One Flesh, One Soul. Part II by FellFireFan

A Promise Made.

Ladros

366 A.D

The large wooden door resounded with three distinct, commanding knocks that echoed through the corridor. With a rattling creak, the door slid open, revealing the figure of Boromir, standing in its arched frame. Engrossed in the pages of a book, the young girl was completely oblivious to her father's presence. The outside world seemed to fade away, leaving only the crackling fire and the flicking of the sheets of parchment. The world within the pages consumed her.

 "How are you, daughter?" Boromir's warm voice broke the serenity, drawing Andreth's immediate attention. Her eyes widened, and a radiant smile spread across her cheeks. "So, you have met the Lord Aegnor?" He smiled. Andreth's eyes sparkled.

  "Do you know him?" she squeaked, her voice barely containing her childish excitement.

   "Know him?" Boromir came and settled down on the floor beside her. He spoke with a warmth that only a father's love could bring. "I am well acquainted with Aegnor. In fact, we are long friends. For I was only a young man when I met him.

  "Oh, Father, I can hardly believe my eyes! A real elf! Just like in the stories!" She sat up from her book, her eyes danced with wonder. "He was just as magical and beautiful as I imagined!" She squealed, her eyes caught in a dream. 

   Boromir laughed. "Be that it may, however, Prince Aegnor is a being of fierce repute. I have personally witnessed his brutality upon the battlefield. Hence, I was truly stunned to learn he found himself in need of rescue and from the hands of my own daughter, no less!" 

  "Aegnor... is a prince?" she gasped

  "Yes, and the Lord of Dorthonion!" Boromir chuckled lightly. "With his brother Angrod, he protects this realm and all who dwell here and by extension, all the other kingdoms," 

  "That is quite a burden, he must be so tired all the time," she said sadly, her chin drawing into her chest.

   Boromir smiled upon her warmly, "Perhaps, but you are yet in your tender bloom, child. It would be best not to encumber your thoughts with the weighty concern of adults. Aegnor, for his part, knows all too well the dangers in this cruel world. The fair ones above all things are guarded beings, Aegnor's sacrifice for your sake was not one made out of mere chivalry, that much I know for a certainty!"

  He embraced her and rose from the floor. He departed with a lingering movement. Andreth rose from the fur rug she was lying on. Rustles of her dress and light thumps of her footsteps carried her. She knelt and lifted a corner of the rug, exposing a loose plank of bare wood beneath. Her nimble fingers grasped the edge of the concealed crest, and she carefully lifted it, revealing a secret compartment on her floor. From within, she retrieved a small, intricately crafted silver box. With deft hands, she unclasped its lock and settled herself on the floor, her legs elegantly folding beneath her small frame. Slowly, she pried it open, and it yielded its treasures within. Resting on a plush velvet cushion lay a fragment of the poisoned troll's spear that was once imbedded inside Aegnor's shoulder. In its carved veins, where the poison once lay, nested the lines stained red with Aegnor's own blood.

  As she cradled the artefact in her delicate palm, memories flooded her mind, to the very moment she acquired it. She recalled his image in her mind that fateful day. His unconscious form lying on the wet grass. The cold rain drops peltering down upon them as the thunder roared in the above. His eyes closed as though he was in a dreamless sleep. Dark, thick eyelashes resting on his fair cheeks and his full, plump lips slightly opened as strands of wet hair clung around his visage and mouth. Strong and beautiful, yet so very fragile. 

  Overwhelmed by the significance of her possession, she breathed a mere whisper, her voice tinged with awe and reverence. "So beautiful..." she uttered and smiled, her voice trailing off in a dream-like wonder. 

  "Aegnor... my prince."

○○○

Lake Auluine

382 A.D

  With the final verse sung and the last drop of wine savoured, the dawn gracefully emerged from its slumber, casting a glow upon the camp of both elves and men. The heavens painted a breath-taking tableau, as clouds adorned in hues of crimson took centre stage in a captivating dance of splendour. The lingering star of that enchanting night gradually faded, bidding farewell to its nocturnal reign, heralding the birth of a new day. As the sun ascended and its light fully returned, the camp filled with crisp morning air. The night before had been a blessed one, filled with merriment and laughter, dances, and songs. For some, the atmosphere brought on a sense of romance as many couples rekindled their love through affectionate embraces and kisses. 

  Bregor emerged from his tent, accompanied by Variel, his beloved wife. With tender affection, he bestowed upon her a kiss so gentle, his hands cradling her swollen belly where their precious child stirred within. Instructing Variel to take a rest, he set about helping his men prepare for their long journey homeward.

  Amidst the bustling activity near the camp's horses, Bregor's eyes fell upon Beryl. Seated upon a weathered stump, her countenance veiled in sorrow, her mousy brown tresses cascading like a mourning cloak around her downturned face. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he approached his sister, driven by his desire to offer comfort, however uncomfortable he felt about it.

  "Beryl," he spoke with gentle concern, his voice a soothing catch, "What sours your mood? You did not dance or eat once last night, and all your friends have deserted you to your sunken state,"

  Tears streamed down Beryl's cheeks. Anger and misery beset in her pitched voice. "Andreth has driven away the only man I have ever loved! Now I am destined to wither, an old maid without the solace of a single male companion! Just like her! That vile sister of mine! Once again, she has shattered my happiness, and I shall never forgive her for as long as I draw breath!"

  "Beryl!" Yelled Bregor, his growl, identical to their father's, startling her from her ranting, "Had it been I who discovered your frolicking and not Andreth, the outcome would have been far worse! I will not hear another word spoken against Andreth, for she had acted with more mercy than deserved!" 

  Beryl stared at him, her teary eyes widening with shock as he continued to yell, "Father will be informed of this grave misdeed, and he alone will determine that boy's rightful penance! Now pack your things!"

  Beryl jumped to her feet. "You can not do this!" she cried out, bitter with anxious rage. "Father would surely kill him or, worse, banish him from my side forever! I love him!!"

  Bregor's fury erupted like a blazing inferno, consuming every ounce of patience he now possessed. "You pursue men like mindless sport, shamelessly proclaiming your love for each one, Beryl! Only to move on to the next one as if it were nothing! This wheel of misery of yours ends now! Let this one serve as an example to all others, a stark warning to avert their eyes from my sister's body!" He roared.

  Her face flushed with rage. Beryl screeched in reply. "How dare you! I shall have any man I desire for a husband while I am young and fresh! You have no right to dictate who it shall or shan't be!"

"You are not of consenting age to determine who that will yet be! What is there not to understand about that!?" Bregor shouted, their quarrel reverberated through the camp, drawing attention.

  "I care not for your words! I want to be married now!!" She screamed, "I hate you! You, Andreth, and all who stand in my way of happiness! I am going back to find him! And we will elope together as man and wife!" 

 She whirled around, her brown dress swirling at her feet and took to flight. Ignoring her brother's demands for her to return. When it was clear she intended to leave into the forest alone, Bregor gave chase, his long strides leading him to the embrace of the woods. Variel's eyes, filled with concern, witnessed the swift retreat of Beryl, closely pursued by Bregor into the forest. Anxious for her family, she placed a tender hand upon her burgeoning abdomen as the child within stirred. Unable to locate Andreth from her perch, with measured grace, she rose from her chair and waddled slowly toward the treeline, her hands tenderly cradling around her precious burden.

  Bregor pursued Beryl deeper into the forest, unaware that his pregnant wife had joined the chase. He called out to Beryl, his loud voice reverberating through the quiet of the tranquil woods. However, Beryl did not yield, stubbornly defying his demands to stop. Eventually, she reached a vast chasm that abruptly halted her escape, leaving a towering fallen tree as her sole path forward.

  Casting a swift glance over her shoulder, she gasped for breath, her petite frame finding its footing upon the tree's exposed roots. But as she reached the midpoint, Bregor, his face fraught with agitation, finally emerged. Suppressing his simmering anger, he coaxed her back to safety, his voice beseeching her with fervour.

  "Beryl! Please! Cease this recklessness now! This is dangerous!!" he cried out, but she ignored him further as her feet etched further along the tree.

Barely had the word escaped his quivering lips. The hem of her dress caught on the wood, pulling her backwards. She lost balance and tumbled over the side. A blood-curdling scream of alarm pierced the air, reverberating through the surrounding forest. Her heart-wrenching as she desperately clung to the flimsy branch of the tree that pointed downward to the rocky abyss below. Their sharp, jagged surface ready to claim her life in a perilous instant. 

  As Bregor scaled the tree to commence his rescue, another distant, high-pitched shriek reached his ears, emanating from the depths of the woods behind him. Panic seized his heart as he recognized the petrified voice of his beloved Variel. Bregor, his head spinning furiously between the two cries, stood confronted with an agonizing reality, torn between the well-being of his sister and the life of his cherished wife, who carried his unborn child.

  Just as hope seemed to slip, and he began to consider whose life he should save, another sound now came in the form of soft galloping of hooves against the soil, approaching them from the other side of the chasm. Bregor lifted his wide, teary eyes to see the figures of Angrod and Aegnor emerge from the dense foliage like furious spirits, returning from their patrol. With a grace that defied mortal bounds, the two brothers sprang forth.

   With a seamless display of perfect synchrony, they leapt across the gaping trench below, over Beryl. Their flowing locks cascade behind them like radiant streams of liquid gold, greeting the ground on the other side with a thud that shook the ground beneath Bregor's knees. Landing square on either side of him.

   Angrod saw the unfolding tragedy swiftly grasp the gravity of the peril, confronting him. In a voice that was deep and calm, he turned to Bragor. "How may we lend aid?"

  "Variel!" Bregor's voice trembled with desperation. "Her cries of distress reached my ears from the nearby woodland! Please, my lords, go save her!"

  The princes exchanged a worried glance. Aegnor darted into the depths of the forest, his majestic mount transforming into a blur of motion as he raced toward the source. Angrod lingered behind, swiftly dismounting his steed and fixing his stern gaze upon Beryl. Carefully considering his options. "I must make haste while her strength lasts." 

   Variel, her swollen belly a burden on her strength, frantically attempted to escape the relentless beast hot on her heels. With each desperate stride, her hopes of outrunning her pursuer dwindled. Finally, she halted, gasping for breath, her tear-streaked face contorted with raw terror. Summoning her last ounce of bravery, she turned to confront her predator, emitting a bone-chilling scream that pierced the air. 

  Her eyes locked onto the nightmarish sight that awaited her—a snarling orc, its grotesque flesh hanging from its body as if defying death itself. Its lipless mouth revealed a ghastly row of yellow, jagged teeth, while its malevolent white eyes fixated unwaveringly on its prey. Oily hair obscured its vision, accentuating the creature's monstrous nature against its coal-black skin. The orc's sinewy muscles rippled as it roared, savouring Variel's fear as if it were a delectable feast. Slowly, it closed in, its jaws salivating, ready to claim its helpless victim. As Variel sank to the ground, her hand trembled, extending towards the orc in a desperate plea for mercy, all clutching her belly. Desperate to protect the life within her.

  Aegnor moved through the trees like a furious spirit, drawing his blade as he closed in on their location. It sliced the wind with a piercing whistle as he spun it wildly through the wind with a wave of his wrist, the sharp edge glinted in the rays of sunlight. He charged to Variel's defence. He leapt upon the orc. He thrust his blade into its back before it could turn to defend itself. It screamed and cried as Aegnor viciously butchered it. Variel watched in tearful horror as the elf showed no mercy. The screeching died, and Aegnor, covered in the spattered blood of the orc, turned to her. The ire in his eyes dying.

 "Do not fear, lady," he spoke, his voice coarse with forced softness. "There is no threat that lingers here." Wide-eyed and consumed by terror, Variel's gaze fixated on him as he calmly cleaned his sword and sheathed it from her view once more. 

  Upon trembling legs, Variel struggled to find her footing, her form quaking with exhaustion. Aegnor swiftly came to her side, carefully guiding her to rest upon a large, moss-covered stone. As she found herself gazing up into his eyes, her own widened with a sense of wondrous astonishment, and any words that might have formed in her mind escaped her, as if the very air had been stolen from her lungs.

  Slowly, Variel rose from her seated position. Aegnor watched intently as she gently reached out and took his blood-stained palm in her own, with a reverence befitting the sacred. With infinite care, she placed his hand upon the gentle swell of her belly. Aegnor's breath stilled, his entire being freezing, heavy with a profound anticipation, as if the ancient forest itself held its breath in solemn witness. They waited in reverent silence for but a moment. Then, he felt the gentle lump of pressure within her pushing back into his warm, bloodied hand. Aegnor quivered, releasing a shuddering sigh, filled with awe, and upon his face blossomed an exhilarating smile. A tear of utter joy glistened in his eye, and he gave way to soft, trembling sniffs, his smile fading as sorrow swelled within him.

  Variel, ever kind and gentle, cast her soft, luminous gaze upon him, witnessing the elf in his most fragile moment. In a faint voice, barely a murmur, Variel spoke, "Do you feel her, my lord? She reaches for you, her champion."

  Unable to bear the weight of his longing, Aegnor was brought to his knees before her, his head bowed low to the earth. Muffled sobs whispered from his lips. His brow strained with intense sorrow. "I am so weary of this... of all of this!" Aegnor uttered, "I do not want to fight anymore! It is a burden I can no longer bear!" 

  The white petal fell from the blossom hanging above them, that swayed in the gentle breeze that danced with the song of the birds. It fluttered to the grassy plain below, landing in his palm with a delicate kiss. His spattered, blood-stained face hidden between the curtains of glossy hair gazed down silently at the delicate petal in his hand. In that moment, he thought of Marúel and Petaril. Their smiling faces played in his mind like a dream. Variel watched as his fingers gently enclosed around it. Accepting his fate as its guardian.

  Finding his composure, Aegnor slowly rose to his feet once more. "Life... there is much beauty in it, yet... so much pain." He muttered. His trembling lips weakened under the weight of his heart.

  Variel stepped closer, her smile warm as the sun. She placed her hand on the elf's heart, and his eyes fluttered open. "There is also great joy and deep love within it. Powers beyond all fleeting control. Hearts entwined in a tapestry of love, where one can find safety even in the darkest of places," she gazed up at him, smiling. "A sanctuary, where no sword or weapon can penetrate," 

  Aegnor's lips drew into a soft smile. His heart swelling with love and his burning desire to hasten to Andreth's side again. A single nod, he whispered, "Thank you,"

  Back at camp, as Angrod emerged from the trees astride his noble steed and Bregor walking closely beside him, Beryl clutched securely in his arms. They drew the attention of many. Andreth, who had been looking for them, came flying toward them with haste. Her brow tense with worry and her eyes wide. 

  "Beryl!" Andreth cried out, her voice tinged with concern. Bregor swiftly explained the events. Andreth, with utmost tenderness, took hold of her sister's delicate hand. Beryl lay in a stupor, alert but unresponsive. The shock is still within her. 

  "I will take her back to her tent," Angrod announced, lifting her from Bregor's arms, "You will wait here for Variel, Aegnor should have dispatched the threat by now" With Beryl's slim frame in his arms, Angrod carefully waded toward the encampment. 

 "Andreth, has Variel returned with Aegnor?" Bregor hastily inquired, his words hurried and laden with" apprehension.

  Andreth looked at him, bewildered. "No, has something happened?" Bregor spun around, his gaze fixated on the woodland. 

 "Ready my horse!" Bregor cried, "I am going to look for my wife!" 

 "My Lord!" His guard called out, pointing toward the woods, "look!"

  Aegnor appeared, with Variel seated comfortably behind him in a side-sadle. He rode with unhurried steps, taking care not to upset the delicate burden nestled behind him. With fervour, Bregor raced towards them, followed at a distance by Andreth.

  Swinging his long leg over Sorna's neck, he dismounted, extending his arms to Variel, Andreth's steps faltered as she beheld the state of him. Her gaze fixated on the spatters of orc blood that painted him.

  Aegnor, with composed decorum, returned Variel into the waiting embrace of her husband. Overwhelmed with joy, Bregor enveloped his beloved with tender devotion, bestowing upon her countenance a cascade of adoring kisses. 

 Aegnor observed the scene with a smile that radiated palpable contentment, Bregor whispered sweet nothings into Variel's ear before burying his head into her neck, and then he turned to Aegnor

"I would hate to see the condition of the one who attacked you, Aegnor," Bregor jested.

 Aegnor grinned. His smile faded slightly as his gaze fell on Andreth as she hastened towards him.

"Aegnor, you are a frightful sight!" she gasped softly, her voice delicate with tenderness. 

"And your beauty is boundless as always, my lady, shall I fetch thee a pale of water, that you might gaze upon your reflexion while the stars wait upon your permission to align?" He smiled, bowing. His teasing jest, in response to his light-hearted remark, elicited a surprised, light-hearted scoff from her lips. Soon, they stretched into a wicked smile of matching wit.

"Nay, for I will take that pale for all it's worth and dump it over your head, and rince you like a dish rag if you ever leave in such a fashion again, and returning like the wolves spat you back out!" She grinned.

 They laughed in unison, their eyes lingering. Variel turned to her husband, "Let us go and leave them to be alone!" She smiled, pulling Bregor away. He went willingly without a thought, following her back to the camp. Andreth approached Aegnor closer. The tension in the air was palpable. He reached behind him, and Andreth gasped as his hand emerged. From his clothing, Aegnor pulled a white bloom of supreme beauty. Its delicate petals crisp and unfurled, welcomed her sparkling gaze. She smiled as he placed it in her pale, soft hands. She brought it to her nose and sniffed. The sweet smell carressed her senses, a delicate gift. 

 "Good morning," Aegnor whispered. 

 "You left my side so suddenly. Like a fleeting shadow, I had not time to say but a word," she replied.

 "Orc's had been spotted nearby, I had to act with haste,"

 "I know, Aegnor," she breathed, smiling delicately. "I must have every moment with you, and I know it is selfish," She laughed, her cheeks blushing shyly. 

 He stood serenely, gazing down upon her with soft eyes, his hair billowing across his face in the gentle air. Warm fingers slowly slipped into hers. She tensed, her hand closing around his. She gazed into his eyes, discerning a mischievous glint shining within their depths. She understood his unspoken desire. 

 With determined steps. Andreth waded back to the camp, closely followed by Aegnor. Busy bodies surrounded them, to distracted in their tasks to notice them. She made her way to her own tent, its hanging curtains draped closed. A welcome sight to their eyes. They entered Andreth's tent. Silence and privacy surrounded them, away from prying eyes. Alone atlast, Aegnor approached behind a waiting Andreth. Her breathing slow and deep. Then, the clasp of hands slipped around her waist from behind. She stilled, her breath halting immediantly, he pulled her body into him. 

  Her eyes closed, and her head fell back onto his broad, strong shoulder. Aegnor bent his neck to the side, his velvety, lax lips slowly brushed along the silken skin of her warm neck. She released a deep sigh of pleasure at the contact. Her skin crawled with every nerve, electrified by his touch.

  Unable to resist any longer, Andreth turned in his arms, her lips, red and full, quickly found his. A kiss, soaked in gentleness and affection, melded their lips together, pressing delicately and lingeringly. The sweet kiss grew deeper, and soon, Aegnors languid, velvety , warm tongue slipped within her, brushing softly against hers. She gasped deeply, her senses overwhelmed at the deeply sensual nature with which he kissed her. Gentle and utterly breathtaking. 

  They soon came to stop and pulled apart. Her face buried into his strong neck, and she smelled his essence. Strong arms gently enclosed around her. Holding her close. 

 "Aegnor... " she breathed into his neck, "I feel as though my very heart will burst from my chest, I can not bear this for much longer!" He held her silently as she continued, "Now, we must say goodbye, yet again,"

Aegnor said nothing. His heavy eyes, laden with longing, stared aimlessly into the floor as he held her. She trembled. "Will you be gone long this time?" 

  Slowly, he released her gazing into her beautiful, sad eyes. "Do not fear for the uncertainty that lies ahead, I will make the way for us." He breathed.

  Doubt shrouded her. "I know you wish me to trust in you fully, yet I must have but a small, fleeting hope that there is a chance for us," she replied with a matching, hushed tone. Her hopeful eyes, pleading with his. "I have waited so long for you." She whispered. His intense gaze lingered on her, drinking in her beauty and fragility.

  "Bregor is aware of the nature of our relationship," he replied softly. "It will not be long before it reaches your father's ears also. Upon my next return from my post in Angband, I intend to seek a private audience with him, and there, I will beseech him that I may have your hand in marriage." 

  Her face intensified at his words. "A marriage between the Eldar and the Edain? Could such a thing truly exist?" She quivered.

 "I perceive no gulf that divides us, no force that could ever drive me from your side. With every beat of my heart, in this world and all others to come, you alone are the desire that consumes me utterly," he murmured, his voice rich with emotion.

 With a wayward, trembling sigh. She surrendered her hope to his hands."So be it then, Aegnor," Andreth murmured, her eyes shining with unbridled devotion. "I entrust my very being unto you, for with each break of dawn, I shall turn my gaze to the horizon, awaiting your return that I might once more feel the shelter of your embrace

She leaned into him then, her lips brushing his in a whisper of a kiss, her breath trembling with the weight of unspoken intimacies. Aegnor shuddered, the silent stirings of sensual pleasure not escaping her keen notice.

  "This I pledge to you, my love," Andreth continued, her voice soft yet resolute. "That my heart and body, forevermore, shall be yours and yours alone, bound to you as the stars are bound to the heavens."

  The air around them was charged with the intensity of their mutual ardour. Andreth's eyes shone with a fierce devotion, her every fibre yearning to be enveloped by the all-consuming love that burned within Aegnor's very being.

  Not opening his eyes, Aegnor unravelled within her, securing her lips with a final lingering kiss of acknowledgement, before finally releasing her. He slowly withdrew from her and left, stealing a tender glance back at her before stepping out of the billowing tent curtains. Folding her arms into her body. She passed him a tense smile, and he slowly slipped out. His form disappeared as a shadow upon the sunlight sheet. 

  Alone in her tent, without the presence of Aegnor, she felt a heavy weight upon her heart. How empty her world seemed without him. She ignored a lingering sense of dread that nagged at her mind, choosing to place her trust in his word completely and that his term commanding Angband would not keep him from her side for overlong.

   "Goodbye, Aegnor," She whispered to the stillness.

Leave a Comment

Farewell, My Friend.

   In the depths of slumber, Variel was suddenly seized by the first pangs of childbirth, while nestled serenely in her husband's tender embrace upon their bed. With a swift ascent, a piercing cry escaped her lips, jolting Bregor from his peaceful repose. Her countenance was adorned with a sense of urgency with each relentless agonising spasm. Frantically, Bregor traversed the halls in disarray, his panic palpable, rousing the maidens from their rest to attend to the laborious plight of his beloved wife. Andreth, swift and resolute, arrived first at the scene, bearing soft blankets and water warmed to a soothing temperature by the hearth. Lady Anthel graced the chamber with her presence, accompanied by a retinue of maidservants who promptly ushered the men, including their young son, out of the chamber.

   Within the intimate confines of the bedchamber, the assembled women employed every resource at their disposal to assuage Variel's fervent distress as the agony of childbirth escalated with each passing moment. The room resounded with Variel's sorrowful sobs casting a sombre pall in the room. Alas, all was not well. Bregor, standing outside the chamber with his aged father and his young son, pressed his head against the door, a tear streamed sorrowfully down his visage. The cries of agony of his beloved proved too much for his tender heart to bear.

   As the arduous labour dragged on, spanning two days and nights, it became evident that something was grievously wrong. Variel's bitter sobs transmuted into harrowing, anguished screams, and eventually waned to weary, parched moans as her strength faded. Andreth and her mother toiled tirelessly, their resolute demeanour aimed at soothing Variel's shattered spirit, urging her onward. Yet, as the final day dawned, exhausted, pallid, and utterly defeated, Variel's life was slipping away.

   Andreth approached Variel's side, taking hold of her pale hand and offering words of solace to her dear sister, urging her to persevere. Variel's cerulean eyes, akin to the boundless depths of the ocean, vibrant with life, now bore a sallow and weary gleam. Her golden tresses now hung tangled and dishevelled, devoid of their former lustre and drenched with moisture. Beads of sweat upon her forehead bore witness to the valiant struggle she fought for the sake of her unborn child, a battle she was losing. Andreth beheld Variel's dull, vacant gaze, witnessing the ebbing of life from her eyes. 

  A solitary tear fell from Andreth's visage, a silent plea to her sister. Summoning her last reserves of strength, Variel exerted herself with one last effort. Thrice she pushed, summoning forth the child from within her, and with bated breath, the babe was delivered into the waiting arms of Lady Anthel, who swiftly enshrouded the fragile form in a comforting blanket. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, Variel's consciousness briefly waned, slipping into the embrace of sleep.

   Andreth hastened to her mother's side, her heart heavy with trepidation, to examine the newborn child. It was a daughter, a resplendent baby girl. However, their initial smiles were swiftly marred by furrowed brows as they realized that the child lay motionless, devoid of breath. Andreth, her voice trembling, took the infant from her mother, whose very being was gripped by fear. Drawing her niece near the hearth, Andreth employed every ounce of her being to breathe life into the tiny form. Alas, the child remained unresponsive, unyielding to Andreth's desperate attempts. Placing her ear against the infant's red, miniature chest. Life burst from the infant, cries for comfort shrieked from its mouth.

  "My child..." Variel's hushed voice permeated the air as she stirred once more. Andreth, summoning her inner strength, composed herself and rose to her feet. Variel extended her arms expectantly, a glimmer of hope adorning her weary face. With utmost care, Andreth brought the baby to her mother's waiting embrace, tenderly cradling her against Variel's breast. The cries soon quieted as the infant felt its mother's warmth, seeking replenishment from her.

  "She is... a treasure, beloved by the Valar," Variel whispered, her gaze fixed lovingly upon the precious child nestled against her bosom. Andreth, her heart deeply troubled, could only nod in response.

  "Her name shall be Hirwen," Variel continued, her voice a tired murmur. "For she bears the heart of a valiant warrior,"

  "Tis a beautiful name," Andreth croaked, her words laden with raw emotion as she surrendered to sudden tears that she had not expected. Overcome by the moment.

  "Let not your heart be sad... sweet Andreth," Variel whispered, her countenance graced by a gentle, unwavering smile. "No greater gift could I bestow to you, now I am complete... but you...," she paused, her voice barely above a breath. "A grander fate awaits you, full of blissful happiness... far from this world," 

  Overwhelmed, Andreth's tears turned to weeps as she tenderly clasped Variel's hand, weeping into it. Her mother and the attending maidens joined in her tears, forming a circle around the fair and noble lady.

  A serene, dying smile lingered upon Variel's lips as she finally reclined, her gaze fixed upon the flying birds through the opened window. She blinked, as if capturing fleeting moments in her mind, and softly spoke, "Life... 'tiss such a cruel, gift... too few sunlit days... too few... memories," With a final breath, Variel's soft smile faded as she gradually succumbed to the embrace of eternal slumber, her baby cradled against her breast.

   Variel, the noble and courageous lady, succumbed to her fate that day, leaving behind a void that could never be filled. The weight of sorrow hung heavy upon Ladros, as they mourned the loss of a beautiful life, so sweet and good, the extinguishment of a precious, nascent flame, never to be rekindled 

   Bregor, consumed by an immeasurable sorrow, found himself adrift. In the depths of his grief, he turned to the solace of parchment and quill, penning a heartfelt missive to Felagund, beseeching him for a favour. His words, laden with the weight of a shattered soul, brought the noble lord to undertake a solemn duty—transporting the hallowed remains of Variel to the sacred grounds of Norgothrond, where a clandestine sepulchre awaited, one in which she could find eternal repose. The remembrance of Variel's presence had become an unbearable burden, a relentless ache that he could no longer endure.

   With profound dignity, Felagund cradled Variel's lifeless form, bestowing upon her a burial befitting her regal spirit. In a secluded enclave within his kingdom, known solely to him, he laid her to rest with dignity. With his own hands. Interring her remains in a bed of flowers, ensuring that her final sanctuary would forever remain a secret whispered only by the winds of Norgothrond.

○○○

Ladros

384 A.D

   With an ostentatious display, the flamboyant lord and his grand retinue galloped into the keep of Boromir, their thunderous arrival causing chaos in the bustling marketplace Stalls were upended, and fruits and vegetables tumbled haphazardly in their wake. Bedecked in resplendent armour, the lord himself wore a helmet adorned with large, vibrant feathers, his eagerness akin to an unruly bull unleashed in search of a mate. Bregor, seated on the keep's outer stairs lost in contemplation, observed the spectacle with disdain as the men dismounted at the foot of the stairs.

  The flamboyant knight, however, proved to be the epitome of clumsiness. Bregor arched an eyebrow as he silently witnessed the lord struggle to free his foot from the stirrup, resulting in an ungainly hopping motion. His cloak flapped and flopped, and it swirled in the vibrant wind as he fought with its enclosing grasp over his head while still hopping to free his foot. The cape obscured his vision, while his men rushed to assist him. Finally freed from the stirrup, the knight steadied his feet, pushing away his men in an attempt to regain a semblance of regal composure, hoping no one had borne witness to his embarrassing predicament.

  "You there! Guardsbody! Come hither at once!" The knight called out to Bregor. Unmoved, Bregor took a slow draw from his pipe, deliberately disregarding the knight's command. Infuriated by this direct disregard, the knight removed his helmet, revealing a youthful countenance adorned with ribbons and braids woven into his fair hair. A similarly ribboned and braided dark beard adorned his face. Handsome, though he may be, his features contorted with indignation.

  "How dare you dismiss me, worm! Such insolence shall not go unpunished! Come here immediately, I need not repeat myself thrice!" The knight bellowed in his high-pitched voice.

  Suppressing a sigh, Bregor calmly rose from his seat and descended the stairs. His stoic expression and dark countenance remained unfazed, undeterred by the towering presence of the lord before him.

  "What is your business here, wanderer?" Bregor asked, his voice devoid of emotion as he stood face-to-face with the knight.

  "You insolent wretch! I am a prince and you shall address me with the respect I am owed and my proposal of marriage to the Lady Andreth is not knowledge that is known to you and you will indeed not know why I am here! I shall ensure that your lord will strip you of your position! Now, assist my men in carrying my belongings into the keep. The lord of this keep is expecting my arrival with ardent enthusiasm!"

  "Oh?" Bregor replied, a hint of sardonic amusement lacing his words. In response, a leather glove swiftly met Bregor's face, and the knight delivered a resounding slap. 

  "Once again, you insult me with your profound ignorance! Pray, do your eyes not hear what your mouth sees?" He sneered, his voice dripping with exaggerated haughtiness. He paused, his eyes darting about in a desperate search for the right words. "Do your... eyes... behold.. what... umm," He stammered, his thoughts crumbling before him. Bregor, unable to contain his amusement, allowed a subtle smile to grace his lips, delighting in the knight's futile struggle to express himself with elegance.

  "Are you content to remain like a mute beast of burden?" the knight bellowed, his frustration piercing through his attempts at sophistication. Bregor's gaze bore into him, a mixture of amusement and subtle mockery twinkling in his eyes,

  "Follow me," Bregor hissed with a flick of his head, his voice laced with sardonic disdain, and led the knight, and his bemused retinue up the steps and into the keep.

   Upon entering, he was greeted by a large warm fire and curious faces. 

  "With utmost regret, I find that the abode of the house of Boromir does not quite match the expectations I had envisioned," he declared with a resonant voice, casting his gaze upon the surroundings. "Regrettably, this dwelling seems better suited for a prosperous farm owner than a noble lord. My residence, I dare say, exudes a far greater sense of luxury. Pray, when might I have the honour of conversing with the esteemed lady?" His words resounded with boldness and confidence.

  Bregor turned sharply. His countenance bore a stern expression, tinged with anger. "You may speak with her once the lord of this household deems you worthy!" Silence descended upon the hall as the two lords locked eyes.

   "Well, where is the lord of this house? That I may persuade him," he asked.

  Bregor's eyes narrowed with contempt. "I am he!" He hissed. 

   "I beg your pardon, my lord. I mistook you for one of your guards," he offered his flimsy excuse, bowing gracefully, followed by his entourage. Clearing his throat, he continued, his voice feigning boldness. "My lord, I am Jedran, the son of King Jerdyn of the realms to the south. In the wake of my ten elder brothers' tragic demise in battle, I stand to bear the burden of my father's entire kingdom, I seek a queen who shall reign by my side," he paused, his hopeful smile fading upon seeing the unyielding countenance of Bregor. With wavering confidence, he pressed on.

  "Above all else, she must be a maiden of refined beauty, nobility and purity, and I have come to negotiate a proposal of marriage for the reputation of your sister has reached my ears." A deliberate, drawn-out silence ensued, the prince, visibly discomfortable, cleared his throat. Bregor's stern gaze remained fixed upon him, his eyes unwavering.

  "Why not take a wife from your own people?" Bregor  grumbled apathetically.

    Nervous under Bregors intimidating glare, the prince passed weight from one foot to the other. "There is a scarcity of eligible women in my kingdom and those of neighbouring realms," he replied simply. "I have personally auditioned many beautiful women, all of whom have failed to meet the requirements I seek. These qualities are of paramount importance to my image and reign. Perhaps I may see her...so I may see her beauty for myself. "

  "My sister will not be displayed like some cattle to be sold! Your eyes will not behold her now, nor shall they ever forthwith! Get out of my house!" Bregor roared. Glaring, a group of guards surrounded the man, their hands resting on their swords. 

  "Please, Lord Bregor, I meant no offence. What I have to offer her is a life full of comfort and wealth beyond imagining, and by extension, you and your own kingdom. An alliance woven by the sacred bed of marriage, I will care for her and give her all her heart desires. She will never know a day of want. What say you?"

   "Her hand has been promised to another, a being far greater than both you and I, and her heart desires no other. You seek women for trophies, my sister shall choose her own path and it is not with you!" Bregor sneered. Jedran seized Bregor's arm.

  "You are making a grave mistake, I will adorn your sister with unimaginable splendour. It seems to me that such possessions would be of use to you," he whispered, prompting a piercing glare from Bregor, his dark eyes resembling a tempestuous storm.

  "I have suffered the loss of my wife, the love of my life, who gave her life so our daughter could live, and we have just laid our father to rest. If a fight is what you seek, I shall give it to you! Leave now, or meet your demise on a bended knee. The choice is yours!" Bregor hissed, his teary eyes reddened with tireless grief, narrowing.

   Jedran relinquished his grip, his voice descending to a gentle cadence. "I humbly extend my deepest condolences on your wife and beseech the blessings of solace upon your grieving family." With a soft smile, accompanied by a respectful bow, he turned to depart the keep before stopping once more. "Permit me," he spoke again, turning back to face him, "This rival you speak of, is he skilled in the art of the dual? I would throw my lot into combat with him," he suggested. Bregor's head shook. 

  "I can assure you, that if you were to challenge him, even before your first strike falls, lord Jedran, your death would be swift and painful," Bregor replied

  "Truly?" Jedran jested. A pensive pause punctuated his words before he spoke again. "In that case, my quest shall persist," he conceded, a tinge of melancholy underscoring his tone. "My proposal remains resolute, and I shall patiently await your response regarding the fate of your sister, should the tides of fortune graciously turn in my favour," he called out as he departed, leaving Bregor's presence.

   Andreth would fill her days riding along the valleys and clifftops, always with Aegnor's blade strapped to her hip. In the far distance, her eyes fell upon the tiny white fragment of wall that stuck out between two mountains, as far as her eyes could behold. Its smooth, white stone surface reflected the suns bright kiss, making it glow like a shimmering beacon of hope on the horizon.

   She sighed contentedly, a blissful smile upon her fair face. "So far from me, yet I feel he is but a breath away," she whispered to the wind. She looked down at her hands clutching a her reins and a small bouquet of white snow drops that lay in her grasp. "If only father had lived long enough to know of our pledge of love to one another. It would have made him so proud." She wiped a tear from her eye and raised her gaze to the distance once more. The fragment of wall, strong as ever stood like a guard at its post. 

   "Soon my love, you will return to my arms, until that moment, I shall keep your heart safe within me!" With those final words she rose away with a forceful kick. Her hair and dress flowing behind her like a shroud unleashed to the wind.

Leave a Comment

Norgothrond

386 A.D.

Uninvited Visitor

   Finrod sat comfortably in the dimly lit chambers. Soft scribbles of the quill sounded from the parchment as he penned a missive. Its intended recipient was Aegnor. Taking a rest mid-way through, the wooden, elven carved chair creaked as he leaned back and sighed deeply. In the rush of thought that clouded his mind, he found himself utterly bereft of words, and for a long, lingering spell, he was deeply troubled. 

   He was faced with an impossible decision. To allow his brother the freedom to choose to continue on this path, knowing only grief and despair without union waited for him at the end, or to protect his brothers heart, sparing him the grief of her loss, shouldering the blame entirely. 

   He plucked his quill up from its inky prison. Just as it made contact with the parchment again, an unexpected sound caught him off guard, pulling him from his stormy thoughts. His curiosity switched to alarm when a pair of hands grasped the bottom of the window from the outside. Finrod leapt to his feet to confront the unexpected intruder only to see Aegnor's robust figure, clouded in shadow pulling himself upwards and inside.

  "Aegnor!" Finrod yelled, his voice laced with surprise and annoyance.

  "Your guards are extremely diligent, Finrod!" Aegnor's laughing voice fluttered as his bright smile filled the room. He pulled himself in, clambering over the sill rather unceremoniously.

  "Aegnor! Why do you so brazenly disregard the formality of seeking an audience through penned missive before you're coming!? Had my guards seen you, they would have shot you without warning!" He scolded him. Aegnor laughed. His enchanting echo dancing through the room

  "Is it not my duty as your brother to shield you from the tedious and gruel shadows of dullness?" Aegnor quipped, his witty grin widening further.

  "Do not make light of this, Aegnor!" Finrod responded sternly, his long finger pointing at him. "Henceforth, you shall not enter my realm or scale my walls without first notifying my guards of your presence. Do I make myself clear!?" Finrod's anger caused Aegnor's smile to wane and morph into one of confusion.

  "Does some affliction trouble you?" Aegnor spoke, his brow furrowing with concern. 

   Finrod's stern countenance softened, his gaze fixated on Aegnor's eyes, shimmering with life and love. Releasing a tense sigh, Finrod gently closed his eyes, allowing them to linger in a prolonged blink. "I was in the proceeds of penning a missive addressed to you," he sighed wearily as he returned to the writing desk. A heavy burden weighed upon his features, casting a dark shadow over his countenance. "There are matters of great significance I need to discuss with you, words that can not be written by letter," Finrod continued, Aegnor's excitement surged forth, his voice brimming with unbridled joy.

  "Finrod, my heart is a flutter of joy, I fear it may burst from me and take to flight. There is something I yearn to share with you!" he exclaimed, his voice flushed with his bright grin.

   Silence fell, heavy and deafening. As Finrod rested his elbow on the desk, his head cradled in his hand. Sensing his brother's sombre mood, uncharacteristic for him, Aegnor paused, his grin sinking into a look of confusion.

  "Brother?" Aegnor spoke. Finrod sat silently, and his form was cloaked in shadows. "Finrod, have I committed any deeds that have brought a wrinkle to your noble brow?" 

   Finally, Finrod rose and turned around. "No, Aegnor, you are innocent of anything, I pray you forgive my sombreness, for a great burden weights upon me that is not of your doing." Finrod reassured him, offering him a gentle smile. A wave of relief washed over Aegnor's countenance, and his smile rekindled.

   "I had truly thought you held a grievance toward me," Aegnor replied, "That I had transgressed upon your weary soul. I am glad for that,"

   With a graceful sweep, Finrod sat down upon the furnishings, his form sinking into the softness of a cheslonge suite, extending his hand. He invited Aegnor to occupy the one parallel to him. Aegnor came and sank down gracefully before him. A small round table, decorated with afew flowers nestled in a small glass vase, separated them. The brothers stared at one another quietly, the air thick with unspoken words. A smile, masking a profound sense of dread, gently uplifted the corners of Finrod's plump lips. 

   "I am relieved to witness your happiness, Aegnor, truly," Finrod replied. Breaking the silence. A tense pause lingered between them. Aegnor observed his brothers hands that sat upon his lap. Their form tightly clenching together with one finger tapping rhythmically at the back of his hand. The tension thickened, and Finrod cautiously posed his question. "Are you ready now to divulge the name of the maiden, the very one who has cast her spell upon your heart?" He asked.

   Aegnor maintained silence for a moment as his squinting gaze fixed upon him. "You are nervous, Finrod," he remarked. Aegnor was no fool; Finrod could not deceive him, and he was foolish to believe he ever could. Finrod released a heavy sigh. His hair shimmering like moonlight upon a field of snow, his full, plump lips tensing. 

  "I first discerned the change within you at the gathering of the Eldar and the Edain in the years passed." He began. "I noticed how lovingly you tended to Andreth. Her sway over you is remarkable, to say the least. I watched you from a far as you sat close beside her, never straying from her side. Then I witnessed you both rise to retreat to the quiet of the wood." There was a tense pause that followed. "I bore witness to all that had happened between you there after." Aegnor rose from his seat, his lip curling in rage.

  "You followed us?" He growled

  Finrod remained in his place. His steady gaze meeting Aegnor's. "Yes," he replied. "Understand Aegnor, that what I did, I did for good reason..."

  "Good reason!?" Aegnor snapped, his voice course with building rage. "What reason could you provide to justify this blatant abuse of my trust, Finrod!?" Aegnor bellowed, his anger charged the room.

  ("Sit down, Aegnor!") Finrod commanded in elvish, his words carried the weight of a calm authority. Seething still, Aegnor reluctantly obeyed his command and gradually sank back down, his furious glare burning into him.

  "You are justified in your anger toward me, my brother. Know that I never seek with a deliberation to involve myself with the matters of your heart for you above all others hold them deep. In this particular instance, it was necessary."

  "You may be the eldest Finrod!" Aegnor hissed venomously. "And you may wear even atar's own ring! But you do not hold the right to decide what is necessary in the matters of my heart!"

Finrod paused, his calm expression witnessing Aegnor's unravelling further into rage, he continued with a slow disappointed shake of his head, "The countless times I protected the love between you and Amarië! Keeping your secrets, lying to amil and atar on your behalf, however much it pained me to do these things, my love in witnessing your bliss never wavered! Here now, I stand on the precipice of a love of my own only to find your shadow cast over me, invading my privacy and meddling in my affairs!" He yelled, his white teeth bared like a cornered animal, ready to lunge. 

   Finrod sighed, and broke his gaze, seeking a moment to recover himself. "I must ascertain, beyond a shadow of doubt, the maiden you have chosen, is it Andreth?"

  Glaring sternly into Finrod's eyes, Aegnor spoke with unyielding certainty and undeniable firmness. "Without a shadow of doubt... brother!" Aegnor spat through bared teeth, "It is..."

   The confirmation hung over Finrod like a leaden cloud. His head sunk low into his chest, and a look of despondency engulfed his visage as his last facade to conceal his emotions from Aegnor shattered. Anger blazed fiercely within Aegnor as he observed Finrod's crestfallen state.

  "Be cautious, Finrod, that you do not further invoke my wrath, lest I succumb to deeds I shall surely, deeply regret!" Aegnor seethed. His hand tightened. Finrod regarded him slowly as Aegnor's fortitude was tested to its limit. 

  "You show caution, Aegnor, that you do not make threats toward me! Cease the tempest that rages within you!" Finrod ordered steadily, his voice resonating with a low, commanding timbre. The profound scowl etched upon Aegnor's countenance pierced into Finrod. A mysterious darkness shadowed Aegnor's brow lending power to the profound flames that lit up his eyes. A terrifying glow that burned with such intensity never before was witnessed by Finrod. Though it did frighten him to behold such a sight, Finrod showed no fear. Then, as if caught by a sudden realization, Aegnor twitched and disengaged. Burying his head in his hand, messaging his brow.

    "So, you disapprove," Aegnor grumbled. His subdued gaze clinging to the floor. "She is no princess or maiden of high birth. She is more unlike the pompous, flittering, babbling, senseless ones you and Angrod throw at me at every hurdle!" He groaned

  "On the contrary," Finrod countered, "I hold a great fondness for her. She is after all the fore daughter of my most trusted servant and friend," Finrod replied, finally prompting Aegnor to look at him. A heavy pause hung in the air, and choosing to switch to elvish, he used their mother tongue to speak to Aegnors heart.

 ("When you came to me, to first seek my counsel, you unveiled the captive state of your heart, withholding her name from me, and I respected your silence. I presumed, brother, that this mysterious maiden belonged to our kind and not of mortal lineage. It was only through the glimpses of the intimate embrace you shared with her that fateful night that the gravity of my misjudgement unravelled before me,")

    With an icy, low growl, Aegnor responded chillingly. ("... What did you say?")

    Finrod explained on. ("The call of the feä is a phenomenon that resonates only within the Eldar. Bestowed upon us by the Valar, it is a connection that eludes the comprehension of all other races. Whether the depth of Andreth's love for you matches the fervent longing in your own heart, none can say with certainty. As Eldar, we are bound to seek out our spouses only among our own kind.")

   Aegnor, his face shrouded in an icy, vacant gaze, stared at Finrod, the pause pregnant with tension. Then, without a warning, Aegnor's leg swung out in a release of terrifying rage. His hard boot slammed beneath the small table between them, upturning it in a loud sudden crash. He sprung to his feet, his teeth and jaw clenching tightly.

   "Not only do you abuse and disregard my feelings, now you seek to insult me by calling into question the legitimacy of Andreth's love for me!" He roared, rejecting his brothers attempts to sooth him with elvish words, "Whether Andreth bears the blood of Eldar or the Edain, She is no less worthy a maiden in my eyes, and I discern no distinctions between our genders. Why then do you seek to erect barriers of your design to drive us apart for no reason other than the blatant bigotry in your heart!?"

   Finrod rose to his full height. His eyes thunderous and his voice deepened, resonating with authority. "You shall not besmirch my character with words that have no place in my home!" he retorted

   Aegnor's gaze darkened into a taunting glare, leaning forward, "Did it vex you, brother? To watch us in ecstasy in a heated kiss?" He hissed, his eyes narrowing, "I tasted her fully, and it pleasured her! My tongue savoured her with blissful delight!"

  "Enough of that vile talk, Aegnor!" Finrod thundered, his eyes flashing. "You are vulgar and contemptuous and bereft of the decorum of the Eldar! Once a thought takes root in your head, it consumes you, and you lose all sight of yourself! Are you utterly incapable of learning from your mistakes?" Finrod roared.

  "My mistake lies in ever placing trust in you!" Aegnor screamed, his strong, guttural roar reverberating through the air, near shaking the delicate ornaments that adorned the shelves.

   "I care not for your sentiments! Here my words, once this accursed war is over, Andreth and I shall be wed, and if you deny me a ceremonial union with her, then through our hroä's alone, we shall have it!" Aegnor spun to leave, walking toward the window. Finrod watched him, his silence heavy within the air. Aegnor stopped.

  "I do not want enmity with you, Finrod," he spoke, his voice now a fragile murmur. The light from the window cast upon him as he turned back, catching the glistening in his watery eyes. His pained countenance concealed a vast ocean of torment. "I came in hopes of celebration, that we might both rejoice in this newfound love within my heart, just as you have known... with Amarïe." Finrod's gaze descended to the ground, a profound, trembling sigh escaping his flaring nostrils, burdened with the weight of Aegnor's pain. "Must you deny me the very same desire?" Aegnor quivered, his steely grey eyes glistening in the light. 

  "Is this truly what you desire Aegnor?" Finrod asked, lifting his gaze. "Forsaking all our customs should you choose this path, knowing the consequences a physical union bereft of ceremony will bring? To cast aside your entire kin, every soul that loves you like a burdensome pebble thrown to the relentless waves, all for the sake of this love?"

   Aegnor sighed deeply, his gaze averted, as if deeply contemplating the depth of his words. "Know that it is not a decision I make lightly, for I alone bear its heavy cost. I love you, but I must follow the call of my heart, even as it breaks me to part ways from you and from Angrod. There is no other way for me. No matter how it pains me to speak these words."

   Finrod sighed mournfully, his brow wrinkled with profound sadness, "If that is what you truly feel... then I know not even my words can reach you now." He slowly turned from him, his head hung low with deep sorrow. 

   "Finrod... please!" Aegnor's voice, coarse with anguish croaked. "I can no longer live like this! This burning longing, this vast emptiness that consumes my beaten heart! All my life, I have served you with no desire for return, I have done all that you have asked of me! Why are you doing this!? It is not fair!!" He cried, his face wet with tears. "Why must you punish me so cruelly?" His voice had waned to but a fragile crack. Desperate for Finrod's acceptance. The sound was too agonising for Finrod to bear and he turned back around once more, his eyes finding Aegnor's. His narrow cheeks wet with heavy tears. Aegnor crumbled before him, the agony in his face pleading with Finrod. His head hung in defeat, he slowly turned back to the window just as tears gushed from his eyes as his quiet sobs echoed like thunder claps between them.

   "Dry your eyes and follow me," Finrod finally replied with remarkable steadiness. "There is something I want to show you." He swiftly left, leaving Aegnor alone. With a heavy sniff and trembling breaths Aegnor did as he was asked and wiped away his flooding tears, taking a moment to collect himself. He then slowly followed his brother's lead out of the dim room and into the darkness of his caved palace.

Leave a Comment

Awakening

Aegnor followed behind as Finrod led him deeper into his dark dwelling, brightly illuminated by beautiful statues of elves of both genders holding torches of fire. They stopped at a large archway that held two doors. Commanding the armoured guards to step aside, which they responded with prompt obedience, they opened the doors simultaneously and allowed Finrod inside, followed by Aegnor pacing nonchalantly behind. The guards closed the doors behind them, and alone, the brothers were immediately shrouded in darkness. 

   Their feet were met with an immediate twisting staircase that descended down deeper. Their keen eye sight navigated the stone staircase. "Why this secrecy? Where are you taking me?" Aegnor demanded in annoyance. 

   Finrod's voice measured replied, "Be patient, Aegnor, all shall be revealed in due time. Now, come, stay close by my side." Finrod's words echoed through the hollow staircase as they descended. 

   At the foot of the winding steps, Finrod retrieved a torch from the wall, casting a warm glow upon their faces. Trinkets and ornaments were scattered haphazardly about, a testament to Finrod's long-standing fondness for collecting curious objects. Aegnor could not help but feel a twinge of nostalgia, remembering his youthful explorations of Finrod's private chambers in Tirion, where he would mischievously rearrange his brother's possessions. To Finrod, his collections were considered his sanctuary. But to Aegnor, it was a messy, disorganised hoard of objects that needed tidied up. Finrod led Aegnor through the labyrinthine, tapestry-lined corridors, and their footfalls resounding. Suddenly, a clanking sound startled them.

  "Ah, Finrod!" Aegnor roared, delivering a penalty kick to the offending object that had tripped him. It crashed against the wall, shaking the very air around them. His brow furrowed in annoyance. "I tire of this game! When will you learn to keep your household in order, lest it succeed in breaking my neck?"

   Finrod sighed, a touch of weariness in his voice. "When will you learn to control your rage, Aegnor?"

   At last, they reached the gaping maw of a great cavern. Aegnor's breath caught in his throat at the sight before him. Within the dark depths, a small island of rock stood surrounded by a luminescent pool. Glowing cave flowers of blue and purple hues adorned the rock and cascaded over the ebony walls, casting an otherworldly radiance. Aegnor's eyes fell upon a large, white quartz casket, its lid bearing intricate carvings and a golden plate with an inscription. 

  "Do you know whose remains lay here?" Finrod asked, his gaze fixed upon Aegnor.

   Aegnor studied the casket, memories stirring within him. "A mortal," he replied simply.

  "You are correct," Finrod said, his voice tinged with sorrow. "You knew him well, Aegnor. He was also the one to bestow upon you the knowledge and language of his people, that you may converse with them freely as you do now. Beör, my dearest companion. He was the first among men I encountered, and he is the ancestor of Andreth."

   Aegnor's eyes softened as recollections of Beör flooded his mind - the man's gentle smile, his love of nature, his curious spirit. "I remember him.." Aegnor whispered, his lips curling into a bittersweet smile. "He found such joy in the sway of trees and the light of dawn."

   Finrod nodded solemnly. "Beör passed within the walls of my kingdom, his health succumbing to the ravages of mortal ailments. His fate is the burden that all men must bear - the fading of the light within them."

   Aegnor's gaze lingered upon the casket, his heart heavy with the weight of Finrod's words. "Then Andreth's spirit carries the very essence of this noble soul," he murmured, admiration dawning in his eyes. "No wonder our bond is so profound.."

  "Do you not see the toils that plague the Youngar? The curse of death and weariness that lurks before them?" Finrod asked, desperately searching for Aegnor's understanding.

   Aegnor shrugged, "Do we not also suffer toil, Finrod? By fall of sword or poison? Do we not also experience death, same as they?"

   Finrod sighed. "Alas, this is true, yet Aegnor, why is it that Andreth's ancestors are all absent while Andreth roams the world, live and well?" Finrod asked. A sudden shift hit Aegnor. He stared at the casket, his eyes squinting, deep in a chasm of his thoughts. "A mortal's lifespan is but a fleeting blink in our eyes. Like a bloom that grows from the ground, its splendour in full light of the moon, only to wither by the rise of the morning sun. Andreth will meet the same fate as Beör like all his descendants after him." The gentle hum of the torch held between them echoed in the silence, its dancing light reflecting off their faces. "There is no power that can alter this course, my brother,"

   Aegnor stared at Finrod. His words hung between them like a dense, suffocating cloud. "Her spirit will fade until she too is beset by the ravages of old age, her strength and beauty never returning with passing of time. And that time is very short indeed."  Finrod murmured.

  "I care not for the loss of her beauty! nor the fading of her strength!" Aegnor exclaimed, his voice edging with sorrow. "When she can no longer see, my eyes shall be hers. When her feet fail her, it is my legs that will carry her. I would care for her as though she was my own child! Surely, our love will still remain!"

  "Have you considered her feelings, Aegnor? Do you truly believe that Andreth would not suffer the shame of growing old alone while you, her own husband, retain your youth and vigour, untouched by age? Will she not continuously worry that your love for her will dissolve, the indignity of relying on your care, while her independent spirit still stokes its fierce flame?" Finrod replied softly. Aegnor was stunned silent. "Her lifespan may not even surpass the end of the siege," Finrod added.

   Aegnor took a step back, his face riddled with confusion and slow realisation. "Then surely she will go to Mandos for healing!" Aegnor cried. "She will be made anew, and we will find one another again!" Desperate hope clung to his countenance, his eyes pleading with Finrod's.

  "Nay Aegnor," he replied sorrowfully, his eyes equally glistening with unshed tears. "For the feä of mortals are fated to go west, blown by the wind of Erú Illuvatar, to a place that is hidden from the Eldar and nigh return henceforth."  Aegnor stepped backwards, his horror taking hold,

  "Finrod..," he muttered, dispair gripping his very core. Suddenly, the words came flooding from him in a single, anguished rush. "You were the one that said our feä's never error in their choice! You told me!" He cried, his desperate eyes flooding with tears. Looking to Finrod, his sharp whimpers cut through the air. "What must I do!? Brother!" Aegnor cried, his voice tapering into dispair."Tell me what I must do!"

    The painful lump in a Finrod's throat tightened. "For the sake of her happiness, allow Andreth to choose another from her own kind, and return never to her side,"

    Within Aegnor's vacant, frozen stare, Finrod heard the cracks begin to split the walls of his brothers mind. The last tendrils of sanity shattering like brittle glass. Within his eyes, Finrod witnessed his very foundations crumpling to rubble before his very eyes. Slowly, with great care, he extended a gentle hand to Aegnor, as if to figuratively grasp to what ever remained of his brother in that fragile monent, desperate to save him from total collapse. Suddenly, Aegnor ran from him, fleeing into the darkness.

     The echoes Finrod's desperate attempt to recall his brother to the safety of the light went unheard in Aegnor's ears as he ran for what seemed like his entire lifetime. Aegnor was shrouded in thick darkness as his footsteps drummed through the corridors. Unable to see, unable to hear. He ran until an object splayed haphazardly on the ground tripped the elf, sending him flying through the air and landing with a hard crash upon the unforgiving stone floor. 

   The pain in his body from such a deadly fall rattled his very bones as he struggled up from tge floor. His voice bubbling into soft wimpers of agony, but it was quickly quelled by a searing rage that boiled from his veins. Aegnor seized the offending object and launched it against the wall. It shattered on impact and scattered around the ground. He grabbed then another, and it met the same fate. He ripped tapestries and banners that hung from the walls. Candelabras, he smashed into the ground with unadulterated might. The thunderous crashes of objects mixed with unholy roars and wails of devastating horror and rage. Suddendly, Aegnor was quelled by the arms of Finrod who had siezed him from behind, holding his brothers body against his as Aegnor succumed to the grief that swamped his entire body in final, peircings scream of devastating sorrow, sinking to the ground.

   Wrapped in Finrod's embrace, Aegnor wailed upon the floor. His ferocious sobs flooded the spacious passageway, shrounded in cold, darkness amounst the desolation Aegnor had wrought. His screams as the agony of a love denied him tore him asunder until there was no more power in his voice and no more tears in his eyes. 

   In the deafening silence. Aegnor lay. His eyes dulled of light and red with tears. His fragile expression and vacant stare haunted the space where they lay. Finrod, a comforting present, sat behind. His arms still wrapped around his brother. 

   "I will never walk again among the meadows with love in my heart, nor will I feel the touch of happiness. For what love has brought me, I would never welcome its embrace again." Aegnor whispered, his voice raw and coarse.

  At that moment, he uttered his final vow, "I will go to the halls, a place far from the world and her memory, and never will I return again,"

   With those sombre words, Aegnor's eyes closed, and he surrendered to the comfort of sleep. His fire extinguished completely. Finrod, his heart deep in the abyss of despair, cradled his precious siblings limp body. His tears flooded, and Finrod wept quietly. His huffs and sniffs ghost through the echoes of the lonely sanctuary.

○○○

   Upon the pinnacle of a cliff, a solitary Andreth perched serenely, her hair gracefully wisped away by the furious breeze. A light smile played upon her lips. She opened the book in her hand. Pressed in its pages, the flower Aegnor had given her, his promise to her. 

  She turned her dark head towards the trees behind her as the soft thudding of hooves drew closer, an elf with bright hair. Her heart swelled with excitement. Her face pulled into a dazzling grin as she shot to her feet. Her white dress is billowing in the wind. 

  "It is him! He has come! He has kept his promise!"

   As he drew closer and his face became clearer, it was not Aegnor. Her grin faded and was replaced by a look of confusion as Finrod gained ground upon her. He came to her with a wave of grimness. He appeared as though he had not known a days rest. Slowly, she bowed.

   "Lord Finrod, what brings you to me?" She asked

   Finrod's sad eyes cast to the ground. "Lady Andreth, I have sought you out on behalf of those I love." She gazed at him silently, her smile fading. Finrod, his face grim and tired, added," I am aware of the affections shared between my brother and you and of the pledge you made to one another. I have come to tell you that you are forthwith released of the vows you spoke to one another, and you are free to make them to another. I am sorry," he bowed briskly and turned without another word.

   "My lord?" She called out, he stopped. "Is he safe and well?" 

   Finrod turned. "Aegnor is safe." He replied 

   "Would you deliver a message for me?" She asked calmly. Finrod sighed and waited.

   "Please tell him... " she paused, "To be well." 

   After Finrod had rode away. She stood there in the sun. The wind billowing in her hair and flowing dress. Her book clasped in her hands slowly slipped out and unfirled upon the ground. The wind flicked the pages, and from its folds, the pressed white bloom blew out, carried away in its breath. 

   Slowly, she sank down upon her knees. Her eyes shimmered, and the tears pooled, making droplets upon her splended white gown. She looked upon the heavens. Their swirling grey clouds met her gaze with an ominous canopy, and the cold spashes of rain kissed her face. Images of Aegnor flashed through her mind in rapid motion, his voice whispering into her ear, until they culminated in the memory of his soft kiss and she released a roar of utter despair toward the heavens and the sobs burst from her. She cried and wailed as the rain came lashing down. Her rage manifested in the rainstorm that engulfed her as her heart shattered into a million pieces.

   And so, as the years came to pass. Andreth would write countless letters to Aegnor, hoping one would reach him. Letters of love, letters of rage, each one went unanswered. There came not a single word from him, and her dispair at his cruelty toward her grew evermore, and she found no respite.

○○○

   A dark, gloomy shadow cast over Aegnor since his awakening in Nargothrond, forever altering his once vibrant heart. Laughter vanished from him, replaced by a haunting emptiness that swallowed him. His words were scarce and fleeting. He ignored the sons of Feänor, their cruel taunts going unchallenged and unanswered. His spirit, completely shattered. Angrod, deeply troubled with his fallen brothers depression, tirelessly endeavoured to comfort him. unaware of the reasons for Aegnor's inner turmoil, but nothing helped, for Aegnor's heart was utterly broken.

   Not content with his misery, he threw himself in the relentless pursuit of his foes, throwing himself recklessly into the heart of battle and their vicious hordes. Employing the most brutal methods, he honed his skills, evolving into a figure far more brutal and ruthless than anyone could have fathomed each blow he struck unleashed his pent-up rage, offering him fleeting solace in the wake of their screabs if agony or in the mere hope that even one of their blades would peirce his body, finally bringing him release. 

   When not consumed by fury and brutality, Aegnor distracted himself with wine, drinking excessively until his mind and body would falter into unconsciousness, and there he would lie for many days. He withdrew himself, succumbing to the lonely cries of his tormented mind, recklessly drowning his anguish with each intoxicating gulp. Angrod was helpless to save his brother. For he was working to hasten his death and leave this world and his pain behind.

○○○

Nargothrond

400 A.D

   Finrod found solace in the seclusion of his chambers, seated upon the floor amidst a plush array of scattered cushions. The comforting warmth of the crackling fire enveloped him, its flickering light casting dancing shadows upon the walls. Deep in thought, his wearied spirit sought respite from the burdens of the day. The gentle melody of a nearby waterfall floated through the air, accompanied by the soft hum of the fire, creating a soothing symphony that eased his troubled mind.

   Yet peace eluded him, his heavy thoughts interrupted by a gentle rap on his chamber door. He beckoned its maker to enter. His steward came into his view. In his outstretched hands, a silver plate held a missive.

   "My lord," he spoke. "Pardon for intruding upon this late hour. I have received a letter intended for your brother from the lady Andreth. As per your instruction, it has been delivered directly to you."

   "Thank you," Finrod replied sadly, gently lifting it from the plate. Left alone once more, Finrod held the sealed envelope delicately, its weight heavy with many words.

   It had been many, many long years since he had seen a letter, but its contents would never be seen by Aegnor's eyes. In a solemn movement, Finrod placed the letter upon the bed of the fire, watching with vacant eyes as the flames devoured it. It curled and turned black as it burned. Mirroring the fate of all the letters that had come before it, shielding Aegnor's heart from further torment. He watched coldly until it was reduced to flakes of ash and soot. His heart, numb with dispair.

Leave a Comment

Ladros  

445 A.D

Farewell, my true love.

   In the hearth's warm embrace, a fair haired woman of middle age carefully arranged logs upon the crackling fire, casting a soft, glow that lit the room. Only a few lines adorned her eyes. A testament to a life well-lived and enjoyed to the full. Standing behind her, her elderly aunt exuded a dignified presence, while long, unbound strands of silver tresses stretched neatly past her shoulders and downs her back. Time had etched its mark upon Andreth, with furrows of weariness and faded beauty adorning her brow. Yet, her eyes, though dimmed by the passage of years, still retained a hint of vibrant life. And her serene smile bespoke an enduring gratitude towards her beloved niece. Delicate, vein-laden hands clutched a walking stick, guiding her slow, deliberate steps towards the bed.

  "Tonight, dear aunt, you shall find solace in the warmth of the hearth," the rich voice of her niece graced the room with a tender reverence. Placing a supportive hand upon the elderly woman's back, she gently guided her towards the waiting bed. With hands that trembled, she handed over her cane, and beneath the covers, the elderly lady eased herself with a groan of weariness, her tired bones creaking and clicking with long life's use. Slowly, she settled down, allowing her slender, fragile body respite from the burdens of age.

  "This winter has proven to be exceptionally severe. At times, I had believed it might be my last," She jested. Her wit as sharp as ever.

  "You have countless winters yet to witness," Hirwen laughed softly, carefully tucking in the sheets and adjusting the pillow with tender care. "You shall not depart from us soon!"

  "Draw near, Hirwen, allow me to behold your face," Andreth beckoned, extending her shaking hand out. Yielding to her aunt's request, she gracefully descended to her knees beside her. "Ah, indeed, you are fair as the winter snow." She murmured. "I only wish your mother could have known you." 

  "My true mother, Variel?" She asked and turned sad, "Father never did speak of her, even after he had remarried and had many more children," she added sadly, her gaze descending sorrowfully to the ground. "How I wish I knew what she looked like," she sighed wistfully.

   Andreth smiled upon her beloved niece, who had been like a daughter to her, "You need not look far, child," she said, cradling her face in her shaking aged hand. "You have her likeness, how she warmed my heart when I was a young woman, with the wind in my hair and a fire in my spirit. Now look at me, a withering old lady. There was no fear in her eyes in her final hours. It is in such a manner that I aspire to meet my own demise," 

  "You still possess immense strength within you," Hirwen insisted.

  "Child," Andreth replied. "I am the last scion of my noble house. Soon, I shall join my mother and father, brother, and sister in the next world, as sure as the winds of change," Andreth replied weakly, her gaze locked with Hirwen's eyes "I welcome this next journey, and when I pass, I shall finally have peace for my poor heart, burdened with old age and longings, long gone."

   Hirwen rose and turned away. Wiping away a solitary tear. Hidden from Andreths gaze. "When you speak such things, I can not bear it," she croaked.

  "I shall miss you deeply, my child," Andreth whispered. Slowly, Hirwen turned to the only mother she had ever known and leaned in. She placed a tender kiss upon her warm brow. 

  "Sleep well, beloved aunt," she whispered and turned up the sheets. After placing a few more logs onto the cosy fire, Hirwen left with a gentle sweep of the door. 

   In solitude, Andreth gently cast aside the covers enveloping her lap, and with a determined grip on her walking aid, slowly elevated herself once again. Limping towards the window, she unlatched the shutters, allowing her gaze to venture into the night. The frigid air pierced her very bones, eliciting an instinctive recoil, yet even the biting gusts failed to dissuade her. The wind, in its capricious dance, playfully swathed her flowing tresses. Like a spectral figure graced by the night's embrace, she stood as the breeze tenderly caressed her weathered flesh. Her watery eyes traversed the horizon as she inhaled deeply, savouring a liberating breath.

   The melancholic smile etched upon her face, and she summoned the visions of her youthful days. Those moments spent basking in the sun's warm embrace, her steed saddled between her legs, carefree and unburdened. Alas, those days seemed a distant memory now. In that fleeting instant of clarity, his face haunted her thoughts once more. His eyes, intense with fire, burned their gaze into her mind.

   She covered her face with trembling hands, surrendering her thoughts to the wayward winds. Despite the pain and sadness she was made to endure for so long, still, her heart pined for him. Her lips still desired his. She wept into her palms, mourning the life that should have been hers, snatched away.

    On this fateful night, the stars bestowed upon her a spectacle surpassing all earthly beauty, wrenching her mind from its depths of desolation. A surge of thousands or more stars streaked across the ebony canvas, an ethereal ballet of luminous trails. Shooting over her head. Transfixed, her weathered lips stretched into a wide grin, as the night sky came to life, enveloping her in an embrace of wonder and awe. 

    Beneath the vast expanse of the heavens, the same spectacle of stellar radiance also graced the skies above Angband. Standing alone upon the towering ramparts, Aegnor, with a solemn gaze, beheld the cosmic display of celestial beauty unfurling before him. The very atmosphere surrounding Angband, tainted by noxious fumes, altered the light emanating from the blanket of shooting stars, transforming the heavens into a resplendent display of captivating, shooting colours. A cloak of thick warm fur draped over his suit of armour, Aegnor observed them in profound silence. In his vacant eyes, he shed his anguished tears.

  "If she was destined to be mine... why could it not just be so?"

   Unable to hold back his tears, he unleashed his feä to the heavens, offering it freely to the Valar, beseeching them to relieve him of its burden. 

   As if propelled by a force, it burst forth from his very being. Radiant wisps of brilliant blue light soared like a celestial torpedo towards the lofty expanse of the sky, unseen by all save for the watchful gaze of Ilúvatar, who took notice of its brilliance. The feä ignited with its resplendent light, compelling the darkness to yield. Weightless, it lingered in the air as if yearning to traverse the horizons. It was the anguished cry of a lonesome feä, never to be joined in with its true love.

    Gazing upon the stars, Andreth found her mind ensnared by a sense of wonder, yet suddenly, seized by an overwhelming sadness that utterly engulfed her, surging through her with an intensity that defied comprehension. Clutching her chest, she surrendered herself to uncontrollable weeping, the weight of this mysterious sorrow not solely her own, but her true love's, Aegnor was reaching for her. Hearts condemned to be a part, weeping as one, Yearning for the other's touch.

   In that poignant moment, the realization washed over her—the truth she had been blind to for all those years revealed, — Aegnor loved her with all his heart, and his absence was not of his own choice. 

   Her heart swelled with love once more. Revitalising her as it did in the days of her youth. Hearts beating as one once more. As if carried upon the wind, her feä voice reached the ears of her beloved elf beneath the shower of stars, across the vast terrain that separated them.

  "I love you, always," 

   Aegnor raised his head toward the heavens from his anguished stupor, and his extreme sadness gave way to unparalleled joy that flowed from him and he smiled toward the wind. The same throws of joy burst through her also. As the wind dared to knock her down, Andreth was unyielding like a statue. The strength she felt from his feä pouring into her in a fleeting moment of connection after so long apart, and Aegnor felt the comfort from hers. 

    Like a fleeting ghost, the winds subsided, and all returned as though it never was. But both Andreth and Aegnor shared one final moment of their love. Though fleeting, it revitalised them and reassured them. Their love ever strong and never fading. 

○○○

Ladros

454 A.D

   Immersed in a state of bedridden suffering, Andreth laid upon her back, nestled in the embrace of her bed, basking in the depths of a deep slumber. Her vigour had waned completely, leaving her bereft of all strength. Only the gentle rise and fall of her chest betrayed any semblance of vitality within her frail form. As her life dwindled to a thread, her cherished memories followed suit, fading into oblivion.

   Within the confines of the chamber, the firelight danced with spectral ardour, casting undulating shadows that shielded against the night's wintry chill. Andreth found solace within the realm of her dreams. There, the shackles of pain relinquished their hold. Having embraced life's fullness, contentment washed over her as she awaited the imminent arrival of her eternal end.

   Amidst the stillness, a dark figure loomed at the window's threshold, casting a large silhouette upon the room. With an ethereal grace, it ascended over the pane, descending upon the ground with a hushed footfall, as if treading upon sacred ground.

   Once within the chamber, a sense of unease manifested in each deliberate movement. With a measured intent, the figure drew back his hood. unveiling the beauty of the face concealed within. Fixated upon Andreth, the figure's expression bore the burdens of many mournful regrets. Driven by a need to see her one last time. An unmistakable crown of golden locks adorned the figure's head. 

   With measured and deliberate steps, Aegnor drew nearer, his gaze unwavering as it fell upon the fragile figure before him. Her pale, thin hands lay tenderly upon her body. A blanket of lavender lay on her chest. A gift from her beloved elf to mark her birth. Nestled within its folds, another treasure stirred his heart—a glint of a moonstone hilt wrapped in vines of silver and gold. 

  Aegnor reached and gently touched her hand, but she did not stir. She had not even the strength to lift her eyes, to behold the eyes of her true love one last time. He sank down upon the bed where she lay, seated on the side. His eyes pouring into her. Her hair, once raven tresses, white like the dove. Her face is melancholy serenity. Her slumbering form is still as the night air.

  "Beloved?" his gentle whisper called to her. Yet not even his voice could rouse her. Aegnor turned away, unable to bear the sight of her so frail.

  "Andreth," he muttered. "I am in pain," His shaking breath escaped him. His numb heart beaten by the years her separation has inflicted upon him. He continued, "I sense an impending doom upon my horizon. The time of my own death, draws nigh,"  a pause lingered heavy with deep sadness, "This... is my parting goodbye, my sweet and most beloved friend," he croaked. His voice was broken with anguish.

   Slowly, Aegnor untied the cross lace at his neck and reached within. From his clothing, he removed his silver, pendant necklace, a gift from his mother, and had never parted from his skin henceforth. He gently placed it on her breast, upon her heart. With these final gifts, he surrendered all his earthly possessions that had once held deep significance to him.

   As his tears fell, he leaned forward, lowering his lips to her face. His lips touched hers as she lay beneath him. He lingered. The sweet kiss unbreaking between them. The bittersweet farewell to his saviour, and his love. Reluctantly, Aegnor rose, his hood casting a shadow over his tense face. His gaze lingered upon Andreth's still form one last time.

   Silently slipping away through the window, his movements as soft as a whisper in the night, Aegnor left behind the santuary of his heart, close to his beloved. Never to lay eyes upon her again.

○○○

 Angband

Dagor Bragollach

455 A.D.

   The ears of the elves were violated by the sudden deafening explosion eliciting a piercing scream to all unfortunate enough to hear it. A pillar of flames mixed with gas surged thousands of feet into the air. Alerted, Aegnor and Angrod made their way to the vantage point upon the wall only to be faced with a harrowing sight, the lifeless bodies of their fallen comrades, poisoned by the toxic fumes that had breached their defences. Coughing violently from the gasses, the brothers retreated into the sanctuary within the walls and readied for battle. Sending a messenger to Nargothrond, they called for Finrod's aid for Morgoth had returned. The messenger galloped with speed, hastening in his mission as Angrod and Aegnor prepared their soldiers for a great and foreboding battle.

    Orcs surged forth from the fiery crater, swarming across the vast plain of Angband, marching in their thousands toward the elven wall that guarded Dorthonion. The resounding roars and rhythmic thumping of metal created a terrifying spectacle, but Aegnor and Angrod stood firm, rallying their army. They were accompanied by wolves, their loyal companions forged through years of enduring the siege. With unwavering courage, they instilled order in their ranks and bolstered the spirits of their warriors.

    The clash erupted with a ferocity that was both violent and brutal. Malevolent black fireballs, akin to torpedoes, hurtled towards the majestic walls, shattering their defences into heaps of rubble and dust. A relentless tide of orcs surged into the realm, leaving a trail of elven slaughter in their wake. However, amidst the chaos, the fear that Aegnor instilled in the hearts of the orcs held them at bay. He fought tirelessly, driven by a blazing inferno of determination that surpassed all reason. Valiantly, he shielded his soldiers from the worst of the onslaught.

   The elf prince stood as an unwavering bastion of desolation and strength, urging the elven warriors onward. With indomitable spirit, he pushed them back against the overwhelming forces arrayed against them. Having triumphed over the first wave of orcs, the elven lords rallied their brethren to the vast expanse of the open plain. In a display of unison, the elven army swiftly regained their disciplined formation, aligning their ranks with precision. Guided by the formidable leadership of the princes, Angrod and Aegnor, they charged together in a breathtaking, mighty display of defiance in the face of impending doom.

   In the dark lord's ultimatum of submission or death, the elves of Dorthonion had chosen death, standing united in their undeterred resolve to meet their end as one. Arrows and searing torrents of fire mercilessly descended upon them, unleashed by the soaring dragons ominously dominating the skies. Towering abominations, accompanied by Balrogs and enslaved trolls, bore witness to Morgoth's meticulous preparations as he readied himself to shatter the fiery shackles that held him captive. Fully cognizant of the dire situation, Aegnor adamantly rejected surrendering his life without a valiant fight, especially while his beloved still drew breath within her lungs. He vowed to defend her existence with unwavering resolve, even if it meant his own demise. 

   As the war raged on, elves, orcs, and trolls alike were consumed by fire and smoke as the dragons and balrogs showed no partiality. Scaling the crumbling remnants of the walls, Aegnor effortlessly bounded onto the back of a thundering dragon in a swift flight, tightly gripping its rugged, scaled hide. The dragon's fury blazed as it executed daring aerial manoeuvres, defying gravity with powerful mock dives and twirls, attempting to dislodge the elf from its massive frame. Yet, with unwavering strength, Aegnor tenaciously clung to the beast, perched atop its mighty head. with a swift, precise motion, he simultaneously drove his twin knives into the beast's eyes, rendering it blind, panicked and unable to see, the Dragon lost momentum and went plummeting toward the ground in a full-scale dive. It careened into another dragon in mid-air, their wings and tails entwined. Together, they plummeted to the earth in a cataclysmic collision, their impact heralded by a deafening thunder, claiming both of their lives in an instant. 

   Aegnor was not spared from the devastating blow. Enveloped by towering walls of raging dragon flame, he mustered a feeble attempt to rise, only to be seized by searing agony coursing through his shattered form, forbidding him completely of movement. The encroaching horde of orcs closed in upon him, their overwhelming numbers threatening to snuff out his very existence. Aegnor, with a gradual acceptance of his impending fate, steeled himself to confront his ultimate demise. In the depths of his soul, a well of strength ran dry, leaving only a haunting calmness, as he prepared to face the abyss.

   Just as he surrendered his last vestige of resolve, a figure soared over his prone body, a beacon of righteous fury. Raising his weary head. Without hesitation, Angrod, akin to a vengeful spirit, launched himself at the advancing army, ruthlessly dispatching any who dared draw near, shielding his brother with a selflessness that defied all boundaries. Helpless, Aegnor bore witness to Angrod's valiant efforts, his heart torn asunder, until, with a single brutal thrust, an orc plunged a blade into Angrod's back, ripping forth a resounding cry of fierce anguish. Aegnor, his voice raised in a desperate plea for his brother, tried to rise from the ground, but his own shattered body betrayed him.

    Angrod, overwhelmed by the relentless horde, was swiftly engulfed, his form disappearing into the bloodthirsty mob, revelling in the spoils of an elf prince at their mercy. The orcs, devoid of sorrow, unleashed a frenzied storm of blades upon him, an unholy ritual of slaughter. Aegnor's anguished screams mingled with his grief as he borne witness to it all by the fiery depths that blazed within his eyes. With his body broken and his brother, his last source of strength, wrested from him, the once mighty prince now lay helpless and broken in every sense.

   Finally, the orcs ceased their butchery. Covered in Angrod's blood, their lusty eyes now turned to his brother. Who lay motionless upon the grass like a helpless lamb. The orcs advanced upon him, bringing forth the cruel and merciless demise that awaited him. Releasing a trembling sigh, Aegnor slowly rolled onto his back, his form sinking into the earth. With his gaze fixed steadfastly upon the heavens, his eyes beheld the brilliance of the stars, a radiant splendour amidst a moment plagued by chaos. In that tranquil peace, he captured the memory within his mind, shutting out all sound and sensation. Even as blow after blow was rained upon his body by the savage orcs, destroying it completely, Aegnor smiled, refusing to relinquish his consciousness. He would not grant the orcs the satisfaction of witnessing his life extinguished by their hands.

  The ebony expanse of the sky shimmered with a brilliance surpassing any he had witnessed before. He lay sprawled upon the verdant, blood-stained grass, solitary and serenely at peace. The relentless horde had long since wearied of their pursuit, abandoning the wounded elf to his fate. Crimson rivulets adorned his form. Yet, in his final moments, pain, anguish, and fear were but distant echoes. Fixing his heavy-lidded gaze upon the celestial tapestry above, he sought solace in its ethereal splendour, offering unspoken reverence. 

   As his last tethered breath whispered its farewell, a silent, tearful plea resonated within his mind, to Illuvatar and the Valar, beseeching them to remember him and his undying love for Andreth, that they might be reunited once the final note of the melody resounded, ushering in the end of time. Their union fulfilled anew within a world untainted by the constraints of this world—a love that had been unjustly denied to them.

   Aegnor finally surrendered his earthly existence, his essence ascending from his spent vessel in an iridescent azure radiance, ascending skyward into the realm of the night and mingling with the luminescence of the stars.

   As news reached Finrod's ears, he swiftly made his way to Dorthonion, only to be intercepted on his journey by yet more orcs, having almost lost his life, saved by Barahir, Bregor's own grandson, he sent a messenger who returned bearing grave tidings. The messenger brought with him a single witness to the great battle. He relayed the harrowing news of the catastrophic fight. Aegnor and Angrod fought with valiant might, defending their soldiers and one another and had successfully pushed back. Alas, their efforts had been in vain. Dorthonion had fallen to the Dark Lord, and with a heavy heart, delivered the news of the fates of his brothers whose remains now lay still, lifeless upon the battlefield.

   Overwhelmed by grief, the weight of the messenger's final words brought Finrod to his knees. In response, with utmost reverence, his soldiers journeyed onward and dutifully retrieved the broken bodies of Angrod and Aegnor, and carried them to Finrod. 

Side by side, Finrod carefully laid his brothers bodies down, his sorrowful gaze fixed upon Aegnor's face. His eyes closed in a peaceful slumber, dark lashes fanning his cheeks. His lips, ashen grey,  curved in a delicate, eternal smile. His lifeless countenance bore an expression of serene tranquillity. Devoid of pain and anguish. An expression of utter peace. 

   Finrod's bubbled into tears, mingling with the sorrow that his heart could not bear, as he pressed his lips upon Aegnor's icy, solid forehead. Never again would he hear his brothers voice or witness the intense fire within his eyes. Aegnor was was gone, his vibrant flame blown out, never to be rekindled. Beside his fallen brother, Finrod's dignified facade crumbled into mournful sobs, a poignant testament to love he bore for Aegnor.

   At that very moment, Andreth, warm in her bed, drew her final breath. Her memories of Aegnor, extinguished with her life. Within her thin, pale hands tightly clasped her treasured gifts as she embarked upon her journey to the grave. it stood as a poignant proclamation to Illuvatar, affirming that the love between Andreth and Aegnor was legitimate and transcended the boundaries of elven and mortal fates—a testament to their enduring, true love.

Leave a Comment

A Second Chance

A millennium has passed since the death of Aegnor. His fëa has remained in the halls of mandos since that moment. Awaiting a healing that he never believed would come.

Halls of Mandos

   The lonely halls bathed in a grey mist. An otherworldly realm of silence and peace. Arched pillars seemed to reach upward to eternity, supporting a roof that seemed too far to exist. Spectral orbs of light floated at random intervals only to fade once more. These were the feäs of elves lost throughout the ages of Middle Earth, awaiting judgement by Mandos and rebirth. It had been a millennia since Aegnor had felt wind or grass. A floating orb that gave off a slightly bluer aura than the rest confined itself in the small corner of a hollowed, decadent alcove, dormant as a sleeping demon. It's light dim from a hope, long burned out.

   It was at this moment that the orb was touched by another ethereal light that descended from the void above. Verily, the mysterious, brilliant light compelled the dimmed orb to follow. A summoning at last! Life burst into the orb, and it twinkled and danced upon the spot, grateful for the recognition and, subsequently, a chance to plead its case. Stilling with a trembling flicker, it gently floated upward into the vast expanse of the grey emptiness.

   Following the guiding light, the grey void surrounding them got darker, becoming blackness. The light from the large spectre was their only torch. Soon, the blackness gave way to many floating lights that looked like stars as they shot past, propelled by an individual will of their own. The dim orb suddenly slowed to a stop and twinkled loudly, commanding attention from its guide. The orb twinkled and vibrated profusely, overcome by an intense sense of fear. Knowing that they had passed the court of the Mandos, where the case for each feä was heard and judged accordingly.

   The guiding light seemed to understand the orb's fear, reassuring it in a calm, warm glow. 'Do not fear, for everything will be alright' was the words it told to the orb.

   The dim flickering in of the orb slowly stabilised, relenting to the will of the guide. They continued their journey through the silent tunnel of swirling tails of light. Eventually, They came to a large, oval room. Around them, shooting stars arranged their light to form a platform of immense spectral glory. Swirling beneath an invisible circular plate that formed a floor, the glittering spectre of a being came into form, seated upon a throne formed of dazzling light, as if both sun and starlight glistened in a spectral dance.

   The guide had brought the orb to the centre of the plate and took its leave. Slowly gliding to join the whirlpool of shooting tails of light that surrounded them. As the form's features took shape, the orb trembled with terror and wonder as it beheld the sight before it. Erú Illuvatar, the creator of all life, stared serenely upon it. 

   "Pray speak, ethereal orb, to whom doth this Fëa rightfully belong?" Illuvatar spoke, his words a deep, thunderous rumble.

   The orb faltered, for it had not spoken words in a very long time.

   "A-Aegnor," a weakened voice whispered from its ghostly light.

    "Aikanár, Aikanáro and Aegnor. These are all thine names given to thee, the progeny of Finarfin and Ëarwen," Erú replied, "Thou hast spurned my gift of the Eldar! Why hast thou rejected thy rebirth?" Illuvatar asked.

    Trembling with great fear, the weakened voice responded,  "I stand by a sacred covenant I tendered in my life, unto Andreth, the Beörean woman. For she is my true love," it whispered. A still moment passed as Illuvatar paused, the shadow upon his face shifting and his spectral head inclined slightly.

    "Not sworn together in fates are the Eldar and mortals, Not to be bound by love or sworn vow. Therefore I, Erú Illuvatar, doth absolve thee of thy solemn vow. Depart from the Halls of Mandos, where thou hast dwelt in sombre solitude. Thy release is granted, thou hast tarried within this melancholic embrace for far too long."

    With resplendent brilliance, the orb erupted anew in a luminous cascade, yet now its movement appeared jagged and untamed, as though in vehement dissent. "Never shall I sever the tethers of my vow to my beloved! I have sworn to tread never amidst verdant pastures without the woman I love at my side as my cherished wife!" It proclaimed ardently, his voice resounding with building strength. 

    "Andreth's light hath long since passed into the hallowed realm of the dead, for she hath been ordained to depart this mortal coil, nevermore to return unto the physical world!" Ilúvatar uttered, his words firm. "Fëa's of mortals can not roam hither and tither!"

    The light of the orb dimmed to a fading ember yet, still flickering wildly. The twinkling from it seemed to repeat a pattern of loud ringing. Like the desperate sobbing of a breaking heart in great despair. Illuvatar watched from his thrown as the orb sank lower to the ground, its ghostly grey light almost dimming completely. 

    "It is true so! Thine feä's are bound as chosen mates! Verily I declare unto you, you shall never again know peace alone," Illuvatar remarked sadly. "Fated thine fëa's are as forever mates, but thy hroä's languish apart, unjoined in union. It is therefore incomplete. I Erú, cannot endorse the sanctity of the vow thy made unto her, for it exists not in truth." Illuvatar explained. 

    From the orb resounded sobs of desolation, their echoes permeating the space. "I beseech thee! I implore thee! O creator! Do not force me to forsake her again! To wrest such a thing from my grasp once more, I fear, I would scarcely endure a second!"

    A gaze of sincere compassion eclipsed in Èru's white, sparking eyes, his thunderous voice, turning with a hint of softness, "Fair child, I can not lay hold upon a love that hath never meant to exist." As if by some unforeseen power, the orb blasted a light so powerful, it drowned out all others, Aegnor's own voice, strong and true, echoed loudly from its spiritual prison.

  "Thou art capable! Thou hast demonstrated such power with Lúthien and Beren the mortal, Andreth's own kin; in Idril and Tuor of Gondolin;  Aragorn, son of Arathorn, a mortal, and Arwen, the elven maiden of Rivendell! If love between elves and men was never destined to be, why, then, was there fulfilment for them but not for I and Andreth? Answer me!"

   He pleaded his case before Illuvatar, the almighty creator, fervently fighting for the love he discerned to be true. Gradually, his flame rekindled within him. Silence ensued, the passion subsided, and his light dimmed once again as he waited patiently for his reply.

    Èru leaned forward from his glittering thrown. His every movement followed by an eerie, ghostly blur. "Pray, offspring of Finwé, do thou willingly yield all thine estate, O Eldar, for this fervent yearning? To secure but a transient span at Andreth's side, wherein love finds fulfilment in feä and hroä, only to be plagued once more by the cruel anguish of parting in the realm of death?" Inquired Illuvatar, his voice resonating with majestic grace.

  "I do," Aegnor replied without hesitation. "Though I know the winds of my heritage do not change, I am fated to be alone regardless of what I choose," the orb confessed, his voice quivering with emotions of profound intensity. "I relinquish all that is mine, O elven, and embrace a life with Andreth by my side,"

    "So be it," Erù spoke, his voice resolute. "A new home I shall create for thee and thy love, I shall grant unto Andreth the boon of thy rebirth, fashioning thy form with the very bones of thy former body. Thou shalt bear the weight of agony, for thy body hath suffered greatly in the brutality of battle, it shall afflict thee ceaselessly, and serve as an eternal testament to all thou hast forsaken... for the sake of thy love, and for Andreth," Erù proclaimed, his words infused with a profound elegance befitting the ethereal realm. 

   With a sweeping grace, Illuvatar extended his arm. As if guided by an ethereal, a spirited gust of wind seized the celestial sphere, propelling it into a spiralling descent from the heights. Its journey, unfettered by earthly constraints, shot like a comet across the celestial tapestry, leaving a resplendent trail of light in its wake. It flew over Middle-Earth and beyond, embarking upon an odyssey through uncharted domains where time and space surrendered their chains.

   The shooting light pierced the heavens of its new world, illuminating the sky in a magnificent splendour. Guided towards a sandy expanse. Where ocean waves crashed into a vast bay. The radiant sphere slowed its descent, gradually halting just above the sandy shore and with unparalleled grace, it gently floated down, sinking into the embrace of the sand, as if being drawn into its grainy shroud. 

   A moment later, beneath the shifting sands, began to stir a form, as if awakened by some unseen force. From the cascading grains emerged a large, smooth hand in the sun kissed air. Its fingers stretched out and trembling as the wind brushed against it. Ascending with unhurried grace, a lean arm rose attached by a robust, arched shoulder. Then, as if lifted by a waking dream, the entire form rose from beneath the grainy shroud. Granules and pebbles rolled down, revealing a bare torso of smooth glowing skin and a face.

   His hair, golden like the sun matted in sand granules billowed in the cresting breeze from the ocean's spray. Eyes, bright and alluring blinked lingeringly. Lips, full and soft, as the petals of a rose. Aegnor, his features resplendent and breath-taking as before, drew a sharp intake of breath, filling his lungs for the first time. Breathing life into his body once more. He gazed down at his palms and placed the upon his body, feeling his flesh again. Gazing up at the heavens, blue skies welcomed him. Suddenly, he burst into tearful laughter. His hands grasped his face and hair, much longer than before.

   Summoning his courage, Aegnor attempted to stand, his movements unsteady. Bereft of any clothing, he stood naked as the day of his birth. The mere movement of his reawakened bones brought forth a terrible ache, yet the pain paled in comparison to the overwhelming bliss that surged within his heart, for he had been granted the miraculous return of his body. His fëa returned to his body at last, regardless of the weariness that clung to its essence.

   Each delicate step forward unfamiliar to him after so long apart from his physical form, the art of walking eluded him. Every languid motion was accompanied by a searing ache, as if bolts of lightning coursed through his weary joints. One wavering step followed another, as he painstakingly adjusted his balance with trembling resolve. 

   Ignited by an unexpected surge of longing, Aegnor, his confidence surpassing reason, propelled himself with a burst of speed towards the vast expanse of the ocean waves that tempted him so. Yet, on his initial stride, he stumbled, collapsing onto the soft embrace of the sand, his anguished cry reverberating through the air as his feeble bones punished him severely for such carelessness. Gripping his teeth through the agonising pain. His limbs shaking, and Aegnor pushed himself up once more. His rippling muscles tensed as he rose, refusing defeat. He crawled the remainder of the way. His body, unable to bear his weight. 

    He felt the cold ocean water on his hands as its rolling swishes engulfed it with every rhythmic ebb and flow. Then, it touched his knees as he waded deeper until the elf was completely submerged in the lapping tides. The cold water enveloped his skin, the sensations washing away his agony. Within the relief of deep water, he surrendered to utter reverie in a weightless, silent bliss, feeling the ocean's cold, refreshing kiss upon his flesh after so long. Surfacing, he dived into the swells. Exclamations of exhilarated rapture burst from his very being as the waves washed over him, rekindling his senses and breathing life into his very core. The memories of bygone sorrows faded into obscurity, liberated from the burden of their anguish and the endless abyss of the hallowed halls. At last, he could feel again, his fëa reunited with his body, however fragile it was, still, it was his. His own.

   As the sun ascended beyond the new horizon, heralding the advent of a new and first beginning, Aegnor emerged from the undulating waves with a grace befitting his noble bearing. The water drops trickled down his glistening wet skin, down the curves of his broad chest and arms and trickling like raindrops from his fingertips, onto the waters swishing surface. His curtain of long wet gold hair clung around his physique, accentuating every sleek curve of his arms. Utterly unclad and equally unbothered, he waded back on to the sandy shore. His eyes took note of a wooden chest partially submerged in the sand that he had noticed before.

   Curious, he knelt before it and attempted to pull the lid open, only to be met with a sudden, unexpected  resistance. It was locked. A soft, ironic laugh bubbled from him. He pulled the chest out of the sand to examine it closer, and his eyes suddenly beheld the key, nesting beneath. It unlocked with a clear clicketing of the mechanism, and he pried the lid open. A wide humorous grin crept onto his beautiful face.

   "Well atar, you were wrong!" He smiled warmly to himself, recalling a tale of a certain empty chest from his youth.

   He released a trembling breath at the sound of his own voice and the words flowing through his mouth. Sensations long forgotten to him. Within its contents lay a few simple items. Clothing attire of a simple thin spun, open tunic and dark, tight leggings and silver capped boots. Matching the style he normally wore, only much less and more simplistic in its design. Inside also lay various items and tools for hunting and to make a shelter with. He dressed himself, throwing the tunic over his back and tied it at the waist.

   Nestled beneath these items, he discovered a precious treasure that ignited a gasp of astonishment: the rich lavender hue shimmered with an iridescent glow, while the glistening beads adorning its surface seemed to smile upon their lost creator, beckoning his tearful gaze the delicate blanket he had made for Andreth to mark her birth.  He picked it up and traced his finger gently along the delicate beading. He then brought it to his nose. Her scent lingered on it still, and he trembled. A lump caught in his throat. His heart sank as he thought of Andreth, his ancient memories of her came flooding back to him.

   In the depths of his reverie, Aegnor sensed an inexplicable stir within his being. His very fëa suddenly leapt with a resplendent joy, its motive shrouded in mystery, yet its ardour undeniable. It whispered to him with an impassioned plea, a fervent entreaty that resonated deep within his heart, beseeching his hroä to obey.

   The compulsion grew too potent to resist. Yielding to its demands, he pivoted gracefully upon his feet, succumbing to the enchanting pull. A figure was traversing the sandy distance, walking toward him.

   Adorning her elegant neck, Aegnor's silver pendant necklace glimmered in the low sun. Her long, ebony hair, dressed in braids and adorned with a flower, billowed gracefully in the wind as she glided toward him, adorned in a white dress of purity and innocence With a beautiful smile brimming with unbridled elation, she extended her arms toward him, an ethereal invitation to embrace the long-awaited reunion.

   A tremor coursed through his entire being, expelling every ounce of breath from his body as she came closer. Andreth, Aegnor's true love had been returned to him. He propelled himself towards her with a fervour, his legs leaping over the other with a burst of speed, kicking sand behind him. Yet, his weakened bones failed him, and he crashed into the soft embrace of sand, he cried out as the unbearable pain rattled through his body, reminding him of the heavy price love has cost him. In his anguish, he involuntarily released the cherished blanket, a gust of wind snatching it easily from his weak hand. In that moment, an overwhelming wave of despair surged through him, as he realized the extent to which his body was broken, robbed of the strength he once possessed. Weakened and consumed by the anguish that tore at him, he surrendered to a torrent of weeping, sobbing loudly into the soft comfort of the sand.

   Yet, before him, Andreth gracefully knelt. In one slender hand, she cradled the very blanket he had lost to the wind. With fingers as delicate as moonbeams, she unfolded her touch beneath his face, gently lifting his chin to meet her gaze, and in that sacred moment, she whispered words that was heard within the deepest recesses of his mighty fëa. 

  "Well met, my true love," she whispered

   Tears of joy cascaded, washing away the remnants of despair. Raising his hand, he placed it tenderly almost disbelievingly upon her face. She smiled, allowing his fingers to explore her face. Slipping down her neck and lovingly tracing the necklace down to the pendant. He gasped softly, releasing with a trembling sigh, his watery eyes darted back to hers.

  "It is you!" He whispered.

   Smiling still, she gently caressed his face, and he unravelled completely in her soft hand as the fragile tears poured silently from his eyes. 

  "We have been made anew, dawning an age of our love, once denied, now released. So let it be," she placed both hands upon his tear stained face. "Aegnor," she murmured, "I love you."

   Once he heard those words, Aegnor's last reserve shattered, and his heart melted into unbridled happiness. He embraced Andreth. Her laughter bubbled into the air as he pushed her backwards, his body falling down upon her. They held one another close, their melodious laughing harmonising in the song of the distant crashing waves and their bodies entwined upon the sand rolling is blissful, elated happiness. Fëa's and hröa's together once again, never to be separated. 

  "Íre mel tye, tenna' ent' elea." he whispered.

​​​​​​​

Leave a Comment

Healing

   Aegnor and Andreth drifted along the expanse of the shore, as the dusk settled beyond the horizon, they found a comfortable spot by the reeds. As the stars ascended above their heads, they talked, laughed, and embraced. Speaking of fond memories made together, the many long years of lonesome longing for one another and dreams that they never thought would be theirs. Aegnor clung to her every word, soaked in her voice. His heart fluttered to be near her once more. Even though his aching body demanded rest, he hung to consciousness for as long as he could. Unwilling to allow even a moment to slip away.

    When he could no longer withstand it, and Andreth had seen how tired he looked, she gently lay him down upon the sand and lay down next to him. Aegnor held her gaze for as long as he could, smiling softly upon his beloved. She lulled him into a deep slumber. Though his eyes did not close, Andreth could tell he was deep in the throws of an exquisite dream. She took a blanket from the box and covered him. She then rose from her place beside him and headed toward the flowing water. The stars above shined their light upon her as the cold water kissed her feet.

   Staring down into the glassy surface of each wave, she saw her reflection. A shimmering star from the night sky caught in her hair, and she watched it sparkle. She had never looked so beautiful. As her mind drifted in her reflection at her feet, she saw Aegnor approach her from behind, his head appearing behind her shoulder in the glassy surface. She felt a hand graze her bare shoulder, its fingertips brush across the column of her throat, a gentle grasp pulled her head back, gasping as she surrendered to the touch. Whispers of sweet longings echoed in her ear, a desire to consume her completely.

   "You have awakened, my love?" She smiled dreamily.

   She placed her hand upon his, only to touch her own flesh. Confused, she turned around to find not but the whisper of the gentle air. She looked to where Aegnor lay, to find him right where she had left him. He had not moved. Unnerved by this experience, she quickly returned back to his side and lay down close beside him. But no sleep came to her that night. She would swear that she saw and felt Aegnor's presence and that it was his hand that had touched her. But it wasn't. How could it be.

●●●

   The late morning sun rose upon the ocean's surface, leaving a glittering sparkle upon it. The sound of gulls and the ocean's soft song finally stirred him from the depths of sleep. Blinking slowly, he rose. His sleepy eyes adjusted to the light.

   "Good morning," Andreth's voice echoed in his ear. He turned, squinting, to see her beautiful form nestled beside him. In her hand, she held out a delicious red apple. A sight a famished Aegnor could not resist. She placed it tenderly in his waiting hand. As they both ate, Andreths eyes wondered to Aegnors hands. When he saw her, she looked away and turned nervous.

   "My love, what has unnerved you?" He asked, sensing her discomfort immediately.

   "Something... happened last night, while you slept. Something, I fear I cannot explain," she muttered.

    "While I... slept?" He repeated. His question prompted her eyes to look at him again. With a trembling breath, she continued,

   "Yes, I waded alone into the rolling waves, for I have never felt the ocean before. I saw you reflected within the pool, behind me," she paused. She placed her fingers tenderly upon her throat, "Aegnor, you touched me. It felt real. I felt the very breath from your mouth and the warmth of your hand. But when I turned to face you, you were not there." She breathed. Her trembling lips revealed her fragile state.

   Aegnor's confusion melted to a smile. His glistening, pearl teeth and beautiful lips beckoning the very sun to shine. "My dear Andreth, there is no need for concern or fear. For what touched you was none other than my own fëa." Aegnor explained, his smile beaming.

   "No such thing exists among my kind," Andreth replied, her fascination growing. "Tell me what it is!"

   "From the moment an elf is conceived within their mother, their fëas are an entity, separate from the hröa. Even within the sanctuary of the womb, we learn to harness it. From that moment, our mother's fëa and ours connect. Sparking magical bond between mother and child. So our day of begetting is not a celebration of the creation of our hröas, but of our fëa's. What you experienced was fëa touch. My fëa, expressing its desire to join with yours." He explained. She clung to his every word, confusion and wonder etched on her fair face. 

   "Do you mean to tell me that what stood behind me last night... was a spirit? You're spirit!?" She gasped.

   "If that is the term mortals use for it, yes!" He replied simply.

   She paused, clutching her neck and shivers ran down her spine. "It felt like flesh upon my skin, its touch was even warm and not at all dissimilar to your own Aegnor! I even felt the breath upon my neck!" She shivered, utterly unsettled. Then another thought occurred to her. "You speak of joining fëa's, but this ability is beyond my understanding, are not our spirits our own?" She asked. "How does one join with another?"

   Aegnor smiled and stroked a lock of her hair, gently pushing it out of her face. He leaned in closer, his voice growing soft, until it was but a murmur. "It is done only through the ultimate act of surrender to one another. A sexual union between our hroäs. It is through this act that elves are declared married and their feä's eternally connected." 

   She trembled with unspoken desire. "I see..." she replied, flushed. She tore her gaze away shyly. He picked up a pinch of sand and fidgeted with its granules, giving her time to absorb his words.

    "The first joining," he uttered quietly, "Is a special moment in an elf's life, set apart from all other joys. It is significant and intense beyond all description." His voice played in the wind, carrying it away in its oceanic melody. Finally, she turned back toward him. Her shy eyes barely met his.

   "I suppose I... should have expected as such," she smiled timidly.

   Aegnor sighed deeply, "Alas, this broken body that I possess is not what it once was... my strength is gone. Perhaps it may yet return... perhaps not. Who can say." He murmured, his eyes looking sadly into the waves. Andreth gazed at him. Her face, tense with compassion, she reached out to him and took his hand. The warm, soothing touch of her hand was a balm to his racing mind, ignoring the searing pain in his wrist.

   "You have sacrificed so much for us, for this one chance, my love, I do not know how I can begin to repay it," her voice was but a fragile, trembling whisper, barely audible. He shimmied closer, bringing his face to hers.

    "Andreth... the longing I feel for you, I will not deny, is overpowering indeed. But I am also not ignorant to your own feelings in this matter and that my only desire is for your happiness alone. Right now, my hröa is weak. In time, it may get stronger, and perhaps then..." He stopped his thoughts and looked at her, and he smiled nervously. "We can revisit this possibility. If it never returns, then I am content by your side as your sole companion, never wavering from your side."

   She cleared her throat nervously and sighed tensely, seeking some relief from the tension in her body in the spectacular sight of the sparkling waves. "If you are feeling well enough, Aegnor, perhaps we might take a stroll and explore our new home together," She held out her hand, and smiling, Aegnor took it in his. She helped him rise to his feet. They set off together, leaving the beach behind in search of new territory of their own.

●●●

   They were deep into the woodland forest by the time the thunderstorm had reached its full might. The warm rain showered Aegnor and Andreth. Drenched Aegnor lead them through the large foliage of trees in search of shelter. Laughing, Andreth relished in rain. Aegnor dropped his sack of essential items and hastily made a shelter for some respite from the hard pelts of rain. A small shelter, only enough room for two Aegnor pulled Andreth inside. Just as the thunder lashed. Soaked in rain water, Andreth landed upon Aegnor as they both tumbled unceremoniously inside the cosy shelter of cloth. Lying on his back, he held her close as the wind and rain bellowed its might roar around them.

    The wind howled, and the rain poured, but their shelter protected them from the worst of it. Soon, the wind died, and the shelter stopped billowing so violently. Andreth slowly rose from the comfort of Aegnor's body, straddling him. Her eyes then found his and their gazes entwined for a lingering while. She released a trembling breath, her gaze locked with his wet hair clung to his face and eyes.

    Soft, exhales whispered between them. The elation of hearts, together again. Gazing deep into his eyes, Andreth smiled frailly. Her eyes, dark and guiles, yet filled with hunger, drank him in while Aegnor's stared back with a matching intensity. His eyes shifted rapidly between hers, while little shakes of breath whispered in the silence. His moist lips, relaxed and slightly parted. She blushed as her hands came to a slow rest upon his core, his wet shirt clinging to his tensing stomach muscles, his lap nestled comfortably between her folded legs. Then, raising up, she slid off of him and crawled out of the small but dry shelter just as the rain had subsided and the sun shined through, bright and beautiful.

   "Oh, Aegnor, smell this air!" She cried, taking a long, deep sniff. Aegnor slowly clambered out, fighting against the pain that plagued his bones. "Does it not remind you of Dorthonion? It is just like home!" She chirped as she whirled joyously. Her long, flowing damp gown twirled around her. Her joy was contagious. Aegnor plumped upon the ground, groaning softly. 

   Smiling at him, she suddenly took to flight, eager to explore her new home, leaving the winded elf behind. Aegnor huffs, grinning widely to himself as she flew. She leapt through the trees and swung upon the branches. Her youthful vigour yielded to nothing. Upon finding an injured rabbit,  She captured it immediately. Finally, some real food! She grinned to herself. Upon her trek back to Aegnor with the rabbits hind legs in her hand, she heard a distant hiss from the trees. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she changed the course, headed toward the sound. 

   She gasped with delight. A beautiful spring sat beneath a blossom tree. Wet pink leaves raining down into its pools of natural heated water. She could not resist a closer look. She climbed the stony lip of the rock pools and looked in. Puffs of steam kissed her face. The deep cerulean water, clear as crystal, stared back. She could not resist its call. She dipped her toe into the water. The temperature was perfect. Shivers of delight rippled through her. She must tell Aegnor! This spring will rejuvenate him for a certainty. She ran back to him, the kicking rabbit waving vigorously in her hand.

   "Aegnor! Aegnor!" She cried out as she ran toward him. However, she was not to meet him so gracefully as her dress caught on a stick, sending her crashing to the wet soil only yards away from him. She released the rabbit, and it shot away, but Aegnor, nimble as ever, pounced on it. Stopping its escape. She rose clumsily. She was saturated in mud, but her smile was still bright. 

   "Andreth!" He laughed. "What has gotten you so excited?" 

   "Look! I have brought us food!" She beamed proudly, pointing at the rabbit in his hand. She placed two hands on ger hips in a dramatic pose, her voice bellowing boastfully into the air, her eyes sparkling. "I have provided for us! I have stolen your hunters crown! It belongs to me and you can not have it back!!" She gloated gleefully, her voice softened into a laugh, "dearest," she giggled.

   Aegnor laughed heartfully, his pride in her beaming. "Tiss a fine rabbit!" He chirped, "good form, for a first catch!" 

   "And I have found something to refresh your weary body! I will show you, but first, let us eat!" She grinned. Aegnor leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on her cheek. 

   "Thank you for this provision, my love, and your loving care toward me," he whispered into her ear. She melted and blushed, consumed by her love for her elf, who was her entire world.

   After eating the succulent rabbit meat, she helped him up to his feet and led him to the spring, secluded by trees and shelter by a beautiful blossom tree. He gasped at the sight. Taking his hand, she pulled the limping Aegnor up so he may inspect the large, deep pool for himself. He dipped his hand into the water.

   "It is just like the healing springs in Tirion!" Aegnor smiled. He dipped his hand in and pulled it out. Steam rolled off his fingers, curling into the air.  "Andreth, you have found the very thing my body needs!" He marvelled, turning to her to see her beaming smile shining back at him. "It is better to return later when the air is cooler," he added thoughtfully. 

   As dusk came, the couple returned to the spring after some time spent collecting shells on the nearby beach. The fallen blossoms had made a bed of pink petals on the surface. Adding to its natural allure. Letting go of Andreth's hand, Aegnor slowly removed his tl tunic. It slid off his back with ease. Andreth could not look away from his body. Every lean muscle tensed and rippled as he moved. His glowing skin was as radiant as his locks as he slowly descended into the pool. His leggings soaked up the steamy water as it rose higher up his body, the petals rippling with every movement. Soon, he was completely submerged as he glided out into the centre. The water was indescribable. He felt its healing powers engulf him. Andreth watched him from the edge. Aegnor floated weightlessly into the centre, soaked in the steam. He unravelled completely. He drifted onto his back, lost in heavenly serenity. 

   She smiled widely as she watched him, beaming with love and pride. "Have I done well, my love?" She beamed.

   He lifted his head and turned around. Blossom petals sprinkled his golden saturated hair. With a wave of his hand, he invited her to join him. She removed her netted sack filled with seashells and placed it at her feet. Her delicate, soft gaze cast to the ground. A playful smirk crept upon her rosy lips. With her slender fingers, she began to pull at the chord that laced up the front of her dress. Aegnor tensed, his eyes transfixed upon her hands as her fingers began untangling the fabric, slowly peeling it open. Suddenly, she halted and passed a teasing grin.

  "Oh, Aegnor! I can not join you!" she exclaimed softly, "For I am naked beneath this gossamer gown," she grinned

A large toothy, flushed grin widened on Aegnor's face, and he released a blushing chuckle. His teasing smile and sultry gaze glow

    "Surely, you would not deny yourself the luxury of this tranquil spring upon your bare flesh... beloved?" He glided towards her, his grinning teeth biting at his lip. "Join me... "

   Andreth bubbled into a tense laugh. "Perhaps I shall set up a camp for us instead! I am elated with my success in my first hunt, and I wish to experience it for a second!" Smiling still, she left Aegnor behind in the spring.  A hesitation born of modesty and uncertainty.

    "Are you sure you do not wish to partake in this fine delight with me, Andreth!? The water is divine!" Aegnor called out to her laughing figure in a futile attempt to persuade her.

   Left alone, Aegnor, smiling still, closed his eyes and allowed himself to surrender into the heavenly warmth of the spring, the tension slowly unwinding from his weary body. The steaming waters and scattering of delicate blossoms had an almost comatose effect, lulling him into a state of blissful serenity. The water seeped into his aching bones he felt its healing powers renew his strength. Yet even as his body relaxed, Aegnor's mind was restless, recapturing the moment of their intimate embrace in the shelter, the scorching heat in her gaze, the trembling of their bodies entwined. He quivered with undeniable delight.

Leave a Comment

Reborn

Chapter Warning: Mature content. Please keep in mind that this is fanfiction. It's not in line with any of Tolkien's notes and is not to be taken seriously!

   As the night had well shrouded the lands in its full obsidian glory, the bright light of the full moon beamed upon the spring, Aegnor finally emerged from its deep pool. He reached out and grasped the stony edge. With a powerful surge, he pulled himself out. Water glistened on his wet skin, and droplets rolled down his sinewy muscles. Steam clouded from his body. The warm night welcomed him into its shrouded embrace. Tendrils of wet hair clung to his exquisite form. He was reborn. His strength returned. Though there was still a lingering ache in his joints, it had been significantly decreased. Revitalised, still steaming from the spring, he picked up a stick and held it in his hand.

  He began to move and flex his joints with mesmerizing fluidity, his body swaying like the smooth course of water, his muscles bending and moving with fluid, regal elven grace. Wielding the stick in his hand like an extension of his arm, he twirled and brandished it like a blade. His body flowed like a droplet upon a moonbeam - his hands and fingers moving like flickering flames with every graceful articulation of his joints. He swung the stick with the precision of a seasoned warrior, cutting through the air and any stray droplets with deadly accuracy.

  With a straight poise of refined elegance, he ended her dance of rebirth, holding the stick like a blade before him. Closing his eyes, he gave a silent cry of thanks to Andreth for her love. For she had nursed him back to his former glory. Now, no barrier stood between them, not war, nor time or the ravages of a weary body. Aegnor had been reborn, and he was ready to fully embrace this new life with her. To please his lady, fulfilling her body and spirit, satisfying her to the full. Clad in only his black leggings soaked from the spring, Aegnor slowly swayed away into the darkness. Shedding the mantle of his virginity with a tantalizing smirk,

    Dancing fireflies flitted about the gnarled vines of the ancient weeping willow, its cascading tendrils offering a haven of serenity and seclusion. The vines swayed gently in the balmy night air, a soft murmur accompanying the rustling leaves. Upon a carpet of lush, emerald grass, Andreth inhaled deeply, the air rich with the sweet perfumes of the earth. Cocooned within the leafy embrace of the great tree, she embodied grace and tranquillity. 

  The soft breeze caressed her flowing hair, which swirled about her delicate features, framing her countenance like silken strands of starlight. She listened to the nocturnal symphony—the gentle chorus of crickets harmonizing with the whispering trees, while the distant ocean waves shimmered like liquid silver beneath the moon’s tender gaze. The beach where they had reunited lay far behind, a cherished memory woven into the fabric of this enchanted night.

  Before her, the flickering flames of a small fire, kindled by her own hands, cast a warm glow through the verdant bower, sending tendrils of smoke spiralling into the heavens. With a heart fluttering between excitement and trepidation, she awaited Aegnor’s arrival. A tempest of emotions swirled within her—elation battling with anxiety—each pulse of her heart urging her to both flee and remain, to cry out in joy and yet remain silent.

  For so long had she yearned for this moment, a culmination of dreams woven through the tapestry of her thoughts. Now, at last, the hour had come, and she felt the weight of destiny upon her, drawing her ever closer to the one she desired above all.

  Suddenly, a shift in the air brushed against her skin, and a flutter of anticipation stirred within her heart. She sensed his approach, slow yet certain, like the gathering tide. Her nerves tightened as she felt the immense strength that accompanied him; he had been restored by the healing spring, and now, surely, he came to claim her.

  In a flurry of emotion, she quickly shed her gown of purest white, which fell away from her like the petals of a wilting flower. In its place, she donned Aegnor's own tunic of deep blue, sweeping it over her delicate form. The fabric draped loosely upon her, tied at her side. It barely concealed her body—a daring choice, indeed, for one such as she. Yet, as she stood there, caught between the thrill of the moment and the shadows of her thoughts, she felt a presence beyond the verdant curtain of willow vines. Heart racing, she turned slowly, and there stood Aegnor, his silhouette framed by the moonlight. With a gentle sweep of his arm, he parted the leafy barrier, his gaze locking onto hers with an intensity that made the world around them fade into silence.

  An eerie luminescence emanated from his very being, his eyes aglow with a light surpassing that of the full moon—intense, mesmerizing, yet unsettling. He stood before her, taking in every facet of her presence.

  “Speak, Aegnor... please,” she finally uttered, her voice a nervous whisper that mingled with the gentle breeze. He stepped forward, the curtain of vines falling closed behind him like a shroud. He moved with a regal grace, as though gliding over the earth, closing the distance between them. His hand reached toward her, but the boldness of his approach sent a shiver through Andreth, who retreated until her back met the solid, ancient trunk of the willow. His otherworldly gaze pierced through the veil of night, brimming with a primal light that seemed to reach into her very soul.

  “Aegnor…?” she whispered, her voice trembling, but he offered no reply. Upon his countenance, she discerned no emotion—only a fierce, consuming hunger that drew him closer.

  “You are scaring me!” she cried, her heart racing in her chest. In an instant, he withdrew, stepping back, and the intensity of his features softened. Yet, before Andreth could voice another word, the form before her dissolved into a cascade of shimmering light, vanishing as swiftly as it had appeared. The air around her returned to stillness, the space he had once occupied now empty and cold.

  Overwhelmed, she sank to the ground, sharp breaths of confusion and terror escaping her lips, echoing in the quiet night. Aegnor’s words, laden with longing and unspoken promise, flooded her mind, leaving her shaken in the aftermath of his ethereal presence.
    “Fëa touch!” she whimpered, her voice stripped of all strength. Overcome by emotion, tears cascaded down her cheeks, a torrent of feelings that left her utterly bereft.

  At last, Aegnor appeared, parting the leafy drapery with a grace that bespoke his nobility, his heart racing as he beheld his beloved in such a state of distress, a nervous wreck upon the soft earth. Alarm flared in his chest, and he rushed to her side, his presence a balm against her turmoil. She recoiled at first, lost in her fears, until the truth of his form pierced through the haze of her panic, and she recognized him—Aegnor, her cherished one, not some shadowy spectre.

  “Fëa touch!” she whispered through fragile tears, trembling from the overwhelming sensation. Aegnor cradled her gently, her soft whispers mingling with his breath.

  “I am sorry, Andreth,” Aegnor murmured, his voice low and earnest. “The fëa acts with a will of its own. I do not always wield dominion over it.”

  “Do not stray from my side, Aegnor!” she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. “I do not think I can endure another moment of that!”

  In that fleeting instant, their eyes met, and fragile breaths, broken and trembling, echoed between them. Aegnor settled closely beside her, his back resting against the ancient tree. He wrapped a protective arm around her, drawing her nearer. “My lady, I have no intention of leaving your side tonight!”

  She sighed deeply as she unwound in his warm embrace. He kissed her gently on her forehead as she curled into his strength. His solid, bare torso offered her comfort and protection. Safe in his arms, her gaze cast upon the fire outside the whispering willow vines. The silence was deafening. Aegnor stroked her head with gentle fingers. A stray lock of his golden hair caressed her face, blown by the air. It waved and wafted into her, his faint scent from its shimmering strands filling her nostrils. Tucked cosily beneath his arm, she lifted herself from his side and sat serenely upon her knees, beside him. Reaching out, she grasped the coiled strand that dangled down his broad, muscular chest and played with it in her fingers. 

  "I remember a time as a young maid when I once dared to touch this treasure," she mused. Aegnor smiled at her serenely as he watched her. "So young was I back then, and full of innocence. I had not a clue of the world." The soft flicker of the outside fire danced on his skin. Her timid, expression melding into admiration. "So close I was to you, my fingers reaching out, my heart trembling...," 

  Aegnor, his taut lips grinned a beautiful, devilish smile. His eyes were intense and burning. "You also possess certain treasures I long to touch," he purred. His voice was low and filled with growing desire. Andreth blushed heavily.

  "Aegnor!" She laughed, her cheeks bright red and trembling in the face of his intense ardour. His eyes caught the glint of the silver pendant necklace that hung upon her chest. Once belonging to him. He smiled adoringly, reaching out he pushed a thick spill of her long hair behind her shoulders, bringing the necklace on full display. She allowed him to cradle it in his fingers. Admiring his once most cherished    possession. 

   "It looks better on you than it ever did on me." He said warmly, his eyes fixed upon it. 

  "You held this dear, that much I know." She replied kindly. Her soft voice, a balm in the gentle, warm air. 

  "It was a gift from my mother long ago when I was very young. It has travelled with me since that moment, never leaving my neck."

  Andreth's expression turned sombre as she understood the significance of this most personal gift and the weight it carried. "And, forever shall it remain on mine," she whispered. Her words caused him to look at her. She felt a spark as his eyes locked with hers, electrifying her. He took her hand, his fingers dancing in between hers and placing it upon his body. His warm, smooth, elven skin welcomed her touch. Andreth stilled completely, every muscle in her body coiled like a spring as he guided her fingertips along his taut naval. She trembled violently, overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the moment. Seeing she needed more encouragement, he slowly leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers. Their naked lips danced only inches away. She felt the feather light caress of fingers upon her folded knee, slipping upward along the out line of her silky, bare thigh. A soft, shaky sigh of electrifying delight blew from her parted, red lips.

  "Forever is a very long time," he whispered. His breath brushed the fine stands of her hair. She swallowed tensely and gasped.

  "Yes, Aegnor..." she whispered, "it is..." 

  Bending his neck, their breaths abated, Aegnor folded his lips around hers. Andreths entire body jolted with electric waves, freezing her in a moment of panic and passion, warring within her. His kiss was sweetened with dripping honey as his lips danced with the soft curves of her own, each daring the other to make the next move. Finally, he stopped, his heavy, dewy eyes searching deep into her. The sight of him took all the breath from her body. His finger slipped along the gentle curve of her cheek. A loving carress of encouragement. 

   With nervous tension, he clasped her knee and guided her leg over his lap. Andreth gasped softly as she was pulled onto him. Their deep, ragged breaths ghosted between their parted lips, anticipation mounting. His gaze, intense and wanting, lingered up into hers in an all-consuming desire that was burning hotter. His taut fingertips brushed along the curves of her smooth, stretched thighs, causing indents upon her flesh.

   Aegnor stretched his neck, and the soft brush of velvet lips captured hers again in a beautiful kiss.  The tension in her body soon melted, and the tip of her tongue danced upon his lips. Enticing his to play and Aegnor willingly accepted. Cradling her face with both his hands, he kissed her deeper, tasting her mouth with delight. Her skin tingled with melting pleasure as the seductive power of his teasing kisses took hold. What lingering restraint they had crumbled to ashes, and the floods of pleasure opened. He kissed her possessively, sinking deeper into the pools of blissful unguardedness. She released a delicate squeak as his soft tongue tasted her silky neck. Not succumbing this time to her shyness, Andreth shed he blanket of her timidity and took charge of the passionate kiss. Claiming his mouth as her own, she did not hold back her desire for him this time.

   They broke momentarily, and the thin fabric draped over her had fallen over her shoulder and down her arm, leaving one of her breasts fully exposed. She looked down upon it, and her gaze drew back to Aegnor, whose open-mouthed gaze spoke volumes his lips could not utter. Her lips stretched into a playful, flushed grin, and she clasped the soft ball of her breast, holding it delicately between her fingers. Her eyes fluttering softly.

  "Are these the treasures you seek to carress, Aegnor?" She taunted him, It wielded in her gentle touch, an enticing display for his eyes only.

  "You are cruel, lady," Aegnor grumbled, his lips pulling into a sultry grin of deep anticipation. He lifted himself up. His back erect beneath her. With a soft smile, Aegnor slid the back of his fingers down the soft curves of her breast. Its velvet surface yielding beneath his sensual touch. a shuddering sigh of desire echoed from his lips as his eyes beheld the dark red peak upon the round swell of supple flesh. He brushed his thumb over the warm, stiffened bud, and it wielded beneath his soft touch. 

  Her arms folded around his neck as his palm enclosed around her breast. Their bodies pressed into an embrace, melding into a form of pure love and desire. With a delicate touch, she stroked the sensitive tips of his hot, red pointed ear. A violent shudder washed through him at her touch. She flashed a devilish, playful grin. She had found his weak spot.

  She grasped the vulnerable part of his muscular throat and turned his head. With an assertiveness she did not know she had, the slick, warmth of her tongue licked along the edge of his ear, causing him to jolt violently. A deep audible gasp erupted from his mouth as if she had stolen the very breath from his body. He was an elf utterly undone by her.

  He grappled her, boldly claiming her mouth. He yanked her body into him, kissing her deeply and fully. He fell back, his back meeting the soft grass beneath, pulling Andreth with him. She lay upon Aegnor, their feäs, unseen by their eyes, rose from their bodies toward the sky, their graceful dance ascending like light upon a cloud, eager to be joined. She rained worshipful kisses upon him. Her aadoration abd admiration of him evident with every scorching peck.

  "Have I broken you yet, my lord?" She smiled in his pointed, sensitive ear.

  "Lady," he purred, his anticipating smirk growing, "what more could you do to me?" 

  She trailed a line of sizzling kisses upon his skin, down his neck. She glided down his silky abdomen and to his navel. Aegnor trembled with anticipation. Then, she brushed her parted lips lower, her hot breath ghosting upon his silky skin to the hem of his thin leggings. His breaths quickened, then, without warning, she drew her firm slick tongue across his lower abdomen, drawing a glistening trail back up to his silky, toned navel.

  A loud hiss erupted from him, his tense body elevated from the ground, bridging onto his shoulders, and her ears were met with the most delicious sound she had ever heard, his voice melting into a deep, velveteen moan of utter abandon and surrender. Utterly lost in a labyrinth of rapture. The intoxicating sound sent chills running through her. "It seems that males be they of Eldar or Mortal blood all share a common distinction," she teased. Her devilish grin grew wider between deepening breaths. She gave him a devilish grin, "You all crumble to dust beneath the soft hands of a woman!" 

  "I can not confirm your bold accusations," a flustered Aegnor grinned, trying to reclaim some level of his dignity, "The Eldar are above such tests of restraint and do not falter so easily!"

  They laughed in unison. Their flutter of melodious peels of joy and fulfilment fluttered between them. He bucked her, and Andreth toppled to the ground. Aegnor rolled her upon her, his body pressing down upon hers. Andreth shuddered. Her body gave way to total abandon as his body pressed down on her. Her seductive moan of surrender thrilled him. His intense gaze danced in hers. She stretched invitingly, her arms splayed high above her head. Her heart thundered with anticipation, her skin tingling with electric desire as she awaited the fulfilment of his claiming of her body, heart, and soul. The fire outside the vines flickered and changed direction, their fëa's dancing around them. Unseen, yet as bright at stars. 

   He pinned her arms down Andreth could sense the mounting tension in his body and his growing discomfort. The corners of her mouth lifted into a playful, teasing smile as his parted lips overed over hers.

   "Your desire to indulge in me is overtaking you, my lord, please show some restraint!" She taunted him, her voice deep and dripping with sensuous allure. "You wish to quench your thirst in the fountains of your lady," 

  Aegnor shuddered Aegnor, nodding weakly. His voice low and raw, and he replied slowly, "Lady, I would dive so deep into your heavenly pool... and I may never come up for air!" 

   She laughed, relishing in the power she wielded over him. He was utterly undone. His messy hair cascaded down his body like a rough spun blanket of pure gold, revelious tendrils if hair streaked over his face and eyes that were black and beautiful. She had never seen him in such a state, so raw and filled with primal lust. With slow, steady movements, his eyes burrowing into hers, Aegnor carefully unlaced the frontal opening in his leggings. 

    She felt her insides leap as he slipped delicately within. She braced herself tightly. It was a sensation that was so unfamiliar to her, yet felt so utterly wonderful. Then, a sudden barrier he had not expected to encounter yielded to him, breaking easily with a slight 'pop'. A sharp shriek burst from Andreth, and the sound startled  Aegnor into a violent jolt. He withdrew immediately. He staired down, seeing a small pool of blood between her legs and on the tip of his manhood. His beautiful face contorted into an expression of high alarm and surprise. Her sudden laughter danced between them, confusing him even further. 

   "Do not fear, my love, you have broken my maiden's head! A minor wounding, nothing more." She giggled. His eyes widened, and Aegnor straightened up, standing on his knees, his form loaming over her,

   "A maiden's what!?" He exclaimed, utterly bewildered. "There is a head in there!?"

   Andreth toppled, surrendering to peels of rolling laughter. Aegnor's confused look, rendering her stomach in knots. When she finally came back to her senses, she sat up and, reaching up, gently grasped his waist. She delicately guided him down upon his back again while she took the dominant position on top, straddling him once more. He raised himself up, leaning on his elbows. His eyes locked into hers.

  "Nay, you silly elf!" She grinned down at him, flicking her hair with playful, flushed delight. It curtained around her glorious form as she claimed the dominant position on top. Aegnor slipped comfortably beneath, his muscular arms folding behind his head in a relaxed posed. His devilish, wicked grin matched her mirth. The soft play of light teased his elven form, his skin glittering in the dancing light. His eyes intense and burning bore into her with a primal hunger, coupled with his soft expression, he was a vision of potent masculinity and supreme beauty. 

  By the Valar Aegnor!" Andreth exclaimed, her breath abandoning her. "Your beauty alone transcends beyond understanding, I can scarcely breathe to behold such a delight!" 

 His eyes flickering softly, Aegnor reached his fingers up and playfully flicked her long hair to the side, revealing one of her tender, beautiful breasts behind its curtained veil. With upmost tenderness, he grasped the supple delight in his large, warm palm, and it yeilded softly to his touch. 

  "I am equally enthralled...my lady," his breath trembled with excitement, dripping with desire. 

   Her breaths deepened, Andreth closed her eyes and arched her back, allowing his hand to claim her. Aegnor rose up, sitting beneath her. With his soft lips, he drew scotching lines upon her navel and up alonf the velveteen flesh of her pinkish breast, she gasped deeply as his lips enclosed around her warm, stiffened rosebud. She pulled her elven lover in close, their skin melding, their hearts racing. Her fingers entangled lovingly in his glorious locks. 

  "Indulge in all I have to offer, my love...it is yours and yours alone," she huffed into his red ear. Lifting his head again, she guided his mouth to hers, "I love you, Aegnor!" 

   They devoured one another. Their lips and tongues pressed with every passionate brush. Her nails raked at his shoulders as their fires stoked hotter. His taut hands roamed the curves of her thighs. His fingetips causing indents in her supple flesh. Their foreheads touched, their welded eyes closed, and they steadied themselves, their fragile, shaking breaths dripping with desire and trepidation. 

   With great care, Aegnor guided himself to her sacred entrance. She gasped and tensed. She clung to him with all her strength. With comforting strokes down her body, Aegnor sheathed himself within. Pushing in slowly at an unhurried pace. She ragged, sharp breathes of intense pain and pleasure ripped the electric air.

  Andreth tensed tighter, her body erupting in high muffled squeaks. The blend of pain and pleasure warring within her, the strangest sensations she had ever felt before crippling her, making her stomach turn, the fear consumed her that she may loose its contents, spilling it all over Aegnor. She endured it until she felt the intense inward pressure of her inner wall yield deliciously to his gentle push, and the pain stopped. Her wide, tear stained eyes capture his deep, black pools. A look of intensity in his expression. A moment of understanding passed between them. Their union had begun. A blissful hush, silent and deafening washed between the lovers, overcome by the moment. 

  Their fëa's danced together, rising high above their melding hröas. A defining sensation to suddenly overtook her. A cresting wave of intense pleasure that she was not expecting. Like a jolt of lighting erupting from her body, it surged through her, rising and falling like the ocean caught in a breath-taking storm. A soft, barely suppressed squeak melted from her, and her mind collapsed,  her transect gaze locked upon the enchanting stars above. When it was over, her skin came alive with delightful tingles rushing all around her.

   Flushed and dreamy, she finally returned from her heavenly visit. Her eyes finally beholding his once again. A boastful grin stretched upon his lips, etched with a praising glint in his sparkling eyes. A shared understanding passed between them. She retreated, tensing her shoulders, a flicker of embarrassment played on her face. Her flushed, hot face slipped behind her hands, blushing profusely. Gingerly, Aegnor plucked them away, resting them down upon his body, his thumb tenderly caressed her flushed, hot cheek. 

  "That was quite a sight," he smouldered, his voice low and filled with awe.

  "Mmmh" her breath shook, her voice a flustered melody. "I was lifted to a realm beyond bliss! My very being quakes, and I can scarce feel the ground beneath my legs!" Her weak body trembled profusely, a sweet echo in the stillness. "I have never before felt such glorious heights of ecstasy. So profound and all-consuming!" she exclaimed, her words tinged with a dreamy wonder.

  He smiled up at her softly, the delicate, wet brush of licking lips whispered from his mouth as his fingers danced between hers. Her large, soft eyes fell upon his again and a flushed, bashful grin pulled at her cheeks.

 "There is a question in my mind I have longed to ask you, but the courage has eluded me," she confessed delicately. "Might you indulge my curiousity for a little?" She teased. Her coy smile and soft voice intoxicating his senses.

  "I live to satisfy you, most fair lady" he murmured, biting aggressively on his bottom lip. She took a breath to calm herself and flicked her hair, softly licking her lips.

  "I have long been curious of the secretive sexual nature of elves. It is clear to me your experiences are no different to ours, yet I have determined an utter selflessness in your nature to the act itself. A total acceptance of my transcendent abandon and loss of control. Is it not a thing of shame for you?" She asked openly

  His brow furrowed with confusion, "Shameful...Why would it be shameful? The pleasure we feel during the bonding is the paragon of union. Without it, there could not be marriage among my kind. I am confused as to why you would see it as shameful." He replied

  "Such unions are not forged in this way among mortals," she confessed, her voice tinged with shyness. "They are marked by solemn ceremony and sacred ritual, and only after these do the couple find joy in each other’s embrace. In my kin, it is the women who are regarded as the guardians of a man’s desires, bound to exercise restraint in all things. Thus, to be so utterly captivated by one's own sexuality is deemed shameful, even taboo."

  "The Eldar do not share such views," he responded. "The liberation of our hroäs is an equal gift to be given as we choose. We are able to discern both in eyes and in voice who has been joined and who has not. We welcome these new experiences as treasures, not to be shamed, but openly celebrated between couples." He added.

  "The urges of men can be strong. Some do not even wait until the sanctity of marriage to indulge in such things," she muttered

  "Alas, this I know." Aegnor sighed. "I have spent many lifetimes among mortals. I have witnessed how easily men's hearts are swayed by fleshly desires,"

  "Sometimes, I forget you have lived so long, Aegnor. I speak to you as though you are not much wiser than I, yet I stand in the presence of a being whose age eclipses even the sun and the moon. I was not but even a thought when you were fighting brutal wars, governing realms."

  He tenderly took her hands, drawing them to his heart. "Yet our hearts beat as one," he murmured, tucking a loose strand of her long hair behind her ear. "Our fates were woven together in a star that fell from the heavens long before our births. We were destined to be each other’s mates—one flesh, one soul."

  "It all makes sense now," she sighed, leaning back in wonder, her eyes fixed skyward. "When I wandered away from my fathers hunting party and was seized by that troll. It was you who came!" Her mouth stretched into an exhilarated grin, wider than the moon. Aegnor's hands slid along the outer curves of her stretched thighs, the soft whisper of her smooth flesh brushing beneath his hands. He clasped the gentle curves of her waist and sat up. He rained worshipful kisses upon the soft swell of her tender breast. She pulled him closer, their bodies melding as one. 

  "Andreth?" he moaned softly, his voice dark with trembling desire.

  "Yes?" She whispered

  "Are you ready now to bind hroä's with me, fulfilling our union... as my cherished wife?"

  Wife...

  His word echoed in her, and a trembling wave of anxious desire rumbled through her body. "I am ready, Aegnor," the trembling confession could scarcely escape her lips. "Lead us to this moment together, my love, and into blissful matrimony!"

  With a hungry sigh, Aegnor captured her willing mouth in a kiss consuming and possessive, relishing his prize and her utter surrender to his desires to lose himself within her.

    With a delicate motion, Aegnor laid Andreth gently upon her back and, with a slow, fluid sweep, rolled upon her. Their bodies pressed together. Their eyes locked and deep. Staring down at his beloved, his saviour, he gave her a tender but tense smile. She returned it, mirroring his expression. Her hand teased the loose strands of his hair, and raising her head, she kissed the tip of his nose. A tender signal that she was ready.

   Their fingers entwined and danced together, melding their palms, and she felt the tension in his hand. His fragility warmed her, and she did her best to soothe his nerves. Aegnor rained his love upon her face in a flurry of cherishing kisses upon her lips. Soon, Aegnor and Andreth surrendered to their desire for one another without restraint, delighting fully in every unhurried thrust as he penetrated her with building rapture. Their shared pleasure intensified in perfect harmony. Andreth clawed at his back, leaving painful red marks. His skin burning with exquisite pain. He raked at the grass beneath, pulling the blades from their route, and he edged on the precipice of release. He whispered as lightly as he could into her wet ear.

"Andreth... my love, my light, my world, now be my wife. Recieve within your blessed womb the evidence of our union and my eternal devotion to you,"

 It was in that defining moment that another cresting wave threatened to consume Andreth once more. She was once again engulfed with yet another surge. It crashed into her, drowning her in exquisite sensations to powerful to comprehend, and her body buckled. She released a cry drowned in surrender and longing. A sound so utterly irresistible to Aegnors ears. Opening her gates, she released her feä into the stars, awaiting her lovers embrace.

  At the same moment, with a shuddering release, Aegnor also fell to the pique of ultimate physical ecstasy, crippling him in its blissful rapture, joining her in the transcendent gulfs of sheer, unadulterated surrender. The willow whipped around with the release of his fea, and it surged into Andreth. She gasped deeply, her eyes pinned to the sky, an eruption of light that burst into her mind as his feä rushed into her, hitting her like a wall of water upon an ocean wave. Her heart overflowed with intense love and deep happiness. Utterly overwhelmed, Andreth wept tears of every emotion she could have, her heart racing within her chest. She shuddered as she felt Aegnor lay his seed within her, marking the birth of their matrimony and the promise of fulfilment.

  Aegnor sank down upon her, his body trembling from the intense experience. His skin and hair glowed with a radiance. The light in his eyes dazzled like a thousand stars all at once. Gazing up into her elven lover after witnessing his transcendent moment of sheer, unadulterated bliss, her eyes beheld a sight of such breath-taking beauty as never before she had known

  Tendrils of moist hair clung to his face. A subtle, sensual half-smile played on his lips. His deep, heavy breaths danced upon her face, his eyes deep and dreamy. An angelic smile of utter unguarded bliss stretched a single sleepy corner of his mouth

 "Welcome... my wife,"

  Her glistening tears rolled, the cold strained flooding her ears. Lifting her head, she congratulated her husband with a tender kiss. Their hissing breaths, still deep and slow, ghosting in the silence. Finally, he slowly sank down, his trembling arms and aching joints collapsing into a sea of relief. His head nestled in the comforting embrace of her bosom. She held him there, cradling his against her soft body. The beating of her heart rang into his sensitive ears, soothing him into a dreamy stupor.  Soon, she heard the soothing breaths of an elf deep in the depth of sound sleep. Lost in a beautiful dream. 

  She gazed up at the stars through the tree. Their light heralding the end of this day and beckoning the beginning of the next. Soon, Andreth succumbed beneath the gaze of the stars. Warm and fulfilled, joining Aegnor in a blissful dream. 

Leave a Comment

Ice and Fire, Ghosts from our Past

     ◇

VALINOR

(YEAR OF THE TREES)

  The beautiful city was adorned with colourful shimmering glint shrouded in the blackness of night. The trees shimmered lights of beautiful purple and yellow, and the flow of silky lakes of city canals veined the grounds. The lanterns of celebrations lined the streets of the Tirion as its residents celebrated a royal wedding. Within its enclosed walls, the magnificent palace was adorned in jubilation and song. Banners and flags decorated its structure and waterfalls danced in the silvery glow of Telperion. 

   Upon the roof of the palace of the king, one solitary elf sat alone. Clasped in his hand was a silver chalice of rich wine. A shimmering circlet decorated his noble brow, befitting the royal status of a prince of the realm. His countenance cast in a distant melancholy, he took a lingering sip from his golden chalice and let the comforting elixir slip down his throat, numbing the sorrows buried deep within him. His eyes swamped in a well of sadness.

  ("There you are, I saw you slipping away into the shadows") Angrod, draped in a long, splendid mantle of white silk called to his brother softly from the entrance door He glided toward him. His every step mirrored the movements of a weightless spectre upon a glassy lake. ("Should you not be attending the wedding as the esteemed guest of honour?") His voice caressed the air with silky elvish words.

  ("Should you not be getting married?") Aegnor replied steadily. Angrod dropped down beside him, drawing his knee to his chest.

  ("Ah, was that today?") Angrod jested, their soft, harmonious chuckled fluttering. Aegnor smiled warmly at Angrod. His smile soon faded as he witnessed a darkness cloud his brothers eyes.

  (What burdens do you wish to unload upon me, brother?") Aegnor asked. His elvish words danced fluently from his lips. Angrod released a troubled sigh.

 ("The crowned prince Feänor, our 'revered' uncle harbours a venomous suspicion and is loath to return to the celebration until the culprit of has been discovered,") he muttered.

 (What could it be this time?") Aegnor mumbled. ("Did some poor, overburdened servant breathe in his general direction?")

  ("Nay, it was not for any cause say for his coveted golden wine from his own private supply, which he selfishly hordes and flaunts before us. Amidst the joyous festivities, in full view of all, he didst partake of a generous draught in an unabashed display of his contempt for me, he and Curufin. Yet, swiftly, they did expel it from their mouths in a fierce recoiling. They are retching even still,")

 Faint echoes of Curufin's violent retches mixed with Feänors powerful voice yelling elvish words of heated rage ghosted from outside the palace behind them, drawing Aegnor's attention.

 ("Will he never cease in his efforts to humiliate me at every turn?") He grumbled, ("Even upon the day on my own wedding!") His deeply unhappy sighs filling the silence. Aegnor's gaze lingered in thought. His sparkling eyes alight with colour in the reflective    glow of the city's lights.

 ("Did he drink straight from the gold vase? The one adorned in gems that he has guarded so possessively?") Aegnor prodded.

  ("Indeed... though now he suspects I had tainted his supply I gather, I did not touch his precious draught!") He muttered.

  Aegnor nodded thoughtfully ("There is no cause to be concerned.") He replied candidly, casually bringing his cup to his lips.

  ("Aegnor... did you put poison in his vintage!?") Angrod asked, his eyes tensing.

  ("Come now, Angrod!") Aegnor retorted, a scornful light in his eyes. ("Were it my intent to rid the world of that wretched sack of pig shit and his insufferable spawn, I would have done so before his very gaze!")

  A sly grin creased Aegnor's lips, glistening in the dim light. With a measured motion, he raised a knee, his boot striking the wooden floor of the roof with a resounding thump, splaying his legs.

  ("The vessel that contained the so-called 'exquisite vintage,' which they so gluttonously partook of before the gathered throng, did not hold golden wine at all,") he declared, his voice laced with disdain. 

  Angrod, brow furrowed in perplexity, inquired, "Then what manner of drink did they consume?"

  Aegnor's gaze fixed on Angrod, his eyes filled with a sinister glint. Suddenly, a wicked smirk curled the corners of his mouth. In a moment of realization, Angrod's face contorted with disgust and horror as the truth gripped him. The weight of the revelation crashed upon him, 

  ("Nay... Aegnor! Tell me not that you have!") Androd exclaimed, his hands covering his mouth in revulsion. Aegnor's smirk stretched into a demonic grin, marrying his beautiful face with the sinister crescent. Moonlight cast an eerie glow upon his gleaming teeth and intense, unyielding eyes.

  ("Aegnor! How could you!?") Angrod yelped. A chilling cackle escaped Aegnor's lips, a sound laced with wicked delight. Angrod's twisted expression shattered. Laughter burst from Angrod, mingling with Aegnor's jubilant wicked laughter.

  ("They consumed my PISS!") Aegnor's boisterous roar pierced the air, his head whirling behind him, his loud voice projected toward the distant echoes behind him that had since ceased, followed by his jubilant laughter ringing out. Angrod's laughter swelled, harmonizing with Aegnor's dark mirth. Aegnor reclined victoriously upon his hands, his tongue pushing out in a display of sinister victory and gratification.

  ("Aegnor! Why would you commit such a vile act!?") His far more prudent older brother flustered nervously, his hand covering his brow in disbelief and shock. His gaze fixed upon Angrod,

  ("You didst speak the very words, Angrod, did you not? They have revelled at your expense for far too long. Seeking to humiliate you at every turn, so I return the favour, an eye for an eye.") Aegnor answered boldly. His eyes fixed firmly on him with a steely, determined gaze. ("No one shall inflict misery upon you Angrod, not while I still draw breath.") 

  A warming smile curled Angrod's lips. His gaze cast tenderly upon his brother. (Though I do not condone the foul thoughts you oft conjure in your mind, I am thankful to have you, brother. Though now, I am sworn to another, the place you hold in my heart shall never fade,")

  Aegnor regarded Angrod's words with intense thoughts. His demeanour changed, bringing his chest to his parted knees, his arms folded on top in a guarded posture. His lips tightened, and his eyes turned deeply sad. 

  ("Eldalótë... she is fine indeed.) Aegnor's voice trembled with emotion. His eyes meeting Angrod's. Their agonising depths betrayed his secret anguish. ("I would see you wed no other, for you are deserving of the love of such a beauty, cherish her, my brother,") 

  ("If it weren't for your relentless persistence in urging me to pursue her Aegnor, I could never have tasted such bliss. We have waited so long, and now finally we may indulge to her hearts content... and mine. Our hroä's joined at last on this eve,") Angrod sighed happily. ("I love her, Aegnor. And I owe this all to you,")

  Aegnor's lips tensed, and he looked away. His brow tightening. Then, immediately shifting his expression, without another word, Aegnor smiled and raised his cup to, his shimmering mantle of silver, blanketed by his thick curled locks, caught the glint of moonlight in the motion of his robust arm. ("Drink with me, Angrod, and raise our goblets to this fine hour!") Smiling, Androd lifted his cup aloft, mirroring Aegnor. 

  ("To the days of our youth, filled with love and laughter,") Angrod declared with pride.

  ("And to your delights in wedded bliss, brother!") Aegnor interjected with matching ardour with a bold eyebrow flash. Angrod's smile widened.

  ("And the joys of the intimate pleasure it holds!") Angrod cheered, 

  Aegnor grinned widely and clunked with Angrod. In perfect synchrony, they both lifted their goblets and succumbed to the allure of the rich wine, drinking deeply with unabashed indulgence. Aegnor's gaze lingered on Angrod, his eyes filled with a mixture of mischief and contemplation. With a sly grin curling his lips, Aegnor lowered his cup. His voice carried a mischievous note as he addressed his brother, teasing him playfully.

  ("Will you tarry a while with me, Angrod, or is there a need for you to return to your bride with haste?") Aegnor asked, his tone laced with a hint of amusement.

  Angrod responded with a devilish glint. ("I always have a moment to share with you Aegnor") He replied evenly.

  Aegnor gracefully rose from the floor of the roof top, his robust, lean figure accentuated by the elegant movement. With a swift motion, he shed his embellished formal elvish attire. He turned to Angrod and held out his arm

  ("Hand it over,") Aegnor commanded. Confused, Angrod hesitated but complied, unclasping his white mantle and passing it to Aegnor as he also rose to full height.

  Aegnor tied both coats together and then, grabbing a banner, he quickly fashioned a long chord, tying the mantles to a rock he picked up. Angrod watched silently, his confusion growing. His silent expression shifted into wide eyes alarm as he witnessed Aegnor set their mantles ablaze from a nearby torch. The flames licked the fabric, transforming it into a mesmerizing pyre. 

  "Aegnor!" Angrod protested as his priceless wedding attire was consumed in flames in Aegnor's hand. ("What are you -!?") 

  Angrod's protests where over shadowed by Aegnor's exhilarated grin, his face aglow in red, hot light.

  ("Tiss not a celebration, brother, not to me, not until I see something burn!") Aegnor cried, his excitement growing.

  Without another word, he launched the flaming coats over the edge of the roof. Like a blazing fireball of  brilliance, it soared through the open air, descending upon the vast expanse of the open courtyard. The burning mantles landed in the large open courtyard onto a colossal pyre of discarded wooden boxes and cloth that had been 'mysteriously' doused in oil. within moments, the pyre burst into a pillar of hungry flames that reached toward the heavens in a breath-taking inferno. Angrod recoiled in surprise and a hint of terror, throwing his arm up in the sudden blazing wave of heat and light. But his fear was swiftly eclipsed by Aegnor's unbridled delight at the blazing, fiery spectre.

  "WOOOH!" Aegnor's vigorous, boisterous howls of mixed with the thunderous roar of the flaming pillar. Its destructive power, a thrilling display that excited him.

   Angrod's initial fear had melted, replaced with a delighted grin of wide-eyed amazement as he watched his brother's raw jubilation in the face of such destructive beauty. Utterly fearless was Aegnor in that moment and bold beyond all measure. Holding his chalice up to the roaring flames, he invited Angrod to join him. Angrod laughed, the bright fiery light reflecting off their forms as together, they raised their cups in a toast to the bygone days of their youth. Heralding in the age with shared anticipation of countless more adventures to come.

                             The New World 

                             (Year: unknown)

  Andreth rose early. Her scant clad form gleamed in the early glow of the rising sun. Nestled peacefully beside her, her sleeping elf lay upon his front. Only a thin sheet pooled around his hips. His broad, muscular back illuminated by the morning light, the defined planes of his shoulders and the indent of his spine, a breath-taking sight. His messy hair gathered around his head. A light sheen of moisture glistened his locks. Damp strands clung softly to his elven features. Remnants of a passionate night freshly sated.

  Tucking her tousled hair behind her ear, she bent over him, her face hovering above his ear. His deep breaths ghosted from his throat, remnants of an elf deep in his sleep. Still and silent as a sleeping angel. She fought against the desire to reach out and touch him, and disrupt this beautiful moment.

  Draping her body in a discarded blue cloth, his scent filled into her nose, intoxicating her. A dreamy smile crept onto her face as she remembered the events of their previous night and the many others that it had followed after. Gentle as to not wake him, she rose steadily from the sandy ground within the homely shelter they had built together.

  As she took but a single step, she stopped suddenly and gasped. The tickle of a familiar sensation slipped down the soft flesh of her inner thigh. The intimate evidence of his passion. A precious gift from her beloved. Blushing, she tenderly wiped it away. Her gleeful, playful grin lingering.

  After cleaning up and dressing in simple attire made for her by her loving husband. She slipped out of the hanging curtains of their abode to the welcome warmth of the sun. The distant song of the ocean waves echoed softly, and the gentle morning wind played with her hair. Her eyes closed, and she stretched, breathing in the sweet morning air. As she opened them, her eyes drew wide with alarm, and her mouth opened in shock and awe. 

  "Aegnor!" She cried joyously and ran back into the pavilion, "Aegnor!! Come quickly!!"

  They appeared from the closed hanging sheets that billowed gently in the breeze. Aegnor leapt out first, his form utterly unclad, followed by Andreth, her wide grin brightening her face. Aegnor gasped, his wide eyes fixed on the being before him. A stallion, black as night stood before them. Snorting happily. 

  "My love! Eru has blessed us yet again!" Andreth cried. "Sorna has been returned to you from the mortal realm of death, to be your noble steed yet again!" 

  Aegnor stood silently, his teary eyes fixed on the beast. "Could it truly be you, my loyal companion?" Aegnor whispered as he slowly approached. The horse outstretched his neck as Aegnor outstretched his hand. It sniffed his arm, and with a brief hesitation, it came to him, pulling his body into its chest with his head. Aegnor wrapped his arms around Sorna's neck and sobbed tears of joy. Andreth smiled widely as she witnessed the touching moment. 

  "I have not ridden in so long!" Aegnor whispered, dropping his arms. Overwhelmed by his emotions. Andreth came and encircled her arms around his slim waist from behind. Her lips spilling loving kisses upon his back as his quiet sobs echoed forth.

  "It will find you, my love. Just like everything before," she whispered, her soothing voice a balm in his sensitive ears. He released a shuddering sigh. His fingers entwining with the long tendrils of Sorna's mane. 

  "Andreth, will you go quickly and fetch my clothing?" He murmured. She obeyed and ran back to their dwelling to fetch his garments. 

  After a shaky start, Aegnor soon found his stride upon Sorna's back. With his wife seated behind, he rode with vigour along the plains, exploring their new world together. They hunted larger game that filled their bellies with satisfaction, and at night, Andreth would submit herself to Aegnor's passionate affection many more times. Their forms rolling in blissful surrender before the comforting glow of a warm fire. 

  Upon the hill of a flowery field, Andreth slept in Aegnors arms. The sweet smell of blooms lulled her into a reverent dream. Rest against a tree, his back supported by its trunk, Aegnor encircled Andreth in his arms. Her body nested between the open space in his legs, her back resting against his strong body. The sun beamed its full glory. But they were protected by the generous shade of the tree above their heads, the shadow of the leaves dancing upon the ground. 

  Aegnor stirred slightly and kissed the back of her head. The scent of her hair sent tingles of delight running through him. After he was sure she was fast asleep, Aegnor slid his hand down her stomach. His palm is coming to stop upon her lower abdomen, just below her navel. He stilled completely and held it there. As if searching for something deep within her. The flickering of a new feä, one that has been made from their passion. The wind wisped around as he lay in silent repose. Daring not to even breathe. Yet, a deep sadness overwhelmed him as he felt nothing and removed his hand. 

  Sensing the deep emotions that plagued her beloved through their feä bond, Andreth awoke, her eyes fluttering open, and immediately she turned to face her beloved. Her eyes filled with concern. Seeing his fragile gaze, she cradled his face in both her palms. 

  "My love... what deep sadness troubled your heart?" She whispered. Confronted, he had no choice but to reveal his deed to Andreth.

  "I had hoped to find a flicker of life within you," he trembled, "a child made from the fruit of our union, alas, I could find nothing. Forgive me Andreth if I have trangressed upon you," his sad gaze cast down. 

  "Oh my husband," Andreth moaned softly, "Is that what has vexed you? Surely, we can not forsee such things until they are made known to me for an absolute certainty. Do elves not concieve in such a way?" She asked

  His bright eyes found hers again, their depths brimming with fragile hope, "Nay, a day is chosen by the couple, and the act takes place. A sacred ritual is performed on the elf maiden by her husband. Once completed, the feä of the young concieved within her womb is felt through the feä bond of the parents. Alas, the difference between mortal women and all elven women is a stark difference, and I know how to approach the subject or what to expect." 

  Andreth smiled adoringly. "You asked me once how my kind commemorates the birth and not the act of begetting. Do you remember what I said?" 

  Aegnor lingered in thought. "It is a draw of mere chance. Unknown to both the father and the mother until the moment of certainty arrives." He replied. 

  "Yes," she smiled. "Whether I carry your child inside me now or not, it can not be known. You must be patient," she grinned. Aegnor released a tense sigh.

  Smiling gracefully, she placed her hand upon her belly with a deep, trembling sigh. "Perhaps, even now it stirs within... waiting to greet us, such a gift would be wonderful, would it not, Aegnor?" She spoke slowly. She gave him a sly smile. Her fluttery eyes, large and sparkling with excitement.

  "Truly, this is a torment beyond any I have endured! How do mortal men cope with such uncertainty!" He sighed, exasperated.

  Andreth laughed and crawled upon Aegnor, straddling him. Her hands enclosed around his neck. "Oh, Aegnor, does your sweet innocence know no end to my fluttering heart?" Her fingers danced playfully up the solid form of his abdomen. "Leave the worries of childbearing to me, my love, and just continue to take pleasure in me," She kissed him deeply, moaning softly as his velvet lips pressed upon hers, "My love, you possess an intoxicating kiss," she purred into his mouth, their breaths mingling in rising heat. 

  "And you, my wife, possess a body to break the will of even the most prudent of elven kings," he fired.

  She blushed purfusely and laughed. "I need not no elven king," she chirped, raining kisses upon his face. He slowly rolled her onto her back, his body laying beside her. He kissed her, and she groaned with delight. 

  "Aegnor?" She asked breathlessly, breaking from his enchantment. 

  "Mmmh?" He moaned, still lost in his surrender. "Do you remember what I asked you at Lake Aeluin? The night we first kissed, I asked if you had ever tasted the lips of another?" 

  Aegnor stopped kissing her, his body stilling completely, his gaze finally meeting hers in a long of dread. "Who was she? The maiden who shared this connection with you?" 

  Aegnor stared down at her, raising up upon his knees, his eyes filled with a deep sadness. His have buried in his hand, his brow straining tensely. Immediately sobered, Andreth rose, grasping his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

  "My love!?" She gasped, her face filled with concern, "Aegnor!" 

  Andreth's voice became echoes in his mind as memories of the mysterious maiden overwhelmed him, filled with shame and regret, her hands upon his body and her lips entwined with his in a kiss that once filled him with pleasure now made his skin crawl. Finally, he returned to Andreths calls, rising in desperation. He looked at her.

  "My love!" She cried, "what have I done?"

Aegnor pulled her into an embrace, pulling her head into his chest. She came willingly, listening to the trembling breaths that escaped him. His voice buckling in a fragile plea. "Andreth, please ask me never again about this. Some memories I wish never to think of again," 

  "Forgive me, Aegnor. I shall never mention it again." She mumbled softly into his chest. She broke from his embrace. Her tender gaze met him, she whispered endearingly. "Let us go home,"  

  The sun had long descended as the sky heralded the night embrace. Upon the back of Sorna, they arrived back their their dwelling. A spacious pavilion lined with shells they had collected together and sheets draped over its structure for privacy. As Aegnor shared a tender moment with his beloved steed once more, Andreth went inside.

  She was yet laying down upon their bed of fur when Aegnor entered, his eyes searching for his wife. With confident steps, he kissed her tenderly, and they lay down together upon the skins, warm in each others embrace. Fully comforted, Aegnor drifted off to sleep. His eyes slightly opened, but deep in his dreams. Andreth gently unentangled herself from his arms and rose. Stepping outside, she caressed the velvety nose of Sorna, who was grazing happily. Taking a moment to herself.

  "I have long perceived your coming, my beloved," Andreth murmured, her gaze turned heavenward into the glassy night, shrouded in shadow and enchantment. "And now, you are here, safe within my heart, as you have ever been and shall ever remain."

  She wiped the tears of joy that glistened on her cheek, her lips curving into a tender smile. "Your father awaits you eagerly, little one," she whispered, her slender hands cradling the subtle but unmistakable swell of her belly. 

  Andreth's words echoed softly into the tranquil air, a pledge of unwavering love for the new life that had blossomed from the deep well of her and Aegnor's ardent union. In this quiet moment, beneath the watchful gaze of the stars, she communed with the tiny feä growing within.

  Upon the morning, after breakfast, Andreth requested Aegnor take her to the healing springs. They set out upon Sorna. Andreth was a flutter of nerves and excitement as the spring soon came into view. She asked Aegnor to help her undress, request he eagerly complied. As her feet dipped into the welcoming water. She submerged completely and beckoned her elven lover to join her with a graceful flick of her slender hand. Smiling widely, Aegnor removed all of his clothing and followed her.

  She was utterly mesmerized by the beauty of his form as he descended into the pool of steaming water. She held out her arms, offering him her embrace. He came readily into her arms. Holding her delicately against his strength. His bones still ailed him terribly, but Andreth's love revitalised him. He buried his face into her neck, kissing it delicately and worshipfully. Their skin melded together. She quivered as she felt his stomach press against hers. The intimate secret she kept in her body fluttered within her as it sensed the touch of its father. Their sensual dance of love filling their hearts with comfort. 

  "Andreth?" Aegnor whispered. "You are trembling... what is the matter?" He pulled away, concern etched upon his beautiful face. Holding his gaze, tears filled her eyes. A delicate smile bending her mouth. Argnor seached her eyes. Observing every delicate control of her face with intensity. 

  "Something wonderful has taken place, beloved." She gasped softly.

  Aegnor cradled her face, his brow furrowed, his eyes fragile. "Whatever it be, you can tell me, Andreth," he murmured. 

  "I have kept a secret from you, one I have known for a while," she confessed. "Please, do not be angry with me,"

  Aegnor smiled and delicately licked his lips. "The feä bond between elven couples do not allow secrets to be kept, for we have the ability to read the mind of our mates. But you are not elven, Andreth. This truth I have come to accept, and I know not the thoughts of your mind. I have come to acknowledge, even envy this in you. Please tell me what it is you wish to reveal,"

  She wrapped her hands around the small of his back and pressed his abdomen into her belly. "Do you feel it, my love?" Confused, he stilled. His eyes searching. "All of those nights together, your unbridled passion overflowing, filling me each time with your sacred and most intimate gift. Now, I may return this to you. For I now carry a most precious burden." She trembled and continued, "Your child Aegnor... nestled within the sanctuary of my womb," 

  A heavy silence came from him, filled only by the song of birds. The wind tousled his hair as he stood motionless, his eyes burning with life. His eyes filled with tears as his breath deepened into rhythmic panting. She reached up and helped his face. Her smile widened with unbridled joy.

  "You shall be Atar, my love!" She cried.

  His tears burst forth, and he grabbed her, lifting her body aloft. Her laughter mixed with his sobs of sheer joy as he whirled her in the pool, creating a twisting trail of water in her wake. She straddled him, her thighs wrapping around his waist as he continued to twirl her lithe frame. Her laughter wringing out. Sinking down, he showered her face in kisses. They kissed passionately and joyously. Aegnor, utterly overcome with happiness. His cried melted to roars of jubilation. The magnitude of joy within him was overwhelming, for at long last, he would have the privilege of loving and nurturing their child – his deepest yearning was to be fulfilled. 
   From that moment onward, Aegnor remained steadfastly by Andreth's side, their bond unbreakable. He became her constant companion, never straying far, except for brief moments to gather food for them. With unwavering devotion, he watched over her with deep affection, his touch tenderly caressing the ever-expanding swell of her belly, a testament to the life growing within. Each passing day unveiled a new curve, a gentle reminder of the miracle taking shape.
   Aegnor, guided by an instinctual tenderness, led Andreth to a secluded lagoon, a haven of serenity. There, in the embrace of nature's purity, he bathed her in its crystal-clear waters every morning. Andreth, cradling her precious burden, revelled in the sensations of pregnancy. Her fingertips traced delicate patterns upon her skin, a gentle dance of connection with the vibrant soul flourishing within her womb. Aegnor would softly sing lullabies and whispers of love, his voice a soothing melody that reached the ears of their unborn child, strengthening the bond between them.
   In the quiet of many nights, Andreth would be startled from her slumber, her eyes fluttering open as her child unleashed a swift, powerful kick. Each movement, growing in strength and size, brought both awe and comfort to her heart. She cherished these precious encounters, for they would soon pass into memory. She sought to hold onto every moment of this precious chapter in their new lives.

○○○

  Andreth roused from her slumber yet again. She discovered a sleeping Aegnor's arm delicately resting upon her large burgeoning belly. Clad in a sheer gown adorned with a front slit, designed by Aegnor to grant him easy access to caress her stomach as he pleased. She slowly ascended from their bed, fashioned from the exquisite, warm pelts of white wolves claimed by Aegnor's hunts. Framed within a round, carved wooden bedframe to keep the pelt skins together, she carefully manoeuvred her body to find a position of greater comfort.

   The arduous and wearisome stages of her pregnancy had taken their toll, rendering her unable to traverse more than a few feet at a time. As she listened to the distant symphony of waves, their cosy home sheilded them from the world.
   Nestled in its very heart of the pavilion, a fire exuded a comforting glow, its sandy surroundings lending an aura of tranquillity. Recollections of their adventures together in this new world brought a smile to her face. She emitted a contented sigh as her hands tenderly caressed her large, swollen abdomen. She fondly remembered the long nights of her shared pleasure with Aegnor. Making love to her with unbridled delight. Shivers ran through her as she relived them.The ardour of those moments still ablaze within her. Her body, the vessal of his seed. Now awaited the birth of their child with great excitement.
   Anticipation for the imminent birth now occupied her every thought, though it was not devoid of trepidation that she concealed from Aegnor's gaze. She had witnessed the dire consequences that could befall a mother should any misfortune befall her, as her fateful friend Variel had fallen to. Yet, unlike her, she had Aegnor by her side, her stalwart guardian. Her faith in her husband remained unwavering.
   Nevertheless, the discomfort she endured was an almost unbearable burden, and she yearned for the day when it would be alleviated. Aegnor, still motionless from slumber, slid his hand from her belly to her enlarged breast, swollen with milk. He still desired her, even in his sleep. Andreth smiled and relaxed completely under his welcomed touch, and, with her heart content, she slowly drifted into a sweet sleep as their unborn offspring gently turned within her. But no peaceful sleep was granted her as she again was struck by her lively burden, this time making her jump. She groaned with frustration and sat up. As she glanced over to Aegnor, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, she couldn't help but notice the signs of exhaustion etched on his face. He had lost some weight, and the impending birth seemed to amplify his anxiety.
   Knowing that he needed every moment of rest he could get. She understood the challenges he faced in taking care of a pregnant woman on his own, and she admired his unwavering dedication to her. Aegnor often reminded her that during the final stages of an elven pregnancy, the mother drew strength from her husband and the entire family. In her quiet moments, she wondered if Aegnor's unease stemmed from a longing for his brother Angrod. The weight of his absence weighed heavily on his heart. Though he tried to hide it, it was clear to her how much he missed him. 
   Gingerly, she leaned over and planted a tender kiss on his forehead before rising to her feet. Her breath quickly ran out, her exhausted body protesting even the slightest movement. The journey to the entrance of the pavilion was only afew strides, yet it felt like a vigourous battle. Her back ached, and her feet, swollen and throbbing, plagued her relentlessly. Nevertheless, her determination propelled her forward, driven by the urgent need to relieve herself. The toils of pregnancy became a burdensome price for her ecstasy with Aegnor, long awaited.
   Moaning in discomfort, she at last found a secluded spot. She gathered her dress, lifting it high above her wide, parted knees, and crouched ungracefully. She soon found the bodily relief she desperately needed. Her senses suddenly attuned to the haunting howls of the wolves in the nearby woods. A glimmer of relief washed over her as the ominous howls transformed into a sword, cutting the air and sharp welps and cries of distress following. Convinced that Aegnor had followed her and was keeping watch over her safety.
   Fearing nothing, she cleaned herself off and ventured back. Waddling with great effort, pausing to rest at every few steps, until she once again reached the sanctuary of their home. However, as she entered, she was immediantluly gripped with alarm. Aegnor's shadowy form lay before her. Still lost in the depths of peaceful slumber. He had not moved. A jolt of fear surged through her being. If it wasn't Aegnor who had vanquished the wolves, then who had? The mystery hung heavily in the air, casting a shadow over the safety of their abode.
   Andreth's urgent plea roused Aegnor from his slumber with immediate alarm. Andreth relayed the harrowing tale to him in a frenzied rush. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Aegnor swiftly grasped his blade. He urged Andreth to remain while he ventured out to confront the intruder.
   As he raced into the forest, Aegnor's elven agility proved its superiority, enabling him to navigate the dense thicket with grace and precision. His keen elven ears picked up faint sounds in the distance, guiding his path. With his blade at the ready, he followed the call that beckoned him deeper into the shadows.
   Employing a mastery of stealth, he moved closer, careful not to alert the figure before him. Draped in a long black cloak and cowl, invisible with the darkness of the forest, the form stood, with weapon unsheathed, piercing the bodies of the motionless wolves that lay around, ensuring their demise. Aegnor discerned the mysterious figure to be female. Her back turned to him, and she was unaware of his sneaky approach from behind.   

  He swung at her. But swift as light, she parried with him, the swords clanking loudly. Though her face was hidden in the shadows of her cowls, she was none the less a fearsome dualist as she unleashed an aggressive attack in a flurry of deadly strikes, he parried everyone, their weapons slashing loudly between them, Aegnor was nit prepared for such ferocity of blows and struggled to maintain his balance. His weakened body proves its hindrance upon his skill. A brief respite allowed them some ground, and they circled one another.
   "Identify yourself!" Aegnor hissed, his words carrying an undisputed authority, his venomous eyes burning with ire. She remained silent, her face veiled from his sight. She swung at him again and attempted to kick the sword out of his hand. Aegnor grabbed her leg and flipped her onto her back, rolling upon her. He straddled her between his powerful legs, forcefully pinning her to the ground. His sword held to her face. Splayed upon her back, she raised her hands in retreat. His eyes blazed with intense ire.

  "This place is ours alone! How you came to be here I do not know but you are not welcome! Reveal your name, or I will tear you apart, piece by agonising piece!" He hissed.  
   The words had just left his lips when the chill kiss of a blade touched his cheek, another figure, tall and imposing loomed behind him, undetected by Aegnor. Halting Aegnor immediately. His anger burning within, Aegnor had to act with caution for the sake of Andreth, and he dropped his sword and slowly stood up, raising his hands in surrender. 
   "Failing to check your surroundings before engaging the enemy? I expected more from you, Aegnor," a males voice, deep and smooth, spoke. Its tone laced with an air of undeniable familiarity. Aegnor's breath stilled, every nerve in his body coiled. The voice behind left him in no doubt of the identity.

Leave a Comment