After the Dagor Dagorath by Cirdan

After the Dagor Dagorath

Ulmo arose from the waters in his form great and terrible. Cirdan fell to his knees before the presence of the Great Vala, Lord of the Waters.

"The world has been broken in the Dagor Dagorath, as long foretold by the Doomsman of the Valar," said Ulmo. "The Silmarils can now be recovered from their deep places in the world. They shall be broken, and with their fire, the Light of the Two Trees shall be rekindled and the world shall be made young again. The Eldar are tied to Arda in a way that the Ainur are not and must be the ones to regain the Silmarils from the hearts of Arda. You have been chosen, Cirdan of Amanlonde, to retrieve the Silmaril which was cast into the Sea by Maglor."

"I obey," Cirdan said, "though I do not know if I can fulfill this task."

"I will lend you my strength." Ulmo spoke more about the Silmarils and then left his vassal to determine the fate of Arda.

---

Cirdan came to a house that was an odd mix of stone and trees, not like the Noldorin dwellings or even the Sindarin dwellings of old, but an architecture that was unique even in Aman. It was similar to Menegroth or Nargothrond in that the base of the house was stone, but trees and plants flourished all around the house, coming in through shaped holes in the walls and roofs. The house might've been an artistic abomination if not for the carvings of plant-life in the stones themselves and overlay of leaves made from emerald and jade with bark of silver and gold. Cirdan shook his head. It was the type of place he would never live in, especially because it was situated between the Forests of Orome and the Mountains of Aule, much too far from the Sea. Cirdan rapped on the main entrance of the house where dwelt Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf.

The door opened, but Cirdan had to look down to see his host. He had been expecting this, of course. "Hail Gimli the Dwarf, son of Gloin." Cirdan himself had escorted Gimli with the last Elves of Middle Earth to Valinor after the death of King Elessar and Queen Arwen. The reason that Gimli had been allowed to come to Aman had never been apparent until now.

"Welcome Lord Shipwright." Gimli opened the door wide and gestured for him to enter.

"We are honored by your unexpected visit," Legolas said as he joined them in the guest room.

Legolas was still ageless and fair of face. Gimli was no older than before, for he had been reborn from stone and thrived in his close proximity to Aule the Smith, who had created the race of Dwarves, but he was nowhere near as fair as the tall and slender Elf beside him. The two hardly noticed their differences anymore though, and they dwelt for long periods of time alone, away from other Elves, to avoid reminding Gimli of his isolation.

"I have little time," Cirdan said after a moment. "You must have heard of the End of the World even here in your hermitage?"

"We have indeed, and we rejoice that Morgoth is defeated," Legolas said.

"There will be little rejoicing if the world is lost," Cirdan said. "In order to fulfill the Prophecy of Mandos, the Silmarils must be recovered so that they can be broken and their Light released to heal all of Arda."

"The Silmarils," Gimli breathed. During his long stay in Aman, he had learned of the legendary jewels. The sign of one such Jewel of Feanor had even been above the very Gates of Moria.

Cirdan nodded. "One Silmaril was cast into the very cracks of the earth by Maedhros. As the last remaining members of the Fellowship, the two of you have been chosen to search the fires of the earth for the Silmaril, just as Frodo entered Orodruin so long ago. Gimli, you are a Child of the Earth. Aule will guide you. Seek out the Silmaril, and return it to the Valar soon, or all will be lost, and in the End, Arda will not be remade."

"But the Silmaril was lost in Middle Earth. We have no way to travel there," Legolas said.

"And even if we did, still we would be searching for a needle in a haystack, for the world has been nigh destroyed and no one can travel those lands now," Gimli said.

"You will do what you must," Cirdan said. "I will take you to Middle Earth, for I also have an errand there. Prepare now for your journey and meet me at the Havens of Aman." Cirdan rose, making it clear that there was to be no deliberating.

Legolas and Gimli looked to each other and then shrugged. "The Dwarves will not be left out of the Song of the End of the World," Gimli said. "I will do my part and retrieve the Silmaril."

"And I will be with you," said Legolas.

---

Gimli and Legolas endured many trials in order to recover the Silmaril that had been cast into a fiery crack of the earth. In the end, they found it. The Silmaril was beautiful, bright, and unmarred by the fires, for nothing in Arda could hurt its diamond-like surface. Gimli had thought the gem of Galadriel's hair the most beautiful jewel in the world, and he had passed it on to his descendants, who had kept it even after he had departed from the world to the Blessed Realm. He now had to concede that the Silmaril of legend was fairer than even the golden locks of Galadriel, but that did not diminish his love for her. Together, Gimli and Legolas won their way back to the surface of the earth.

Cirdan was waiting for them. He had also sought long and hard for a Silmaril, for his was in the depths of the Seas where even Osse and Uinen dared not go. He too brought forth a Silmaril, this one from the waters of Arda. He sailed to the West with Gimli and Legolas, and when they returned to Aman, they yielded their Silmarils to Ulmo and Aule. Earendil, who had first warned the Valar of the escape of Morgoth, brought his Silmaril from the air and submitted it to Manwe.

Feanor was released from the Halls of Mandos and summoned to the Ring of Doom.

"Long ago, Yavanna asked for the Light of the Trees that was locked in the Silmarils, for with that Light, she would recall life to the Trees and heal the hurts of the world," Manwe said. "I ask you again for that Light, Feanor son of Finwe. Will you grant what she would ask?"

The world was quiet and awaited the answer of Feanor. In the Ring of Doom, time itself seemed to stop. Arda, hastening towards the Final End, hung in balance.

At last, Feanor spoke, "My answer has not changed. For the less even as for the greater there is some deed that he may accomplish but once only, and in that deed, his heart shall rest. It may be that I can unlock my jewels, and if I must break them, I shall break my heart."

"Think carefully about your answer, O Noldo!" cried Tulkas. "You have been released from Mandos to do this very deed!"

Feanor turned to Tulkas, and his piercing eyes quieted the Vala. The sacred fire of Feanor, which Iluvatar had set within him, was now grown so great that he seemed like one of the Aratar. Manwe waited, knowing that the Child of Iluvatar had not yet spoken his fill.

"I have come but I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed." Feanor took the three Silmarils in his arms, and they flared to life with the Light set within them. They did not burn him, though many thought that the hallowed jewels would because he was no longer clean of heart as he had been in the Days of Bliss. Feanor hushed the Silmarils and rocked them gently as he would a child. "It is not for me to decide the fate of another, and the Silmarils have a life of their own. The decision belongs to them."

The Silmarils shone brightly amidst the Ending World, and all those present saw in their minds a vision of the Great Light rekindling the Two Trees of Valinor and rejuvenating the Elves, the Ainur, and the very world of Arda.

Manwe nodded. "The Silmarils have spoken."

Feanor bowed his head, and tears streamed forth from his eyes. "Although they are willing, I cannot bear to break the children of my labor. The Silmarils are stronger than I in this matter. I beg that my eldest son do this deed in my stead, and I grant him such a right."

Thus it came to pass that Maedhros unlocked the jewels and rekindled the very life in Arda. The world was made young again, and the purpose of Iluvatar as spoken in the Prophecy of Mandos was fulfilled.