They definitely don't have to be swords, but they have to be created and we don't have a forge.

...my brother could have things ready for you in a few days, but that requires him knowing probably too much about your capabilities.

Yeah, if it's between waiting for a forge and describing that much detail I can do without. Maybe a third option will turn up.

Maybe. 

In principle it might be possible to enchant ice, it'd just be absurd to try ordinarily. I can set some people on it.

And I can keep it frozen if enchantment doesn't do that normally.

If that works, would it take more than three days?

No. Complicated things would take much longer but a good metalworker could simply enchant an ice arrowhead in two days, and I have a hundred good metalworkers.

Great, if that works there's no need to tip off the Feanorians that water matters. This is the shape I'm thinking of–bullet-shaped, hollow, not quite completely open on the back end–I probably can't make ice structurally strong enough for it to be very sharp but all it really needs is to be not conceptually incapable of breaking skin.

Sure. We can carve a hundred in that shape, have you preserve them so they don't melt while being enchanted, and have them in a few days if no one sleeps.

That sounds like a lot of strain on people who could be doing other things. Like sleeping. Maybe if I don't get a favorable answer from Maitimo?

Might be too late at that point. Enchanting is very involved. 

Okay. If you need the ice preserved ahead of time I'll have to find some ice spirits first, but those aren't in short supply around here.

Please find those right away, yes; if it starts melting during the enchantment process I think it might fail.

All right, I'll be right back. Thank you for your help, Your Grace.

She exits the tent and starts heading toward the ice.
This could go faster with implausible vision. Findekáno, want to join me collecting more elementals? It's for the– well, if Irissë didn't fill you in yet I should just give you the full story.

She said that I needed to make up my mind about what the ring should mean, and that they're negotiating with the Enemy. That it?

Mostly. The ice spirits are for keeping chunks frozen while they're enchanted; it should make fighting easier.

The other thing is that the person walking into the probable trap to negotiate is Maitimo.

If he thinks he can win over Melkor he is probably for once overestimating himself. 

I don't know what anyone over there is thinking.

I'm going to try to convince him to call it off. Your father thinks the fact that I exist and have opinions might tip the balance, but you know Maitimo better. How would you convince him?

I do not think I have ever in the two hundred Years of our acquaintance convinced Maitimo of anything except that he ought to manage me more closely.

Seriously? Ever?

The Feanorians are all of them very stubborn. And he generally had good judgment, it wouldn't have come up much.

Well, that's not much of a good sign.

Guess the enchanted ice arrows might not be a pointless backup then.

He might well be persuaded that seeming reasonable to you is a higher priority than the parley. He also might have good reasons for the parley and convince you. Very convincing, Maitimo.

What exactly are we looking for out here?

Ice spirits, preferably ones specifically about frozenness rather than cold or slipperiness or whatever.

A lot of them if it's one per arrowhead. What happens if you break something enchanted? Do you end up with two enchanted pieces, or one, or none? Or can different pieces of the same object be enchanted separately?

None. That's why enchanting ice is a terrible idea and no one's ever done it. If you enchant metal sometimes if you did it well you can reforge the metal without breaking the enchantments. Can't do different pieces, has to be continuous.

So does the permanent freeze thing.

I was hoping we could set up something with a continuous row of projectiles, so one elemental could keep them all solid, and then if each one is enchanted separately we could break them off one at a time. But if that'd ruin the enchantment we might be stuck just collecting dozens of spirits.

I am not at the frontiers of the field - they're all on the other side - but I don't think that'd work, no.