One Flesh, One Soul. Part II by FellFireFan

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Chapter 4

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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.

 

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   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.

 

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   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.

 

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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.