Eruwen (Part 1 & 2)

Records Hidden in Orthank Tower

Gandalf set off for Gondor as one of the hobbits, I was in no state to sort out which one it was, reached for palantír, and saw a glimpse of Sauron's plan. He wanted to destroy Gondor before Isildur's heir could take his throne.

The rest of us were to wait in Edoras until the beacons of Gondor were lit. Well, I had another idea, which required a trip back to the Isengard.

"What's your plan?" Aragorn wondered.

"My father's records, he wrote everything down. Surely there will be something useful in the tower. I wish I had thought of it sooner," I explained.

I was going alone, Éomer or Théodred wanted to accompany me, which I declined. It was my task, and they belonged to their people.

Orthank wasn't hard to open when my father was away. Nature found its way in before me. My father spent a lot of time studying and doing various experiments - he wrote everything down and I knew there was something useful somewhere. For the first two ages, he walked Middle-earth, not interfering much in the events of the world, and mainly devoting himself to studying, gathering information, and writing it down; it was only at the beginning of the third age that the other wizards came out of the stars.

"So, what have we here?" I spoke, pulling out one of the completed bundles. They were studies of the elves of the second age. It was detailed descriptions of the nations and many specific names, including portraits. Next to it were studies of the elves of the first age. He studied Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri focusing on their characteristics, often described in great detail.

It was research, but I had no idea to what end. I tried to find answers in other books - I found them in the section dealing with genetics. The most recent entries were about cross-breeding evil humans with Orcs and experiments with Vrrk, particularly examining their skills in the sun, whether they got headaches, etc. The first books in the section were theoretical until I came across the bundle that bore my name.

My father was comparing the elven races with each other, there were various sketches, names, and variants, until I saw my mother's name underlined. She was one of the Noldor, the most powerful nation of the elves.

The choice was between Noldor and Vanyar; the most powerful, or the most glorious. He chose power and royalty - he longed for a son.

One entire section was dedicated to me. I found notes of my growing up. My mother was a warrior, and I spent much of the First Age with her, standing by her side in many wars and battles. He wrote everything down. She wanted me to one day sit on the throne of her people.

That changed when she fell in love with Oropher. My father saw that she could bring nothing to the table at such a time, so he took me in and devoted himself to my magical abilities. He researched all the things I could do, endure, and fail to do - all described in detail.

He was counting on my becoming heir to the throne, which was "thwarted" by the birth of my brother. I found a clearly drawn forest divided into my part and Thranduil's. My part included Dol Guldur, formerly the capital of Oropher's kingdom.

I reached for his records of the elves, and only a short time after the creation of such a division, Oropher moved to the western slopes of the mountains - followed by my arrival and the offer of my services.

"That explains why you didn't like me giving up the crown," I remarked.

The question of why Thranduil did not rule over "my" territory came up - I tried to find an explanation in the maps and also in the profile of Oropher himself, but found nothing.

I wanted to figure it out.