Part Three – Explain

To do list.
Letter to Gildor – thanks and request further information. (love to Brennil)
Encrypt and send command communication, Lord Elrond, Captain Balien
Lord Círdan re. complaint, naval rations. Not my job.
Lord Glorfindel re.:
Lady Galadriel
description… motivation for bridge – clever
faceless bureaucrats
planting things, food
sheep
cows
dog.
Find beget. day gift – Gil-galad. (book about dogs? Khandian Tales of Horror and the Supernatural!)
Study notes – Harad, 3rd intermediate period.

To: Glorfindel, Lord of the House of the Golden Flower of Gondolin.

Dear Lord Glorfindel,

I am glad that my last enquiry found you well. You will be relieved to hear that your cousin, Lady Galadriel, is in Lórien, a predominantly Silvan realm that lies to the south of Mirkwood. She and her daughter left Ost-in-Edhil shortly before the arrival of the Enemy’s forces. They passed through Moria to reach the Wood, a thing to my knowledge never before permitted by the Dwarves. His majesty has given permission for me to include a copy of her communication to him, sent via Lord Celeborn. (enclosed).

I have taken it upon myself to write to the Lady expressing your concern. Should she have opportunity to reply, I will forward the same to you.

Easy access to food proved a most telling point in favour of bridge building, my lord. Therefore, my superior has judged that a bridge across the Bruinen would in fact make a pertinent addition to your resources. I have requested Lord Círdan to make available an engineer with the necessary skills – the navy has an over abundance of experts and minimal deployment in the current conflict. Hopefully I will be able to send someone back with the messenger.

My mother and I lived near a mortal farming community after the War and, as I recall, their habit was to use a field for several years as pasture for the sheep and cows before planting. They would then sow a different crop each season: barley, oats, potatoes, root vegetables, and sometimes flax seed. This way the soil was first fertilised, after which a single field yielded a good variety over the course of a year. The narrow strips you mention might suit herbs and vegetables. You need to determine how much sunshine the planting area receives and know something about the probable rainfall. Is there much grass or open space? Is the soil rich and dark, dry and sandy? Different crops have very different requirements, as I’m sure you realise.

And no, that is not wholly based on childhood memories. I was past my hundredth year when my mother decided it was her time to sail and I moved here to Mithlond. I have always liked finding out how things work.

The sheep are an excellent beginning. Cows for milk and to fertilise the land would also make a useful addition. The beginnings of a herd could perhaps be brought down to the valley as young calves. Is there perhaps open land above Imladris where a small herd could be maintained? In your previous letter you made mention of the number of strays throughout Eriador, and cattle will instinctively herd together without intervention. I am quite certain their presence would in no way indicate your whereabouts.

It will take time for you to produce your own straw for bricks; therefore, I assume you are seeking an alternate source? In the interim, could I offer a building method much favoured by mortals which involves wood and a type of mud? They refer to it as wattle and daub. I enclose a text containing a description of the basic practice, with illustrations.

My lord, a personal note about this ‘faceless bureaucrat’, if you don’t mind? I was separated from my mother during the chaos of the evacuation from Sirion at the end of the last Age. I was ten at the time. I ended up at sea for over a week in a boat with strangers – one of whom happened to be his majesty – and thought I would never see her again. I was one of the fortunate; we were reunited later – many never saw their families again because there were too few boats.

I can remember the land rumbling, the rocks falling, people screaming. We sat out to sea and watched the water rushing into the Gap until there was nothing left, and Sirion lay under the sea. After, we walked for months before we reached what is now Lindon. I still remember the fear. I am unlikely to tell someone seeking refuge from war to move on from their haven without a good reason and a sound explanation. I hope you will convey this assurance to those in your care.

Háran is a good name for a dog. What colour is he? Does he have short fur?

Erestor, Assistant to Senior Advisor Pathenien.

P.S. I might be able to persuade someone who is indeed an expert on the subject of farming to travel to Imladris to advise you. As he is mortal, I would need both yours and the king’s permission before I could issue an invitation. I believe that elves are not natural farmers as we are disinclined by nature to force the land to our will. Serious farming requires that a field produce, in precise rows, a crop not native to it, a very mortal kind of concept.

E.

(attached copy of letter from Lady Galadriel to Ereinion Gil-galad – with permission)

Hello Rodnor.

So sorry to have caused concern all round. I hear Celeborn is furious at me for vanishing – shouting can be expected when next we meet. I sensed Sauron’s army was close, so Rian and I left in a hurry under cover of darkness – against Celebrimbor’s will, I might add. We literally had to sneak out of Ost-in-Edhil. Rian impressed me – pure Noldor steel in the face of danger. I think she quite liked hiding in the undergrowth during the day to avoid His spies.

The dwarves allowed us passage through Khazad-dûm as the passes were held against us. I always knew some good would come of maintaining friendly relations with Durin’s folk – Celeborn is not always right! My first thought had been to ride for Lindon, but we always head for the sea at the first hint of trouble, and I knew the road would be watched. I hear horror stories of the slaughter that took place at the Mitheithel Crossing.

As to why I chose Lorien – it can best be described as a peaceful backwater, (in other words, primitive with questionable ablution facilities) and King Amdir seems to like it that way. He has no love for us Exiles, but I think we respect one another. I have visited before with Celeborn – some of Doriath’s survivors made their home here, including one of his kinsmen. In any event, with luck Rian and I can sit out the hostilities in comparative safety here (if in some physical discomfort). I needed a safe haven for my charge.

Keep well and keep safe, my dear.
Galadriel.

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To admin assistant Erestor.

Dear Erestor,

Firstly, thank you for the news about my cousins. Someone has taken the trouble to show me where Lorien is relative to both us and Ost-in-Edhil – it must have been a hard journey, especially for Celebrían. It seems an unlikely haven, but I understand from her letter why she felt Lindon would not be a safe destination.

I had no idea you were in Sirion at the end of the war. That must have been a terrifying experience for a child, especially being separated from your mother. I know very little about the last days of the Age, and most I have read or been told tends to be quite contradictory. It is very unsettling to know less of our recent history than the youngest child. How did people know they had to leave Sirion, was there a warning?

Your suggestions re. farming were appreciated and most insightful. It had not occurred to me that formal farming would be something at which we elves would be less proficient than mortals, but it makes a great deal of sense. In Gondolin, of course, we had to farm intensively to provide sufficient food for all, though personally I had nothing to do with such matters. All I know is there was far less variety than the stories I have since heard would suggest. Gondolin was in many ways a city under siege, and our lifestyle reflected this.

I would be – I think the word I want is ‘delighted’ – if you could persuade the person you mention to travel all the way out here to offer us advice. I have met very few mortals — well, only one in fact, Tuor – but several of the refugees had close dealings with them prior to the war and speak well of the experience. Please convey my interest to his majesty in the form of a request, if you feel it might simplify matters.

The sheep seem content. They have a shelter quite near where our tents are pitched, and I enjoy the sound of them calling in the early morning when they are sent out to graze. Later, when the river has been bridged, we will move them down to the valley proper.

Did I describe Imladris in my last letter? We live in a narrow gorge below the trail up to the high lands, but where the river curves out of sight, the land opens into a broad crescent within the shelter of the mountains. The main valley is forested, with a few small, rolling hills and, despite the mountains, receives a fair amount of sunshine. We have not been here long enough to be sure about rainfall, though the land seems fertile. There is even some kind of wild grain – a form of barley? – growing on the slopes of one of the hills (sample enclosed)

This is a good point to thank you profusely for sending Sael to train us in the art of bridge building. He seems to have fallen in love with Imladris and is currently making plans to divert water off the river to create a small lake that will supply fresh water for the proposed livestock – the first of many projects he thinks we should tackle. I thought several of my long term ideas were no more than vain daydreams, but he seems to find them perfectly achievable with a little hard work and effort. He tells me he likes a challenge.

Re. brick making. I had no idea this was so complicated! Thank you for the information, it was – educational. We have clay deposits further down the river, and one of my patrols found and transported straw back here from a deserted farm, so we’ve made a (shaky) start. We have a mould, we’ve begun making and drying bricks, and Tholinnas and Lachol our smiths, have built a kiln of sorts. Soon we’ll have enough bricks to build – oh, at least a small storeroom. Not, as you can imagine, very satisfactory, but we’ll get better at it.

Lack of bricks means the instructions for building with more readily available materials (wattle and daub) were more welcome than you might have realised when you sent the text. We have wood in abundance for frames and made a daub by mixing the stalks of the local grain mentioned above into generous quantities of mud. We considered adding cow dung as recommended, but are not yet quite ready for that step. I regret you are unable to see our first ‘house’ – it bears very little resemblance to the diagrams. I found working with the mud daub unexpectedly relaxing… not a word that applies to the thorough scrub in the ice-cold river that followed, of course. For your amusement I include a sketch of the result of our endeavours.

We have a small limestone outcrop below the main waterfall, and our next step will be an attempt to create whitewash.

I have put together a volunteer building crew, and once they have more practice, they will use this technique for civilian homes on the far side of the river, plus a few structures over here to house my warriors until we have sufficient bricks to commence building. Sael and I are drafting (ambitious) plans for a complex large enough to house a full garrison, an armoury, and a kitchen. It should also provide a suitable residence for Lord Elrond when he returns here on a more permanent basis, as I understand is his intention.

Your idea of driving the cattle to a place on the high ground near us is quite brilliant. We are in the process of doing so and already have a herd of some twenty cows and three evil-tempered bulls. I think we are meant to keep them separate from the cows but have no idea how. The silvan elves assure me they will sort themselves out exactly as was the case in wild herds before they became domesticated. These same elves have begun taking it in turns to sleep up there, make sure the cows are milked as needed, and keep a watch for possible predators – not sure what would prey on cattle. Wolves? And I have heard rumours of things called Trolls though none have been seen. Anyhow, they have a defensible corner where a stream running off the Bruinen can provide water and the grass grows high and green.

You like cows, don’t you?

I hope I can persuade you not take my comment about ‘faceless bureaucrats’ personally; nothing was further from my thoughts. It was no more than a general observation based upon sentiments I have overheard on numerous occasions since I arrived here. I have assured everyone that I am reporting to someone who has a personal understanding of their situation, and they need have no fears that a sudden order to proceed to Lindon will be forthcoming – apparently there is a rumour they will be sent to one of the under-populated northern regions and left to fend for themselves.

I hope I am correct in my assumption that you agree a small, motivated civilian population will not only be an asset to the valley but will also be the means of making this a comfortable, well-run garrison rather than a rough rest post?

Háran is dark brown with a few white patches and has a shaggy coat. He has droopy ears, a medium-length tail, and strongly disapproves of birds and squirrels. He tries, with limited success, to intimidate the sheep.

I have enclosed a minimum list of seed required to begin our vegetable and herb garden. As it takes the courier around ten days to cover the distance between us, we should have adequate time to dig over and prepare the soil close to our current accommodation. (The civilians have structures made of rough poles draped with cloth and branches while we warriors live in simple tents – I am undecided as to which of us is less comfortable.) With this undertaking in mind, I have devised a new task for the junior members of the garrison – conveying manure down from the cow pasture on the highlands. The chore, as you might imagine, is vastly unpopular.

Oh yes – what is flax seed and what are its uses?

I spent some time talking with the courier. If he had three horses, we think he could make the trip from Mithlond in around seven days. I mention this in case there is ever something you wish sent with more urgency than our usual exchanges.

Hoping this finds you well.

Glorfindel of Gondolin.

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Part 4

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Beta: Red Lasbelin