"My Concern is for Nienna"

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Shawn Daysleeper and AelKennyr Rhiano

Ulmo

Swift as the currents of the ocean, so swam Ulmo, staff in his hand, a baleful look in his eyes.  His face clouded in darkness as the mind of the mighty Vala considered the urgency in the Lord of Dreams, the disquised Irmo.

Arien's vessel had slipped over the lip of the horizon, and Tilion's ship rode the night skies. But as the Lord of Waters heaved himself out of the ocean, a spray of water chasing complacent sleeping swans, the moon was cloaked in dark clouds, and the skies bathed the Swanhaven in  heavy rain. "The skies weep," thought Ulmo, and then realized how strange he should have found such a thought. His blue eyes sweep the docks for his brother and found him in his disguise as Estelin the Teleri musician. "Hail," greeted Ulmo, his voice low.  He would not wake the Children slumbering.

The Disguised Lord of Dreams

Estelin looks around as the Lord of the Seas disturbs the waters of the harbour, making sure that only the swan's slumber was disturbed. "My Brother, I am glad you received my message. I was beginning to fear my telepathic abilities were failing." The rain fell, but the Lord of Dreams paid it no head. "The skies weep, and so may I out of frustration for finding my sister."

Ulmo looks up into the face that peers down, that of a simple musician, one of the Children. But as Ulmo raises himself out of the waters of the world to bob and float upon the air as easily as he does upon the waters of the world, he sees the worry upon the face before him is the worry of the Lord of Dreams.  The words betray the ache that Ulmo can feel emanating from Irmo. "Nienna?" asks Ulmo, and reminds himself to keep his voice the barest of whispers. Up in the palace, Olwe of Alqualonde murmurs in his sleep and turns over. It would not due to wake the Teleri Lord up.

"Nienna," Irmo says concernedly, in a softer tone. He has an idea now of the threshold of voice that would awaken a sleeping elf. He hopes Ulmo does the same by his example. "Thrice now I have tried to contact her since she left Alqualonde to speak to Manwe about the Dragon Dometis' arrival. It is as if, she is ignoring me." He speaks, somewhat hurt.

Ulmo's narrow at the mention of "dragon." He remembers the dragons, creatures shaped by Melkor's twisted desires. "A dragon?" He forgets, and his voice rises, the sound like a roiling of the sea, crashing against rocks. The thunder and lightning disguised the sound, though Ulmo could feel Olwe's mind start to struggle out of sleep. "The Teleri Lord is more attuned to us now, " he whispers softly, lowering his voice, averting his eyes so that Irmo cannot see his embarrassment. "Dragon here in Alqualonde? How is it the Children survived? Did you intervene?  And Nienna? She has always been mindful of her duties."

 "There was no fight with the dragon." He raises his voice a little to clarify the recent events to his brother. "It just... crashed into the sea just offshore, and it was wounded. Remember, my brother, I am not to use my true powers while in this form in these lands. I did not learn where or why it sustained its injuries, but Olwe took it in and nursed it to health. Despite the dragon landing, that is not the foremost of my worries, nor why I desired to speak to you." He speaks more softly. "My concern is Nienna."

Ulmo gives a nod. "Speak on, then, Irmo. How is it that she is not here? What pulled her from her duties here?" He regards the now drenched disguised Lord of Visions. "Is that uncomfortable, being wet in all that ...fabric?"

Estelin's thoughts shift for a moment from Nienna to his clothes. He looks down from Ulmo's face to his robes. "I do not think I am uncomfortable, but now that you mention it..." He trails off as he he wipes down his clothes, half expecting them to dry out. When nothing of the sort happens, he continues. "My sister went to inform Manwe of the dragon's arrival in Alqualonde. She said she would only be a few days and asked me to cover her absence, saying she would only be gone a few days at most. This was some time ago, many days. She sent me word once, saying she had some task to see to in Aman and would be late. Her absence is being noticed by some here, including Olwe. I am concerned for her condition and of our mission here in Alqualonde."

Ulmo reaches out an overlarge hand and places it upon Irmo's chest. As Lord of the Waters, moisture is an element he manipulates easiest, and with the briefest of concentration, he pulls the water out of the fabric and in to his own husk of a body.  Ulmo's eyes meet Irmo's as the Lord of Dreams speak, his own expression heavy and measuring. "Manwe would not keep her overlong from here, " muses Ulmo, "Not even in the depths of his current sadness would he overlook the significance should your sister be absent for too long a time." He pulls back his hand, too large for the body and flexes the fingers as he speaks. "Yet, we both worry as though she is one of the Children in sooth, and what could befall a Vala?"

"Indeed." The Teleri musician wipes his hands thoughtfully over his now dry robes. "What could have befallen a Vala?" he says aloud. "She is my sister, the Vala of Compassion. She would not shut out her brother, especially when she knows of our duty here. Olwe is healed for now, but her presence is reassuring to him. I admit, I am concerned for her, but I dare not leave Alqualonde." He says firmly,"Olwe needs us."

Ulmo gives a firm nod, dropping the hand to his side. "Yes, he does. He needs the presence of the Vala more than ever, and he needs the encouragement to take up the mantle of responsibility laid upon his shoulders." He looks up as the rain slacks and then back at his brother Vala. "You cannot leave Alqualonde, but I can go to Aman and learn of Nienna."

"My brother, I thank you for doing this on my behalf." He does not hide his relief at Ulmo's offer. "Perhaps now, I can turn my attention to bodily functions. I think there are some Teleri that consider me as... unusual." He smiles slightly. "Brother, please seek her out. As I said she was to report to Manwe. I do not know what else she was going to do before returning."

"I shall do so, to relieve the unease you feel," assures the Lord of the Waters. "I will to Manwe's Hall speed myself and see what can be learned, for a wayward Vala would be most troublesome a thought. It is not enough that some Maiar, now, appear to behave most oddly. No less than the Herald himself seems to be in  a dark and trouble affliction whereby he imagines Aule to act other than a faithful servant of Blessed Eru." He then strokes his chin with an illformed hand. "Bodily functions?" he muses. "You must be sure and  not arouse suspicions, Irmo. The Children can be very curious in nature."

Estelin nods to Ulmo's last statement. "Perhaps you have some advice for me before you depart?"

Ulmo taps his chin, and cocks his head. "Why do they find you odd?"

Estelin thinks for a moment. There are so many ways he has been pointed out as odd. But one comes to mind. "My cooking has been deemed unacceptable. I am no longer allowed in the kitchen."

Ulmo takes in a deep breath, tapping his chin as his chest swells with the air. He thinks for several moments, forgetting the mortal need for exhalation until his eyes brighten, and he lets out the air in a whoosh. "Do you change your raiment often? Do you douse your body in water periodic and scrub the skin? The Children do not smell as we do, my brother. Perhaps if you smelled more like them, they would trust you more with the cooking. For mortal bodies, as you are learning, do have but dull senses and appreciation of the world. And I would make sure that upon occasion, your breath smells like food you have ingested the day before. Perhaps the teeth not so white on each day."

Estelin nods and considers all the words his brother spoke. "Yes, that is something I should work on." He notices the hour, and some time had passed during their meeting. "I believe soon the Children will awaken, as they often do with the rising of Arien. I should tend to my duties as one of the Children."

For answer, Ulmo looks out across the sea, shining dark in the night. "And I should go to Aman and to the Lord of the West." He looks back at the disguised Lord of Dreams. "All will be well, Irmo. Do not let your heart be troubled. I shall share with you what I learn. " He starts to return to the water, and looks back at the Teleri musician once more before returning to the ocean and speeding his way  to Aman.