44. Tapestries: The War

The last tapestries he passed brought a smile to his face, but as he neared this one, he instantly knew it is different. Darker… heavier… It seemed to weight on the wall heavily, not with the material of the weaving, but by the scene depicted on it:

He saw the trees of Mirkwood burning, the fire reflecting in Thranduil's armour, the deadly glittering of the arrow nocked in his mighty war-bow. Battle raged there, a battle that seized the whole Middle-earth.

He saw Dol Guldur, towering upon the hill of Amon Lanc, casting a long shadow into the once green woods. Black squirrels lived in the woods under the shadow, and spiders weaved their webs.

Slowly, he stepped to the next tapestry, for the scene seemed to continue there.

In a next tapestry, he saw the fortress defeated, the towers of the abandoned ruins tearing like paper as Galadriel walked there and the light of Aman shone in her eyes, beautiful and terrible.

He had a strange sense of recognition as he watched it, but as he stepped away, the sense passed, for the next tapestry was from another time and place:

It was showing Maedhros, hanging in his torment upon Thangorodrim. Fingon just found him, and was watching with sadness and helplessness in his eyes. It was before Thorondor showed up, before he could know that he will. He was prepared to kill his best friend to save him from the torment, and it was clear in his eyes.

That look was hard to behold, and so he hurried past the tapestry.