Foreword: A History, Concerning Wizards

Eru Ilúvatar, the One, Father of All, gave birth to the Ainur, the Holy Ones, with his first thought in the Timeless Halls, outside of everything. He gave the Ainur the gift of music, and each would make their music for him. At first all made music alone, but he soon offered the Ainur a vision. He commanded the Ainur to make one great music, the Ainulindalë, that was of this theme he gave them, and they soon all joined together in choir. With their own thoughts and wills, and with Eru's perfect vision imbued within them all, each of the Ainur brought forth their music which filled the void.

For a time this music satisfied Eru, as it had no flaws, but one Ainur found his own will to bring amongst the music. Melkor, the most mighty of all Eru's creations, began to sow discord unto the Ainulindalë stemming from his jealousy of Eru and hatred for his brethren. Others quickly had their music change, as his tune corrupted many around him as their music found itself swaying towards Melkor's. Soon, Eru had to intervene, and another theme was given forth. Manwë was the main instrument of this theme, second in power to, and brother of, Melkor.

Melkor continued to contend with this music, as his power and mastery grew, and Eru finally introduced a third theme, a sound so large and all encompassing that it caused all Ainur to cease, and silence fell. Eru proudly reminded the Ainur that, most powerful though Melkor may be, all are a part of Ilúvatar, and nothing comes without first coming from him, and the Ainulindalë was perfect all the same. This further angered Melkor in a secret shame, as he realized that his attempt at corrupting the music was still a part of the gorgeous Ainulindalë.

With the beauty of this music, the perfect vision of creation was given to the Ainur, and Eru commanded they create it for themselves. So perfect was the vision that even Melkor's anger faltered, and wished deeply to contribute to it. Gifting the Ainur further with his own ability to create, the Flame Imperishable, the universe known as Eä began to fill the void. Within the Ainur found the world, known as Arda to its future inhabitants, a small light amongst the Void. Eru ordered fifteen of his most powerful Ainur to descend upon the world and act as both its protectors and chief creators. These fifteen would be known as the Valar.

Among the fifteen were Melkor and his brother Manwë. Melkor quickly claimed all of Arda for himself from the rest of the Valar, and waged war against them. Whence they created anew, Melkor was there to destroy it into his own thought of anger and misery. For many years Melkor warred against the Valar, and often maintained the upper hand against them. It was not until Tulkas, the final Valar and a powerful one, descended into Arda that the scales tipped in favor of the Valar. At this Melkor fled, and returned to the Void outside Eä.

For a time the Valar were able to flourish in Arda with Melkor's influence gone. Some of the Ainur not given the title of Vala, to be known as Maiar, descended to Arda to help the Valar shape the world while some stayed with Eru in the Timeless Halls. Light and life and peace were brought to the world by the Valar and Maiar, until Melkor decided to return with reinforcements. He summoned those Maiar that had their music attuned with his own, those he had corrupted, into his servitude. They descended to Arda on the continent known as Middle-Earth, and drove the Valar west to the lands of Aman across the ocean.

Melkor continued his war against the Valar and the Children of Ilúvatar for thousands of years. The Children of Ilúvatar were the elves and men who were the featured third theme of the Ainulindalë and awakened in Middle-Earth after the Valar fled to Aman. At the end of the First Age of the Sun, Melkor, known by then as Morgoth, was banished into the Void once more by the Valar. His greatest servant, a Maia formerly known as Mairon and commonly known in Middle-Earth as Sauron, had remained there at the end of the First Age. Sauron came to desire Morgoth's power, and wished to fulfill all the deeds undone by his lord and take control of Middle-Earth for himself.

As a powerful Maia and smith of the Vala Aulë, Sauron devised a plan for corrupting the greatest warriors, wisest nobles, and strongest settlements in Middle-Earth. After remaining dormant for five centuries after his lord Morgoth's banishment, he began to slowly reveal himself to the lands. By the year 1000 of the Second Age of the Sun, Sauron had established himself in Mordor, corrupting the very earth beneath his feet. He began to build his unconquerable tower of Barad-dûr near the base of Orodruin, Mount Doom, where armies of orcs and trolls began to form in his service.

With these armies and his home base established, he began to get his plan underway. Under the guise of his elven-like persona Annatar, Sauron would confront the elves, mainly the elven smith Celebrimbor, grandson of the legendary smith of the Silmarils Fëanor, to forge the Rings of Power. Around the year 1600 of the Second Age, nineteen of the most powerful rings were being crafted by Celebrimbor and Annatar. Sauron, in secret, had forged The One Ring in the fires of Orodruin, to rule all those who wore the other Rings of Power.

Celebrimbor had forged the three elven rings alone, without Sauron's influence, which left them less corruptible than the rest, but vulnerable to The One's immense power all the same. When Sauron put on The One Ring, Celebrimbor immediately perceived Annatar's deception, and quickly removed his own ring. The elven rings would be hidden when Sauron decided to seek them out and reclaim the Rings of Power. This led to the War of the Elves and Sauron, where he attained all rings but the three and another, one which Celebrimbor had given to Durin III, though it was crafted by Annatar. In 1697 of the Second Age, the war ended, and Celebrimbor slain. Here Sauron began to disperse the rest of the rings to the dwarves and men.

The following tale will be about the Valar's own solution to Sauron's growing power around this time. You see, the Valar had detected Sauron's power at the same moment Celebrimbor felt Sauron's treachery around the year 1600. The Valar felt it was now their time to intervene, as Sauron would only grow stronger the longer that he was wearing The One. Their answer was to send their own Maiar, the same race of beings that Sauron belonged to. While they'd send Maiar with similar powers, Sauron was among the most powerful, so the Valar decided to send three.

The Vala Aulë, the greatest Smith and the creator of the dwarves, had chosen the Maia Curumo, later to be known as Saruman in Middle-Earth. Oromë, Lord of the Forest and greatest Huntsman, had summoned Alatar to also take the journey. Manwë himself ordered Olórin, to be known most commonly as Gandalf. When each was summoned, only Olórin had refused to come. He confided in Manwë that he felt too old and feeble to undertake this quest, but more importantly, he was scared as well. Manwë told him that this was all the more reason to fight against him. To defeat his power, it would take patience, wit, and compassion, things Sauron severely lacked. Manwë ordered Olórin to go, so he reluctantly accepted.

Whence he arrived as the third, he found the third he was no longer. The Vala Varda, wife of Manwë and the Vala responsible for the situation of the stars' light in the night sky, had asked Curumo to take along Aiwendil, the one known as Radagast in the forest. Alatar had also asked his friend Pallando, also a Maia of Oromë, to join him, and he was welcomed. Olórin had now become the fifth to be ordered to undertake this conquest, and the Valar soon informed them all of this most important of missions: save the world from Sauron's destruction.

These five would be known as the Heren Istarion, "the Order of Wizards." Their task was to contend with and circumvent Sauron's power to bring about his downfall. The five would be relatively dispersed throughout the continent to gather forces all around against Sauron. It was urgent that some were sent as soon as possible, so the duo of Alatar and Pallando were to be sent to the most populated region of Middle-Earth, the far east.

Unfortunately for the istari, there was a lack of knowledge about the lands they'd be traveling to. The Valar had not been to these lands in thousands of years, and it was much changed since then. Even Oromë, who had hunted much in Middle-Earth, had not been to that continent since the Years of the Trees, thousands of years prior but still more recently than any other Vala. The nature of the world was nearly all forgotten, so the istari were going to have to figure that out for themselves once they arrived.

A solution was quickly found, as Glorfindel, a great and powerful elf was chosen as an emissary. Glorfindel was a mighty and brave lord in the First Age of the Sun before his bodily death caused his spirit to return to Aman. Due to his noble deeds during his time in Middle-Earth, the Valar gifted him with Maia-like powers and returned his life to him. He would depart for the western half of Middle-Earth with knowledge, experience and power, while Alatar and Pallando were sent eastward with no experience whatsoever.

The Valar did, on the bright side, have some guidelines and preparations for the istari before their descent to a new world. Firstly, the istari were not meant to contend with Sauron's power by using their own. While this could easily be done, this would only corrupt them into the hatred and anger that Sauron himself has fallen into, under Morgoth's evil spell. This path of darkness was meant to be avoided, as it would result in the istari simply replacing Sauron if he were to fall as Morgoth's servants. They must succeed through persuasion and encouragement, convincing the elves and men to find their own might greater than Sauron's themselves.

Related to this came a clear restriction on their use of magical powers. While they were Maiar and inherently had magic within them, it would be much more subdued in Middle-Earth. The effectiveness and power behind their magic would be limited. Furthermore, it was not to be used vainly. It must be kept as much a secret as possible from elves and men, relying on it if only absolutely necessary. Protective or inspirational magic could be used only in dire times.

Also using their magic for purposes similar to those of Sauron, to harm innocents or for their own greed for example, would result in not only physical strain but a loss of memory. They would forget their goals, forget Aman, and lose their way during their journey, falling ever nearer to the influence of Morgoth and darkness. Nearly every istar would succumb to this, however, as it took power and magic to fulfill their goals even if it was necessary. None of the istari were perfect, and all of them, over the thousands of years they'd roam Middle-Earth, would forget Aman without falling entirely to Morgoth.

Next was the secrecy of their nature. Sauron was a feared Maia, and if the free peoples came to know the istari were of the same race, they might find their enemies in the wrong places. Elves and dwarves were already well known to not trust each other on most occasions, and the Valar did not want that kind of pot to be stirred throughout their mission. To hide this, they would take the forms of aged men, appearing to be wisened and apathetic to simple things like race relations. People would see this behavior and none would suspect the poor old men were as powerful as they truly were, save for the few they came to trust.

With their tasks given and objectives made clear, the two istari were prepared to descend to the far east of Middle-Earth. To maintain as much secrecy as possible, the first two would travel by way of true descent; teleportation in a more modern, easier-to-understand word. The Valar had created and prepared the empty bodies of old men for the istari to travel within and inhabit until their mission was complete.

As primordial spirits, Maiar did not have any physical forms to take with them. They had spent only a second within these newly physical existences before they found themselves bounding through space, about to embark on their most important quest for saving all of Middle-Earth. Soon, the two friends would find themselves in a different kind of existence, where danger roamed large under shadows, and they must be careful along their journeys.

Chapter I: An Expected Party

This font delineates the Valarin language.

The descent itself was rather painless for Alatar and Pallando. The travel felt both like an instant and a lifetime. Moving as fast as lightning but also as slow as a sitting stone, they saw the sun and moon and stars flash past them. All of them seemed to be moving so fast in the sky that they were immobile. The feeling was a bit nauseating, the first thing the Maiar had realized they were feeling. As primordial spirits, the Maiar had been shapeless masses of energy until just before this trip.

Their impact on the earth was different from the descent, and it was all but pleasant. While it wasn't an impact like you or I would imagine, it felt all the same to them. From the outside, it would have seemed as though they magically popped into existence. This is, of course, fundamentally what just happened. Not literally, but imagine going from nothing to something in the blink of an eye. The two had just become susceptible to the forces of nature.

The moment they descended into the world is when they literally fell hard, though, and hit the ground mere seconds after arriving. Their senses had just been created for the first time, and they were not prepared for gravity to pull themselves down towards the ground. For a moment, they had no choice but to look into the stars of the night sky and imagine them all laughing at them, mocking the old men for this foolish imagery.

Laying here, on the ground and in pain, was a fascinating feeling. Their senses were overwhelmed by the things they were taking in, and they refused to move as they soaked up all the feelings that they felt. The grass on their skin, the weight of their bodies, the sight of the heavens above. All of it was beautiful, and stunned them so much that they could do naught but remain still and breathe.

After several minutes of this bit of nothingness, Pallando sat up to address his friend. "Alatar," he said slowly. "This is intriguing."

"It certainly is," Alatar responded. "I feel like a new being, one I cannot yet comprehend." He remained on the ground, appreciating the starlight and the brightness of the moon, which was almost full. He planned on staying here for a while, until Pallando spoke up once more.

"We've received a gift," said Pallando plainly, which aroused his friend who finally sat up to greet him. Their eyes did not meet, as Pallando was preoccupied with his gift. He was holding up a set of robes and a hat, all which sat next to a brown walking stick beside him. He held up the robes and admired them. The color was blue, but it was too dark yet to determine its exact shade. "You have your own set too, my friend," he said, finally turning to see his friend and nodding towards Alatar's side.

Alatar could not divert his eyes from his companion. He was too busy looking to see what they had each become. He saw Pallando was an elderly man, with snow-white hair and a long matching beard. His skin was sagging and wrinkled in many places, and his body looked worn. He picked up his own arms and looked at himself, noticing the similarities in his skin texture and hairy features.

Pallando soon noticed what the other was doing, and began to appreciate this as well. He had been hasty in his arrival, and had failed to acknowledge all that they were given. The life here in Arda was new and special, and every aspect of it would take some time to get over. "It is good to see you, dear Alatar," said he. "This is not how I imagined our meeting would go."

Alatar could do nothing but smile at this. Eventually, he looked down to his side and noticed his own gifts had been left on the earth. His robes were also blue, but seemingly darker, though still not enough light to notice by how much. His walking stick was also brown, but seemingly lighter in color than Pallando's.

"The temperature is low," said Alatar, holding up his robes and beginning to rise to his feet. "It would be best to cover ourselves up for the rest of the night."

"I'd very much like to stay here," Pallando responded, as he also slowly stood up to put on his cloak. "The stars are too beautiful for me to ignore at this moment. I will need the night to myself and my own sense of wonder."

"I must admit I am thinking the same. I, too, cannot continue unless I surrender to the nature around us, though we and our friends have helped to make it. It is different being here, a part of it, rather than seeing it from afar."

And so the two wizards laid back down and simply stared into the night sky. As the hours drew forward, they followed the constellations as they traversed the blackness behind them. The moon shone intensely, dowsing them with a warmth they thought could not be outdone. They were soon wrong about this, as the sky in the east began to brighten and turn red.

They could not see due to the treeline nearby, but the fiery air seemed to come on swiftly as the sun rose. This color was frightening, as it was immediately overpowering the night sky, and soon, the own intensity of the moon. Not much later, the sun had found its way above the treeline and flooded the area in light. It felt warm, though it was not so just yet, and the istari lay here with their eyes shut, arms out by their sides, accepting of this new force that was illuminating their faces.

As the morning continued, the fresh scent of dew was coming on strong. It was evaporating as the sun's heat grew, and offered a soft humidity and refreshing feeling between their toes. The morning was shaping up to be powerful, and they knew now why the Years of the Sun were important to history after the fall of the Two Trees of Valinor.

Soon, when they were able to open their eyes, they sat up and looked at each other once more. Their features had become sharper, and their colors more contrasted. The whiteness of their hair was almost blinding in the light of the sun, and they could now see the differences in their matching sets of gifts. Pallando's robes were indeed lighter in hue than Alatar's, mimicking more the bright pale blue of a crisp winter's day. Alatar had robes of deep navy, reminiscent of the deepest waters of the ocean. As they looked around, they wondered why these colors were chosen for them.

Similarly to their clothing, his staff was a light hickory while Pallando's was a darker teak. Each walking stick was roughly their own heights, with rooted knots at their tops containing a sapphire-like gem. The gem seemed to glow faintly, giving off a simple yet gorgeous glow. When they were done seeing each other properly for the first time, Alatar said, "Well, I guess this means we are to begin our journey. A great conquest to embark upon and endure!" This sentiment was returned from the wizard across from him.

The area they had dropped into had quite a spectacular view indeed. Now that the sun had risen they were able to see exactly where they were and what was around them. They were in a field on the bank of a vast sea to the south, a forest not too far to the east, mountains far in the distance north, and what appeared to be nothing west. The grass extended on for a while before turning a paler brown color. It seemed like a desert was nearby and drying out the lands not too far from them, but the desert was out of sight, so they couldn't be sure.

The mountains were only barely visible save for the closest ones. Those, while still many miles away, had very discernable details like snowy peaks and pockets where people might have carved out the rock to camp on a journey to the summit or over the mountain pass. It was only just noticeable to them, but perspective told them it was a large encampment, something they presumed to be permanent. Who would need such a path was a thought pondered for a moment before turning their attention back to their immediate surroundings.

The body of water nearby looked clean and clear. They got up close, removed their robes, and hopped themselves inside, smelling the brine of the water coming with the wind. Not much seemed to be living within the water with the exception of some small plant life growing in the shallowest depths of the water. Further in they went until up to their necks. The water was cool and refreshing to their skin, and they stayed there for a bit. The buoyant forces of the water made them feel queer, as their newly understood sense of balance was thrown off.

Soon they got out of the water and laid down in the grass. They allowed the sun to warm them as they dried off, but not after long were they itching from the grass on their backsides and decided to don their clothes once again. They began to turn their attention back around to the treeline which had been hiding the sun earlier that morning. The leafy canopy was offering shade, and an intriguing sense of calm.

They wandered over and here they leaned up against some trees and rested themselves with the cool breeze coming off the water to keep them comfortable and the shade offering them peace. Sleep had also eluded them until this point and were curious about this new feeling, but fatigue came quickly. Whether they wanted to or not, they were going to catch some sleep for a moment.

When they awoke, they found themselves admiring more feelings, but this time were less enthused by them. Hunger and thirst had befallen them. They went back to the shores for a drink and found the water to be too salty, making them cringe as they swallowed. While not knowing what exactly this meant, they felt that something was wrong with it, and only took a few small gulps to hold them over until they found water they thought was better.

The woods they had just departed from moments before had now suddenly looked like there were things moving inside. Just in time, too, as the hunt would need to begin with their stomachs now empty enough to be rumbling. What was also very lucky was the fact that it was something small and fairly easy to catch. They did not know what it was called, but most, including you and I, simply call it a rabbit. When they'd find this out, they'd probably say, "Ah, rabbits. I've heard of that lot. Didn't know what I was eating though." After clumsily skinning the small beast, they took a bite of the raw meat underneath. Again, the Maiar realized they did not know what they were doing but were acting on the instinct of their feelings to put something in their bellies.

Cooking and spices would not come around any time soon. Despite the fact they knew what fire and spices were, they did not understand them due to their earthly origins and purposes. They did not know about boiling or roasting their food first, but again knew something was wrong with the first bite. They carried the animal with them until they figured out something to do with it since they were hungry. Until then, they again took small bites from the animal and small sips of water from the sea just to hold them over until they learned how to make their food palatable.

"What do we do from here?" Pallando said aloud. "We are going to need proper food and water soon, and possibly a place to take cover, should it rain on us, and definitely make it a private place for us to learn all that we now have to learn away from prying eyes."

"I agree," Alatar responded. "The woods to our east would be our best bet, I'm sure. It would provide enough cover for us to keep hidden. However, the water here is not drinkable. I say we make our way into the forest until we can find a stream with cleaner, more refreshing water. There will be plenty of wood, too, to burn and keep us warm throughout the nights."

"Yes that sounds best to me," Pallando said. "And enough wood to make ourselves a rather humble shelter too. No one needs to know where we are before we feel ready to continue on our quest."

"I dare say this could be quite fun, learning the ways of the world we helped the Valar to create," Alatar said, his excitement rising as he spoke. "With these experiences, we could return once our journey is over and propose even better ways to shape the world to make it even more perfect!"

"Hear hear!" said Pallando. And so the two made their way out of the water and stood in the open field with the warmth of the sun to dry them off. They made their way to the forest with their rabbit, robed and walking comfortably with their sticks. The journey for the Blue Wizards had just begun.

Over the course of the next three days, Alatar and Pallando traveled through the woods adjacent to the sea where they entered Arda. Several species of animals were found along this trek, along with different types of wood and rock and moss. Several small freshwater creeks were crossed until they found themselves along a river much larger than anything they had crossed yet. The istari would make this plot of land and water their home for the next twenty years or so, learning much during their stay here and staying away from the random bands of passers by they would encounter.

When the wizards first settled, they took the time to travel a bit further as a way to survey the land. The river they stopped on was roughly twenty-five yards across and three at its deepest. The banks were crowded with boulders which diminished in size closer to the middle. Some remained, however, and offered a dry path across, though a bit treacherous. Several types of fish were to be found in this river, one of the main sources of food that the two would hunt for. The water was also crystal clear and as crisp as could be. This was not the first river they found they could drink from, but it was however colder and more refreshing. They figured this was a runoff coming from the peaks of the mountains lying to the east and the north, soon to be discovered, and the other small rivers they crossed were offshoots of this one.

The wizards decided to diverge for a time to explore the ends of this river. Each made their way along opposite directions of the river and agreed to rendezvous once they had found their respective ends to the water. Alatar went southwest and found after a day's journey that it ran back into the sea they had begun their journey on. He did not realize how far into the woods they had gone and away from the sea, but thought it best to keep them hidden. He could not see the shores where they had been, but the view was quite similar with the exception of the mountains north looking smaller and hazier. On his way back, Alatar took to bringing back some fish and other small creatures to feed on.

Pallando went northeast where he came out onto a vast plain after almost two more days of walking. The river continued towards the mountains east to which he could not see the end of the water. The mountains here were even closer now than the ones to the north had been when they first arrived. They were unbelievably tall; despite being well within view he estimated that it would take probably fifteen days or more just to reach the base of it, which was well hidden by haze.

Pallando decided to stop here and begin to return and meet Alatar. While walking back he stopped and observed some of the plant life around him. Sweet smelling plants were all around him, and he would suck on them just for a moment to see what they tasted like. Each was bitter to the palate, but he took a little of each in the chance it could make their food taste better, since they still smelled pleasant.

Once the two were reunited after half a week, they came up with a plan for what they were going to do here. "This very spot along the river is quite hidden from prying eyes," Alatar said. "While you were still gone, I went ahead and ventured carefully across the river. Once I made my way, I roamed east just for a few miles to see what was around. Fields of plantlife surround us along with many small and large sized creatures, but no signs of intelligent life were to be found anywhere. I don't imagine there will be much coming down this way to find us if we stay here."

Pallando agreed with this. "Much of the land seems abandoned. I trekked for four days and was very alone the whole time," he said. "There also seems to be much to fulfill our daily needs as well. Many of the herbs and spices I returned with from many miles away are still able to be found nearby and all along the river."

And so the wizards made this quiet little spot their home for the better part of twenty years. During this time they would learn how to cook their food before eating it. Hunting would happen every morn with daily competitions between the two. Herbs and spices would be collected every few days as one trip could hold them over for several meals. They used their magic sparingly, but they did use it to fell trees in order to give themselves access to wood. With it they made themselves each a small hut to take shelter in during the night, more will be told of that later. Some trees had already been felled, seemingly years prior, and this older, dryer wood was used more for fires than for their construction.

They also used fresh wood to fashion tools so that hunting didn't rely so much on magic. Spears were made first to serve the purpose of both hunting and fishing. They also practiced throwing them at their prey rather than simply lunging. The spears were not perfect and missed often, but all this helped to increase their physicality. Despite having the bodies of old men, They were quite limber and agile indeed. They also would use these spears to train each other, often sparring with each other to see who could get the first hit on the other, dull side forward, of course. Pallando was usually a bit quicker and more aggressive to get a tap on Alatar.

One of their prey wandered in and became immediately valuable, however. A flock of sheep was making its way through the woods towards the fields northward. The meat they contained was much nicer to feed upon than the smaller animals they had found, and the wool became incredibly useful as you can imagine. They very slowly threaded much of it into two large clumps, making a sort of pillow for themselves. This allowed the two to use their robes as blankets rather than sometimes suffer through cold nights using the robes as their headrest.

The wool was also eventually spun into bits of string that had two very important uses: fishing rods and bows. They would chisel away at small stones found in the water into the shapes of hooks and arrowheads and tie them on with the string they made. Strong wooden bows were carved out of large pieces of log in order to use the arrows with the string obviously making up the most important part of the bow. Archery quickly became a favorite pastime of the two with more competitions to go along with it. Old and dried herbs that went unused stopped being kindled for a fire, and was instead kept until a large block of it could be used as a hay bale. String was made to keep it tied together, and was used as their archery butt.

Finally, of course, there was practicing of magic going on in those woods. Each of the Maiar had known the spells given to them by the Valar, and by keeping themselves hidden they would test each of these powers without the risk of anyone seeing what was happening. Some of the powers they had were known to them before by the nature of being Maiar, but some bits of magic were new to them. Since some spells affected the earth, they wanted to know what it was they did since they were new to the world. Some spells were put on test subjects caught through their hunting. Unfortunately, many squirrels and rabbits would succumb to injuries given to them by the magic of the wizards. They let not these animals go to waste and made sure to savor the meat given by them. Away from any witnesses to their magic, they could practice in quiet and build their skills.

Apart from simply surviving and becoming better at what they could do, they found ways to enjoy leisure despite the need to focus on their own survival. One pleasure they took was that of pipeweed. They had found over time, as one of the herbs and spices that they were collecting, that the wild plant was not the greatest for making a better palate. The plant, when cooked with their food or boiled in their stew, tended to leave it quite harsh. They found it to leave their food tasting earthy and a bit spicy and bitter. All in all, they just decided they didn't like the way it tasted.

It was bountiful, however, and they had had lots left over. Just to get rid of it, they used it as tinder one day and noticed how sweet its smell was when burned. They quickly made another fire, smaller this time made up entirely of the leaf, and could not help themselves inhaling the smoke coming off the burned plant. It was almost intoxicating to be around, smelling quite exquisite.

Having found a new use for the wildlife, they dedicated some time to collecting it and finding a better way to breathe it in. As a part of their survival, they had been practicing their woodwork. Alatar took a small piece of wood one day and carved a small bowl out of the top. He slowly made a small tunnel in the base of the bowl that went through the wood to the other side. Here he could ignite the plant in the bowl and breathe in the smoke.

While the smoking of pipeweed had just been independently invented by the two, the fashion in which they were smoking it was entirely primitive. They had been holding what looked like a small log above their head, looking upwards to breathe it in as if they were suckling the teet of an animal much larger than themselves. They also needed to breathe intensely as the smoke wants to rise and they were pulling it downward. While this worked for a while, they soon found it uncomfortable to the neck as well as dirty with the inhalation of ash. Gravity was once again not on their side here.

With even more dedication, they took to designing a new pipe for themselves. "Gravity is obviously against us here," Alatar would say. "We need to make the rising smoke come to us rather than the other way round." Pallando soon came up with the idea for having a basket of sorts to hold the plant rather than a bowl. This was quickly and crudely whittled by him, looking like a hollow tree with an open knot or animal hole at the base, and breathed through the top as if it were a straw in a glass. He filled it and could breathe in the smoke much easier with much less ash in his mouth. Progress seemed to be made.

Alatar returned to his bowl idea when he attempted to turn this pipe on its side for comfort as his neck was still arched over to use this one, just in the other direction. It worked, but still gave him a mouthful of ash, so he designed an extension from the bottom that led upwards. Once the smoke got under the curve, it would rise into their mouths like before. Again there was a prototype made, with an almost instant winning reaction. No ash, normal inhales, and relaxed usage. They seemed to have perfected the ergonomics of a pipe over the course of roughly a month or so, and seemed to mirror the pipes that you yourself would recognize. Once the basic idea was decided upon by both, they took lots more time designing and constructing their own pipes themselves.

Sitting along the river with their initial ideas of pipes and smoking away as the evening drew near, they would settle down after supper and whittle away making their new pipes. Alatar had found a very large clean piece of wood, similar in color to his own staff, and was fashioning a very long pipe for himself. He almost liked to keep his hands down by his sides or in his lap while smoking, so the pipe itself had to be very tall indeed. It was not very unique, apart from its absurd length, and found that the longer pipe made the smoke cooler and smoother to inhale.

Pallando was carving his pipe out of a darker, less neat piece of wood, also seemingly matching his own walking stick. Bark had seemed to curl itself around a knot almost perfectly, so he bore that out so that the bowl had a layer of bark around it. He liked the texture of the bark when he held the pipe by the bowl, and did his best to keep it from falling off. Unfortunately, it did not take too long for the bark to disconnect itself from the wood, and soon had detached. He eventually had to smooth out all of the now protruding pieces of wood.

He also enjoyed a little more fun when it came to his pipe, and seemed to perform surgery on this small piece of wood. Using the knowledge of a long and cool pipe, he decided to condense it until it was about the size of a normal pipe. The pipe was curled up from the bottom of the bowl in a spiral that went round four times before leveling off into the mouthpiece. The pipe was curved wide enough that you could fit roughly two or three fingers within the spiral, but not a full hand or arm, unless you were a very small child, and even then it might've been hard. The combination of uniqueness and size along with cool breaths made his pipe feel perfect in his mouth.

Alatar was certainly impressed by the skill and detail with which Pallando put into it, and each took great pride in their designs. This was a very comfortable and relaxing hobby that the wizards had come up with. There was much sport and exercise in their daily tasks, but they found that sitting out by a fire smoking fresh pipeweed after a meal and a hard day's work was simply bliss.

Another way they kept themselves cozy was the little huts they had built for themselves. These small little homes were as comfy as possible for these two! Each was only the size of a large shed that you and I would recognize, but they made them to be their homes, and that's what they were. Each of the Blue Wizards was proud in their little houses. It took them much time to build, something else that brought them a small bit of happiness, being able to craft something for yourself, but once they were done it was the best place in the world. With a formal location and buildings, they decided to sarcastically name the land "the Castles."

With each shelter came some of the standards they discovered they needed during their time of building. They had made beds for themselves, or less like a bed and more like a pile of hay that was kept together by planks and the wall. It was comfy enough for a time until they had started using the much softer wool they stumbled across. With this they could almost burrow themselves into their beds like a rodent in a cage, but they felt as far from that as possible. They were cozy, and came to appreciate the need for comfort.

The istari attempted to make a fireplace in each for themselves, but they had more trouble shaping rock and stone to their needs. They were able to recognize, without making the mistake, that a wooden fireplace would just burn. They tried making small fires on the ground inside the huts, but they were not big enough. Every spot inside was uncomfortably warm, and they feared it would destroy all of the hard work they had already put in, so they stomped the fire out quickly.

Inside they also fashioned some shelving for themselves. They didn't have much of personal items, of course, but they used it to store some of their essentials. They put out some herbs to dry, especially pipeweed, and kept as much meat as possible without it beginning to spoil. There was also spare wool here and the tools they had crafted while they were making their things.

To us it probably seems like they did not have much in terms of comfort, but I can assure you it was very comfortable to them. It was also refreshing to look at what they had done and be proud that it was theirs, no matter how crude or simple it all seemed to be. They needed no help, and could get along. It was not long before the Blue Wizards were adept at many things that made their lives fairly easy for the time. Hunting had become more casual, exploration was limited to their forest so they saw all they wanted to see for now, and magic ended up all but having a place there.

And so the wizards lived in this manner for over twenty years. In secret, they learned to perfect the things they knew how all the while remaining at peace with themselves and the lands. Living off of the land made them feel good about themselves, and they grew a strong love for it along with the simplicities of comfort and warmth. They would encounter men during their time, but they stayed hidden and unknown. As far as they believed, they did not exist to any of the outsiders who would come through the forest.

Soon, they'd make themselves known.