Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings or any of its copyrights.
A big thanks to AnimeIceFox and LUNAGURLZ who reviewed the prologue. Here is the first real chapter of Nan Annûn!
Edit 1-2-13- I'm pretty sure there were only small changes to this one
One evening, while an Elf maiden was going about her duties caring for the catacombs, voices coming from the mysterious, unmarked tomb drew her attention. Fearing that someone had gotten themselves stuck accidentally, she fetched the night-guard from outside, and together they opened the heavy stone door.
The two people that were revealed were strange to the two Elves' eyes. They looked Elvish, but there was something… different about them. They both had the pointed ears, slanted eyes and stature of Elves, but their bearing and other small things about them were definitely Man. Strangest of all, was that the female had red hair, a peculiar shade that was not seen often in Middle Earth, and most definitely not amongst the Elves; it was a deep, almost blood red seen only on some flowers and a special species of butterfly. The male had short, unruly black hair, shorter even than the men of Gondor and Rohan, who generally kept their hair much shorter than Elf males. And they both had on strange robes and were holding sticks pointed at the maiden and the guard, demanding to know where they were and what was going on in the Common Tongue.
The Elves realized immediately what this meant, and ushered the newcomers to see the Lord Elrond. All the confusion that clouded the newcomers' minds was cleared, and Lily and James- for those were their names in their previous lives in a land called "England"- were slowly introduced to life in Imladris. They were given Elvish names, Noruiloth, "fiery flower," for Lily and Mellombrand, "noble friend," for James. And Lord Elrond himself began assisting them with studies of Middle Earth, Elvish culture, and language.
A hundred years passed, and once again, the maiden heard movement in the unmarked tomb. Upon opening it, a young male similar to Noruiloth and Mellombrand was revealed. She greeted him and brought him to Lord Elrond immediately. Lord Elrond cleared this man's confusion as he did the previous time, then called Noruiloth and Mellombrand to him. The three, after a moment's hesitation, recognized each other and there was a joyful reunion. Lord Elrond learned that this new man was named Sirius, and he and Noruiloth and Mellombrand knew each other in their past lives. Sirius was renamed Maethorvel, "strong warrior," and together they started to teach him the ways of the Elves.
Time passed, and the Elves of Imladris began to grow anxious. The tomb had been opened twice already, and they knew that when it opened for the final time, it was only a matter of time until the Dark rose up again to try and cover the world with its evil.
The maiden entered the catacombs one day, a mere fifty years after the arrival of Maethorvel, and could not help but feel that she should open the door to the tomb though she heard nothing in the chamber beyond. Tentatively, she eased the door open, not knowing what to expect, but what she most certainly did not expect to find was another young man lying on the floor of the dark tomb.
He was different than the last two, not just because the last two alerted her to their presences through talking or movement. His hair was a lighter color, like that seen in the lands of Rohan, or in the Woodland Realm of Thranduil. His ears were pointed, but unlike the soft points of the Elves, they were sharper, and everything on this man seemed much more clearly defined. The maiden once again fetched the guard and brought the man up to Lord Elrond. Lord Elrond, upon initial examination, did not find anything wrong with the man, but as the man had yet to wake, Lord Elrond ordered he be placed in a bed in the Healing Wing.
Lord Elrond sought out Noruiloth, Mellombrand, and Maethorvel, and held a short council with them near the bed on which lay the most recent addition to their world. It was determined that the three possibly knew the man, but it could not be confirmed until the man awoke…