Beyond the land of the many rivers, where Lenw� broke with the company, they found some of Finw�s people dwelling near vast woodlands of birch and beech. Unlike Ingw�s host, which had crossed over to Valinor almost at once in their eagerness, Finw� and his followers were in no particular hurry, leisurely exploring the countryside and its resources.

Olw� saw how weary they all were, and, despite Elw�s objections, decided they would abide for a time in this placid country, mingling with Finw�s people. Many welcomed the respite and were eager to renew old acquaintances. Finw� had not been idle in his lingering; his people had crafted many lovely and useful items from local materials, and some of these they gave as gifts to the newcomers. Olw� demurred, being unable to return the courtesy, but Finw� insisted, saying their works were of little use if they could not be shared and enjoyed.

Elw� grew restless with waiting, and went abroad often and alone. This was ill-advised, for shadow-spirits haunted even this land, eager to ensnare those who were careless or unlucky enough to fall into their grasp. But Elw� refused to listen; he could not abide to remain idle while Olw� and others pursued their leisure. He must go out, he said, or go mad.

�You do not think he is foolish enough to try the road to Valinor on his own, do you?� asked Telw�.

�Nay, for he knows not the way,� Now� told his father, �nor has he asked Orom� to bear him. He might do so, if his need were so great, but I do not think it has come to that.�

�It must be an exceedingly fair place, if he yearns for it so.�

Now� could not say. He knew only that Orom� did not seem overly concerned over Elw�s restlessness, yet the Vala had always been unreadable, and Now� recalled his words, that he could not command the will of any who wished to stray.

And then, Elw� went abroad and did not return.

In the deepest woods, in the shadows where he had learned to find only silence, he suddenly heard sweet birdsong. And above it, soft at first, a voice singing, calling to him, and he forgot his errand, forgot all else but the voice and the lovely enchantment it wove about him.

He came then to an open clearing frosted by starlight and saw then the source of the spell. A maiden she was, yet unlike any he had ever seen save in the Blessed Realm. He stopped when he saw her, scarcely daring to breathe lest this vision of loveliness vanish.

Then she turned and their eyes met.

�Now�! Why are you not coming with us?�

From his seat under the wide beech tree, he looked up at his father. Telw� stood with Olw� and Enel, who was the father of Olw� and Elw�. Long they had searched, as far and wide as they dared. Finw� and his people gave their aid, but to no avail.

At first, fearing the ever-present shadows that might have abducted Elw�, Now� had joined the search, but as he slept a curious vision had come to him. Upon the path of dreams, he saw how Elw� had forgotten them and his yearning for Valinor, yet of the source that wrought this enchantment Now� glimpsed only the pale oval of a face whose beauty struck him even in his repose.

�There is no need,� he said softly. �I do not think any harm has come to Elw�, but he is lost to us.�

�What have you seen?� Telw� wanted to know.

Now� knew not quite how to describe his vision. When he awoke, he had heard a voice in his head telling him that Elw� had found that which he was meant to find. He knew not whence the voice had come, but when he emerged from the trees where he made his bower and met Orom�s eyes, the Vala answered with a knowing gaze. �He has become enamored of the woods and chosen Lenw�s path, to stay.�

His fear for Elw� vanished, though he could plainly see others were not so certain. Olw� defended his vision, and his parents, even if in private they did not understand his gift. Such things were not unknown among females, among mothers who had some special insight into the fates of their children; visions did not come with such frequency to males, nor with such power as they came to him.

They think it a strange thing, he thought, and it is passing strange, even to myself. I meant only to ease their fears for Elw�. I should know better than to speak so loosely.

Olw� led them when they were ready to march again. Finw� and his people, who now called themselves Noldor, unwilling to wait while Elw�s people searched for him, had already departed. Orom� went with the Noldor on the first part of the journey westward before returning, and this time there seemed to be some urgency in the Vala�s bearing.

Along the shores of a great river they traveled, moving south through thin woods and willow marshes with the rushing of the water on their left hand. Now� felt a change in the air, subtle at first, and listened for the rise and crash of waves that were the music of his dreams. Orom� confirmed that the river emptied into the Sea, but long before this Now� tasted the moisture in the air, and it was like the salt of his tears.

As the hiss and crash of the Sea called to him, others noticed how the heavens began to lighten. Twilight lingered upon the land, and the stars were yet visible, yet the colors and shapes of things steadily grew more distinct.

�That light comes from Valinor,� explained Orom�, �where thou shalt soon go to dwell. There thou shalt see with thine own eyes the Two Trees whose waning and waxing give light to Arda.�

Now� had no thought for Valinor. He wanted only to reach the end of the river, to climb the next hill and cross whatever distance remained between him and the Sea. He knew not what would follow, and cared not.

When Orom� led them from the marshes of the river estuary, Now� balked, thinking the Vala meant to separate him from his desire, but as the earth under his feet grew soft and sandy and the undulating song of the waters pulsed ever more strongly in his blood, he stilled his protests.

�Look now,� said the Vala from Nahar�s back. �Behold Belegaer, the Great Water that lies between thee and Aman.�

Nahar stood nearly at Now�s shoulder; he could feel the great beast�s breath warm upon his neck. It seemed Orom�s words were for him alone and he turned his gaze down the brow of the hill where the sand stretched to meet a vast horizon of water.

Behind him he heard cries of astonishment and fear. For this was not Cuivi�nen, whose waves lapped gently at the shore, but a living thing whose heaving breath rose and fell upon the edge of the land, lashing the rocks with white-frothed spray. Now� heard the screaming of gulls overhead, and saw more of the birds wheeling and diving above the crest of the water.

�I would venture closer still,� murmured Olw�. When Now� was able to tear his eyes from the Sea long enough to look at his cousin, he saw Olw� was as entranced as he.

The sand was cool and soft, yielding to their footprints as the two of them drew near the water�s edge; a few others, braver than the rest, followed, but most huddled on the hill behind Orom�, tempted by fear to flight. The water surged up onto the sand, teasing the Eldar with white foam and then retreating. Now� laughed at the feel of the spray on his face and darted his tongue out to taste the salt water on his lips. Beside him, Olw� was throwing off his shoes to walk through the waves and feel the wet sand between his toes. He tried to persuade S�larielle to join him, but she hung back, daunted by the crashing foam.

Their laughter was cut short by the blast of a horn from the hill. Turning, they saw Orom� rising tall in Nahar�s saddle, his great hunting horn Valar�ma raised to his lips.

�He is not calling us back, is he?� asked Olw�.

And then, from the deep, came an answering call. The music of many horns sounded through the water and set some of Olw�s followers scurrying away from the foam and up the beach. Olw� looked at his cousin, wondering if they should not also retreat.

The music was both strange and beautiful, terrible and intoxicating. Now� did not want to move, did not think he could for the longing those horns stirred in him. He turned toward Olw�, urging him to stay, but the waters between them suddenly surged upward, exploding into a column of white foam. The resulting wave knocked him backward into the surf, and as he surfaced, coughing and choking on salt water, he saw a figure bending over him.

A male shape it wore, like unto Orom�, yet its body and face were of the living, moving water. The hand that grasped him and pulled him upright was twice the size of his own; it felt strangely solid, yet he knew he could have put his fingers through it with ease had he tried. Through salt-stinging eyes, he saw Orom� ride to the surf�s edge, where Nahar pawed at the sand as if in greeting.

�Late they have come,� said a deep voice like the crash of a wave. �Already the others have departed.�

�See now,� replied Orom�, gesturing to the hills behind him where the Eldar who had huddled in terror were slowly venturing forward, drawn by their curiosity and something else. �They have heard the Ulum�ri; the longing is upon them.�

Now� knew not what the Ulum�ri were, but his ears longed to hear again those horns, and to throw off his wet, clinging garments and dive into the deep. He might have done so, were it not for the hand holding him. Looking up, he saw the spirit glimmering through the curtain of water and wondered what manner of creature it was.

�Are�are you a Vala?� he gasped.

Laughter crashed over him with the pounding surf. �Nay, I am Oss�, servant of Ulmo Lord of the Waters. And what is thy name, Elda?�

�I-I am Now�, ar�to.�

�And thou dost not fear me, Elda?�

Now� gazed up at Oss�. He heard the crashing of the surf pound in time with his own heartbeat, and the echoes of the sea music that impassioned his blood. The Maia�s hand was still upon him, powerful yet gentle.

�Nay, I do not fear thee,� he whispered, dimly aware he was using the language of love to express his longing. If thou art the Sea, then I love thee.

Notes:

Land of many rivers: Ossiriand, with its seven rivers.

Finw�s largesse is noted in The Silmarillion, Chapter 5, in which the Noldor learn to mine gems in Valinor and �hoarded them not, but gave them freely.�

Now�s dream is a paraphrased version of the encounter between Elw� (Elu Thingol) and Melian in Chapter Four of The Silmarillion.

Enel: The first three Elves to awaken at Cuivi�nen were named Imin, Tata and Enel. For the purposes of this story, I have made Enel the father of Elw� and Olw�.

Ulum�ri: horns of white shell made for Ulmo by Salmar the Maia, �and those to whom that music comes hear it ever after in their hearts, and the longing for the sea never leaves them again.� The Silmarillion, �Valaquenta.�

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