People of the Stars by Nienna

People of the Stars

Orome had searched far and wide for the firstborn Children of Illuvatar. He knew that they had been awoken, but where they resided he knew not. As the moments passed, stringing together into days, he still had not found even a trace of them. 

Still, Oromë wandered through the lands yet unnamed of Beleriand, and with each breath he unknowingly drew himself closer to the long awaited Children. As he was riding, at last a dwelling seemed to appear in the distance. There was motion, there were shapes! Oromë rode closer and closer, excitement building as he went!

 Finwë saw the figure racing towards Cuiviénen. He knew he was the only one that did. Most of the Quendi were sleeping, or gazing at the stars. Something about the figure seemed...different, in a way Finwë could not quite explain even to himself. Not so sharply defined, as if the figure were one with the world, instead of being there to mar it. Still, the faces of the captured raced through his mind,and he thought, trapped between the horror that had been and the wonder of possibility, tied through with the all too likely outcomes of violence and loss if he stayed, if he encouraged others to stay. Finwë made up his mind. He would not leave in fear, and would face what was to come.

 He walked out into the group gathered by the shore, and interrupted their song with haste. It was a lovely one, an ode to the stars,yet Finwë had no time to listen. "There is a figure approaching!", Finwë addressed Enel, one of the rulers and first to waken. "Tell the others,we have no time to waste." The elves who wished to remain gathered themselves together, prepared to fight if there was any sign that this rider was there on Melkor's bidding.

When at last Oromë arrived, it was not the sight he had been expecting. The elves were few, seventy of them at most. Perhaps worse than that was the look of pure fear that they gave him. "Who are you and what do you want from us?",Miriel proclaimed. Oromë only looked on in amazement, initial disappointment fading. He said," I am Oromë the Huntsman of the Valar. I will not hurt you."

 The Quendi were not sure what to think,but they decided that they trusted Oromë enough to continue to speak with him. Imin,Tata and Enel stepped forward. At last it was Tata who spoke.

 "We call ourselves the Quendi, meaning those who speak. We did not know that there were others out there, we thought we were alone in this world save Melkor and the eternal stars. You're coming is of great wonder to us."

Some time had passed, and the Quendi had slowly grown less suspicious. Slowly,those who had run came back, and life settled into a new sort of normal. That is, until Melkor's forces stole yet another away, and Oromë decided that something simply must be done. The Quendi gathered together on that fateful day, and Oromë announced that he wished to take the Quendi to Aman, where all would be safe from harm. The Quendi did not want to all go at once, and instead decided to send three of their lords with Oromë to see what the land was like, and to make sure it was trustworthy, before hopefully all settling. Ingwë,Finwë and Elwë volunteered, as well as some of their respective people's, to be the ones to go.

 As they prepared to leave for Aman, Oromë found Finwë staring up at the stars,as he had seen the Quendi do so many times since his arrival. The stars seemed to be their guidance, their only anchor in the vast unknown. Poetry they had, to describe the feeling of looking at the stars, which gave off an incredible sense of belonging, of home, and of pure, utter beauty, beauty beyond the possibility of description in words. Oromë decided that a new name was to be given to these people, a name to anchor them in the stormy times to come. The Eldar they shall be, the people of the stars.

 And so, the Eldar set off, with Oromë as their guide and the stars as their home, no matter how far they traveled.

Chapter End Notes

This was my first fanwork.