A/N: As I said...slow updates
She said her name was Narwen with a trickle of mirth, for few would have trouble believing her claim when her dark purple glare blazed so potently in her eye sockets. Even Elrond had difficulty holding her gaze, although he never yielded his ground, and for that she nurtured the utmost respect for the Elven-lord. Sanctuary was given, and despite her refusal to answer many of his questions, he also bade her dwell peacefully in Imladris for as long as she wished.
For her part, she only stayed idle a short while before the vast longing to practice her craft came upon her like a breaking thunderstorm, and when the faint chiming of her hammers began to ring in her ears at all times of the day she knew that she must leave Rivendell's serene refuge. She had work to do and without her aid given to the forested realm, the Wood-Elves would fall. So she took her leave of the Elven-lord and thanked him deeply for his hospitality, bowing and shouldering the large leather satchel on her back without even the slightest inkling of its weight. Two knives were given to her, and with gratitude she belted them at her waist before setting out from the sheltered bliss of the Last Homely House.
When she was but an hour from the grey stone gates, hoofbeats thundered behind her, slowing gradually to a walk as they approached. A dappled grey animal came up next to her, and seated on it was the blonde ellon she had so carelessly knocked over on her way into Imladris. He peered down at her curiously, the mithril circlet on his head slipping slightly forward. Another ellon rode up behind him – this one she knew naught of, save that his curly, coarse red hair was characteristic of the Silvan race.
"My lady, whither are you bound?" the blonde elf asked her graciously. She looked up at him, her violet stare piercing.
"I make for Eregion first." She murmured softly, the roughness of her voice still unquenched, even after her stay in Elrond's house. "And from there, I am bound for King Thranduil's realm."
The blonde elf smiled at her then, a gay light in his face.
"Why do you not go with us to my father's kingdom first?" he invited. "My companion and I are heading that way, and there is safety in numbers these days. I would not see a lady wandering about without any to help her should orcs attack."
Her lips quirked up, but there was an elusive pain in her heart which seemed to prevent the action from becoming a full smile. Her dark tresses, an odd shade which seemed a deep, dark brown in direct sunlight but pitch black at all other times, were once again tied in a low bundle at the nape of her neck. She considered the blonde elf for a long moment, watching the sparkling light of his spirit through his skin, and she knew then from where the fairness of his face had grown. He was genuine through to his core, and despite the fact that he had never seen the light of the Trees of Valinor his feä shone nearly as bright as one of the Vanyar lords. He had a strength she had not oft seen in elves or men, a strength to keep his joy and optimism alive against the tides of Sauron and his darkness, and it rekindled her long-shaded hopes.
"I do appreciate your offer. It is very kind." She said, the hard lines of her narrowed elven face softening somewhat. "But I am afraid my business in Eregion is pressing."
The blonde elf nodded in understanding, then dismounted his horse and bowed to her, his companion following suit.
"I am afraid we were never properly introduced while in Lord Elrond's House." He said cheerily. "I am Legolas Thranduilion, and my companion is Ereduial Aldamenion. We hail from Greenwood the Great, though I suppose it is better known as Mirkwood in these times."
The she-elf nodded cordially to both of them and bowed back.
"I am Narwen, for the moment." She replied softly. "Though I shall likely use another name when we meet again."
Legolas raised a slender eyebrow, and took the reins of his horse, choosing for he and his escort to walk alongside the lady Narwen until the time came for them to part ways. For all the hardness of Narwen's face and the calloused nature of her hands, he rather thought that she did not look like much of a warrior. Ereduial walked slightly behind the pair, keeping his Silvan eyes trained upon the surrounding wood and his hand upon the hilt of one of his knives.
"Why shall you change names?" he asked softly. She gazed at him, the intimidation of her nightlike violet glance swiftly forcing him to back away. But then she hoisted her satchel over her shoulder again, adjusting the strap, and answered.
"The Enemy shall search for me." She told the Woodland elf softly, her tone almost a whisper. "And he must not find me."
The road they had been following parted in two ways then, and without warning Narwen placed a warm hand upon Legolas's high cheek, her violet stare burning.
"May Iluvatar guide you wherever you may walk, Legolas Thranduilion." She intoned, her harsh countenance grating on the prince's eyes. "For you will be needed ere the end draws near."
Legolas gaped in stricken awe at the elleth before him and suddenly a vision of two branches, one of shining silver, the other of radiant gold flashed into the depths of his spirit. For several yearlong seconds he swore he could feel the earth's breath puffing warm and soothing onto the back of his neck, and then the scene dissolved in fire as white as the purest snows and Narwen stepped away, a strange expression on her face. Ereduial came between her and the prince, unnerved by the exchange between the eerie exchange between his liege and the unknown elleth. But Narwen merely bade both of the elves farewell and disappeared down the long stone road to Eregion.
Narwen traveled in secrecy for many days until at last a line of ancient holly trees greeted her with dark leaves and bright berries; though the red was slow to dawn in the bitter young fruits. With a deep breath, she inhaled the fading scent of those who had once lived there, those Noldor who had so long ago made the Rings of Power under Sauron's counsel.
"Ai, Celebrimbor!" she wailed, a lament made beautiful by the harsh sorrowing in her voice. "Ai, how I failed you! I trusted in those whom I should not have trusted, and you were slain."
She knelt on a grassy knoll overlooking the wide plain. In the distance she could see the crumbled ruins of what had once been an elven realm of fair beauty, one she had once loved beyond all thought or feeling. And, with a voice as slow as the wide river, deep and fair, which the Ainur had sung before the making of Eä, she lamented the loss of such beauty. For many hours she sang, the roughness of her tone cracking the bells with which her voice tolled grief, and the wild wind and gentle grasses wove about her in knots, soothing the longing in her soul. And slowly, with memories wakening like young children from a deep sleep, the trees and grass remembered the Elves of Eregion who had dwelt there long before, and the ripple spread throughout the land until the sorrows of stone, plant, and soaring winds alike melded with the effervescent voice bubbling with breaking grief in their midst.
Slowly the sun sank and the moon rose only to find that Narwen's song had swelled to one of unimaginable anguish, a rich, layered melody written in Ancient Quenya. The howling of the wind accompanied her voice, lacing through each word that left her thin lips with furthered sadness. And all Eregion sang with her, the softening voices of the trees and stones sweet amongst the passionate depth of the elleth's mourning. Yet when the sun rose again, Narwen was silent, and she stood, her grieving unfinished but the memory of those whom she had loved impressed once again upon the fair, empty land in which she had chosen to dwell.
She walked alone in Hollin for several more weeks, until the coldness of winter's bite had set in and she settled into the shelter she had chosen in the ruins of the land which still held her heart. For many days she labored, carving the crumbled stone into manageable blocks and using the small pieces to fill in the gaps between the walls of the tumbled tower which had become her home. Always did the birds fly to her aid, bringing straw and long grasses to her home and weaving them into her masonry to prevent the cold wind from whistling through. At long last the small turret was restored, the ivy creeping across its fallen surface persuaded with gentle song and coaxing words to creep across the gaps in the broken roof, the wide waxy leaves sheltering the inside from rain and snow. Against one wall she piled small stones and sealed them together with clay, trailing a long chimney of hardened mud up to the nearest opening in the cracked stone wall, and despite the paucity of her luxuries, her newly fixed home possessed all the more beauty for its sorrowful loneliness. And Eregion rejoiced, for an elleth lived there once again, and come spring the land flowered bright and beautiful as it had not for an age.
When the last snow melted and the first blossoms of spring dotted the fair landscape Narwen began her work, and in that humble hearth she kindled her fire at long last and opened her satchel.
The tools of her smithy gleamed bright in the scarlet light of her flame, and the smoke drifted in slow spirals from the makeshift chimney she had constructed from daubed mud and stone. With a smile on her face and the beginning of redemption in her heart, she sang softly in the firelight, and pounded the silver mithril in her furnace until it glowed gold with the heat of her untouched soul. The stones given to her by land and sea were set in caskets of gold and silver and sealed tightly against all evil, and she kissed each of the stones, tears rolling from her violet stare. The Noldor had always been ordained to live in Middle Earth while the Darkness grew and waned as it would, and the sorrow of their people made her weep more often than not.
But she had sailed against the tide, and now she would with Iluvatar's blessing make Middle Earth once again safe for the Elves even in the midst of the rising Dominion of Men.
"Alas, Celebrimbor, your fate was mine own fault. I believed Annatar to be aiding in the purpose Iluvatar gave me, and yet you died through my folly. For your sake, I shall finish the work I had given to you to start."
And so she wove purity and solace and strength into the metal she worked unceasingly, never pausing in the pace of her hammer, and Eregion swelled with joy while she worked within the fair borders. Annatar had no part in the knowledge of her own heart, and since it had been to him whom she had first taught the making of Rings, it was through him the Nine and Seven were tainted, yet that which she could make would serve only to strengthen the Three beyond the One's control.
She ate little during the long years of her work, but she sang often, the sorrow in her voice giving way to unbridled hope and healing, and slowly the small mithril circle in her forge cooled to radiant silver, and she set it with chips of emerald and jasper, carving twined leaves into the surface of the metal with calm fingers. She sang odes to Manwe, Ulmo, and Yavanna over the small band, dousing it in clear spring water to chill the blazing heat of the fired mithril, and her voice rang in Eru's name as she sealed the power within.
"Elbereth! Ai, Elbereth!" she cried, and her blood burned, Sauron's anger piercing her through like the sharp pain of a knife, for now he perceived that she would work against him, and he twisted sharply at the bonds holding her power chained to the One. "Ai, Elbereth, I go to make Iluvatar's will be fulfilled in Middle Earth!"
The darkness recoiled from Elbereth's name, a soundless shriek of rage filling Narwen's pointed ears, but with cold lips and a trembling smile of triumph she lifted the Ring above her head and smiled. Sixteen years had gone into the making of such a pretty, small trinket, and the knowledge of this gave her the strength she needed for the naming.
"Galadhya." She whispered. And so Three became Four with an echoing chorus of Narwen's song, and all Eregion sang with her.
Reviews help me figure out how to write/what plot points need to be set aside permanently.
~avtorSola