Tales of the Falathrim by Cirdan

Chapter 2: Cirdan's Sea Turtle

Before the rising of the sun and moon, the Sea was yet dark and terrifying, and few ventured forth. There were creatures in the Sea that were said to be dangerous, and one such creature was often sighted: a great rock-like monster that was larger than even the coastal sharks. But our Lord Cirdan was as fearless as the three who first went for to Valinor, and he ventured on ships of his own making into the dark waters without aid.

From his voyages along the shores, he traveled farther and faster than possible on even the fastest horse. And on his ship, he was able to trade with other Elves along the shore, giving them pearls for food that you now consider normal: wild rice, persimmons, green apples rather than red, watermelons, honeydew melons, cantaloupes, sugar cane, pineapples, mangoes-oh, I could go on forever. I am not saying that the lands about Eglarest are barren, far from it. But the bounty in the south is unimaginable, for the weather is warm and fair there, and rainfall is plentiful.

But Lord Cirdan did not restrict his travels to the wealth of the south. He also sailed northwards, towards the colder lands. It is said that he did this because he wished to see the snow. It was by the evil designs of the Dark Lord that such bitter cold exists, yet from his evil, water was frozen and fell to the world as snowflakes. The One showed this to Ulmo as proof that beauty not before conceived would come of the malice of the Dark Lord. Lord Cirdan stayed in the north long enough to see the snowfall, but there were other wonders there, for in the north, there are trees of Yavanna that were made to withstand such chill, and they grew to immense heights. Aye, from those journeys, Lord Cirdan brought back such timber as redwood, sequoia, white spruce, black spruce, poplar, birch, and willow. He told us tales of sledding on the snow, a practice of the children of the north that he himself tried. As I understand it, one sits upon something like a bench and slides down a hill of snow. I must confess, I myself have never seen snow, but the tales that Lord Cirdan told sounded most fascinating and evoked the most delightful images.

Yes, yes, my apologies for going astray. I was telling you of the Sea, not of the snow in the north. Well, then, each time that Lord Cirdan went abroad, all his people would become anxious. He laughed at this, for he was young-oh, yes, even Lord Cirdan was young once-and fearless. Many Elves along the shore who met him named him their lord, for this was in the days when Elu Thingol was still lost to us. The travels were not without trouble, and often, Lord Cirdan's ships would be capsized by the waves of the Sea in the storm. At such times, Lord Cirdan would swim with all his might to the shore and seek refuge among Elves of the shores. Often, they would lend him a horse or he would simply return by foot to Eglarest once he had recovered from his strenuous swim. How can a man fight against a storm when a ship cannot? You must understand that, in those days, Lord Cirdan did not sail far from the coast, and once a ship is tipped, it often cannot recover. From this, Lord Cirdan learned to build stronger boats, but also, he learned that things designed and built by hand are still second to the design of the One. After all, if a stone tears a hole in a ship, we must fix it, but if you were to cut yourself against a stone, you need do nothing and your body will heal the wound.

Be not impatient. Let me continue. There were some few who would sometimes venture on the rivers, if not on the Sea, but these mariners did little when Lord Cirdan was about on his greater voyages. Moreover, it seemed that the very Sea became more fearful when our Lord was not about. Dark shapes were seen leaping in the waters. Yes, we know these to be dolphins now, but before, we thought them to be sharks. And, of course, there was the large round rock that moved and threatened any who even looked out at the waters.

One time, still before there was light in these lands, Lord Cirdan was returning when high winds picked up from the west and threatened his ship. Many came forth from Eglarest to witness the tossing of the small ship. Some considered journeying out on their own boats to try to rescue our Lord, but these were suggestions borne of desperation, for we knew that, if Lord Cirdan could not withstand the winds and waves, then no other would be able to either, for our Lord was, by far, the best mariner. After many terrifying moments, at last, the small ship capsized!

We saw our Lord surface, his silver hair shining in the starlight. He struggled to swim to shore, but the waves pushed him farther and farther from us. An undercurrent caught him, and suddenly, Lord Cirdan was miles from the coast. The men and women wailed in fear. But then the Lord Cirdan began to rise from the waters, and we saw that he was atop a giant round rock. After a moment, we realized it to be the horrible sea monster that we'd seen before. We knew not which was worse: that our Lord be drowned in the Sea or that he be devoured by the fell creature. And yet, rather than devour his prey, the sea monster instead approached the shore at a steady rate, fighting the great waves. Many fled back to the town, but some of us stayed, though we did, indeed, retreat farther from the coast. The sea monster at last came to the beach. It was horrible to behold. Its back was large and round, just like a smooth rock, as I've before told you. Its head was like that of a snake's. Its four legs were like the flippers of sharks. We thought it intended to make a meal of our Lord before our very eyes! But instead, it stayed on the sandy beach and waited until Lord Cirdan slid down the shell on its back.

Rather than flee from the sea monster, Lord Cirdan stopped and thanked the creature for its aid. He put a hand on the side of the snake- like head and caressed its wrinkly skin. Then the sea monster turned back to the waters and pulled itself back into the oceans with its paddle feet.

Indeed, no, that was not the last we saw of the sea creature. That's right, it was a great sea turtle, Cirdan's sea turtle, though our Lord does not claim ownership of the creature and instead calls it his friend. And it is the reason that "turtle" also means "to capsize" in nautical terms. From time to time, you will see our Lord out on the beach, and the great turtle will come forth onto the shore to meet him. They will converse, and sometimes Lord Cirdan will even feed him treats. The Falathrim call Lord Cirdan's sea turtle the Lodanen monster, which means "floating on water monster," for it was with this turtle's aid that our Lord was able to float to land. We now know it is not a monster, but still, the name remains and is said among the Falathrim with much affection.