Cinnamon Raymaker and AelKennyr Rhiano
Olwe watches the swan fly off with his message to his beloved daughter, his eyes lingering on the distant dot that is the bird until it vanishes from sight. The smell of salt air and spring blossoms riding the breeze recalls him from his reverie, and he takes up his bow and quiver from there they lay, discarded these many months, and shoulders both. His thoughts turn to the quiet noises that indicate life in a palace...the soft whisper of slippers on the jewelled, floor, the clattering of pots and pans somewhere....he stops and pales at the thought it may be Estelin and Apakenwe in the kitchen, cooking.
Quiet noises that prove Alqualonde still has life within her, and with life comes hope. He adjusts the bow and quiver on his back, thinking to lure the merchant Nole into a bit of archery practice or perhaps Estelin even. A smile, mischievous and boyish, despite the turning of all the centuries which he has seen, captures secret mirth at the thought of the Valar of Dreams fingering a bow like the Children and taking a turn at the target. The very thought of the Vala brought a sense of the presence of the Lord of Visions. Newly restored in mind and body, the joy at such communion is also mixed with a bitterness at what he has endured these many months. A conflict of emotions disturbs his thoughts, as he leaves the palace and wanders the peaceful Swanhaven, looking for Elwing the White. He finds her, seated upon a bench, looking out upon the sea. Quietly he slips onto a cushion on the bench and waits for her to rouse from her thoughts and see him.
Lost in her thoughts, Elwing suddenly senses the presence of someone close by and turns, forcing a smile to blossom in place when she realises it is her uncle. "Greetings, dear uncle. It pleases me greatly to see you looking rested and well. Alqualonde is indeed the richer for the return of her Lord."
Olwe blushes and a gentle smile rises easily to his lips. He bows his head, and answers her, noting that moment before the smile came to her face. " Greetings, Elwing the White," he said. "I cannot think when last you were in Alqualonde?"
"It has been a while indeed. Last time I was here was by acident. T'was an event which led me on a quest to try and find you, my Lord, though what forced me to land here in the first instance was surely something dark and menacing. It literally forced me from the skies when I was trying to fly to seek out my beloved Earendil." Ewling shudders again at the thought of that first encounter with evil. "T'was when I washed up on a beach close to here that the Lord of Dreams sought to send me a message. I had a choice to make," she continues. "He bade me either to wait here or to search you out in Sylvhara at the Court of your Cousin, Queen Comet."
Her shudder underscores the tone in her voice. Olwe feels a still sadness in response to the bare recital of her last appearance here. "I had been poisoned, " he murmurs softly, remembering how it all started, with a goblet of wine.
"Yes, that was the tale Lord Irmo recounted." Elwing looks into the eyes of her uncle and sees the sadness lying within. Then she turns to continue her tale. "After I rested a while, I set off in the day to fly for Sylvhara. It was approaching the time for Vingilot to appear...." Elwing looks down suddenly and stifles a sob. " I was so very tired and looking forward to a glimpse of my beloved. Suddenly I felt a shock of energy and plummeted to the ocean below.." Elwing stops again, and tears slide down her face.
"Since that day, the morning star has not been seen."
Elwing dabs her eyes and continues. "T'was my good fortune to be rescued by Lord Manwe's ocean Wind, Linfea, who cushioned my fall and took me to land at a place called Vana." She stops and looks to the horizon, the many memories of Vana still lurking in the background.
The look she turned upon Olwe made his heart squeeze tight in his chest, such was the naked pain. Her tears, like pearls, slowly rolled down her soft cheek. Vingilot...that sparks a memory. "I was on board...heading for home with Nole and Elenwe. The Voice. I remember it foretelling the disppearance of the morning star. I went up on deck and watched it vanish." He bows his head, remembers the despair which drove him to his knees that night. A hand reaches out and covers one of her delicate ones." Fair, niece, " he whispers, squeezing. "How hard it must have been for you. I cannot guess at the pain you felt." He does not look at her, lest he, too, shares in her tears. "This place, Vana," he said, urging them both to move beyond this painful memory for Elwing. "It is a place in Middle Earth?"
Elwing's lip trembles as she bravely continues the conversation with her uncle, whom she knew the world had almost lost. For his sake she must show that strength of heart on which she was used to calling again and again over time. "'Tis in the mortal world my Lord. I was on my way to Sylvhara to find you at Queen Comet's Court when I fell from the skies. You must also know I met with a young Teleri fisherman who was going to try and help me escape the island and sail to your cousin's court. Your brother's daughter Echuir also arrived at the isle. We were all to sail together. It was the morning we were to leave when the young fisherman vanished from sight." Elwing's lip trembles again, remembering the discarded jacket containing its bundle of apples.
Olwe pats her hand gently as she speaks, to offer comfort and quiet support. Looking at her in profile, he can see Elwe in her features, but also the Maia Melian. He nods as she recounts her journey and allows her to finish before asking the many questions that crowded his mind. A lone seagull flew across the sky, high, before them, and his attention was caught up in watching its flight, imagining how it must have felt to the Princess of that which was once Doriath, to be bereft of husband, thrown out of the sky by an unseen assailant. His mind goes back, again and again, to that Voice which held him helpless. Was it one and the same Evil which struck them both. "Echuir?" he asks first, a slight frown on his face. "I never knew Elwe to have a child by that name." He looks at her, his eyes fixed upon her.
Elwing turns and looks to her uncle - "Nay, my Lord, not a child of Elwe!" She smiles lightly and wipes away the last of the tears, "Echuir is the daughter of Elmo. Fortunately she had the Sindar speech and was able to translate the words of the young Teleri fisherman, but then he himself thought of using the human speech used by navigators and tradesmen in Middle Earth, and so we communicated easily. He was quite a sensitive young elf: I think Lady Echuir scared him a little." She chuckles at the memory playing through her mind. Elwing's smile fades as she again recalls that these two new friends are unaccounted for at the present time. "I hope they are both well at this time," she adds.
Olwe's eyes widen at the mention of his other brother, Elmo. Memories flood back to him, that final time he saw the youngest of the three brothers. Still in Middle Earth they were. His face falls as out of the past his brother's words echo in his mind. "This time, I stay behind, Brother." Elmo had looked away. "You must continue, Olwe, and I fear we shall not behold the likeness of the other until we clasp hands again in the Halls of Mandos."
Olwe gasps softly. But he shall never embrace his brothers. For he will never enter the Halls of Mandos. The consequence of his choice to follow his heart's most selfish desire tore at him now, his eyes stinging with tears he cannot shed and pain he cannot betray. He shakes his head a little. "Where is this child of my brother? And tell me more of the Teleri fisher," he asks, his voice quiet, his eyes fastening upon the sea.
Elwing turns sharply at the sound of the gasp leaving her uncle's lips. Understanding from the desolate look on his face that he was experiencing pain, Elwing gently replies, "My Lord, I know not what has become of the young fisherman. One moment he was searching for apples, the next I felt the approach of that dark menacing force, as I have several times now, and when I returned to the place he had been gathering fruit, he was gone and a chill was in the air." Elwing pauses and tries to remember more, searching the memories to give her uncle more hope. "He was full of tales of his upbringing. Indeed, he was just on his way to proving himself a man of the world; though to my mind, he is already noble of heart and pure of spirit, this showing in his willingness to stand as a protector while Lady Echuir and I were sleeping."
Elwing continues. "As for the Lady Echuir, the last time I saw her was the morning before the young elf and I went picking fruit for our voyage. I scribbled a note to say we would meet at her vessel "The White Sparrow" and leave on the morning tide. When I returned to our sleeping place to wake her and retrieve my clothing for the journey, she had disappeared. That is all I know, my Lord." Elwing concludes.
Elwing looks to her uncle. "One thing I feel in my heart, my Lord: somehow that Island is a link to some of the events that have happened to me in the past weeks. I feel some sort of presence there - yet I know not what to make of it."
Olwe nods slowly, allowing himself to regain the calmness of demeanor expected of a king. He gives her a small smile and squeezes her hand. "You have given my heart hope, Elwing. For his very existence proves that my people are alive...somewhere," he pauses and draws in a heavy sigh. "But it sounds like the same darkness which drove you from the sky took this young Teleri." Slowly the sadness in his heart is ground into a sharp shard of anger, cutting deep into the peace in Olwe's mind, reminding him of the dark dreams which came to him, two turns of the year ago." He looks into her eyes, a fierce anger lights the blue of his. "You say my niece, the daughter of Elmo, disappeared as well?" Slowly his hand hands pulls away from hers and clenches into a fist.
Elwing looks into her uncle's eyes and evenly and calmly touches his hand. "Please, Uncle, I am not sure what befell the Lady Echuir. I was in fear of my life and bereft at losing the young elf when I scurried back to our refuge. I know not what befell her! The call of my benefactor, Lord Ulmo, rang through my ears and bade me hurry to the young elf's boat so he could ferry me here to Alqualonde to be with you at your time of greatest need. It is possible that she boarded her ship and sailed safely away from Vana. I cannot say as I did not dare disobey Ulmo's will."
Slowly the heat of anger drains from Olwe's face, and he forces himself to relax. "Of course, my niece, the will of the Valar be done and their voices heeded always," he answers. Then he asks, "What sort of land is this Vana?"
Elwing smiles at her uncle as she thinks back on the beauty and danger that is Vana. "Perhaps we could talk more while we eat and drink, my Lord? I am feeling my appetite returning. You have helped me lessen my burdens by allowing me to share my thoughts with you," she answers.
Olwe nods and offers her a gentle smile. He peers closely at her face, his eyes intense and searching. "I see my brother in thee, Elwing the White. I have heard of thy bravery and thy steadfastness, as would befit a daugther of the house of Thingol." He lapses back into formality, and a small smile curves his lips. "Please, Elwing, I want to get to know you better, child of my brother's line."
Elwing smiles back at her uncle, feeling her face flush in slight embarrassment at her uncle's words. "Thank you for your kind words, my Lord. I look forward to staying here for a while before deciding on my next course of action, or finding myself taking the path chosen for me," she replies.
Olwe stands and offers a hand to help her rise from the bench. "I am your kin, Elwing. Uncle Olwe, " he pauses and then laughs. "I thought to chide you into a more familial relationship, but 'My Uncle Olwe' sounds more like the start of a tale of comedic twists and turns than an close endearment."
Elwing looks to her uncle and takes his proffered hand. Smiling she chuckles and adds, "Indeed, Uncle Olwe," a mischievious twinkle lighting up her eyes.
Olwe tosses back his head and laughs. Taking her hand and tucking it into the crook of his arm, he looks down into the face of his niece, finding the glow in her eyes that was also once in Elwe's. "Let us go to the palace kitchens, my dear Elwing and see if this old Elf can remember how to break fast with a simple traveler's fare."
> Next
Quiet noises that prove Alqualonde still has life within her, and with life comes hope. He adjusts the bow and quiver on his back, thinking to lure the merchant Nole into a bit of archery practice or perhaps Estelin even. A smile, mischievous and boyish, despite the turning of all the centuries which he has seen, captures secret mirth at the thought of the Valar of Dreams fingering a bow like the Children and taking a turn at the target. The very thought of the Vala brought a sense of the presence of the Lord of Visions. Newly restored in mind and body, the joy at such communion is also mixed with a bitterness at what he has endured these many months. A conflict of emotions disturbs his thoughts, as he leaves the palace and wanders the peaceful Swanhaven, looking for Elwing the White. He finds her, seated upon a bench, looking out upon the sea. Quietly he slips onto a cushion on the bench and waits for her to rouse from her thoughts and see him.
 |
| Olwë Sits Near Elwing |
Olwe blushes and a gentle smile rises easily to his lips. He bows his head, and answers her, noting that moment before the smile came to her face. " Greetings, Elwing the White," he said. "I cannot think when last you were in Alqualonde?"
"It has been a while indeed. Last time I was here was by acident. T'was an event which led me on a quest to try and find you, my Lord, though what forced me to land here in the first instance was surely something dark and menacing. It literally forced me from the skies when I was trying to fly to seek out my beloved Earendil." Ewling shudders again at the thought of that first encounter with evil. "T'was when I washed up on a beach close to here that the Lord of Dreams sought to send me a message. I had a choice to make," she continues. "He bade me either to wait here or to search you out in Sylvhara at the Court of your Cousin, Queen Comet."
Her shudder underscores the tone in her voice. Olwe feels a still sadness in response to the bare recital of her last appearance here. "I had been poisoned, " he murmurs softly, remembering how it all started, with a goblet of wine.
"Yes, that was the tale Lord Irmo recounted." Elwing looks into the eyes of her uncle and sees the sadness lying within. Then she turns to continue her tale. "After I rested a while, I set off in the day to fly for Sylvhara. It was approaching the time for Vingilot to appear...." Elwing looks down suddenly and stifles a sob. " I was so very tired and looking forward to a glimpse of my beloved. Suddenly I felt a shock of energy and plummeted to the ocean below.." Elwing stops again, and tears slide down her face.
"Since that day, the morning star has not been seen."
Elwing dabs her eyes and continues. "T'was my good fortune to be rescued by Lord Manwe's ocean Wind, Linfea, who cushioned my fall and took me to land at a place called Vana." She stops and looks to the horizon, the many memories of Vana still lurking in the background.
The look she turned upon Olwe made his heart squeeze tight in his chest, such was the naked pain. Her tears, like pearls, slowly rolled down her soft cheek. Vingilot...that sparks a memory. "I was on board...heading for home with Nole and Elenwe. The Voice. I remember it foretelling the disppearance of the morning star. I went up on deck and watched it vanish." He bows his head, remembers the despair which drove him to his knees that night. A hand reaches out and covers one of her delicate ones." Fair, niece, " he whispers, squeezing. "How hard it must have been for you. I cannot guess at the pain you felt." He does not look at her, lest he, too, shares in her tears. "This place, Vana," he said, urging them both to move beyond this painful memory for Elwing. "It is a place in Middle Earth?"Elwing's lip trembles as she bravely continues the conversation with her uncle, whom she knew the world had almost lost. For his sake she must show that strength of heart on which she was used to calling again and again over time. "'Tis in the mortal world my Lord. I was on my way to Sylvhara to find you at Queen Comet's Court when I fell from the skies. You must also know I met with a young Teleri fisherman who was going to try and help me escape the island and sail to your cousin's court. Your brother's daughter Echuir also arrived at the isle. We were all to sail together. It was the morning we were to leave when the young fisherman vanished from sight." Elwing's lip trembles again, remembering the discarded jacket containing its bundle of apples.
Olwe pats her hand gently as she speaks, to offer comfort and quiet support. Looking at her in profile, he can see Elwe in her features, but also the Maia Melian. He nods as she recounts her journey and allows her to finish before asking the many questions that crowded his mind. A lone seagull flew across the sky, high, before them, and his attention was caught up in watching its flight, imagining how it must have felt to the Princess of that which was once Doriath, to be bereft of husband, thrown out of the sky by an unseen assailant. His mind goes back, again and again, to that Voice which held him helpless. Was it one and the same Evil which struck them both. "Echuir?" he asks first, a slight frown on his face. "I never knew Elwe to have a child by that name." He looks at her, his eyes fixed upon her.
Elwing turns and looks to her uncle - "Nay, my Lord, not a child of Elwe!" She smiles lightly and wipes away the last of the tears, "Echuir is the daughter of Elmo. Fortunately she had the Sindar speech and was able to translate the words of the young Teleri fisherman, but then he himself thought of using the human speech used by navigators and tradesmen in Middle Earth, and so we communicated easily. He was quite a sensitive young elf: I think Lady Echuir scared him a little." She chuckles at the memory playing through her mind. Elwing's smile fades as she again recalls that these two new friends are unaccounted for at the present time. "I hope they are both well at this time," she adds.
Olwe's eyes widen at the mention of his other brother, Elmo. Memories flood back to him, that final time he saw the youngest of the three brothers. Still in Middle Earth they were. His face falls as out of the past his brother's words echo in his mind. "This time, I stay behind, Brother." Elmo had looked away. "You must continue, Olwe, and I fear we shall not behold the likeness of the other until we clasp hands again in the Halls of Mandos."
Olwe gasps softly. But he shall never embrace his brothers. For he will never enter the Halls of Mandos. The consequence of his choice to follow his heart's most selfish desire tore at him now, his eyes stinging with tears he cannot shed and pain he cannot betray. He shakes his head a little. "Where is this child of my brother? And tell me more of the Teleri fisher," he asks, his voice quiet, his eyes fastening upon the sea.
Elwing turns sharply at the sound of the gasp leaving her uncle's lips. Understanding from the desolate look on his face that he was experiencing pain, Elwing gently replies, "My Lord, I know not what has become of the young fisherman. One moment he was searching for apples, the next I felt the approach of that dark menacing force, as I have several times now, and when I returned to the place he had been gathering fruit, he was gone and a chill was in the air." Elwing pauses and tries to remember more, searching the memories to give her uncle more hope. "He was full of tales of his upbringing. Indeed, he was just on his way to proving himself a man of the world; though to my mind, he is already noble of heart and pure of spirit, this showing in his willingness to stand as a protector while Lady Echuir and I were sleeping."
Elwing continues. "As for the Lady Echuir, the last time I saw her was the morning before the young elf and I went picking fruit for our voyage. I scribbled a note to say we would meet at her vessel "The White Sparrow" and leave on the morning tide. When I returned to our sleeping place to wake her and retrieve my clothing for the journey, she had disappeared. That is all I know, my Lord." Elwing concludes.
Elwing looks to her uncle. "One thing I feel in my heart, my Lord: somehow that Island is a link to some of the events that have happened to me in the past weeks. I feel some sort of presence there - yet I know not what to make of it."
Olwe nods slowly, allowing himself to regain the calmness of demeanor expected of a king. He gives her a small smile and squeezes her hand. "You have given my heart hope, Elwing. For his very existence proves that my people are alive...somewhere," he pauses and draws in a heavy sigh. "But it sounds like the same darkness which drove you from the sky took this young Teleri." Slowly the sadness in his heart is ground into a sharp shard of anger, cutting deep into the peace in Olwe's mind, reminding him of the dark dreams which came to him, two turns of the year ago." He looks into her eyes, a fierce anger lights the blue of his. "You say my niece, the daughter of Elmo, disappeared as well?" Slowly his hand hands pulls away from hers and clenches into a fist.
Elwing looks into her uncle's eyes and evenly and calmly touches his hand. "Please, Uncle, I am not sure what befell the Lady Echuir. I was in fear of my life and bereft at losing the young elf when I scurried back to our refuge. I know not what befell her! The call of my benefactor, Lord Ulmo, rang through my ears and bade me hurry to the young elf's boat so he could ferry me here to Alqualonde to be with you at your time of greatest need. It is possible that she boarded her ship and sailed safely away from Vana. I cannot say as I did not dare disobey Ulmo's will."
Slowly the heat of anger drains from Olwe's face, and he forces himself to relax. "Of course, my niece, the will of the Valar be done and their voices heeded always," he answers. Then he asks, "What sort of land is this Vana?"
Elwing smiles at her uncle as she thinks back on the beauty and danger that is Vana. "Perhaps we could talk more while we eat and drink, my Lord? I am feeling my appetite returning. You have helped me lessen my burdens by allowing me to share my thoughts with you," she answers.
Olwe nods and offers her a gentle smile. He peers closely at her face, his eyes intense and searching. "I see my brother in thee, Elwing the White. I have heard of thy bravery and thy steadfastness, as would befit a daugther of the house of Thingol." He lapses back into formality, and a small smile curves his lips. "Please, Elwing, I want to get to know you better, child of my brother's line."
Elwing smiles back at her uncle, feeling her face flush in slight embarrassment at her uncle's words. "Thank you for your kind words, my Lord. I look forward to staying here for a while before deciding on my next course of action, or finding myself taking the path chosen for me," she replies.
Olwe stands and offers a hand to help her rise from the bench. "I am your kin, Elwing. Uncle Olwe, " he pauses and then laughs. "I thought to chide you into a more familial relationship, but 'My Uncle Olwe' sounds more like the start of a tale of comedic twists and turns than an close endearment."
Elwing looks to her uncle and takes his proffered hand. Smiling she chuckles and adds, "Indeed, Uncle Olwe," a mischievious twinkle lighting up her eyes.
Olwe tosses back his head and laughs. Taking her hand and tucking it into the crook of his arm, he looks down into the face of his niece, finding the glow in her eyes that was also once in Elwe's. "Let us go to the palace kitchens, my dear Elwing and see if this old Elf can remember how to break fast with a simple traveler's fare."
> Next