I Navaer Veth – The Last Farewell
A Letter from Celeborn to Arwen
My dearest Arwen,
This writing bears my last farewell to you. With the dawn I will journey to Mithlond and take ship for Balannor. I want you to know that your brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, will go with me.
Long they thought to remain in Middle-earth, but, with the changefulness of the years of this New Age, their strong ties with the Dúnedain have become sundered; for, save Aragorn, the Men they knew well have passed beyond the earth and their hearts have not been closely knit with the following generations.
Your brethren send their love to you, and to Aragorn, and their hope that your life will continue to be filled with blessings for many years to come.
I, myself have at last wearied of life in Middle-earth. The settlement in East Lórien thrives, and my hand is no longer needed to guide its affairs. I have enjoyed my sojourn here in Imladris; it has been an interlude of quiet contemplation and reflection. But even here the wearing of time and sorrow gnaw at the foundations of my resolve. The fading is evident all around me. All that we had and held dear is gone and it cannot be reclaimed. What I had sought here could not be found.
I love the forest as I always have, but the peace I once found among the trees now eludes me. At night I dream of the Sea, and I hear the call of the gulls in my mind even in my waking hours. I miss my Lady, and I long to see Celebrian again. The luster of this world is dimmed in my sight, and though I even yet loathe leaving it, I know that my heart shall no longer rest here in these lands. I must seek my peace, if any can be found, across the Sea.
I had thought to visit you again, but now that I have set my course, I find that I am anxious to depart. Indeed all those who had remained at Imladris have chosen to go at once and we shall embark upon our journey together. It seems as though all have been seized with an urgency to be upon our way, as though the grief of parting is so great that we would seek to escape it with hurrying feet.
Ai, Úndomiel, at last the tides of time that we so long held at bay have rushed in upon us, and sweeping over us have washed away all – all but the bonds of love and the star of hope. Love binds to me each one I hold dear – wherever they may be. And the jewel of hope is a beacon in the darkness of my soul, entreating me to turn my gaze before me rather than behind, as so often I have done. Whatever the morrow holds, I shall tarry here no longer and I shall not cling to that which no longer belongs to me. I know your heart, and you know mine. I will carry your love in my heart forever, dearest granddaughter, and we will meet again, if Eru wills, when the Song of Arda is ended and a New Song is begun.
Until that Day, Navaer,
Grandfather Celeborn
Author’s Notes:
Elvish words in the story:
Mithlond – ‘Grey Havens’
Balannor – Sindarin for ‘Valinor’
Imladris – ‘Rivendell’
Úndomiel- ‘Evenstar’ (a name of Arwen)
Navaer – ‘farewell’
Quotes:
It was probably at Great Smials that The Tale of Years was put together, with the assistance of material collected by Meriadoc. Though the dates given are often conjectural, especially for the Second Age, they deserve attention. It is probable that Meriadoc obtained assistance and information from Rivendell, which he visited more than once. There, though Elrond had departed, his sons long remained, together with some of the High-elven folk. It is said that Celeborn went to dwell there after the departure of Galadriel; but there is no record of the day when at last he sought the Grey Havens, and with him went the last living memory of the Elder Days in Middle-earth.
Prologue, FotR
"Lady Úndomiel," said Aragorn, "the hour is indeed hard, yet it was made even in that day when we met under the white birches in the garden of Elrond where none now walk."
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, Appendix A, RotK