[Child of the 7th Age]

Child stared out at the starry sky. All was beautiful and silent, but she could not sleep. Her heart was pounding relentlessly in her breast. She was doing something she never, never did. She was praying to one of the Vala.

She looked up at the stars and whispered, "Oh, Varda, do you remember when I woke up earlier in the golden halls, and you looked upon me and laughed. You said I was in the wrong story, and you sent me back into the void to help my friends."

"Well, this time we're in worse trouble. We're waiting to hear from Gandalf about where Rose is and where the REG is, but no word has come through."

"I am horribly, horribly afraid. Not for myself or my friends who are here with me. We're alright. It's our friends on the field of Cormallen."

"Remember Frodo and Samwise, the Ringbearers, the two who gave so much of themselves to heal the world? Well, Rose has somehow slipped into the Third Age and we think she has let a whole pack of Orcs loose on the world. And if they get through to Frodo and Sam.......I don't even want to think about it. We would go back and check on them in our own world, but we have lost our laptop and can't find any path through to the palantir keycheck. We can't even get home, let alone find the REG."

Child lay on the hard ground and began to sob. Birdie unwound one of her longer branches and gently patted Child on the head. For the first time, Birdie couldn't even think of a joke to crack.

But in a tiny corner of Child's brain, there came a little whisper. "Think, think, little one. Ask yourself, how did you get out of the void? You did it yourself. You didn't need me. Orcs, Morgoth, and Sauron--they're all cut out of the same cloth."

Child ran over to Pio and Bird and Veritas and Sind. "Start singing, and get Faramir and his crew to sing too. Let's get back to Cormallen. We've been wandering in circles here, and you know the REG just wanted to get us out of the way to do something to our friends."

Child figured the best option was Home, Sweet Home. Within a few minutes, a sweet chorus filled the air. Birdland was particularly loud. The five settled onto the back of the golden dragon.

A whoosh, a roar, and all fell away. Birdland waved goodbye to Faramir. In a single second, there were back on the party fields.

[ June 04, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]