Prompts: Glorfindel and Ecthelion; time traveling; first line: "One mid-winter day off the coast of _ the crew spotted a bottle with a note in it." -Junger, The Perfect Storm.

The note

One mid-winter day off the coast of Vinyamar the crew spotted a bottle with a note in it.

Catching it up with a net, they got it onboard soon enough. Using a tool to cut away the seal, they soon found the letter inside. "Give this to a Noldorin prince", it said on the envelope, curiously enough, written in Quenyan tengwar. This meant that whoever who wrote this was one of the Calaquendi, but it didn't explain why a Calaquendi would use a bottle as a means of communication with the Noldorin royal. However, the crew took the bottle with them as they exited the fisher boat. On the dock they were met by two Elves from the royal guard whom they handed the bottle and the letter to.

"So, what do you think the letter is about?" the golden haired Elf asked his friend as they were walking up the streets of the city on their way to King Turgon's palace.

"None of our business, actually," the darker of the two replied, "that is why we are on our way to give it to Turgon." Before the golden haired elf had time to reply in annoyance, the other smiled and went on: "But I think it might be from the Valar."

"The Valar, Ecthelion? What an incredulous idea. Explain your trail of thought, dear."

"If the bottle was sent by the ocean, then surely it must have come from Aman and carried over by Uinen," came the reply. "No Elves here would risk their important message to be lost at sea, Glorfindel."

That was admirably good reasoning, Glorfindel admitted, but surely the Valar would have other means than a regular letter. "I think the letter was sent by some of the Sindar down South," he proclaimed. "They cannot contact us because of King Thingol's decree. And after all, they are will known sailors and shipwrights. They might communicate using the sea and a bottle, and it would be no surprise if some of them had learnt Quenya."

Ecthelion snorted at the idea. The two Elves went on discussing the letter, its sender, its content. Once they came to the palace Ecthelion stopped and turned to face Glorfindel. "How about a bet," he said. "If you are right about the letter, I'll give you something you want, and if I am, then you'll give something to me."

"And what would you want me to give to you?" Glorfindel smirked at which Ecthelion furrowed his brows. "Fine, I will accept your challenge," Glorfindel laughed. Prepare to lose."

In fact, Glorfindel was not so sure about this. He seldom turned down friendly challenges, but had he known he was in for a bet, he would have payed more attention to what theories concerning the letter he spat out. However, he followed Ecthelion as they went to see the King.

Turgon was for some reason filled with apprehension as soon as he heard of the strange letter. When Ecthelion explained the story and handed over the envelope, Turgon opened it with caution. Inside it was a note written on plain paper, as Turgon read the letter his face grew pale and Glorfindel and Ecthelion shared a worried glance.

"Is this a cruel joke?" Turgon asked and stood up, his expression partly concerned, partly angry, mostly disbelieving. He read the letter one more time before he fell and toppled on his desk, apparently unconscious. Glorfindel and Ecthelion shared an even more worried glance before going to the deskand helping their King back into his chair. As Glorfindel went to get some stronger drink for His Majesty, Ecthelion took the letter to see what out was that had shocked the King so much. His eyes widened as he read the text.

Dear reader, the letter said,

I am Maglor. Though, not the Maglor you know, but one from the future, our rather from another timeline. It may seem like a lie, but I assure you, it is true.
When I was in the same time within my timeline, I didn't die, but was left to live on... I guess you could say for an eternity. By now of my life, they (the Edain) have invented time travelling. That permitted me to travel to the past or the future of a different timeline. However, to avoid creating even more confusion I am creating now, I didn't stay, but went back to my reality. But I still wanted to share my wisdom of hindsight. Enclosed is an account of what will happen if you do not do things otherwise this time, followed by my personal suggestions on how to proceed. Tips include:

- how Finrod's death and the ruin of his realm could be avoided
- how the course of the Nirnaeth can be altered
- how to save Aegnor's love life
- how to NOT get back the Silmarils (and why you don't want them back in the first place)
- how to avoid Sauron's return

I hope you will find this useful someday!

Love,

Maglor

Clearly, it was Maglor's handwriting signed by his distinguishable signature that was to be found in all the songs he had written.

Ecthelion shook his head. There was no winner for this bet.