The Tale of the Twin Stars by Cirdan

Chapter 4

            That morning, I went to the herald of Manwe, Eonwe, who came now and again among the Elves of Middle-earth to give us aid at this time of rebuilding and was, by chance, present in the Grey Havens.  Even as I left to announce my choice to be accounted among the Secondborn, I knew that Elros was going to Elenna.  He did not yet know what he would say to her, but his steps were light despite the shadow of foreknowledge that we would be separated, and he felt hope kindled in him even as he felt the sting of sorrow.

            I found Eonwe breaking fast with King Gil-galad and Lord Cirdan, and they invited me to join them.

            “It is rare to see you without your twin,” Gil-galad noted as I sat at their table.  He did not try to guess which of the two I was.  I fought the growing heaviness in my chest and decided not to name which of us was missing.

            “It is a rare day,” I said instead.  I sipped the hot chocolate that Cirdan had set before me and took comfort in the warmth that spread through my blood.  I turned to Eonwe.  “I have made my choice.  I wish to be accounted among Man-kind.”

            Gil-galad rose to his feet, but before he could speak, Cirdan half-rose and put a restraining hand on his shoulder.  Gil-galad’s brow furrowed but he sat back down and looked to Eonwe, who nodded and did not seem so surprised.

            “The Valar have long suspected that at least one of you would choose this fate, for it is said that Earendil’s heart was with the kindred of Men and the people of his father but that he chose alike to Elwing so that they would not be sundered,” Eonwe said.  “At the beginning of this Second Age, Osse raised a great land from the depths of the waters of the Sea, and it was established by Lord Aule and enriched by Lady Yavanna.  Andor, the Land of Gift, is to be the dwelling place of the Edain as reward for their struggle in the War against Morgoth, and you shall be the King of Men in that fair land that has been prepared for you.”

            Elrond could only look at Eonwe in surprise.  He had not expected his decision to be anything more than a personal choice that would leave him dead within a few years.

            Eonwe continued, “You have chosen the Gift of Death and will not be allowed entrance to the Blessed Realm, but if you look far into the west from Andor, you will see a glimmer of Eressea, easternmost of the Blessed Realm, and this memorial of that which might have been if Morgoth had not cast his shadow on the world will be as a comfort to you when mortality grows heavy and you long for rest.  But you will not be weary for many years still, for though the Valar may not withdraw the Gift of Death, they have judged that a great span of years, many times that of other Men, will be granted to you, and when you tire, then you will be allowed to freely choose the time of your Death.”

            “El—“ Gil-galad paused when he realized that he didn’t even know which of the twins had chosen to accept the Gift of Man.  “But what of the Elves who will grieve for you?  Once you choose the Fate of Man, you will never again be able to see any of the Elves have been slain but will be re-embodied in Aman.  Already we have lost Luthien the Fair.  I beg you to reconsider!”  When I did not speak, Gil-galad added, “Surely you do not wish to be parted from your brother!”

            I found no voice for my words.  I shut my eyes tightly and tried not to feel Elros twine his fingers in Elenna’s hair.

            “Leave him in peace, Gil-galad,” Cirdan said.  “The choice is hard enough without our interference.”

            I scarcely heard Cirdan’s words.  I stood and looked about me as if in a daze.  It seemed to me that the generous offers of the Valar only worked to solidify my vision of a world without my brother, and such a prospect terrified me.  “I must go,” I said and bowed hastily before departing.

            Elros must have sensed my urgent need to speak with him, for he and Elenna met me en route, and we walked together back to our house.  Elros and I spoke no words to one another, but we shared the turmoil in our hearts.

            I had been offered Andor, but I had no desire to leave Middle-earth.  Though the land had changed, it was the place of my birth and youth, and it seemed to me that it had never occurred to the Valar that I might want instead to be a King of Men in Middle-earth, troubled as it might be.

            More than that, as the reality of my choice sank into my heart, I found myself desiring less and less to be sundered from the Elves.  Gil-galad’s plea had moved me; I did not wish to be parted from my brother, but also, I wished to someday see again my birthparents, my fosterfathers, my friends from those last, dark days of Beleriand and from my time on the Isle of Balar, some of whom had been slain and others of whom had left for the Blessed Realm.  Indeed, perhaps I would even be able to meet the Half-elven brothers of Elwing, Elured and Elurin, if they were later re-embodied and walked again among the people of the Elves.  Most of all, more rare than even the Half-elves, I wished to meet again the twin sons of Feanor, the only other twins in the history of the Eldar.  All this was possible only for one of the Elf-kind.

            Elros, for his part, had felt a great burden lifted from his heart once he had believed himself free to love Elenna.  Indeed, I wonder if perhaps my love for her came only because of my bond to my brother.  She had been relieved that she did not have to choose between the two of us, but she wished very much to love at least one of us.  Even in that brief moment that they had been allowed to explore their mutual affections, they had felt it right that they should be together.  Now, they wished never again to be parted.

            “I think Elenna and I may have found a better solution,” Elros said.  Obviously, there was no “best” solution that could be found.  “Your heart wavers now that you’re faced with your decision.  It’s not to be unexpected.  The death of one who has the blood of both Maiar and Eldar is truly a thing unnatural and possible only in Arda Marred.  But if it must be, then let me be the one to accept the Fate of Man.”

            “No.”  The thought of his brother dying was almost more than I could endure.  My heart felt as if it would burst, and tears ran unchecked down my cheeks.  “I won’t let you do such a thing.”

            “We have no other choice,” Elros said, and his voice was filled with sorrow, his eyes with tears.  “The bond between us is special, and I will never regret it, but unhappy are the fates of twins.”  We embraced one another and wept, unable to continue.

            After a time, Elenna spoke.  “It is for the best, Elrond.  A woman cannot have two husbands; that law has always been true for all the Quendi, not just for the Eldar.  The consummation of marriage is that of the physical bodies, and so it may well be that your spirit will be a part of our love, but so long as your body remains untouched, you and I will not be wedded.”  She knelt by us and leaned her head on both our shoulders.  “I am of the Ekkuuiquendi, accounted among the Avari by your people.  If I am not slain by mischance, I will fade in time.”

            “The invitation to the Blessed Realm is not open to her or to the Elves of her following, and it is certainly not extended to the Men in her following,” Elros said in a tired voice.  “If the Lords of the West are willing to offer us this new land, Arnor, then I think it best if we accept this gift.  The Elves of Cuivienen will be able to see the shining light of the Blessed Realm from afar and thus comforted, and the Men of her company will be mingled with the remnants of the Edain.  I will rule as the First King of Men, and Elenna will follow my choice and be the Queen of Men.  When our time comes, we will die and accept the Gift of Men.”

            “If Elros was to choose to be accounted among the Elf-kind, we might have some short time together, but I would fade in time, and then Elros would sail West to the Blessed Realm and dwell there in sorrow,” Elenna said.  “However, if we both choose the way of Men, there is a chance that we will meet again beyond the circles of Arda.  When we are gone, then perhaps your heart will someday turn to another, and you will be able to share with another the marital bliss that is now denied to you.”

            “I don’t like this at all,” I said.

            “But you will agree to it?” Elros asked.  I closed my eyes and nodded.  Elros kissed my brow.  “Thank you, Elrond, for everything.”

            Elrond drew forth a silver ring.  “You know the rest of this tale.  Elros became the First King of Numenor, and when he had ruled 410 years, he laid down his life, being then 500 years old.  In all that time, I rarely saw them.  There was little need.  Even such a great distance could not sever my bond with my brother.  We were not as close, but I could still sense him as if he were part of a dream from which I’d not entirely awakened.  He had hoped that I would find another love after he and Elenna passed beyond the circles of Arda, and now I have.”  He slipped the ring onto Celebrian’s finger and kissed her hand.  “Celebrian, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel, I beg for the honor of being your husband and swear that, if you accept me, I will cherish and love you from now until the end of Arda and beyond.”

Chapter End Notes

Notes:

Elenna is a legitimate Half-elf.  “There were three unions of the Eldar and the Edain: Luthien and Beren; Idril and Tuor; Arwen and Aragorn.” (RotK, p. 388)  This does not mean that there were only three unions of Elves and Men.  Since her father was of the Avari and mother was not of the Edain, she can still exist in Tolkien’s world.

The Avari are not invited to go to the Blessed Realm.  “But the promise made to the Eldar (the High Elves—not to other varieties, they had long before made their irrevocable choice, preferring Middle-earth to paradise) for their sufferings in the struggle with the Prime Dark Lord had still to be fulfilled: that they should always be able to leave Middle-earth, if they willed, and pass over Sea to the True West, by the Straight Road, and so come to Eressea—but so pass out of time and history, never to return.”  (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, p. 198)

As a nice added touch, I’ve made Elrond the first to be conceived because he was conceived in Tolkien’s writings first.  However, Elros seems to be the older brother, so he’s said to be born first.