There is nothing out of the ordinary on the eastern border of Doriath, and then, abruptly, there is a brilliant light.
A crown of black iron, bent and twisted as though crushed by some terrible force, set with three shining white jewels of surpassing beauty, lands on the forest floor. There is no sign of where it might have come from or who might have put it there.
"Sauron taught me. Sauron taught me most of my practical skills," she says.
"Really? Do you know anything else about them? I suppose things the Enemy says might not be useful..."
"I have plenty of information but I am not yet sure which of it would be useful to share."
"The Enemy did a lot of unpleasant things to them and then gloated about it," says Shirask.
"Yes, yes, and no," she says. "I could tell you the whole story, but I expect parts of it will be upsetting and I don't know precisely which parts and I don't know which of them are too important to leave out despite being upsetting."
"Then we should find somewhere very beautiful to sit down so I can collect my thoughts and you can be somewhere very beautiful when you hear all the upsetting things."
"I prefer not to upset you but I also prefer to give you information that you want. So I should make sure to mitigate the upsetting nature of the information by other means."
Shirask sits and collects her thoughts.
This takes a few minutes.
"I will begin by explaining the history of the creator of the Silmarils," she says at last. "When Finwë brought the Noldor to Valinor, they founded a city, Tirion, where he married another of the Noldor, Míriel Therindë, and had a child, Curufinwë Fëanáro. Shortly afterward, Míriel died and chose not to return to life. I have no explanation for this, but I am inclined to rule out Melkor as a cause because if it were his fault I would expect to have noticed. Finwë subsequently married again, to Indis of the Vanyar, and they had four children: Findis, Nolofinwë Arakáno, Írimë Lalwendë, and Arafinwë Ingalaurë. I am told, and have no reason to disbelieve, that the prince Curufinwë was unhappy about this development and disliked Indis and her children."
"Curufinwë Fëanáro demonstrated exceptional skill in every craft or discipline he learned. He married very young, to Nerdanel, a sculptor, and they had seven children: Nelyafinwë Maitimo, Canafinwë Macalaurë, Turkafinwë Tyelcormo, Curufinwë Atarinkë, Morifinwë Carnistir, and the twins Pityafinwë Ambarussa and Telufinwë Umbarto, also called Ambarussa."
She pauses for a moment, thoughtfully.
"Some time later, Nolofinwë Arakáno married Anairë, a Noldo about whom I know very little, and they had four children: Findekáno, Turukáno, Írissë, and Arakáno. Arafinwë Ingalaurë married Eärwen, daughter of Olwë King of the Teleri, and they too had four children: Findaráto Ingoldo, Angaráto Angamaitë, Ambaráto Aikanáro, and Artanis Nerwen Alatáriel. It occurs to me that I have heard full names for most of the men but comparatively few of the women in this story, and I am not sure why that is, although the choice of the Noldorin royal family to have large numbers of mostly male children may be a contributing factor."
"I have always liked knowing things, and I memorize most information I hear. If you become confused about who someone is, you can ask me to clarify. So. Around the time that the last of Finwë's grandchildren were being born and growing up, the Valar tried and pardoned Melkor for his crimes and allowed him to live among the Noldor on parole. He established a repentant persona and then spent his time nurturing the developing rift between the two branches of Finwë's family. Many people were suspicious of him, but he was both subtle and persistent."
"Much of it, yes. Some I overheard, or pieced together indirectly from things said to or near me."
"Yes. It took him a long time, which I think speaks to the newcomers' strength of character."
View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post
