Visitors Come to Court

[Valandil]

Varnafinde - thank you very much. Both for taking the time to read it and for the comments. I admit that the story needs some clean-up edits here and there. I recently re-read it, after having left it alone for a long time. I was surprised at a few typos - as well as some stylistic things I would change now. I don't think I read carefully over the notes - so I didn't notice that I left a sentence without a verb and with an unclosed parentheses. I probably did a sloppy edit to change a previous sentence and wasn't careful enough with it. So I'll need to give that a look.

Some of the wrap-ups:
* Thane of Stonebows approaching: just indicates that Wand-Elf is having some early successes in trying to unite the estranged daughter kingdoms of Arnor. Of course, there are surely setbacks to follow, because they still have a rocky road for the next few hundred years. Also - I don't post this here at Entmoot, but I have written a history of the northern kings in an outline form - and indicate there that Celepharn marries a daughter of the Thane of Stonebows. We shouldn't look for the wedding anytime soon though - because Celepharn likely won't marry for another 50 or 55 years or so. His heir is born 58 years after this story is set. Yet - in another sense, this is just showing that things go on. The main part of this story is over, and life continues and changes. It also demonstrates a changed heart in King Beleg, who has perhaps 'warmed up' to the idea of reconciliations with the presence of Wand-Elf.
* Helkaruth is indeed intended to be the cold drake who will eventually slay Dain. He may not have liked Glorfindel's words, but he took them to heart and stayed out of Eriador. But many years later, even that won't matter. Trust me, that is a story I want to tell, but I don't want to give it away in advance. Maybe I'll try to start it soon. Is that a good 'next'?

I'm glad you liked that about Wand-Elf vaguely remember something about the future. That's how I imagine it might have been for him - having sung in the choir before time began about all these things that would come to pass. He might have re-sung snatches of the song for all the long years in Aman. Now that he has been confined permanently (more or less) to that human form, and is newly arrived in Middle Earth, he may - especially at first - struggle to piece things together and to recall them clearly. Maybe he remembers it imperfectly - at least at first. Or maybe it's that he is finally seeing before him what he has sung that was to be, and is uncertain (this being a new experience to some extent) whether he recognizes it.

Did you notice he even seems baffled by the mention of 'snow'? Or maybe not baffled, but he might have to suddenly think about snow in new terms... in ways in which someone cloaked in mortality would think of snow, not as he would have previously thought of and remembered snow.

Glad you enjoyed it.