[Daniel Telcontar]

Elendil rode on, in a steady pace. He patted his great stallion affectionally, and then turned his gaze backwards. Behind them, the Misty Mountains rose in their majesty, knowing no rivals to their great height. He was glad to have this part of the journey behind him, and looked forward at seeing Loth-lorien.

When he thought about Loth-lorien, his thoughts began to dwell at Lindon, where he so many years ago had landed, carried by the great tidal wave. He had feared how his reception had been; The númenorians had grown hostile of the elves, and he did not know how Gil-galad would respond. Yet his fears were in vain.

Gil-galad had welcomed him with open arms, or with an embrace to be more correct, and treated him like he was his own brother returning. He knew well of the hardship the Faithful had had in Númenor, and nor had he forgotten the aid he had received once. Elendil had been overwhelmed by his hospitality, and had only wished that Isildur had experienced it. That might have changed his attitude towards the elves.

He was not able to think more about the past, though, because present affairs demanded his attention. The major part of the army was still behind him, having just passed the mountainpassages, and when he saw numerous soldiers whom he could not recognise he became afraid; they were in a bad position to defend themselves.

But his fears were disspelled when a messenger from Gil-galad came and explained: Oropher and the Mirkwood Elves had joined them sooner than expected. Oropher had deemed it wisest to join the Alliance troops earlier than Loth-lorien, and his silvan elves now came in great numbers and greeted their kin from Eriador.

Elendil could easily distinguish the silvan elves from Gil-galad's troops; their clothing and armour were more attuned to the woods, and much more simple. They were not a splendid sight like the Lindon soldiers, but they appeared to be more harmonic.

He rode forward, and saw Gil-galad in conversation with two elves, whom Elendil guessed was Oropher and his son Thranduil. It seemed like there was some disagreement. When the three elves split and the army continued its march, Elendil joined Gil-galad and questioned him about the meeting.

"I am a noldo elf, though that may not mean anything to you. But Oropher is from the sindar branch of the elves, and not fond of the noldorne. It is in the past, but Oropher seems unwilling to let himself be commanded by me. And I doubt, for all your qualities, he will accept you." Gil-galad spoke the last sentence with hesitation, yet he would not lie or hide anything from Elendil.

He, in turn, was not touched by Gil-galad's words. He had accepted the differences between elves and men, and was to old to be affected by such things. Instead, he thought about what could have divided the elves such, and how this would affect the Alliance. His face revealed nothing, but in his heart he knew that disagreement would only cause greater losses than needed to achieve victory.