Author's Note:

Although I have not worked on this story for years I occasionally get a review asking me to finish it, I would like to thank everyone for these kind reviews. I am now a graduate student and I will be starting my PhD. in the fall I suspect that I will not have time to finish this tale, particularly not with the care I took writing the first sixteen chapters.

I am not a linear writer, however, and as such I have material written throughout the story and at least a sentence about each of the chapters. After a year of toying with the idea I have decided to post the raw material I do have. Be aware that everything posted beyond this point has not been fact checked, edited or cross-referenced back to previous chapters to avoid inconsistencies. Most is just snippets of inspiration I wrote and often before chapters that have already been posted.

I still hope to one day, when I'm done my doctorate to finish this tale in full detail. This day, however, is at least four years in the future and in the mean time I felt I should provide some sort of closure to the story for readers. I apologize for the quality of the writing, as well as, any canonical errors. When I was working on this a lot I had my full stock of Tolkien's works and spent hours looking for any details on each period I wrote about before posting the chapter, the material beyond this point has not received this degree of vetting.

Thank you for reading my story. I hope that the material to follow atleast provides more recompense than leaving the story completely unfinished.

Elariel Erestorion

Love of Peredhil

Our time in Arvernien at the mouth of the river Sirion continued in relative peace although it was a lonelier existence for me after Mirwen and Thranduil left with Laiqualasse. Through the next years Earendil grew and came into his own fulfilling all the promise I had ever seen in him. He was gentle and caring. We were still fast friends and we would often spend time together.

Elwing walked towards me sheathed in pristine white as was her practice as she had grown older. I had been wandering through one of the herb gardens of Arvernien picking herbs to be prepared for use in the house of healing. I had watched this young elleth grow into her maturity over the years. She was a good friend and often I found in her my hearts confident as I had once found in Mirwen.

Elwing alone knew all of my heartache for Laiqualasse, how I missed Mirwen and the horrible fearful uncertainty about why I was in Beleriand. She knew my fears about my unnatural youthful appearance. This day however I perceived that it was not I who need to speak and relieve what troubles I felt in my soul. Some would wonder why I wasn't so forth coming with Lailitha but there are some things that I felt I could not share with my daughter.

In exchange Elwing spoke to me about growing up. At this time we looked to be about the same age although I was fifteen years her senior. There were things in Elwing's development that had come from her human heritage and she had felt more comfortable speaking about them to me then to anyone else.

Elves come of age when their parents deem that they are fit to take on the responsibilities of an adult. This generally occurs somewhere close to their fiftieth year. However, in the case of Earendil it was the last night of his thirty-fourth year that would mark his entrance in to maturity. We had by this time been in Arvernien for twenty-four years. This night was to be marked by a grand feast and dancing which all the inhabitants of Arvernien could attend.

I spent the day in the gardens, it was spring and planting had to be done. I enjoyed digging my figures through the fresh earth. I made me fell better knowing that I was doing something to hep the survival of the people who had shared everything with me. I wiped the sweat from my face, and looked up to see Lord Gilmir looking down at me from the other side of the tomato bed I had been working it.

"Good morning," I said smiling. Lord Gilmir had never really conversed with me before. I knew he did not particularly like me but then he seemed standoffish with most of the elves as well.

"This is a good place for you, human spy, on your knees I the muck." He said in a cold sneering voice. "Weak and useless, that's all that you are. Tuor and Idril do not see it and the fool, Laiqualasse, has always had a blind spot for the weak. He always took pity on those who had nothing and were useless. He would give them hope that they could make a difference that they meant something to him, but really they were just playthings. I don't ever think he realizes what he is doing. By the way has he sent you a letter recently?" His words felt like a hard slap.

"Mirwen is just like her brother, helping him with his projects. In the end the two leave their pets thinking they can change the world, but really they are the same useless lumps of flesh that they were to begin with. I assume that you haven't heard from her recently either." All I could do was sit there and listen as he ripped into my protector and teacher, my friend and me. Tears were threatening to roll down my cheeks

"Good day my Lady, take good care of those tomatoes," with this Lord Gilmir left. He had called me my Lady but it had sounded like a vile curse. The only bright spot was that he had called the plants I was tending tomatoes when indeed they had been basil. It was this one flaw that led me to discard with his other comments, for all they had cut me deeply, and continue my work.

Elwing in need of council comes to Eruanna for the comfort an elder sister can bring

Earendil courts Elwing

Earendil speaks to Eruanna once more of loves and of her choice of celibacy

Elven weddings are beautiful ceremonies; however I will not record the details of the ceremony here for they do not record it. However there was always sadness in the ceremony as well. Parents have an important role to play in the ceremonies but after five hundred years of war in Beleriand many of the elves I had seen wed since coming to Arvernien had either been orphaned or half-orphaned and among these was Elwing once Princess of Doriath. It was costume to select two elves to stand in for ones parents but it is hard to come to terms with. I know that when I had pictured my own nuptials my parents were always present.

For Elwing it was a trying time. She loved Earendil dearly but the planning of nuptials brought up a lot of long buried grief for her mother and father. Lailitha confided in me often how worried she was for her friend. Lailitha feared that Elwing would allow her grief over her parents to over shadow her happiness at her union to the man she loved.

I also often heard similar worries from Earendil, who had taken to confiding things in me as well. He expressed concern that people would not understand why he and Elwing were to be wed before reaching their fiftieth year. It was obvious when dealing with the peredhil you could not follow the regular rules. They had grown and matured faster then other elfling. I tried to ease his mind by reminding him that the Sindar would remember Dior Eluchil, who would have also matured quickly. I also told him that none would question the wisdom of his mother and father who had both consented to this union.

Elwing and Earendil are wed