Elloen rode out of the Valley a day ago, and he had arrived to Eregion. He looked at the ruins, and thoughts of home came into his mind: "Home. What home? I have lived in Imladris since..." and suddenly he felt smaller - he had returned to his childhood. Suddenly he felt himself as the same adolescent child that he had once been when Eregion was assaulted.
He looked at the ruins, and even though the sun was shining, they seemed cold to him. He could almost hear the sounds of the battle, the struggle which he lost his parents to. He felt a wind behind him as if a sword was smiting behind his neck. He turned around sharply but saw nothing and no one. Was it his imagination, or a ghost of the past that had returned to haunt him?
He had seen Annatar in his glory, and Sauron in his wrath. Though he trusted Celebrimbor, he did not trust Annatar, who after all turned out to be Sauron. His mother always wanted to give Celebrimbor a chance to change things, folly as the decisions of the house of Fëanor might have seemed, and Elloen was willing to follow her example. But where is she now? Was she in Mandos, or had she already been released? Would she be waiting to receive him when he arrives in Aman?
He turned his eyes to the woods of holly. The sunlight was peeking between the trees, and they were the only fair thing that had survived the assault. That is where he went, and took a deep breath. He was once happy here, and he felt that feeling returning to him, which indeed was something wonderful for an elf of his age. He took a deep breath, and a ray of sunlight hit on his chest, and made his fiery red pendant glow like the holly berries around him.
Elvealin had crafted it, and it was the same kind of melodic jewel that she had given to Lord Anglachelm, as a thank you for helping her in her crafts. The pendants were meant to symbolize Gondolin and Eregion, the homelands of Anglachelm and Elloen. He chimed the jewel carefully and it gave a rich note. He had again returned to the present, and he was back in his quest - to meet other Vanimarians, and Elvealin's father.
He looked on the ground to collect some holly leaves and herbs for a tea. But he had barely put his small pot of water on fire, when he noticed trails on the ground, which seemed to lead to Pembar. He noticed some signs of a recent battle, and one trail hastily going around others. Out of the movements of distraction or folly, he could not say.
He went to take a closer look, and saw many orcs slain. He was at least glad that the company had survived, and weren't part of the enemy. In Pembar he saw a gleam within the rubble. The curiosity struck him, and he started to carefully push the rubble aside. The sight startled him - he could have recognized it anywhere. It was his father's brooch. It wasn't too deep in the rubble, so doubtless it was looted by some orc. It looked grimy and scratched, but not beyond repair. He knew that at least Elvealin could help him to restore it.
A tear came to the corner of his eye - he had loved his father no less than his mother. "I had wished to find his sword, but this will do", he thought. He wiped his tears and put the brooch in his most secure pack, in which two messages from Anglachelm were also put, sealed with red wax, and a swan emblem. He looked at the messages thoughtfully and stored his herbs, not boiling them to a drink yet. Instead, he would look for Lady Danel and share the tea with her and her company.
He returned to his steed Celestel, and rode towards the sunlight, hoping to find them soon.
