Through Wind and Fire (LOTR)

XXVIII

The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.

- Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

- Hebrews 12:11

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Death.

No man can escape it. Every man bears a limit to the years he lives, and in the end, death will claim him, as it has claimed all who have been of the Secondborn of Iluvatar. Men can long for more life all they wish, but it will only seem to end sooner for a man who wishes for such.

In his short life, a man can do many things, either for good or for evil. Always is he pressed for time, knowing that his life is fleeting compared to the grand stretch of eternity.

Two kinds of men will live, the lazy, and the wise. Lazy and rather foolish men will waste their lives, spending their days on frivolous things, but a wise man shall make the best of the brief time he is given. And some men make a decision that will change the course of the world, and sometimes it is a rash decision, one that would leave a man regretting his actions forever, if he did live so long.

These men who who change the world with one hasty decision are the ones whose stories mar the stretch of time and rend what might have been. These men are always remembered, but not for their nobler deeds. Rather than think of their good when their names are heard, people bring to mind their failure, the remembrance of mistakes and missteps situations.

Of such things did Thranduil think, when news of Isildur's death met his ears. The Elvenking did not think of the noble king Isildur was, nor of his willingness to save a fruit from Numenor's famed tree. He did not think of how the man was among those who stayed faithful to Eru and the Valar even when even the whole of Numenor fell captive to Sauron's deceit. No, he thought of this: that the man was give the opportunity to destroy evil once and for all, yet he succumbed to the black greed of his heart, keeping the One Ring. Now the Ring was lost, and the free peoples of Middle-earth were put on edge, never knowing whom may discover that evil object.

And in death Isildur was not often remembered well.

Orcs attacked the king of Gondor and Arnor while he traveled, and news came that he must have put the Ring on to avoid his death. He only managed to bring it upon quicker. What a foolish, foolish man!

Thranduil remembered vividly how Elrond and Glorfindel led the then prince up the slopes of Orodruin and into the Crack of Doom. Elrond's voice had thundered even outside of the mountain as he cried for Isildur, son of Elendil, to destroy the Ring of Power. One chance to destroy evil. One chance to truly eradicate the influence of Morgoth for the time that precedes the Dagor Dagorath, the last battle.

Eru, have mercy on us! thought the king.

Many lives of a man had the Elvenking seen, and these happenings gravely worried the ellon. They had fought for freedom and peace, but always was there the thought that evil would wise up once again. These feelings were magnified upon learning that the Ring was left in the wild, waiting for someone to seize it and claim it as their own. And even Sauron may be the one to lay hold of it once more. It was his and only truly answered to him, anyhow.

These fears were held by many, but still there was a peace upon the word. This peace did calm the king's heart a slight bit. Yet said peace was fragile, like thin glass, and could easily be broken. That was what truly worried Thranduil. The fragility of this peace caused him to be troubled.