Inspired by a passage in the books that was brought up at TheOneRing.net, I decided to make a prompt out of the re-forging of Andúril and the runes inscribed on it.

I was also thinking of a character who would be interested in this event, and suddenly Gimli popped right in. I have not written this character often, so I hope I did a decent job on him, especially since it is from his point of view.

Oh, and I know very little about forging- or re-forging- weapons. Thus the vagueness. And definitely inspired by the movie inscription, which I like very much but didn't want to copy word-for-word.

Prompt 38: Heat
Ficlet: The Forges of Rivendell
Rating: G
Rivendell, December 3018 TA

"The Sword of Elendil was forged anew by elvish smiths, and on its blade was traced a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and above them were written many runes; for Aragorn son of Arathorn was going to war upon the marches of Mordor. Very bright was that sword when it was made whole again; the light of the sun shone redly in it, and the light of the moon shone cold, and its edge was hard and keen. And Aragorn gave it a new name and called it Andúril, Flame of the West." -FOTR, The Ring Goes South

It was a few days before they were to set out on their great journey, and he found himself bored. The greenery was of no interest to him. The library, while extensive and impressive, did not capture his heart. His father had more of an interest in such things, though he would never admit it. He knew of one thing that would hold his attention for a while, and immediately went to Master Elrond for permission to access it. He quickly found the elf lord in his study, and was pleased to discover that the elf had no qualms with showing it to him.

The elf was about to give him an escort, but he insisted that he needn't bother and could find the place himself. So Master Elrond quickly gave him a set of thorough directions, and he was off.

Despite what elves may think of him, he was quite apt at finding places, and he soon found the point of interest without too much wandering. With an uplifted heart he took a step into the forges. He saw a couple of elves in there, and to his delight they were forging a weapon- a sword, he soon realized. It looked like they were nearly finished and were adding the last decorative touches.

"Well met, Gimli."

The dwarf nearly jumped at the voice- he had not noticed the Man, quietly sitting in the shadows. "Well met, Aragorn," he hurriedly replied, easily covering his surprise. He gave a short bow to the man, and Aragorn bowed his head in response. Gimli walked over to him, his eyes never leaving the sword.

"Is that the broken sword you showed at the Council?" the dwarf asked.

"Yes," the Ranger replied. "Narsil, the sword of Elendil."

Gimli nodded absentmindedly. "If I am not mistaken, it looked to be of dwarf-craft."

"You are not," the man confirmed. "Telchar of Nogrod created it for an Eldar prince, though who it originally belonged to not even Lord Elrond knows."

Gimli did not know if he was going to continue, for the elves were finally finished. They beckoned to Aragorn in Elvish, and he walked over to where it lay. The dwarf followed, and he stared at the long, glistening sword appreciatively.

"Narsil it was once called, but it is now Andúril, Flame of the West," Aragorn said, though if it were to him or to himself, Gimli did not know.

The dwarf looked appreciatively at the craftsmanship of the sword, and of the sun, moon, and stars decorated onto its blade. He then glanced at the runes written into the steel. "What does it say?" he asked, gesturing to them.

"In the Common Tongue it reads, 'I am Narsil remade, the Flame of the West. The thralls of Mordor flee from me.'"

"Impressive," Gimli nodded. "It will be welcome in the days ahead."

"Indeed," Aragorn said. He picked up the sword and eyed the steel. "Elendil's blade shall spill the blood of its enemies once more."