Canelle Nightfire (with Shawn Daysleeper and Lihan Taifun)
Awaking from a troubled sleep, Earwen goes through the events of the previous day in her mind. Many times over she sees the pain and exhaustion in the lines on her father's face. "How troubled he is," she thinks. "How can he withstand the agony and despair I see in his face and hear in his voice? He looked so tired and defeated - something I have never seen in my father's countenance."
Shaking herself free of the apparition she quickly dons some sensible clothing from the bundle her husband's mariners delivered to her tower before they found themselves beds for the night - and beds aplenty there were in the deserted Teleri palace. The sound of silence was almost deafening after the hustle and bustle of her family's home in Tirion. Earwen tiptoes into her father's private chambers and looks in to find him sleeping fitfully on his bed. Without disturbing him, she carefully closes the outer door and makes her way down the spiral staircase to the reception hall. Her footsteps echo as she walks through the deserted palace, gazing around its familiar walls and spying the seat of Alqualonde on which her father used to sit with her nestled in his lap, learning even then the ways of stewardship which now stood her in good stead in her dealings with the people of her husband's realm.
Walking through the palace, she heads for the kitchens and rummages around for some sustenance. Finding some lembas bread she carefully takes a piece and nibbles as she takes stock of the provisions here. Lembas bread and some fruit preserves - enough to maintain health for the small population until the fruit trees start to bear fruit in the summer. Earwen makes a mental note to send her husband's mariners to dig up the roots and tubers which should be flourishing in the forest garden and to gather the pine nuts from the trees there.
Earwen takes her small meal and finds a place to sit in one of the reception rooms of the palace, thinking of what else may need to be done here. She is lost in her thoughts when there is a discreet cough beside her. Earwen looks up a little startled.
"Lady Earwen," says the female, bowing.
"I am the Lady Earwen, yes. May I ask who addresses me?"
"Noble Lady, we are musicians. Estelin and Apakenwe." Estelin nods and bows to the teleri lady. "Well met," he says smiling.
Earwen looks to the two musicians and smiles. "We also are guests here, in these sad times," continues Apakenwe.
Earwen nods and looks up at the kind faces in front of her. "Indeed these are sad times. How came you to my father's palace? Most of the Teleri have disappeared."
"We are musicians. We travel where the wind and our music take us. We were at the harbour when your father's ship arrived," replies Apakenwe.
"My father did not mention that he had two musicians here as guests. He mentioned Nole, the sword maiden and perhaps another. Well, tis of no concern: welcome !"
"We have been abroad for some time, but we are happy to be home. Perhaps too much time has passed," says Estelin.
Apakenwe would be surprised if the King had said anything so coherent. "Your father did not look well at the time."
Earwen nods gravely. "Indeed Lady Apakenwe, he worries me so. However, I am here to try and comfort him and to give his mind ease in the hour of his need."
"As are we. We had hoped to play for him." continues Estelin.
"I am sure he finds you a great comfort," smiles Apakenwe. "Do you know what it is that afflicts him?"
"My lady, I am no physician, but he does look very tired and not at all himself."
"We spent only a short while with him at the dock, before he retired. Perhaps you could tell us more about his condition, as his daughter?"
"My lord, I have seen him but once since I arrived," answers Olwe's daughter.
"Noble lady, I do not wish to alarm you ... when he arrived, he spoke of dying although, he did not sound entirely himself at the time. I could make no sense of it."
"He did not sound like himself? My lady that alarms me greatly," adds Apakenwe.
"He seemed to speak to people we could not see. He spoke of dying .. though for what reason I do not know," Earwen said.
Estelin nods. "Could this be related to what you have seen when you saw him?"
Earwen looks around as if trying to summon up the courage to say more to these unknown musicians. She looks down at her hands which she is unconsciously tightly wringing together. Estelin lowers his head. Earwen shakes her head as she sees the apparition of her father again in her mind.
"But where is our courtesy? We have not asked about your own voyage," says Apakenwe.
Estelin takes a seat near Earwen. The princess is jolted from her thoughts of her father, and she looks back to the lady musician in front of her. "It was swift and uneventful my lady, thanks to the will of Lord Ulmo."
"It would be difficult, talkign about your father," Estelin says softly.
"My father tells me that Ulmo always watched over me as a child - and I believe he does even now."
"He is a great man. It troubles us to see him in this state," adds Apakenwe.
Earwen nods sadly. "I worry for his health," Earwen stops and thinks, then blurts out , "and I worry for his state of mind."
Apakenwe nods sympathetically. "You were always close to him."
Estelin nods and smiles. Earwen looks at the lady Apakenwe - "I was always close to my father, yes. But how would a newcomer to the land of the Teleri know of this?"
Apakenwe answers, "We are not newcomers: we only have been away a while."
Earwen thinks carefully and remembers her manners. "Please forgive me." She shakes her head, "My concern for my father is somewhat addling my brain."
Estelin nods. "It must be a great weight on you, mi'lady."
Earwen nods. "It is, my lord musician. My father spoke of a voice. I have heard the mumblings and incoherence. I am so worried for my father. I know not what to do except be here for him."
Estelin looks up with renewed interest. "What does this voice seem to be to you?"
"Do you know how he came to this state? If it were known how this happened, perhaps it would be easier to find a cure," adds Apakenwe.
Earwen shakes her head, "The Voice? I have no idea where it comes from. Though I did ask if he recognized it - a question he avoided."
"Then it is not in his imagination?" queries Apakenwe.
Estelin nods, then bows his head again in thought.
Earwen tries to keep up with the questions, and her mind starts to spin. She touches her brow to force herself to remember. Then settles and composes her thoughts for a moment. Earwen looks back at the lady musician, "My father told me he had been poisoned and mentioned some flowers and a dark skinned elf. He said something about the elf trying to help him."
Apakenwe interjects "We did meet a dark-skinned elf at the docks."
"Flowers?" Estelin looks up, questioningly.
Earwen nods."He did not say more of the elf nor of the flowers."
"Yes, that must be the same elf. He SAID he had a potion to help your father, but your father refused it."
Estelin nods to his fellow musician "We did see a dark skinned elf at the dock that night."
"That elf came up to the palace with us. Nole was going to see him lodged ... somewhere," replies Apakenwe.
Earwen looks from one musician to the other. "I know nothing of this." Apakenwe notices how pale and tired the Princess looks. Earwen thinks back to her meeting with her father. "Ask Nole about it. He was there."
Earwen looks up abruptly. "That Voice did speak when I was there." Apakenwe listens attentively. Estelin looks at the lady anxiously. Earwen looks around. "The Voice seemed to come and go from his consciousness." Earwen shakes her head, "Inflicting physical pain when he talked or thought of the Valar. My father told me something I never expected to hear." Estelin listens. "He said the presence of the Valar are denied him," says Earwen, calmly.
Apakenwe retorts, "Surely that cannot be true!"
"He cannot feel them," Earwen says, holding her palms upwards.
Estelin's head jerks up. "The Valar will nev..." He calms down mid-word. "I can't imagine the Valar denying Olwe."
Earwen replies simply. "They are lost to him." She gives a worried look to the two musicians. "Whatever ails my father, it is taking its toll. He believes he has failed his people and the Valar."
Estelin adds, "This Voice then, shuts him off from hope."
Earwen nods. "This Voice cripples his ability to even think of the valar."
Apakenwe looks at her brother. "Yes, this Voice seems to be a poison to his mind." Estelin looks at his companion, worriedly.
Earwen adds, "To make it worse, I have seen the physical effects of this presence."
Apakenwe asks aghast, "Physical .... there is more?"
Estelin asks, "Oh, what effects, my lady?"
Earwen's lip trembles as she remembers the sight of her father's body covered in blood from the slashes from within. Estelin whispers, "Dear lady," noticing her trembling lips.
"I can only say that I feared for my father's life. Such was the bleeding. Such was the agony on his face and in his voice," she whispers. "T'was as if something ripped into his skin from deep inside, trying to get out."
Apakenwe's eyes turn from blue to grey, and her face colors with anger, thinking of a demon such as this must be. Estelin closes his eyes. Earwen buries her face in her hands and starts to weep. Apakenwe soothes Earwen. "Oh, dear Lady, such a terrible thing!"
Estelin stands, takes Earwen's hand. "I am sorry, we must stand with him, and search for a cure," he whispers to her.
Earwen looks up at the kind musician and nods.
"Yes," Apakenwe says fiercely, "a cure must be found.... that such a thing would dare to trouble one of the Children of Iluvatar ....!"
Earwen is worn out from her emotions and settles quietly into the chair, resting her head on Apakenwe's shoulder. Apakenwe looks to Earwen. "Poor dear lady, to have to bear so much ..." she says soothingly.
Earwen closes her eyes and drifts into a restless sleep. Estelin smiles, closes his eyes, helping Earwen seek a pleasant dream to ease her troubled soul. Shifting the princess off her shoulder, Apakenwe tiptoes quietly out of the room, leaving Earwen to her sleep.
> Next
Shaking herself free of the apparition she quickly dons some sensible clothing from the bundle her husband's mariners delivered to her tower before they found themselves beds for the night - and beds aplenty there were in the deserted Teleri palace. The sound of silence was almost deafening after the hustle and bustle of her family's home in Tirion. Earwen tiptoes into her father's private chambers and looks in to find him sleeping fitfully on his bed. Without disturbing him, she carefully closes the outer door and makes her way down the spiral staircase to the reception hall. Her footsteps echo as she walks through the deserted palace, gazing around its familiar walls and spying the seat of Alqualonde on which her father used to sit with her nestled in his lap, learning even then the ways of stewardship which now stood her in good stead in her dealings with the people of her husband's realm.
Walking through the palace, she heads for the kitchens and rummages around for some sustenance. Finding some lembas bread she carefully takes a piece and nibbles as she takes stock of the provisions here. Lembas bread and some fruit preserves - enough to maintain health for the small population until the fruit trees start to bear fruit in the summer. Earwen makes a mental note to send her husband's mariners to dig up the roots and tubers which should be flourishing in the forest garden and to gather the pine nuts from the trees there.
Earwen takes her small meal and finds a place to sit in one of the reception rooms of the palace, thinking of what else may need to be done here. She is lost in her thoughts when there is a discreet cough beside her. Earwen looks up a little startled.
"Lady Earwen," says the female, bowing.
"I am the Lady Earwen, yes. May I ask who addresses me?"
"Noble Lady, we are musicians. Estelin and Apakenwe." Estelin nods and bows to the teleri lady. "Well met," he says smiling.
Earwen looks to the two musicians and smiles. "We also are guests here, in these sad times," continues Apakenwe.
Earwen nods and looks up at the kind faces in front of her. "Indeed these are sad times. How came you to my father's palace? Most of the Teleri have disappeared."
"We are musicians. We travel where the wind and our music take us. We were at the harbour when your father's ship arrived," replies Apakenwe.
"My father did not mention that he had two musicians here as guests. He mentioned Nole, the sword maiden and perhaps another. Well, tis of no concern: welcome !"
"We have been abroad for some time, but we are happy to be home. Perhaps too much time has passed," says Estelin.
Apakenwe would be surprised if the King had said anything so coherent. "Your father did not look well at the time."
Earwen nods gravely. "Indeed Lady Apakenwe, he worries me so. However, I am here to try and comfort him and to give his mind ease in the hour of his need."
"As are we. We had hoped to play for him." continues Estelin.
"I am sure he finds you a great comfort," smiles Apakenwe. "Do you know what it is that afflicts him?"
"My lady, I am no physician, but he does look very tired and not at all himself."
"We spent only a short while with him at the dock, before he retired. Perhaps you could tell us more about his condition, as his daughter?"
"My lord, I have seen him but once since I arrived," answers Olwe's daughter.
"Noble lady, I do not wish to alarm you ... when he arrived, he spoke of dying although, he did not sound entirely himself at the time. I could make no sense of it."
"He did not sound like himself? My lady that alarms me greatly," adds Apakenwe.
"He seemed to speak to people we could not see. He spoke of dying .. though for what reason I do not know," Earwen said.
Estelin nods. "Could this be related to what you have seen when you saw him?"
Earwen looks around as if trying to summon up the courage to say more to these unknown musicians. She looks down at her hands which she is unconsciously tightly wringing together. Estelin lowers his head. Earwen shakes her head as she sees the apparition of her father again in her mind.
"But where is our courtesy? We have not asked about your own voyage," says Apakenwe.
Estelin takes a seat near Earwen. The princess is jolted from her thoughts of her father, and she looks back to the lady musician in front of her. "It was swift and uneventful my lady, thanks to the will of Lord Ulmo."
"It would be difficult, talkign about your father," Estelin says softly.
"My father tells me that Ulmo always watched over me as a child - and I believe he does even now."
"He is a great man. It troubles us to see him in this state," adds Apakenwe.
Earwen nods sadly. "I worry for his health," Earwen stops and thinks, then blurts out , "and I worry for his state of mind."
Apakenwe nods sympathetically. "You were always close to him."
Estelin nods and smiles. Earwen looks at the lady Apakenwe - "I was always close to my father, yes. But how would a newcomer to the land of the Teleri know of this?"
Apakenwe answers, "We are not newcomers: we only have been away a while."
Earwen thinks carefully and remembers her manners. "Please forgive me." She shakes her head, "My concern for my father is somewhat addling my brain."
Estelin nods. "It must be a great weight on you, mi'lady."
Earwen nods. "It is, my lord musician. My father spoke of a voice. I have heard the mumblings and incoherence. I am so worried for my father. I know not what to do except be here for him."
Estelin looks up with renewed interest. "What does this voice seem to be to you?"
"Do you know how he came to this state? If it were known how this happened, perhaps it would be easier to find a cure," adds Apakenwe.
Earwen shakes her head, "The Voice? I have no idea where it comes from. Though I did ask if he recognized it - a question he avoided."
"Then it is not in his imagination?" queries Apakenwe.
Estelin nods, then bows his head again in thought.
Earwen tries to keep up with the questions, and her mind starts to spin. She touches her brow to force herself to remember. Then settles and composes her thoughts for a moment. Earwen looks back at the lady musician, "My father told me he had been poisoned and mentioned some flowers and a dark skinned elf. He said something about the elf trying to help him."
Apakenwe interjects "We did meet a dark-skinned elf at the docks."
"Flowers?" Estelin looks up, questioningly.
Earwen nods."He did not say more of the elf nor of the flowers."
"Yes, that must be the same elf. He SAID he had a potion to help your father, but your father refused it."
Estelin nods to his fellow musician "We did see a dark skinned elf at the dock that night."
"That elf came up to the palace with us. Nole was going to see him lodged ... somewhere," replies Apakenwe.
Earwen looks from one musician to the other. "I know nothing of this." Apakenwe notices how pale and tired the Princess looks. Earwen thinks back to her meeting with her father. "Ask Nole about it. He was there."
Earwen looks up abruptly. "That Voice did speak when I was there." Apakenwe listens attentively. Estelin looks at the lady anxiously. Earwen looks around. "The Voice seemed to come and go from his consciousness." Earwen shakes her head, "Inflicting physical pain when he talked or thought of the Valar. My father told me something I never expected to hear." Estelin listens. "He said the presence of the Valar are denied him," says Earwen, calmly.
Apakenwe retorts, "Surely that cannot be true!"
"He cannot feel them," Earwen says, holding her palms upwards.
Estelin's head jerks up. "The Valar will nev..." He calms down mid-word. "I can't imagine the Valar denying Olwe."
Earwen replies simply. "They are lost to him." She gives a worried look to the two musicians. "Whatever ails my father, it is taking its toll. He believes he has failed his people and the Valar."
Estelin adds, "This Voice then, shuts him off from hope."
Earwen nods. "This Voice cripples his ability to even think of the valar."
Apakenwe looks at her brother. "Yes, this Voice seems to be a poison to his mind." Estelin looks at his companion, worriedly.
Earwen adds, "To make it worse, I have seen the physical effects of this presence."
Apakenwe asks aghast, "Physical .... there is more?"
Estelin asks, "Oh, what effects, my lady?"
Earwen's lip trembles as she remembers the sight of her father's body covered in blood from the slashes from within. Estelin whispers, "Dear lady," noticing her trembling lips.
"I can only say that I feared for my father's life. Such was the bleeding. Such was the agony on his face and in his voice," she whispers. "T'was as if something ripped into his skin from deep inside, trying to get out."
Apakenwe's eyes turn from blue to grey, and her face colors with anger, thinking of a demon such as this must be. Estelin closes his eyes. Earwen buries her face in her hands and starts to weep. Apakenwe soothes Earwen. "Oh, dear Lady, such a terrible thing!"
Estelin stands, takes Earwen's hand. "I am sorry, we must stand with him, and search for a cure," he whispers to her.
Earwen looks up at the kind musician and nods.
"Yes," Apakenwe says fiercely, "a cure must be found.... that such a thing would dare to trouble one of the Children of Iluvatar ....!"
Earwen is worn out from her emotions and settles quietly into the chair, resting her head on Apakenwe's shoulder. Apakenwe looks to Earwen. "Poor dear lady, to have to bear so much ..." she says soothingly.
Earwen closes her eyes and drifts into a restless sleep. Estelin smiles, closes his eyes, helping Earwen seek a pleasant dream to ease her troubled soul. Shifting the princess off her shoulder, Apakenwe tiptoes quietly out of the room, leaving Earwen to her sleep.
> Next