The Lady of the Seas by Cirdan

The Lady of the Seas

Read The Lady of the Seas

Cirdan sat beside his white ship at the shore just west of Mount Taras and played on his lyre made from a turtle shell. He sang for love of the Sea, as he ever did, and his melodies intertwined with the coastal winds and crashing waves. There was yet no light in the lands, and so Cirdan paused only when the stars had traveled across the sky to eat a simple meal of steamed fish. He surveyed his beautiful white ship and admired it in the starlight. Then he continued in his musical praise of the Sea.

The waters of the oceans stirred as it ever did but then became oddly calm despite the winds. Cirdan's music fell silent as he stared at the flattening waves and the fading foam. He heard the piping of conches, but they were not the Ulumuri that the Eldar had long ago heard. The music was softer in sound, higher in pitch, and more seductive yet just as powerful as the lure of the Ulumuri. It was like the difference between the trumpeting of the swans and the chirping of the nightingales. The waters paused even from their movements to and fro against the seashore, and, for a moment, Cirdan was reminded of Cuivienen, the Waters of Awakening, as he gazed out at the smooth, almost ripple-less surface of Belegaer reflecting the bright stars in the dark sky above. Then a part of the Sea stirred, circling like a growing hurricane with water and foam forming a great, twisting cylinder. The top of the pedestal was like a fresh seaspray. A dark figure rose from the center of that hurricane. Her head was thrown back, and her tresses were like a waterfall and lovely to behold. Her form of liquid seemed to solidify as starlight entered her body until at last Cirdan beheld the chosen form of the Lady of the Seas.

Uinen stepped off her watery pedestal, and, as she did, a jet of water shot up from the ocean like a geyser so that her petite, bare foot came to stand at the top of the narrow fountain. With each step, another geyser sprung forth so that the Lady of the Seas walked down to the shore on a stairwell of spraying water. She came to stand before Cirdan, and only a shallow tide of water washed about her feet. The ocean lost its unnatural calm and again began to rock to and fro with dark waves. Uinen had chosen a form shorter than Cirdan's and reached only to his shoulders. Her hair was as dark as the waters on a starless winter night, and her skin was oddly bronzed. Before, when Cirdan had seen the Lady of the Seas, she had been tall beyond measure with green hair and skin as pale as sheer pearl. Her dress seemed to be formed from the very foam of the water. Cirdan reached out for her but then caught himself. He bowed before the Lady of the Seas and dropped to his knees before her. Reverently, he took her right hand in both of his and brought it to his lips. Her tan hand was strong and muscular rather than milky smooth and soft.

"Lady Uinen," Cirdan said, and his voice caught as he spoke her name.

"Nowe," she said. Her voice was deeper than it had been in the past. She withdrew her hand slightly and then turned it upward. Cirdan rose at her behest, though he loathed to do so. He wished only to worship her and stay at her feet. "Long have you been away from your people, and they cry out to you along the shore. Some believe that the Sea has swallowed you. Why have you not returned to Eglarest?"

Cirdan was amazed that such a matter had been brought to the attention of the very Lady of the Seas. "My Lady, I offer you my most humble apologies. I did not know that the Egladhrim were troubling you so. It seems they are unused to Thingol's return, but they will adjust to his rule in time."

"So you have left the Falathrim because of Thingol's return?" Uinen asked.

"That is not entirely so, Lady Uinen, yet what you say does hold some truth," Cirdan admitted. "Elmo's influence did not extend past Eglador, and in that time while he was king, the Elves of the Shores became accustomed to calling me Lord. I have no desire to be a king." Cirdan averted his gaze from the piercing eyes of the Lady of the Seas, but he found that he could not look away long. "I was but a steward and gladly turned over my charge to the rightful King of Beleriand, yet the Falathrim are less willing to release me as their Lord. I thought this for the best."

Lady Uinen searched Cirdan's grey eyes and then put her hand on his cheek. "I have heard the songs that you have been singing to the Sea for the last five years, and they are filled with sorrow. Five years by the reckoning of the Two Trees is no short time, long enough for a young Elf of the Falas to grow to maturity without the presence of his Lord. Though such sorrow is, indeed, in the waters that flow through the depths of the earth, there should also be joy in that music." She drew Cirdan's head down to her shoulder and leaned her head against his. "You are deeply grieved, and yet I cannot fully understand your lamentations. But you have ever brought comfort to my husband when he was troubled, and so I will do what I can to comfort you now." She stroked his long silver hair with such gentleness that tears came unbidden to his eyes. He took her in his arms and clung to her as he sobbed into her shoulder. She did not hush him and instead accepted his warm tears into herself. "I will stay with you, Lord of the Falas, until you are healed."

Cirdan wanted to refuse. He wanted to declare himself unworthy of her attention. But, instead, all he could do was cry into her shoulder.

---

Cirdan awakened to the aroma of cooking food, but the smells were entirely unfamiliar to him. He thought it peculiar since he'd been living alone for years, but the oddity of the situation didn't stop him from rising to investigate the delightful odors that floated into his bedroom from the kitchen of his boathouse by the Sea. He would not relearn caution for still many years to come. Before the hearth, he beheld the dark- skinned form of Lady Uinen. She turned to him as he came to stand by the entrance of the kitchen and smiled, and, in later days, even the light of the sun would pale in comparison to her smile at that moment.

"Did you sleep well, Nowe?" Her voice was as deep as the oceans, yet it remained feminine and soft.

"Thanks to you, Lady Uinen, I slept better than I have in many years," Cirdan said. He thought himself mesmerized by her beauty, but the unfamiliar yet alluring aroma of breakfast drew his eyes from her. What was she cooking that smelled so good? As soon as he realized that food had lured him from the Lady of the Sea, Cirdan flushed in embarrassment. Lady Uinen only laughed. She beckoned him to join her at the short table of polished wood.

"The Elves of the Falas continue to surpass the Elves of Alqualonde in matters of shipbuilding, but there is so much more to life," said Lady Uinen. "The Falathrim also call themselves the Eglain or the Egladhrim, the Forsaken Elves, yet Lord Ulmo of the Waters, Lord Osse of the Seas, and I, his Lady of the Seas, have always been with you, have we not? Even without the Light of the Blessed Realm of which Elwe long ago spoke, there is joy to be found."

"I know it well, my Lady."

"You claim to know this, Lord of the Falas, yet you have been despairing by our shores for years now, dwelling apart from others and singing songs of sorrow to the Seas," Lady Uinen chided. "Allow me to show you a part of the pleasure that you are missing, and perhaps you can return to the Havens of the Falas and teach your people to find similar beauty in these lightless lands." She pulled aside the simple white cloths that had been covering the food on the table. "This is steamed lobster with cubes of mango. The tail is particularly delicious and can be dipped in this butter sauce here. Here we have tiger prawns, seasoned with herbs and complimented by garlic noodles. It is true that the Falas lacks the corn that can be found in Eglador, but rice grows in abundance, and, with it, I have made rolls of rice mixed with vinegar and sugar. Atop these rolls are slices of barbecued eel. These are of fresh salmon. Within these rolls are fried shrimp. And these, fried soft-shelled crab." She poured him a glass of wine and gestured for him to eat.

"Surely this is a feast worthy of the Lords of the West," Cirdan said as he sampled the first dish, the lobster tail. It was unlike anything he'd ever tasted before. He looked to Lady Uinen with wonder and appreciation. "My Lady, never did I imagine that shellfish could be eaten, and now I find that it is an unimaginable delight to the palate. I am forever in your debt."

Lady Uinen laughed. "When you return to your people and teach them what you will have learned from me, then will your debt be paid. These dishes that you are sampling are recipes of Alqualonde." Cirdan paused briefly from tasting the subtle flavors and moist texture of the garlic noodles. "You are surprised, yet you should not be. The Ainur have no physical forms in the realm of Arda, and we assume these guises only to share in the presence of the Children of Iluvatar. It is my hope that you will return once more to the Havens of the Falas and share your culinary experience. The Falathrim will invent new foods, and my Lord Osse and I will visit you by the shores of Beleriand. You will share with us your newest dishes, and we will be able to taste the very healing of Arda Marred, for Lord Osse and I long ago believed that the Elves should remain in Middle-earth to heal the hurts of the world."

"I will do what I can," Cirdan said, "but it will be difficult to create dishes more fine than the ones that I have today tasted."

"You will think of something," said Uinen. "I have faith in your inventiveness. Once, you made only rafts and floated on the calm Waters of Awakening, to the very waterfall of Cuivienen. Yet by the time the Teleri came to the Sea of Rhun, you had learned to craft white ships that cut the waves of the waters with grace and speed."

Cirdan paused in his dining of fine seafood and lost himself in the recollection of that time. "The older boat were mere skiffs and seemed unsuitable for the Sea of Rhun, the first sea that I had ever beheld, and so I crafted a new ship and did not venture out into the waters until that white ship was completed. When I did, the white ship glided through the crested waves, parting foam on either side. It was then that I beheld you for the first time, and your tresses mingled with all the waters of the Sea. Faintly, almost lost in the gentle breeze, I heard you call out to me. You called me Cirdan, the Shipwright, and to that name only have I answered ever since." Cirdan smiled ruefully. "If not for you, I might now be known as Raftwright or Skiffwright rather than Shipwright."

"Cirdan the Shipwright," Uinen said softly, and Cirdan shuddered, for her voice was seductive and touched the very core of his being. "I did not know that you had seen me then or heard my call."

"Neither did I," Cirdan said. "Yet a part of me could never forget."

---

Uinen spent a short time with Cirdan, yet it was an eternity for him. In that time, she taught him the recipes of the Falmari and showed him how to barbecue and deep fry meat. She told him tales of the Alqualonde and described for him the beauty that was in that lamplit havens. Her words summoned magnificent images of the swanships moored in the Bay of Eldamar, the Arch of Living Stone, and the beautiful Calacirya, the Pass of Light that shone upon Alqualonde but not so brightly that the stars were rendered invisible. Before she left him, Lady Uinen asked Cirdan once more to return to Eglarest and take the Lordship of the Falas. She wanted the Havens of the Falas to be as glorious and beautiful as the Swanhavens. The governance of the Seas drew her away, but she promised to return to him, and, if what she saw pleased her, she would stay yet longer to behold the wonders of the Falathrim.

The Lady of the Seas walked hand-in-hand with the Lord of the Falas out to the waters. A great fog rolled out from the dark waters until Cirdan could not see beyond his own nose. Uinen guided him though, and so his steps were sure. At last, they stopped at the ocean's edge, and sprays of chilly water sprinkled over his feet. Uinen took his face between her hands, and her body came up against his. Even when her face came close to his, he could not make it out in the thick fog. Her lips touched one cheek lightly and then the other. Then Uinen's body seemed to melt into the fog and slowly drift from Cirdan. The fog cleared to reveal the starlit heavens and rolling waves. He heard the water folding upon itself and crashing upon the cliffs. This time it was not the sound of the conches but the smell of the crisp air as it blew over the foaming waves that drew Cirdan to the Sea. It was the same as the scent of Uinen's raven-dark hair, which he'd grown to love in the days when he'd lean over her shoulder as she cooked.

The next day, Cirdan set sail in his white ship for the Havens of the Falas.

---

The shoreline about Brithombar lit with torches as soon as Cirdan's white ship circled Cape Andras. The few scattered groups of torches multiplied quickly. Before long, Cirdan could hear the distant music of piping, the playing of wistful reeds, and the wailing voices of the Falathrim. By the time he docked, all of Brithombar had come from their homes to greet him. The coast was filled with light and song for joy at Cirdan's homecoming.

Yssiondur (1), Lord of Brithombar, came forth and put a wreath of niphredil about Cirdan's forehead. He kissed Cirdan on either cheek and seemed about to give a speech, but emotion choked him, and tears ran unchecked down his face. Around them, young Elven lads and ladies tossed flower petals in the air and sang to the fluting and piping of their friends.

Cirdan raised his hand and the people of Brithombar fell silent. "Thank you all for such a warm welcome home." There was much cheering and tooting of horns. "I wish to speak to all of the Falathrim of what wonder befell me while I was abroad. We will hold a high feast at Eglarest for all of the Falathrim. Send the heralds forth to those who do not live in town."

Cirdan did not stay long in Brithombar. He made arrangements with Yssiondur and then departed for Eglarest.

---

Cirdan's welcome to Eglarest was no less spectacular than his homecoming at Brithombar. His white ship was spotted out at Sea long before he was close to shore. By the time he docked at the stone quay, every man, woman, and child of Eglarest was present and singing, dancing, or piping.

The Steward of Eglarest embraced Cirdan warmly and said, "Welcome home at last, Mariner of the Great Seas. Lord Osse and Lady Uinen be thanked for your safe return to us."

"Thank you, Nen-Cenedril (2)," Cirdan said. "I am glad to be back." They walked back to the town amidst flower petals and cheers.

"You left with an uneasy heart," Nen-Cenedril recalled. "Did you find your answers in the Waters?"

"Yes, and much more." Cirdan smiled. "You were right, my friend. 'Water, like the mind, reflects clearly only when calm.' The unhappiness that I'd felt before was of my own doing, but I see clearly now and am no longer marred as I was before." He held up his hand to forestall further questions. "More I will not say until the Feast."

"Feast?" Nen-cenedril repeated.

Cirdan nodded. "I've asked all of Brithombar and the Falas to come to Eglarest for a Great Feast. Then, I will tell you in full the tale of my healing."

---

In those days, the world was yet safe, and all the folk of Brithombar left that fair town to go to Eglarest for the feast proposed by Cirdan. The animals were allowed to roam free and would be herded home later, and the doors of the houses were closed but not locked. The mariners of Cirdan grew confident because of their lord's return, and the sails of the white ships of Brithombar were unfurled again. The ships, with sailors and peoples of Brithombar, ventured onto the dark waters of the Sea and followed Cirdan's swanship to the harbor of Eglarest. In the days that followed, these ships, joined by those of Eglarest, would ferry many who did not wish to travel by land to Eglarest. And the people of the Falas who lived freely along the coast also went to Eglarest with their families to hear what Cirdan would have to say. When all who would answer the summons were assembled, then the Great Feast began.

Before the assembled people of the Falas, Nen-Cenedril spoke first. "Elves of Brithombar, Eglarest, and the Falas, welcome to the Great Feast in honor of the safe return of our Lord Cirdan." He paused as the air filled with cheering, clapping, and whistling.

When the people at last calmed again, Cirdan rose and spoke. "I have not called all of the Falas together to selfishly celebrate my return."

"We would not object if this was a selfish celebration, my Lord," said Yssiondur, Lord of Brithombar. The Elves of the Falas cheered in agreement.

"Thank you, my friends," Cirdan said. "But I called you together to speak of my vision. During my journeys abroad, the Lady of the Seas came to me at Mount Taras. There, she spoke to me of our long sundered kin, the Teleri, led by King Olwe, brother of Elu Thingol."

Cirdan then launched into songs about the Teleri and of Alqualonde, the Swanhavens. These he had composed as he sailed down the coast of Beleriand and returned to the Havens of the Falas. His music summoned images of the Arch of Living Stone, the lamplit havens, and the rich culture of the Teleri that had developed since their arrival at the Blessed Realm. The last image that the Falathrim saw was that of the Light of Aman streaming from Calacirya, the Pass of Light, and kindling the dark waves of the Sea to crests of silver and gold.

When Cirdan finished his songs, a silence as heavy as fog came over the people of the Falas. They were in awe of their great kin and the paradise that was their home.

At last, Yssiondur spoke. "Truly the Kings of the Eldar were not mistaken in accepting the invitation of the Valar. By the Bay of Eldamar, our cousins dwell in the Light of the Blessed Realm, under the stars, and by the Sea. Truly, there is something of everything in Alqualonde. What more could any Elf wish for?"

"In seeming that is true," Cirdan said, "but, in the Council of the Valar, the Lord of the Waters spoke against those summons." (3)

"I had heard that our abandonment was but an accident. Lord Ulmo wished to keep us in Middle-earth and deny us the Light of the Blessed Realm?" said Yssiondur. "I find that hard to believe."

"Yet it is true," Cirdan said. "When I discovered that Olwe and the greater host of the Teleri had departed, I purposed to follow them in my ship. Ulmo asked me then to abide rather by these shores, and I obeyed. At Mount Taras, Lady Uinen at last explained the reason for this. Lord Ulmo believed that the Quendi should be left free to walk as they would in Middle-earth, and with our gifts of skill to order all the lands and heal their hurts. (4) This purpose we have unwittingly fulfilled to some extent. Beleriand is fair, though dark in comparison to the Blessed Realms, and the Falas prospers under the guidance of the Lord of Waters and the Lord and Lady of the Seas.

"As you have yourselves seen, the Teleri of Alqualonde have brought into the world beauty not before conceived, as was intended by Iluvatar, the All-Father. More of this you will witness soon, for Lady Uinen taught me a small part of their exquisite cuisine and I have instructed the chefs of this festival in these matters. I do not ask you to look enviously upon their foods and yearn from the Blessed Realms beyond the Seas. I did not return to the Falas thinking our people in any way inferior to those who left these shores. Instead, I wish to show you something of what is possible in the Realm of Arda. Lady Uinen has promised that she and the Lord of the Seas will come among us in time and judge our work. Let us not disappoint them. Before, we unwittingly aided in the healing of Arda Marred. Let us now actively seek to heal our world and enrich Arda with our creations."

At that, the many new dishes made according to the recipes of the Falmari of Alqualonde were unveiled and the Great Feast began. The Falathrim sampled shellfish for the first time. They discovered the crispiness of deep fried foods. They marveled at the beauty of the desserts. They harkened to the words of their Lord Cirdan, for they were overjoyed at his return to them. As they feasted, they thought about how to improve their own cooking. They remembered the songs of Alqualonde and imagined how to mimic the beauty of the lamplit Swanhavens in the fair Havens of the Falas. And their eyes shone, for the Lord of the Falas had returned, and there was joy in the hearts of the Falathrim.

---

Years later, the seabirds brought word that the Lord and Lady of the Seas planned to visit the Falas. Cirdan summoned all the people of the Falas to Mount Taras, where Lady Uinen had first shared with him knowledge of the Teleri of Alqualonde. The mariners of the Falas had swelled in number since Cirdan's return, and many ships had been built since that time. These swanships transported the people of Brithombar, Eglarest, and the Falas to Mount Taras, while others traveled the fair lands of Beleriand by foot or on mount. And every day was a great feast, for the Falathrim did not know the exact date that the Lord and Lady of the Seas would arrive and thought to draw them from the waters with their merriment and laughter.

Colorful lanterns of stained glass greeted Osse and Uinen upon their arrival to Mount Taras. Many of these were made to echo the crested waves of the Seas. Candlelight lit the red, yellow, blue, and white plumage of the birds from within the lanterns. Also, there were lamps with stained glass patterns of flowers of all different colors and illuminated leaves of different hues of green or some of the fall foliage of reds, oranges, and yellows. Even the stained glass lanterns of simple squares of bright color and design were lovely to behold. The most artful of the new artisans of stained glass had even fashioned animals upon their lanterns for their friends. Yet this was but a sampling of the stained glass that now decorated the houses of Brithombar and Eglarest.

In the air, joining the seabirds, were kites of all sizes that were sewn from cloth lighter than that used for sails. Some were simple diamonds that floated upon the winds and displayed the emblem of Cirdan or other family crests. Others were fast-flying triangles that cut through the air like ospreys diving for fish. These fighter kites raced each other or circled marvelously in challenge to other kites, and some were tied in a line of colors to fly one behind another. Several were boxes, similar to the lanterns of stained glass, and flew not too far from the ground because of the weight of the candle within.

Most impressive were the multi-part kites that formed giant animals and required the strength of many men to keep them from tearing from their strings. There was a phoenix with marvelous tail plumage that put the peacock to shame. Then there was a kite of many horses, and they seemed to run in the sky like the wild horses upon the waves. There was a butterfly that loomed larger than even the eagles of Manwe. And there were fishes that swam through the sky with scales of blue and green and silver. Several of these fishes matched even the size of Uin and the whales (in that, Osse took perverse enjoyment), but they were sea creatures of the sky, barely tamed by the strings that kept them from soaring past the clouds.

And among these kites was a banner that hung between two steady kites tied to firmly grounded stakes that read in the runes of Daeron: "Welcome Lord Osse and Lady Uinen." The runes were painted in ink dipped with silver glitter so that the letters caught the starlight and shined out across the Sea.

"The Children of the Falas have outdone themselves," Osse said in surprise to Uinen. "Never did I imagine such colors and splendor upon the beaches of the starlit Seas. And these are not even the Havens of the Falas at Brithombar and Eglarest!"

Uinen smiled and took Osse's hand. "Indeed, they have made the coast of Mount Taras more beautiful than I had ever imagined possible. But I think there is more that they wish to show us." And Uinen was glad, for in the stained glass lamps and kites, she knew that Cirdan had, indeed, taken her words to heart.

Lord Osse and Lady Uinen rode upon great waves toward the Falathrim. The Falathrim quickly became aware of them and great music was taken up all along the shore. Horns and trumpets made from shells sounded in harmony with flutes and pipes of reed and the delicate strings of lyres and harps. It was the first time that they'd heard an orchestra, and the sounds of so many instruments playing the same song simultaneously was amazing. Most lovely of all were the voices of the Children of Iluvatar choiring in praise to the Sea and its Lord and Lady. Unheard by even the singers was the sadness of Arda Marred but also the joy of Arda Healed.

Osse's eyes glowed as he turned again to his wife. "This is beyond my greatest expectations. We were not wrong in keeping these Children in Middle-earth."

Uinen only laughed and leapt before the great wave upon which they rode. She sprinted before it and quickly outdistanced the wave with her light feet. Osse cried out after her but she heeded him not. She felt like a young maiden rather than an ancient being from before the forming of the world. She heard Osse leave the tidal wave and chase after her, and it only made her laugh in glee. Her robes of foam did not hinder her movements. She raised her arms in the air as she ran, and on either side before her, jets of water formed arches, and as she ran under them, she felt sprinkles catching in her green tresses.

Uinen glanced behind her. Osse was still some distance back. She sang out with the harmony and dared to make a quick pirouette. Still, Osse could not close the distance between them. She spun again and began to skip backwards. Taunted beyond endurance, Osse called upon a great storm from the ocean, and a tidal wave more fell and fast than the gentle one they had previously ridden now formed behind Osse and drew him up. Uinen squealed, turned, and ran towards the shore beneath the watery arches that now shook and fell back into the Sea even as she passed under them. Osse's wave proved quicker. He grabbed Uinen about the waist as a skilled horseman would upon a mount. She laughed and struggled to break away; in so doing, she pulled Osse from his stormy wave. If they were on land, Osse would've landed atop her as if on a grassy dell, but the foam did not hold their weight, and they sank underneath its surface. The wave washed over where they'd been. Underwater, Osse kissed Uinen, and she merrily melted to his seduction.

The water here was not so deep. When they reached the coral bottom, Uinen used the seafloor to break from Osse and spring back up to the water's surface. On the shore, the Falathrim beheld the Lady of the Seas break through the water like a dolphin upon its tailfin. She rose and kept rising, for the hurricane that Cirdan had before seen now followed her and held her like a pedestal. Crystalline drops of water fell from her lovely jade green hair. Her skin was milky yet sheer like the sheen of a pearl and lit only by the color of her coral pink lips, which curved in a brilliant smile that reflected in her sea-grey eyes. Her foamy robes had been lost in the unexpected romance with Osse, and she was now instead clothed in dark aquamarine waters that shaped itself into a sleeveless, knee-length summer dress like those of the maidens of the Falas as the excess water fell away. All the Elves cheered at her appearance, whistling and clapping with excitement at the display of love between their Lord and Lady.

After a moment, Osse rose behind her upon a great wave that arched like a bridge until it touched Uinen's pedestal. He was dressed as he had been before, in robes of dark grey mist. He stepped beside his wife and offered her his arm. She took it. A great arch of water spilt forth from the pedestal like a bridge to the shores. Together, in manner more dignified and customary for the Ainur, the Lord and Lady of the Seas walked down the bridge to the awaiting people of the Falas. The Falathrim fell silent once they set foot on the beaches of Middle-earth.

Cirdan the Shipwright awaited them at the base of the watery bridge. He was dressed in light grey robes that resembled Osse's in style. A small lock of hair braided with white pearls trailed down the right side of his silver hair. Otherwise, he wore no jewelry, not even a circlet to indicate that he was the Lord of the Falas.

Cirdan prostrated himself before them and said, "Welcome, Lord Osse and Lady Uinen, to the Festival of the Healing of Arda." He took Osse's hand in his left hand and Uinen's in his right and kissed them.

"Rise, Lord of the Falas," Osse commanded. Cirdan rose.

"We thank you for this warm welcome," Uinen said.

"Now enough of these pleasantries, Cirdan," Osse said. I have known you for a long time, and we do not need these formalities even before so many of our people." Osse glanced about, and though there were many admiring faces of the Falathrim around him, Uinen knew that was not what he sought. "Something smells good."

A thin smile crossed Cirdan's lips. "Yes, my Lord." He bowed. "Many new dishes have been invented for your coming, and it will take days before all has been sampled." A servant brought forth a tray with three chilled wine glasses. The drink, called Eglarest surf, was blue with white froth at the top and garnished with a slice of a pineapple and a cherry. Osse, Uinen, and Cirdan each took a glass. Cirdan then said, "Cheers, to the wise teachings of the Lord and the Lady of the Seas and to the healing of Arda that we have strove to accomplish on their behalf."

"Cheers!" cried all the people of the Falas. Many had glasses in their hands, and these they brought together, the youths with their juices and the adults with their drinks, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic.

Osse and Uinen brought their glasses together with that of Cirdan's and then sampled the odd blue drink. It was like miruvor but flavored with pineapple, coconut, and a mix of alcohols with which they would soon become better acquainted. Osse was especially enchanted with the drink. Miruvor was good but was not varied or decorated like the cocktails of the Falathrim, which would become famous in time.

Great white chairs, cushioned with down pillows, were brought forth and placed at the water's edge, for Cirdan knew that the Lord and Lady of the Seas would prefer not to venture far from the waters. A stand of stained glass with the images of waves and foam was then placed before them, and a pane of glass was set atop the stand. Cirdan stood beside his Lord and Lady and introduced to them the various foods that were set on their table. (5)

Their sampling of the new cuisine of the Falathrim began with papaya and watermelon topped with caviar served in a small glass bowl decorated with a ship circling its outer surface. Uinen observed that the Falathrim had learned to use the sands around them, but Osse paid more attention to the food, which was excellent in its simplicity. As they dined, the orchestra began to play a new song, and Daeron, the talented young minstrel from Eglarest, began to sing of the Waters of Awakening. The next dish was raw giant mushrooms and proscuitto salad with figs. Daeron began a slightly faster song, one with greater range that summoned images of the coming of Orome. Next was abalone that had been baked in a salt oven and was served with liver butter sauce, and that was enhanced by the sustained high notes of the War of the Powers that shook the shores of Cuivienen. Oyster marinated with diced papaya and mango and then served layered with scallops and thinly sliced turnip followed. The song calmed, and Orome returned again to the Elves to persuade them to join the Valar in the Blessed Realm. Strawberry tiramisu was apparently the mark of the Great Journey undertaken by the Eldar, and truth be told, Uinen liked this dish best. Served with it was a sweetened bitter drink, perhaps a mark of the bitterness of the Eldar at the leaving of their native home.

"Many of these dishes are indeed fine, yet they are but new recipes for foods already known to me," Osse said. "This, however, is completely new to me. It is strong and bitter yet flavorful even by itself. I feel my blood pumping quicker. What is it?"

"As I have said, my Lord, it is coffee," Cirdan said. "One of the chefs of Brithombar discovered that the seed of the coffee cherry could be roasted to such rich aroma and flavor. The drink is enhanced by cream and sugar."

"Excellent. This is the best of the inventions of the Falathrim."

Cirdan laughed. "Lord Osse, there are still many new foods for you to try. Lady Uinen promised that you and her would stay yet longer if you found our healing of Arda suitable."

"And we will hold to that promise," Uinen said with a smile. "Gladly do we stay to see more of the changed culture of the Falas."

"Thank you, my Lady." Cirdan bowed low. "Rest now from your repasts and enjoy instead the dance of the Falathrim."

Daeron had long completed his singing and exited. Now, the orchestra struck up a new tone, and the choir joined in the merry song. Many young lads and ladies skipped forth with flowing sashes and ribbons in hand, and they began to dance together for the pleasure of the esteemed guests. During an intermission in their performance, Cirdan introduced them to a new snack: chocolate. The taste was rich and sweet, and several of the balls of chocolate were filled with softer centers of the same rich flavor or with finely chopped almonds or hazelnut. If there was any taste for love, this was it.

Uinen leaned over to Osse and said, "You may have liked the bitter and aromatic coffees, but this chocolate I choose as my own favorite. It is liken to the first taste of love upon a lady's heart."

Osse had not been as taken by the chocolate truffles, but he was quick to take a hint. He took up one of the delicacies and held it out for his lady.

"If you like these flavors, my Lady, I will be sure that the recipes are brought even to the Blessed Realm, where no chocolate now exists," Osse said.

"I would like that," Uinen said. She ate the chocolate slowly from his hand, mingling the unmatchable flavor of the chosen truffle with the saltiness of Osse's thumb and finger.

Osse managed to hold his composure at least until the end of the dance, after which he said to Cirdan, "The entertainment of the Elves of the Falas is pleasing, but my Lady and I would like to return to the waters of the Sea before coming forth once more to learn more of the great healing that your people have done."

Cirdan bowed. "Of course, Lord Osse. When you return, we will have your next meal ready."

Perhaps because he had keenly observed Osse and Uinen, Cirdan proposed that they first have one last drink in celebration: Midnight Madness. The v-shaped cocktail glasses were decorated with swirls of liquid chocolate. The cocktail itself was a mix of coffee-flavored alcohol and some other bubbly liquid. Whipped cream drizzled with more liquid chocolate graced the top like foam, and a bright red cherry was speared at the side. After that drink, Osse was certainly in high spirits. He thanked the hospitality of the Lord of the Falas once more. Then he picked Uinen up in his arms. She squealed and kicked her legs in protest, but after a quick kiss from Osse, she settled and contented herself with wrapping her arms around his neck. In this way did the Lord and the Lady of the Seas return to the ocean, where they made love under the waters by the shores of Middle-earth.

---

Lord Osse and Lady Uinen stayed with the Falathrim for many long days, and sometimes, they even joined the Elves in their dance. The wide range of cuisine and many crafts were presented to them. One night, under the influence of perhaps too many cocktails, Lord Osse went so far as to propose that Lord Ulmo should be invited to the next such great feast. Cirdan certainly agreed to such a thing, for he wished very much for peace between the Lord of the Waters and the Lord of the Seas. Cirdan also perceived that such words were a sign that the esteemed guests had need to return to their task of the governance of the greater and lesser seas. He announced as much to the Elves of the Falas, and so wistful songs mingled with the merriment on the last day of the Feast of the Healing of Arda.

Lady Uinen was especially radiant on this night. She wore one of the white silk dresses that had been gifted to her, and the styling of that particular seamstress of Southern Falas was such that the neck of the dress hung fairly low. Her delicate wrists and ankles were decorated with silver- linked pearls. Her jade tresses were unbound and loose, as usual, but several locks had been pulled forward so that they tumbled onto her shoulders like spilling waterfalls. She turned her sea-grey eyes to Cirdan, and his heartbeat quickened.

"Cirdan, I would like to speak alone with you before the end," Lady Uinen said. "Lord Osse seems to be amusing himself without us." Osse was dancing with many men and maidens in the shallow waters washing up upon the beaches, and a ring of spectators clapped in beat to the merry-making. Cirdan shook his head. Osse had come to enjoy too well the cocktails of the Falathrim, and it seemed he'd had too much to drink again. "Let us take a stroll by the misty waters." Uinen held out a soft, milky hand. Cirdan took it and kissed it.

"As you wish, my Lady," he said. She rose gracefully and led Cirdan from the heart of the festivities. They walked side-by-side, hand-in-hand, along the beaches of the starlit Seas.

"You are much healed, Lord of the Falas," Lady Uinen said after they had walked so far that the music of the Falathrim was but a whisper in the gentle winds. "You have also done well in teaching that gift of healing to others. My Lord and I are very pleased."

"Thank you, my Lady," Cirdan said.

"Your voice is sorrowful," Uinen observed. "The Feast will soon end, but do not regret it. Your people will have many years to flourish, and when we return again, the kites of the Falas will fly even higher."

"I know this to be true, but I will miss the close company of you and your husband," Cirdan said.

"We will be with you in the Seas."

"I know."

"Even without the Light of the Blessed Realm, there is joy to be found in these lands." Uinen stopped and turned to Cirdan. She slid her hands about his waist, drew him close, and searched his starry eyes. Before, she'd taken a shorter form. This time, she was tall and fair, yet he found that his feelings for her were the same regardless of her form. He put his arms around her and rested his hands lightly above her hips. "It is not unusual for the Falathrim to kiss at times of parting," said Uinen, perhaps reading the thoughts in his mind.

"It is not," Cirdan agreed, "but if I were to kiss you, it would not be a kiss of parting."

"I do not reject your love," she said softly.

"No, but nor do you return it, not in the same manner." Cirdan drew away but did not break their embrace. "You said before that you could not understand my lamentations."

"I did. Will you speak more of your heart now?" Uinen said. She moved close to Cirdan such that her body pressed up against his, and she rested her head on his shoulder. He found that he did not have the strength to draw away from her again.

"Since I first beheld you in the Sea of Rhun, I have loved you." Cirdan leaned his head against her soft tresses. "I knew that you were of a high and mighty race, and so I thought nothing of my unfulfilled feelings." She moved to protest, but Cirdan hushed her and brought her head back to rest against his neck. Her breath was warm there, and she waited to hear what he had to say. "Not unfulfilled, you would say, and that is true. I have found joy in the building of great ships and sailing across your waters. But when I learned that Elwe had wedded with Melian, I was jealous, for I saw that the union of an Elf and a Maia was indeed possible, yet it was not to be my fate. It is for that reason that I became despondent and was as you found me years ago by the shores of Mount Taras. Why he, my kinsman, yet not me? But you came to me, and with your aid, I was able to accept my fate apart from you."

Cirdan knew these were not empty words. He had ceased to envy Thingol's fate, and he had come to simply cherish the short time during which he and Uinen had dwelt together. To say aloud such things helped lift the last of the shadows from his heart. He thought that Uinen would be happy for him, to know that he was so healed, but instead, her arms tightened about him, and after a moment, he felt warm tears fall onto his neck.

"It is cruel of Iluvatar to have created Children so lovely," she said softly.

"My Lady?" Cirdan held her, but still her tears did not abate. She did not speak, and so Cirdan kissed her tresses and rocked her to and fro as she had done when he had cried upon her. Many stars crossed the sky before Uinen calmed, and Cirdan was relieved to see that only a night had passed.

"Osse and I are bound to each other until the end of Arda, but we were not at its beginning, and if I had known you then, I might have chosen differently," Uinen said. The tears had made her eyes luminous, and the reflection of the stars in those eyes was more precious than even the Light of Aman. "Yet the Elves are bound to Arda and will not move beyond it, and so there will be no second chance."

"You love Osse," Cirdan said. His traced his fingertips down her tear-stained cheek. "I have seen it."

"I do," Uinen said, but her grey eyes were fixed upon him and said more than her words.

Cirdan's fingers slid back to caress her ear, which was pointed like an Elf's. Then he took her soft, wavy tresses in his hand and drew her face to his. Cirdan kissed her, and even the Sea seemed quiet in comparison to the beating of their hearts. Reluctantly, Cirdan drew away from her lips.

"Beyond Arda, the memory of the Lord of the Falas shall remain ever clear and unstained in your heart," Cirdan said.

"And within Arda, there is yet healing to be found," Uinen said. They stared into each other's eyes.

"This is not the final farewell." Cirdan ran his fingers through her lovely hair.

"No, it is not. My Lord and I will come again to the Falas," Uinen said.

Cirdan drew his hand from her hair and took her hand in his. He kissed its milky skin, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on hers. Then he twined his fingers with hers, and they walked along the shores together, she back to her husband and he back to his people.

---

Chapter End Notes

(1) Yssiondur="Servant of Yssion." Yssion is yet another name for Osse.

(2) Nen-Cenedril="Water-mirror." This is not related to Galadriel's mirror. The name is taken from a sage in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." His name was based off the Taoist phrase quoted by Cirdan: "Water, like the mind, reflects only when calm."

(3) Silmarillion, page 61.

Silmarillion, pages 52-53.

Foods are primarily taken from Iron Chef battles