Return to the North [ Lord of the Rings x Silmarillion ]

Eregion

A/N: Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but I moved into my dorm today and I'm absolutely exhausted and need to go to bed.

Melin-hope: thank you for your kind review! Tinneth is pretty much evil now, and I'll try to explore her psyche more throughout. No one is born evil, but some can be born with tendencies towards evil. That is, unfortunately, where Tinneth falls. She's designed as a cross between three characters from the Silmarillion: Maeglin, Caranthir, and Fëanor. Betrayal, anger, and greed.

"Is this the East Gate?" Edeva looked at the bottom of the stairs in wonder.

"Indeed it is!" Bidor smiled and led the cart down the side that had been specially made for carts.

"Thank Elbereth," breathed Barahir.

Bidor laughed softly at his expression of thankfulness. "You are welcome to keep the cart. We will stock you with food for a month!"

Eldarion grinned so wide he looked like a kid. He profusely thanked Bidor and the other dwarves who stood at various carts and mining locations around the East Gate.

They got fruits and vegetables, some fresh meat and fish, bread, cheese, and even a couple bottles of wine. Bidor insisted they needn't repay them. Aderthon and Eldarion objected but Bidor was having none of it.

"Just find someone to heal this lass," he replied, pointing back behind himself to Fëalas.

Finally they were ready to leave. The dwarves heaved open the doors and the evening light blinded them after days in relative darkness. Aderthon took hold of the goat's lead rope and led the cart forward, following Eldarion and Barahir and followed by the rest.

"Farewell!" they cried to the dwarves. "Thank you!"

The dwarves waved and bid them goodbye. Edeva couldn't stop smiling as she breathed in the outside air. They walked out and journeyed around a small pond like water feature, and when they looked up all was beautiful.

The sky was a mess of reds and oranges, with blues and purples mixed in for good measure. Fëalas couldn't stop looking at the sky. It was too pretty.

"From here we travel due North until we hit the river Mitheithel." Eldarion was speaking to Aderthon and Elboron in front. "Once we hit that, we follow it into Rivendell."

"Sounds easy enough," Elboron agreed.

Aderthon snorted. "Which means it will be anything but easy."

"Any idea how long it should take us to hit the Greyflood?" Elboron asked Eldarion, ignoring the pessimism of his friend.

Eldarion shrugged as he continued walking. "We're looking at at least two weeks before we even hit the Greyflood, and then possibly another two weeks before Rivendell."

"Good thing the dwarves gave us so much food," Edeva said, coming up to them.

Aderthon smiled at her. "Truly."

"How many elves remain in Rivendell, Eldarion?" She asked him as they walked.

He replied with a sigh. "One only. The rest have journeyed over the Sea or live in scattered companies."

"This one. You called him Glorfindel, no?" Edeva was curious about where they were going.

He nodded. They walked in silence now, Elboron having dropped back to speak to his brother and sister. Aderthon walked between the cart and Edeva, while Eldarion stood beside her other side.

"Fëalas," Aderthon asked his sister, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she shrugged. "I need to make sure to walk a little before we camp for the night."

For the past two days, Fëalas had been taking small steps toward walking again. She would spend intervals of ten minutes and walk with Aderthon's help, and eventually on her own, to strengthen her muscles.

Aderthon had the cart stop and he helped her down. She could walk decently now, and it was only a matter of time before she could do without the cart. She walked alongside her brother, keeping an eye on Edeva too. The girl was too close to her brother for her liking.

The days passed, and nothing of interest happened. They watched as ruins came and went as they walked, and were careful to avoid any dangerous places. Always ahead of them was the promise of hitting the river Mitheithel, the river Greyflood. Each day they rationed their food and water, replenishing each resource whenever possible, just in case.

Eregion wasn't exactly desolate. But it was lonely. Nothing there seemed happy. The trees and the shrubbery just existed. There was no joy in their branches. Even Elfwine noticed.

"Who lived here?" he asked one day. "What people?"

"Elves," replied Finduilas. "A great realm of elves once lived here, Elfwine."

"What happened to them?"

Finduilas sighed. "Sauron."

They said no more of it, instead falling back into silence. The weeks passed, and eventually, halfway through week number three, they heard it.

"That sounds like a river," smiled Aderthon.

And indeed it was. The Greyflood was not far ahead. Now they could begin backtracking up the river to the Last Homely House.

"I don't know," Fëalas murmured to herself. "It's big. And fast."

"You love the water," Círeth said in confusion. "We've swam in the Anduin before. This is nothing!"

Elfwine bent down and sent water flying at her.

She screamed. "Don't splash me! Don't let it touch me!"

The company grew quiet. Aderthon felt his heart sink.

Fear of water. He sighed. That's often the first sign.

Rabies was setting it.

"Come on, let's get moving. We still have a lot of ground to cover." Eldarion salvaged the situation quickly. "Fëalas, you don't need to go near the water if you don't want to. No one will splash you."

She nodded quickly, glaring at the others. They were all trying to splash her. They knew she didn't like it. Everyone was out to get her.

Or at least, that's how her brain was processing things. Slowly she was slipping deeper into her own mind, where the rabies was twisting reality. Aderthon saw it happening and it broke his heart. This was one thing he couldn't kill, he couldn't protect his little sister from. She just had to fight it, she had to hang on until they could reach Rivendell.

Two weeks. That's all she had to survive. Two weeks and they would hopefully reach Rivendell and Lord Glorfindel.

Lord Glorfindel! thought Aderthon with a grin. Oh how I cannot wait to meet him!

Aderthon was so excited at the prospect of meeting the ancient elf lord. This was an elf he had grown up hearing tales about. This elf battled a Balrog, lived in the Hidden City of Gondolin!

He could barely contain himself at the mere thought of meeting such an elf lord.