Chapter 14
Under a Star Leaden Sky Cont…
"Tell me, what do you know of Fëanáro and his sons?"
"That is not a name I am familiar with." Elarinya replied, watching as Maglor built a fire from his old provisions.
"Finwë, however, is known to you."
"Yes, you know this," She had told him her past and her history early on, there was no reason she could see to hide it.
"He was my grandfather, Fëanor was his eldest son with his first wife. Fëanor was my father."
She sucked in a breath, "Then it was your nephew I met as I journeyed here." Celebrimbor's face, one that so resembled Finwë's, circled around her mind. While Maglor held the dark hair and fair skin of his grandfather, his resemblance clearly took from his maternal side.
He gave a wistful smile, "Aye, it was. Though I have not seen him in countless years." She reached out and placed a comforting hand on his. He recoiled from her, pushing up from the ground. Hurt slammed through her body at the rejection. Silence reigned around them for many long moments before he spoke again. "Fëanor was a renowned craftsman—with words, craftmanship, gems. He was unparalleled with a sword.
When Melkor was released, his evil spread through the land, and though my father mistrusted him, his will was also bent. In his greatest achievement he captured the light of the Two Trees into three great jewels, the Silmarils. However, he grew suspicious of even the valor and guarded the jewels fervently. Melkor used this to his advantage and Turned Fëanor against his half brother Fingolfin. For this he was banished and Finwë went with him.
The Two trees where then destroyed through the might of Melkor and Ungoliant, and Manwë asked of Fëanor to give up the Silmarils to replace the trees, only he refused, and Melkor took his opportunity and stole the jewels. Finwë was killed during the attack.
Filled with grief and anger, took up his place as the ruler of the Noldor, but he was tainted by Melkor's evil and swore a terrible oath. An oath which destroyed us all:
'Be he foe or friend, be he foul or clean,
brood of Morgoth or bright Vala,
Elda or Maia or Aftercomer,
Man yet unborn upon Middle-earth,
neither law, nor love, nor league of swords,
dread nor danger, not Doom itself,
shall defend him from Fëanor, and Fëanor's kin,
whoso hideth or hoardeth, or in hand taketh,
finding keepeth or afar casteth
a Silmaril. This swear we all:
death we will deal him ere Day's ending,
woe unto world's end! Our word hear thou,
Eru Allfather! To the everlasting
Darkness doom us if our deed faileth.
On the holy mountain hear in witness
and our vow remember, Manwë and Varda!'
He wished above all else to go to the shores of Middle Earth in pursuit, however the Teleri that live at the shores of Valinor would not give use of their ships and so we attacked them. It was the first kinslaying. We killed our own people. Finarfin left the host of Noldor after that, grieved by the loss and was forgiven by the Valar taking his place as the High King of the Noldor.
Morgoth released his army upon us and the battle of Dagor-nuin-Giliath ensued. My father was killed as we came in sight of Angband, his fortress, he was surround by Balrogs. However, my brothers and I, we also took the oath, and even after his death are still bound by it.
Thingol, or as you knew him, Elwë, learned of the Silmarils and his daughter Luthien had fallen in love with a mortal human Beren. Thingol sent Beren on the impossible mission to retrieve one for the hand of his daughter. Miraculously he, he was able to do so. However, Thingol kept the jewel from himself. He was slain by the Dwarves for their greed and the jewel stolen again. Beren learned of this and lead an attack on the Dwarves of Nogrod, succeeding in recovering the jewel and giving to Luthien who kept it until their deaths where it passed to their son Dior.
It was said, 'a Silmaril of Fëanor burns again in the woods of Doriath'. We believed foolishly to recover the jewels and fulfil our oath. And so, the second kinslaying of the elves occurred. Three of my brothers were slain, Celegorm by Dior himself—though he and his wife were also killed. Servants of my brothers took Dior's two sons and left them to starve. His daughter Elwing escaped with the remnants of his people.
She held the Silmaril. It was many years before we learned this, only myself and my brother Maedhros lived. Both of us wearier than you could possibly understand. I wanted nothing more than to forget the oath, forget my deeds, but it was not to be so, for we swore the oath before Ilúvatar himself and the Silmarils were not in our possession and so for the third time, we attacked and murdered our own kind. We attacked the Havens of Sirion. It was the cruelest of all. After the battle we found their sons playing in a nearby waterfall—Elrond and Elros.
I could not tell you why we spared them, by all means, we should have killed them. Instead we took them in, took them as our own, raised them. Love did grow between us. They were my one good deed in this long life. The one thing I can look on with pride. When they chose, they left of their own accord. There were years of peace after that, and many times I came close to repenting the oath I took, but I never did. So much despair and destruction I had wrought, how could I ever repent, let alone be forgiven. I could not get rid of the oath.
When Morgoth fell, the last two were reclaimed by Eönwë, the herald of Manwë, and again we set out to fulfil the oath. We were successful in obtaining the jewels, but because of our deeds, were deemed unworthy. The Silmarils rejected us and burned our touch. Maedhros threw himself into a fiery crevice and I left mine for the sea to claim and wandered these shores until the day you arrived."
At some point during his tale, Maglor had sat back down, starring into the fire, the flames casting his face in shadows. Elarinya moved to sit beside him. She remembered his rejection from earlier as she tentatively reached out a hand. Lightly, she let it rest on his leg. Releasing her breath, she leaned into him.
"What are you doing?" He asked, confusion lacing his voice as his eyes drifted down to the elleth by his side. Her woven hair obscuring his view.
"Supporting you."
Her answer was so simple, but things could not be that simple. His deeds would never be forgiven by the valor, when he passed, his fëa would never be released from the Halls of Mandos. He could not condemn another to that fate. "I can only bring you sorrow. I will not tie you to my fate."
She reached up and pulled his head towards hers, sliding forward to plant a kiss on his lips, on that he did not return, "You do not decide my fate. I chose my fate, and I have chosen you. It has been you since you first appeared to me. Whether you accept it or not, where you go, I will follow either as your mate or until I fade from these shores."
"You give me an impossible choice." He replied starring into her eyes.
"No, I give you the truth."