[Mattius]

Calentoliel slept silently beside the small hobbit while Endereth and Mattius spoke in hushed voices. The sun was sinking and the moon was slowly rising overhead. As silence fell between them the voice of the sea could be heard from the west. Endereth turned her head towards it and at this moment Mattius knew she was of the ancient race, the Noldor. At length she turned back and covered her face with her dark blue hood and bowed her head. Mattius could not see it but she shed a tear in rememberance of her friends killed and also of her yearning to travel west. When she removed her hood and looked at Mattius she asked,
"Do you not feel the same pain as me, when you are near the sea, for you are an Elf are you not?" Mattius looked west for a moment and turned back,
"No, I feel no need to go west, I love Middle-Earth and hearing the sea-birds or smelling the sea-air does not hinder my mind. I am a Child of Lorien but a Man of Gondor." There was a lengthy silence of admiration from both of them before Endereth spoke.
"This thing that you seem to hunt as do I, do you know what it is?" Mattius stretched his arms out and cracked his knuckles.
"I have my suspicions and I can guess but I don't exactly know."
"What do you know and what do you guess?" Asked Endereth quickly. Mattius saw in her icey blue eyes that she hunted the Beast for a similar reason as he.
"What I know," started Mattius in no more than a whisper, "is that it attacks with fear."
"Fear?" Endereth frowned.
"Yes," he said even quieter,"what you see when you face it is what you fear."
"You mean that it changes?"
"Yes, but I suspect only in your mind it changes."
"But what if," started Endereth, "two people see it together?" Mattius sighed,
"I do not have all the answers but it may be that it appears different to the two people and maybe its power diminishes somewhat so the fear is lessened. I do not know." Endereth sat back and began to let all she was hearing sink in. She had learnt a lot but Mattius had more to say.
"But what I do know, is that creatures like this do not simply 'exist'. They are created." Endereth moved foward again,
"You mean," she said so quietly that even Mattius had trouble hearing her, "it could have been... Sauron?" Mattius let out such a loud sigh and sat up so qucikly that Endereth almost jumped out of her skin.
"Thats always a possibilty I guess. But it could have also been one of those wizards. Not Gandalf of course or even Radagast but Sauraman or either one of those Blue Wizards should they have turned to evil." Endereth looked at Mattius with more respect,
"You are quite learned for a very young elf, or man if you wish to regard yourself as one."
"Thank you! They taught me a lot of history when I was in Lorien." Endereth jumped up in surprise,
"Lorien! You must have arrived there just as I left!" She sat back down again, "Oh to see those fair woods again..." The elves began talking of times in Lorien before they were interupted by a noise comming from behind them. Endereth quickly woke up Calentoliel and with Mattius they readied for a fight. The noise was close and a voice could be heard before a figure could be seen.
"Now now my friends, no need for all this!" An old man and a woman came into view and Mattius could see it was one of the wizards he had heard of during his tme in Lorien. He sheathed his sword and approached the Brown Wizard. All that separated the youthful faces of the Elf-Man and the Istari was ten inches of cold air and snowflakes.
"Radagast...?"

[ September 10, 2002: Message edited by: Mattius ]