I Choose a Mortal Life by Uvatha the Horseman

Reconciliation

Elrond brushed the sand from his robes and began the long hike back to his brother's house.

He climbed into the foothills to where the street ended and the forest began. Some small part of him hoped he wouldn't find Elros at home, but the door to Elros' house stood open, inviting him in.

Elrond slumped against the door frame. "I don't understand. Help me to understand why you did this."

Elros looked up from the shamble of maps and drawings in front of him. "I can't explain it, but my heart tells me that I chose well."

"But in becoming mortal, you threw away countless years of your life, and for what!"

"Have I? How often do the lives of Elves end in sudden violence? None of us knows how much time we have left."

He had a point. The two of them had already outlived all of their family and most of their friends.

While he waited for the ship to sail for the mainland, Elrond spent several days with his brother. It was a good visit, although tinged with sadness. It was impossible to guess how much time Elros had left, and he wasn't sure that, after he left, he would ever see his brother again.

They mostly spoke of lighter things.

Elros described his first attempt to fish with a net. He lifted it high, spun it around as instructed, and somehow ended up wearing it. It had taken the efforts of two experienced fishermen to untangle him. "You can't imagine how bad a fishing net smells, or how many bruises you can get from those little lead weights."

Elrond would have liked to talk about his life in Gil-galad's household, but Elros didn't know anyone there and didn't pay any more than polite attention.

When it was time to leave, Elrond brought up a thought that had been troubling him.

"I'm sorry you might not live to see your city completed. Six hundred years from now, it could be something magnificent." Or it could be a collection of tree stumps and abandoned piles of stone.

Elros looked calm. "I can see the future, just as you can. I've seen a great city of marble palaces, hanging gardens, and statures of astonishing height. I've seen a hub of commerce for the rest of the world, and a center of learning and civilization."

"Are you sure? It's hard to tell a prophetic vision from a much-desired with."

"I came up with a way to tell the difference. Prophecies sometimes have details that I wouldn't have thought of myself. For example, the stone columns in my vision had carvings of dolphins around their base. That didn't come from any daydream of mine, because we grew up in the forest and when I envision a column, it always looks like a tree."

"That's a good trick. I'll remember it," said Elrond.