New Challenge: Title Track
Tolkien's titles range from epic to lyrical to metaphorical. This month's challenge selected 125 of them as prompts for fanworks.
“(Melkor becomes suspicious, and guesses war is purposed against him, because of the Quendi. During Oromë’s absence his emissaries are busy, and many lies circulate. The `heresy’ awakes in new form: the Valar clearly do exist; but they have abandoned Endor; rightly as the appointed realm of the Quendi. Now they are becoming jealous, and wish to control the Quendi as vassals, and so re-possess themselves of Endor. Finwë, a gallant and adventurous young quende, direct descendant of Tata […], is much taken by these ideas; less so his friend, Elwë, descendant of Enel)”- J.R.R.Tolkien (editor Carl F. Hofstetter): the Nature of Middle-Earth, Chapter XIII ‘Key Dates’
“Finwë! Lord Oromë has returned!”
Finwë wrinkled his nose, looking sceptically at his friend.
“So?” he asked finally, wincing inwardly at how cool he knew his voice sounded. Unsurprisingly, Elwë frowned at his friend’s less than enthusiastic attitude.
“What do you mean, ‘so’? He is going to tell us more of Valinor, and besides, when he is here, no Shadow will dare come close.”
“The Shadow is conquered, they say.”
“I hear that. But there are still enough foul things on the loose in these woods!”
“Yes…” Finwë said. “…or so the Vala says.”
Elwë just stared at his friend, until Finwë bit his tongue in dreadful realisation.
“Elwë, I… forgive me, I did not mean to…”
“It’s fine! But will you come now and hear for yourself what Oromë has to say?”
“What if he is only trying to lure us to Valinor, though? What if the Valar are really truly the evil ones? I mean, we are happy here, are we not?”
Elwë considered that for a while, his eyes on the star-strewn heavens. At last he sighed deeply, looking as if he were carrying a much older elf’s burdens.
“I don’t believe it. I know many do, I know it sounds so very… plausible. But there is no evil in Oromë. Anger, perhaps, wrath even, but no evil. Have you seen the light that shines within his eyes? Something so pure cannot in itself be evil, I am sure about it! So will you come with me back to the others?”
Finwë still was reluctant, though he had to admit that Elwë had a good point.
“But you were the one to take ages to start trusting Oromë…”
Elwë shook his head.
“No, your memory deceives you there, my friend. I trusted Oromë from the start. But I needed time to think over what he told us.”
An almost pained look crossed Finwë’s face.
“Yes. I know you did. You always think everything over. But it seems that that is no bad thing this time. Alright. Let’s go!”