[piosenniel]

Giledhel


‘It is I who wish to remain in their company, my Lord.’ Giledhel stepped forward from the other three Elves. ‘Do not banish me to my own solace and isolation. I have had enough of that in those long years after Malris had gone and I was left to the solace and isolation of cold stone.’ She looked toward Calëlindo and the others. ‘There are times I regret ever having left Valinor. The reasons of my younger years seem less well thought out in retrospect. There were decisions made in haste and in the heat of the moment that had been better laid aside and given more consideration.’

‘I know my mind was hazy, clouded . . .’ she looked toward the three Elves. ‘It was easier that way,’ she went on. ‘I could pass over things, forget them.’ She looked about at the pleasant halls flooded with their subtle light. ‘I don’t have to do that here. I’m safe here. I felt that from the first.’

She paced a little before the Vala and the Elves. ‘I remember everything that happened to me,’ she said in an even voice; her eyes on the random patterns of the smooth, marbled floors. ‘And I remember your part in it,’ she went on in a subdued tone, looking at the three Elves. ‘My death and yours, and those years locked together in that room.’

‘I could have been completely lost, you know. But there was something in you, in each of you that I recognized and which gave me some hope. I remember the first time I reached out to what I’d seen. And again, I might have been lost then. Between us some tenuous connection was made, though . . . some thin, little line we wove between us. Grudgingly done at first, I think . . . but it became habit and habit done day in and day out forged certain bonds.’

‘You’ve said many times that I was kind to you . . . I think, though, it was as much for myself as it was for you. That kindness which you allowed and fostered even in your own way . . . it recalled me to myself. And for that I’m grateful . . . and thankful, too, that by some grace you were also benefited.’

‘I’ve made a lot of wrong decisions. It will take a long time to sort them out. And I can’t say I won’t make a few more.’ She glanced briefly at Lord Námo; then, returned her attention to Calëlindo, Salmarion, and Alcamírië. ‘If you will, I would ask that you allow me to stay in your company. I think we can continue to benefit each other . . . yes, I do think we can . . .’

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Child of the 7th Age's post

"Let it be so then, gracious lady, as you have requested. A boon for you and your three companions. Each of you may walk the gentle fields here and think long on what went right and wrong, and how you might want things to change or continue as your journey goes forward. There may be a moment when you leave these halls, but I think not for some time, and that day may never come. But for now it is enough that you have chosen the path of contemplation and vowed to help one another through your ties of friendship. Go now and find your way into my realm."

Mandos said no more but turned and walked away. The Vala did not think that these four would stay locked up in a single room as they had done for long years, but rather walk outward and explore. For the halls of Mandos are amazingly wide and capacious for those who choose to wander. He promised to keep an eye on them and see how their journey continued. Perhaps the trek would not be so easy as they blithely assumed at this time, yet also not so hard as he had first feared.

The male Elves especially intrigued him. So very few of the corrupted were brave or gentle enough to step within the halls of Mandos and face the memories of the ill deeds they had done. Out of the thousands that had passed in front of him, only a handful had the courage to stay. He had hoped someday this would change. Perhaps these three were a harbinger of better things to come. Would that the tangled web of shadows on Middle-eath would only straighten out and let in some light for poor Elves such as these! But the latter was too much to ask, especially with so much under the mastery of Sauron. For now Mandos was content to welcome his guests, offering them the Halls of Remembrance as a place of refuge and hard contemplation.