Aule's Dilemma by Uvatha the Horseman  

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Tour of the Forge

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The Mansions of Aulë - Present Day (TA 3018)

The Forge occupied an entire wing of the Mansions of Aulë, one of the two arms that wrapped around a central courtyard, and was at least two stories high.

The faint smell of wood smoke reached them as they crossed the courtyard, and the tink, tink of hammers against anvils was like music.

An unusually large forge stood in the middle of the courtyard. The chimney, hearth, and the working area in front of the hearth were of brick. At the moment, it was empty and cold.

"The Forge is outside, in the courtyard?" asked Rose.

"We use that forge for demonstrations. We often have visitors who want to see what we do here," said Aulë.

Aulë led them to the newest wing of the Mansions, where the Forge was housed. The smell of wood smoke and the ring of hammers met them before they reached the building. Aulë pulled open the outer door. It was dark inside. Fires burned in the many hearths, where the orange light outlined the black silhouettes of workers and their tools.

The smell of wood smoke was stronger inside. The noise of hammers on metal, the roar of the bellows, and occasional cursing, filled the space. Slate flagstones covered the floor, and the bricks above the hearths were blackened with soot.

Aulë waited a moment to let the newcomers' eyes adjust. The Forge looked gritty and dark, but it was a marvel of tools and machinery. He took pride because the fittings in the Forge, the door hinges, latches, and tool racks, were extremely well made. The ones made by Curumo, his Chief Maia before Rhosfindel, stood out for their sinuous lines and delicate ornamentation. Aulë had noticed that the style of Curumo's work had influenced the Aulëndil. It was said they'd continued using it at homes back home in Arda.

He led the newcomers into a long room lined with identical brick forges. Each had a chimney against the wall with a semi-circular opening for the hearth, a broad hearth for laying finished work to cool, and in front, a rack for tongs. Each forge had its own anvil, vise, and barrel of water for quenching hot metal.

"This is the classroom where you'll have your lessons."

Opposite each forge was a workbench, with racks holding small tools like files and chisels, and a large slate board mounted on the wall above it. One of them was being used as a place to display schematic drawings.

"Once you become skilled in the craft and doing your own projects, you'll spend as much time planning the design as making it. You can also draw on the floor. It's made of slates for that reason."

Aulë let them look around for a few minutes, and then took them to the next room, the shop floor where the senior smiths worked.

"After you leave the schoolroom, you'll begin your real work of making useful things for the rest of the community, and this is where that work will take place." Aulë made a sweeping gesture at the space.

The hearths were larger here. Many of them were in use, and the ringing of the anvils filled the large space.

Racks of tools covered the walls, and lifting mechanisms, such as pulleys and jacks, showed that they sometimes worked on massively large pieces.

At the forges, Aulë's Maiar worked on various projects, their heads bent over their work. Almost all of them had red hair, in shades from ginger to red fox to dark auburn.

Aulë led them to an anvil where two smiths were working. One struck a tool with a hammer while the other held the glowing metal with tongs.

"Much of what we do requires three hands: punching a hole, cutting with a chisel, stamping a maker's mark. The smith swings the hammer, and his helper holds the tongs. That's what you as new apprentices will do, when you're not chopping wood or working the bellows.

The smith with the hammer paused in his work and nodded respectfully. A copper circlet perched on Mahtan's copper-colored hair, and although he looked young for one of the Elves, he wore a close-trimmed beard.

Aulë introduced him. "This is Mahtan, one of the Elven craftsmen, a smith of extraordinary skill."

Aulë bent to examine the work on the anvil, a decorative piece made of copper. The thickness was uniform throughout the bend; the corners were crisp, and no hammer marks showed. More to the point, he'd done it quickly, while they watched.

"That's truly impressive work, Mairon. You continue to impress me."

"Mairon?" Mahtan looked puzzled.

"Mahtan. I meant Mahtan." Aulë's cheeks burned. He was glad for a ruddy complexion that hid it. "Bronze, Copper, Rose, do you have any more questions about the Forge?"

"What's behind that door? It looks like it leads to an interior space with no windows." asked Copper.

"That's the workspace we call the Vault. It's where we work on things that are to be done in secret. The chain Angainor, for example."

They were youngsters. Aulë knew they'd try to break in unless they thought there was nothing to see. There wasn't anything secret going on in there right now, so he lifted the spell and let the door swing open.

He stepped aside to let them look. The small, confined room held a forge identical to the ones on the shop floor, a workbench, and a desk. There were no papers on the desk, and the wall-mounted chalkboard had been wiped clean. Their slack faces suggested they'd lost interest and were ready to move on.

"If we're done in here, let's have a look at the village down the road, on the edge of the property."

Aulë addressed the group. "Let's step outside and see the village." They went through the great outer doors and crossed the courtyard. Just outside the grounds of the Mansions were a dozen thatched cottages, each with a tidy garden. Smoke curled from the chimneys of several of them.

"Those are the guesthouses where the visiting Elven smiths, the Aulëndil, are housed."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "Do they have nice because they're guests, or are they forbidden into the Mansions because they aren't Ainur like us?"

"That's a good question, and the answer is neither.

"It's an interesting story. When the Aulëndil, the Noldor Elves who came here to study, first arrived, I tried to treat everybody the same."

    I've been accused of playing favorites, meaning Mairon, and later, Mahtan. I wasn't playing favorites. I just like them better than the others.

"I had them eat with us in the dining hall and sleep in the dormitory. I thought everyone was happy with the arrangement until Mahtan approached me with the nervous look of one chosen by the others to register a complaint.

"'Master Aulë, we are deeply honored to study with you. However, we cannot maintain the austerity practiced by the Ainur, the Holy Ones. I'm sorry, but it's just too hard.'

"Austerity? I had no idea what he was talking about.

Mahtan explained. 'We eat the same tasteless food every day. The water for washing is always cold. We sleep on hard, narrow cots in a room with no heat. We Elves are used to cooking with a variety of ingredients, sleeping in soft beds with bed curtains, and when it's cold or damp, we have a fire in the fireplace.'

"I was stunned. Most of the Ainur felt no need to show holiness. We'd sung in the celestial choir for eons, and we were ready to take a break."

"You speak the truth," Bronze muttered. Rose and Bronze nodded.

"I said to him that even when in physical form, we Ainur are spirits. We don't seek physical luxuries because we get nothing from them. Anyway, the village sprang up because I let the Aulëndil build their own houses and live as they saw fit. So that's how the village came about."

A road led out of the village and disappeared into the forest. In the distance, tendrils of smoke rose above the trees, suggesting a settlement much larger than this one.

"That smoke? What's at the end of that road?" asked Copper.

"The road leads to Valmar, the capital of Valinor. In the winter, when the leaves are off, you can see lights from the dwelling. Market Days are held there, and so are the festivals.

"But the most important place in Valmar is the Circle of Doom, where the Council of Valar meets. It's where the most unforgivable crimes are tried and judgment passed. You don't want to be summoned there, ever."

Rose wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

"If you pay attention in class and put your tools away when you finish work, you won't be called before the Council."

Copper looked terrified.

"Copper, relax. It was a joke. The Valar will only arrest you for crimes like insurrection or treason."