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Old 05-15-2008, 10:58 AM   #251
Mithalwen
Pilgrim Soul
 
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle...
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Mithalwen is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Mithalwen is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Mithalwen is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Mithalwen is lost in the dark paths of Moria.
Tathren watched Ulfast for a moment as he went back the way they had come. For a while he would be alone with his master. He surveyed the Lachrandir's body, a distorted tangle of limbs, head cast back at an unnatural angle giving full view of the wounds on his neck. It was unbearable to see him thus. The image would ever after be vivid in his mind but he did not immediately register that the posture was one of someone who had fallen to the ground from a height rather than his own feet. Not yet capable of rational thought, Tathren followed some instinct to restore some of the the elf lord's dignity.

He gently manoeuvred the corpse so it lay straight, folded Lachrandir's long. slender hands on his breast so they rested on the Star of Feanor. He folded his cloak and placed it under Lachrandir's head.

Feeling the warmth fade from the emissary's body caused tears to rise again in the boy's eyes. He wiped his face with his sleeve and then remembered he had a clean kerchief in his pocket, an ignored token of his mother's solicitude. He refolded the dark blue cloth on the diagonal and tucked into the neck of Lachrandir's tunic it served to conceal his wounds.

Tathren stood and was satisfied with the result. He might almost be asleep he thought, save that there is no life in his eyes. It had not occured to the elf to close them.

He heard movement behind him and turned expecting to see the servants Uldor had promised. They were approaching but were preceded by Lachrandir's great grey stallion. Tathren did not know whether he had sought his master or just the company of the colt but neither beast had recoiled or fled and flanked the boy as he stood at the elf lord's feet. The young elf acknowledged the servant's arrival with a nod but did not speak and whether through respect or fear they dared not disturb his silent vigil with question or condolence.

Last edited by Mithalwen; 05-24-2008 at 09:29 AM.
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