silverstar, the silmarillion

xix. journey to hallerin

As they rode upon great steads on their way to the Valley of the Angels, rain befall on them, which did not rose concern for any of the elves, for they were warriors and soldiers, but Maglor.

For with him sat Elrond and Elros, both of who were sneezing and rubbing their nose from the cold they suffered due to the harsh weather.

It rose concern for Maglor, of course, for he never had seen an elf suffering from a sickness as small as a simple cold, and he was left fretting over the twins' health.

He lent them his cape, which was big enough to cover the both of them, and hugged them to keep both Elrond and Elros warm.

Celethtár, who rode behind them with Elmarë by his side, noticed, and called for them to take temporary refuge at a cave nearby after Maglor's permission.

The elves who had never gone to Hallerin before had widened eyes, as they took in the beauty that is the cave. It was dark, but on the ground, there scattered glowing flowers that glowed a soft red hue, and yellow fireflies flying around those beautiful flowers.

They were fortunate enough to have a cave that was big enough to support a small legion of elves and horses.

"We shall stay here temporarily, for I have noticed that both Elrond and Elros seemed to catch a cold," said the prince as he jumped down from his steed.

As soon as Elmarë descended from her white mare, she dashed to Maglor's side, who carried the bundled twins in his arms.

Celethtár thanked the elf, who, upon noticing the twins, gathered wooden sticks from the ground. The angel set them in a pile, before hovering his hands above it.

After five seconds of time, fire flamed alive from within the pile, and the Peredhil gasped in wonder as they ran to the fire with hands outstreched, yearning for warmth.

"Fire magic," breathed Elmarë in fascination as she stared at his hands and back to him. "I've read about it in books; 'the angels with blood of royalty will inherit a type of fire magic that is similar to that of their dragons.'"

The angel tilted his head, amused at her wonder, "Indeed. How can we tame a dragon otherwise? We battle fire with fire."

Maglor patted Elmarë's hair with a soft smile, "You will see much more things that are beyond mesmerizing once we arrive at Hallerin. It is, the kingdom inside of Beleriand, afterall."

Upon hearing his words, confusion arose in Elmarë for this is the first she's heard of the location of Hallerin, since not one traveller that passed Sirion knew where the kingdom is, but inside of Beleriand?

Beleriand is full with mountains, forests and valleys alike, but inside... did Maglor mean inside a mountain? If so, Elmarë was even more curious than she was before.

Was it similar to Nargothrond in some way? She was getting more and more excited to step foot to the hidden kingdom. But no matter, Elmarë have Elrond and Elrond to take care of at the moment, and their health always matters more than anything.

"Here," she said, pulling out spare clothes for her little brothers from her bag, "change into this. Wet clothes will bring you no good in wearing it."

Elros cheered though he was soon interrupted by a sneeze, and as he held the clothes, he wasted no time in quickly changing into it, "Warm clothes! Thank you nésa!"

Elmarë smiled at them as Elrond soon followed his brother's example. Finding their conditions now well and acceptable, she returned to Maglor's side.

"How long do you think this thunderstorm would last? As much as I would hate to delay our arrival," she paused, eyeing her guardian firmly, the peredhel continued, "Elros and Elrond's health matters first."

"Certainly," confirmed Maglor as he nodded. He then announced to his men, "We shall continue by dawn! Rest and do as you like during this time!"

...

"Celethtár, what are those creatures?" asked Elrond curiously as he pointed to a small plants moving similarly like a person would.

The said prince crouched down beside Elrond and Elros, before picking the creature and setting it on his hand when he realized what it was. "These are the kinsmen of the ents of Yavanna, though it is much smaller and friendlier in comparison."

Eyes sparkling in wonder, the twins peered down at the small ent, extending the palm of their hands, "Can I hold it?"

"Of course," he smiled, gently transferring the ent to Elrond's hand, "take care with how you handle them, for they are wary creatures, despite their fondness toward children."

"They are adorable," mentioned Elmarë as she took a look at the small ents staring at her after walking away from Maglor.

Smiling, the angel then warned them with a thoughtful look, "Indeed they are, but they can be quite ferocious should anyone harm their kin. I remember a couple of troublesome angels who were handling the ents roughly, and the day after, they were found with vines around their bodies, unconscious, so it would be best to treat them respectfully."

Horrified, she nodded dutifully, "A-ah I see. Elrond, Elros, be careful."

"Of course, nésa! Who do you take us for?" Elros questioned, pouting at her insinuation, "We always treat others nicely, you know."

...

"We have not even arrived yet and it was already so beautiful in the outskirts of the kingdom," breathed Elmarë as she stared into the enchanting night sky above her, littered with uncountable amount of stars that shone brightly at night.

Sensing a familiar presence approaching, she was not startled when Celethtár seated himself beside her, "I am glad that you find my home to be so beautiful. Though there is much more that Hallerin can offer when you delve deeper."

"Oh?" questioned the peredhel, interested, as she was always curious of other places with her thirst for knowledge. Of knowing more, even though she knew it could be dangerous if she tread too deep. One day.

"Do you know how us angels came to be?"

Shaking her head, Elmarë listened quietly as Celethtár started the tale.

"It was once said that the first of the Angels was born from Endor after Morgoth's corruption of the land as means to purify it from Morgoth's lingering evil," he began, side eyeing the half-elf whose head was tilted in confusion.

Smiling apologetically as he scratched his head, Celethtár spoke truthfully, "Please do not ask me of how Endor created us, I never really understood that part of the story as well."

"Of course, the first beings that we came across were the elves of Cuiviénen..."