For All Elvenkind by elennalore

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For All Elvenkind

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A magnificent spaceship floated in orbit. Celebrimbor was watching the blue planet below –Arda, as he still wanted to call it, even in these modern times. This would be the final view of his home planet, but their adventure would take him to the larger Eä and he could hardly wait for the ignition.

 

It was the Seventh Age of the Sun and it was very different from the previous ones. It had begun with the Breach, as the cascade of events was now called. Actually there were two different breaches, both of which had felt catastrophic when they had happened, but in retrospect, the initial fears had been incorrect. First, Melkor had broken out from the Void, causing disturbance in Aman. The second breach happened soon afterwards, and it, too, was caused by Melkor. Was it intentional or just a weird accident caused by him, no one but Melkor knows, and perhaps not even him. What happened was that the Straight Road was twisted and realms of Middle-earth and Aman became united once more, Aman becoming a true part of what was called the planet Earth. The Men had been surprised to meet Elves again – after so many Ages their existence had been forgotten. The reunion hadn’t been easy, but after several generations the Men had accepted that the Elves were now a part of their world. And it occurred that their scientists had a lot to teach to the Elves.

 

“My Captain,” said a voice behind Celebrimbor. Ah, he knew this voice; it never failed to give him thrill and joy.

 

“Mairon,” he answered and turned around, a smile on his face. He kissed his husband with passion; it was a special day, the start of their journey, and he was so happy to live that day together with the most important person of his life.

 

“They are waiting for you at the bridge,” Mairon told him. The mission managers on Earth have given us a go for proceeding. It really looks like Ancalagon will leave today.”

 

Apart from Mairon, all others on starship Ancalagon were Elves. There were five hundred of them, explorers and future settlers of an exoplanet orbiting the bright star Luinil.

 

Yes, Luinil. The Men called the star Vega, but for Celebrimbor it would always be Luinil, one of those stars Varda had placed in the sky for Elves. In the end of their long journey it would become their new home star.

 

When the Breach happened and the Seventh Age began, the Men of Middle-earth had already started to build an interstellar ark that would later become Ancalagon. It was supposed to become a generation starship. But when Elves were introduced to the scientists of the secondborn, a novel idea emerged. Elves were immortal, resistant to galactic cosmic rays and didn’t get bored easily. Moreover, there was a certain group of Elves, the Noldor, who were fascinated by the concept of space travel and eager to learn all about the modern physics. Soon, it became evident that the first space colony outside their solar system would be inhabited by Elves.

 

Elves - and one Maia besides.

 

Mairon wasn’t an official member of the crew from the start, but during the training period the crew had got used to his presence. When Celebrimbor as their captain had announced that Mairon would join the expedition, no one had opposed the plan. On the contrary, it felt like an extra precautionary measure to have a Maia on board. Their voyage was something no one had ever attempted to do before. The crew decided that it was good to have someone with them who didn’t need oxygen and was resistant to extreme temperatures in case of an emergency.

 

Celebrimbor didn’t tell his crewmates that their logic wasn’t totally flawless. If such a being had evil intentions, it could very easily alter the conditions of the spaceship, becoming a lone survivor while the others were dying due to a lack of oxygen, for example.

 

Mairon had laughed out loud when he told him this.

 

“Do you know why I wouldn’t do anything like that?” his husband had asked him. They were alone together in their cabin where they could speak more freely.

 

“Because you would miss me,” Celebrimbor had suggested.

 

“Well that, too. What I was going to say is that I would hate to be left alone in the Void. Of course, I could make you put on a space suit before anything else. You would be saved from a horrible death. Think about it, just the two of us, travelling to Luinil together.”

 

“No, Mairon,” he had said firmly although he knew that his husband was only joking. “No one will die on this journey. We need them all if we’re going to build a new settlement out there.”

 

Based on their findings, the astronomers believed that one of the exoplanets orbiting Luinil would probably be habitable. It hadn’t been their only choice, but when Celebrimbor was made one of the chief members of the project and the captain of Ancalagon, his vote had become the deciding vote.

 

He had voted for Luinil, but not for obvious reasons of the relative proximity of the star system and promising scientific data.

 

It just so happened that he had another source of information he hadn’t revealed to the others.

 

That source was Melkor. Before he had vanished from Arda, leaving the Door of Night breached and the Straight Road opened, he had come to meet Mairon one last time.

 

As it almost always was, Mairon was found with Celebrimbor. After awkward introductions were made and Celebrimbor’s status as Mairon’s husband was approved by the Vala, they had sat down and discussed things. The Valar had announced that they wouldn’t accept Melkor’s presence in Arda. Another war of the Powers was not an option, Celebrimbor had insisted and to his relief, Mairon and Melkor had agreed. In the end Melkor admitted that it was best for him to leave Arda behind. It threatened to become a teary goodbye for him and Mairon. But there was still hope for a reunion, for Melkor had opened the way back to Middle-earth and out of the planet. And then he had spoken about Luinil.

 

There was a pristine world orbiting Luinil, the Vala had told them. Another Arda, a place for new beginnings. Celebrimbor and Mairon had looked at each other then, they both wished for a new beginning.

 

It was a planet Melkor had chosen for his own. There were no other Valar abiding there as far as he knew. There would be no war and cataclysm, he had promised them. If they ever found a way there, they would meet Melkor in Luinil.

 

“It must be different this time,” Celebrimbor had demanded. “No oppression, no violence. The Elves must be let to live in peace.”

 

Melkor had promised him that, and his assurance had felt genuine, but Celebrimbor couldn’t be sure. He could only hope and imagine a different future.

 

After Melkor had left, Mairon had been more silent than usual for weeks, but gradually things had become almost normal again. They had forgotten about Luinil until the curiosity made them return back to Middle-earth. When they heard about the generation starship of the secondborn, they knew they needed to become involved with the project.

 

And here they were now, ready for countdown and ignition.

 

They hadn’t told anyone about Melkor and his presence in Luinil. Celebrimbor had a clear conscience; it was nothing the Elves needed to know right now. Melkor had invited them to his new world; they would be treated as valued guests there. Besides, how could the Elves thrive without the Valar’s guidance? It was the best decision to have a Vala looking after them in their new home world as well. They would rebel against it if they knew who’s waiting for them there, Celebrimbor knew. But in the end, it was the right decision, and proudly he took responsibility for it. After all, he did it for all Elvenkind. They would finally reach the stars and become something extraordinary.

 

“Yes, beloved, let’s go to the bridge,” he said to Mairon. “Ancalagon is ready to go, and our new life waits for us.”