Tears of the Valar

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Original Characters and their adventures. Everything else belongs to JRR Tolkien, the Tolkien Estate, New Line Cinema/Peter Jackson, et. al. This was done purely for entertainment and as an exercise in creativity.
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The party arrived in the early morning, just as the city was beginning to awaken. The sun cast a golden glow over everything and the walls appeared to be a pale orange. It was not as large as Minas Tirith, but was quite sizeable, surprising to the party. It was decided Pomea and Alexandra would take the family into the city and the elleth wrapped a scarf around her head, hiding her ears, and pulled a cloak around her body to disguise the strangeness of her dress and weapons. The other Elves waited in the shadow of the trees several hundred yards from the city.

When they rode inside, Pomea asked a passerby where the healers were located and was given directions. She smiled and thanked them, and she and Alexandra guided the cart to the side street indicated. They dismounted and awoke the woman, helping her from the cart. Alexandra took one of the children and Pomea another while the third held its mother’s hand and they knocked on the door of the healer’s.

A man answered the door and immediately saw the injured parties. He called two others who went and retrieved the man from the cart while the woman and her children were shown to a table where they were quickly examined. The woman explained what had happened, but did not say that it was Elves who had cared for them. The healer looked at the work done on her, the child and the man and gave Pomea and Alexandra appraising glances.

He said something to the woman, who shook her head and then he asked the same thing of Pomea. The elleth smiled and spoke calmly. He looked skeptical, but did not seem inclined to press her. She gave him a slight bow and started to leave, then turned back and pulled open her tunic at the waist and unfastened the mithril ring in her navel which had a sizeable emerald surrounded by rubies attached. Placing it in the amazed healer’s hand she said something else, then motioned to Alexandra and they left the building, untying their horses from the cart and riding swiftly from the city to where the other Elves waited.

“What did the healer say?” Alexandra asked her as soon as they had cleared the city gates.

“He asked who took care of their wounds, said it was not local work. The woman said it was strangers she did not know. He asked me if we did it and I told him we were not healers, we had simply been entrusted to bring them to the city.”

“Which is the literal truth,” Alex laughed.

“I hope the mithril and stone are enough to pay for his services,” Pomea mused as they joined their friends.

“He seemed happy with it,” Alex replied and the elleth laughed.

“Yes, I suppose he did.”

“I take it all went smoothly?” Vanurion asked with a smile as the two females returned to where their comrades waited..

“Quite,” Pomea answered.

“Then let us resume our journey,” Helcarin suggested, pausing to give Pomea a lingering kiss. “I do not wish to be around so many mortals in this place.” The others nodded agreement.

Alexandra laughed aloud as the Elves looked at her quizzically. She sighed and shook her head.

“It is strange to hear, that’s all,” she told them. “Usually, it would be something I might say about being around so many Elves.”

“The lady has a point,” Saelbeth agreed. “I can appreciate how you must feel at times.”

She smiled and Legolas rode close beside her. “As long as you are around this Elf, I hope you are never uncomfortable,” he whispered in her ear before giving her a quick kiss on her neck.

“Never, my love,” she answered, turning and caressing his cheek before kissing him deeply.

“May we please leave?” Haldir sighed. “We will never get anywhere if we do not stop them now.”

Legolas laughed and the party rode back to their original course.

“I must admit some surprise that such dark creatures are plaguing the people of this land,” Elrohir commented as they made their way through the unknown reaches of the realm.

Naveradir smiled sadly. “There is darkness everywhere, my friend. These lands are claimed by Khand and Lastharos is known to have foul beasts at his command. No doubt, he uses them to keep his subjects under control.”

Glorfindel nodded. “Unless he has a vast army, there is no way he could rule such a large amount of territory. The fell creatures likely enforce quite efficiently.”

“They certainly inspire terror in the people here,” Rumil commented. “I suppose it makes them less inclined to defy Lastharos.”

“So it would seem,” Vanurion agreed. He and the other eastern Elves well-understood being ruled by fear and intimidation; it was how Goroth had kept his realm in line, though , as bad as he was, the corrupt former leader of the Rhunian Elves had not reached the depths of depravity for which Lastharos was known.


***

The woman was beautiful and skilled---slaves were trained especially for such things---but her talents were wasted this night. The man beside her had simply ordered her to sleep and his thoughts seemed to haunt him. He was a kind master, for a Khandun, and she felt concern. Still, she was well-trained and did as bidden, watching him from where she lay curled among the silks and furs on the bed until she finally fell asleep.

A new sun rising from the northwest burning the land and washing it in the Tears of the Valar: what did it mean? The obvious answer, of course, was that someone would conquer Khand, coming from Rhun, obliterating all traces of Lastharos and cleansing the land. But could it truly be that simple?

He sat up and eased from the bed, careful not to wake the slave. He knew some found it odd, this consideration on his part; but he knew what it was like to be treated with contempt---as did many others---and rather than pass on the abuse to those of lower standing, as some did, he chose to treat them with a modicum of civility. Even slaves had feelings.

Pouring himself a goblet of wine, he stepped through the curtains that hung over the archways leading from his bedchamber to the wide balcony that looked out over the inner courtyard of his home. The night was quiet and the sky clear. Looking up, he could see the moon and the stars standing out in sharp contrast to the black velvet background. Did this new ‘sun’ also look up at the stars? Was his army even now heading toward Khand?

Their leader had been silent on the topic ever since that day in the temple. At least no more slaves had been sacrificed, a turn of events most pleasing to all. While some of the Khandun felt genuine affection for their slaves, most fretted more over who would do the work if the prisons were emptied from the sacrifices. He sighed mentally. Sometimes he wondered how his people had become so callous and twisted.

But the answer was obvious: Lastharos. The leader had ruled Khand for thousands of years. There were not even accounts of what happened in Khand before he took control. For all the Khandun people knew, Lastharos had always been their leader; Lastharos WAS Khand.

The man known as the Butcher of Khand lived up to his reputation and even exceeded it, taking any he pleased and using them however it suited his tastes and his tastes were most unpalatable to the majority of people in general. Not only did slaves suffer his attentions, but the citizens of Khand did as well.

He closed his eyes as he thought of his parents and what Lastharos had done to them, and felt sick. It could not be right, all the things Lastharos did, that he had his people do. There had to be something else, some other way. He was shocked to find that he was actually welcoming the thought of this ‘new sun’ burning away all traces of Lastharos and his ways. Perhaps through the destruction of the old and corrupt land, a new one would emerge, nourished by the Tears of the Valar.

Again, he wondered if they were all interpreting the prophecy too simply, too literally. They did not even know what the Tears of the Valar were. Did it mean something that actually existed? Or was it a metaphor for the distress and condemnation the Valar felt about Lastharos and what he had done to Khand.

His head was beginning to ache and he took a long drink of wine, trying to dull the throbbing pain. He knew he would not solve the mystery this night, though it would no doubt plague him until an answer was found. Turning, he once more passed through the curtains to the bedchamber, setting his empty goblet on the table. He slipped back into the bed and on impulse, pulled the sleeping slave into his arms, suddenly needing the comfort of her warm body next to his.


***

“We must turn north,” Naveradir told Helcarin and the others as he and Glorfindel examined the map.

“Are you certain?” Vanurion asked. “The map does not show these mountains.” In the distance stood a forbidding mountain range with snow-capped peaks visible, more peaks shrouded in clouds.

His kinsman nodded. “The map was not meant to allow others to actually follow it,” he replied with a smile. “After all, these were sacred waters. I did not want Goroth polluting them. Lastharos was bad enough.”

The others could see his point and turned their mounts north, straight for the ragged spires in the distance.

Alexandra felt something stir inside of her as she looked at the mountains; it reminded her of what she felt when passing near Shelob’s lair. Something lurked in the shadows of these peaks which called to her inner darkness and she looked at Naveradir with an assessing gaze.

The ancient Elf seemed completely sincere in his desire to help Helcarin on his quest and one could not deny his protection of Charika had saved the woman from being found by Lastharos’ entities. Still, he was Goroth’s son and had, by his own admission, done horrible things in his past. Perhaps he still had those desires. He was now leading them to an area not shown on the map and everything in her screamed that he led them toward danger. Did he, perhaps, have a hidden agenda?

As if aware of her scrutiny, the handsome, dark-haired Rhunian Elf turned his eyes to Alexandra. He met her gaze evenly and even gave her s alight smile. She returned it and he once more turned his attention to the path ahead.

Alexandra could not help but wonder what lay ahead; what he was not telling them. Surely, he knew there was something hiding in the shadows of their path. He had been here before and had dwelt in that plane between life and death. Why did he not share the information with them?

Legolas could sense the change in his wife and glanced at her sharply. Moving his mount closer to hers, he leaned over, ostensibly to kiss her.

“What troubles you?” he murmured against her ear.

She nodded toward the mountains.

“There is something there,” she told him. “Don’t you feel it?”

He nodded. “I do feel somewhat disturbed here. Naveradir,” he called, “what dwells in this place that causes such discomfort?”

The dark-haired ellon turned to the prince. “I do not know,” he told him. Glancing at the others, he shook his head. “When we passed through here before, there was a sense of something watching, something lurking just out of sight; but we never actually saw anything and nothing happened to any of us. Perhaps it is simply the memory of something from the past.”

“Or perhaps it is something waiting for an opportunity,” Haldir added. He did not like the atmosphere either.

“You are certain there is no way there but through these mountains?” Erestor asked.

“I suppose we could go around them, but I do not know where they end or how far they would take us,” Naveradir replied. “This is the way I was shown and it is the only way I know.”

Glorfindel could sense a malevolent presence, but could not identify it. Elladan rode up next to him.

“What do you think, my friend? Is it too dangerous to use this path? Or should we seek to find the way around these mountains?”

“Naveradir is correct when he says we do not know how far it would be to go around the mountains. What if they run the length of Middle-Earth? We know nothing about this part of Arda except the accounts of the Great Journey and they did not mention any evil which might linger here.”

“They also did not mention the presence of Elves in Rhun, but they certainly exist,” Saelbeth commented.

The others nodded agreement.

“There were no incidents when you came through before?” Sarendir asked his uncle who shook his head.

“None except the feeling of being watched. Perhaps whatever it was did not perceive us as a threat.”

“Were you armed?” Elrohir asked.

“Indeed we were. And there were many more of us than we are now.”

“Then I suppose we should simply wait and see what happens,” Orophin commented. “We know to be wary, though we do not know what the actual danger is. It is all we can do.”

“True,” Rumil added. “We may very well be ignored again.”

The Elves and the woman continued toward the distant mountains, their peaks, forbidding at a distance, becoming quite disturbing the closer they came. Only Helcarin did not seem to notice the oppressive atmosphere; or if he did, he did not comment on it.

Pomea rode beside him, not intruding on his thoughts. He seemed to be deep in rumination and she did not wish to disturb him. There was something about her golden-haired lover that seemed so different from the others. He seemed to dwell apart from everyone in a way. His father, Glorfindel, also had that quality, but the Elf-Lord was known to be an Elf of Valinor re-embodied. It was expected he would have a different air about him.

But Helcarin had been born in Imladris and dwelt in Forodwraith. Perhaps there was something different in the north. She had heard him tell of the Helcequendi, the Elves who dwelt in the far northern reaches of Middle-Earth. Some had gone on to Valinor but many yet remained. Perhaps he would take her there some day. She had never seen Forodwraith and it sounded beautiful.

The elleth caught her breath. She was considering her future with Helcarin. She, who had dallied with countless lovers, giving her heart to none---she was now thinking about this beautiful ellon who shared her bed and held her happiness in his hand as her mate. They had never discussed it for there was no need. Each seemed to understand that they were together. Orophin had on occasion joined them, but his heart lay elsewhere and they knew it. No, it seemed she and Helcarin were meant to be together.

The thought of binding drifted across her consciousness and she mentally shook herself. The topic had never been broached by either of them and she did not wish to presume. Still, being with him felt so different from anything she had ever known.

She knew Durisia was blissfully happy with Erestor; they were two of a kind. And Alexandra and Legolas were completely devoted to one another. Until these western Elves had come into her life, she had never thought much on bonding. But the examples of those two couples had given her a new perspective on the subject of fidelity and marriage and she was surprised to find she did not find the idea offensive.

The object of her perusal seemed oblivious to all around him. Helcarin was trying to answer the questions others had asked of him. Why did he have this urgent need to visit Cuivienen? What did he hope to find? He could not answer the questions himself. All he could do was follow where his heart led him. He did not think the Valar would lead him astray. And if he had not gone on this journey, he would never have met Pomea.

The dark-haired elleth was exquisite and he could not imagine how he had thought himself happy in the past before he met her. Though theirs was a somewhat quiet passion, it burned steadily and brightly and he could not imagine leaving her in order to sail to Valinor.

He was of Noldor descent and so it was expected that he would take one of the ships to the Undying Lands; after all, it was his heritage. Still, there was so much promise yet in Middle-Earth and so much of Arda that was unexplored. He could not bear the thought of missing any of it. And he wanted Pomea beside him as he journeyed throughout the lands.

Feeling her gaze upon him he glanced up and smiled, meeting her eyes. She returned his smile and he reached out and took her hand, bringing her fingers to his lips before releasing them and each returned their attention to navigating the increasingly hostile terrain.