Something So Undefined by Nienna

Something So Undefined

They fell in love before the dawning of the world. Back then they were pure fëa enfolded into the shapes of their names. Irmo was a pale yellow against Estë’s bright elegant gold. 

In the beginning, when nothing was solid and so anything could be, Estë found Irmo, a color so similar to her own, and instinctively pulled him towards her. They danced if it could be called that, pure feeling woven into the fabric of the universe, filling all the empty space and forever echoing in their hearts.

No one could say how deeply they entwined, for time has no meaning to the Infinite. Each moment stretches into all the space of eternity. But when they were brought into Arda they were so connected as to be shaped into two halves of one whole, Irmo’s of visions and dreams, Estë’s of sleep and rest.

They met sometimes in Sleep, when all was dark and cool and quiet. It was a realm much like the days before Arda, a world becoming. A world that was all their own, where anything one thought could be.

It was a confusing one, for to each person it is entirely individual, and there are few hard and fast rules. But they managed to find the similarities and carve out a shared world for themselves. And if it was seen a little bit differently, at least the two worlds were close enough to be practical. To see through large enough gaps, to speak and feel. And that’s no different from waking life, not really, just on a different scale.

And so, Irmo and Estë guided others along their paths, sending hints and escapes, memories and stories their way. They spread the wonder of dreams, of fantasy that is real, of all the stories that play on in our minds.  

And they lived on the border between worlds, where elements are known to slip through.

You certainly slip through.

They loved, each other and the world. They led others out of difficult times, cutting pathways in the dark. They comforted each other when all was hopeless and cold. And they adapted, ever finding new places both physical and imaginal to inhabit in a changing world.

They’re still there, you know, just beyond the horizon. Maybe you’ll see them tonight in Sleep. 

Chapter End Notes

The title is a partial quote from The River of Dreams by Billy Joel.