36: Glorfindel in the Fana Nírion

Glorfindel, Sador and Beleg just stared in open-mouthed astonishment at the sight of Ingwion, Aldundil and Vorondil appearing as if from nowhere with equally shocked looks on their faces. Glorfindel was the first to recover and went to Ingwion, embracing him.

"Looking for you, as a matter of fact," he said loudly in the ellon’s ear, for the roar of the falls was rather deafening.

Ingwion stepped back from the embrace and gave Glorfindel a searching look, then nodded, gesturing for them all to move away from the pool back along the path he and his two companions had come. Soon they were able to hear themselves think and, settling on some boulders while the horses grazed nearby, they exchanged tales.

"We’ve been camping," Ingwion explained, not wishing to speak further of their strange experience of the day before. "Lady Nienna thought it would be good for us to be away for a few days."

"And has it been?" Glorfindel asked with a slight frown, sure that Ingwion wasn’t telling them everything.

"Oh yes," Ingwion replied and Aldundil and Vorondil both nodded.

"Except for the rain," Vorondil interjected with a scowl. "I hate camping in the rain. I don’t know what Laurendil sees in it, everything getting wet."

The others, even Sador, all veterans of ‘camping’ smiled indulgently at the elfling. Then Ingwion turned to Glorfindel with a knowing look. "So what is your tale?"

Now all three ellyn looked... guilty. Ingwion raised an eyebrow and waited. Finally Glorfindel cleared his throat. "Well, technically speaking, we’re on our way back to Tirion."

"Which happens to be in that direction," Aldundil couldn’t help saying, pointing towards the east, his expression wickedly amused.

Vorondil snickered, muttering, "Even I know that," much to Aldundil and Ingwion’s amusement though the other three ellyn looked less pleased.

"Yes, well, we sort of got turned around," Glorfindel retorted.

Now Ingwion found himself understanding how his atar felt when he and his siblings had tried to talk themselves out of trouble when they were all elflings. He gave the three younger ellyn a hard glare. "I think you should explain from the beginning," he said quietly.

Glorfindel winced at the tone, suddenly reminded of Ingwë and, oddly enough, Turgon. Ingwion, for all his easy-going manner, was his atar’s son and had learned his lessons in the art of kingship well.

So, Sador began, explaining how he and Beleg had snuck out of Tirion to visit their gwedyr in Lórien, then Glorfindel took up the tale of the Valar thwarting his intention to seek Ingwion out, which surprised Ingwion though he refrained from commenting until the tale was told in full. The three campers listened with amazement at the way in which Glorfindel and the other two had outwitted Lord Irmo’s Maiar, though Aldundil doubted that the Lord of Lórien was that ignorant of the doings in his own demesne and suspected that these three had been allowed to leave as they did, though just why escaped him.

Vorondil’s reaction to the story was typical of him. "I wish I could have my own flet," he groused at no one in particular, apparently not interested in anything else the others had had to say. Aldundil shared a look of exasperated amusement with Ingwion, who merely smiled.

Turning back to Glorfindel the Vanya asked the next logical question: "Why did you want to see me?"

Glorfindel was silent for a time, staring into the mist that surrounded them. Finally, he looked at Ingwion who was waiting patiently for his answer. "From the moment I... returned I had this feeling that I needed to speak with you, but whenever I tried I was either thwarted or we were not left alone long enough to speak privately. That’s why I decided at the last minute to come to Lórien, but again I was prevented from speaking with you. I even asked Lord Irmo if I could go to Lady Nienna’s to see you, but when that request was denied I decided enough was enough. That’s why we’re here. We were looking for you, but we can’t seem to find a way out of this damnable valley."

"Hmm," Ingwion said, thinking deeply. "We’ve been in and out of this valley more than once and never had a problem leaving."

"There is some enchantment here," Beleg said suddenly. He had remained silent while Sador and Glorfindel had spoken. "It reminds me of the maze of enchantment Queen Melian wrought to protect Doriath."

That surprised them all and there was silence for a while as they all contemplated Beleg’s words. Finally, Ingwion spoke. "Perhaps you’ve been kept here just so we would meet. Had you left this valley before now you could have easily missed us, and I suspect that you would have come to Lady Nienna’s and been sent packing, since we would not have been there."

"So are you saying the Valar wanted us to meet?" Glorfindel asked. When Ingwion nodded, he scowled. "Then why this... this subterfuge? Why tell me ‘no’ when they could have simply said ‘yes’ and we could have avoided all this?" He spread his arms out to encompass the mist-shrouded valley.

Ingwion shrugged. "I’m sure they had their reasons," he offered.

Glorfindel jumped up, his scowl deepening. "I am so sick of being manipulated!" he shouted and strode off into the mist, quickly lost to sight.

"Glorfindel!" Sador cried, leaping up as well to go after his gwador, but Ingwion stayed him.

"No. I will go after him," Ingwion said. "Aldundil, lead them out of here. I will meet you back at our camp."

"Are you sure, Ingwion?" Aldundil asked. "Should we not all stay together?"

Ingwion shook his head. "No. I think Glorfindel and I need to be alone. There is a reason for all this and it may not have anything to do with the Valar. Now go and take Glorfindel’s horse with you."

Aldundil nodded and gestured for Vorondil to get up. Sador and Beleg reluctantly stood as well, their expressions doubtful. Ingwion gave them both hugs. "Go with Aldundil," he told them. "Have no fear for Glorfindel or me. We will be fine."

In minutes Ingwion found himself alone, the mist having swallowed up the four ellyn. For a moment he stood there staring in the direction Aldundil had gone, then he sighed, wondering how he was going to find his friend and brother in this haunted vale.

****

Glorfindel stopped when he found himself at the edge of the pool, having stumbled across the shrouded valley, cursing at every rock he ran into. By the time he reached the pool, his mood had darkened to fury, fury at the Valar and fury at himself for being so naive and gullible. He should have realized that he’d been set up. It had been too easy, now that he thought about it. No doubt Lord Irmo and the other Valar were laughing themselves silly watching him flounder about like a fool.

So lost in his own misery was he that when he felt someone’s hand on his shoulder he gave a startled gasp and whirled around, expecting to see Ingwion or one of the others. Instead, he found himself face-to-face with a stranger, an elf with warrior braids that were reminiscent of the ones sported by Maglor’s people as he recalled, his dark hair like that of the Noldor though his eyes were a curious shade of greenish-grey.

Glorfindel was too rooted in shock to do much more than stare at the stranger, who smiled warmly and gestured for him to follow as he led the ellon away from the pool. Bemused, Glorfindel found himself acquiescing. Soon they were far enough away from the falls to be able to speak without having to shout at one another. The stranger gestured for Glorfindel to sit on a flattish rock which he did, still feeling bemused. The other elf sat next to him, giving him another warm smile, a smile that Glorfindel unconsciously trusted, though he could not have said why.

"You are one angry elf, my friend," the stranger said without preamble.

"If I am, it is with good reason," Glorfindel countered. "Who are you? How did you get here?"

The stranger ignored Glorfindel’s questions. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Glorfindel gave him a quizzical look. "Am I sure about what?"

"That you have good reason to be angry," came the reply. "Are you angrier at the Valar for what they did or at yourself for, shall we say, falling for their tricks?"

"They are a manipulative bunch of...."

"That is not what I asked," the other elf said, sounding less friendly at that moment.

Glorfindel took a deep breath, trying to regain his equilibrium. It took him several minutes before he was able to answer. "I’ve been an idiot for trusting them," he said and looked away, glowering into the mist.

"I see," the other ellon said. "You no longer trust them." It was more a statement than a question.

Glorfindel turned his attention to his companion. "Would you, after what they’ve done?"

"And what precisely have they done?"

"Treated me with contempt from the moment I died!" Glorfindel fairly shouted in his anger. "And now this last...." He shook his head in dismay. "It was such a simple request. Why would they deny me it on the one hand but allow me to think I was...."

"That you were clever enough to outwit them, when it turns out that just the opposite happened?" the other supplied.

Glorfindel nodded, still scowling.

"Let me ask you this question," the stranger said. "If Lord Irmo and Lady Nienna had granted your request, what would you have done?"

Glorfindel gave him a strange look. "Why, come to Lady Nienna’s of course! What do you think I would have done, run in the opposite direction?"

"That was certainly a possibility that the Valar considered."

Now Glorfindel rose to stand over the other ellon, his expression becoming dark with other emotions, as memory and training from an earlier time took over. "Who are you?" he demanded, going for his sword. "I do not think you are an elf. Which one of Them are you?" The stress on the word ‘them’ left no doubt as to whom he was referring.

The stranger remained seated, making no threatening moves. "My name is Nyéreser," he finally said with a slight quirk of his lips. "The name will mean nothing to you, for I rarely interact with you Children."

Glorfindel continued staring at the... Maia, though he thought it odd that this one did not mention to which of the Valar he held his allegiance, as every other Maia he had ever met did. "So which one of the Valar sent you?" he asked at the last, trying to figure this person out.

Nyéreser smiled. "All of them, child."

That was unexpected, and Glorfindel found himself sitting again without really remembering doing so. "Why?" was all he could think to ask.

"Because, contrary to what you think, they genuinely care for you, but you make it almost impossible for them to do so. Your suspicious nature, erratic behavior and downright rudeness has them trying to second and third guess which way you’re going to jump next. It gets rather tiring after awhile. So, they decided to play the game your way."

"It is not a game!" Glorfindel shouted, jumping up. "It’s my life they are manipulating."

"And so what do you call what you pulled in Lórien?" Nyéreser asked, his expression becoming cold. "If getting the other Reborn to create a diversion for you so you and your friends could sneak off like errant elflings is not manipulation, I don’t know what is."

"That’s different," Glorfindel protested.

"In what way?"

"Celepharn and the others agreed to it, knowing why I needed the diversion. That’s not manipulation; that’s being honest. The only ones who were manipulated were the Valar and they deserved it."

"Did they now?" Nyéreser said, looking unconvinced. "Tit for tat, is it?" He shook his head. "I thought you were better than that."

Glorfindel felt himself reddening at the reprimand, and for some strange reason he wished to have this particular Maia’s respect, though he could not say why.

"I’m sorry," he finally said, staring down at his boots. "Every time I turn around I have one or the other of the Valar in my face. What do they want from me? Why won’t they just leave me alone?" he asked plaintively.

Now Nyéreser rose and placed his hands on Glorfindel’s shoulders. Glorfindel looked up to see, not condemnation, but sympathy in the Maia’s eyes. "They love you, Glorfindel, more than you can truly understand. If they seem to be interfering with your life, as you claim, that is only from your perspective." He paused as he continued to gaze at the elf. "You are aware that you were released from Mandos earlier than you normally would have been."

Glorfindel nodded. "So Lord Irmo said," he replied with a frown wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Do you not wonder why?"

Glorfindel shrugged. "Everyone says it’s because Lord Námo couldn’t get rid of me fast enough."

Nyéreser threw back his head and laughed and the sound of it was absolutely joyous. "O Child, you are indeed an impossible ellon," he finally said once he had calmed down. "Perhaps you should stop and think about it, hmm? In the meantime, I think Ingwion is looking for you. You two have much to discuss, I understand." He was looking over Glorfindel’s shoulder as he said this and Glorfindel turned around, seeing nothing but mist. He turned back to speak with Nyéreser only to find he was no longer there.

"Glorfindel!" he heard Ingwion call out.

"Here!" he answered, still staring at the spot where the Maia had just been. "I’m here."

Soon, Ingwion appeared and the ellon gave Glorfindel a hug. "I didn’t think I would ever find you, otorno."

"Well you did," Glorfindel said with a brief smile. "Where are the others?"

"Aldundil is taking them to our camp. We should be on our way as well. It will be getting dark soon and I don’t want to try to leave this valley at night."

"Assuming we can leave at all," Glorfindel muttered, but Ingwion heard him.

"I’ve been in and out of this valley more than once," he replied. "Come. Let’s be on our way. The path out isn’t far. We can talk later."

Ingwion led the way back towards the path he, Aldundil and Vorondil had used to enter the valley that day. The Vanya was quite sure he knew which way to go, for he had kept to a straight course or as straight a one as possible in his search for Glorfindel and he had found Glorfindel almost immediately, or so he thought. However, it soon became obvious to him, if not to Glorfindel, that it was taking longer than it should have to find the trail. Then they came upon the stream and Ingwion breathed a silent prayer of thanks, for he knew that the path he was looking for was not far. His prayer of thanksgiving however quickly turned into a curse when he and Glorfindel found themselves somehow coming upon the pool even though they had been walking downstream.

Ingwion stared up at the waterfall in disbelief. Glorfindel simply sighed, shaking his head, then tapped Ingwion on the shoulder to get his attention."You were saying?" he shouted.

Ingwion could only stare at Glorfindel in dismay, unable to give him any answer. Glorfindel, in turn, gave him a smirk, though there was no humor behind it.

****

Nyéreser appeared before Lord Námo as the Vala was placing a quiescent elven fëa on a sleeping couch, having just concluded the Judgment of the Sinda now sleeping peacefully.

"They found each other." Námo made it a statement rather than a question.

Nyéreser nodded. "Yes, they did."

"How did your talk with Glorfindel go?" Námo then asked as he gestured for the Maia to precede him out of the sleeping chamber while one of Námo’s People remained on watch over the fëa.

"Well, with Glorfindel...." Nyéreser said with a wry grin.

Námo smiled. "Yes. I understand."

Nyéreser then halted, his expression puzzled, and Námo stopped as well, waiting. "I’ve never questioned any order given me by any of the Valar..." he said.

"But?" Námo countered, his expression unreadable.

Nyéreser gave the Lord of Mandos a wry look. "I wonder at the... deviousness of all this. I have to agree with Glorfindel. It almost seems like you are manipulating him and Prince Ingwion and the manner of it is quite convoluted."

Námo smiled. "Only from your perspective, child. The moment Glorfindel found himself in my Halls, plans were made that may well change the course of history in Endórë, and our balrog-slayer is at the very heart of it all."

Nyéreser raised an eyebrow at that revelation but said nothing more as he and Lord Námo continued to stroll through the corridors of Mandos.