Home's Tale by Haeron

Chapter 1

The tale I tell you now, do not let it be thought that I tell it with any particular pride, for that is not the case. Much I will divulge to you causes me distress, discomfort, disgust even; but it is all of my own making -- and all the worse for it. However, each elf, no matter from what reach of Middle-earth they dwelt, has such a tale if perhaps not as reprehensible as my own. Ask any of our elven kith how they spent their final days upon the shores of Endor and they may spin you a tale of love, of their life come to a grinding halt as the sailing drew ever closer. Some will tell you of their last days and nights in the fields and the woods, walking slowly through long grasses and letting the tips of the blades brush their open palms, farewell the land would say to them and they to it. Truly, their stories are as beautiful as the books in Tirion will have you believe. I was not so lucky. My story begins at the Grey Havens, as do most, but my story begins with an act as cowardly as any elf has ever made.

I did not board the ship to Valinor.