129: Epilogue: A New Age Begins

"Well, he’s finally crowned." Manwë said to the other Valar as they gathered in Ilmarin.

"Thank Atar!" Námo said with some feeling and the others laughed.

"Did you have any doubts, Brother?" Irmo asked with a sly look.

"No, of course not," Námo said with a sniff. "I’m just glad he’s out of our hair. That whole thrall thing was ridiculous and a waste of our time."

"Perhaps," Manwë averred, giving them a serene look, "but that is not to say it was a waste of Arafinwë’s time."

Námo gave a nod in acknowledgment of the Elder King’s words.

"I think he will make an excellent king," Varda said. "He’s had very good teachers." She gave both Námo and Manwë a brilliant smile of approval and they all had the rare pleasure of seeing the Lord of Mandos actually blush.

"And so a new age begins," Oromë said after a moment. "What wonders will it bring?"

"The Second Children will have arisen," Manwë said.

"Do we know where?" Yavanna asked.

Manwë shook his head. "No, and no, Oromë, you are not to go hying off with Nahar to find them. I think we’ve learned our lesson with the Firstborn and will leave them where Atar has placed them."

"Melkor is out there, though," Tulkas said with a growl, "he and his minions. The Secondborn will be as helpless against them as the Elves."

"I am aware of that, my brother," Manwë said sadly, "but what can we do? We’ve already seen what our interference with the Eldar has led to. In our arrogance and, yes, our fear, we fooled ourselves into believing that what we did was for the benefit of the Children without once considering what Atar’s plan for them was. That was our sin, as it were, and all else has followed from that. No. The Secondborn are to be left alone. I have no doubt that Atar already has set in motion certain plans for them."

Námo stirred. "We know that at least some of them will meet with the Noldor," he said. "That vision I had of Turucáno and his daughter grown...."

"Then it wasn’t in Aman, but in Endórë," Yavanna said. "I wondered how the Second Children would meet the Firstborn of Aman, for I could not imagine any of them being allowed here, but now we know."

"And we know why," Nienna said sadly.

"I think this rebellion was inevitable," Námo said, giving her a sympathetic look. "Oh, I don’t mean that these events were inevitable, though who can truly say? I only meant that at some point some of the more restless of the Elves would have wanted to leave, to explore the world, and why not? It is their world after all."

"Well, be that as it may," Manwë said, "we need to address the situation as it is, not as we would have liked it to be. Those Noldor who left are all in Endórë now and very nicely keeping Melkor occupied, at least long enough for the Secondborn to find them."

"We will have to make sure that the right Noldo finds them," Námo said.

"Anyone in particular?" Irmo asked his brother with a raised eyebrow.

Námo cast him a wry look. "If you mean, have I seen the meeting between the two, the answer is no, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see to it that the Younger Children are met by one with compassion. I doubt any of Fëanáro’s sons would fit the bill except possibly Macalaurë. No, I was thinking perhaps young Findaráto."

"An interesting choice," Ulmo said. "I’m already laying plans for him, myself."

"Oh?" Manwë asked. "Would you care to enlighten us?"

Ulmo shrugged. "You have closed Valinor to them, though I suspect that there will be exceptions to that as time goes by, but my realm encircles all the lands of Arda and I have been given a special role to play in all this by Atar. In order for our plans to succeed, we need some of the Eldar in hiding where Melkor is not likely to find them. Let Ñolofinwë and the sons of Fëanáro be the visible army of the Noldor, keeping Melkor occupied, but I’m thinking Findaráto and Turucáno will do best to hide their people for a time, keep them in reserve for when things go ill for the others and all looks to be lost."

"Hmm.... it certainly would be a good idea to have some of the Noldor in hiding," Manwë said. "Turucáno as well?"

"Námo’s vision," Ulmo said with a nod. "If the child he saw is of importance to us, he’s of importance to Melkor and the less Melkor knows of him, the better."

There were nods all around.

"Then, do as you have proposed," Manwë said, "and I think Námo’s idea of seeing that Arafinwë’s eldest son is the one to meet with the Secondborn has merit as well. We’ll have to keep an eye on events and see what we can do to facilitate the meeting. Anything else?"

Námo nodded. "Irmo and I have been discussing how we can help to heal the wounds here in Aman. We are considering forming a new order of healers whose mandate will be the healing, not of hröar or fëar, but of Aman itself, its people and the land."

"An ambitious project," Manwë said. "How do you propose to... um... recruit your people?"

"Some of those who already reside in Lórien learning the healing arts can be recruited," Irmo replied. "We are thinking that this particular order be less visible than the ones who take service with me or Estë. I think it is imperative that the work they do go unnoticed by the general populace. They will be more effective that way."

"And there are those in positions of power who can help," Námo added. "We’re thinking that Arafinwë would be a good candidate and Valandur might do. I would like to see Ingwion become a part of this, though I think we need to wait on that, as he is still healing from his own wounds."

Manwë nodded. "And have you thought of a name for this order?" he asked.

"We were thinking of calling them the Fëanturnildi, seeing as how we will both be training them," Irmo said.

"That sounds fine," Manwë said. "Keep me posted on how it goes. I may have some ideas of my own."

Both Námo and Irmo nodded. Manwë then glanced around the room, giving them a smile. "Well, if there is no other pressing business, perhaps we can go outside and enjoy the new day that has dawned."

"A new day and a new age," Varda said with a smile. "It will be interesting to see how this part of Arda’s history unfolds."

To that they all agreed and with a single thought they willed themselves away to a remote part of Arda to watch the new day dawn all over again.

****

Fëanturnildi: Friends of the Fëanturi, i.e. Irmo and Námo. The singular would be Fëanturnildo (male) and Fëanturnildë (female).

Note: The following is taken from Morgoth’s Ring, ‘Note on Motives in the Silmarillion’:

The closing of Valinor against the rebel Noldor (who left it voluntarily and after warning) was in itself just. But, if we dare to attempt to enter the mind of the Elder King, assigning motives and finding faults, there are things to remember before we deliver a judgement. Manwë was the spirit of greatest wisdom and prudence in Arda. He is represented as having had the greatest knowledge of the Music, as a whole, possessed by any one finite mind; and he alone of all persons or minds in that time is represented as having the power of direct recourse to and communication with Eru. He must have grasped with great clarity what even we may perceive dimly: that it was the essential mode of the process of 'history' in Arda that evil should constantly arise, and that out of it new good should constantly come. One especial aspect of this is the strange way in which the evils of the Marrer, or his inheritors, are turned into weapons against evil. If we consider the situation after the escape of Morgoth and the reestablishment of his abode in Middle-earth, we shall see that the heroic Noldor were the best possible weapon with which to keep Morgoth at bay, virtually besieged, and at any rate fully occupied, on the northern fringe of Middle-earth, without provoking him to a frenzy of nihilistic destruction. And in the meanwhile, Men, or the best elements in Mankind, shaking off his shadow, came into contact with a people who had actually seen and experienced the Blessed Realm.

In their association with the warring Eldar Men were raised to their fullest achievable stature, and by the two marriages the transference to them, or infusion into Mankind, of the noblest Elf-strain was accomplished, in readiness for the still distant, but inevitably approaching, days when the Elves would 'fade'.

-Metta-