River Calls Me Home by Zdenka

Chapter 1

This is what Elrond remembers from his childhood:

The fierce tumbling waters of Sirion, carrying bits of wood and broken branches, and its proud song of defiance.

The market where the river meets the Sea, the ships always coming in and the marvels they bring. He remembers staring in wide-eyed wonder at a huge silvery fish whose sightless round eye gazes back at him.

Climbing with his mother and brother up the steep rocky path to the cliff to watch for his father’s ship. His mother walks eagerly, her eyes alight. She always warns them that they must keep hold of her hands and not go too close to the edge. Elros loves to look out to sea, even when their father’s ship is not yet in view. Elrond is curious about the hardy plants which grow in the crevices of the rock.

And always the whispering sound of the Sea, a constant and eternal presence. (The first night in the Fëanorian camp, he can’t sleep because it’s too quiet.)

Much later, in the valley of Imladris set between high cliffs, he is followed everywhere by the sound of flowing water. His heart lifts and tells him this is home.