Thranduil and his company were already at the front gates, his elk and their horses ready for departure, I felt my chest tighten as he mounted his Elk not wanting to watch him leave.
"Navaer Mellonamin" he spoke soothingly, he bowed his head and extended his palm from his heart.
"Harthon gerithach lend vaer" I half smiled, standing beside Thorin with Fili and Kili behind us.
Thranduil shared one last warm smile before gently kicking his elk and bounding over the bridge of Erebor onto the open land. His guard followed and soon several horses made their way cantering over the bridge as the rumble of horse hooves could be heard across the nearby lands.
I felt a large hand gently rest on my shoulder as I let out a sigh, turning to see the Kings sympathetic eyes glancing into mine. "He will return Lady Tulsa, do not fret" he said softly.
I nodded and turned away from the gate, "Right, I have a prophecy to work on, lead the way" I spoke with a sternness in my voice to cloud my sadness that my first friend of Middle Earth had left.
"Fili, Kili, round up the company and meet us at the sacred chamber" Thorin ordered, the Princes bowed.
"I'll start at the study" Fili noted.
"I'll go to the forges" Kili nodded.
They both ran off in different directions.
Thorin led the way down through the mountain and into a much deeper part of he halls, these pathways had not been carved as well and there seemed to be a much more eerie natural state to this part, going to the side of the halls he grabbed a flaming torch from the wall and carried it ahead of us.
"You haven't worked on these halls?" I questioned, my voice echoing slightly.
"No, these are sacred halls, and are not to be touched" he retorted bluntly.
We descended a few more steps until an old archway appeared. Walking through Thorin told me to stay close as he let the torch fall into a bit of powder, the powder instantly lighting up in flames, the flames trailing down and around through the chasm.
This area was bigger than the elvish halls, each Statue of Valar standing tall on its own it looked more like an arena then a hall of worship.
Soon the other members of the company piled in behind Fili and Kili, all of them standing in a line around the hall.
"Right then, if you walk into the middle of the temple, you should have your greatest connection to the Valar" Balin spoke, pointing to a small flight of stairs that led down into the huge circular centre.
I nodded and began to descend the steps with great care. The only sound in the room was my boots clicking against the stone floor and the flicker of flames. In all honesty I had not known how I had brought on the prophecy before but knew that if I had any luck of bringing it back, this was the place to do it.
I turned back to see 13 pairs of eyes watching me intently, fascinated by what they were about to hear. Remembering what the Lady Galadriel had said, not to touch me, I recounted it to the dwarves.
"What ever happens, do not try to aid me until I have finished speaking, do you understand?" I called out to them, they hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
I closed my eyes, and tried to recall the memory long lost to me, of home and life on Valinor. I dropped to my knees feeling the familiar sting of my eyes as my body trembled, my palms engulfing in white starlight as my body lifted from the ground, my head raised slowly as I opened my eyes which also drowned in starlight as I began to speak uncontrollably.
"Sent from the Lands of undying breath,
One child will remain
Seeking out darkness and death
An evil power rises, to be her bane
The Valar have spoken
Middle Earth's cure
The chains shall be broken
Here she will endure
A child of Youth
A child of war
Her memory of truth
From within they Tore
Speed strength and power
A goddess she stands
Elvish kin in her hour
To smite the darkness from these lands."
My eyes burned brightly as did my palms for a moment longer before they dimmed and I fell to the floor with a thump. I fluttered my eyes as they still stung, I began to pull myself up from the ground and found Thorin and Dwalin lifting me themselves until I was on my feet.
"Easy Lass, you took a hit doing that" Dwalin spoke firmly.
"Y-yes, it drains me" I spoke groggily. "I'll be ok in a few minutes" I added with a half smile.
"Did you get everything Tulsa that spoke Balin?" Thorin called from beside me.
"Yes lad, I surely did, I remember every word" Balin spoke with his hands on his hips.
"What does it all mean?" Ori spoke from within the gathering crowd.
"I don't know Master Ori, I am hoping to study it, find some sort of clarity" I spoke with my more ease as I gained my strength and stood tall once more. Thorin and Dwalin noted my change and let go of my forearms, staying close by just incase.
"We will help you as much as possibly Lassy, if the Valar sent you here with no memory it was with good reason." Balin concurred.
"I have brought you all here to hear of this, but no one else in this kingdom is to know of it, do you understand?" Thorin commanded.
The company nodded and agreed.
"Once, we found ourselves on a quest to reclaim Erebor, my most loyal company. Now, we will do it again, we will find out why the Valar sent Tulsa here. Together!" Thorin cheered, the company nodded whilst looking back at me as I shared a small smile.
"It has been long since there has been one of the Valar present amongst our kin, it is an honour to host you, Tulsa Valinor" Thorin spoke proudly, finally believing completely in who I was and how much power I held, I felt my eyes widen as he took a knee.
"Thorin?" I said softly.
The company then followed, all of them taking a knee and bowing before me.
"The elves may not have given you the true worship you deserve, but my kin will not be so proud to not recognise the true divinity that lay before us" Thorin then raised himself and took my hands in his big palms.
"Uh... thank you, King under the mountain" I spoke formally. Thorin nodded his head and smiled as the rest of the company raised themselves from the ground.
"Dori, see that Lady Tulsa be given a chamber well fit for her statute. Ori, see that it is fitted with clothing of her grace."
"I'll have to take some measurements" he added softly.
"Oh please, please just treat me like you do others" I winced at my words.
"But Tulsa, you are not like us, you are one of a kind" Gloin spoke happily.
"Exactly, one of a kind, I have no kin here in Middle Earth. I can't even remember them, yet I know I am one..." I sighed and turned to stare at the huge statue of my mother Nessa. "...I don't know why they would put me here"
"Aw it's ok Lady Tulsa, that's what we're here for!" Kili spoke, holding my arm gently.
"The elves and dwarves of Middle Earth shall protect and welcome you into their homes, we will do our best to make you feel welcome and comfortable" Thorins deep voice spoke on the other side of me, I glanced downwards and he smiled gently.
"Dolzekh" I almost whispered, feeling a smile creep up on my lips.
Thorin glanced across at his nephew Kili and they shared a slight smirk.
"Well, come with me lass, we will work on these words and see if we can't solve some of them" Balin changed the subject and I looked up and nodded, moving myself from the arms of Thorin and Kili to follow him out of the chamber.
I walked with Balin who whistled a certain melody, I found myself smiling as I listened.
"What's that your whistling?"
"Oh lass, ask Kili and Fili about knives and forks at dinner this evening, you'll find out" he chuckled.
We turned into a huge room filled with scrolls and old parchments, huge desks and feather quills with big soft looking lounge chairs. A fire place burned lightly in the corner of the room and Balin went to sit at one of the desks.
"Take a seat on the lounge Lass, we will work over this together." I nodded and went and made myself comfortable as Balin went and prodded the fire to bring it up to a nice warm flame before returning to his desk.
"Sent from the lands of undying breath, that's easy enough, I have been sent from Valinor" I muttered quietly, Balin still managed to hear.
"Right ye are there, One child will remain, I believe this to be that you are the only child of the Valar."
"Yes..." my memory clouded.
"Seeking out darkness and death, An evil power rises, to be her bane." Balin repeated grimly.
"Yeah, I'm not overly fond of those words either, the Valar would not have sent me back without a purpose" I shivered.
"A great purpose it would seem, let me pull some books down, do a bit of research" he nodded, clapping and rubbing his hands together as he got to work.
I sat and partially laid down on the soft cushions, watching the fire and the flame flicker. I tilted my head slightly as it danced across the wood eagerly, I held out my hand and the flame flew across and hovered just above my palm. My eyes widened and a small figure danced and waved up at me, I smiled, watching it move back and forth.
"Aye, a flame nymph, I thought they had all left Erebor when Smaug invaded!" Dwalins loud voice called through the room.
"Evening brother!" Balin called.
"Evening?" I spoke, my eyes leaving the flame as the nymph returned to the fire.
"Aye, Thorin came in to check on you and you were fast asleep, he tucked you in to the blanket" Balin indicated the warm blanket that now covered my body.
"Oh, forgive me master Balin!" I covered my face as I laughed, slightly embarrassed.
Dwalin stood close to Balin as he looked over his brothers work, both of them chuckling.
"Don't worry yourself, it was quite alright, it gave me time to delve into the research" Balin smiled.
I pushed the blankets off and climbed up the steps to Balins desk to read his findings. There were several long parchments and a few in black speech.
"Since when do you keep scrolls of black speech?" I spoke a little sternly.
"Unfortunately they are the only accounts we have of some of the darker more foul things in middle earth, I have trouble translating it, I was never taught black speech."
"Yes, I wouldn't expect you to know it, it was created by Morgoth" I whispered, my palm hovering over the black words.
"You know of Morgoth?" A younger voice spoke, I turned to find Fili and Kili enter the room, eyes wide.
"Yes, I knew him rather as his name before he became consumed by evil, his name was Melkor. The Valar with the most knowledge out of all of my elders, he let darkness fall and envelope his very soul, all evil dawns from his being."
The two Princes sat down on surrounding chairs as did Balin and Dwalin, listening intently. More footsteps where heard and I looked up to see Thorin and the rest of the company.
"Good to see you awake Lady Tulsa" he chuckled. I nodded with a half smile, looking down at the black speech.
"Shhh uncle, Tulsa was telling us about Morgoth!" Fili spoke, turning back to look at me.
The rest of the company went wide eyed as they all found seats around the room.
"As I was saying, Melkor as I knew him was the most knowledgeable of the Valar, he was consumed by evil until very his soul dripped with darkness, and so he became the dark lord Morgorth."
I held out my palms as I began to tell the story, the flames around the room extinguished in the same instant as the room grew dark. I held up my hands as star-like figures moved through the room representing the people in the tale.
"The King of the Valar, Manwë, who has power over the wind and air of Middle Earth was the brother to Melkor. Melkor was indeed the most powerful of the Valar but when he fell into darkness, Manwë took up his place as he was also the Valar with the most authority."
The figures moved through the darkness representing my telling as the dwarves seemed to be enriched in my story.
"Once Manwë learnt of his brothers decent, he led a charge upon his fortress, leading the Valar against him. My mother and father with him, they fought the dark lord."
The figures began to fight and clash against a huge bright red Melkor.
"Most of the Valar were no match for Melkor as he was the most powerful of them all before he let himself be consumed by evil, he bound them in Angainor, the most powerful chains ever created, said to be forged to hold Melkor himself."
The figures began to fall as they became chained, each falling to their knees before the dark lord.
"Melkor kept the Valar chained within his very Throne room, marvelling at his prisoners that were once his own kin, his own blood"
The figures struggled within their bonds as the red figure sits on his throne.
"One of the Valar however, my father, Tulkas..."
One of the figures begins to wrestle with the chains more than the others.
"...who was unmatched in his fury of battle, ferocity and pure strength, broke free of the chains of Angainor. His war cry echoing throughout all of Middle Earth as he flew through the room to smite Melkor on his very throne"
The dwarves cheered, watching the figure of Melkor be destroyed, as Tulkas burned brightly.
"The Valar were set free and the evil did not endure that day, Middle Earth was made safe once more"
I waved my palm as the Valar ascended above the clouds and stood proudly together before dispelling as the flames around the room began to ignite, bringing the familiar warm glow up around the room.
The dwarves sat in awe as they watched the figures disappear, their eyes alive with the story, they clapped and cheered once more as I found myself smiling.
"You have to do another one!" Kili spoke excitedly.
"Yes, please!" Fili added just as excitedly.
"Why, Lady Tulsa has to be the best story teller I've ever had the pleasure of listening to!" Dori nodded.
The dwarves began to loudly ask for another as I stood quietly.
"Enough!" Thorin called, I glanced up with a silent thank you.
The dwarves grumbled.
"Forgive me, but, to tell these stories is quite hard. They are not legend to me, but real events, Melkor was my uncle" I confessed. "And my father destroyed him"
"But lass, he was evil!" Dwalin scoffed. "If your father hadn't, evil would have been allowed to endure all across Middle Earth!"
"Aye, your father did everyone a favour that day" Balin agreed.
"He killed his own Kin" I added softly. "I could never imagine the pain of having to kill my own kin, especially my own brother"
Fili and Kili looked at each other and gulped, several other dwarves exchanged uncomfortable looks with their brothers.
"Without sacrifice, evil will always be allowed to endure, take Smaug for example, how many lives were laid down before you were strong enough to take back Erebor?" I looked up with a sad smile.
Several of the dwarves nodded, remembering sad memories.
"Those acts of war will never leave you, and you'll never forget what happened, you'll just learn to live with it." I concluded.
In realisation I felt my very eyes widen as I gasped, one of my own lost memories flashing before my eyes.
"Melkor was not always evil, husband of mine" A beautiful young maiden stood on the balcony looking over lands of silver and golden light.
"He will always find a way to return, and when he does he will not be Melkor anymore, my love. He is bound by his choice, he will always be Morgoth." A tough and aged voice spoke.
"Brother mine! Relieve yourself from Nessas side!" A bright figure swept through the room like an angry storm.
"Why on all the plains of the universe, would I do such a thing?" My father bellowed to his King.
"Because not only has she bared a child to you Tulkas, but also to our sworn enemy, she has bared the child of Morgoth!" He hissed furiously towards my mother Nessa.
My fathers eyes widened as he turned shakily towards his wife, "Tell me my love, tell me what Manwë speaks is not true, tell me!" He called through saddened eyes.
"Don't fight!" I found a my own self calling, running in from another room. The hands of Manwë found me as he clutched me tightly to his chest.
"My child, this must be sorted, for the good of Middle Earth and our own graces" he added softly, soothing my fret.
We both turned back to look upon my parents faces as my mother could not bare to look at my father.
"She has fallen, brother mine, Morgoth has manipulated Nessa into baring him a child" Manwë concluded.
"Where is this child! It must be destroyed!" Tulkas body vibrated with fury.
"My love, it cannot be destroyed by our line, Melkor made it so." My mother cried.
My father then dropped to his knees as pain and dread filled his vision. He looked back at my mother as tears streamed from their eyes, I tried to move Manwë's arms to be and embrace my parents. But he would not let me go.
"Is there no other way?" My father begged quietly.
"No, there is not" Manwë spoke. "Middle Earth cannot be taken into darkness, it is our oath to protect it and if we cannot then your child must" he demanded.
"She is just a child Manwë!" My mother cried.
"So is he" he retorted curtly, making my mother tremble as lightning flashed overhead.
"Tulsa will be sent back, back to Middle Earth to smite the son of Morgoth, as she is the only Valar who can" he concluded, his hand rested over my forehead, I heard the pleading screams of my parents before my vision enveloped in white light.
*****
A/N: Hey guys! Hope you're enjoying the story so far, I love writing in the world of ME. If you're enjoying this one I have started 'The Fallen' which takes place during LOTR, so be sure to check it out too. I love this world, let's work together to keep it alive. ❤️ 😘
Translations
Navar Mellonamin
Farewell my friend
Harthon gerithach lend vaer
I hope you have a good journey
Dolzekh
Thanks