The Pentanath: Adventures in the Avathar
A Posthumous Writing of The Watcher of Tol Eressea
Chapter 25: Book 4 - The Waiting
by Sienna Dawn

Slowly Haldir and Orophin crossed the high marshlands which led away from the House of the Elms. Because of Varda's doom, they were now forbidden to ever return there. Without benefit of steeds, the elves' crossing was long and laborious, for with their horses had also gone their supply of drinking water and food.

The vast wetlands of the salt marshes stretched unendingly before them, interrupted only by the blue horizon of the sky overhead. Now and then a lonely gull would soar from the beaches below, glide upon the warm currents above the ocean and then dip to disappear again.

Haldir, of the two elves, was more familiar with the fishing and trapping folks who labored and lived alongside the inlets and coves of the Shadowy Sea. And so it was that they decided to not immediately return to Guve Hall, a three day trek, but to instead take a one day route to the nearest fishing village. There they would rest, gather their wits about the recent events transpired at the House of the Elms, eat and drink and then decide what their next course of action would be.

At the end of the first day's journey the elves reached a small fishing village at the eastern shores of the Shadowy Sea. Orophin was worried for Haldir, whose legendary stamina seemed weakened by the shadow creature's attack. His normally bright features appeared duller and he seemed to tire easily.

The elves were greeted amiously and there they spent several days, resting, asking questions and sending word as to their whereabouts back to Guve Hall.

It was upon the fifth day of their rest that Orophin approached Haldir. He found Haldir standing at the end of a pier, his back to the neat rows of little sailing vessels which were carefully docked alongside the lower quays. Orophin saw that in his hands Haldir held a small piece of driftwood. Orophin came to stand beside his brother.

"Haldir," Orophin began carefully, "word of this creature must be sent to the Guild in Alqualondë."

Haldir ceased whittling the small piece of driftwood he was fashioning into a tiny bird. Gracefully he sheathed his knife under his tunic sleeve and pocketed the little sculpture. "Aye," he began, somewhat tiredly noticed Orophin. "I agree, though by now they know of the discovery of the palantir. How much more will be revealed to them is not for us to say. Though," he raised his eyes toward the calm sea, "it falls upon us to find Eadendir and take back the stone." He turned and looked at his brother. His gray eyes were duller than Orophin had ever seen and he hid his alarm.

Orophin crossed his arms. "No small task will this be."

Haldir nodded slowly and turned. "I agree."

*~*~*~*~*

Not all was well within the halls of the Guild Headquarters in Alqualondë. Reports of the shadow creature's existance and the discovery of the Gwahaedir had already reached the port city. This discovery caused much consternation amongst the Guild Command though they also knew that the entire matter was in the hands of the Lords of the West. With these news had also come to the elves a new doom: no Guild Ranger was to set foot upon the shores of the Avathar. No mariner, trapper or fisherman would be permitted to sail close to its shores. No reason or explanation had been given for this command from the Valar, but the Guild Commanders began at once to implement their orders.

Inside of a fortnight, word of this new doom had spread from the Teleri Swanhold to the outlying coastal towns and shires. Though there was much curiosity concerning this new development, the elves also knew that from experience the Valar were not to be ignored. Many still lived who recalled the atrocity of the Kinslaying and the subsequent wrath of the Valar. And so, not one elven heart questioned the authority of the mighty Lords of the West and in this matter quietly acquiesced to their desires. In the days that followed, all sailing routes began to skirt around the darkened shores south of the Bay of the Eldamar. Soon, strange sightings began to work their way to the elven cities as sailors and fishermen sent word back of a great and vast mist covering the lands of the Avathar. Though there were still the hearty and curious souls who dared ply their ships too close to the forbidden zones, they soon discovered a new enchantment was at work. Like the labyrinthine Aelin-uial of Middle Earth, also called the Twilight Meres, where the power of Melian and Ulmo had forever closed off the fens and marshlands that led to the fair city of Doriath, so too was the sea south of the Bay of Eldamar now unapproachable. No matter in what direction one sailed, the seas close to the lands of the Avathar gave no entry to that mysterious shore. All vessels caught within its magic were doomed to sail in a vast pattern, endlessly and frustratingly repeating a circular route which thrust all ships far from the Avathar. Many had been the mariners who now knew first hand of this enchantment and brought back word to the rest of Aman. The message was clear: attempt no approach to the Avathar.

Time passed and soon the elves moved on to other more pressing matters. But to a small handful, the events of the days past were to bring about momentuous changes in their lives. Though they knew it not...at least not yet.

*~*~*~*~*

Some weeks after Haldir and Orophin arrived in the fishing village, Haldir felt strong enough to depart. Orophin had peppered him with many questions and some Haldir had answered while others he had pointedly chosen to ignore. Fastidious and private by nature, Haldir was reluctant to answer many of his brother's questions, some of which he judged to be impertinent. Yet, Orophin knew his brother better than anyone else and he knew further that Haldir was not the same of old. No elf could have withstood the devastating attack of the shadow creature and lived to tell about it. This much Orophin knew instinctively, for though he also knew no such creatures abounded in Aman, the shadow creature much reminded him of the balrogs that had once lain dormant in Moria and had also destroyed the fair city of Gondolin. He had wondered, in the days past, just what had befallen his older brother. Still, no amount of pestering would make Haldir reveal what he wished to conceal.

At the moment they rode upon the steeds given them by the fishing folk. The day was fair though overly windy and the elves had braided their long silver-blonde hair into one large thick plait. Hoods covered their heads and their gray cloaks were tightly wrapped about their bodies.

Orophin glanced once at his brother. "What do you counsel now?"

Haldir turned to look at Orophin. "What says Nienna?" His voice was soft.

Orophin said nothing and looked straight ahead. In a few moments he had his response. "We are to wait."

Haldir did not reply. Silently they guided their steeds ever closer to Guve Hall. There they would wait for whatever signal was to come from the Valar they served. Yet, one thing was clear to them: they were to discover the whereabouts of Eadendir and the seeing stone. Neither were overly perplexed at the sudden command to wait, for both knew the Valar always acted with just reason and cause. If they were commanded to wait, then wait they would.

Three days later, Haldir and Orophin reached Guve Hall.

~*~*~*~*~

Frosty starlight shone upon the Avathar. Aquihir glided smoothly along the ancient wind-trails and came to rest upon a silent shore. The gentle sounds of ocean-kissed beaches graced his keen hearing. He blinked and looked about him, realizing that the mighty Lord of the Winds, Manwë, was slowly alighting off his wide shoulders and was stepping quietly onto the fine sand. Aquihir looked away from Manwë and surveyed the area.

Shadow-shapes loomed before them, kissed by the silver sheen of starlight. Trees and saplings grew from beyond the sandy beach, a thing which surprised the great eagle. No tree or root did he remember growing here and he realized with a sudden foresight that the Valar had been busy within this darkland. A soft breeze now cooled his feathers and Aquihir squinted, turning his great golden eyes toward the Vala, who stood rooted to the sand, as if listening.

In a moment the eagle heard it. Softly at first and then gaining in clarity. Singing! Bewildered, the eagle looked about him. Singing! It was a gentle chant, composed of many voices, deep and light, high and low, all working the melody of their song as if led by an invisible choirmaster. It was a song of pure light, sparkling and chaste, and it graced the dark shadows of the beach, casting a sliver of hope into the eagle's heart. Perhaps, thought Aquihir, there is some good to come from this once-foul land. Were the Valar, he wondered, easing the filth of Ungoliant's passing through the light and song of whatever had taken hold here? He concentrated upon the voices, realizing with a start that he well knew the song they sang:

"A Elbereth Gilthoniel,
silivren penna míriel
o menel aglar elenath!
Na-chaered palan-díriel
o galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
nef aear, sí nef aearon!"

As he listened, into the eagle's heart there came a fierce determination to protect whatever children had awakened here. None but the brave and true could sing a song of such utter love and longing for Varda, she whom all loved, served and called Elbereth Gilthoniel, the Star-Kindler.

Aquihir turned his expressive eyes toward Manwë, who still stood rooted, silent and still, the sparkling golden light of his being casting a bright aura about him. Aquihir blinked and saw Manwë turn to him.

"Abide." Came the Vala's command and his voice was both mighty and kind. Aquihir nodded and shifted his stance but otherwise said nothing, instead bowing his great golden head in response to Manwë's command.

Silently, Aquihir watched the great Vala stride gracefuly into the shadowy trees, in moments realizing he stood alone upon the dark beach. Into the night there still came the sound of song and then in moments of sparkling laughter. Then the song and laughter died down and was soon silent. Once more there was stillness upon the shores of the Avathar.

~*~*~*~*~

Quietly Manwë strode forward, parting the fronds of evergreen and linden trees that rose before him. He marveled at how quickly Yavanna had brought shrubbery and fruit trees forth upon this once-barren land. Now it was a lush jungle, green and fragrant. Ahead of him came the sound of laughter and song. He thought, as he walked.

Far into a distant time did his thoughts take him, back to the shores of Cuiviénen, upon the moment of his first meeting with the Quendi. Here, upon the shores of the inland sea called the Helcar, had the first elves awakened. They had sung to the stars even then, in accord to the ancient melody of Illuvatar, whose first song had brought the world and all its children forth. But, thought Manwë, unlike that first meeting in Cuiviénen , this time he would proceed with greater caution. These elves were reimbodiments of their long-lost selves, released from Mandos's Halls, for a purpose that not even Manwë yet understood. Though, he reasoned as he walked, that this time no shadow of Melkor loomed before them to mar Illuvatar's handiwork, the Valar knew that they must proceed with caution for much was at stake.

The singing was closer now and he reached out and parted the leaves of a young sapling, walking cautiously around the young tree. Moonlight and starlight cast a silver glow upon his fair features and on the land before him. He looked and he smiled.

There, upon a hidden cove, where the sea lapped a virgin shore and gentle waves crested upon alabaster sands, they sat or milled about, singing softly beneath the starlit sky. He saw them yet they did not see him, though he cast no spell or magic to conceal his form. Male and female they were, adult and fully grown, but whose minds, Manwë realized, were still empty and waiting to be filled with the many memories of their past lives. He looked upon them with gentle affection, recognizing some faces, marking upon his memory the countenance of all. Fewer than one hundred he counted, though he suspected more were yet to come. His brother, Mandos, had foreseen it and as much counseled.

Leaving the cover of the jungle behind him, Manwë stepped into the light of the moon and waited. He watched them for a moment until a young female with long flowing hair spotted him and turned to observe him. He noticed that others soon did likewise and in this manner their attention was drawn away from the stars they had serenaded and onto his form. In moments their song had died down and the merry laughter ceased. Curious gazes alighted upon the mighty Vala, and he waited.

~*~*~*~*~

END OF BOOK 4 - BOOK 5 TO FOLLOW

~*~*~*~*~

Key:

Teleri Swanhaven - Alqualondë

doom - Command or order. Usually associated with orders or commands issued by the Valar.

Kinslaying - Considered one of the vilest acts of the Noldor. When Melkor stole the silmarils, the Noldor gave pursuit until they reached the shores of Alqualondë. There, they asked the Teleri for use of their ships to follow Melkor. The Teleri, not understanding what was taking place, refused. The Noldor rose against the Teleri and slew them, taking the ships by force. The Valar, who had asked the Noldor to not pursue Melkor, rose against the Noldor and issued a doom against them and their house. For further information, see the Silmarillion, the Doom of Mandos.

Aelin-uial - Also called the Twilight Meres. A labyrinth of marsh and fens which were heavily enchanted by Ulmo and Melian, the Maia and which were created by her to guard the elven city of Doriath. Approach to Doriath was made impossible via the Aelin-uial because the marshlands were trekless.

Ulmo - Valar who commands the oceans, lakes and all riverways of the world.

Melian the Maia - Maia who came to Middle Earth and married the elven king Thungol. The mother of Luthien.

Doriath - mighty elven city in Beleriand (Middle Earth)

Gondolin - Considered one of the most powerful and of all elven cities, the most beautiful and enlightened. Hidden by the Encircling Mountains and guarded by the Eagles. Attacked by Balrogs and destroyed in the First Age.

"O! Elbereth who lit the stars, from glittering crystal slanting falls with light like jewels from heaven on high the glory of the starry host. To lands remote I have looked afar, and now to thee, Fanuilos, bright spirit clothed in ever-white, I here will sing beyond the Sea, beyond the wide and sundering Sea." by JRR Tolkien, The Hymn to Elbereth.

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Disclaimer: All familiar characters are owned by JRR Tolkien and are used without permission. No monies are being made from this work.
Painting is taken from John William Waterhouse's "Miranda", 1875.

Graphics copyrighted Cari Buziak