Your brothers have often claimed that you do not think anyone outside yourself is a good leader. This is patently ridiculous. You know there are many good leaders among the Noldorin princes. Your brothers are among them, somehow. What you do not think is that everyone is equally capable in all fields. Findekáno, Findaráto and yourself are probably the only three who are equally capable on the battlefield as in a feasting hall. The three of you are also gifted enough in the mystical arts of the Noldor to stave off the might of Morgoth, for a time. The same cannot be said for the vast majority of Noldorin princes.

Such are the thoughts you consider as you ride towards Gladesville. Ophelia is not even a match for one of your brothers, for all that she has made a promising start. You are not going to barge in and usurp her authority, you will simply observe. Perhaps you will take her aside for a quick lesson. On further consideration you will almost certainly have to give her at least some advice. The Valar know, largely from their student's anecdotes, that you did not exactly take to leading without a few missteps yourself. Ophelia does not have a king and a crown prince to fall back on for advice, she only has you.

You manage to go as unobserved as a nearly eight foot tall Noldo dressed in a bright red cloak could expect to. People notice you, but they generally pay you no mind. You wonder if they even realise it is you, human perception is a funny thing sometimes. You watch Ophelia as she goes about her day. She is clearly trying to emulate you. She spends her morning talking to the farmers of both food and herbs. Comments you overhear suggest she has been trying to come up with a way to improve the village's hunting practices. You approve of her intentions, though she is clearly struggling to make many meaningful changes.

After the village has eaten their midday meal you notice Ophelia is sitting with her head in her hands as the rest of the village goes about their day.
"You have been doing well for someone so new to the task." You inform her.
Ophelia shrieks, long and piercingly loud. She leaps from her chair swinging around until she sees you.
"How long have you been there!" She yelps, pointing a finger at you accusingly.
"I have been here most of the morning." You reply. "Most of the village noticed me."
The young woman slumps her shoulders, red hair falling into her face. "Oh. Sorry. I've been so busy, I didn't even notice. What can I do for you?"

You place your hand on her shoulder and give her an encouraging smile. "It is less about what I need and more about how I can help you. If you have time I would like to hear of your struggles, I also have some advice if you are willing to hear it."
Ophelia gives you a grateful smile in return and shakes her head. "I'm not busy. Well I am, but nothing I've been doing has worked so it probably doesn't matter."
You lead her back to the table and take a seat across from her. "What exactly troubles you?"

The human fiddles with a lock of her hair. "I'm trying to organise people but it's a struggle. The ones who even listen to me seem to know much more than I do."
You shrug. "Sometimes one must accept when there is nothing one can do. The village has been largely self-organised thus far, and it has functioned well."
Ophelia twists her hair around a finger. "I just feel so useless, I used to be a farmer and I feel like I need to help with the food situation. But you said that trying to do both my old job and my new one would be a problem in the long run. So I've caused a problem and people barely respect me and it's all too much. I'm flat out every day and I accomplish nothing!"

You let the girl finish her outburst. You sympathise, your first experience was very similar, worse really.
"Are people going hungry?" You think there should still be enough profit from the herbs to cover the cost of extra food.
"No. But I'm worried about how much money we're spending. Not to mention I want to get some guards, since the ride through the forest still gives me nightmares." Ophelia says, resting her head on the table.
"Raise your head. You are the leader and must appear confident even if you have no idea what you are doing." Your most recent student rushes to obey you. "Fortunately, I have arrived and I can help you with one of the problems you are having. Pick which one you want explained in detail."

"Who can I trust? How do I know when someone is trying to help me and when they're trying to trick me?" Ophelia asks. "Please, teach me how to find advisors I can trust."
You smile. "An excellent question. It is not the only thing you might find useful, but it is certainly a question all leaders must face sooner or later. The only question is do you want a specific answer or a general answer?"
Ophelia is surprised by your question and spends a minute thinking. "A general answer? Is this a trick question?"

You chuckle. "In a sense. You can ask advisors for specific answers but not teachers. The first part of having advisors is setting clear boundaries. An advisor is there to tell you what they believe is the best course, not to decide a course for you. They are also not your teachers, who should never give you the answer to any problem."
"This all sounds very confusing." Ophelia gripes, resting her head on her arms.
You smirk. "Do not worry. It is going to get worse."
Your student whimpers.

Your lesson is neither easy nor simple. The question of who you should trust is a thorny one, even when one does not wield power.
"Fundamentally there are levels of trust in any relationship. When dealing with advisors you need to keep this firmly in mind." You explain.
"What do you mean?" Ophelia asks.
"Perhaps an example. There are those you will meet in life who will follow you wherever you go. I call these people followers for what I hope are obvious reasons." You check to see that Ophelia is understanding and continue once you confirm she is. "Then there are those who have skills you need rather than any particular loyalty. Both of these people have a good reason to give you bad advice."
"What? I understand the people loyal to others, but those loyal to me?" Ophelia interrupts.

"Patience, I will explain." You reassure your student. "Those who are loyal to you are unlikely to lie to you directly, though you will be surprised what people can convince themselves is in your interest. They greater risk is that they will, out of their loyalty, misinterpret or misrepresent a situation. A group of warriors may overestimate their strength in their desire not to let you down, for example."
"Oh, ok." Ophelia nods. "So, you have to take what they say with a grain of salt."
"Yes." You say, recognising the saying from your study of the Dalish. "Fundamentally, the most important thing to remember about advisors is that nobody has all the answers. If someone claims they do, it is likely a sign they are trying to manipulate you. Or you have met a god. Usually though, the first is also true of the gods." You try to end your lecture with a joke.

You spend many hours explaining how to best make use of advisors. Talking to many different people. Getting contrasting perspectives. The need to be careful that one listens to the arguments being presented rather than the rhetorical devices they are couched in.
"It's all really complicated." Ophelia complains.
"Of course it is." You say, humans always forget this part somehow. "If it were easy, it would be unnecessary to have someone dedicate their whole life to doing it."
Ophelia sags when you tell her that.
"Can't you advise me? How do I solve the food problem?" Ophelia asks.

"I am not going to tell you the answers." It is the greatest sin a teacher can commit.
Ophelia sags, looking so disheartened that you cannot simply leave it at that.
"I am willing to help though." Her head shoots up to look at you intensely.
Ignoring her, you turn to consider the sun in the sky. "If you can come to me with an idea that I think will work by sundown. I will help you execute it. I will even go so far as to tell you how it could be improved."
Ophelia freezes, staring at you.
"Well? The sun is not getting any higher, you know." You prompt.
The girl shoots up from her seat and rushes off to talk to her advisors.

You wait at the table, watching the village go about its tasks. The point of this is much the same as what you said to Lanaya. She needs to make a decision, even a bad idea is better than nothing. As long as the village is still making herbs, they can fall back on that to cover any losses. You keep an eye on Ophelia, noting who she is talking to. She ends up talking to basically everyone, seemingly collecting as many ideas as she can. The sun inches ever closer to the horizon as she rushes to and fro. The shadows are lengthening, and the sky has begun to take on a definite purple hue when she stumbles to a stop before you.

"It's not sunset yet!" She gasps out.
"You are losing daylight with every pointless comment." You calmly observe. "Efficient communication is important to a leader."
Ophelia flinches and blurts her idea out in a rush. "We'regonnaraisepigs."
"If you cannot be understood, you are not being efficient." You remind Gladesville's representative.
Ophelia takes several deep breaths, then repeats slower. "We're gonna raise pigs."
"Do pigs not take a full year to grow? During that time will their herdsmen not take up food rather than producing any?" You test the young woman, she should be able to defend her idea.
To her credit, though she seems downcast Ophelia does not back down. "Everybody gets a pig, we're not gonna hire herdsmen. They eat just about anything, and even if it takes them time to grow they'll give us a fallback if anything goes wrong."

You look at your student. She looks back at you.
"You did well to speak to everyone before sunset. I assume you asked for ideas and chose the one you thought would work?" You begin.
Ophelia nods rapidly, hope shining in her eyes.
"Your idea will not solve the food crisis. It does give a buffer in case trade breaks down, but that is it." You deliver your criticism.
Ophelia slumps, clearly unaware of the principle of couching criticism in praise.
"Your idea is acceptable. Tomorrow I will speak to the others about the best place to acquire pigs." You deliver your verdict with as much positivity as you can.

Ophelia looks back up to you, surprise written on her face. "I thought you said it didn't solve the problem."
You stand, it is late, time to return home. "I did and it will not. It is still a wise decision on your part. It insulates your people from potential consequences and gives you more time to find a true solution. Just do not allow temporary solutions to become permanent ones."
Ophelia's eyes shine, with tears or with joy you neither know nor care. "Yes! I will. I mean I won't. I'll do my best."
"That is all anyone can do." You observe as you depart.

The day after you return from Gladesville you are once again astride Orundómë. This time you are riding to the Sabrae clan. Since they refused to be part of the road project, it will still take a full day to reach them. You grumble under your breath about short-sighted mortals as a branch lashes across your cheek. The reason you are riding to the clan is because of a message their traders had passed to you earlier in the week. Marethari wants to talk to you about something. They stressed that the request was non-urgent and that you should only come if you had time. You replied that if Marethari felt the need to send you a message it must be important, if not urgent. Thus you are sitting on your horse, lashed by branches as he thunders through the forest.

The Sabrae welcome you with the same cheer that has come to characterise all such arrivals. You seem to be considered an omen of good fortune at very worst. More accurately, everyone except Paivel and Tamlen expects good things whenever you show up. Tamlen continues to pretend you do not exist. Paivel on the other hand has worked himself up about something or other you have done. You were not listening to his rant, frankly you had forgotten he was in the clan. You dearly hope he gets angry enough to stop talking to you.

Marethari is in her usual place, outside her Aravel dealing with clan business. You wait for her to be free, just inside the cleared space around her home. When she finishes what she is doing she looks up at you and smiles.
"Nelyafinwë, it is great to see you. Enter this place in peace." The old keeper extends a traditional Elvish greeting to you.
"May the stars shine on the hour of our meeting." You return with your own greeting in the same language.
The elf give a surprised laugh. "Once again you put us to shame with the speed of your learning. I'm not sure I recognised all those words."

"I have been blessed with a number of unusual advantages in this matter. But that is a subject for another day. You wished to speak to me?" You deflect, determined to get to the purpose of your visit.
"Oh? You came much faster than I thought you might. I hope you were told it was not urgent." Marethari replies, somewhere between concerned and teasing.
You lean down to look her in the eye. "You would not have sent a message to me, not Merrill your student, if it were unimportant. I had nothing more pressing to attend to. What do you need?"

Marethari heaves a sigh and gestures for you to follow her. You do so and she leads you into her Aravel. You sink down to sit on the floor, the roof is low even for people who are less than six feet high. You were in grave danger of injuring your back with how bent you were. Marethari chuckles behind her hand at the sight, but takes her own seat, on a chair not the floor.
"What I am going to say here does not leave this room. You will not tell Merrill, or anyone in either of the clans. Do not tell it to anyone from outside either. You will not like the consequences if you do." The keeper says, determination such as you have seen in her student clear in her expression.
"If it does not endanger anyone." You carefully evade directly agreeing.
"It is far more likely to cause danger if it becomes widely known." Marethari responds.
For a moment you fear she is going to wait for an explicit promise, but eventually she speaks.
"Lanaya has approached me about combining our clans." She says dramatically.

"Congratulations? My condolences? I am not sure what this means, I am afraid." You tell her.
Marethari chuckles again. "Oh, yes. I suppose it is easy to forget that not everyone shares Dalish values."
She pauses, tapping a finger on the table. "Combining clans is usually only done at direst need. Usually because one clan is on the verge of destruction. Lanaya's request to combine two fully functional clans is unprecedented."
You nod to yourself. "What do you want from me? It seems like an internal matter."
"I was hoping that you would advise me on if I should do so." Marethari states matter-of-factly.

You take her reply in stride. "I see, I have some questions then."
"Ask." Marethari gestures towards you.
"Why does Lanaya want to combine clans?" You begin.
"She has been inspired, by you among others. She thinks that if the Dalish really want to reclaim their homeland, or even make a new one, they need to unite under a single banner." Marethari recites, neither agreement or disapproval in her voice.
"Why is it a concern." You continue.
"It generally means the loss of one or both clan's traditions. Each clan claims descent from one of the nobles of the Dales. Combining them loses that connection and intermixes practices that have often diverged ever so slightly." Marethari states dully.
Your inquiry is not yet finished. "Why are you even considering it?"

"Because of you." Marethari looks you straight in the eyes, her expression completely devoid of her usual amusement. "You have created something here. We have connections to people who do not move, if we leave we now stand to lose something. Trade has never been so brisk and my people are beginning to talk of settling here for a time. Lanaya's people are much the same. Right now we are distinct and far apart, but we could pool our resources better if we combined. Then there is the fact that you restored the ruins, the Elvish ruins. Some people are starting to talk of a new kingdom in the forest."

You grimace. "I suspect that the humans will be much less tolerant of a foreign kingdom in the forest then they are of our current arrangement."
Marethari gives you a grim smile. "Yet I fear that if we stay here too long it will happen regardless of what any of us say."
You gesture agreement once more. "Then I have only one last question. Why ask me?"
Marethari looks tired. "Would you believe me if I said you were my only option?"
She accurately reads your expression as a negative. "I know what the elders will say already. No, it is against tradition. They do not see how the world is changing around us, or they do not believe we need to change with it. Lanaya is the closest keeper I could ask and it is her idea. You are the only person I know with no stake in the matter and experience leading people."

Your first thought it that the disunity of the Noldor was the root of your defeat. You almost say as much, but you stop yourself just in time. It was true of your people, but you had faced a very different enemy. You had also been a much more powerful group in general. Most importantly, the Noldor had originally been one people, separated by pride and the machinations of Morgoth. The Dalish have been separate clans for longer than most of them have been alive. You have seen how resistant to change they are as a people, trying to combine clans will have long term problems. Perhaps if Lanaya were a far more gifted leader you would have no reservations.

That said, thinking of the division of the Noldor provides a possible compromise. You do not want the Dalish to remain as disunited as they are. Why not adopt a system of disparate kingdoms owing loyalty to a central leader.
"There is a possible compromise that neither of you are seeing." You share your thoughts with the keeper.
"Oh? Let's hear it then. Can't be worse than my ideas." Marethari jokes grimly.
You quickly outline the Noldorin political structure in Beleriand. "My people began as a single state but, due to a number of factors that are not important right now, we divided ourselves into many kingdoms. These kingdoms though still owed loyalty to the high king. Admittedly this proved to be truer on paper than in practice, but it did work."

"I see, so you're proposing what? We choose a king and all swear loyalty to them?" Marethari inquires.
"I doubt it would be that simple. I do not know enough about your people to say how best to choose, but someone should be chosen as the central leader. Perhaps you could call them the High Keeper, or something similar. The point is that the central leader can coordinate between the clans and allow you to remain mostly separate, but still form a united force when it matters." You elaborate.
"I fail to see how that addresses the local reasons why I would join with Lanaya." Marethari observes.

"That is because you have not considered what this means for those who are not the High Keeper. The kings of the Noldor made alliances with each other and outsiders. The dwarves had an alliance with Findaráto in Nagothrond. Men swore to serve Carnistir and I, while different men formed an alliance with Nagothrond. Under this system you and Lanaya could simply announce that you are allies, merging your clans only as far as is advantageous. Or if you prefer, you and Lanaya could apply the high keeper system in small scale, just for the two of you." You shrug, indicating you do not care either way.
"Under you?" Marethari asks, deliberately casual.

"Hardly." You reply, voice unamused. "I am no human, ever seeking to expand my own power. As I said to Gladesville, I do not understand you. I cannot rule you; you must rule yourselves."
Marethari looks at you for a long moment, then sighs. "Well I'm not sure what I was expecting, but you certainly did what I asked. Do you really think this idea will work?"
You shrug again. "I do not know. It depends on who you choose, how willing everyone is to go along with it and innumerable other factors. What I believe though is that the current state does nothing for your people, or your stated goals. How will you reclaim your home when you barely know what other clans are doing?"

Marethari acknowledges your point with a gesture. "True enough I suppose."
The old keeper falls silent for a long moment. She is clearly considering what you have said.
Finally she speaks. "I asked you for advice on a local problem and you advised me on the path my whole people should take. Does the phrase 'doing too much' even mean anything to you?"
You nod. "It is what people say to excuse their own laziness."
Your response makes the Dalish woman laugh. "Very well. You have convinced me. This 'High Keeper' idea is worth discussing if nothing else. That leaves just one question."
You unfold your legs, ready to stand and leave. "Ask it."
"Who is going to convince Lanaya that this is a good idea?" She asks, eyes dancing with mirth.

There are many good answers to this question. You could do it obviously, it was your idea and you are gifted with a silver tongue. You do not think it would be appropriate though. You and Lanaya have a strange relationship, but you would not say you were close. This is fundamentally a Dalish matter, and a very secretive one at that. Merrill is another good option, as Lanaya's friend and Marethari's first she would make a good go between. She is also your student and sending her would raise questions about why Marethari was sending a representative in the first place. Such things could be construed as an insult. Though you do not think Lanaya is such an individual, it never hurts to be careful.

"You will, obviously." You inform Marethari. "It is you who were approached, and this is a matter among the Dalish clans. I should stay clear of it, if you do not want the elders to view it as foreign interference."
Marethari grimaces and walks over to her cupboard. "True enough. Besides, the last time you proposed a new idea to the clan you were nearly lynched."
You had all but forgotten that incident. "Exactly."
Marethari gets a pair of glasses out of the cupboard and a bottle.
She gestures to you with them. "A drink? I'm told it's from your own vineyard."
You shrug. "Why not. It is the only thing other than water that I can stomach."

The two of you share a drink. After a moment of silent appreciation the keeper speaks.
"Why do you help us?" She looks over her glass to meet your eyes.
"You aided me when you had no duty to do so. I did not wish to be in your debt." You reply, mildly annoyed at having to state the obvious.
"No. That might have made sense when you were staying here, but you are not anymore. You are living in ease and comfort, yet the moment you hear of trouble you rode straight back here."
"You needed help. What else was I to do?" You are confused by this line of questioning.

Marethari's face takes on an exasperated cast, and her voice is annoyed. "People don't just do that! Nobody just helps because they can. Especially not people like you."
You raise an eyebrow. "If you do not trust my motivations why ask for me?"
"It's not that I don't trust them. You have helped, even if I don't know why. But I want to know." Marethari sounds less frustrated and more plaintive, you suppose she is more like her student than you thought.
"In part it is because I am fond of Merrill and others in the clan." You admit. "Mainly it is that I am able to help, so I do so. Why not? It costs me nothing that I value."

Marethari stares at you for a long moment, then downs the rest of her wine glass. "You are very strange. Every time I think I've got you pegged; you do something I don't expect."
"I am perfectly normal." You reply, defensively. "I think you have had too much wine."
The Dalish's mischievous smile returns, and she pours another glass. "I say I haven't had enough."
You shrug and extend your own for a refill.
"Nope." She giggles. "All this is mine, you've had enough. It'll make you weird."
That comment sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. Marethari's teasing gets worse as she gets drunker. You have to leave before the bottle is finished, lest you do something regrettable.