Chapter 1

The Passing of the King

Angela Wagner

A great sadness was spreading across Middle Earth. Messengers on swift steeds had been sent to the furthest corners of the Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor and even to lands beyond bringing the grievous tidings. King Elessar Telcontar had died. His son, Eldarion, newly crowned King and whom the people loved as dearly as his mother and father, declared a month of mourning for King Elessar.

The long years of Elessar’s reign had been and continued to be golden ones for Middle Earth with peace descending upon all the lands. Many of the old roads had been re-opened and were now safe for passage. Numerous remaining orcs, wargs and other fell creatures from the previous age had been hunted down and slain and the few still left had been forced into remote corners and onto barren lands of the furthest mountains and wastelands.

The harvests of the fields and gardens had been in abundance for many years. Generations of families had begun moving into the empty lands north along the River Anduin and towards the Wood of Greenleaves and west back into Lebennin and on into Lamedon. Even the Brown Lands were beginning to show color as wild flowers and other life began entering into those lands now that there were few enemies abroad. It was a golden era also for Men of Middle Earth. For several generations now, the lifespan of Men had been increasing, reversing that which had been occurring for almost an age. While still not nearly as long a span as that of the Nśmenóreans of old, even the addition of several years was considered a blessing.

But, alas, with the passing of time had also come the passing of knowledge. Few were still alive that had lived during the War of the Ring and had known the destruction and horror that Sauron of Mordor had wrought. There were now many songs, poems and tales of that time that had taken their place with the songs and stories of old. Memories of evil things such as orcs and trolls and the like had long since passed into myth and bedtime stories made to amuse or frighten children.

Also distressing to the life of Middle Earth had been the passing of the elves, the Eldar of old. For ages, elves had assisted Men in the arts and crafts increasing the skills of Men with their knowledge ancient even to some of the elves themselves. But the Age of the Eldar had now passed. The elf, Legolas Greenleaf, one of the Fellowship of song and story, was still in Ithilien with his close friend, the dwarf Gimli Son of Gloin and Elf-friend. With the death of King Elessar, these two were the last of the Fellowship of the Ring still to roam in Middle Earth. However, the number of elves that Legolas had brought to Ithilien from his father’s kingdom in the north had been in decline over the years and very few inhabitants of Gondor had seen elves other than Legolas for many years. And with the passing of the elves, so went much of the histories of earlier ages that had been preserved in song and verse.

With the unfolding of these events, that sadness was settling in on the peoples of Middle Earth as even though there were few if any enemies of Men and all was at peace, the King who had healed the sick, brought the dead back to life to aid in great battles and had faced the evil of The Might of Mordor was now gone. And his wife, Queen Arwen Evenstar dearly beloved by all the realm, had upon on his death gone into seclusion and there were rumors of her leaving the city and the kingdom.

The funeral itself was a marvelous, if melancholy, event to behold. Peoples from all the lands attended. The Princes of Dol Amroth and Ithilien were there as were the King and Queen of Rohan. There were also several halflings or Hobbits, descendants of Merriadoc and Peregrin, in attendance who were now great Lords in their own country of the Shire that no man save messengers of the King had visited in anyone’s memory. And present also were Legolas Greenleaf and Gimli son of Gloin. It seemed the entire population of the kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan were in attendance and there were stories that there were also strange men from the forests to the north and several Gondorians swore for years they had seen one or two tree-like shapes moving in the distance.

It had been decreed that during the month of mourning that no songs were to be sung nor other events of merriment were to be allowed in respect for the death of the King, save for one person. Nereniel the Fair was a young maiden of Gondor who though considered quite charming was much praised for the music that came from her voice. It was said that when she would sing that the nightingales would hide in shame. All who heard her voice agreed that she had been blessed by the Valar if not Eru himself. For a daughter of Men, many believed that her voice might rival those of the elves of old. She alone was to sing the lamentations being prepared.

There were rumors that Legolas Greenleaf and even the Queen had taught Nereniel elven songs that were ancient when both were young. However, attendants to the Queen only reported that all Arwen Evenstar would say is that Nereniel’s voice was indeed most beautiful and that she understood much of Nereniel’s gift, which was spoken with a touch of sadness. Nereniel was the daughter of Naeleth who was the daughter of Iorwine one of the great poets of the age. And Iorwine was the granddaughter of Ioreth of the Houses of Healing.

And so the funeral took place and the period of mourning began.

At the end of the month of mourning, King Eldarion knew that it was now time to begin the recovering and the lifting up of the spirits of the peoples of Middle Earth. However, several events had come to pass that seemed, to his dismay, to extend the mourning rather than bring it to an end. His mother, Queen Arwen had departed the Kingdom in secret and (while known only to him and his sisters) was rumored to be heading towards the ancient Elven kingdom of Lorien, there to live out her final days in the land of her ancestors. Legolas and Gimli had spent much of the month’s time with many of their acquaintances and in parting had seemed to be saying that they would be leaving not only Gondor but even Middle Earth, if that were possible. King Eldarion had reports that Legolas had built a great boat, one that could sail the Sundering Seas and that he and Gimli were preparing to depart soon from Ithilien. And of a lesser but still important consideration, Nereniel the Fair, who had moved even the most hard hearted to tears with her lamentation to Elessar Telcontar and whom the King had hoped would again be enchanting his people with her songs of merriment and cheer had disappeared and no one, not even her mother, Naeleth, knew where she had gone.

© 2004 Angela Wagner