[Child of the 7th Age]

OOC -- I have gone WAY outside canon. If you want me to erase this and go in another direction, we can. But just an idea.
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Child glared at Pio, Angara, and Lord Mithadan.

She turned to Mithadan: "There will be no barbecue dragon wings, kosher or otherwise! He's my dragon, and you will treat him with respect."

Angara muttered under her breath, "My dragon indeed!! But that respect part was well done."

"Now, Angara, in a moment you will tell me what you know regarding this quest for I too have been very busy and have found some lore to help us."

Child went ahead and spoke the words she and Idril had discussed. Only, in her retellng, it seems that Child had played a very great role, while Idril had sat and listened.
Idril, watching from afar, laughed lightly, but held her counsel.

"Now, Angara, what have you to add to this? It is clear that we must sail up the Anduin to the homeland of my people. We must speak with the men of Gondor and Rohan and consult the libraries of Minas Tirith, much as Gandalf did. Only our records will not be so ancient, of course."

Angara turned her head to Child and laughed. "Yes, Child, part of what you say is correct. You have done quite well for a beginner."

"Beginner!!" Child retorted.

Yes," Angara said, "For the part about the ancient records is not correct. The records you seek on the migration of the hobrim are ancient indeed. Surely you do not think the Sea so loved the hobrim that they grew fins in only 500 years. This would have taken much longer."

"But, how can this be? For Durshag had heard the tales of Smeagol from the Third Age. That would be about 2460. If his people had migrated earlier, they would not know such tales."

Angara laughed, "Have you noticed how much Elven tongue your little Stoor knows. Truly, Child, he knows a great deal more than you do!" Child squirmed and glared at her toes.

Angara continued: "For, at one time, relations between hobbits and Elves were closer. Not the great Elves, those who sit on councils and decide the Fate of the world, but those who are close to running water and the woodlands. These Elves traditionally acted as messengers for your people and carried news for them. There was even a marriage between the Tooks and the Elven kin."

"In any case, that messenger tradition was still alive when Smeagol slayed his kin, although it was dying out by then. The tale of this kinslaying would have been carried by Elvish song to Durshag's great, great grandparents who had migrated centuries before. Now, perhaps his ancestors were alone by this time and had fallen away from the main group, or perhaps they were still with all the Stoors who had migrated." More than this, Idril would not say.

"If I were you, I would search for the descendents of these ancient Elf messegers. (This, by the way, was the origin of your own Shire messenger service.) If anyone knows where your kin have gone, they may have preserved the tale. The men of Gondor and Rohan may be helpful but not so helpful as these Elves."

Child asked: "Who are these Elves?"

Angara lauged: "Have you not heard of the Nandor, the people of Lenwe who feared to cross the Misty Mountains and spread out though the Vales of Anduin. Many of them later crossed over to Ossiriand under the leadership of Denethor and fought in the first battle of Beleriand. Those who migrated were called the Laiquendi."

"But some still stayed behind by the Anduin, and for many years there were messenges sent between the scattered Elf peoples, despite the great distances."

Now Angara lowered her voice, "I have sometimes wondered if the example of the Laiquedi, the Green-Elves, was what put the wander lust into the heart of the Stoors, and whether they may have followed the Laiquendi to Beleriand or even later crossed to Numenor itself."

Child blanched, "You are telling me that my people were around in the ancient days when Numenor existed or even earlier in the time of Beleriand." Child's head was spinning.

Angara snorted: "Surely you don't think hobbits were just created and plopped down on the Anduin in the middle of the Third Age? Of course, they were around in ancient times. Their original home was the Anduin, but some made the decision to migrate elsewhere at an early date."

"Now, if you want to help this hobrim, you must sail up the Anduin to try and find some of these Teleri descendents still living near the banks of the River. They may remember ancient tales that will help you decide what to do."

"Oh, and by the way, you might want to ask Levantro to swim along with you on this adventure. I believe Birdland knows him."

"ne more thing-- if you treat me exceptionally nice over the next few days, I may consider telling you an ancient riddle which you may find to be of great help."

Angara glared again at Child, "My dragon, indeed!"

[ June 29, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]