AelKennyr Rhiano
On the bottom of Vai, in his palace called Ulmonan, sat Ulmo, Lord of Waters. The waters of the world were calm, and at the foot of his mighty throne, in a chair fashioned from pearl and sand pressed and ground so that it was the purest of glass, sat the Lady of the Sea, Uinen. Her hair stretched out around her, covering the floor of the palace and beyond. Quietly she sat attendence upon her Lord, her luminous eyes wide and watching the Vala of the Waters of the World. To her would beseech the Mariners of Númenor, for aid in calming her husband,Ossë, for her protection. But that was long ago, before the people of Númenor hardened their hearts against the Valar. Overweening pride led to their destruction. A slight frown wrinkles her brow and causes her lips to purse.
But the Teleri, the largest group of the Firstborn...ah, they were different. Her brow smooths, and her lips curve in a gentle smile. Her shining hair bobs and floats with the currents of the ocean. For the Maia, the years of the centuries seem to roll back upon themselves, like foam upon the high tide waters, and once more Unien and Ossë were at the banks of the Sirion, talking with a shy and young Olwe, his blue eyes wide, his manner respectful and nervous, not yet a king, not yet a leader.
She cast another quick glance at her Lord, Ulmo. He, too, loves the Eldar and Edain. As the currents of the world's oceans caress the skin she wears, she watches his broad face assume a thoughtful expression, his lips parting as though to speak. She leans forward in her chair, watchful, waiting. One hand curls around the card end of the throne arm, and the Lord of the Sea nods once, before affixing her with a steady gaze. "Unien," he speaks, his voice deep as the sea bottom, constant as the flow of the water around her.
"Yes, my Lord," she answers, rising gracefully from her chair.
"I shall go to Alqualonde," Ulmo says, rising from the throne and taking on the size and shape he desired above all.. a giant wave in glittering green armor. "Irmo desires speech with me."
A troubled look cross the face of the Maia, and Unien asks softly, "Is all well with the Teleri king and those in Alqualonde?"
Already moving toward the great doorway leading out of his hall, Ulmo answered, distractedly. "Olwe?" He pauses in midstride and nods. "Yes, he and his are well." He reaches for his horns, the Ulumúri. "But Irmo is not."
Unien hastened to Ulmo's side. "Lord Irmo?" she repeats.
Ulmo nods curtly. "It involves Nienna." Then at a glance from him, the doors to his audience chamber opens and he swims through.
Unien stares after him for long moments."Nienna," she repeats. "What could be wrong with Nienna.?"
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