New Perspectives by Nienna

Chapter 1

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When Vardamir was very young, around four years old, his parents took him to Forostar. They walked for three days on a thin path surrounded by mountains. Vardamir was a curious child who probably annoyed his father to no end. Because he was so curious, Vardamir got awfully distracted. He stopped every few feet to pick up a pine cone or to stare at a leaf. Eventually Elros picked him up, figuring it would be easier to carry him (a forty-five pound four year old) than not. Alas, he was wrong.

After Elros had carried Vardamir for a minute or so, Vardamir started talking.

“Where do mountains come from? Why are there red birds here? What is the best shape for a stick to be?”

The questions kept coming.

At last they reached the moors. The grass was clear and moist, and the forest was especially dark as the sky was covered with clouds. Elros and Aglaril set up a tent while Vardamir ‘helped’ to push in the stakes. It was all set up sooner than Elros expected.

Vardamir, at last tired out, fell asleep sprawled out in the tent. Elros sat on the edge of the tent, bare feet swirling in the dirt. He lit a lamp and set it down. Aglaril sat next to him. They just leaned into each other for a few minutes, looking out at the dusk. It was good to be together in this new land that was all their own.

Finally Elros spoke, “This land is so new and already feels like it has history to it. But that’s an illusion. It’s just something Vardamir made me think of earlier with all his questions of how it came to be…”

“I know what you mean,” Aglaril said. “I’ve seen rocks that are extremely scuffed up, and the animals here! Númenor has animals I’ve never seen before! It’s almost like a thousand years elapsed since this land was created while only ten years passed everywhere else. Or what really happened was it rose fully formed, complete with new life out of the sea one day, I suppose. It boggles my mind that we live in a world where such things are possible. I know now that the Valar exist, but you must understand that as a child I had no such concept. It’s all very strange and wondrous to me, not to mention a tad bit unsettling.”

Elros said, “I grew up with elves, so it’s not all that strange to me. But I love trying to see everything as both odd and exciting, to see through your eyes. It gives a whole different framework that I don’t quite understand yet.”

“Sometimes there is not much difference between excitement and fear,” whispered a thought at the back of his mind.

As they spoke it grew even darker, until at last their lamp and the tiny sliver of moon were the only glimpses of light. An exhilarating sort of chill passed through Elros as he looked out at the pitch-black forest. It was like having ice cold water suddenly poured over him. There seemed to be so much depth behind the first few trees that he could see, thought Elros. He was barely even seeing the first layer! He imagined running through the forest without a shred of light and was filled with an extraordinary feeling; frightened and alert and at home.

“We are so afraid of the dark that we create whole infrastructures to fend it off,” marveled Elros. “In the cities, I’ve never seen such pure dark. And it feels dangerous, but it’s also fascinating.”

Aglaril just yawned and said, “How about I put out the light so we can watch it together?”

And they did.