In The Not So Distant Future, Celebrimbor Comes To Aman.

In the not so distant future, Celebrimbor comes to Aman.

He didn't respond to the summons right away, which surprised many, though they didn't comment on it, and once re-embodied Celebrimbor is very quiet, and very still, and doesn't say or do much beyond what is necessary.

His convalescence is not quite in keeping with what is usual, but the Valar and the Maiar who work among those who have recently appeared in Aman treat his new body carefully; they know that the soul inside it is still hurt, still damaged, still withered and gasping, and the day when Celebrimbor will be truly healed is far, far away.

There are elves among them, of course, and they escort Celebrimbor outside every day. They take him to places of surpassing beauty and he is gently complacent, acknowledging their kindness with a smile that's barely there, or a nod of thanks, but nothing more, until the movement and migration of the kingfishers along the lakeshores and up the major river valleys in Aman captures his attention.

There is no winter in Aman, just spring and summer and spring again, but the birds move into the valley where the newly awakened reside with some regularity, and their calls at dawn and midday make Celebrimbor sit upright in wonder, every time. Finally he asks for charcoal and paper, for paints and watercolor, and begins to draw the kingfishers and all their variations through the seasons.

This goes on for some time.

(When a well-meaning elf asks if he wouldn't rather work with metal, wouldn't rather hold a hammer and strike an anvil instead, he drops his brush and walks away suddenly, one hand cradling the other, and the elf has to collect his scattered drawings before they are taken by the wind. They do not ask again.)

One day an attendant loses track of Celebrimbor in the wild. Hours turn into days and soon a search is on. Some of the elves don't understand. They ask, what harm could possibly come to him here? One of the Valar who lingers nearby cuts the air with a gesture, his expression grave, and they fall silent.

Celebrimbor is found by the shore of a small, clear lake, hidden among the grasses with an injured kingfisher in his arms. He is filthy, and he is crying.

"It fell from the sky," he tells the same Valar who silenced the elves. "Can we save it, please? It's so badly hurt, it might be dying, it's done nothing wrong."

"Of course, of course," is the answer. "Of course, we can but try."

"For a moment, standing there, you were the very image of your father...Do you know, I remember once, he said to me, one day my future would be in his son's hands. He said it quite casually, as if one might speak of tomorrow's rain" - Celebrimbor S1.E4 ∙ The Great Wave / S2.E8 ∙ Shadow and Flame

annatar + celebrimbor // dangerously, yours.

braving the haladriel tag to find sub!halbrand 🙏

Ten days later and I'm still not recovered from "Hear me — hear me! Shadow of Morgoth! Hear the dying words of Celebrimbor!"