dimension for a short time I felt more happiness and appreciation than in my entire life, I supposed that shows how much of a messed-up life and family I had.

Finarfin stepped forward "I can see the wound is healed but why hasn't he awakened, it's been days since the attack.

His mother Indril answered "Were not sure physically there is nothing wrong with him Ranma did a great job in healing him but he still sleeping, Ranma has a theory about what has happened".

Everyone turned towards me again "I think he is in a coma, a coma is when somebody is unable to wake up even when there is nothing wrong with their body as what caused it has been healed or passed. It can occur when one receives an injury, especially blood loss and Finwë did lose a lot of blood before I healed him" if there was one thing, I was good at other than the art it was medical experience. With looking after Pops, my own and others injuries and being stuck in a hospital on numerous occasions I was a very good doctor even if I didn't have some sort of fancy certificate saying that.

"Any idea when he will wake up or something we can do to allow him to wake?" Fingolfin asked.

"No, that's the thing about coma's they are impossible to outright cure and it's impossible to predict when the patient will wake up, it could be a few days, months, years or decades before the patient awakes. And there is another more dangerous part of coma's effects, that it can affect the mind, I can't promise you he will be the same when he wakes up, all we can really do is pray he wakes up soon and that there is no or little effect to his mental state" I explained sadly wishing that there was something I could do.

"I see" Fingolfin responded as the implications on what I said passed through the room.

"This act can't go unpunished" Fëanor said eventually "if the Valar are unable or unwilling to hunt Morgoth down then we should, we should avenge our king and reclaim our stolen treasure" he said a glint in his eyes almost made them feel radiant and one could feel Fëanor's power behind it as he made that declaration.

"We don't even know which direction Morgoth fled in, let alone where he is heading" Finarfin protested.

"North" Amrod and Amras said at the same time "we saw the darkness heading north".

Fëanor nodded towards his younger sons "We have a direction at least and I recently completed a new project of mine, the seeing stones (Palantíri), a device that allows us to see long distances and to communicate with the bearer of another seeing stone. I forged it to create a better method of communication between Formenos and Tirion, after all there have been some problems with father taking residence here with me rather than staying in the capital where most of our people dwell" Fëanor explained.

That got nods all around, Finwë staying here had caused a few administrative problems and delays and it would make sense for Fëanor to try and solve that issue.

Fëanor continued "While they will unfortunately not be used as intended, we can use them to track the darkness and therefore track Morgoth" he then left the room, we looked at each other and then followed him out.

We followed him right to the top of the tallest tower where upon a stone table with decorative markings and in the middle of the table was a circular almost jewel like thing. Fëanor walked up to it and placed his hand over it, almost touching it but not quite, his eyes now closed, then the jewel blazed with life as if a storm was brewing inside its glassy exterior. For a while we watched and waited as he used his creation, before he suddenly opened his eyes and lowered his hand.

"Their crossing the Helcaraxë, their heading to Middle-Earth" Fëanor breathed.

"Of course," Fingolfin said "he plans to reconquer Middle-Earth and rebuild his armies and fortresses that were destroyed in the Battle of Powers and both the Valar, and our power can't be projected onto its shores, or at least not quickly so he probably believes himself to be safe from our wrath their".

"Then let's disabuse him of that notion that he is safe from us" Argon said.

"Trying to chase him through the Helcaraxë would be a death sentence without thorough preparation and we lack a fleet to cross the sea if it is even possible to cross that vast expanse of ocean in a mere boat" Finarfin said being the voice of reason and caution.

"Your right" Fëanor "then let us begin the preparations for either crossing the sea or that frozen wasteland. Finarfin I want you to go to Alqualondë and to try and convince Olwë to lend us his ships. Fingolfin I want you to go to Valmar, inform the entire city that the Noldor are going to war, to punish Morgoth for what he has done, try and convince the Vanyar and Valar to support us. I will go to Tirion and rally the Noldor, whether by the land or sea I mean to see Morgoth pay" Fëanor declared fervor could be clearly seen in his eyes and voice.

It seemed infectious as Fëanor great speaking skills seemed to flow into us and give us energy to do those tasks. But then an idea seemed to be almost whispered into my mind "If they don't give support ask for volunteers", everyone turned to look at me.

"Every captain willing to sail or teach the Noldor to build ships or sail, every smith willing to forge weapons, every person donating medicine, tents, food and other things necessary for the expedition will allow us to leave quicker and every elf willing to fight would increase the size of our potential army" I said slightly unsure where the words were coming from but now that I said them, they make sense.

Fëanor nodded in approval "An excellent idea, Fingolfin, Finarfin if you are unable to secure the other king's support then ask for volunteers, I doubt many would be willing to follow us to Middle-Earth, but they may provide us with the necessary resources to hasten our trip".

Fëanor then looked at me with a contemplative look on his face "Ranma I would you like to be the trainer and first general of the army we are going to build".

I was silent for a second, stunned then a big "WHAT" came from my mouth and echoed around the room.

"Whether I or you like it or not you are the only child of Eru in Valinor who has true combat experience and faced true life or death situations, you also have some experience in your world's militaries (Genma dropped me off at a few military bases and camps to learn) so you have some idea of a command structure and other things we need. So, I ask you will you train and lead the army at least initially?" Fëanor explained/asked.

I felt numb, I was never good at handling responsibilities or dealing with others and now I was being asked to be in charge of perhaps hundreds of thousands of people? I admit I always wanted students but not on this scale, yet if I didn't who knows how many untrained people may die due to their lack of experience? And Morgoth needed to be stopped, I saw his ki and a being like that needed to be stopped and soon or else the entire world may pay the price.

Looking Fëanor straight in the eyes "I accept" Fëanor nodded, but as the realization of the weight of responsibility started to get to me, I felt a bit lightheaded and left the room the others following behind to fulfill their own tasks

"Well," I thought "this is a fine mess I'm involved in".

Flashback end

"As well as can be expected as there is only one of me and hundreds of thousands of them, but they will all at least know the right way to hold a weapon by the time we set sail, I am also taking some apprentices you might say. If I teach them full time, I could send them in my stead allowing us to train a larger part of the army at once then this rotation thing we are doing" I informed/explained to this council of lords.

Fëanor and many others grimaced slightly, the situation wasn't ideal, but we were all doing the best we could, with the time we had, so there weren't any recriminations from anybody to us.

"I suppose that is the best we can hope for" Finrod said, his hands over his eyes and a sigh upon his lips.

Just then a guard burst into the tent "Your grace and Lords more volunteers have arrived!" he borderline shouted.

This received a raised eyebrow from Fingolfin "And who are these volunteers that deserve such an announcement and who immediately needed to be reported to us?".

"Maiar, there are twenty Maiar willing to join our cause" the guard said, his answer surprising everyone, the Ainur had been fairly silent during their preparations, oh they said it was a bad idea but when asked if they had an alternative plan to deal with Morgoth they didn't say anything and left us alone since then. Now twenty of them appeared in our camp? It was certainly a surprise.

They were led by an elderly wise looking man clothed in white, with mostly white hair and beard with some black streaks going through it.

"I am Curumov, I hear your accepting volunteers?" he said his eyes holding a great deal of intelligence and force behind them while his voice was beautiful and made all who heard it.

"We have come to aid you in defeating our corrupted kin".

i Olwe has sons but all we know about them is that he has more than one, he could have two or seven like Feanor, so this name and position of third son is my own idea

ii 1 valian day for them is about 3.5 sun and moon days meaning this is around 210 days or nearly two thirds of our year for those who say this is too short a time.

iii not to Eru

iv This is before he expanded most of his power into his creations during the first age so while not as powerful as he was when he entered arda, he is not the weakling who begged for his life at the end of the War of Wrath

v Saruman