WONDER: Cal' Oira

SUMMARY: The Quendi woke to starlight and were awed, but they were unprepared for the glorious Light of the Two Trees or the majesty of the Valar.

NOTE: As this takes place in the early period of the history of the Elves, some words used by the Elves are in their original Primitive Quendian (marked ‘PQ’ in the notes) forms rather than in their later Quenya forms.

****

Valian Year 4602, 496 solar years after the Awakening of the Elves at Cuiviénen:

Oromë looked upon the three Quendi and smiled as they spoke among themselves. They were still some distance from Amanaphelun but he hoped to reach it soon. The journey had been swift by the Children’s reckoning, but rather slow by his.

*Too slow,* Nahar bespoke him, grousing, and the Ayanuz forced himself not to laugh out loud, contenting himself with a broader smile. Three of his other Máyar, who had agreed, temporarily, to take on the fanar of what the Quendi had termed rokkoi, were already moving away from the camp into a stand of trees. It had been their habit to go incorporeal whenever they camped to allow the Children time to eat and sleep. Always they sauntered off into any nearby woods before divesting themselves of their physical shapes so as not to frighten the Children. While the ellyn slept they held guard against any wild creatures or the threat of Melkor’s evil falling upon them, returning to their rokko shapes before the Children awoke.

"How long dost thou think it will be before we see Aman?" Elwë asked Ingwë who was the eldest of the three. Elwë was deemed the youngest while Finwë fell somewhere in between. While all had woken under starlight, of the three, Ingwë had woken first.

Ingwë shrugged. "Thou must ask Lord Oromë," he answered.

Three sets of eyes gazed up at the Ayanuz and Oromë hid a smile at the sight of their expectant faces. "Soon," he answered.

"Define ‘soon’, lord," Finwë said somewhat boldly. Of the three, he was the more outspoken and was usually pestering Oromë with questions. All three of them were inquisitive but the other two were content to let Finwë ask their questions for them.

"All times are soon for me, child," Oromë said equably, "for I came into existence in the Timeless Halls where Eru Ilúvatar dwells. I watched as Varda herself brought forth the very stars thou seest above thee, singing them into existence, long before Arda was created."

The three Quendi stared at him awestruck. Ingwë’s gaze drifted upward to the heavens and he sighed. "There are so many of them," he whispered. "I once tried counting them, but..." he gave Oromë a sheepish look, "I... um... fell asleep before I got too far."

Oromë simply smiled at the ellon’s confession. "Rest now," he said to them, and the three dutifully slipped into their bedrolls and were soon drifting onto the Path of Dreams. Once they were asleep, Oromë called the three Máyar who appeared in fanar similar to that of their lord. "Let us hie them across the land bridge while they sleep," he told them.

"Will they not wonder what had happened to them when they awaken?" Roimendil asked.

"I am sure they will be upset to learn that we brought them across the sea while they slept," Oromë said with a faint smile, "but I will show them something of the path we will take. It should convince them that they were better off sleeping through this part of the journey."

The Máyar laughed as they gently bundled the sleeping Quendi into their arms even as Oromë mounted Nahar and they set off for home.

****

As Oromë had predicted, none of the three Quendi appreciated waking up in the middle of a frozen tundra when they had fallen asleep in a meadow glade beside a small swift flowing brook.

"You transported us while we slept!?" Ingwë shouted, his face contorted in anger. "Are we but children in truth in your eyes that you would do such without our consent?" Finwë and Elwë were equally incensed and were about to add their voices to Ingwë’s, but Oromë forestalled them with a gesture.

"Let me show you something," he said and the gravity of his tone stopped the Quendi in their tracks. They allowed themselves to be led some distance from the encampment, wrapping the warm wool blankets the Ayanuz had provided them around their shoulders in an attempt to ward off the freezing cold. He led them eastward and they soon heard the shur-shush of waves and for the first time they beheld the Sea, mostly frozen with icebergs and ice floes. The very starkness of the landscape stunned them as they stood staring out across the icy dark waters.

"That was our road," Oromë said quietly, pointing to where a narrow strip of tundra wended its way eastward, and watched as the three Quendi shivered with more than just the cold. He gave them a moment or two more to contemplate the view. "Shall we continue our journey, then?" he asked and the three nodded mutely, meekly following him back to the camp where they quietly broke their fast before resuming their course southward.

****

"How will we cross that?" Finwë demanded, his look of terror mirrored by his two companions. They were making their way down the coast of Valinor with the sheer face of the Pelóri rising on their right, dark and forbidding. As terrifying as the mountains they had encountered earlier had been to behold, these were even more so. The Quendi had hung on for dear life as the rokko-shaped Máyar fairly flew over the crest of those mountains wreathed in mist which now seemed like hills in comparison to what they were presently beholding.

"Fear not!" Oromë cried. "Further south the mountains become lower. There is a pass over which we will climb and then we will be in Aman."

Elwë gave them a weary sigh. "I think I should have remained in Cuiviénen," he said, his voice quavering somewhat with barely suppressed fear. There had been too many wonders along their route and each seemed more astounding and more terrifying than the last. The other two nodded in agreement. It was becoming too much for them all.

Oromë gave them a sympathetic look. "I promise ye, ye have naught to fear. Soon we will reach Aman and all will be well."

The three ellyn nodded mutely, not willing to dispute the Ayanuz’s claim, but their expressions were still doubtful and their eyes drifted ever to the mountains looming over them menacingly in the dark beneath the stars.

****

As Lord Oromë had promised, the mountains became lower the further south they went, though they were still high enough. Now they were climbing a narrow cleft along a well defined path that wound its way past towering cliffs. Oromë glanced at the Quendi, hiding a frown. He was concerned about how they might react to the Light of the Trees and had long debated with himself as to whether he should warn them about it, knowing that their dark-adapted eyes might find the Light too much to handle, but he could not think how to adequately explain what was clearly beyond the Children’s experience. In the end, he had decided not to say anything; they would have to learn of the Trees on their own.

The path wound in such a way that the mountains blocked the Light, leaving them in comfortable starlight. Only when they had come around a bend at the crest of the pass, still well below the towering peaks around them, did the Light of the Trees shine forth upon them. Suddenly, the three Quendi screamed in pain and terror, throwing their hands up before their eyes. Elwë actually tumbled off his mount and began crawling back down the path towards his beloved stars. Ingwë and Finwë clung to their steeds, their eyes shut against the brightness of the Light blinding them. Then, even brighter lights appeared before them, coalescing into the fanar of Irmo and Estë.

"Help these two," Oromë commanded, pointing to Ingwë and Finwë, "while I go after Elwë."

The two Ayanumuz nodded as Oromë ran after Elwë who was still crawling away, weeping all the while. Irmo, meanwhile, lifted Ingwë into his arms and held him tightly. "Hush now, child," he murmured soothingly. He spoke slowly and clearly, for his command of the Children’s language was not yet as fluent as Oromë’s. "All is well. Keep thine eyes shut and wait. Soon the light will dim and thou wilt be able to see."

"Wh-what is it?" Ingwë stammered. "It...it hurts."

"And for that we are sorry. Thine eyes have known nothing but the dim light of the stars and so they are not used to this brighter light, but I assure thee that in time thou shalt adjust. For now, keep thine eyes closed until I tell thee to open them."

"Wh-who art thou, lord?" Ingwë whispered.

"I am Irmo and with me is my spouse Estë."

"Th-thou art one of th-the Bali?" the ellon asked in awe.

"Yes, I am. Now, already does the Light of golden Tulukhedelgorus begin to fade and the silver light of Ibriniðilpathanezel waxes. Dost thou feel the intensity of the light lessening?"

Ingwë nodded. "It... it feels cooler," he said.

"Good. When thou’rt ready, open thine eyes slowly. Take thy time, child. There is no rush. We will remain here until thou and thy companions are ready to resume your journey."

Ingwë did as the Ayanuz bade, opening his eyes a crack. The glare was indeed less and though his eyes watered, there was no longer the pain he had felt before. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up into the smiling face of Lord Irmo. Then, still feeling dazed, he glanced about him and gasped. He had no words for what he was seeing. He saw colors that he never knew existed, for in the dark beneath the stars, most colors were muted to shades of grey, white and black. The stars themselves glinted in various hues, not just white, and the Quendi had devised names for them. But now, looking upon the glory of Aman he felt that such words as kárani, lugni and láyakwa were too weak to describe what he saw. The colors of the stars were but pale echoes of the vibrant hues that now assaulted his eyes.

He moved tentatively out of the Ayanuz’s embrace and looked back to see Finwë standing by one who appeared like unto the ndissi of his own people, though more fair and beautiful if that were possible. The Tatya was also gazing about him in wonder. Elwë, he saw, was in Lord Oromë’s arms, his eyes still closed, the Ayanuz speaking to him softly. Slowly, reluctantly, the youngest of the ellyn opened his eyes, tears watering them. Then he gasped in awe and Ingwë could see him trembling. Lord Oromë continued speaking soothingly.

"Wh-where are the stars?" Elwë asked in a quavering voice.

"Look behind thee," Oromë said.

The three Quendi turned and breathed sighs of relief to see the familiar darkness and the stars glinting serenely on the other side of the pass. Then they turned almost as one towards the Light and Aman.

"What is this light?" Finwë asked. "Why is it so bright, brighter than any fire I have ever witnessed?"

"It is the Light of the Two Trees," Oromë answered and all three Quendi stared at him in a mix of awe and disbelief.

"Trees?" Ingwë asked. "This light comes from trees?"

All three Ayanumuz smiled. "Would ye like to see them?" Estë asked, her voice more musical than anything the ellyn had ever heard before.

They nodded eagerly, even Elwë who seemed the most reluctant of the three to leave the stars behind. The Ayanumuz helped them to remount the Máyar steeds that had stood patiently by and then they were making their way down the trail to the vale below, crossing swiftly the meadowland covered with flowers of every shape and hue. The ellyn sat with mouths agape, trying to take in the sights and sounds and smells that surrounded them. They soon came upon what would later be called Valmar, the city of the Powers, and they could scarce believe the grandeur of the mansions which they beheld. Through the western gate they went, and now Oromë bade them to dismount.

"From here it is best you walk," he said, and as soon as they were standing on the soft green earth, the three Máyar galloped away, eventually losing their physical shapes and resuming their natural forms once they were out of the Children’s sight. Nahar also trotted off after giving his beloved lord a nod of his head and a flick of his tail. Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë, however, only had eyes for the Trees that stood high on a green mound and they walked towards them as one walking in a dream.

It was only when they were at the top of the mound that they noticed other figures standing between the two Trees waiting for them. The three ellyn moved close together, unsure what was expected of them as they gazed in wonder upon the other Powers. Oromë took Ingwë’s hand and with a warm smile led him towards he who would be known as the Elder King; the other two Quendi trailed behind them.

"Here is Manawenuz," Oromë said, "who is King of all Arda and Eru Ilúvatar’s vice-gerent."

The Elder King smiled benignly upon the three Quendi. "Welcome, Children, to Amanaphelun."

Ingwë bowed as did the other two ambassadors. "We thank thee, Lord Man... manawe...." He stumbled to a halt, shame flooding him. Try as he might he could never get his mouth around the tongue-twisting sounds of the Bali’s language.

The Elder King raised an eyebrow at Oromë who shrugged. Finwë came to Ingwë’s rescue, leaning over to whisper something in the ellon’s ear. Ingwë’s expression mutated from shame to relief and he gave Finwë a grateful look before turning his attention back to the Ayanuz standing before him. He bowed again. "We thank thee, Lord Manwë, for thy kind greeting. Lord Oromë hath spoken much about the Bali and Aman but his words failed to do justice either to your majesty or to the beauty of your land."

Lord Manwë gave Oromë an amused smile. "‘Oromë’ is it?" he said speaking in their own language.

Oromë shrugged. "It is how they have rendered Aromez," the Ayanuz replied in the same language. "They have rendered many of our words into something that is closer to their own language, and now your name will be forever known to them as ‘Manwë’." He gave him a wicked grin.

"Ah..." was Manwë’s only comment. The Elder King then spoke again to the Quendi who had stood there in reverent silence. "I thank thee for thy words. Come. Let me make ye known to the other... Bali." He hesitated briefly before choosing the Quendi’s word for them, already enjoying the flavor of the language even though he did not care for the word himself.

He brought them before his own spouse. "This is Varda, who created the stars under which ye awoke," he said and watched with amusement as the ellyn stared at her in open-mouthed awe, unable to even make their obeisance to her.

She leaned over, giving them a warm smile and kissed each of them upon their brows in benediction. "Glad I am to finally see thee," she said to each of them. "Welcome to thy new home, if thou wishest."

The ellyn stammered incoherent words of gratitude for her greeting, blushing in embarrassment at their ineptitude, but none of the Ayanumuz laughed at them. Manwë then introduced the others, each of them echoing Varda’s gesture of kissing them in benediction and welcome. When Manwë introduced them to Lord Námo, they stared at him with undisguised dread, though they could not have said why they felt as they did. Yet, Námo did nothing more than gaze upon them with a smile, more reserved than those of the others, but no less warm.

"Ye are even more beautiful than we imagined," he said to them and they wondered at the pain that they saw in the depths of his amaranthine eyes. Then the moment passed and they were being introduced to Lady Vairë.

After all the introductions were made, Elwë ventured a hesitant question as he gazed upon the Trees under which they all stood. "Is it permitted to... to touch them?"

Yavanna smiled and took the ellon’s hand and led him to the Tree that shone with soft silvery light. "Here is Ibriniðilpathanezel, the eldest of the Trees," she said, placing his hand upon the silver-grey trunk.

Elwë sighed and cast his fellow Quendi a rueful look. "Their names are too long."

Finwë nodded, giving him a grin, and Ingwë sniggered. "Its light reminds me of the color of your tresses, Elwë," Finwë said musingly. He turned to Manwë. "With thy leave, my lord, we would like to render the names for the Trees in our own tongue."

Manwë nodded. "And what name wouldst thou give to Ibriniðilpathanezel?"

"Kyeleperyon," Finwë said without hesitation, "for the dew which falleth is like unto the metal we call kyelepe, prized among Elwë’s clan above all other metals that we have discovered."

"Then Kyeleperyon he shall forever be called," Manwë intoned solemnly.

Meanwhile, Ingwë had moved to the other Tree, laying a hand upon its trunk. "It sings to me," he whispered in awe as he gazed upon the golden fruit hanging from dark-green boughs.

The other two ellyn joined him under the Tree of Golden Light as the Ayanumuz watched with interest as the three stood about the Tree. Finwë looked to Yavanna. "And dare I ask what name thou’st given to this Tree?" he said with a quirk of his lips.

Yavanna laughed, its sound warm and merry. "Tulukhedelgorus I named her, for in our language tuluk-ha is the name we give to this color," she said, pointing to the golden fruit.

"Hmm..." Finwë said, his eyes narrowing. "Perhaps Láwarilindi then, for she singeth to thee, Ingwë."

"Or perhaps Láwarilingi," Ingwë suggested, "for her fruit hangeth from her boughs."

The other two Quendi nodded. "Either would be acceptable," Finwë replied.

"Then as Láwarilindi or Láwarilingi shall she be forever known," Manwë exclaimed solemnly.

The ellyn gave each other wide grins. Ingwë stared up into the golden Tree and sighed. "I love the stars, but I think I could love thee more," he whispered, running a hand gently over the Tree’s smooth bark.

Finwë and Elwë both nodded. "Kyeleperyon calls to me," the silver-haired ellon said as he wandered over to the elder Tree.

"It is for this reason that we invited ye to come to Aman," Manwë said, "for we much desire to have ye Children live with us beneath the eternal Light of the Trees."

The three ambassadors exchanged meaningful looks before Ingwë bowed to the Elder King. "It too is our wish, lord, and we will gladly lead our people here to dwell amongst ye."

The Ayanumuz smiled and there seemed to be a sense of relief in their eyes, a loosening of their demeanor, as if they had been holding their collective breaths, waiting for the Quendi’s answer.

"Then, after ye have rested from your journey, Oromë will return ye to your people."

Elwë looked somewhat troubled. "How will we convince our people to follow us, though? I fear our words will prove inadequate."

"We’ll have the journey back to figure out just what to say," Ingwë said equably.

"I may have to invent new words just for the occasion," Finwë said with a smug smirk.

Elwë sniggered and then he was laughing and soon the Mound of the Trees rang with the laughter of them all.

****

Words are Quenya unless otherwise noted.

Cal' Oira: Light Eternal. The final 'a' in cala is elided; cf. the phrase lumenn' omentielvo.

Quendi: The name the Elves gave to themselves. Eldar was a name given them by Oromë.

Ayanuz: (Valarin) Ainu, Vala. The plural is Ayanumuz.

Máyar: Plural of Máya: an older form of Maia. There is no attested Valarin form.

Amanaphelun: (Valarin) Aman, literally, ‘Blessed Dwelling’. While this is not an attested word it is constructed after the attested Aþáraphelun ‘Appointed Dwelling (of the Children)’, i.e. Arda.

Fanar: Plural of fana: The physical ‘raiment’ of the Valar and Maiar when they self-incarnate.

Rokkoi: (PQ) Plural of rokko: Horse. The later Quenya forms are rocco/roccor. It is said that the Noldor later devised the -r plural ending for certain words, thus, for instance, Banyai > Vanyar. [see ‘Dangweth Pengolod’, HoME XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth].

Ellyn: Plural of ellon: Male Elf.

Bali: (PQ) Plural of Bala: Angelic Power. The later Quenya forms are Vala/Valar. According to the Etymologies, the plural in Primitive Quendian was formed direct from the stem BAL-. Thus, an older and alternative plural in Quenya was Vali [see ‘The Etymologies’, HoME V, The Lost Road, s.v. BAL-].

Kárani: (PQ) Red. The later Quenya form is carnë.

Lugni: (PQ) Blue. The later Quenya forms are luinë or lúnë.

Láyakwa: (PQ) Green. The later Quenya forms are laiqua or laica.

Ndissi: (PQ) Plural of ndis: Woman. The later Quenya forms are nís/nissi.

Ibriniðilpathanezel (Valarin)/Kyeleperyon (PQ): Telperion. Kyelepe is the original form of tyelpë or telpë. In Sindarin this would be rendered as celeb.

Tulukhedelgorus (Valarin)/Láwarilindi/Láwarilingi (PQ): Laurelin. The Primitive Quendian names are translated as ‘Singing Gold’ and ‘Hanging Gold’, respectively. According to Tolkien, Laurelin could be derived from either word.