:Perhaps. Or a combination of my magic and yours, and what we can learn with cross-study, or - magic from a third world, if we find it necessary to explore further. Or merely very good planning that takes their existence and plans into account, assisted with the privacy my magic can offer: For about thirty more seconds, this particular time. 

All right. I think it's a good idea. And if we defeat Melkor the rest of the Valar might reconsider interfering with our departure from Valinor.

:Perhaps. I will wish to seek more confirmation that Melkor is in fact involved, here, before we attempt it: Not that he has very much doubt, but - it's a new world, the rules aren't going to be what he's spent two millennia training his judgement on. 

–and abruptly Leareth's knees are no longer willing to support any of his weight. It is, on reflection, a particularly ill-advised idea to run sufficiently low on reserves right now that he can't maintain his basic personal shields against attacks, even if Fëanáro seems to be feeling cooperative right now, and he's close to that. :Barrier coming down: and then it's done. 

How does your magic work, is it tiring the same way as running or mining?

:Roughly. Not usually - so limited. Need an energy-source here. May I catch my breath a minute?: Where's Nelyafinwë? 

Standing against the wall looking concerned. 

:I think I have convinced your father of the gravity here: Leareth assures him. After thirty seconds of rest, his legs are working again. :You are right, he is not subtle in the least, but he is capable of paranoia. It need simply be aimed in the correct direction: 

He already told you this? he's saying to Nelyafinwë at the same time.

Yes. I took it straight to you. That was a minute fifty seconds, for me -

Yes. Get Curufinwë - and get Tyelcormo, actually, I think Huan would be able to notice the presence of anyone who'd warrant these additional precautions -

If we can avoid relying on that we should, he says, and in parallel tells those people to come here, and in parallel says to Leareth, oh good, that's a relief.

:Yes: Leareth agrees. To Fëanáro: :You can let go of me now, I think. What do you plan to do from here?: He's not going to let on to Fëanáro that he's reading his private thoughts. 

He mostly wants to get out of Valinor faster. He was planning on sending scouts, first, if the Valar didn't prohibit it, get a report on local conditions they could use to figure out what they'd need...invent it, improve it... but if there's a plan at work to stop him, then the best defense is to be faster than the plan. The Valar are slow. If the Noldor march out of Tirion in six days there's no way Melkor will be able to adjust his plans accordingly. They're not ready - they don't have armor, they don't have enough magic lights, they don't have boats - they can maybe buy boats off Olwë - ideally they'd have a Year of food supplies in case feeding themselves is much harder than anticipated, for example if the local population is at the highest population density the land can support, which would be bizarre of them but which should be accounted for anyway -

- but not being ready is easier to correct than being pawns in a war among the Valar. 

I want to announce that we're leaving for the Outer Lands immediately, he tells Leareth.

...Moving faster than the gods can adapt is, in fact, one of the few strategies Leareth has found to ever work – in the short-term, at least, but some short-term victories are harder to reverse than others, and 'crossing an ocean' seems like one. 

:Do you have a plan for transport?: he sends, including Nelyafinwë as well. :It is possible I can help. I would, however, need a source of usable magical energy – as you have noticed, the spellcasting I can do from my personal reserves alone is limited: Well, and he's still drained from an accidental inter-world Gate, it's going to take a lot longer than a day to recover from food and sleep alone and now is a particularly bad time to sleep anyway.

:This would also mean I might assist with shielding and defence: he adds, :if there prove to be threats in the Outer Lands – oh, and light also, that is easy for my magic to do: The part he can't help with is food – well, indirectly he can use weather-magic to ensure good crop yields, but that's slow, and there's also only one of him. He could Gate supplies across the ocean, maybe, but that would only work if those remaining in Valinor were willing to provide them... 

- not really, no. What works as a source of magical energy - can you use the Trees -

:Possibly. I am not at all sure how my magic interacts with the magic of your world, yet – though the fact that my senses can detect it at all, hints that I ought to be able to work with it in some way: Leareth smiles. :I hear you have studied magic in depth - and, you are the quickest Quendi. Perhaps you might explain your theories to me, and that will give us an idea of how to proceed: 

Our magic doesn't work off sources, you can make any object magical. You could try this - he picks up a ring off his shelf - and see if you can get anything out of it, I suppose. Does it affect the source when you take magic from it?

:Your magic is very different in nature from that of my world. Where I am from, magical energy is - like firewood, in a way. It is a universal fuel, it collects in streams and lakes as water does, and drawing from those streams reduces them. But your world has nothing even resembling that, so - I am not sure of the answer to your question: 

Leareth takes the ring and focuses his mage-senses on it fully, trying to pick up as much as he can about its structure, and in particular, whether it's leaking or radiating anything that resembles mage-energy. He doesn't yet try to touch it, just looks. 

It is magic; Leareth could reach in and interact with the magic, if he wanted. It's not very magic. It is differently magic than anything from Leareth's world would be; the magic feels like it's sitting atop the world, instead of tapping into something that's everywhere. 

It's exquisitely pretty, when you're looking at magic as much as when you're looking at design.

He examines it for a while. 

:Would you have the ability to sense if I were about to damage this?: Leareth sends to Fëanáro. :It looks as though I ought to able to touch it, but it would grieve me to break your artifact accidentally, and I am still not sure how my magic will interact with it: 

No, I wouldn't notice. I can make another, though, more easily than transportation to the Outer Lands.

:All right: Leareth reaches in and, very carefully, tries to touch the artifact the same way he would a node or ley-line, seeing if he can draw its power into himself – and if anything happens to it in the process. 

It's not quite like a node or a ley-line, but there's something there, and he can have it. When he's taken it, it wells back up, like how a hole dug in the sand right on the ocean shore will refill if you empty it.

Well, that's neat. :It works: Leareth confirms. It's not a lot of power, it's not going to get him a Gate, but if he can keep drawing on it repeatedly for a while, he can get back enough reserves that privacy-shields aren't a problem. :What is the usual function of this ring?: 

Slows down everyone else relative to you. Not by very much, but - it'd be handy if I'd underrated Nolofinwë and it came to a sword fight, or if we had one in the Outer Lands.