She fades back in. "Wow."

"Did I warn you sufficiently about how uncomfortable it was?"

"Yeah, of course. That's - so weird. I can see how you got past Morgoth!"

She smiles.

"Yes."

"And you invented it all by yourself before you were even forty!"

"I put a lot of work into it. And Angband does strange things to time."

"That's worrying."

"Yes. He'll be having more trouble with that now that Angband is a pile of rubble, though, I expect."

"Do you think so? Why? If Doriath were in ruins Mum'd be sad, but I don't think she'd have less control over it..."

"Perhaps I should say, he'll have more trouble finding worrying uses for the effect. And the absence of the Silmarils may be a factor; I've never seen him without them and I don't know how much they helped with the time effect in particular."

"What was he using it for?"

"The time effect? Rapidly expanding the orc population, for the most part. That'll be more difficult now."

"Oh. Yeah. That's not good."

"The more I think about it, the more curious I am about how the destruction of Angband was accomplished."

"It's pretty impressive. But they came from Valinor, they had all the Valar tutoring them..."

"Melkor spent time in Valinor too, and he was surprised. I don't know. We'll find out when the Noldor send an emissary, I suppose."

"The Valar might have helped."

"Do you think so? My information on the Valar... may be incomplete, but it didn't quite seem like their style."

"I haven't met them, but there are fourteen, maybe it's one of their style."

"Possibly. I don't know enough to be sure one way or another."

"And really, what else could it be?"

"That is exactly what makes me so curious."

"Something from beyond the Void, like Ungoliant. Or the Valar. That's about it."

"The visitor from the sky seems more like the former than the latter. But I'll have to wait for that emissary from the Noldor before I can find out."

"You don't seem patient enough. It's going to take them years, probably."