The Court of Ardor by AliceNWonder000137  

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Ty-Ar-Rana

I'm introducing another group that will feature in the story.  The characters and settings are provided by the RPG module.

Image of Ty-Ar-Rana courtesy of the Court of Ardor RPG

10)  The Three of Ty-Ar-Rana – Southern Middle Earth - Year of the Sun 62 Tuilë (Spring)

Lyaan

The leader of “The Three,” Lyaan, sat across from Fëatur, his arms crossed and a doubtful expression on his face, one eye narrowed.  Lyaan was a tall Noldo elf, heavily muscled with tanned skin and dark red hair.  His most striking feature was his emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle with silver.  “We received word of your arrival,” he said plainly, gesturing to another man and woman of the group.  The other man looked remarkably like Lyaan in hair and features, and all were dressed in white robes that were trimmed in gold.  The woman embodied elegance, her reddish-brown hair neatly coiffed and braided. She held herself as a noble among the High Elves with a calm, but warm demeanor.  “We are understandably suspicious and cautious based on who you were and where the message came from,” he said bluntly.

Fëatur shifted in his padded chair, cradling a baby in his arm.  “Lyaan, you are right to be suspicious.  The enemy is full of deceit and guile.  I wish to prove to you that my cause is just and that I am purely on the side of light.  Should you not accept my word and the tale of my return, I ask you to send me away.  I will not protest.”  He adjusted the collar of his white tunic with his free hand.

The woman, Lysa, spoke, “We will hear your tale and then decide.  Still, we would be very reluctant to turn away a baby.  Whatever the outcome, should you wish to leave her in our care, I can promise you that we will raise her as our own.”

“I thank you,” Fëatur responded with a nod and a smile.  “I have traveled far from the north with word that The Three are friendly to the cause against Morgoth.  I cannot say more, but I have a…source if you will who directed me to you.  I will admit that I know nothing about you save what I was told so I am extending a lot of trust by being here…with so valuable of a person.”  He tilted his head down towards the baby.

“We acknowledge your trust,” the third member, Lyrin, said.  He seemed far more youthful than the others, looking little older than a boy, thin and gangly with a mop of unkempt curly red hair.  He glanced at Lyrin and Lysa, seeming to seek affirmation for his words.

Fëatur put his head down and put his hands to his mouth.  He would put as much as he could out there.  He needed these people’s help.  But he was terrified of the idea that they would learn the baby’s secret. “I wish you to know that, when I heard of the death of the Two Trees, I repented.  I offered my life to Eru in payment for my misdeeds and I was swept into the Halls of Mandos to answer.  I begged him to destroy me…to cast me into the eternal darkness of the void. I deserved nothing less.”  He sighed and then cleared his throat.  “But Mandos extended me mercy and tasked me to return to Middle Earth to fight the Dark Lord.  My whole existence…my entire being is now dedicated to fulfilling that oath even if it means my life.”

“I sense what you say is true,” Lysa said, her green eyes boring into Fëatur’s heart, making him shift uncomfortably.  She stroked her rounded chin and touched a finger to her full lips.  “We know that you have worked with the Guild of Elements and we trust that Chrys Menelrana is for the light.”

“Chrys is a good man and a great leader,” Fëatur said.  “He led our force to victory at the Dagor Aglareb.  It was a great triumph for the cause, but I fear that it is just the beginning.  But yes, I met Chrys when I first returned to Middle Earth.  He has built a formidable army here in the south.  After the battle, my source reached out to me and told me of the enemy’s plans, so we arranged a meet.”

Lyaan leaned forward and narrowed his eyes.  Trusting anyone in the Dark Lord’s camp was fraught with peril.  “And you trust this…source?”

“With my life.  Like me, my source has seen the evil of the Dark Lord.  Morgoth is a master of deceit and poisoned us with honeyed words of freedom and power and how it was the Valar, who were truly evil and wanted only domination over us. We know that was wrong.  Every accusation from Morgoth is a confession. We know him for who he is, truly weak and malicious.”  Fëatur’s lips curled in an expression of disgust.

Lyaan looked quickly to Lysa and then they both nodded.  If anyone could determine the truth, it was his wife.  He turned back to their guest.  “Very well.  Continue,” he said.

Fëatur inhaled deeply and pursed his lips.  Then, he nodded slowly as if resigned.  “I have to lay it all out on the line if I am to gain your support.  My every instinct tells me to hold back, but in order to receive trust, I must give it.”  He held out the baby girl and then added bluntly, “This is the daughter of Morgoth.”

The Three shot out of their seats and spoke in unison.  “What?” There was a universal look of horror on their faces, brows narrowed and mouths agape.  Lyaan glared at Fëatur.

Lyaan was stunned by this revelation.  How could Fëatur bring such a horror to them?  Was he mad?  Was he still in the council of the enemy?  His face twisted in anger and he pointed a finger at Fëatur.  “How dare you,” he began before Lysa stepped between them.

“Calm now, love,” she said in a voice full of melody, her green eyes soft and concerned.  “Fëatur would not have come to us with this child without great need.  He could have deceived us, and we would have eventually found out, but he offered us the truth right away.  Let us hear him out.”

Fëatur let out a long, tense sigh and his hand shook.  “Thank you. Morgoth and the Astrologer Ardana seek to destroy the Sun and Moon,” he continued to more gasps of horror.  “The High Lord Morthaur found many of the gems of Fëanor that were belched forth by the demon Ungoliant as they fled Valinor. These gems…and the blood of a Vala will bring about that destruction.  Once grown, this girl was to be sacrificed to achieve that end, but my source was able to sneak her out under the guise that she did not survive childbirth.  Still, another child, a boy, was born and will now serve that purpose.  I wish to raise the daughter here with you, in seclusion and safety.  There will come a time when I believe that she will be the one to stop this madness for she, too, has the blood of a Vala.”

Lyaan’s eyes widened, and he made an incredulous expression.  “This is a lot,” he said very slowly, emphasizing every word.  “We have established ourselves in the safety of the Vale of Geshaan and we are at peace and our people are prosperous.  I am reluctant to threaten that peace…but I see the wisdom in what you say,” he said, his posture and face relaxing. “Lysa corrected my earlier anger and I apologize.”  He looked at the other two.  “If we are in agreement, we will host you and…the girl.”  While his mind screamed at him, his heart knew that this was right.

Lysa and Lyrin nodded in unison.  Lysa beckoned to Fëatur.  “May I hold her?”  He handed the girl to Lysa, and she cradled the baby, rocking her back and forth. “She’s beautiful.  I sense a powerful spirit in her.  What’s her name?”

“Morelen,” Fëatur said. “My source gave her the name.  I think it fits.  She is truly the Dark Star.”

“And her brother? The one still in the hands of the Dark Lord?” Lyaan asked.

“Moran…the one who shall turn to darkness.”

Lysa held her hand up and shook her head.  “Alas, our Quenya is rusty.  But I think it would be more accurate to say, the one who shall bring the darkness.”

This sent a terrible chill down Lyaan’s spine and a drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. “Eru help us.  This is beyond our imagining.  I cannot fathom what would happen should the Sun and Moon be destroyed. The chaos would be…” he said and then trailed off, his face twisted in horror.  “Fëatur, you have our support.  We will raise and teach Morelen and if you wish to remain to be a part of that, we welcome you.”  He looked over to Lysa.  He was already proud of his wife, but her calm compassion was always something to behold. And Lyrin, his son.  The boy had a long way to go, but would grow into the role.

Fëatur nodded.  “I thank you.  From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.  And yes, I do accept.  I’ve come to…be attached to Morelen.  It was a learning experience for me.  I had no idea that caring for an infant would be so…trying.  My source taught me much before we left Angband.  Alas, it has been a long journey south.  I would appreciate it if you had some food for us. Morelen hasn’t eaten all day.”

Lysa smiled.  “Of course.  Where are our manners?” she said as she handed Morelen to Lyaan.  “Here love, hold her.  I’ll go and prepare something.”

Lyaan took the girl and looked down into her silvery gray eyes.  She already had a mop of raven black hair, and a big smile was on her lips. She jerked about and let out a giggle. Lyaan had to laugh back.  “She’s quite adorable.  I can see how you are attached to her.”  He tickled her tiny nose with his finger, and she laughed some more.  It was such an innocent laugh.  Lyaan mused how she could truly be the daughter of the Dark Lord, the avatar of evil in the world.

Lysa returned quickly with a tray of food for both of their guests.  She handed Lyaan a bottle of some milky liquid.  “Here, give the poor girl some food.”

He took the bottle and then began to feed the hungry baby.  It was something he had never done before, and it felt strange and uncomfortable. It gave him more admiration for his wife, who had done all of the work with Lyrin.  “Hmmmm, this isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.”  He looked up at Fëatur and gave him an awkward smile. He could empathize with how much the man had to learn and so quickly.

“You’re doing fine,” Lysa told him.  “It’ll take some practice.  “There, all done.  Here, I’ll take her and why don’t you give our guest a tour of the city…what’s left of it anyway.”

With an exhale of relief, Lyaan handed Morelen to his wife.  Lysa immediately began bouncing and patting the girl on the back.  Lyaan vaguely remembered them raising Lyrin, but that was at least a century ago in Valinor.  He felt a surge of shame in how he was always too busy, always attending to great matters of state, advising the great lords of the Noldor.  What did it mean to be a true father?  Maybe there was still time to learn.  He gestured to his son.  “Lyrin, please accompany us.  I think you would be someone good to give the tour.”

Lyrin’s face lit up and he nodded eagerly.  “Of course. I would be honored.”  He beckoned to their guest and then led the way from the meeting room to a lift.  “It is powered by an incantation,” he said proudly, “as is much of the lighting.”

Lyaan had always been concerned about his son.  Lyrin was often childish and irresponsible in many ways.  Sometimes, Lysa could be too compassionate and indulgent.  Still, he was happy any time the boy showed some initiative.  He could only blame himself though for being such a distant father.  They entered the lift and it whirred to life, carrying them upwards.  He watched Lyrin closely as the boy showed Fëatur the workings of the mechanism. The lift came to a stop, and they exited into a cozy lobby of white marble walls and floors with veins of silver. Comfortable furniture was well placed throughout, the work of Lysa and her eye for style.

“We’ve built quite a home for ourselves,” Lyrin said with a boyish grin.  “Many of the structures existed here before we arrived.  There was a thriving city of the Vanyar for a time before they continued their journey to the Undying Lands.  We crossed the ice with the host of Fingolfin and continued south to find this place.  Many Silvan elves came to inhabit it, and we joined their community.  It’s been a while since we spoke Quenya.”

They walked out of the lobby and down a stone staircase into the city.  “I didn’t really have time to look around on the way in,” Fëatur said as he marveled at the metal and stone structures.  “This is magnificent.”  He looked back at the building where they met, a tall pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids.  “Yes, quite impressive.  You said that the Vanyar built these?”

Lyrin nodded.  “Yes, these were here when we arrived, along with the Silvan folk.  Most of the city is deserted, but we hope to fill it as we grow.”  He gestured to the almost empty streets and dark buildings. “There are a few hundred of us now, but we’re growing slowly.  We spent at least a decade cleaning out the structures.  The Vanyar left the city centuries ago.”

Lyaan nodded.  “And there are still more amazing things to be discovered here.  We only recently explored the main pyramid fully.  There is even a guardian…a golem of some sort that we haven’t figured out yet.”

Lyrin smiled broadly. “I’m working on that, father.  I think I’ll have a solution soon.”

Lyaan felt pride whenever Lyrin took the initiative and came through.  Still, the boy had a long way to go.  “I know you will.  And we will be better for it,” he said as he patted Lyrin on the back.  Yes, there was still time for him to undo his neglect.

Chapter End Notes

Introducing Lyaan, Lysa and Lyrin, called The Three and Morelen who will be a POV character.

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