IMPORTANT: READ THIS FIRST

Preface

This is an alternate universe fanfiction which explores the idea of there being a hidden, secret country in Tolkien's world that was modernized, with electricity, democracy, and Twenty-first Century culture. The inspiration for this fic was all the stories everyone was writing about a character from our world somehow time-traveling back to Middle Earth. I opted to bring Middle Earth to us instead by creating a secret continent on the other side of the world which hosted a modern-day country-and yes, don't laugh, it is the USA, but a considerably different version of the USA. Obviously, people didn't immigrate to this America from anywhere as it is the only country other than Middle Earth. For the same reason, many historical wars and political dealings would not exist. Things like the mafia would probably still exist but in greatly reduced form. Even many books, movies, and phrases would have no basis in reality, such as, for instance, any movie that involved a trip across the border to another country. I have contrived some clever ways to play this scenario, however, that would still safeguard the existence of America's distinct "melting pot" culture and also, some important figures of international history-wait and see. The main idea is that we are secret from the rest of Arda-we know all about Middle Earth and moniter it with satellites but the people there have no remotely conceived idea about us. To us, Middle Earth, being so primitive, is a trivial place not worth our concern, like as a wild desert island. Actually, our government forbids a relationship with Middle Earth on the basis of both that and its unpredictable alien races and magic. That's how we manage to have a modern army in the absence of other modern nations-it is stationed around our homeland to keep us in and outsiders out. It will be a weird concept, but I think it will be fun. What will happen in the story, of course, is an incident which forces us to visit Middle Earth. That will be enjoyable to write, with people wondering where on earth we came from and whether or not we'll use our strange powers of technology to help them in their war with Sauron, which we deem is none of our business. I'm planning to have us enter onto the scene at the opening of TTT.

A large theme of my story will be Tolkien's concept of a seer. I have always been fascinated by Tolkien's creation of human beings who had the gift of prophecy. Whenever an Elf saw the future, it was always with the aid of some outside magical object they had created, such as a ring of power or Galadriel's mirror. (Thus, the scene in ROTK where Arwen has a vision is NOT in the book and in Tolkien's world would not even be possible.) This seer thing seems to have been a mysterious gift which ran in Men.

Now in my story, there is a girl who is a seer and because Arwen's future-seeing bit has diminished her intended uniqueness, I will now have to give her something else special to restore a character balance. Thus, I am going to bestow on her a great and special kind of physical beauty which will not, overall, equal Arwen's or Galadriel's, but will be greater than what a mortal woman should be allowed to possess. I was never originally going to do this, but since Arwen has so atrociously diminished her character, I have no recourse other than to compensate by somewhat diminishing Arwen's. At least, Tolkien's world does have some serious anomalies surrounding Men anyway; in The Hobbit, remember, there were Men who could change into bears and lived several hundred years, all of this with no offered explanation. Therefore, if I cover this woman's beauty with a prophecy that she was the most beautiful of Iluvatar's mortal creatures or something along those lines, with everything else that was changed in the movie version, it shouldn't be too much of a stretch from acceptable reality. Anyway, I see the seers as sort of being like Iluvatar's chosen messengers, revealing what his predestined plans were for Arda-you know, like his prophets. Thus, this girl will have a big part to play in the story.

It is important to know that I make a big difference between whether a fanfiction takes place in the book world or in the movie world. This fic takes place in the movie world of LOTR, and therefore, all events are subject to Peter Jackson's plot changes. There is one major element of my plot which is a direct result of this fact:

In the book, Faramir and Eowyn's romance was one of my favorite parts of the story. I loved how Faramir, the noble man who had learned to deal with his own emotional pain, rescued a cold and nearly cynical Eowyn from the iciness that had imprisoned her life. He defrosted her and brought her comfort, joy, and love. (Sigh) What a great story.

The movie version thus sorely disappointed me. Gone was the noble Faramir of Tolkien's original writing. What we got instead was his brother reincarnate, only slightly wiser. Faramir has also not really learned how to responsibly deal with his own emotional anguishes. At a verbal wound from his father, he led hundreds of men on a suicide mission against the counsel of Gandalf. Basically, he was hurt, and so his reaction was to do something that was not only foolish, but careless with other people's lives, merely to please his father. Thus, Faramir is not really in a position to save anyone from their personal issues as he needs to be saved from his own.

Eowyn, in the movie version, is also not so much in need of saving anyway. Contrary to her personality in the book, she is not really what I would call cold, just different from other women in that she is serious about fighting. Actually, the movie has lots of scenes which show her as being quite sensitive and warm. Her romantic interest in Aragorn is obviously genuine, more than merely admiration or a simple selfish desire to be a queen. She even seems a little insecure at times whereas the book says the first time in her life that she ever doubted herself came when she met Faramir. I guess the changes were made to cause people to like her character as the heroine, but really she deviates from Tolkien's Eowyn considerably.

So, after watching TTT, I was prepared for a disappointment in their romance in ROTK; but then, they didn't even show it at all!!! Why have the big romantic buildup between Eowyn and Aragorn if they weren't going to conclude it with Eowyn and Faramir's relationship? Now it just looks like a sad ending of unrequited love for poor Eowyn! (Like two people standing side by side and smiling at the coronation of their ruler means anything.) I suppose the scenes between them were deleted and will be included in the extended edition, but the fact that they were cut at all obviously means that they weren't very important to the filmmakers. With that attitude, it wouldn't surprise me if they even changed the concept around and had Eowyn rescue Faramir. Even, if they didn't change it, however, it is no longer believable to me. In my mind, the characters of a story are more important than the plot because the plot only exists at their actions, which, like in real life, spring from their personalities and beliefs. Thus, even if Faramir and Eowyn perform the same actions in the movie as in the book, their individual characters have not constituted them, and the whole idea seems forced, only transpiring for the basest sense of storyline accuracy. For me, therefore, the whole tale between them is irreparably ruined.

For awhile, I was quite upset about this entire situation; but then, I decided to embrace it with a remedy. In my story, I would introduce an original character who was really a mirror image of Tolkien's Faramir in the book-basically, the real Faramir under the guise of a different name. He and Eowyn would fall in love and thus somewhat repair the character storyline-but then, that left the movie Faramir as a new problem. What to do?

I finally decided I would create another original character to be with Faramir; however, she could not be a mirror version of book Eowyn because movie Faramir wasn't qualified to rescue her and, besides, she and movie Eowyn would still have too many things in common. Thus, I opted to go a different road.

In the book, one of my favorite characters was Goldberry, the River Daughter. She was so pretty and enchanting and full of joy, not really like an Elf, but more like a little Faerie, a Pixie, if you will-and she filled everyone around her with joy too. ("Frodo felt his heart moved by a strange joy he did not understand. He stood under a spell as he had in listening to elvish singing, yet it was different. Less keen and lofty was the delight but deeper and nearer to the mortal heart.") What a uniquely mysterious character! Since I missed her appearance in the movie storyline, I chose to make Faramir's new romantic interest, not totally by any means, but a little, like her. The joy she exudes can comfort his pain and heal his heart-so she will save him. All in all, however, she is not just a mirror image of Goldberry; though they share some attributes, she will be an original character with a distinct personality. At any rate, I feel that even if the names change, it is more important that Faramir and Eowyn be with the person who maintains more of the same personality as in the book, and I am well pleased with this literary scheme.

On that note, there isn't really much left to say about this fic, other than credit goes to my younger sister for coining the term "Midling", which is the name we Americans over here in the secret modern country give to any person residing in the Middle Earth, and that, I claim the original name "Mirathil" for the name of one of my female "Midling" characters. This fanfiction is rated PG-13 for violence and mature themes. I hope you will take some time to read and review it!!!!

P.S. In the future, there will be a web page for this fanfiction which will post images and song lyrics that go with it. It will be updated along with the story. When I have created this site, and each successive time I update it, I will let you know in an Author's Note at the beginning of a story chapter.

P.S.S. I sometimes communicate with my readers via my author bio. If a story has not been updated after a considerable length of time, the reason why will more than likely be given on that page.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Tolkien or Arda or Middle Earth. Aside from the original characters of this story, it all belongs to J.R.R. and Christopher. I don't own the USA or any historical figures mentioned herein either. I make no profit off this composition other than my own enjoyment, so please don't send me to Copyright Row in a federal penitentiary.

IMPORTANT: Read this first.

Author's Notes: O.K. In the first place, if you haven't read the preface, turn your browser right around and do so before continuing. I write those things for a reason: so that people won't get confused by the story content. The preface eliminates a lot of questions you might have for me in a review by giving the answers in the beginning. It also often makes my cases for some of the fic's plot elements, giving the explanation for why I am writing a certain part of the story in a way you may question. Anyway, it's not just a preview or summary, and it's definitely beneficial for you to take a look at it.

To let you know, some of the sources for the content of this prologue come from various chapters of The Silmarillion. If you're curious as to where I got some stuff, or how much is Tolkien and how much is me, just ask me in a review or e-mail. Also, in this prologue, there is a reality of Tolkien's world that I've had to disallow: In The Silmarilllion, it is told that the Valar created the sun and the moon, and that what these two celestial bodies actually were, were vessels steered by appointed Ainur. These light-bearing vessels issued from Valinor, and were actually small enough to land back on Valinor at the close of their cycle to let their pilots take a rest. Well, obviously, if American history and modern science are brought into the environment of Tolkien's originally conceived Arda, this reality for the sun and moon is utterly impossible and incoherent. We landed on the moon; it's no little vessel with some supernatural pilot, it's like a little planet. The sun, which is thousands of times huger than the earth, touching down for a rest is unspeakably ridiculous. Besides, if they spent part of their cycle in Valinor, then there would be a time here on Earth when it seemed to us that the sun and the moon disappeared from our reality, which they would, traveling along the Straight Path into the secret dimension where Valinor is hidden from humanity. But, of course, we know from our telescopes that the sun and the moon are always physically present and accounted for; and, of course, we also have seen that the sun is stationary while the earth is the "traveling vessel". Thus, for this fanfiction, I will simply have to pretend that Tolkien never wrote his fantasy about the origin of the sun and the moon-and I don't like to have to do that to his writing, but I think most of you will agree that, in this extreme case, there really isn't much choice. Oh well. (I suppose that, in this altered version of Tolkien's world, it would have been Iluvatar who created the sun and the moon-I mean, the Valar worked on making the earth for millennia; how many eons would it have taken them to make the sun?

Would they have made all the other planets too? Why? In Tolkien's day, astronomy wasn't super-common knowledge, so his fantasy ideas went over; but, in more educated 2004, this scenario simply doesn't make sense and doesn't work; so, let's just assume it was God Who created the sun, moon, and remaining solar system.) Another note on the sun and the moon: Tolkien authored that, upon their birth, the moon rose before the sun. This circumstance was, again, tied up with the idea of the two bodies being magical vessels; so, because this fanfiction does not incorporate that concept, I have also had to alter that sequence of events and caused the sun to rise first. This is the movie universe, though, and not the book universe; and besides, the origin of the sun and the moon

really isn't important to the plot of LOTR or this fanfiction anyway. I just thought that perhaps, if you were familiar with Tolkien's writing on the subject, you might appreciate an explanation as to why I was not true to that aspect of his reality. One last thing: In his works, Tolkien often makes a note of capitalizing the words "time", "earth", and "men"; so, I will follow suit. (That is, I'm being intentionally grammatically incorrect.)

You will also notice I have rather altered the course of American history. Basically, what I have tried to do is incorporate various elements of world history into ours in order to preserve the present reality and culture that we have in the USA. I also had to throw in a few fantasy elements to make this concept work within Tolkien's Arda. Western hemisphere geography has taken a pretty big hit too, but, oh well, at least I saved the rainforest. South America is not a continent, just a tiny little region of land to the south of us-I just barely left it there because later on, my story really does need the rainforest to exist. Canada is gone all together, along with Mexico.

One challenge was the explanation for the rise of modern culture. In the real world, things like democracy and women's lib. arose because of abuse and injustice. In Tolkien's world, however, people, quite frankly, are generally nicer. Sure, there was some abuse by kings and macho men, but nothing so widespread as real history-Middle Earth was more like Camelot than the real Middle Ages. Thus, why would our people be different? What would have made our abuse so severe that we invented modern culture? I tried to come up with a fantasy reason in Staves VI and VII; I'd sure appreciate some feedback on it.

This prologue possesses two main themes: Men in general and the Men who founded our anomalous modern country. I played around a little with guessing at some of what Morgoth may have done to twist Men in the beginning. Please tell me what you think.

On seers: As stated in the foreword, I have played them up; however, I do have selections of Tolkien's writings which can serve to demonstrate their true importance in his world. At the moment, however, I would prefer not to quote them, as doing so would spoil certain elements of surprise to be later contained within my story.

By the way, I have an interesting idea. When I read a fanfiction, I'm always impatient for the next chapter. I want to know what happens next! Well, my idea is to post just a tiny little preview at the end of each chapter for the next one. I've done that on this one-do you like that idea? Incidentally, I try to update every one to two weeks. Considering how long my chapters are, I think that's a pretty fair deal. In the case that it would be a longer length of time than that, I would let you know in an author's note.

O.K., so all that said…I talk to reviewers in the ending Author's Notes. And the preview for the next chapter is posted right before that. Also, I try to update every 1-2 weeks.

Apology: In the future, my author's notes won't be so painfully long.

Anyway, please read and review!!!

(Miss) Eureka Destiny

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All stories have a beginning. The story that I am about to tell may be said to have begun when, ages ago, the brilliant, nurturing sun, which to us is synonymous with life and existence, rose, for the very first time, to give its light. That strange, singular moment in Time was Fate's turning point for History-and, in years that lay far to the future, when countless ages had waxed and, having grown old, long since passed away, it would be said that it changed the world.

I

As is known to all, the vast and beautiful world we inhabit was, at the Dawn of Time, first brought into being by the One, Eru Iluvatar-the High Father, and Lord God of All. Setting forth His power, he fashioned the great planet which humanity calls "Earth", but which was first named by the Ancient People "Arda". Of course, History tells of the early stages of this created world: Legend tells us of the descent of fifteen high and mighty angelic beings onto this planet, to rule and order it in the name of the One. Various ancient myths speak of the fall of the greatest of this number into darkness and his sworn oath to one day reign in unending evil over all created life, thus revealing to knowledge the primeval origin of the struggle between Good and Evil. In books of archaic lore, words are written of the startling awakening on this earth of a foreign race of antiquity, an enigmatic alien people with strange abilities of supernatural power, who practiced magic and were, themselves, creatures of divinity, beings whose bodies never grew old or died, but possessed immortality, invincible even to disease. Whispers of great wars, of holy dwelling places beyond the sea, of mysterious objects of sorcery and mystical quests of peril and enchantment, come down to us through the years from the quondam past.

Among all of these fantastic tales of yore, hovever, the things which are perhaps most clearly understood by our people are these: that firstly, this planet, in that era, was held to be composed of two great continents-designated as "Valinor" and "Middle Earth", the latter laying to the east of the first-and secondly, the aforementioned Ancient People, whose race the world has since recognized in formal name as "the Eldar" or "the Elves", had issued from their abiding place on the land mass of Valinor to that of Middle Earth in the purpose of war with the legendary fallen angelic being of ancient yore, whom they named "Melkor" or "Morgoth" or simply "The Dark Lord". Thus, within the circles of this world, the most ancient histories known to Man relate tales of the dark horror that sought to swallow all the world in its shadow and the countless wars that were waged between its dread hosts-demons, dragons, and goblins or "Orcs"- and the high people of the immortal Eldar; and one thing more, a characteristic to us most strange, is recorded of the primeval world of ages past-that, since its creation, the planet of earth, the same that we know and tread upon, had never before been touched by the rays of the sun, nor by those of the moon, but had, for the long duration of the dominion of the Elves, lain under an eternal blanket of night whose shadow was pierced only by the gleaming sea of the ancient stars which, even in the weary day of this now changed world, still shine with the same immutable life and beauty down upon this mysterious earth. Doubtless, this relation seems a thing fantastic and unbelievable to those who have never walked in a world apart from the sight of the golden sun and the ivory moon; yet, in the far distant past, even was it so for all those who, since the Dawn of Time, had dwelt upon the face of the earth.

Thus, it can be imagined what were the reactions of the world's inhabitants when, on a certain time, the dark western sky was suddenly split by a low line of red and yellow light. Startled out of their common tasks of life, the Elder Children of the earth threw their gazes to the heavens in speechless astonishment as far off in the distant West, the strange golden light continued to spread. Those who witnessed that day, the first day, will never forget the awe which utterly possessed the world in that moment in time, when, with a glory before unparalleled, a mysterious auric circle slowly peeked up in solitude over the edge of the ancient world called Arda, which for all its numbered centuries, had as yet known only the gentle glimmer of starlight under a dome of ebony.

With numerous fearful gasps and amid countless joined cries of "What is it?!", the Eldar gawked long at the miraculous change they beheld occurring both in the sky and in the world about them. As the bizarre wheel of light progressed in its ascent above the horizon, it gained intensity of brightness, until all were forced to turn their eyes away from its substance, lest they be blinded-while, all the time, the brilliance emanating from the fiery sphere stretched and spread ever further throughout creation, flooding the sky, glistening on the water, filling the spaces under heaven, until finally all the world was illuminated under its path and the air was expanded with a soft swelling of warmth that seemed to breathe a new life into all that lay in existence.

For a few moments, a hushed silence descended upon the ranks of the Firstborn. They peered out over the wide sea, sparkling with a glassy, golden sheen; they turned their eyes to the land, wrapped in dazzling hues of vibrant color where aforetime had been the universal enshroudment of a sea of silver-grey; they beheld their kindred, looking one upon the other, as fairer than had before been visible, their hair shimmering in the light, their faces glowing 'neath the halation of the heavens; and, last of all, they gazed in startled amazement upward into the sky, newly tainted a light blue and adorned with great masses of shining white that reflected the border of a golden-fringed horizon-and then, with widened eyes and pounding heartbeats, an enraptured light was kindled in their fair faces, and they were filled with wonder and delight! Here was a joy unspeakable! The world revealed forth in light so great and overpowering cast, as it seemed, a veil of glory and beauty over all created things; and far off to the north, the fell creatures of Morgoth, in the midst of battle with their foes, cowered down from the sky in writhing terror and fled in anguish from the fields down into the deep bowels of the earth, desperate to escape the hideous radiance which blinded their eyes and seared their flesh.

As the Elves of the West, beholding the many monsters of their great enemy scatter in chaos before the bright dawn, sent up a loud cry of victory, the servants of Morgoth scrambled to the dark throne of their master in great panic and alarm. "Great Lord!" cried the chieftain of a host of evil spirits. "There is a great light in the sky come out of the West, a terrible sphere of flame that devours all the world in its radiance! The Orcs could not endure its touch, and even the demons and fell beasts of thy service cringed beneath its power! It ascends an invisible path through the heavens, climbing ever higher, its light and warmth emanating with corresponding increase of strength and potency and causing our forces ever greater harm the longer they endeavor to remain beneath its all-consuming brilliance! What counsel are we to take, Sovereign Master? If the dread wheel of light remain, then surely our foes will triumph over us and thy realm pass into ash and dust! Is there no manner in which the great fire of heaven may be resisted by your servants?"

With a deathly expulsion of darkness and dread aura of power, the Great Enemy of the World, Melkor Morgoth, all at once arose in great haste from his lofty throne, an expression of what appeared to be acute anxiety suddenly aroused in his cruel face. "You are sure of this?" he inquired fervently. Deep underground, in the fastness of his terrible stronghold of Thangorodrim, the Dark Lord had not witnessed the bright dawn over the world, and he was wont to doubt the report of his servant. "It is not a trick of sorcery by the Eldar- you clearly perceived that this great light had life of its own?" he demanded.

"Without doubt, my Lord!" returned the spirit. "This overpowering miracle is no cunning work of the Eldalie! Master, what of the war? This horror shall-Master?"

The desperate speech of the terrified spirit was cut off by the hurried descent of his Lord down the broad steps of his exalted pedestal and headlong exit from the throne room. Like a black wind, his presence passed in haste through the countless, unfathomable mazes of his subterranean halls, until his great strides reached a great, dimly lit stair. Then, up and up, Morgoth rushed to the highest towers of Thanagorodrim where a view could be had of the outside world. There was small chance his servant could be false in his message, but in a matter this great, no uncertainty could be afforded. Reaching the pinnacle of his stronghold, the Dark Lord anxiously peered out of a high window that overlooked the battlefield below; and over the dismal plains of shadow that stretched before his realm, he beheld for himself the radiant golden glow, which increased in intensity the farther from his domain of darkness one turned their eyes. Far beneath him, the Elves were rejoicing in the new light, making songs of merriment and dances of mirth. With a somber countenance, the Dark Lord gazed long upon the brightening world, seeming to observe the Eldar in their revelry; but, in truth, he was lost deep in his own dark thought, seeing nothing but the phantoms and subtleties of his innermost mind's activity. "So," he murmured in a voice low and foreboding. In a slow motion, he focused his gaze directly into the brilliant sphere of light that hung in glory within the spacious sky, blinding though it was. "At last."

II

Among the dimly lit shadows of Thangorodrim's cavernous throne room, the many servants of Morgoth were gathered together in raucous debate. With strident outbursts and blatant cries, their fulminating arguments concerning the course of action which should be taken against the new light of the sky rose ever higher and louder throughout the hall.

"SILENCE!" an unfathomably deep voice suddenly boomed amidst the clamor.

A frigid terror gripped the heart of every perverse creature in the chamber as instantly, the cacophony died. Within the huge archway of stone that opened into the throne room stood the returned Dark Lord, his hard face glowering down on the multiple rings of fell beings beneath him. With a universal shiver of fear, the numerous Orcs and demons quickly straightened themselves to an obeisant stance of attention, their gazes cast to the obsidian floor.

As soon as he held his servants' proper, silent respect, Morgoth directed his piercing countenance to the spirit who had first addressed him, crossing his broad arms in a stance of careful consideration. "The great light of the heavens, the bright circle of fire-how long hence has passed since it first strode over your heads?" he inquired in a deep tone of fervent apprehension.

The scrutinized demon shuddered under the burning intensity of his master's gaze. "It arose in majesty out of the western sky not one brief hour ago, and the Children of the One hailed to see it! Under its light, they drove us in disgrace back to these halls, and still their songs of victory may be heard through the walls! Master, what is thy will in this matter? Surely, we can not return to meet our foes in battle with this abhorrent brilliance all about us?"

Lifting his eyes from the tremulous demon, Morgoth spoke thoughtfully, his attention fixed on a secret contemplation of his own mind. "A mere hour-that is well."

His many servants glanced one to the other in a silent state of perplexion. They cringed as a heavy, oppressive darkness seemed to diffuse throughout the hall, seeping out from their master's brooding state of mind.

With a strange light in his eyes, Morgoth evenly addressed the flustered ranks of his minions. "Calm yourselves. A span of twelve hours hence, and this "overpowering miracle", as you name it, will diminish and pass away to naught-and while truly, in another twelve hour span it shall issue forth again, for that time of waiting, there shall lay renewed darkness over all this land, though ever on it will now falter, assaulted by the ivory glow of a second circle of light. Nonetheless, this second-coming light's power is weak beside that of the first, and in that time, our counsels and movements henceforth shall be. But look you all-in days following, as the periodic waning of darkness draws nigh, keep a watch for slow-waking light in the eastern sky; the golden circle hails its path from the West once only, as a sign."

The one demon chieftain peered up at his lord with slowly-widening eyes. "Master," he spoke in hushed bewilderment, "knew you that this terror was approaching?"

With what could almost have been called a smirk, the Dark Lord re-lowered his gaze to the hideous multitudes of his servants. "Knew I?" he mocked in a voice swollen with sarcasm. His creatures of servitude blinked, suddenly possessed by a feeling of great disquiet. With a low laugh which rumbled like an ominous roll of thunder throughout the spacious chamber, the towering Vala strode across the ebony floor to re-mount the high steps to his throne, heedless of the many throngs of his servants that fearfully stepped aside to make way for his path. Settling into his great marble chair, he briefly looked back over the discomposed and dismayed faces of his legions. A cruel, foreboding smile slowly spread across his lips as he spoke in a tone grim and terrible. "Since ever Time began, I have been awaiting it."

The same demon captain, unnerved by his master's seemingly deranged countenance and odd words, swallowed with uncertainty. "My Lord-

With a hideous rumble, Morgoth laughed again, more potently this time, slaying with dread the words on his servant's tongue. Turning his attention to the lofty ceiling of the chamber, several stories above which the underground ceased and the Eldar had their encampment under the open air, the Dark Lord tilted his head, listening intently. Faintly discernible through the alpine roof of stone, was the fair sound of a myriad of Elvish voices, lifting in high, clear tones mirthful songs of joy which praised victorious battle and blessed the appearance of the brilliant new light.

With a sardonic expression, swaying his head side to side in rhythm with the Elvish melodies, Morgoth leered at the cheerful music. "Yes, yes, sing on Quendi. It delights you, does it not, the new light? When it first arose, did it thrill you? Were you awestruck, then lovestruck? Do you adore it, do you take pleasure in its warm touch on your flesh, joy in its dazzling beauty? Your beauty-loving eyes drink it in, drink in its radiance and glory. Oh yes, you deem its bright gold very beautiful, very lovely indeed, and how timely to aid you in your need. Sing on, merry Eldar, and praise it-PRAISE THE BRIGHT COMING OF THE SUN!" he suddenly taunted in a loud jeer, his reverberating laughter chilling the soul of every fell creature in the wide hall. "The high Eldalie, so foolishly proud in your lofty race, you would know so little," he scoffed. His lips forming a cruel smile, Morgoth lowered his tone to an ominous murmur. "The appearance of this wondrous light you so love and bless marks, not the dawn of your people's fortune, as your fair songs tell, but its end. The beautiful light of the sky you praise as your deliverance is, in truth, the symbol of your doom; the luminescence which is now your greatest joy will come to be the cruel author of your kindred's deepest grief; and, in the fullness of time, the shining sphere of fire, that you pledge your innocent hearts' love to, will betray you, down into ruin and a darkness that will surpass the one you walked in 'ere it came. For indeed, the great circle of gold arises in declaration of an awesome power and an unparalleled greatness-but it is not yours. No-pitiable people, it is not for you, not for the high princes and proud queens of the Eldalie, that the mighty sun has risen."

With widened eyes, the many creatures in the throne room slowly lifted their gazes upward to the heights of the cavern's roof. "The sun?" they tremulously whispered.

In a swift motion, Morgoth clapped his hands, his scrutiny fixed on the foul masses before him. "Bring forth my stealthiest spirits and swiftest beasts," he ordered. "There is an errand of great urgence which must be seen to."

A Balrog lieutenant blinked, his brow furrowed with confusion. "But, my Lord, those of your servants with the most skill and subtlety are in fast labor on the devices of thy war-

"Their minds may refresh themselves in the neglect of their duties for a time," Morgoth sharply replied. "There is a matter arisen which my attention is directed to before all else; and I will suffer no insurgence of this counsel," he spoke in a low, dangerous tone, coldly eying the numerous throngs of his servants, who shuddered under his glaring gaze and drew themselves to a rigid posture of respect. "Now, my swiftest and most cunning servants-summon them immediately!"

That night, only a few brief hours after the red-gold light of the first sunset had faded beneath the horizon, the Dark Lord of Middle Earth stood upon the open summit of Thangorodrim before a large gathering of dreadful spirits and fell winged creatures of darkness. "Scour all the land!" he shouted. "Search far and wide, over field and forest, seek high and low, from mountain to dell! Let your swift flight take you to the corners of East, South, North, and West, and cease never to rest or to hunt for any other save your sworn prey! Across all of Middle Earth, pursue your quest! The first of you that brings me word of my quarry shall have, henceforth, the highest honor and rank which may be bestowed among those who perform such acts of spying in my service! NOW GO!" he commanded. "GO FORTH IN ALL HASTE AND SEEK OUT THAT WHICH HAS BEEN INSTRUCTED TO YOU!"

At their master's bidding, the many fell creatures, amidst a myriad of bloodcurdling shrieks and hideous rushing of wings, raised off the rocky platform and speedily departed into the far reaches of the night sky, each one eager to be the favored messenger who would first return with tidings of their lord's desire. From the concealing shadow of an overhanging ledge of rock, a tall, ominous figure watched in unison with the Dark Lord the rapidly fading line of winged monsters against the horizon. "Master," he spoke, "do you believe tidings of this matter will arrive soon?"

"That can only be hoped for, Sauron," Morgoth replied. "The knowledge of location in these affairs is not grasped by even the ones across the sea…" Here Morgoth spoke with a voice hard and bitter, in hateful remembrance of his ancient enemies of might. "However," he evenly continued, "My agents will move with a terrible swiftness, and Middle Earth is not so vast that it is beyond thought. I hold that, 'ere long, a message shall indeed be brought back to my ears of that which I seek-and, in that hour, the doom of the Quendi shall be all but full wrought," he finished with a sinister smile, his gaze hovering pleasurably over the last distantly vanishing streak of his embarked minions.

With the deepest air of curiosity, Sauron stepped out from the veiling shadow, emerging into the view of sight. "My Lord," he inquired intrusively, "wilt thou now at length and last share thy secret thought with me, the foremost servant of Morgoth the Sovereign? I implore you, Master, reveal to me-what is it that you seek?"

With a spine-tingling chuckle, the Dark Lord slowly turned to face his inquisitive servant. Meeting his gaze, he leisurely folded his arms in a self-pleased stance as his twisted lips steadily spread in a chillingly evil smile.

III

There is warmth.

The thought suddenly formed in his mind, like a small water droplet which suddenly condenses out of a hazy mist. He was aware of it; he felt its substance, its essence, seeping into his skin. Painfully sensitive, he slightly shivered under its numbing touch.

There is noise.

Out of silence, a low, soft rushing faintly pricked his ears; the next moment, he felt a mild coolness sweep over his skin and a gentle force tussle his hair. Then, a steady, quiet bubbling slowly began to build inside his hearing. All at once, right after, a shrill, wavering pitch broke across the smooth, continuous sounds; and then, the single high note seemed to be joined on all sides by countless others, until the piping tones were melted together into a myriad of rippling, treble melodies, swelling throughout the entire range of his hearing, which suddenly exploded open like a flower bursting into bloom.

There is softness.

He sensed a cool, loose substance on his back, on his neck, his arms, his legs, his hair. It pushed firmly against him, yet it was soft; gently, it tickled his skin, now and then, quietly rustling with the return of the mysterious rushing sound. Ever more keenly, he felt its supporting presence and registered its unpredictable shifting beneath the cool, periodic force of passing movement.

There is scent.

Strange sensations began to awaken inside his nose. Deep, rich odors wafted into his nostrils, carrying a feeling of tingling energy with them. Others, sweetly strong, floated about with a sense of calm and delight. Still others, musky but mild, hung over him with a steady atmosphere of age and maturity.

There is movement.

Gently, he sniffed in mild reaction to the bizarre impressions occurring within the space of his nose; then, all at once, he reeled in shock as an overwhelming rush of air suddenly flooded through his nostrils and swept down his throat, filling him up inside. With an acute gasp of agony, his chest rose sharply into the air and then, abruptly collapsed again as the air relinquished in the same manner back out of him. Only a moment after, again the air poured into him with the same forceful intensity and then back out again-and over and over again. The more times the action was repeated, however, the more greatly the pain of it was diminished; until at last, the air was easily flowing in and out of his lungs, his chest gently rising and falling.

Soon, other strange sensations began to awaken within him. A periodic thumping began to sound in his ears. With strong drive, a deluge of liquid started to rush to every part of his body, shocking and warming his skin. His flesh tingled from the mounting warmth inside and outside him, trembling with the ceaseless gusts of cool air that persisted in rustling his hair, perpetrating a war between heat and cold. His ears pounded with the growing volume and assortment of sounds that continued to swell around him. On and on, countless strange scents poured into his nose to the point of irritation.

Then, suddenly, he was aware of a mild discomfort; gently, his eyelids began to twitch. The heavy, all-pervading darkness enwrapping his reality all at once seemed thinly penetrated. As the pinpointed aggravation increased, dozens of thoughts began to sporadically race through his mind, like suddenly birthed, ever-widening ripples across the waters of a long still pool. His flesh trembled, tingling and itching, from the numerous bizarre activities swirling beneath it. Louder and louder, the repetitive thumping pounded in his ears, harder and harder, the warming fluid rushed through his frame. With a sudden, slight motion, his fingers began to grope along the ground, grope with uncertainty in the darkness that still enshrouded him. More and more, however, the darkness seemed to be melting, evaporating, lifting away its heavy touch, as the thoughts of his mind came stronger and stronger, and swifter and deeper. Then, his eyelids violently quivering, the one thought sprang suddenly into his consciousness.

There is light…

In a single, rapid motion, his eyes snapped open, the enveloping darkness scattering from around his body. All at once, an abundance of light flooded into his upturned orbs, blinding his vision. His pupils shrinking to pinpoints, a startled gasp of pain ripped from his throat as he squeezed his eyelids shut again, flinging his hands over his face. Then, a few moments later, he hesitantly withdrew his hands and, again, slowly lifted his eyelids open, this time partway. Gradually, his vision adjusted to the incoming brilliance, until finally, he was able to raise his lids completely. Blue met his gaze-blue broken by various patches of white.

Swallowing in confusion, he turned over onto his stomach and then, felt his hand suddenly submerged in something cold. With a start, he withdrew his hand and quickly pulled himself up onto his knees. Lifting his hand up to his face, his brow furrowed in puzzlement as he beheld several tiny spheres of a cool, clear substance clinging to his skin. Looking past his fingers, he then noticed, directly before him, a wide expanse of blue, sparkling and changing from moment to moment. Curiously, he leaned over its surface; and there, wavering with the flowing blue, was a bizarre image at the sight of which he abruptly started in astoundment.

Within the glassy ripples, a strange creature existed. Its skin was a fair, ruddy-tinted tone, but its wavy hair was a rich dark brown. Brown also were its startled eyes, gazing inquisitively up at him. As the kneeling observer opened his mouth in astonishment, the odd creature below him did likewise. Tilting his head, he discovered that that action also was repeated back to him. Then, as he intently peered into the creature's face, his eyes began to widen in gradual realization. Slowly, he lifted his hands to his face, his fingers hesitantly lighting on its flesh as, with amazement, he scrutinized the rippling image.

Suddenly, an icy hand firmly gripped his shoulder from behind, its long nails digging into his flesh. With a gasp, he wheeled around, a fierce light kindled within his eyes as he ripped the clinging fingers off of his skin, roughly grabbing the cold claw just above its wrist-but it wasn't a claw. It was a hand, like his own, only smaller and more delicate-and softer. With a startled blink, his gaze fell on the sharp talons to discover that they were merely fingernails, identical to his own, except that they were longer and glistened with a purer, brighter sheen of white.

Astonished, he raised his head to the creature in his grasp. A strange face met his gaze-like his own it was and yet not so. Its features matched those of the creature's he had just beheld; but they were more thinly formed, more delicately shaped. The new creature's skin, also, was smoother and possessed of more color while its large eyes, bordered by thicker, longer lashes, were a striking deep blue. With great abundance and glossy shimmer, its pale golden hair flowed exceedingly long, rippling all the way to its hips. Its slender frame, also, was of different shape, curving in an odd way along the trunk and blossoming forward in two firm mounds at the chest. Everything about the new creature seemed to be an exaggeration of himself, an image of the same possessed characteristics, only softer and finer-and fairer. Suddenly, with a touch of mystery, it seemed to him that, of all the new wonders he had just beheld, it was the fairest.

The lovely creature trembled in his fast grip, its large blue orbs full of fear. With widened eyes, he slowly released its delicate hand, feeling his breath catch in a strange way in his throat. The fair being turned in haste to depart, but with a swift motion, he again reached out and caught its hand, only gently this time. Slowly, the creature turned its head back to meet his gaze. Its full crimson lips softly parted as, with deep acquisitiveness, it studied him.

Suddenly, a shrill note, accompanied by a soft rushing, sounded as a strange winged creature swooped down very near to them and then, just as rapidly soared back up again, in the process lightly brushing their heads. The fair being beside him let out a high-pitched shriek of fear and lunged forward into his chest, again clinging to his frame. On some strange instinct, he automatically drew his arms around the creature's slender frame, softly stroking its silky golden hair. Hesitantly, it glanced up at him, its quivering eyes uncertain. For some odd reason, an enormous feeling of happiness seemed all at once to overtake him, and he smiled down at the nervous being in his embrace. Slowly blinking, it held his gaze; then, shyly, it smiled back, its large eyes lighting up with a joyful sparkle.

His smile widening, he happened to look past the fair creature; and suddenly, his expression was changed from contentment to astonishment. With a confused blink, the lovely being in his arms also turned its head to the space behind them; then, it started as well. There before them, lying upon the green grass, were dozens and dozens of beings like themselves, of all different colorings and traits, each one still and silent with serenely shut eyelids. Swallowing in wonder, they gazed out over the sleeping multitude-and then, something else caught both of their eyes.

Majestically hanging at a low point in the sky was what appeared to be a great circle of red-golden light. With overpowering radiance, it cast a brilliant glow over everything it touched; and both creatures now realized that this object was the source of the mysterious light which had awakened them. Standing together, they stared out into the western sky in awe and wonder; and then, their gazes returned to the slumbering mass before them as, one by one, being touched by the circle's golden rays, they each slowly began to stir and their quivering eyelids gently lift open to discover the world.

IV

Thus, in a far eastern valley which the Eldar remember as Hildorien, was a new race of beings awoken in the world of Arda. Upon their rising, all together they beheld with wonder the bright sun above them and the beautiful earth around them; and for their leaders, they took those related two of their number who had first arisen. As days went by, they slowly established a primitive form of dwelling within the secluded valley. They proved to be an extremely adaptable people, very resourceful-and also, highly inquisitive. Whereas the Elves, upon their ancient awakening, had merely admired the strange environment about them, this new race of creatures was discontent to simply observe. With insatiable curiosity, they picked the fair flowers beneath them and meticulously dissected their fragile parts, searching for explanation of their substance. For long hours, they scraped the bark from slender trees and plucked the flimsy shafts of grasses from the ground, in an eager endeavor to learn of their hidden characteristics. With an intense scrutiny, they methodically studied everything around them, driven by an irrepressible desire to understand, to fathom the vast complexity of the things they saw-and thus, did they ever strive to comprehend the world, whereas aforetime, it had been merely revered.

The Elves remember also that, in those days, a strange change came over nature. The life force of all things began to flow at a quicker pace, with new vigor and spirit. The world breathed as if, having long been set in a calm, still pool, it was suddenly being tossed to and fro by impatient ripples of change. Living creation was burgeoning and blossoming, saturated with an aura of growth and youth. It truly seemed as if almost, a feeling of restlessness hung like an omnipresent canopy over all the land.

The newly awakened people, dwelling by the river, had as yet, no highly sophisticated means of verbal communication. Though they had begun the process of devising a spoken language among themselves, their progress was slow, and so, for the most part, they still existed in a mute environment, communicating by facial expression or bodily gesture. Often, however, they perceived that strange forms of messages would come to them in the water, inscrutable expressions of kindness and amity. Truly, it was the great Vala of the sea, Ulmo, who sent these benevolent communications up the river to their people; but they, unlike the Quendi, had not skill in such matters. Thus, though they loved the odd messages, they could not interpret them; and perhaps, if the case had been otherwise, many griefs of this world might have been avoided.

For it was not long 'ere one evening, they perceived that a strange shadow seemed to pass over their settlement-and then, with a shrill, horrible screech, abruptly shift its path and make back over them in the way it had come. Indeed, this was one of the fell creatures which Morgoth had dispatched to spy out Middle Earth in searching for their newly awakened kindred; and it was soon after that whispered word came to his ear of the humble dwelling by the river, where thrived a strange people.

Then Morgoth laughed aloud in his great throne room, and with all haste and at the distressed astoundment of his troops, himself departed Thangorodrim, abandoning his counsels of war with all the world of the Eldalie to seek out the valley of Hildorien. Alone he went, for he trusted this endeavor to none other than himself; and, in a short time, he came upon the habitation of the new creatures.

For awhile, with careful stealth, he watched them, observing their customs, their temperaments, their interests, and their manners of reasoning; and, within, a short while, he perceived which among them were recognized as possessing authority. Then, with especial consideration, he observed those two, the brown-headed man and golden-haired woman, discovering by small degrees their trends of thought and behavior-and when at last he felt confident that he had weighed the inclinations of this race's mind and heart to a nicety, he made his move.

On a time, it chanced that the two leaders of the settlement had strayed off from the others by themselves, adventuring deep into the forest which bordered their quiet valley. As they strolled side by side, a tall figure suddenly emerged from out of the shadows. With a warm smile, he hailed them, beckoning them to draw closer. Both were afraid and would feign have turned and fled away, but that suddenly, it seemed as though they heard voiceless thoughts within their minds. Indeed, Morgoth registered their lack of verbal ability; but, through keen observation, he had found that communication could be held with them by way of thought and subtle device of magic. Thus, the dark Vala used the powers of his high kind to impress his silent words upon the two creatures and to patiently draw out their unuttered responses.

He invited them to hold converse with him; and though warily they accepted, in a short while they were put at ease and communicated freely. At a point in their discourse, Morgoth singularly addressed the man, cleverly preventing his thought from entering into the woman's mind.

She is very fair, is she not?

With a smile, the man turned his gaze to her, his eyes aglow.

Morgoth smiled. I see that you care for her very deeply; but do you not know, my Friend, of the danger she is in?

The man started in alarm. What danger is this of which you speak? he demanded, snapping his head back up to the tall Vala's.

Inwardly, Morgoth laughed. Why this: Now she lives and loves with joy, a vibrant creature possessed of strength and beauty-but not forever, Friend. Soon, ' ere many seasons of this world are past, you will behold a change creep over her countenance. Subtly, it will begin, but with the continuous passing of the years it will grow. The golden shimmer of her hair will dull to a lusterless grey; her flawless skin will bear the marring of countless lines; her bright eyes will dim 'neath the slow sagging of their heavy lids; and her clear, sweet voice will thicken to a hoarse rasp, cracked under the burden of the years. Slowly, you will watch her beauty fade as by steady degrees she is changed into a shrunken, withered creature; and you will witness her strength gradually fail as, with each passing year, she grows weaker and weaker, her life force running thinner and thinner-until, one day, beneath the burden of age a bowed and miserable shell of her former self…she will die.

With a gasp, the man leaped to his feet. NO!!! You lie! It is not true! Such a horror could not be true!

Raising a hand, Morgoth summoned a vision to appear before the man's eyes. I have not spoken lies, and true this horror is-behold for yourself!

The man's eyes widened as he saw before him his beloved companion as she presently was, beautiful and energetic. Then, suddenly the image darkened as a hideous transformation came over her being; like woven spiderwebs, numerous lines crept over her fair face while her sparkling golden hair became as grey straw. With dull, weary eyes, she gazed at him sorrowfully, her beauty destroyed, her strength all but gone. Then, even as Morgoth had prophesied it, her lids slowly closed as she sank in exhaustion to the ground, her chest suddenly ceasing its cycle of rising and falling-and there she lay, still and lifeless, her face pale with the touch of death.

An anguished cry ripping from his throat, the man fell to his knees upon the ground, bitterly weeping with his head in his hands. The woman, ignorant of the dire vision he had just beheld, started in alarm and rushed to his side, her eyes trembling with bewildered concern. With a pale face, the man lifted his head to gaze at her; then, closing his eyes in despair, he took her in his arms and held her close, tenderly stroking her hair.

Morgoth smiled to himself. What an anguish you must endure, to lose your love so soon before the two of you have even yet begun to discover the fullness of life; but pity her not too deeply in your heart, young Friend-for this doom is not hers alone.

His eyes snapping open, the man wheeled around to face Morgoth.

With a guise of sympathy, the dark Vala continued. This same black fate, in the fullness of time, waits for you also-yea, and for all your kindred even unto the ending of the world. For Death runs in your veins more swiftly and surely than blood-and, one by one, even as your kind awoke from the darkness of sleep, so in the end will they each return back into it, only never to wake again.

The man's face was white with horror. How can this be? he cried in his mind. What cruel power conceived of this evil doom and laid it thus so mercilessly upon living creatures? What wrong have my kindred done that we should be so condemned to such suffering and grief?

No wrong have your kindred done, answered Morgoth. But this is the cruel design of the Lord Iluvatar, Maker of this world and your people, that you should thus be gifted to live only a little while, and then perish into ruin and darkness.

You have not answered, persisted the man. Wherefore has this been done to us? For what purpose is this dire fate?

There is no purpose, Morgoth returned coldly. The Maker cares nothing for your kind-wherefore he allows your swift end at his whim and gives his thought to other matters.

Is there then no way to escape? the man cried out in his mind. Is there no way by which even one of my people may be saved? What other matters does the Lord Iluvatar dwell upon that he gives no heed to us, his creation, no recourse for the abation of our grief?

Morgoth smiled. The Maker dwells most often on his greatest work, in which he takes both pride and delight.

The man blinked. What great work is this, of which you speak? he inquired.

Another kindred of creatures, such as thyselves, which He wrought into being ages before the awakening of your people, Morgoth told him. They are His first and dearest work-His beloved, favored above all by even His high servants from beyond the world. The Quendi they are named, and the Firstborn, the Eldar, and the Eldalie. To their people the high Maker gives the gift of life everlasting; and upon their immortal bodies, he has bestowed a beauty and a glory which far surpasses thine. For Iluvatar has fashioned their kindred to dwell in bliss and majesty unending, the awe and envy of all other living creatures.

With an enraged countenance, the man lashed out with his thoughts. The people of my race are a thought in the mind of the Maker but for a little while, while the people of His first making are near to His heart for eternity? What gross injustice is this, what cruel and careless Lord is this Iluvatar? My beloved and I shall wither and perish while others live and laugh in their joy? Surely this world is an evil place, and its maker an unworthy Lord!

Even so did I often brood in solitude, stated Morgoth calmly, until at last, I came to a somber counsel-the unjust authority of the Lord Iluvatar must be overthrown-and with it, the dominion of the Eldar. For they are the great persecutors of this world, arrogant and heedless of all other living peoples, whom they deem lesser than themselves. Even now, they make war upon my realm without cause. But look you-your people might aid me in my struggle against them; and then perhaps, when they are overthrown, their gift of immortality may pass to your kindred, and all your griefs come to an end.

Sharply startled, the man's lips widely parted. Are you certain of this fact-if we lend you aid in this war against the lofty Firstborn, will our people truly inherit their deathlessness?

Their deathlessness and their place, Morgoth assured. I believe that most truly. I see now that our meeting here was purposed, my Friend, to bring aid and good to us both. I implore you-lead me forth to your people that we may share with them the knowledge and hope that we have discovered!

Gladly, the man assented, rising to his feet, and it will be our pleasure to talk with thee of war tonight! Taking hold of the woman, who as yet was ignorant of all that had befallen between her two companions, he led the dark Vala through the forest back to their people's encampment.

Thus, did the Great Enemy of the World, Melkor Morgoth, enter into the first dwelling place of man. With mixed emotions, at first, was he received; though many eagerly trusted him, some there were in the beginning who were inclined to be wary of his presence, perceiving that some strange disquiet had begun to settle over their encampment upon his sudden arrival. Notwithstanding, however, it was not long 'ere Morgoth had put all doubts and suspicions to rest; and quickly he became their honored friend and guide. For the people found that he had great knowledge of many things, of tree and fruit and beast and weather-and they loved him for it and revered his counsel. Thus, in time, did he begin to speak to them as he had with the first man, concerning the coming of death and the hope of escaping it through war with the Firstborn.

Death will devour you all to dust! he fervently proclaimed. Your husbands, your wives, your children-unless you be noble enough to hinder it! With many fell visions and vehement speech, the dark Vala urged the people to a counsel of war; and within the hearts of their kindred, a cold fear began to be stirred up of death, and an envious hatred of the Quendi, who suffered it not.

Other discontents Morgoth also wove. To the women he brought warning of the matchless beauty of the Elvish maidens, foretelling that if the men of their kind looked upon them, they would leave themselves abandoned. So did the women of the people begin to grow jealous and bitter that, being already set below the daughters of the Eldalie in loveliness, their fairness should be thus doomed to yet worsen even far more sorely under the burden of old age. The many parents who constantly tended the illnesses of their young children were resentful also of a people whose little ones were never tormented by disease or bodily suffering. The men of the settlement were filled with envy by the tale of a kindred whose strength and stamina never grew weary, and who could remain, with ease and comfort, awake for days on end, their bright eyes not bowing with the need for sleep. Thus, was the influence of Morgoth spread far and wide; and soon the people began to believe in his words and to make counsel for war-and they cast great stones and logs into the stream beside their dwelling, convinced by the dark Vala that the strange messages running up it were omens of evil which must needs be silenced.

As all of their kindred sought to prepare for war, however, two held back from the work; and these were the leaders of the race, whom Morgoth had first spoken with in the forest. They it had been who had first led him to the settlement of the people; but now, having witnessed the hostile change that had come over their brethren and having grown to sense some inscrutable darkness lurking behind the fair guise of the dark Vala, their minds were changed. Of concern to them also was his advised blocking of the stream and rejection of the mysterious messages they had always drawn calm and revitalization from. Thus, in the midst of the assembly of their kindred, they brought him to trial, questioning him long and extensively on the history and nature of both the Lord Iluvatar and the Firstborn; and though he answered all with lies smooth and subtle, at the close, the chieftain couple was yet unsatisfied and mistrustful of his motives. Thus, they ordered the clearing of the stream and the halting of their kindred's military preparations.

The seeds of Morgoth had already been sown, however, and the people held him in good faith and respect, not realizing that many of their thoughts and designs, which they imagined to have come from their own minds, had in fact their origin in Morgoth's dark influence. Thereby many of the kindred openly refused the commands of their chieftains, while others stood silent and waited to see what might occur.

Then, the ruling man spoke out loudly and harshly against Morgoth, accusing him of poisoning the minds of his people and usurping his place of leadership. Morgoth, however, grown confident in his influence among the settlement, smiled and answered: You who accuse me are the one who spreads poison; for I have offered your people hope and a future, in freedom from the bondage of death. But you, I perceive, would seek to rob them of their only chance of obtaining it, condemning them to remain a frail and hidden people of the wild.

I no longer believe the words you speak, retorted the man, that death may be taken from us in the waging of a war against thine enemies. Perhaps the Lord Iluvatar truly does not care for us, and whether or no from death there be any escape for our kindred, I do not know. But this I hold-that it lies not within the slaughter of another race of creatures, not in the destruction of the told Firstborn! Turning his gaze upon the gathered masses, he then appealed to the people. Brothers! his mind cried. Aid me! I call upon your loyalty! Help me to drive forth this dark, accursed being who has clouded our minds and darkened our hearts!

But the people all stood silent. Then Morgoth laughed aloud and mocked the man. Fool! he spake. You purposed to drive me forth from this place as one of your mean subjects? But now, if you will scorn wisdom, then claim I the rulership of this kindred! We will march to liberation apart from you and your headstrong wife!

Thereupon, Morgoth reached down and hoisted up the man and his golden-haired wife in his mighty hands; and amidst their screams and pleas for help, he flung them headlong into a great tree, slaying them vengefully. Then, all the people paled in horror, and some displayed much grief; but none were there who struck out against Morgoth. All together they silently stood and looked on their eldest chieftains, watching the red pool of blood that slowly flowed out from beneath the enormous tree roots.

Will you serve me? The question suddenly echoed within the minds of all the people in the settlement.

With trembling countenances, they turned to Morgoth. You slew our rulers, they faltered.

I know, Morgoth returned. Will you serve me?

Throughout the masses, guilt swept like a horrible flood, drowning them in grief; but beholding death before them in the bodies of their rulers, they were filled with a maddening terror that went beyond all reason. One and all, they slowly made answer: Yes.

V

No tale tells of what dark doom then befell the race of this people. Among all the archaic records of this world, there are none that speak concerning the black craft which Morgoth in that ancient hour wove over them into the very fiber of their being. It is not known whether there were ones who resisted and were destroyed, or whether all willingly bowed to evil; but, in the end, it is told that some strange perversion was wrought by Melkor in the hearts of that kindred-and that thus, a subtle darkness was within them ever after, which even if by virtue was laid to dormancy, in later ages and generations would ever and anon reawaken to trouble them.

Upon his completion of this vile work, Morgoth began the swift training of the new kindred for war; however, in his long absence, the battle had begun to go ill for his legions-and thus, in a short while, he was compelled to take leave of his pupils and return to Thangorodrim. This pleased him little, for at that time he had not yet many able followers; and also he was fast grown impatient with the slow rate at which the new creatures seemed to make progress.

Thus, upon his return, did he share a measure of his frustrations with his foremost servant Sauron. In listening to his master, the dark Maia was filled with confusion. "My Lord," he puzzled, "if these new beings are so weak beside the Eldar, less in stature, strength, and endurance, and not possessed of any magic, then how can it be that they are the race which can wield dominion over all others? How could it be that their frail selves would ever succeed to fell the Firstborn and even the high devices of the Ainur?"

"Because," answered Morgoth, "as the Elves most closely resemble Manwe and Varda, and the Naugrim Aule the Smith, so are these creatures fashioned most closely after myself. I am the mightiest of Eru's creations; and I have been gifted this power-that, whereas others of the Ainur know only the part of the One's mind from which they sprung, I can see beyond into every portion, having a small share in all others'attributes. Thus it is with this people. Their frailty is an illusion only, Sauron. Iluvatar brooded long in thought 'ere he wrought them into being. Strange gifts they have-and to them is given, in the fullness of time, dominion over this world. The Firstborn express the beauty of God; but the Secondborn represent the power of God. You will come to see, the Elves are as a very part of nature-but Men, Men are made to be its ruler."

"Men?" questioned Sauron.

"Yes, that is their name," returned Morgoth with a grim smile. "Look that you never forget it, Sauron; those frail beings, as you so name them, are the mightiest and deadliest on the face of Arda, chilling in their capabilities. Though weak they seem in the beginning, they are our greatest threat-or, if they be subdued, our greatest hope. In dealing with them, we will ever endeavor to seduce them to our service, which as result of my dark work in them, will now oftentimes come to us easily-but those who will not serve us we will destroy, utterly, even the women and children."

Sauron could not help a mocking smile. "What, will even their maidens arise in might to assail us?" he spoke dryly.

"It is no laughing matter!" snapped Morgoth harshly. "This kindred is never to be underestimated. If an end to their threat is sought, then it must entail the complete destruction of their world; it is my counsel that all Men will be either corrupted or eliminated. And, above all, it must be guarded against that they are never wholly united-for all together united, nothing within the confines of Ea will be impossible to them."

Then Sauron was silent in amazement. Finally, he spoke in a tone low and somber. "My Lord, I wish to know wherein the great power of this race lies, if not in strength of body or skill of sorcery."

Morgoth slowly smiled. "They are not content," he stated simply.

Sauron blinked. "What mean you, Master?"

"They are not content," Morgoth explained, "with the present state of things. Ever they will seek to alter and improve their existence-for which reason, they unlike the Elves, will never fade nor wane, but only wax with the passing of time. The Elves, after a time, depart for rest and bliss in the Undying Lands, but the world of Men is meant to endure and continue its influence. Iluvatar has fated them for the ultimate rulership of this world. Thus, in His provision, they possessed from the beginning a desire and a drive to establish dominion over things-but because of the work I have done in them, that natural quality will now be perverted. They will be drawn exceedingly to the thought of power and mastery, desiring rulership for its own sake-and their abilities will turn to the creation of works evil and dreadful, a great aid to myself," he finished triumphantly.

"So I see now, why you so hastily made trek to their dwelling, abandoning all else," spoke Sauron. "But what of this trait of Death they possess? Is that a provision of Iluvatar to contain their influence?"

"Nay," answered Morgoth. "Death is the One's dearest gift to them. By it, they are freed in time from their bodies and pass beyond the confines of this world to other tasks and purposes know only to Iluvatar Himself. It is this gift, partly, which gives them their power; ever are they seeking for something beyond this reality, for something higher-thus, ever will they fuel their imaginations with dreams of things not found in existence around them. But this trait has worked greatly to my advantage; I have confounded this hope with fear and made it their grief. Thus, can we ever make use of the aspect of their mortality, to tempt them toward our service with the thought of escaping what they now naively imagine to be a doom."

"All very well this is, My Lord," spoke Sauron. "But what of your frustrations? If this kindred hold the power to achieve mastery over all the world, then why have they not begun to do so? Why doth their advancement seem to come not at all?"

"I perceive," murmured Morgoth slowly, "that their development is being stifled-suppressed by the present nature of the world. The Elves have woven an aura of changelessness over Middle Earth, a will to preserve things from the influence of time; and so the kindred of Men is living under its enchanted power. For this reason, their numbers are growing but slowly, and their drive to wring change is remaining in a state of latency-a clever design of the One, no doubt," he scowled.

"What then, will He give them dominion and then hinder it?" puzzled Sauron.

"Nay," realized Morgoth. "He will merely leave greatly dormant their abilities until the time be right for their releasal." With a cruel smile, he continued. "But perhaps, if the clouding influence of the Firstborn be removed, we may see them burgeon more swiftly."

"But, My Lord, what if their people seek ever to aid the Eldar against you?" queried Sauron.

"We must endeavor to estrange the two kindreds," agreed Morgoth. "But natural aid we will have in that; the Elves will not well understand the hearts of these new creatures, who perceive the world in a different light than themselves. And least of all will the proud rulers of the Eldalie conceive of the hidden potential within the race of Men, which they will deem weaker than themselves in every facet, both in body and in magic."

"Excellent," smiled Sauron. "Then it will be that their powers for greatness shall be concealed from all but us. Men themselves will little guess their own worth. And in the purpose of estrangement, we may thus ever provoke the Elves to look upon the Afterborn as their usurpers, and Men to behold the Firstborn as the unjustly favored and more greatly beloved of the One."

"There is something else," spoke Morgoth slowly. For a moment, he hesitated before somberly continuing. "One gift, which at their conception Iluvatar entrusted to Men, holds terrible danger, apart from whether or no their other capabilities remain latent. It is not common to all of their kindred, but exists only within a chosen few of their number. I searched for it thoroughly among their ranks; but it had not yet come forth. Indeed, exceedingly rarely will it emerge, perhaps appearing only but a small number of times 'ere the ending of this world is come; but, in the brief days amid the countless ages, when it does hail forth, the power and influence expelled at that time will send ripples all the way through to the second creation of the world! It is this: the divine gift from the One to know the future-to behold the unfolding of the Song of Arda as if seated by the throne of Iluvatar-to perceive his high plans and purposes for the world and to comprehend their meaning. And around the holy words of these chosen mortals, much of the fate of Arda will be wrought."

"But, Master," interrupted Sauron, "such gift the high among the Elves possess. Do not the rulers of the Eldar behold visions and see with foresight?"

"True," answered Morgoth. "But herein the difference lies: the Eldar may sometimes perceive the future by the inherent magic which runs in their veins; but the Men who perform this act will do so by the special anointing of the One. Therefore will their skill surpass that of the Eldar in many ways. Their visions will come far stronger, continually and unrestrained, on matters of both the near and the far future, nearly unlimited in scope and precision; and whereas at whiles the foresight of the Elves may prove false, the inspired prophecies of Men will never fail to come to fruit, unless they be expressly a warning that is heeded. For Iluvatar will choose these few of the race of Men to be His appointed messengers to the whole of Arda, the bearers of His will and plans. He will hallow their words, and they will proclaim his dooms and purposes to Ainur and Eruhini alike; and they will not blindly see, but comprehend as well the meaning and wisdom of their visions. And, their foresight, proceeding not from object of power nor from inherent sorcery such as the Elves', but from the very mind of Iluvatar, shall in the day of its blooming, be the holiest and most priceless treasure to be sought in the world."

Sauron's eyes widened. "Great knowledge we may have of these chosen few, My Lord; great aid would they be in thy counsels against thine enemies."

"Invaluable aid," replied Morgoth. "But they will likely prove of all living creatures the most difficult to turn to my service; for they are appointed by the One Himself for their position, and Iluvatar does not choose unwisely. I judge they will be noble people, with exceeding strength of these virtues: humilty before the One, truthfulness of speech, and caring for the people of this world-for thus is this what an able and trustworthy messenger of God must be. Moreover, their gift will bring them close to the mind and will of the One; they will know they are His trusted servants and possess a strong inclination to remain faithful to His service. Bending them to the will of His enemies will be a great challenge."

"It will be a long, tiring struggle between our will and theirs," agreed Sauron wearily. "And from all you say, I gather that some of their number may die of exhaustion from the battle before they break."

"NO, NO!!!" Morgoth quickly shouted. "THEY MUST NOT DIE, SAURON! Know this and keep it with you always-the people of which I speak are the rarest treasures to be found within the confines of this world, made rarer by the extreme brevity of their mortal lives. It may be that, within the space of ten thousand years, only one will appear. In the days when one of these appointed Men live upon Arda, they are to be your foremost fear and, perhaps, chiefest concern. In the hands of our enemies, these lone individuals could wring our ruin; indeed, if their gift is discovered, they will be guarded relentlessly by the united legions of all the world at any cost, bearing the title of seers, and being employed of rulers to discover our secret designs. The power to be had from them is too great and too rare. If ever one comes into our custody, we will endeavor, by all of our cruel arts and force, to break his will and bow him to our realm-but we must never allow the ending of his life. Kings we will slay, and Elvish sorcerers and even Wizards-but never will we reach forth to smite a seer! They are utterly invaluable; even if it seems that turned they will not be, nonetheless, they will not meet death at our hands. We will continue to attempt their corruption until the natural end of their lives come, but with given care not to press too harshly, least they perish from torment or exhaustion. Too precious are they to ever relinquish the hope of. In no event, is their blood to ever be spilled, for the sake of any desperate purpose or venture."

Sauron blinked. "How are we to discover the presence of these seers, as you name them?" he inquired.

"They will reveal themselves," Morgoth answered with a smile. "Not long can they conceal their gift; they are purposed to use it. But come-let us speak now of other matters. We must needs form new counsel concerning war upon the Eldar as Men's prowess may not now emerge until a far later age of this world."

Thus did the Dark Lord and his foremost servant end their discussion of the kindred of Men; and Sauron never forgot the words of his master concerning them. In ages which lay far to the future, he would take heed of their ancient discourse and employ its counsels in all of his dark and crafty designs.

As it chanced, however, by fortune or by some untold divine intervention, upon Morgoth's departure from their dwelling, a number of the Men had begun to reconsider their loyalty; and at last, this portion of them shook off their yoke of evil and withdrew from Hildorien to seek a free existence in another region of the land. Thus were they soon discovered by the Elves. By the Eldar, they were given many names: Men, the Secondborn, the Aftercomers, the Edain, the Atani-and true to Morgoth's words they were often not understood by the Firstborn or deemed to be an inferior race of creatures, being thus called by some "the Inscrutable" or "the Sickly". From the Elves, however, Men learned the art of speech and much of the manner of living; and between many Elves and Men, there arose a great friendship, even as Morgoth had feared. For by the Elves, Men came also to the proper knowledge of Iluvatar and of the Valar and of the true nature of Death as a gift to their kindred. All of this the race of Men received with wonder and gladness; but when the Elves would question them in curiosity concerning their first origins and history, the Men would fall silent with somber expressions and answer only this: "A great darkness lies behind us, and thither we do not wish to return even in thought." Nonetheless, the Elves clearly perceived that a subtle darkness lived within the hearts of this new kindred; and that, coupled with their seeming gross weakness and inferiority, ensured that there would ever be, among some of the Firstborn, a mistrust and a disdain of Men.

As is told, however, in countless ancient annals of history, in a short while, the kindred of Men began a great trek westward, over the Misty Mountains and into the region of Middle Earth which the Elves called Beleriand. They so journeyed because they had heard rumor of a great light in the West from which flowed rest and peace. Truly, they did not know that this light was to be found within the realm of the Valar across the sea, upon which sacred shore they could not set foot. Thus, ignorant of this design and filled with the longing for calm and bliss, all the arisen clans and divisions of Men together embarked on a great migration into the West of Middle Earth-all except one. Of that small, anomalous tribe of Edain, no record in Middle Earth is kept; and it is around their strange people that this tale is wrought.

VI

As has been told, the great majority of the ancient kindred of Men began a trek to the West to seek out the legendary light of the Valar; a portion of their number, however, was in dissent with this plan. They were a wary and crafty clan of people, given much to thought and strategy; and they suggested the notion that the rumor of the light might be merely a clever ploy of Morgoth to again in some manner beguile their race and bring them harm. Instead of traveling westward, they proposed a migration to the East, in the direction opposite of the beckoning light. The great remainder of the Edain, however, were ill-disposed to such a strangely paranoid idea, and hence, they pressed on with their westward course-but the dissenters became a lone people and thus, set out in solitude on a long march into the sunrise.

Now it was not long 'ere Morgoth learned of the Men who had deserted his service since the time of his return to Thangorodrim; and being filled with rage, he again himself embarked from his stronghold to either re-convert them or destroy them. Soon it was that he discovered their taken paths; and though their greater number lay on a road to the West, difficult it would be to assail them-for now they had found refuge from his malice behind the borders of the mighty realms of the Eldar and lived largely under their protection. Thus, did Morgoth direct his attention instead toward the division of the East-goers, who journeyed in small numbers and without allies away from all sources of aid.

So it was, then, that at a time in their march, the east-going Atani began to be pursued by the threat of a great shadow and darkness; but recognizing it from afar as the coming of Morgoth, they quickly fled, halting only when the exhaustion of their kind's endurance utterly demanded it. Morgoth, however, followed with terrible speed and iron resolve; and thus, the people were compelled to flee farther and farther eastward, passing even the ancient valley of their awakening at Hildorien. Ever Morgoth continued his pursuit, driving them near to insanity with terror and coming closer behind them every day, until, at the last, it seemed that he would surely lay hold of them. Just as it appeared that their clan stood beaten to the ground and lost without hope, however, tidings reached Morgoth's ears of new developments concerning the war in the West; and, though grudgingly, he was compelled to turn back-for although he held Men in great importance, yet they were not his only concern in the world. Thus was the lone, battered people spared.

Their aroused terror unabated, however, the small band aggressively continued their eastward flight, desperate to find an eternal escape from the grip of Morgoth. Thus it was that after months of difficult journey, they wandered at length beyond the borders of all known lands and out of the knowledge of all earthly peoples-and coming upon a suitable space of land, they at last halted their course and established a realm of their own, remotely secluded from the rest of Middle Earth.

Now was there great rejoicing, for it seemed that they had managed to forever elude Morgoth; and in that time also did a high and sacred event occur-within their encampment, was born into the world the first of the seers, upon which special individuals so much of Arda's fate would be based. At every turn was joy and excitement as the tribe of Men thus began to build their new abode.

Very soon was their livelihood established and their culture developed. They were a solitary people, content to be isolated from the awareness and business of all other lands; for in their judgment, the greatest ensurement of lasting safety was a state of secrecy. Nonetheless, they had employed the tactic of the periodic dispatchment of scouts back into the distant West to spy out the other wide realms of Middle Earth and learn of what became there for matters of their own security. In this way, they acquired knowledge of the unfolding tale of the remainder of their kindred and also of the many other kindreds and cultures of Arda.

Upon a certain day, however, the returning scouts rode into their village with pale faces and loud cries for an immediate mass assembly-for tidings of great evil did they bear. In their wandering, they had learned that Morgoth, always engaged in attack upon the free peoples of the West, was now openly waging his war with the purpose to conquer and enslave all of Middle Earth-and speedily was his aim being reached, the kingdoms of the Eldar steadily falling one by one.

Now were all alarmed, and straightway there arose from the gathered crowd a mighty tumult of overwrought voices. "Morgoth sought to persecute our people because we were small in number and, being lone wanderers, sundered from all aid!" were their cries. "And so he drove us farther and farther into the East, away from all settlements into a wilderness, until other dealings in the West became of greater importance! Doubtless, he thinks us perished or else long since reunited with the other peoples of the world; and in that, there is safety, for his thought turns not to our land. Yet, if the Dark One does win his war, it will not be long 'ere he casts his eye toward unexplored horizons of his kingdom and discovers us. A lone, weak people, we shall be destroyed for sport!" Thus, was their great fear.

Yet some there were who spoke out in hope. "Then let us use his present ignorance to our swift advantage," they urged. "In the time while his thought lays fixed on the many of the West, let the few of the East make fast their escape!"

"An escape to what purpose?" was nonetheless dismally answered. "To what corner of Middle Earth shall we fly but that Morgoth will find us in the end? We are doomed."

In the midst of their despair, however, the voice of one spoke out; and this man was the seer. Throughout the course of his life, he had gained great respect and honor for his recognized gift of gazing into the mysterious realm of the future and revealing the designs of Iluvatar, acting as a messenger of the One. Thus, at his arising, did all fall silent-for who dare speak when one coming in the authority of God Himself opens their mouth? And the seer spoke: "Do not give yourselves to fear! For I tell you-there is a place prepared for us beyond the shores of this Middle Earth. Back into the West we must trek, to sail in ships down the great river of Anduin into the sea-and then turn our ships east. Much preparation must be made, for this sea is the greatest in the world, and the journey will be long and wrought with hardship-but when we come to its end, to the end of the great sea, at the edge of the world we shall see a land where we may find refuge. It is the easternmost land of Arda as Valinor is the westernmost; and though its fairness is least of all shores in the world, its safety is the greatest. There shall we dwell and our descendants until the ending of Time, for the One has raised its dimensions and given it unto us, as a haven for the nature and dreams of his Younger Children."

Throughout the crowd was heard a hush of amazement. "What, a place untouched by the Elves, where Men will be the first to tread?" the people asked.

"Even so," the seer replied. "And for this reason, that land will not come forth in so great a beauty as Middle Earth; indeed, Nature there will be wild and sometimes violent. But it will be built upon the wings of Men's imagination to a height such as the Powers themselves would marvel at; for the High Father cares for His Younger Children also, as much His creation and delight as His Elder. And as long as we remain humble and faithful to His knowledge and to goodness, He will guide all of our endeavors with wisdom."

Then, the people all stood astonished. Another land of Arda, secret and apart from all? Could such a marvel be true? Incredible it seemed, and foolhardy, to all at once depart their land and sail altogether into the unknown space of the sea, searching for an undiscovered shoreline-yet none were inclined to doubt the words of the seer. Thus did they diligently begin preparation for the great voyage, crafting a fleet of ships and gathering store of supplies.

As the time drew near for them to depart, however, their lookouts suddenly espied a strange band of foreigners riding in great haste out of the West in a line toward their settlement. Growing nervous in fear, the village made ready a crude defense and dispatched a legion of men out from their encampment to question the outsiders. At sunset, however, their scouts returned to the settlement leading the strange riders beside them.

Calling an assembly, they eagerly revealed the identity of the visitors to the masses. "These men are of a people who journeyed westward and then, after dwelling a time within the realms of the Elves, turned back eastward, seeking to escape lands of war. They, as our clan, have now been forgotten by the others of the Edain; and hearing from us of our flight from Middle Earth to a hidden land all our own, they wish to join themselves to our number."

The most part of the settlement was delighted by this turn of events; for they smiled upon the strangers as their long lost brethren and were eager for the chance to thus increase their numbers. Therefore, they warmly welcomed the newcomers and bade them prepare their people to accompany them. Glad was the settlement indeed to at last have the fellowship of a kindred with which they shared like sentiments.

Thus were all unutterably shocked and dismayed when the seer of their people unexpectedly spoke out and forbade the alliance with the foreigners. "A shadow of dishonor hangs over this people," he warned. "Long did they dwell content in the lands of the Eldar; but when the Dark Lord began to make war upon those realms, their true loyalty was revealed. With slander and false accusations, they spoke out bitterly against their Elvish patrons, blaming them for the evils of Morgoth and proclaiming that the Firstborn had all along deceived their people with tales of the One and the Valar in order to keep them subdued to their wills. And while the rest of the Edain rose to the aid of their Elvish friends in battle, this people deserted their alliances and fled, thus returning to these realms. Now they would seek to claim kinship with our tribe because they perceive that we hold the power to escape from the shadow; but by their unworthy acts, we must judge them. They are a people not fast holding to knowledge of the truth, which we have been commanded to be, that thereby Iluvatar may bless our future endeavors with wisdom. They are a people not loyal to their friends, fleeing in time of trouble; and in the end, I fear that they will prove faithless to us also. And they are a people given to anger and ill conduct in the face of hardship. This bodes not well, for in the new land, it will be required of us to combat many difficulties strange and unencountered by those who dwell upon the shores of Middle Earth. I urge you, Brethren, think not lightly on these things! I do not believe it is the will of the One that these strangers go with us. Do not worry, however, of their safety; if we leave their numbers upon these shores, I behold that Iluvatar shall make provision for them and preserve them from harm-we do not abandon them to doom. The One, in His power, will establish a way for their care-but it is not destined that this succor should come from among us. The fate of their people is not appointed to be joined to that of ours. If you thus so force their union, I do not foresee that good will come out of it. My counsel is this: to hold to our first course and set forth from Middle Earth alone-and to leave these outsiders, uncalled to the task, behind. Thus will things go well for us in the days to come."

With heavy hearts was this counsel received among the people. Brief though there time together had been, already had they grown to look upon the newcomers as friends, and they were loath to leave them behind in an eternal parting. Moreover did they yearn for the expansion of their kindred to a greater number, thus adding, as they deemed, to the hope of their success in the new land. Therefore did debate arise concerning the seer's message; for though they held him in the highest honor, in this matter, they were little pleased with his words. Thus, in the end, did this people, chosen of God though they were, execute a grave unwisdom-they refused the counsel of their seer and purposed to allow the union of their people to the foreigners notwithstanding. From this foolishness did many of their kindred's later griefs spring; and thus would be bitterly revealed to them, and to all the world, what comes of not heeding the words of a seer.

VII

Thus did this forgotten kindred of Edain, now a mixed people, flee the land of Middle Earth, though some of their number would have feign remained to join their distant brothers in the war against Morgoth. Coming to the river Anduin, they sailed by night down its dim waters into the vast and uncharted sea; and then turning their ships eastward, they hailed the sunrise and began their long odyssey into its light. For months on end, did they voyage over the rough ocean waters, through storm of wind and wave, and plague of cold and hunger. Oftentimes, however, when the sea was calm, the people would emerge forth from their cabins onto the decks of the ships and call to one another on the boats which passed near to theirs. To further ease the burden of their journey, the Men would also pass the idle time with talk of the new land they were to come to, each sharing what he purposed to do upon their arrival. In this way did the Edain fleet of vessels travel for well nigh half a year, making catch of fish for food and carefully preserving their store of water.

Early upon one morning, however, a clear, high-pitched cry rang suddenly across the chilly air. With great eagerness, the people let drop their work and rushed with all haste up to the decks of the ships, waking those who still slept and bidding their children quit their play and come alongside them in quiet order. All together the people stood upon the wooden decks, peering into the eastern horizon; and as the ocean mists slowly lifted, by the pale morning light, they descried the faint line of a far distant shore-at long last, their great and difficult journey was ended, and they had come to the hidden land of promise. So, beaching their boats, they one and all blessed the One and gave their people the name of "The Lost", because, for good or ill, they were now lost to the rest of Arda; and the new land they named Erbar, or "lonely dwelling", since they would live apart from the rest of the world.

Now at first, the people held closely together, united under one appointed ruler; but as time bore on, they began to face the difficulties of the new land the seer had warned them of. Here, Nature was not mild and kind to life as it had been in Middle Earth. The heat and cold were far more extreme, and the ground often less suitable for farming. The countryside was not so green, the trees not so tall, nothing as fair to behold as the home they had left. Here also were strange animals, some wilder than Middle Earth's, especially the horses which they most desperately needed. Moreover, violent storms of sky and ground and sea occurred here which did not ever chance in Middle Earth. Thunder prevailed in nightmarish rainstorms until lightening struck the ground and spread ravaging fires. Balls of ice fell from the heavens, destroying their crops, while farther north, wind storms of snow buried houses. Strange, dark funnels of wind descended from the sky to wreak havoc and terror amid villages, while in some regions, the ground now and again suddenly shook and cracked wide, breeding incredible damage. Near the coastline, great storms of wind and water would sometimes rush through settlements, slaying many, while on islands apart from the mainland, the mountains spit forth fire and ash, and great waves reaching as it seemed to the very sky came crashing down upon their shores. Even on their seas, there were great funnels of water akin to those of wind on land that drew in passing ships and altered the tides. Here in this land were deserts and swamps, and dangerous creatures inhabited them--stinging-tailed insects in the deserts, huge, many-teethed lizards in the swamp waters. Also, were there all manner of snake and spider, while an abundance of mosquitoes spread many strange, new diseases. The people died, their animals died, their crops withered, and their homes perished-and no Elves were there here to guide or aid them in their struggle with Nature.

Then was the dire prophecy of the seer concerning the union with the outsiders fulfilled; for that division among the people, under strain faithless to the One, began to lament aloud the trek to the new land, calling it cursed, and advised a return to Middle Earth. The remainder of the people, slowly grown with time and habit to live under their influence, in neglect of their ancient integrity, were now disposed to listen to such talk and entertain notions of rebellion toward Iluvatar's purposes. Soon, a great clamor arose throughout the land to abandon the struggle of subduing their God-given home and embark again for the world of the West. "The land across the sea was fair and sweet, and there we may dwell again," they suggested. "Let us away form this miserable place! For surely, the One was mad in bringing us here. Let us return to the Middle Earth!"

But by the wiser among them they were answered: "We dare not return. Surely Morgoth has reign over all of Middle Earth by now, and we will return only to ruin and eternal darkness. Hither we have come, and hither we must dwell, though we despise it; for there is no other space in the world for us."

Then, too long tainted by the sentiments of the foreigners whom they had foolishly allowed to become their influential neighbors, the people grew angry, and in their frustration, they committed a grave abomination, the prices of which are still being paid by the descendants of that land-they cried aloud a curse on the name of the One, and so brought down a curse upon themselves. "Is this the great land that was promised us, Eru, the haven of Your provision for the Sons of Men?!" was their bitter cry. "Your Elder Children walk in the bliss of Valinor, but to Your Afterborn, You toss the most hateful land in all the world, a realm of horror that none could master! Calamity and sickness, violence and disaster, plague our people! THE LAND OF TERROR is where You have brought us and forced our livelihood! You have abandoned Your Children, and so, do we curse You to Your cruel face, oh Eru Iluvatar Most High!" they shouted-and so did they now call their land Deldorthaur, "the land of terror and horror", and regarded it with hatred and bitterness.

From that time onward, a great darkness began to breed in the hearts of the people of that land. Protecting only themselves, they lied and stole one from another and rioted in their streets, becoming a people of quarrels and violence. Their successive rulers strove to maintain order, but eventually, there came the day when a civil war erupted. The unity of the land was broken, and its house of kings destroyed. There was much bloodshed, and in the end, the people scorned each other in great bitterness.

Thus, they divided their numbers and scattered to different parts of the wide land. Each group became its own people with a distinct realm, language, and culture; and so did bordered lands arise on the great continent like as in Middle Earth. The populations of these individual kingdoms also grew with prodigious speed; for in departing Middle Earth, the race of Men was no longer blanketed under the cloud of changelessness which the presence of the Elves had woven over life. Thus, did their numbers now increase exceedingly rapidly, until finally, their complete population was well nigh equal to that of all the combined races and peoples of Middle Earth. Eventually, the bitterness of the past was forgotten by later generations, and the separate realms began to hold trade and alliance with each other. There were series of wars and series of treaties; old realms fell while new arose; and the time could not be remembered when they had ever been as one land or people. The only thing which could have been said to impart a spirit of unity to all the land was a universal sentiment of forever maintaining a shun of Middle Earth; for new generations had the dark tale passed down to them of a great evil and horror which reigned unchallenged there. Thus in their own land, hard and chaotic as it was, did all the people hold themselves to be safe.

But under their self-inflicted curse of rebellion and blasphemy, much evil abounded. Rulers of realms governed selfishly without care for their people, breeding hatred of kings; men ceased to honor maidenhood and treated the race of women, in speech and action, as rightless property, filling damsels with rage against their lords; for personal gain and reputation of honor, parents sold their children into marriages without concern for their happiness, turning sons and daughters against their fathers, and pitting the younger against the elder. Thus, all the land was ravaged by grief and wrong.

Finally, however, dawned the day when one bold young conqueror, whom their annals of history remember as Sargon the Great, aspired to rule all the land, as did the first kings in the times of old. Through a tale long and wrought with danger, he embarked on this greatly ambitious quest with tremendous hardship and yet was undaunted by fear of failure-for at his side was a newly born seer, a wise daughter of kings whose name was Cassandra. And with the aid of her miraculous gifting, he was nigh invincible in his conquest-for Cassandra, at the secret will of the One, employed her powers of foresight to ensure his constant victory in his strategies and tactics of battle. Thus did Sargon the Great continue his military ventures through many long years; until, on his deathbed of old age, he had at last succeeded in raising his triumphant banner over all the realms and regions of the wide land.

Now, herefore, after ages, was the land again one, a hugely vast empire, and for centuries, so it remained; but its rulers, as in olden times, continued to be arrogant tyrants, bringing the people's wrath ever higher-until one day, at last, the unthinkable happened. The people rose up in enraged rebellion and murdered their own ruler-and vowed to put none in his place. Instead, they devised a crude system by which they might rule themselves, unbowed to one sole figure of authority; but it soon became anarchy and bred only more chaos.

However, in that time of war, another seer was luckily born to them, a righteous and gentle woman, who came to be called Joan of Arc. With her wise and inspired words, she sparked, after millennia, the beginning of a return in the people's hearts to the One. Thus, after her death, the people resolved to quit their new failing system of government and reinstate a ruler again; but, beginning by small measures to find redemption in their hearkening to Joan's words and waxing attitude of repentance for past wrongs, the masses had the wisdom to this time also establish the institution of law-common written codes of duty and honor, to the authority of which even the rulers must now be subject.

For a time now, was there a refreshing era of peace in the land. Many renounced the ancient curse sworn by their ancestors, and goodness and wisdom began to reawaken in the people's hearts. They began new schools of thought and sought now to study the frightening Nature around them rather than curse it, and to understand the principles by which it was conceived; and slowly, they began to see that what they had named chaos was in fact order, and a system that they could master and use for their own benefits. The tale of Joan of Arc, the kind seer who helped her people from the darkness of rebellion into the light of wisdom, is too long to here relate; and some of it, perhaps, has not as yet been told to any. But to this day, that people still blesses her memory and honors her name as a figurative title for anyone pure and good or loyal and heroic.

However, as time wore on, the king again began to infringe upon justice. In truth, the wrongs in themselves, this time, were nothing as had been committed before; but the people had now grown accustomed to the sacredness of their long-standing law, and filled with fresh integrity, would not stand for the slightest rejection by a ruler of the least of its statues. And so, for liberty pure and the permanent rights of all men, they fought another war for independence from their sovereign. But when they had deposed him, the people instituted a new government, based upon the learned wisdom of all their history, that was like no other that had yet been in the world: an exceedingly complex system of self-rule which combined a rule of the people with a rule of law-and this new, wholly unique, devised form of government they formally pronounced to be "a constitutional democratic republic". And their vast land they named, at last and forevermore, the United States of America-in repentance of their ancient rebellious folly, a nation under God.

Soon, swift changes swept the land. Slavery was abolished; women rose to a position of equality; marriage became by choice; and, upon the reaching of adulthood, children were made free to lead their own lives, unbowed to their parents wishes. The study of nature exploded with floods of new discoveries and became known as "science". Fulfilling the seer's ancient prophecy, on the wings of their imaginations, Men built countless strange and amazing machines to make easier their lives and ever ascended higher and higher in knowledge and mastery of Nature-and suddenly, the worst land of the world had become the most powerful, prosperous, and luxurious.

Yet, their culture was now utterly different from any other of the world: Scholars usurped warriors. Kings and queens were figures of folklore. Maidenhood was a thing of the past. Arranged marriages were unheard of. Parental authority beyond the age of one and twenty was nonexistent; and even their whole manner of speech and apparel had changed.

What most set them apart from the rest of Arda, however, was electricity, the name they had given to the harnessed force of Nature which fueled nearly all of their fantastic achievements, and which the people of the land commonly referred to in informal speech as "the power". Using its energy, they soon created a complex series of machines, dubbed "satellites", for the purpose of seeing and monitoring Middle Earth from afar; and upon their first observation of its lands, though they were surprised to find it free of Morgoth, they were shocked to behold it in roughly the same condition that it had been in millennia ago when they had left it. The people of Middle Earth they called "Midlings"; and to most Americans they were not a serious thought in a lifetime.

The Lost had lived up to their name: They were entirely self-sufficient and disinterested with all business but their own, content to leave the outside world alone and be left alone by it. Besides, from the many ancient realms that had once existed in their land, the Americans had a rich host of widely diverse cultures contained within themselves. Thus, their land, as they said, was "a melting pot", and not in need of any foreign refreshment.

There was goodness in the land, principles of liberty and equality-they were the Land of the Free, the Land of Oppurtunity. Yet ever were there hints and traces of their age-old rebellion left to mar their peace; and of their ancient mixing with the foreign clan, there were also now descended two separate strains of people, one more given to goodness and honor, and the other possessing stronger inclinations toward selfishness and evil. Long united, it was impossible to perceive between the two kindreds among themselves; but from this dilution arose much grief, and the realm of America suffered for it and was not as great as it might have been had its founders, in ages past, heeded the words of their seer and not permitted the union of their kindred with that of another, unordained of the One. Ever would there be people now who acted as criminals, defying the just laws of the land and bringing sorrow to what would have been otherwise nigh perfect bliss; while others there were who, greedy for power, acted irresponsibly in the pursuit of science, wasting the natural resources of the land and poisoning the air and waters with the excessive use of their machines. And some Men there were who monstrously abused the creative gifts of their kindred, employing their knowledge and skill to make works of great terror and evil, at the wielding of which the people of the land suffered bitterly. Still, despite the woe of all these continual burdens, life in America, for the most part, was yet a wonder and a bliss.

Unfortunately, however, this in a short while began to give rise to arrogance among some of the people. Forgetting their humble origins, they now looked down upon the other peoples of the world as ignorant, uncivilized, and inferior. "We are the queen of the world," they boasted, "passed by none in power or luxury. Through our science, we can have whatsoever we want, and through our democracy, we can do whatsoever we want. The Midlings live in filthy ignorance and barbaric customs, while we ever progress to higher greatness. If any knew of us, we would be their envy. What cause have we to care for the lowly rest of the world?"

Not all, however, shared these prejudiced sentiments. Some Americans imagined Middle Earth as being a magical, romantic place and would eagerly have visited there-had it not been for one major barrier. In its dawn, the United States government had established a law which forbade, regardless of any circumstance, any form of relationship with the outside world. This decree had thus been passed for the interest of their security. The Americans knew that in Middle Earth were alien races and powers of scientifically unexplainable magic. Also were there high beings of dark evil who preyed upon the moral flaws of Men in order to bring about their downfall-and the ghostly memory of Morgoth's successful corruption of their kindred was not wholly vanished from America's consciousness. Therefore had the founders of the realm concluded that, for the purpose of their eternal protection, it was wisest to remain hidden and a secret from the rest of Arda, living beyond its troubles and lamentations; and most Americans, for reasons of prejudice or practicality, also agreed with this stance. "We have nothing in common with Middle Earth, anyway," they stated, "so let us stay out of its trivial affairs. The Midlings are nothing to us anyhow, and what would be the point of a relationship with them? We could profit nothing from them. The only thing which would come out of it is that we would be continually entangled in their petty medieval squabbles and archaic affairs-and their ignorant Dark Ages masses certainly don't need an inclusion or involvement in any of our affairs. So let them alone! For our own security, we should monitor what goes on in Middle Earth-but monitor only! Under no conditions, will we ever attempt to contact them."

A few Americans there were, however, who stood in strong disagreement to this aloof and unconcerned world position. "The Midlings, though far below us in knowledge and different in cultural custom, are still people, as much as we are!" they protested. "Once, our realm was no more advanced than theirs. We have now been fortunate enough to become the greatest land in the world-thus, we should be willing to help the rest of it in whatever way we can! In Middle Earth, there is oppressive evil that our military could defeat! There is tormenting sickness that our doctors could heal! There is so much that we could teach their needy masses! Is America so selfish in its own luxury and convenience that its people are unwilling to share even a little of their vast, enjoyed resources with others? Are the Midling people truly held with no value at all in our hearts?"

But such sentiments were generally answered: "That is foolish idealism. The risk to ourselves is too great to become involved. If Morgoth's servants learn of our existence, it will undoubtedly be henceforth in their greedy plans to rule us. However, when they perceive we are invincible to their medieval form of military conquest, they will then seek to subdue us through internal corruption. The sad truth is that Men are easily deceived and swayed by evil. Likely, in revealing ourselves to the outside world, we will ultimately open the door to our downfall. Morgoth's agents have too great a chance in successfully beguiling and corrupting our kindred-and we are a split people, some of our number possessed of too dangerous an inclination towards the desire for magical power or promised immortality. There is a very distinct possibility that both our government and our masses will fall-and can the terror of Morgoth's forces in possession of our nuclear power dare even be imagined? The United States of America stays out of Middle Earth's business-PERIOD! Let the Midlings develop on their own."

Thus was this common resolve entrenched deep within the hearts of the majority of the people; and with steadfastness, was it kept. For in the purpose to defend against any unpredictable attack that might ever suddenly assail them from the Outside-and also to prevent any renegades from treasonously attempting a trek to Middle Earth-America's government had developed an awesome military, based upon their potent machines, the majority of which they stationed in a solid ring around their land. Strange, fearful mechanical things which they called warships, submarines, tanks, and airplanes constantly patrolled the borders on the lookout for both foreigners and deserters. True, such enormous precautions were perceived by some as ludicrous in light of their utter technological superiority in a possible conflict; but government officials and military officers were wary of the possibility of an attack which might somehow entail the use of magic, and thus, require the full force of their scientific technology to defeat. Thus, they deemed it wise to be utterly prepared, even for a worst case scenario.

South of the formal boundary of their realm, lay a smaller stretch of land the Americans had named South America. If their booming population ever exceeded the confines of their formal homeland, the Americans planned to migrate there. At present, however, the region was solely open to only the inhabitment of either the military or teams of scientists. South America was used for various things: test sites for scientific research, military bases, and other such practical needs.

Foremost, however, was it a natural reserve-for there sprawled upon it, for many miles, a great and beautiful forest which many Americans took a measure of pride in, and so allowed to thrive wild and unchecked. This sentiment of unindustrialization was a considerable deviation from typical American culture; for possessing in their relationship to Nature origins that were, not inimical, but adversarial, the general way in which their people perceived Nature was as a challenge to be struggled against and a tool to be mastered and used. Thus was much of their land dotted with massive cities and scores of machines, in place of where had once stood forests or open countryside. Hence, the preservation of the great forest of South America was well nigh their people's only great anomaly from this common established drive for industrialized progress.

At the time of the changing of the shape of Arda, when all paths were bent and the world was made round, the land of America had been folded to the other side of Arda's sphere, shifted to a place of loneliness and isolation. Thus, America really was almost another world. The Americans recorded their history in three great eras: the Ancient Age, when their ancestors had first come to the land and dwelt as one people; the Middle Ages, or, "the Dark Ages", when they had been dissolved into many different realms; and the Modern Age, which had begun at their reunion under Alexander the Great's conquest, and yet was flowing.

Thus, upon the world of Arda, the years passed, over the separate lands of Valinor, Middle Earth, and America. While Elvenhome and the Hither Lands, through the centuries, remained nearly untouched by the hands of time, however, in the hidden realm of America, change was welcome and flowed swiftly from moment to moment, ever bringing in its tide things new and henceforth unimagined. Within their secluded, self-created paradise, the people of America knew no fear of the shadow, nor of fell creatures of evil, nor of dark wars of conquest; from all of these dangers and woes, which belonged to Middle Earth, their isolated land was free and even blissfully unmindful of. And so, as time wore on, they grew ever less and less concerned with the threats of darkness which lurked across the sea upon the mysterious shores of Middle Earth, and more and more complacently carefree in the glow of their magnificent realm's blissful splendor and joyous glory, with the hearty thought that surely their security and happiness would never meet an end-for who would ever discover the secret of the Lost?

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Preview

"What is wrong with her eyes?"

"I never lie."

"Is that the lady who lies all alone in the dark…?"

"Lord Denethor wishes to see you at once."

"Why do you cry?"

"My name is Mirathil."

"Are you a sunbeam?"

"Thou art a special child."

"I wish that you should have it now."

Stay tuned!!!

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Miss E.D.