Tears by heget

Chapter 1

Still wiping away tears from his eyes, Námo calls to the other side of the enveloping darkness that forms the outermost ring of the Circles of the World, hoping to reach the ear of Ilúvatar or one of his brethren that did not journey into Arda. He knows there is a counterpart of his that must be the one to hold and handle the mortal souls that leave his Halls and enter Beyond (He hopes so, in the way the Children have described and defined hope). Finally, someone answers. At first it is hard to separate their tones from the reverb of his call, and there is a terribly annoying static to the vibrations on the upper places of thought. Manwë never has these issues, he thinks, and never has to wait this long. The situation is unprecedented, and a tad embarrassing to call for outside assistance, but Námo's judgement deems it necessary. Eventually his patience is rewarded. The responder is a vaguely familiar voice, but one he has not heard in so long he has forgotten the name that their father, Eru Ilúvatar, assigned them. Something that started with a Ha or He sound, he thinks. Or was it Nef? 

“Námo!” the voice calls. “You were not supposed to contact us unless it is of great need. What is this request you ask for?” There are undercurrents of peevishness and stress to the voice, a sense that they are distracted and cannot give him their full attention. It could be merely the distortion of communicating across barriers of existence. Námo tries not the feel any personal offense.

“A great boon,” the Judge says, pitching his tones to those of resolve and determination, and as succinctly as possible describes the situation with Melian’s daughter and her mortal lover. “They wish to remain together, and thus Lúthien is willing to join Beren to his mortal fate, to leave the confines of Arda.”

A great sigh echoes through the Outer Void. “Look, Námo, I know you have all your First Children to deal with and they can be a tad unruly, but we are swamped. Do you realize how exponentially greater the number of the Second Children are, and how swiftly the number increases? And how fractious they are? I would trade you positions for some peace and quiet, even if it meant having to share a universe with Melkor. And you want to dump an extra soul on my overworked shoulders? Truly?”

The moratorium on the coldness of his heart has ceased; his sympathies can no longer be manipulated. Námo steels himself and replies, “My brethren and I wish to grant them some years together here on Arda, then allow them to leave together. I will give you time to prepare, and I am only asking you accept one soul. Not even our most intractable. But I swear by the name of our Father and Creator, I will not suffer a second permanent resident of my Halls declaring to never leave my couch and spend all of eternity bemoaning their lost mortal beloved. I have one already, and Vairë is exhausted already listening to him weep and pout and get accidentally tangled in her skeins as he searches for fresh handkerchiefs and frozen dairy sweets. Aegnor is bad enough. I won’t have twice the misery.”

The humming sound that signaled that the Ainur on the other end was only humoring Námo’s rant without giving it consideration screeched to a halt and the line of communication intensified with sudden loudness and clarity. “What was that name?”

“Melian’s daughter that wishes to have a fate of one of the Second Children?”

“No, no, the other. The one already moping in your personal wing of your Halls. The one that was in love with a mortal- it was mutual affection, wasn’t it? The name, please!”

“Aegnor,” Námo says slowly. “Ambaráto Aikanáro Arafinwion. And the woman he cries over was of the House of Bëor named-”

“AEGNOR!” the counterpart howls with the chords of extreme vexation that he thought only Melkor’s disharmony could inspire. “OH YES, HIM. We are sick of hearing that name. We know the woman of the Third Song, Andreth Saelind. There is not a soul here that does not, to our sorrow. For more than ten of your years, we have had to listen to her complaints, of her list of grievances of the inequalities and ill-planning of Eru’s Songs, of creating two Children too alike and yet not and allowing the possibility of love to form between them, innumerable critiques of your jobs and ours and more philosophical bitching. Of which we always hear from the newly arrived, mistake me not - but this one! Brother, she has gone to Ilúvatar himself and has not shut up. Your Lúthien at least could sing with incomparable beauty and skill. We got her. If I never have to hear another word about her beautiful block-headed Aegnor, I would take all the First Children into my keeping.”

Námo is aghast at what to possibly respond with. Fortunately to reply on his part is unnecessary.

“Look, I’ll talk to Father but I can guarantee he’ll agree. We’ll swap you Lúthien for Andreth. And it’ll take a while for any of us to interrupt her diatribe to inform her of the deal, which should give your Lúthien and Beren a grace period for a second chance at life together. Oh, Most Joyous of Songs! Peace and Quiet at Last! We can be rid of Saelind! I was almost tempted to pull a Tulukhāstaz to get away from her. I have never cried before. What are these things on my face?”

“Tears of joy,” Námo explains dryly.

Chapter End Notes

Tulukhāstaz - Valarin name for Tulkas