Bits and Pieces Under 300 Words by sallysavestheday

To Build Anew

For the January 8, 2023 instadrabble prompt of a cathedral under construction: builders in Vinyamar.

Vinyamar’s relative warmth is a pleasant change for Turgon’s craftsmen. Barad Eithel’s towers were built in winter, and the finer details were omitted, as chilled hands and delicate stonework were fundamentally at odds. But the softer seaside air makes their fingers nimble, and the decorative flourishes the exiled Noldor have so craved come tumbling from their hands. Spires are drawn out to needles; arches interlock in lacy concatenations; windows of prismed glass split the light into a million brilliant jewels, adorning their hair and faces as they work. Almost they might be at peace in Tirion again, swinging aloft on their delicate scaffolding, wrapped in the ancient songs.