Lovely. Ask the Elves if they accept. 

If anybody wasn't listening this is a good time to start paying attention.

He offered us those terms at the start of the war. We agreed and sent a representative to parley. He murdered everyone except the representative and tortured him in Angband, sending us occasional momentos, until Angband ceased to exist. Nope.

This is not a request to send somebody to parley, this is a Vala menacing them and their superweapon doesn't work and the default is him murdering everyone anyway.

So it's even more suspicious that he's offering terms. 

What, doesn't he like her argument, she thinks it's very elegant.

If the Enemy swears to retreat to the ruins of Angband and harm none of my subjects, I will abide by the same terms with him I gave Doriath.

Elspeth relays these to the Enemy in case he hasn't been listening in this whole time.

And all my orcs are dead. You will have to give me at least enough raw material to make new ones.

She does not believe him they were able to find a bunch for the Silmaril test and it didn't even take that long they can't have gotten literally all the orcs.

Maitimo observes that the Enemy is not going to stop torturing random Men and Elves who aren't his subjects, but maybe this will make Men and Elves more inclined to become his subjects. He doesn't point it out to Elspeth, anyway.

It does at least occur to her to wonder who counts as "theirs".

I am entertaining an agreement right now with the Noldo King. I will entertain a similar one with the Sinda King. I don't bother Dwarves; they are not very interesting to bother. I occasionally murder some for relaxation and will keep that up, I haven't the slightest incentive to stop, but I won't war with them and they're not much fun to torture.

He has the slightest incentive, but apparently it's too slight. He can put 'can't give up short-term amusement for improved public relations' on his resume.

I promise to only torture people you'll never hear about and about whom there'll be no evidence they ever existed.

Really. Would he like to swear that. Because she can't predict who she'll suddenly come up with evidence for the existence of and neither can he.

I will sign terms with any kingdom that cares to negotiate them, which include the protection of their subjects.

She hadn't gotten the impression that signing was how things were usually done around here.

My meaning was understood. Any group of people too weak to have a leader who can swear to terms I claim as mine; no Vala-destroying power will doubt my capacity as an ally because I stomp on ants.

Elspeth disagrees. This world may have given him a biased sample of how many people are fucking evil.

Working towards none of my ends in the hopes it will make an imaginary future person like me does not interest me. That's the best you get.

Fine. Can't save everyone. She's not a Vala destroying power herself or this conversation would be going differently i.e. not at all.

And while the Enemy commits himself to not bothering the various shellshocked kingdoms, Findekano says to his King, 'if we find a way to kill him - you're sworn not to do it -'

"I'll help you make sure that removing me from power and putting in someone who's not sworn not to wipe him off the map goes smoothly, yes," he says. "If you stay."

"If it helps you do the right thing," he says, "always."

Elspeth listens in on the swearings. She is solemnly satisfied with herself, considering.

Yes, look at all of these awful people currently sworn not to kill each other.

Melkor retreats north to begin rebuilding Angband.