24: Feint and Counterfeint

"You understand what you and your brethren must do?" Námo asked Maranwë.

"Aye, lord," the Máya answered doubtfully, "little though we like it."

"Neither do I," Námo replied, "but Manwë has so ordered it and we will obey him to the best of our abilities. I’m counting on you, Maranwë, you and the others. We must allow Melkor’s People to think we are easy prey without actually getting caught."

Maranwë sighed but otherwise did not protest his lord’s words. "We will do all in our power to see that you are not taken again, lord," he promised.

"Be sure that in protecting me you do not endanger yourselves," Námo warned. "I will not have any of you Children captured in my place. You do not know of what my Fallen Brother is truly capable."

Maranwë’s aura darkened at that thought and he indicated his understanding before bowing to Námo and joining his brethren on the edge of the star system where all were gathered. Manwë was giving last minute instructions of his own. Námo waited until the Eldest was finished speaking with Aulë and Ulmo before joining them.

"My People and I are ready... or as ready as we’ll ever be," Námo told them.

Manwë gave him a brief hug. "You will do well, brother," he said. "We... all of us have every faith in you and your People."

"Do you know what you will do?" Ulmo asked Námo, curious as to what plans their younger brother had made.

Námo gave them a wry smile. "Why, I’m going to give my People a lesson in tracking down their errant lord that will do Oromë proud."

The aurae of the others brightened in various shades of blue, red-orange and purple-green in amusement.

"Just don’t get so caught up in the fun and games that you forget to watch for my signal," Manwë warned him with a mock scowl.

"Perish the thought," Námo quipped with a smile. "Shall we start the show?"

"Yes, let us begin," the Eldest intoned and with a negligent thought, clued in the other Ayanumuz to what was about to transpire. He then sent a brief private thought to Námo.

Suddenly, Námo’s aura went from pure violet to reddish-purple and then nearly scarlet while at the same time he started screaming on all wavelengths. "I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, MANWË! I’m through being treated as if I’m less than nothing!"

"Námo!" Manwë shouted nearly as loud, "if you don’t behave yourself I will demote you to serving Oromë’s least Máya for all the Ages of Atháraphelun’s existence."

"Only if you catch me first!" Námo exclaimed, then made a rude noise, shot an electromagnetic bolt at Manwë, Aulë and Ulmo, all of whom flinched convincingly while yelling invectives at their brother, before disappearing.

Manwë turned to Námo’s People with a scowl. "If you value your lord’s status as an Ayanuz, you will find him and bring him back to me."

Before Maranwë could offer Manwë an apology and assent, Námo appeared in their midst, though now close to Vairë and, giving them all a manic laugh, grabbed her and disappeared again. Vairë’s shrieks, quite genuine, were cut off. For a brief moment no one moved, then Manwë addressed Maranwë again, his tone soft and deadly. "You have your orders."

Maranwë and Námo’s other Máyar gave the Eldest their obeisance and then went after their lord, following a pre-arranged route devised beforehand. In the meantime, the other Ayanumuz gathered together. Manwë gave them all a wry look. "That last wasn’t in the plan." He spoke to them on a frequency none of the Máyar would be able to detect.

Oromë chuckled. "Trust Námo to change the rules of the game midway."

"Well, it may just add additional verisimilitude to this charade," Ulmo suggested.

"Perhaps," Varda drawled, "but I suspect that when this is over Vairë is going to do things to our Námo Melkor never even thought of."

They were all hard-pressed not to laugh at that, needing to maintain their images of being distressed and upset for the benefit of the Máyar and any of Melkor’s spies lurking about.

"Well, Námo is doing his part," Manwë said. "It’s time for us to do ours." With that, he gave the signal and they all thought themselves to the place where the flat Atháraphelun waited to be brought into completed form.

****

"NÁMO!!! You idiot!" Vairë screamed, her indigo aura turning a sickly orange-green indicating mingled rage and fear as she struggled in Námo’s embrace. They were hovering over one of Varda’s Black Holes somewhere in a distant galaxy far from their home. "What did you do that for? That’s not what we planned."

"Hush, Beloved," Námo said with a kiss that did not in any way mollify her. "You’ll spoil the game."

"What did you call me?" Vairë asked, shocked out of her anger by the unexpected endearment.

"Well, you are, aren’t you? My beloved, I mean." Námo retorted with an innocent look.

"You’ve never given me any indication that you even remembered what we had... before," she responded weakly.

"And for that I truly apologize, my love," Námo said soothingly. "It has only been recently that I was able to make any emotional connection between what you told me and what I remembered about us. I’m sorry it has taken so long, but...."

"Nay, Beloved," Vairë interrupted by kissing him. "I am only grateful that we’ve found each other once again."

For a long moment they reveled in each other’s embrace, then Vairë reared back and gave forth an electromagnetic bolt that was not at all gentle.

"Ow!" Námo nearly screamed, letting her go and giving her a look of disbelief. "What did you do that for?"

"For kidnapping me, you dolt!" she retorted. "The least you could have done was to warn me."

Námo gave her a sly look. "But then you wouldn’t have shrieked so prettily."

"Why you!" Vairë exclaimed in mock anger. "I’ll show you pretty!" and started to release another energy bolt but Námo merely took her into his embrace with a laugh and began kissing her with perhaps more passion than even he had intended. In moments, she was no longer thrashing to get loose but clinging to him as their aurae nearly mingled into incandescence. Finally, though, they parted by mutual consent, their senses reeling.

Námo was about to say something when Maranwë suddenly appeared, looking contrite. "My lord, you’re supposed to be hiding," he said in an embarrassed whisper. "My brethren and I could see you two... um... glowing from three star systems away with a dust cloud in between."

Both Ayanumuz gave the Máya bemused looks, then their aurae darkened in embarrassed chagrin, realizing what they had done. "Sorry," Námo whispered back. "We’ll go hide now."

Maranwë gave them both a brief bow and watched in amusement as they disappeared. Calimo, Tindomerel and Vanimeldë appeared, along with the rest of their brethren, all of them smiling. "I guess the rules of the game have changed again?" Calimo asked Maranwë slyly.

"Apparently," the Chief Máya of the People of Námo replied with a sigh. "Honestly, I can’t keep up any more."

They all laughed at that, knowing that Maranwë was enjoying himself more than he was letting on. He gave them all a wry look. "Well, shall we count to one billion and give them a good head start?"

"One... two... three... four..." Tindomerel started counting and they all joined in while doing a slow dance around the event horizon of the Black Hole to keep themselves amused.

****

Manwë and Varda situated themselves on the two points where the celestial equator and the equinoctial colure intersected, while Aulë and Ulmo did the same, situating themselves ninety degrees along the celestial equator where the solstitial colure intersected it. The rest of the Ayanumuz ranged themselves randomly along the ecliptic, with the flat world in the center. Arien was guiding the star around the world with great intent, which saddened Vána, for she hated to have had to deceive the Child. She vowed to herself that somehow she would make it up to her Máya. Meanwhile, the other Máyar were ranged in concentric rings with the inner circle consisting of Aulë and Yavanna’s People. Ulmo's and Nienna’s Máyar made up the second ring, while those belonging to Irmo, Estë and Vairë took up the third and fourth rings. Oromë's and Vána’s People were next with Manwë and Varda’s Máyar making up the outer ring. Manwë’s warriors were armed with swords of light and unlike the other Máyar, their gazes were outward in vigilance.

While the Máyar had given the false Atháraphelun its form, creating the structures that would support land and sea, it would take the Ayanumuz to bring life to the world and complete the final stages of its creation. Manwë gave the signal and both he and Varda began to Sing. Aulë and Ulmo joined them. One by one the circles of Máyar came into the Song as directed by their respective Ayanuz, although Irmo was the one to call Vairë’s People into the Song in her absence. They had been rather upset by their Mistress’s abduction, but Manwë and Varda assured them that no harm would come to their lady and to trust them.

Slowly, a force field was built around the world and an atmosphere began to form. Clouds came into existence, massing greatly until they let go and it began to rain great sheets of water that slowly began to fill the areas that marked the seas. Then the clouds dispersed and soon grasses were growing on the single landmass. All this time they kept up the Song, yet the Ayanumuz were only employing part of their wills in what they were doing, concentrating most of their attention on the expected attack they knew was coming.

Wild grasses and moss were giving way to small flowers and tiny insects on the world when the attack came. The first warning they had was a nearby sun going nova. The shock wave rolled towards them with frightening speed and behind it came Melkor and his army. The spirits with their fiery whips were in the vanguard, while darker Máyar followed. Melkor, Manwë noted with mingled amusement and disgust, stayed in the rear.

*I’m glad Vairë isn’t here,* Varda sent to him on their private frequency. *The sight of Acairis standing next to Melkor would probably have sent our sister over the edge.*

*Then we can thank Námo for thinking to abduct her,* Manwë chuckled even as he began issuing orders on the open frequency used by them all for communication. At once, the warrior Máyar, both Manwë’s and Oromë’s, formed a defensive ring along the celestial equator while the Ayanumuz split with half moving along the imaginary great circle that was the meridian towards the north celestial pole and the other half gathering around the south celestial pole. Everyone else remained where they were. The force field surrounding the world was doing more than keeping in the atmosphere, it would shield the world from any outside force, yet Varda was secretly weakening it so that eventually it would collapse. At that point they would withdraw from the field, leaving Melkor the supposed victory. The collapse of the force field was Námo’s signal to change the variable.

Even as Melkor’s troops moved forward to surround the Ayanumuz and Máyar Manwë directed energy bolts of incredible power into their midst, forcing them to scatter. They could all hear Melkor screaming and then he let loose his own energy bolt aimed directly at Manwë who was hovering above the world’s north pole. Manwë purposely allowed himself to be a target, intent on keeping Melkor too occupied to notice anything else. He was able to deflect the bolt without much effort.

*Is that the best you can do, Melkor?* he sent to Melkor, deliberately taunting him. Then, before Melkor could respond, Manwë sent another energy spike aimed, not at his Fallen Brother, but at Acairis, who was not expecting it. She shrieked in pain and dismay and without further ado fled into the wastelands of Eä.

By now the front of the shock wave had reached them and the Ayanumuz gathered their People in their Thoughts and protected them from the titanic forces of the cosmic storm tearing at them. Even occupied with keeping the Máyar safe, they were still able to strike at Melkor’s army, further scattering the front line.

*How long do we keep this up?* Aulë asked Manwë even as he tossed one of the fiery spirits from him with a negligent thought.

*Just long enough to appear convincing,* Manwë replied, then turned his attention to Vána. *My dear, alert Arien to be prepared to abandon her post when you give the signal.*

Vána acknowledged Manwë’s orders and the rest began to prepare themselves for their planned retreat. Slowly, a few at a time, the Máyar began to disappear at the orders of their Masters, pretending to flee the scene of battle. Eventually, only Manwë’s and Oromë’s People remained. Melkor was advancing towards them, his aura almost turning bright with obvious delight at his supposed victory.

*You’ve lost, Manwë,* Melkor sneered as he and several of his People began to surround Manwë, who had allowed himself to be separated from the other Ayanumuz. *I’m going to enjoy making you my personal slave. You and Námo both. And perhaps I’ll even give Varda to my lieutenant and make you watch.*

Manwë’s aura never wavered from its intensely calm blue, though Varda’s aura went stark white in fury at overhearing Melkor’s words. The future Elder King merely smiled at his Fallen Brother. *You have to catch us first,* he said. Then he sent a signal to the others and another to Námo and without another word thought himself away.

At the same moment the force field went down, Arien fled along with the rest of the Ayanumuz and Máyar and the star that she had been guiding so zealously exploded into a nova. Melkor was able to protect himself from it, but some of his People were not so lucky and while their fëar could not be destroyed, they were greatly diminished in power, weakened by the blast which sent most of them careening through the far reaches of Eä. A few even fell into nearby black holes never to be seen again.

Manwë re-emerged several star systems away as they had previously arranged to find Varda still incensed at Melkor’s words. He took her into his embrace and held her tightly, assuring her of his love for her. Reluctantly, Ulmo interrupted them.

"The beacons have not changed their positions," he said. "I fear something may have happened to Námo to prevent him from accomplishing his mission."

Manwë sighed. "It matters not when the beacons change, only that they do. Let us give him a little more time before we go after him."

"What if he needs our aid now?" Oromë asked.

Manwë shook his head. "We’ve not heard any call for help and even if Námo refuses or is unable to call for help, I gave Maranwë explicit orders to do so if he deemed it necessary."

"Then all we can do is wait and hope for the best," Aulë said.

"At least Vairë is with him this time," Varda said. "Together they make a formidable pair."

Manwë gave his spouse a warm smile and took her into his embrace again and kissed her. "Almost as formidable as the two of us."

Varda nodded, then sighed. "I still wish we knew what was happening with them."

"As do we all, beloved," Manwë answered with a sigh of his own. "As do we all."

****

Astronomical Note: The colure is either of the two principal meridians or great circles on the celestial sphere which pass through the two celestial poles and the two solstitial (summer and winter) and equinoctial (spring and autumn) points where they intersect the celestial equator. Thus, from an observer on the flat earth, Manwë would appear on the horizon directly east while Varda would be directly west. Aulë and Ulmo would be standing ninety-degrees from Manwë and Varda, with Aulë to the north and Ulmo to the south.

My thanks (again) to Misty for her kind assistance in helping me understand just where the solstitial colure lay relative to the equinoctial colure.