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Their father Mairon was no longer in Middle earth, defeated. The change had begun with the destruction of the One Ring in Mount Doom. The siblings Narya, Nenya and Vilya were thinking about their future. They were free of their father, no longer had anyone in their family and even fewer people knew of their existence. Finally, the three siblings could leave their apartment deep in the Ash Mountains.
For the first time, the three elves admired the blue sky and the light on Mordor, over the whole desolate land.
“How beautiful, I had completely forgotten the feeling of the sun on the skin, that gentle caress so warm and comforting... I remember our moments in Eregion, happy with our two fathers,” sighed Vilya with relief.
“We were never happy with Adad and Annatar,” added Nenya.
She placed a hand on her sibling’s shoulder before gently caressing their long brown hair. Nenya passed a few of Vilya's rebellious locks behind her sister's ears as if to console them.
“I'm sorry, Vilya.”
Their eldest, Narya, stood at a distance from his siblings, thinking of something completely different. He was not looking at his siblings, but at the horizon, lost in his thoughts. At last, he had the opportunity to claim his inheritance. At last free to claim his birthright: the throne of the High King of the Elves. Without a word, the tall blond elf moved away, determined to leave Vilya and Nenya to their contemplation.
Vilya looked at him before deciding to follow his brother. They stopped Narya by the arm. They looked at him with defiance, having understood his elder's plans.
“So you abandon us at the first opportunity for your ambitions, even though we promised to stick together, to always be there for each other.”
“I have never abandoned my ambitions for the throne and to rule the elves. I was raised with hope, even with the prospect of taking it back. Our father Annatar never stopped telling me stories about the First Age, our family, our father Celebrimbor. You cannot understand, Vilya, you are too young.”
“No, I'm not too young. And your justification is shaky. We were raised by the same people as far as I know. You have seen how Annatar has changed over the ages. Our father Sauron, how he manipulates everyone around him, how he manipulated Adad, how he tried to use us. What if such ambition came solely from him and not from your free will, but also from his desires and not from yours? Don't you think that he wanted from the beginning to establish his authority over the elves with you as their leader with the sole aim of manipulating them even more? I may be young compared to you two, but his blue eyes didn't make me crack. Not at all.”
Vilya stood tall and proud in front of their brother, staring him down even though they was smaller than him. Nenya watched them, ready to intervene. All three were so different, even though they were from the same parents, their lives had been so different.
“And how does your theory hold up when it comes to our imprisonment in Mordor? How did Annatar find us during the last alliance of elves and men in the Second Age? My ambition does not come from my father. I hate him as much as you do,” Narya lied.
“You may be able to manipulate other elves like you did in Eregion, but not us, dear brother. We have the same parents. You are the one who has witnessed Annatar's horrors the most. You should understand me more than anyone else. If you are so smart, why haven't you freed yourself from our golden prison to reclaim your throne, which has been vacant for a long time?” insisted Vilya.
Nenya had caught up with her siblings and placed herself between Narya and Vilya. She didn't want yet another argument between the two, especially about how one or the other had been manipulated by Annatar. It was impossible for Nenya to call him father; she had experienced too much suffering for centuries to call him that. Perhaps the term “genitor” would be more appropriate. Even if she wanted to continue the work of both her parents, she could not accept such glorification of Sauron, even from her elder.
“You forget, Vilya, that he was also the most manipulated of us since he was a baby by Annatar, and that Adad was much less suspicious when he was born. That they were still living in a waking dream” added Nenya.
“And you're changing sides again, Nenya, a real weathervane! Now you're on Vilya's side? You weren't saying that some time ago, especially during the beginning of the ring war. You were angry with the whole world, have you suddenly forgotten?”
Tired of facing his siblings, Narya made a slight turn of the wrist and thus teleported them to Lindon’s palace. He had wanted to silence them and judging by their astonished expressions, it had worked very well. Nenya and Vilya looked at him with astonished, surprised eyes and their mouths wide open at the demonstration of this hidden power on the part of their elder. Words struggled to find their way to clearly express their feelings of incomprehension and resentment, even jealousy.
Meanwhile, Narya admired the room they had landed in. He had dreamed of finally setting foot here for decades and decades, among his own people, in the jewel of his family, of his line of elven kings. It was not the throne room, but at least a meeting room for the king and his advisors, completely empty.
Magnificent voluptuous arabesques made entirely of wood supported the wall like the columns in the corners of the room. Glass was used in all its forms and in every possible color. The golden light of the sun and the leaves of the trees shone on all the walls of a magnificent pastel green cob. But what captivated the elves even more was the large glass roof with stained glass windows depicting part of their history. Valinor was depicted there with the two majestic trees, Telperion and Laurelin. The whole room exuded nature with its lines forming flower stems. All the wooden furniture followed this very clean, light and rounded spirit.
The eldest of the siblings then poured himself a glass of wine, wine of excellent quality as he had dreamed of, wine like he had drunk with his two fathers on the rare occasions when everyone was happy, just the three of them against the whole world. Narya moved his glass of rare beauty between his hands, pensively. This delicate red robe reminded him so much of the precious bottles from Celebrimbor's early days. He brought the heavenly beverage to his nose to experience all its flavors and determine whether it was indeed the elixir so prized by his dear Adad. Multiple scents assailed him, very fruity like cherry or plum with notes of humus or even moss.
There was no doubt about it, the wine was indeed of the First Age. An age he had not known, but he was nostalgic himself, especially with all the stories his father told him about their family and about his great-grandfather the great Fëanor. Forgetting Nenya and Vilya before him, he recalled his sweet moments in Annatar's lap by the workshop fireplace. How Narya would love to return to that time!
“Where did this power suddenly come from? Do you have any others?! Why don't we have any with Vilya? Have you plotted with Sauron? Stop playing mysterious with your wine and answer me! You sounded just like him.
Nenya was too upset to sit on the magnificent chairs carved with floral motifs, and Vilya felt the same. They needed an answer from their elders! Vilya had reverted to observation rather than verbal confrontation, Narya's magic demonstration had taken away all desire, even if they were consumed by a terrible inner rage.
Narya smiled at his fellow siblings before taking his first sip of wine, slowly savoring it. Perfect. The taste was just as he remembered: voluptuous, strong and fruity. He could hear Nenya pacing back and forth and looking for an object to throw in his face to get his attention. They knew nothing about his powers, the extent of his powers. How cute they were. He blinked before focusing on Nenya and Vilya again. His eyes changed color from a soft green to an intense amber, a mixture of orange and yellow.
“Father taught me a few things and passed on certain genes to me,” Narya confessed mysteriously.
Suddenly, Vilya came out of his lethargy to jump at his brother's neck. Nenya did not have time to catch up before they pounced on their older brother. Unfortunately for Vilya, Narya had anticipated all their movements; he knew his sibling far too well and also knew their thoughts. They underestimated him so much! In mid-motion, Narya grabbed Vilya by the neck before throwing them against the table in the center of the room. He held them with all his strength, but also with all his weight on them.
“Do you really want to play at who is stronger, Vilya? Especially after the revelation of my abilities? Mh? May I remind you that we have a Maia as a father!
“If we have the same parents, I have the same brute strength as you, don't I?” Vilya spat.
“Oh, the little last one wants to prove their strength!”
Vilya punched him violently in the face. They was screaming with all his rage towards his brother and his manipulation having been exposed, his protective brotherly mask, all this to turn away from them at the perfect opportunity! They even bared his teeth and had almost none of the elf grace they had inherited from Celebrimbor, such was the rage that had altered his features. Laughing out loud, Narya took him with him before violently pushing them against the nearest wall, now using his magic to control them.
“I will remain the strongest of you, I know the true terms of our births. Father wanted me, unlike you two parasites! I am and always will be superior to you!” growled Narya.
Nenya rushed to his siblings to try to reason with them and separate them.
“Stop it! All you're going to reap, Narya, is the wrath of Círdan and the remaining elves! Where are we, anyway? This legacy is cursed! You will have no one left to rule! Come to your senses! Think of what Adad would say about you if he saw you like this! You are the spitting image of everything he hated in the world!
Holding Vilya, Narya managed to push Nenya away with a quick, angry wave of his arm. Nenya landed but first on the ground, looking on in horror at the sudden transformation of her elder.
“Nothing can stand between my legacy, my throne and me. Nothing! Not even the two of you!”
He released his grip on Vilya's neck before knocking out his siblings and disappearing, leaving them alone in this unfamiliar environment at the hands of their potential enemies: the elves remaining in Middle earth. Alone to face Círdan.
Nenya was the first to wake up under the magnificent golden leaves of the trees protecting her from the light. What a magnificent sight! But what had just happened? Narya was finally like Annatar, as she had feared for all centuries. Their father Celebrimbor had not succeeded in repelling the far too strong manipulation of the Dark Lord. She felt so stupid for having been manipulated all her life, by him, by Annatar. Adad, forgive him! A feeling of failure overwhelmed her. She who believed in siblinghood, welded together against all odds... Narya became her new enemy, after Sauron.
Where were they? Outside the palace, still in Lindon? In full view of all the elves! But especially of Círdan! Nenya did not want to meet with the elves remaining in Middle earth, wanting to keep a low profile to create new masterpieces of goldsmithing like her mentor and father, Celebrimbor. What could she tell the elves? The truth? Lies? Especially how two unknown elves had appeared in their gardens? The anxiety was gradually building up in her head, her breathing became more and more labored.
At the same moment, Nenya saw Vilya in her field of vision, looking at her worriedly. They gently reassured her.
“Breathe, everything is fine, we are safe at Lindon. “
“Everything is fine? What if they learn the truth and decide to kill us? Have you thought about that, Vilya?” Nenya gasped.
“We have a more urgent problem to deal with in the name of our dear brother Narya. The elves will not begrudge a little help, nor will the men who are once again in control of this land. King Elessar Telcontar will listen to us. We also have the legacy of our parents, Nenya. Our knowledge passed down by Adad, the mystical arts of forging. Perhaps Narya possesses the greatest powers of Sauron as his legacy, but we also have great powers of creation. Weren't the Elven rings the unique creation of our dear Adad? We spent so many decades in the forge, close to the creation of the rings. And when Annatar was busy with Narya, we had the knowledge of a blacksmith as exceptional as our father and even our great-grandfather.”
Nenya took a deep breath to calm herself as she slowly got to her feet. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. Her sibling was right. There was still a glimmer of hope in the overcast, gray sky. Humans had proven it. Vilya embraced her, trembling after so much emotion and powerful revelations.
“I want to know what we really were,” Nenya said to Annatar. ”Why did Narya imply that we were unwanted? Were we not in his plans? Was it a defense of Adad? Was it about leaving a trace in this world, a legacy, knowing the corruption already enveloping Narya?”
Nenya patted her on the arm, interrupting her thoughts. Indeed, standing before them was an elf almost as old as the world, Círdan. His deep blue tunic set off his long white hair and beard of the same color. His gaze conveyed his curiosity, but also his friendliness. A wave of reassurance washed over Nenya and Vilya and they knew that all was not lost. Their legacy would beat back the darkness of Narya's.