“Without being noticed I silently turned away and stood by the river. How long I stood there I do not know, but when I saw the warriors arranging for a council I took my place among them.

That night I did not give my vote for or against any measure - without arms we could do nothing....Our chief, Mangas Coloradas, gave the order to start at once in perfect silence for our homes in Arizona, leaving the dead....

I stood still until all had passed, hardly knowing what I would do-I had no weapon, nor did I hardly wish to fight, nor did I contemplate recovering the bodies of my loved ones, for that was forbidden. I did not pray, nor did I resolve to do anything in particular, for I had no purpose left. I finally followed the tribe in silence, keeping just within hearing distance of the soft noise of their feet….”

Geronimo- upon finding out his wife, his three children and mother had been slaughtered.

Chapter 10: By the Grace of Ilúvatar

As many moons passed, the stranger regained consciousness, but not her awareness. She seemed to be locked away somewhere inside, and yet her physical body began to function. She cared not for the needs of her body, staring blankly at all who tended her or visited her bedside. But the virtue of the young is strongest and by Lotórie’s hand the stranger began to taste of the food she desperately needed to survive.

Lotórie tended to the stranger with the love that is gifted only by those so young, and unspoiled by the pains of the world. The stranger would only eat from the efling’s hand. If any other attempted to help her eat she would simply stare deep into some unknown place, lost to the world outside, and not acknowledge the presence of her intended helper.

During these times, Mithrandir would come and sit with the stranger, speaking no words, and offering no assistance, seemingly disappearing into his own internal world. Aní and Legolas had gone out on patrol to curtail the encroachment of spiders and other foul creatures along the southern border of Thranduil’s kingdom. Shadow did not pause to contemplate the mysteries of life.

And many more moons passed, steered by the might of Tilion, strength returning to the stranger with each day Anar rose, guided by Arien. Soon the stranger was walking about aided by a wooden staff gifted to her by the mysterious old man whose constancy she learned to respect. Her shoulder was stiff but the healers made sure she did not let it further stiffen by keeping it immobile, and so she attempted to use her arm for small tasks. (1)

Slowly, she had begun to look out from within herself, cautiously capturing the strangeness of the new world that unfolded before her. In the child that tended her and the old man that silently offered her company she found solace, but did not want to venture beyond those boundaries. She feared the unknown for the unknown as it had come to reveal itself during her lifetime had come to claim her life.

The Istar had ventured into communicating with the stranger and had established himself to the task of linguist and translator. Lotórie joined in Mithrandir’s daily lessons with the stranger, adding her child-like innocence and fun. They had established that her name was Lenmana, and she had learned theirs in return. Other useful words had been learned, and the Istar kept detailed records of everything.

He had come to understand that the young woman spoke two tongues, and he narrowed down the names to Hopi and Diné, although these two words seemed more akin to the naming of the groups she came from. As he wrote new words on his parchment, Lenmana would look wide-eyed at the wizard. She knew what writing was, but distrusted the act as she had seen the qochata use this way many times to bind promises. Promises that were recorded in this way were easily broken and so Lenmana distrusted the written word.

***

“Mithrandir,” Lenmana softly spoke, the name rolling like easy waves off her tongue, “food.” The woman rubbed her belly as Lotórie had shown her to signal that she was hungry.

The wizard looked up from the parchment he had been absorbed in and glanced at Lenmana, motioning for her to call upon one of the healers stationed near her. Lenmana appeared puzzled by the wizard’s request, and so the Istari rubbed his belly repeating “food” and pointed towards the healer.

Lenmana’s eyes widened in apprehension and she called out the healer’s name, “Nierwen… food,” rubbing her belly as she said food.

Nierwen turned to Lenmana, “Food, I will get you food.” She smiled at her patient and disappeared to retrieve her meal.

Lenmana looked over to Mithrandir and he nodded his head. Food was brought to the stranger now called Lenmana, and the young maiden stared at her plate, pleased that she had been understood.

She glanced towards the door and asked, “Lotórie?” As soon as she mentioned the young elfling’s name, Lotórie rushed in through the door, and ran to Lenmana who reached out her hand to greet the little elfling.

“Lenmana, you look so wonderful today,” Lotórie giggled.

Lenmana smiled at the elfling and pointed towards the plate placed next to her bed, “Food, Lenmana hungry.”

“That is right Lenmana,” Lotórie replied happily, nodding vigorously with encouragement.

Lenmana ate the food brought her, and between mouthfuls of fruit, smiled sadly at Mithrandir and Lotórie. There was so much she wanted to ask, and so much she wanted to forget. She imagined that she was caught in a dream, or had died and was being spun into a wonderful vision where she could find peace, but darkness lurked on the edges of her awareness, and she remained afraid.

***

That night Mithrandir wandered in the forest near the Forest River under the light of Isil. He spoke softly, “Aldaron, great lord of the forest, I walk amongst the trees you hold so dear, yet you are in the West, far from the pleadings of this humble servant.” A slight breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees as if responding to the Maia’s words. As the breeze died down, the sound of the river, rushing by grew louder, echoing the murmurs of the leaves. (2)

“Lord of the waters, carry forth my pleadings to Vairë the weaver, for I need her nimble fingers to aid me.” Mithrandir spoke thus to Ulmo, knowing that the Vala would hear his words carried by the river to Ulmo’s place of dwelling in the depths of the waters. Mithrandir hoped that Vairë, keeper of all stories that were known or were to be known would aid him. “I am pressed to leave this place and tend to matters that need my aid, but if I leave now, this young maiden will be trapped in silence, with only a little elfling to aid her. I need to know if her story has been woven by your nimble fingers, Vairë- to know and understand the tongues she speaks. And in my dreams I pray Irmo grant me this wisdom. Eru let this be done for the Great Music knows of what was, what is, and what is to come. I know this life I help is insignificant but I wish to do what I can to open the joys of this world to her. I wish for this soul to know that beauty can survive and that hope can flourish despite the darkness of our times. Let this old man have this request, for it will fill my heart.” (2)

And Ulmo carried forth the request, touched by the selflessness of the Istar, and Vairë searched her tapestries and whispered its stories to Irmo. And this is how Mithrandir came to know and understand the sad melodies of Tuwa held in Lenmana’s heart; and in the young maiden’s dreams a new song was heard, echoing in the distance, by the grace of Ilúvatar.

---------------------------------------------

A/N: You all didn’t expect me to have poor Mithrandir sit down and learn two languages and then help Lenmana learn Sindarin all on his own? I had to find a way to expedite the process and that’s when Manwë’s booming voice announced that the Valar could aid in this process. After all they are the *Valar*, and so not wanting to piss off the most mighty King, I have asked the Valar to come to the rescue which of course they have.

---------------------------------------------

ELVISH:

Isil-Moon

Eru/Ilúvatar- God, the One

HOPI:

Tuwa- Earth

(1) Tilion is the Maia that was chosen by the Valar to steer the island of the moon named Isil across the sky. The Maia Arien was chosen by the Valar to guide the sun named Anor along its path in the sky.

(2) If you are interested in finding out more about the Valar, read The Silmarillion which provides a great account of Tolkien’s creation stories and the history of the first age. Below are the Valar referenced to by Mithrandir:

Aldaron- Another name for Oromë, a Vala, also called Tauron (in Sindar) the Lord of the Forest.

Ulmo is the Vala who is Lord of the Waters.

Vairë is the weaver, a Queen of the Valar, spouse of Mandos who is also known as Námo.

Irmo who is also known as Lórien, is the master of dreams and visions.

Vairë, Mandos and Irmo are Fëanturi or masters of spirits.

Only Mandos of the Fëanturi, is counted amongst the Aratar, or high ones. The Aratar are the most powerful Valar: Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna, Aulë, Mandos, Nienna, and Oromë.

Reference: The Silmarillion, edited by Christopher Tolkien