Title: Saving Traditions
Author: amber (lackam@aol.com)
Beta: Oli
Rating: G
Characters: Elrond, Eonwe
Word Count: 1822
Disclaimer: All main characters belong to Tolkien; I am just borrowing them.
Notes: Written for Zhie’s Winter Festival Writing Challenge. Prompts are cheer, snowflake, pine tree, and nostalgic.
Summary: Elrond laments being trapped on Tol Eressëa and the resulting loss of traditions. Eonwe helps change things.
 

Elrond was lost in memories as he walked through the pine trees in the upper reaches of the hills surrounding his new home in Tol Eressëa. He was still restricted to the island and would be for many years. The Valar had decided that those who came from Middle-earth needed a time of adjustment before coming to the main land. The only exceptions were those who were carried straight to the Gardens of Lórien for healing. There was an inborn darkness of Melkor’s that tainted those from Middle-earth; only time and space could heal that.

He and his mother-in-law, Galadriel had been taken straight from the docks to another ship that carried them as close to the Gardens as possible before being transferred into a covered carriage for the rest of the journey. There they had stayed as their hurts and weariness from being ring-bearers had healed. Galadriel had left the garden many years ago and returned to Tol Eressëa to live with Celebrían while tending to their people. He himself had not healed so quickly. He also had many other hurts to contend with and heal from. He had finally arrived in the spring three years ago to find his house already established and run just like in Middle-earth.

As he walked, he sighed in sadness.

“You are not happy here?” came the question from just ahead of him. Surprised, he looked up and bowed as he saw Eonwe approach him.

“It is not that I am unhappy, it is just that I miss Middle-earth,” Elrond said. At the confused look he knew he would have to explain. “Everything here is so different.”

“I do not see how being safe would bring about these feelings of missing something,” Eonwe cut in. “Surely you do not miss Morgoth’s taint?”

“No, that is not of what I speak,” Elrond answered in amusement. Only Eonwe would come to that conclusion. “We are on a tropical island here. It is different. You must remember that almost all of us lived in climates further north. We are used to four definable seasons, not one and a half. The wild variations in weather called to something inside of us. Our lives were set in patterns by the weather that we miss. Here everything is the same, it gets old quickly.”

“You miss playing in the snow?” Eonwe asked as he remembered witnessing the elves and men doing just that during one winter in a lull during the War of Wrath.

“Yes, I miss playing in the snow,” came the response. “I miss the thrill of spring as new life bloomed, and the heat of summer. I miss fall with the changing of everything into bright colors as we rushed about to harvest the food we had produced for the following seasons. Winter had its own appeal as it provided both fun playtime and quiet introspect mixed in its own clean beauty. Even the vegetation is different. I have to come all the way to the top of the island to spend time with the scent of pine that filled the air around us at certain times.”

“You revel in the short lived species of the north,” concluded the Maia. Then he revealed a secret. “I too came to love the different flora and fauna found in the northern climes. They have a different vitality to them that a steady sameness seems to leach from the living in stagnation. It is one of the reasons I come here as often as I do. I had hoped that your people would find a way to bring that with you.”

“We try but there is only so much we can do in this climate,” Elrond admitted. The Maia’s admission had surprised him but also made him glad.

“Most of those on the main land have fallen into stagnation in their ideas and ways,” Eonwe admitted. “They have chosen to abandon the unsteady climes for the sameness of the warm climes. They are content but lack a depth I find in your people. Many of the reborn feel this same restlessness at first but soon adapt to the sameness.”

“I suspect that those on the mainland will see it as a sign of our taint when we move there and chose the more volatile climes to live in,” Elrond conceded.

“Let them,” came the surprise response. “You will not be alone as many of the maiar spend time in these climes to experience the changes. When you live as long as we do, sameness becomes boring.”

They smiled at one another before Eonwe faded into nothingness.

Elrond watched as the Yule decorations were put up and the preparations for the feast began. Every year they waited later and later to do this as it just did not seem the right season. At the rate they were going it would only be another two years before they didn’t bother at all. It would be a shame for the elflings sake but there was nothing he could do. The holiday and its activities were so centered on the cold weather that it was hard to adapt. Silently he prayed that soon his people could be free of taint they had been born with in Middle-earth and allowed to cross to the main land where they could move farther northwards.

“He is sincere in his pleas,” Aulë said as they listened to Elrond’s prayers. “I would never have considered that we were taking so much of who they are away by restricting them to the island.”

“You are too used to dealing with the elves here,” Ulmo told him. “Even the ones who made the great march and came to Valinor in the beginning came from a warmer climate. The Noldor crossed the Helcaraxe and settled in the north as most of it was unclaimed by any but Morgoth. As time passed, the Second born slowly grew in numbers driving the Sindar and Silvan elves northwards. By the time Sauron was defeated, even the Avari had been driven north. There were very few elves left in southern or moderate climes.”

“So it is as Eonwe has told us,” Varda exclaimed. As the others pondered this, she asked. “Is it not still a sign of Melkor’s taint that they crave the extremes?”

“Was it extreme of us to like playing in the different environments Eru created in Ea?” Namo asked her. “Many of those would be considered extreme compared to how we live and play now.”

“I chose to see it as a celebration of the different multiple environments provided for us and the children,” Oromë told them all. “Those who have lived here since the beginning still excite me in their actions and thought patterns, but when compared to those from Middle-earth, it is boring.”

“Wild and untamed I would say,” Ulmo added with a smile.

“So what do we do about it?” Yavanna asked. “They are clearly unhappy here despite what we do.”

“What if we change it?” Tulkas asked. His comments caught everyone’s attention as he so rarely commented on something unless it dealt with strife.

“Can we do that?” Valië asked Manwë.

“It is within our prevail,” the elder king answered. “Namo, how much longer will those from Middle-earth need to stay on Tol-Eressëa yet?”

“It will be many years before the taint of Morgoth clears,” the Dooms man answered. “I fear in some it will remain in some form until the breaking of the world.”

“Let me think on this,” Manwë said as he dismissed the others. Then he communed with Eru.

It was the middle of the night when the ground began to shake. There were great heaves as the elves heard the land cry out in fear of the unknown. Lessons died a hard death on the island and soon many were armed and seeing to the welfare of others. Many living on the coast fled inland as great waves rose destroying their homes. As dawn came, it was determined that none had been lost or suffered severe injury. There were some broken bones and other minor injuries but other than property damage, all was well. When no word came to explain the upheaval, many returned to living a normal life but with a wariness they had not carried since sailing.

Several years later, word came of a great fleet of swan ships just off the coast. Elrond and the other leaders led the mass of people to see what was going on. The site of a huge fleet of swan ships dropping anchor in the bay worried them. Then Eonwe appeared before them.

“I took the concerns you shared with me to the Valar,” he said addressing Elrond. “They discussed it and came to a decision. To the north they have created another island to rival Tol Eressëa. That was the upheaval you felt several years ago. The vegetation is now sufficiently grown to allow you to move there if you wish. Like here, you will be restricted to the island but the climate will be more what you are used to. There are four clear seasons and flora and fauna will recognize.”

There was a great cheer from the crowd as word of the new island spread. Many began making plans for moving while others decided they wanted to stay. By the time all was decided, it was learned that there would be three new Elven enclaves on the island to the north. They reflected the last three Elven realms in Middle-Earth and most of the elves who had lived in these realms before committed to living in them again.

Since it was late spring, many began packing and transferring to the ships. They hoped to build homes and plant a crop this year. Others took more time as they helped those remaining in the south adjust to the loss of people. Cirdan gained permission and built a small fleet of ships to ply trade between the two islands. Galadriel asked and gained permission to allow travel between the islands on a regular basis as most elves had intermarried and were now family. Elrond thanked Eonwe for his intervention and invited him to the first Yule celebration of his house.

The nostalgic picture before him made Elrond smile. He stood on the porch watching as Glorfindel and his warriors lifted the giant pine tree up the stairs and into the unfinished Hall. They had cheated and only built the sturdy framing and fireplaces for the great house this year. The rest was made up of matting and sticks that would be replaced with stone or vegetation as the years went by. It would be rough for a few years but the people did not care. Being able to celebrate their heritages regardless of the circumstances had transformed their lives. As Elrond let the snowflakes rain down on him, he considered that now they were home.