Chapter 19

Of Beren and Luthien

Of all the stories of sorrow and ruin that come from the First Age, there are still some spots of hope and joy. And the brightest of these spots is this tale.

Barahir and his group of a dozen Men were hiding in their forest, messing with Morgoth's plans whenever they could. Eventually, Morgoth got fed up with them and ordered Sauron to find and destroy them. Sauron, ever eager for a promotion, got right to work.

One of Barahir's companions was a man named Gorlim. He had joined up with Barahir after he had come home one day to find his house destroyed and his wife missing, but the doubt kept gnawing at him that perhaps his wife was still alive. He would sometimes sneak back to the ruins of his old house, hoping against hope that his wife may have returned to look for him. He made these journeys as secretly as he could, but they were still noticed.

One evening when he was doing this, he noticed a light in the window. Inside was his wife. Her face was weary and stricken with hunger, and she was weeping.

The moment Gorlim called to her, however, the light went out. "Oh shoot, I bet this is a trap set up by Sauron so he can capture me and get me to reveal where Barahir is hiding," were his last words before the trap was sprung and Sauron's servants grabbed him. First they tried torturing him to get him to reveal the location of Barahir's camp, but when Gorlim wouldn't speak, they changed tactics and promised to return him to his wife if he helped Sauron. At this, poor Gorlim finally caved and agreed to help.

Gorlim was brought before Sauron, who was trying his best to act like a proper villain. "So," said Sauron, "if I return you to your wife, will you tell me where Barahir and your friends are hiding?"

Gorlim hesitated at the thought of betraying his friends, but the temptation of being reunited with his wife and the daunting look in Sauron's eyes were too much for him. He told Sauron what he wanted to know.

"Hah!" exclaimed Sauron. "The truth is that your wife is dead, and now I will fulfill my promise to return you to her by killing you! That was very clever of me, huh?" He grinned, thinking about his upcoming promotion while Gorlim was dragged away screaming.

As soon as Sauron told Morgoth where Barahir and his friends was hiding, Morgoth wasted no time in dealing with them. Before dawn had arrived, his Orcs had surrounded the camp where every last one of the Men were hiding, except for one. Beren, Barahir's son, had been sent by his father to spy on some Orcs, so he was away when the slaughter took place.

When Beren went to sleep the night of the slaughter, he had an unsettling dream. He was back at his father's camp, but the trees were filled with carrion birds, their beaks dripping with blood. The wraith of Gorlim hovered before him, speaking of how he had betrayed them and asking Beren to warn his father.

Beren awoke and ran back to his father's camp, but by the time he arrived, it was too late. All he could do was bury his father's bones and swear that he would take vengeance upon those who had killed him and the rest of their group.

Years of hiding in the woods had taught him many skills. With them, he was able to track down the Orcs who had killed his father and sneak right to the edge of their camp. There, the Orc captain was boasting of his deeds and holding Barahir's ring, the one that Finrod had given him as thanks for having saved him. In true Orc fashion, the ring was still attached to Barahir's severed hand.

The Orc's boasting was soon cut short, as Beren sprang into the camp, killed him, grabbed the ring, and ran back into the woods. Luck was on his side that day, and none of the other Orcs caught him.

For the next four years, Beren was alone. He lived in the woods, befriending the birds and other animals, and gaining their trust in return. They helped him continue his father's work of being a thorn in Morgoth's side. He was even more bold and desperate than Barahir had been, and news of Beren's unbelievably daring accomplishments spread throughout Beleriand, even to the hidden realm of Doriath. Eventually, Morgoth set a price on Beren's head equal to that of Fingon, the high king of the Noldor. When even that wasn't enough to bring down Beren, Morgoth sent Sauron.

This finally proved to be too much for Beren, as he was well aware of how good Sauron was at his job, especially when a promotion was in store. Seeing that all good things were leaving that land and there was nothing left for him but death, Beren finally abandoned the place that his father had fought and died to defend.

He journeyed south, towards Doriath. Terrible things wandered just outside its borders, in the place where Melian's ring of enchantments clashed with Sauron's sorcery. Ungoliant's many children and other things that been born before the Sun hunted there, where no Man or Elf had ever before dared to tread. No one knows how Beren made it through that land, and he did not speak of it to avoid being reminded of the horrors of that journey. At last he came stumbling into Doriath, guided by a power stronger than what Melian's enchantments could keep out.

That was how he found Luthien. Luthien, the only daughter of Melian and Thingol, was singing in the woods under the moonlight. She was beautiful—not just a normal beautiful, but a 'face shining with the light of Aman' kind of beautiful. I think this must be love, thought Beren.

Luthien saw him and they stared at one another for hours. This is almost exactly how my parents met, thought Luthien. I think this must be love.

After that, Beren and Luthien met secretly throughout the spring and summer. Beren called Luthien 'Tinuviel', which means 'Nightingale', because of how she loved to sing. As they fell in love, they also became caught in the same doom.

Unfortunately, one of the minstrels at Thingol's court also had a crush on Luthien, and when he saw her meeting with Beren in secret, he told Thingol. Thingol, being a typical father, thought that his daughter was too good for even an Elf prince and was horrified that she was spending time with a filthy mortal.

"Luthien," he said the next time she came back, "tell me about this filthy mortal you've been hanging out with. I wish to speak to him."

"Father, I have a strong suspicion that you wish to do something horrible my boyfriend, and since I really wish to avoid that, I won't tell you anything until you swear not to hurt or imprison him."

"Anything for my little girl," Thingol said through gritted teeth.

As soon as Luthien had told him, Thingol sent his guards to seize Beren and drag him into the hidden city. Luthien, upon seeing this, sighed and stopped the guards, leading Beren herself like an honored guest. Together they stood before the thrones of Thingol and Melian.

Thingol looked at Beren with scorn and anger. "Who are you, and why are you sneaking around my kingdom?"

Beren was still a little overwhelmed by the majestic hidden city and its majestic and angry Elf lord, and felt like he couldn't speak. Luthien answered for him. "This is Beren, son of Barahir. He's the one who's been singlehandedly pestering Morgoth more than any of our long-standing Elf kingdoms."

"I asked him, not you," Thingol said. "Mortal, give me one good reason why I shouldn't punish you for sneaking into my land. Why are you here in my kingdom?"

Beren looked at Luthien, and then at Melian, and he suddenly felt the words come to him. "Oh King," he said, "your daughter is more wonderful than any gold or gems, and we are in love."

There was utter silence. Then, Thingol replied, "I would kill you if I hadn't sworn an oath to my daughter that I wouldn't. An oath that I regret, mind you. In any case, I don't see why I shouldn't kill someone why sneaks into my kingdom like one of Morgoth's spies or servants."

"You can kill me, justified or not," replied Beren, "but I won't tolerate being called a spy or servant or Morgoth. Not after my father and so many others in my family gave their lives trying to stop him."

Thingol would have likely killed him right then and there, but Melian stopped him. "Honey," she said, "I foresee that this Man has greater deeds in store, and it is not your place to kill him."

Thingol looked at Luthien in silence. I cannot believe I'm letting a mortal look at my daughter and live, he thought, sighing. "Fine. If you want my daughter so much, you should know that I also want something. If you fetch me a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth, you can have her, if she wants you back."

Everyone in the throne room was surprised, since up until this point Doriath had been isolated and mostly at peace. If they got involved in trying to get the Silmarils, however, then they would potentially be a target of the sons of Feanor. Besides, many of the Elves there were impressed by Beren's deeds and realized that by sending Beren after a Silmaril, Thingol was sending him to his death.

Beren, realizing this, smiled at Thingol. "You undervalue your daughter," he said. "If a Silmaril is what you want, then when I return I will have one in my hand."

With that, he said goodbye to Luthien and then bowed before Thingol and Melian before leaving the hidden city.

Melian then turned to Thingol. "Honey, I foresee that that was a bad idea, whether Beren succeeds or fails. If he succeeds, then we will be caught up in the problems of the Noldor and if he fails, then Luthien will be upset."

"She'll get over him," said Thingol. "It's not as though Beren has any chance of succeeding at what even the greatest Elf lords haven't dared."

Luthien, overhearing this, was silent. From that moment on she no longer sang, and the shadows began to lengthen in Doriath.

Beren was well aware that he'd been given an impossible task. Realizing that he needed some help or at least advice, he began walking to Nargothrond, the kingdom of Finrod, his father's old friend. In a scene reminiscent to when the Fellowship entered Lothlorien, Beren walked through the woods around Narogthrond and felt like he was being watched. He held up his father's ring and announced that he was Barahir's son, and quite suddenly, a group of Elf guards appeared and led him to the hidden city.

There, Finrod greeted him like an old friend. Beren told him everything that had happened, from the death of Barahir to his meeting with Luthien to his promise of retrieving a Silmaril. Finrod listened in amazement, but his heart was growing heavy, as he realized that his "Nothing in my realm will last for any kids to inherit" oath was likely to be fulfilled if he got involved with this impossible quest. "Well Beren," he said, "I guess it's obvious that Thingol wants you dead, but I have a feeling that this will also come back to bite Thingol. If you get a Silmaril and bring it to him, the sons of Feanor will want it back. They would rather destroy Doriath than let someone else have a Silmaril."

"Yikes. I wish they'd put that energy into destroying Angband."

"Don't we all," sighed Finrod. "Anyway, it gets worse. After they were kicked out of their lands by Morgoth, Feanor's sons Celegorm and Curufin both moved here. I'm still the king of Nargothrond, but they have many followers and they'll have a problem if they find out about your quest. I will stand by my oath to your father to help you, however, whatever the cost."

With that, Finrod told his people that he was going to help Beren on his quest and asked if anyone would help them. Celegorm immediately jumped to the front of the crowd and pulled out his sword, reminding everyone that he would kill anyone who got between him and his Silmarils. When Curufin joined his brother, the crowd rose up in dissent. "Finrod is not one of the Valar—he cannot command us to join him on this impossible quest," they muttered.

Yet as the crowd thought of their own safety, darker thoughts entered the minds of Celegorm and Curufin. They continued to incite the crowd, hoping to send Finrod alone to his death so they could take his throne. After all, they thought, our father was the eldest prince of the Noldor. We're entitled to rule this place.

Finrod, realizing that his people had turned against him, took off his crown and threw it at his feet. "Even if you have given up your faith in me, I at least will remain true to my word and help Beren. If there's anyone here who's still loyal, however, I would appreciate if they accompanied me so I won't be kicked out like a beggar."

A total of ten Elves stepped forth. One of them picked up his crown and handed it back to him. "You remain our king, whatever happens," the Elf said.

Before he and his ten companions left, Finrod placed his brother Orodeth in charge of the city until he returned and gave him his crown. Celegorm and Curufin said nothing, but they smiled.

Beren, Finrod, and the ten loyal Elves set out from Nargothrond. It didn't take them long to reach their first peril. During Morgoth's most recent attack, one of the towers that Finrod had built had been taken over by Sauron, who was using it to watch for any enemies of Morgoth. Realizing that they would need to sneak past Sauron's gaze, Finrod used his magic to disguise himself and his companions as Orcs.

Sauron, however, hadn't gotten all those promotions for nothing and realized that something was amiss with those so-called Orcs. He sent his servants to bring them to his tower for questioning. "Something seems off about your group," he told them. "Why didn't you stop by and report to me, like all the rest of the Orcs?"

Finrod gave his most Orcish shrug. "Er, sorry?" he said.

Sauron gave him a long, hard look. "I think something is going on, and we need to have a singing contest to find out what."

"A singing contest?" Finrod deadpanned.

"Of course," said Sauron, rolling up his sleeves. "It's a perfectly valid way to do magic and besides, I helped sing the universe into existence so I'm very good at it."

With that began the singing contest of Sauron and Finrod, which is renowned.

Sauron:

Lend ear to my song of wizardly power
And with it you'll be bound.
Your guises uncovered, your purpose revealed
Your secrets will be found.

Finrod:

Skilled though you be in your tricks and your traps
You can't take our desire to be free
We have trust unbroken, freedom, escape
And the light past the Western sea.

Sauron:

I'm a dastardly villain, make no mistake
And everyone knows that I'm scary.
But at least I'm no Elf who pretends to be good
Before killing my friends the Teleri.

Narrator:

The wolves gave their howls under the moon.
The wind and the ice gave a groan.
And whilst the storm raged on outside
Finrod fell at Sauron's throne.

With that, Sauron stripped away their disguises. Although he now realized that they were eleven Noldor Elves and one Man, he had no idea who they were and why they had been sneaking through his land. Realizing that they weren't about to hand over this information, he put them in the dungeon and threatened to kill them if they didn't speak. From time to time they would see two eyes glimmer in the dark and a werewolf would devour one of their companions, but none of them spoke and betrayed the others.

As soon as Beren had been put in the dungeon, Luthien felt that something was wrong. She asked her mother, and Melian, being a magical angel, was able to see that Beren was stuck in Sauron's dungeon.

Luthien, realizing that nobody was going to rescue her boyfriend, resolved to save him herself. She asked the minstrel who had a crush on her (the same guy who'd told Thingol about her secret meetings with Beren) for help, and he once again betrayed her to her father. Thingol, not willing to put his daughter in the dungeon, instead imprisoned her in a treehouse. She could still see the stars and sky, but the ladders were taken away so she couldn't get out.

Realizing that she didn't have much to work with, Luthien used her magic to grow out her hair and then cut it. Some of it she fashioned into a rope, and the rest was used to weave a cloak enchanted with spells of concealment and sleep. She used this cloak to put her guards to sleep and then escaped down the rope and out of Doriath.

By chance, Celegorm and Curufin were away from Nargothrond and out hunting. The leader of Celegorm's hunting hounds was named Huan, and he was from Valinor. Out of loyalty, he had followed Celegorm to Middle-earth, and had thus fallen under Mandos's prophecy that bad things would befall the Noldor. It was foretold that Huan would die, but not until he encountered the greatest wolf to ever live.

Huan, being a magical creature of Valinor, was immune to enchantments and therefore was able to see Luthien dressed in her magic cloak. He took her to Celegorm. Luthien, realizing that Celegorm was a prince and therefore inclined to help princesses like herself, took off her cloak and told him of her plight. Celegorm was instantly enamored with her beauty, and he asked her to return to Nargothrond with him so he could help her. He did not, however, reveal that he already knew of Beren's quest, and when they returned to Nargothrond, he and Curufin betrayed Luthien.

Believing that Finrod and Beren were beyond hope of rescue, Celegorm and Curufin planned to let them die and keep Nargothrond for themselves, since they had far more popularity than Orodeth. Now that Luthien was with them, they planned to force her to marry Celegorm so their power would further increase. They took away her cloak and imprisoned her, and sent a wedding invitation to Thingol. And their oath to retrieve the Silmarils? That could do that after they had the power of all the Elf kingdoms.

Huan, however, was troubled. Although he was loyal to Celegorm, he realized that his old friend was making some questionable decisions. He was saddened by Luthien's plight, so he stole her magic cloak from Celegorm, brought it back to her, and then snuck her out of Nargothrond. As proud as he was, he deigned to allow her to ride on his back and together they fled.

In Sauron's dungeon, Beren and Finrod were the only ones still alive out of their companions. Sauron had planned to save Finrod for last, seeing as he looked like an important Elf, but when the wolf came to kill Beren, Finrod used the last of his strength to throw himself in front of it. He killed the wolf, but was mortally wounded in the process. "I suppose this is goodbye," he said to Beren. "I don't suppose we'll ever see one another again, as Elves and Men have different afterlives, but it's been nice knowing you and your family." Thus he died in the tower that he himself had built, fulfilling his oath to help Beren's family.

That's when Luthien arrived. Defying the danger of approaching Sauron's tower, she sang, hoping against hope that Beren would still be alive to hear it. Beren, still mourning over Finrod, heard her voice and used what was left of his strength to answer.

Luthien heard him, and that was enough for her. She put more power into her song, alerting Sauron's wolves and Sauron himself to her presence.

It is a testament to how focused Sauron is on his job that while everyone else who saw Luthien (i.e. Beren, Celegorm, etc.) instantly fell in love or lust with her, Sauron's only thought was, Hey, if I capture that princess and bring her to Morgoth, I bet he'll give me another promotion!

His motivation set, Sauron sent a wolf to catch Luthien. When it reached her, Huan the magic hound killed it. Another wolf came, and then another, but Huan killed each of them in turn. Finally, one wolf managed to escape Huan and return to Sauron. Before succumbing to his wounds, he was able to tell him that Huan was there.

Sauron knew about the prophecy that only the greatest wolf would be able to kill Huan, and he thought, Hey, I can turn myself into a pretty darn strong wolf. If I fulfill the prophecy, I'll get an even bigger promotion!

Sauron used his shapeshifting powers to turn into a pretty darn strong wolf. Luthien was reasonably afraid upon seeing him charge at her, but scared though she was, she managed to throw her magic cloak in front of him. While Sauron was momentarily dazed, Huan took the opportunity to bite him in the throat. Sauron changed his shape from wolf to snake to his typical appearance, but he couldn't get free. He had the sinking feeling that he likely wasn't going to get a promotion, and was probably going to get a demotion instead.

"Yes, Sauron," Luthien said, seeming to read his mind. "Huan is going to kill you, and even though your spirit won't die, everyone is going to know that you got beaten up and let your physical form get destroyed. Morgoth's going to be very angry at you over this, unless you surrender to us right now and give me back my boyfriend."

Sauron begrudgingly handed the keys to the tower to Luthien, and then Huan let him go. This incident was so embarrassing that Sauron did not show his face again until the end of the First Age.

Now that Luthien was in charge of the tower, she looked for Beren, freeing all of Sauron's other slaves as well. She found Beren mourning over Finrod, and they sat together in silence for a while. They buried Finrod on the hilltop under the sunlight, in a grave that remained untouched until the end of Beleriand. But it is said that Finrod's spirit returned to Aman, and he once again walks with his father.

Our hero and heroine were reunited and things were finally looking good again. Huan, out of loyalty, went back to Nargothrond to find Celegorm again. However, things were not as they had once been. Not only was there now distrust between Huan and Celegorm, but the rest of Nargothrond seemed to have turned against the Feanorians. Many of the slaves that Luthien had freed from Sauron went back to Nargothrond, and they told everyone how Luthien had rescued them while the sons of Feanor had been doing nothing. The loyalty of the people shifted back to Finrod's brother, Orodeth, and Celegorm and Curufin were kicked out of the city. None of their people, including Curufin's own son Celebrimbor (who would later go on to make the rings of power) wanted to go with them.

The two Feanorians were now alone and feeling pissed. They were just planning what to do next, thinking it might be a good idea to move in with their brother Maedhros since he was relatively stable, when they came across Beren and Luthien. It didn't matter that the couple was having a touching moment, with Luthien declaring that she'd stay with Beren whether or not he planned to retrieve the Silmaril and follow him into either exile or Morgoth's lair. It didn't matter, because Celegorm and Curufin were horrible people.

Celegorm charged on his horse and attempted to run over Beren. Meanwhile, Curufin rode by and snatched up Luthien. Beren, suffering nobody to steal his lady love, immediately jumped onto the horse that Curufin was riding. While he was busy throttling Curufin, Celegorm rode up with his spear and prepared to throw it at Beren.

Huan, realizing that enough was enough, stepped in and refused to let Celegorm approach. The two Feanorians, faced with an angry dog the size of a horse, had no choice but to surrender. Beren stole their horses and their gear. "Shame on you," Luthien told the two Elves. "My boyfriend was raised in the woods and he has better manners than you princes."

"I hope you die!" Curufin yelled.

"Just ignore them. It's not worth it," Beren said. He and Luthien turned away and began to walk off.

Curufin, still feeling pissed, decided to shoot Luthien in the back. Beren's quick reflexes saved her, and Huan chased the two Elves out of sight.

It was now time to go to Angband and rob Morgoth. At this point, Beren attempted to ditch Luthien to prevent her from following him into the most dangerous place in Arda. He got up before the sun one morning and ran off. "Alas," he sang, looking over the landscape forlornly, "It may be that I go now to die, but at least it's for Luthien and that is no lie."

Then he turned around and saw Luthien, riding Huan, behind him. Huan was wagging his tail. "I appreciate that you composed a goodbye song for this but I've already committed to coming with you," she said.

"Okay then," said Beren, and they continued on together. When they got within sight of Angband, however, Beren, pulled Huan aside. "Are you sure you can't convince Luthien to stay behind?" he asked.

"Sorry, there's nothing I can do," the hound shrugged. "Her future is now bound to yours, and because of her love for you, she now cannot escape the shadow of death. Either you can go into exile and make her die of depression, or take a chance at getting a happy ending and rob the most evil being in Arda together."

"I see," said Beren.

"Excellent. Now, I ought to be going, as while the two of you can disguise yourselves and sneak into Angband, I am a giant magic dog and cannot go undercover. This is goodbye for now, but perhaps we shall meet again."

While Morgoth didn't know about Beren and Luthien's quest, he did know about Huan and heard that the hound was nearby. Knowing that it was Huan's fate to be killed by the greatest wolf, Morgoth decided to fulfill that prophecy. He chose one of his wolves and put his power into it until it grew to monstrous size, and then set it to guard the gates of Angband. This wolf was named Carcharoth, and it was the first thing Beren and Luthien saw upon approaching the fortress.

"You smell strange," Carcharoth told them. "I don't think I should let you in."

Beren and Luthien glanced at one another. Luthien, although frightened by the enormous wolf, was suddenly seized by courage and threw her magic cloak in front of Carcharoth's eyes. The wolf fell asleep, leaving nothing between them and Angband.

Heading down the stairs, Beren and Luthien saw Morgoth sitting on his throne in all his dark lordliness. Beren snuck underneath the throne, but Luthien was caught and her disguise was broken under the gaze of Morgoth. Even so, she remained undaunted. "I am Luthien. I have come to sing," she said.

Morgoth did not care about what she was saying, as he was busy thinking of how best to assault the beautiful woman, but while he was distracted with his thoughts, Luthien began to sing. There was power in her voice, and suddenly all of Morgoth's court began to feel drowsy. Even as his servants nodded off, however, Morgoth remained awake.

Then Luthien sprang into the air and put her magic cloak up to Morgoth's eyes. Her music was so powerful and so profound that even Morgoth could not resist, and at last he fell off his throne in sleep. His iron crown, holding the Silmarils, rolled off his head.

Luthien went over to Beren and woke him up, for even he had been affected by her spell. Wordlessly, he cut one of the Silmarils out of the crown. However, just as he was thinking that he might as well get the other two, his knife snapped. Morgoth and all his court began to stir.

There was no time for Beren and Luthien to put their disguises back on. They simply ran.

Unfortunately for them, the way out was blocked by Carcharoth the giant wolf, who had shaken off Luthien's spell of sleep and woken up in a foul mood. Luthien's power was spent and she couldn't put Carcharoth back to sleep, so Beren stood between her and the monstrous wolf. "Flee before my magic gem!" he called, holding up the Silmaril.

Carcharoth, not one to care about magic gems or heroic speeches, bit off Beren's hand and swallowed both it and the Silmaril.

Suddenly, however, Carcharoth's stomach began to burn. As the Silmarils were blessed by Varda to harm the touch of any evil creature, they were burning the wolf's insides. He fled, howling in pain.

Still, Beren and Luthien were not yet safe. Beren was bleeding from his missing hand and unable to run, and judging by the lightning storm that had suddenly started, Morgoth appeared to have woken up in a foul mood. Things would have gone poorly, had Huan not asked the Eagles to keep an eye out and rescue the heroes.

Beren and Luthien were flown to safety and back to Huan, and together Huan and Luthien nursed him back to health. The reunion was bittersweet, however, since Beren no longer had the Silmaril and therefore could not fulfill his oath to Thingol. While Luthien was ready to live in exile with him, Beren was honorable and didn't want her to have to abandon her family. Therefore they resolved to return to Doriath.

All was not well in Doriath. First Thingol had gotten a letter saying that Luthien was in Nargothrond and Celegorm was going to marry her. Then he'd gotten a letter saying that Celegorm had been kicked out of Nargothrond and Luthien was missing. Then he'd gotten a letter saying that Carcharoth was rampaging across the land and destroying everything in his path. The wolf had gotten through Melian's ring of enchantments (although Thingol didn't know it, this was because Carcharoth had a magic Silmaril inside him).

This was the state of Doriath when Beren and Luthien returned. Thingol was surprised to find Beren still alive, but he still didn't like him. "Have you fulfilled your quest?" Thingol asked.

"Yes. Even now I have a Silmaril in my hand."

"Then show it to me."

Beren showed his intact hand and slowly opened his fingers, revealing that it was empty. As Thingol looked on impatiently, Beren showed his other hand, the stump of the hand which Carcharoth had eaten. This finally softened Thingol's mood, and he asked them to tell him what had happened on the quest. When they finished, Thingol realized that his daughter was well and truly in love, and he finally relented.

However, there was still one shadow over their joy. Carcharoth's rampage, the people now realized, was being caused by the Silmaril he'd eaten burning his insides. Since the power of the holy jewel was allowing him to break through Melian's enchantments and rampage across Doriath, they realized that they needed to hunt him down before he destroyed everything.

Beren, wanting to finish what he'd started, chose to go on the hunt in spite of Luthien's sense of foreboding. So did Huan and Thingol. Additionally, they went with two elf guys named Mablung and Beleg. These guys will show up a bit more later.

They found Carcharoth at a waterfall, drinking loudly and greedily in an attempt to quench the burning in his stomach. When Carcharoth noticed them approaching, he tried to attack Thingol, but Beren moved in front of him and got bitten instead. As Thingol knelt beside Beren, Huan fell upon Carcharoth and they fought, with Carcharoth being slain and Huan being mortally wounded in the process. In spite of this, Huan found the strength to return to Beren. Huan spoke for the last time, bidding him farewell as Beren rested a hand on his head.

The two elf guys Mablung and Beleg finally caught up to the main characters and wept with them. Mablung cut open Carcharoth's stomach, took out the Silmaril, and put it in Beren's remaining hand. Beren gave it to Thingol, saying, "The quest is fulfilled."

They carried Beren and Huan back to Doriath, where Luthien waited. Huan was dead, but Beren was still holding on to a thread of life. "Wait for me," he heard Luthien say. And then he died, thus ended their quest, but not their story.

For Beren, in spite of the universe's law that the spirits of Men cannot stay in Mandos and must leave the world, refused to leave Mandos while he waited for Luthien. Luthien soon faded from depression and also went to Mandos. She found Mandos the Vala (the guy in charge of Mandos the location) and began to sing to him, and her grief was so great that even the stoic god of death was moved. Being unable to override Iluvatar's decree that the spirits of Men must leave the world, he brought the issue to Manwe, who meditated on the will of Iluvatar.

At last, he returned to Luthien with two choices. She could either give up Beren and live among the Valar, or give up her immortality and return to life with Beren. She chose to give up her immortality, forsaking the Blessed Realm so she could be with him in both life and death.