"Hi.

Anything new since...yesterday or this morning or however that works here?"

"We're apparently leaving pretty soon. That's about it. Lots of preparation."

"I guess there would be.

So is leaving, like, the dreaded thing that was going to happen eventually, or the goal everyone's been waiting for, or just a necessary step...?"

"We're scared to lose people, but very very eager to be on the move, I think. We're eating supplies either way."

"And then there's the other side. How much do we know about what we're up against, aside from the Enemy himself? I've heard of the orcs, some demons, and that's about it."

"There are Maiar who serve Melkor. Don't know much about them, unfortunately."

"And 'Maiar' could be a broad category, might as well be labeled 'Other.'

What are orcs, does anyone know?"

"We think they're descended from Elves that have been bred with other things into - something more suited to the Enemy's tastes. And Elven bodies can take the shape our spirit feels is right, so if you raise Elf children in constant agony you'd get something like orcs. We think. No one knows for sure."

"Oh. Oh.

That's horrible.

Please tell me there's some other guess that's nearly as likely."

"Could be Men, though we don't know where he'd have gotten them from, we didn't even know there were Men in the world already until you dropped on us. The tortured bit is nearly certain - you can tell with osanwë."

"What would the Enemy have been breeding them with? If there are other beings, maybe they could just be other beings."

"...animals. Or automata of his own creation. There aren't other creatures like us."

Almost definitely Elves, then. Not technically worse, given that they're already people, but.

"But if they're Elves, wouldn't one Elf and one orc be about evenly matched? And here you are vastly outnumbered and it's maybe hopeless but not for that reason."

"We lived in Valinor. The Light of the Trees makes us stronger. We're probably two to three times stronger and faster than Elves in the Outer Lands? And they're stunted by the conditions he raises them in, and we have much better armor and weaponry."

"Elves are immortal. Is there any chance that people here will be fighting their descendants?"

"Yes. And we know that. You kill orcs as quickly as possible, it's the kindest thing, the Halls of Mandos are safe and they're not in pain and maybe someday they can be healed."

"The Halls of Mandos run by the Valar who are demonstrably bad at determining who needs to be punished for what but aren't literally the Enemy. Those Halls of Mandos."

"They all swear to serve Morgoth. All of them."

"They tell you that, or is that based on why wouldn't he make them swear?"

"I haven't met one, and that's what people say who did. We don't exactly have casual conversations with them."

"It sounds like something they might be better off not confirming for their enemies. Not that I mind knowing."

"Mandos can't fix any of them either, which is additional evidence in that direction."

"Are oaths the Valar's only known limit? Only known limit that he could feasibly have taken advantage of."

"They could also just all be committedly evil and therefore unsuited to rehabilitation. Doesn't seem likely."

"Mandos fixes people means making them not evil?"