don't touch me

[lintamande]

Confirmation reaches them in the spring that Elwing of Sirion has the Silmaril.

It takes as long as the spring only because they weren't looking. They can stretch the oath that far, they can be disinterested in knowing - but now they know, and so there it is. Elwing of Sirion is twenty-three. Half-man, so fully grown. Sirion is a city of refugees. Elves and Men and, since there are Men, children. Elwing herself has infant children.

They debate whether to send messengers. Debating is allowed, even protracted debating. The Oath, these days, is loud in their minds, and louder when they're pushing it like this, but they drag out the debate for a few months. Messengers will probably be shot on sight. The last time Elwing of Sirion received news of the House of Fëanor it would have been the news that her brothers, twins, aged seven, had not survived the sack of Menegroth.

They send messengers anyway. The messengers are shot on sight. They have good armor, Fëanorian armor, and return home injured but not lethally. Maglor's songs no longer stitch them together. War makes you worse at healing. Maglor's songs are more powerful than ever - he can knock back a wave of approaching enemies, he can make a blade's next touch deadly, he can make them faster and more impervious to danger, but he can no longer do healing.

Maedhros, when he thinks about this, thinks that perhaps there needs to be part of you that is not broken for healing spells to draw on. Or perhaps the Enemy is amused to strip that away first. Perhaps the Enemy finds it suited to the theme as the Oath tugs and yanks and twists them into violence against the lands they once defended and the peoples they once sheltered.

They send messengers to Sirion again. The messengers deliver a plea for the Silmaril, an offer of anything at all in exchange. The messengers do not return at all.

The Enemy is many many hundreds of miles from here but at night Maedhros can hear him in his head. Is it so implausible that I really let you go? the Enemy likes saying. You serve me better free than you ever would have willingly.

The Oath allows them to work slowly. They begin planning the sack of the refugee camp even more slowly than the Oath allows, so slowly that its currents are constantly tugging at them. Any slower and the currents would erode all the things they care about which are not the Oath, and it would be a disaster to go to Sirion once they've been stripped of their capacity to care about anything that is not the Silmaril. So they do not hold out forever. But they work as slowly as they can.

Comments

[imeanforever]

She cannot move.

[lintamande]

Sauron is sufficiently frustrated to light her on fire again. "Tell me why that didn't work."

[imeanforever]

That's not a question. She has to answer, and it has to be a real reason because otherwise it's not 'why that didn't work', but it doesn't have to be complete and it doesn't have to be all relevant information. "Maybe he and his boyfriend wouldn't be in the mood with you standing over them."

[lintamande]

Fire goes out. "Maitimo, why -"

"We'd spend at least a few decades talking about our feelings," he says, "and the fact I got him killed, and the things I've done since then -"

"I want you," says Sauron, "to hold her down and fuck her."

That's not an order. He doesn't move.

"Fairy, order him."

[imeanforever]

Rescind all my orders.

[lintamande]

I rescind all your orders.

[imeanforever]

And this is really about time.

Listen. HELP.

Ulmo can hear her near the sea.

Maybe Eru can hear her from here.

[lintamande]

The castle cracks open above them.

No, doesn't crack open, just ceases existing in a manner that is patterned like a widening crack.

[imeanforever]

Oh good. She was worried that wasn't going to work. Attempt no circumvention or retaliation against me. Give me Sauron's name. Prevent him and Melkor from acting. Protect me and Maedhros from inconvenient consequences of this prevention.

[lintamande]

Sauron's name, first, a deep and terrible trill. Sauron himself is not moving. Not at all. Nor is Morgoth. Nor is anyone except her and Maedhros, though he's still under orders to take no new action -

[imeanforever]

Tell me what true facts I am most likely to value in this situation.

[lintamande]

Morgoth holds the oaths of all orcs and could release them. Morgoth engineered the suffering of all orcs and could end it at will. Morgoth cannot be vanquished without the destruction of the continent. Angband is collapsing. I can release people from oaths that were spoken before me, such as the oath of the house of Fëanor. Celebrimbor, who is still alive, could with Sauron's aid build a gate back to your home world. The names of the Valar are - and he shares them.

[imeanforever]

She thinks at Melkor. He's probably around somewhere. Stop Angband from collapsing. End the suffering of the orcs. Release the oaths of the orcs.

To Maedhros, "Tell me, d'you want out of your oath?"

[lintamande]

"Yes."

[imeanforever]

"If I have him release it from everybody who took it do you anticipate any objections?"

[lintamande]

"...maybe but please do it anyway."

[imeanforever]

Release the oath of the House of Fëanor.

[lintamande]

I have done so.

[imeanforever]

Tell me: in your sincere estimation am I likely to regret it if I let you act freely?

[lintamande]

I dislike fairy orders and will probably revise the world so they don't work here, or on my children should they visit other worlds. You might desire some of the dead returned to life who would not otherwise have been, or returned to life sooner. You might desire to change the fates of some people. If it is Maedhros's sincere desire to stop existing no one short of me can do that.

[imeanforever]

Don't attempt to get out from under my orders delivered of my own uncommanded will, nor to prevent me from delivering them. "Oh - you may act freely," she adds to Maedhros. "But please don't kill Sauron, I might need him for something. Eru says if you really want to stop existing you'll need him for that specifically."

[lintamande]

"Eru's name worked?" He does not kill Sauron. He is pretty sure killing Sauron wouldn't even work. "And yes, I would, though I'd appreciate it if you told my brothers that this worked."

[imeanforever]

"...Yes. What did you think I did?" she asks. "Can I have you around for general advice and consultation while I try not to make any stupid mistakes wielding this deity or should I ask Maglor?"

[lintamande]

"I am available for advice and consultation. Please don't give me orders."

[imeanforever]

"Don't anticipate having to with your oath gone," she says. "Eru thinks I might want some people alive earlier than planned or some fates changed."