[Orual]

Valinor...

Rie had heard of the Passing of the Elves, of course. Her father was a Ranger, after all, and the Rangers had always stayed close to the Elves. But to hear it from an Elf seemed to bring it a new dimension of reality. For a moment Rie bit her lip and turned her eyes down. She felt Nurumaiel's eyes on her, and looked up again with a grin to hide her embarrassment and the twinge of sorrow she felt.

"About myself?" she asked. "Well, honestly, there is not much to tell, not yet. For the moment I am only a simple girl looking for her place in her father's world. Quite frankly, I feel a little insignificant in all these great happenings. That is why I came to the Shire: to find my place in this world at this time of change. I was not content to stay at my father's house, in my mother's forge, while the whole world shifted around me!" A strange vehemence came into Rie's voice, and a fire into her green eyes. Then both died. "But I am afraid that I may not be up to the challenges that await me. How can I hope to meet them if I could hardly bear to see Barodir's injury? For surely I shall see worse if I join any adventure." She made a face as though she tasted something bitter, then her shoulders slumped. She looked at Nurumaiel, and laughed, a strange laugh for the circumstances, free from bitterness. "But I have heard that that is the way of all adventurers at the beginning--no one is born brave. I suppose we shall see, shan't we?"