Parnard

(Reposted from several years ago . - A short letter to my student, Aearlinn of the Falathrim, on the occasion of Estarfin's suspected 'disappearance' into the  Hithaeglir.)

Aearlinn,

I am sorry to leave this matter to yourself and Serewen, but time is of the essence and I must depart the Vale as soon as possible in search of Lord Estarfin.

As you know, the welfare of that lord from my childhood home is of import to me. It is necessary I do all I may to aid him.

I run ahead in my retelling of events. Something came to pass more recently that the tale of our wanderings East of the Hithaeglir need wait a little. 

The map had made no mention of this place. A looming stone shape stood before him, dark and forbidding. He dismounted carefully from the bay mare, ensuring his boots made as little noise as possible on the loose scree outside the squat ruin. He whispered a word of caution to the tired horse, patting her mane as he did so.

For a moment, memories arose…

More than six thousand years ago, in the age of the Noldor, they had dwelled in Beleriand, the mighty realm between the Ered Luin and the grinding ice of the Helcaraxë.

Dearest Gwanûr,

The news you sent in your letter greatly surprised me! I would not have left so far from home, indeed, if I knew that I could obtain a position as a courier so close to home. Who learned of it, you or Ada? Whoever it was, I am extremely grateful and I will hurry back west to begin. I think it will take me some time still for me to pack all my things and return.

Daegond looked up. The grey overcast was visible from where he sat, in the main inner courtyard of Elrond’s house.

He always wondered why this last homely house had a roof after all. If they are to leave the alley without one, just to keep the fountain refreshed in every rain, why on earth they bothered themselves to stack shingles on elsewhere? It was getting water from all sides.