Contact

[handofsilver]

"Speak your piece and I shall return your message in good time."

Comments

Video; 4/1

[fracturedbeauty]

[Alot of static, the video keeps filtering in and out with broken voice patterns. The few glimpses of video that manage to get through show a very worn, very distraught Yukari.]

Cele--------chan, are y-- -----. I can't r--ch Cu----n. Pl--se, if you c-- an-w--, let me ---- y-- both ar- ------t.

.... An- p----- te-l Cu--fin I ---- ---, I-

[The video feed cuts out and goes black.]

Video;

[handofsilver]

(It takes a moment for him to recognize the voice. When he does, his heart aches for Yukari's sake.)

Yukari? Can you hear me?

(He winces when it goes black.)

Yukari?!

voice;

[hotspurred]

Celebrimbor. One of my greaves is in need of repair. Will you assist me?

voice;

[handofsilver]

I would be honored, Henry. Bring it by the Forge and I will see to it promptly.

Are you injured?

voice;

[hotspurred]

Very well.

[Henry huffs a soft breath at that question.]

No. [There is a short pause before he expands his answer. It's not a big deal, but given that Celebrimbor will see the state of his armour...] The blow that dented my greave broke my leg, but Kate healed it with Hope's blessing.

voice;

[handofsilver]

(Ah that is not uninjured! Celebrimbor purses his lips at his friend.)

I am grateful to Hope! But you must be more careful. You have only been given two legs and you need both in working order to be as active as you please!

Voice; 6/10

[fracturedbeauty]

[Yukari can't bring himself to show his face right now. But he feels like he needs to confess this to Celebrimbor. Maybe because Curufin wouldn't yell at him for it; maybe he's hoping the younger Elf will yell at him, then.

He's still afraid of the outcome. What if Celebrimbor deems him unworthy of Curufin? He doesn't want Celebrimbor to view him as an enemy. But his guilt is overwhelming. And it's just enough for him to go through with this, despite the fear in his chest.]

Celebrimbor-chan....

I've broken my promise to you. I hurt Curufin.

[It was a pain caused a few months ago. But to Yukari, knowing he hurt Curufin, it felt as fresh as that day.]

Voice; 6/10

[handofsilver]

(In all relationships hurt is bound to happen. No two people can exist in perfect balance always and love isn't a shield against disagreements. However Celebrimbor decides to be cautious before offering some comfort.)

How? Why?

(His father has said nothing of it to him and it worries him that Curufin might be suffering.)

Voice

[fracturedbeauty]

I was selfish. Back when my eye was removed.

[Did Curufin even tell Celebrimbor-chan that my eye had been repaired? Yukari didn't think to tell him at all.]

Someone offered me a solution a few months ago, through death. And before I went to battle with him, I called Curufin and told him I was going to die, and to wait for me in Hope-chan's Temple. It was such short notice, and I didn't give his feelings any consideration.

[And when Curufin recalled the pain he still carried a week later, Yukari hadn't forgiven himself since. When he woke up and Curufin barely moved when he saw him alive again. When Curufin fell apart.

And Yukari only added on to Curufin's burden with that call.

Yukari can feel the tears burning his eyes.]

I was so cruel, and he still carries it with him. [Yet he forgives me.] I'm a monster, a beast. [Yet he still calls me kind.] It's my fault... [And I'm so sorry.]

Voice

[handofsilver]

I do not have it within me to blame you for that selfishness. Anyone would have acted so in your position!

(Losing an eye is no small matter! Celebrimbor sounds shaken and confused.)

Death? What was this solution? (...his Atar had suffered in silence, then? Never saying a word? He feels something cold gripping his heart.)

He hasn't said anything. (And that pain is enough to distract him from Yukari's woe. But not for long. Giving his head a shake, he refocuses. He is not a child anymore.)

I am not the one who should absolve you. If my father is hurting, you are the only one who can soothe his pain. Do so and then I will not hold a grudge against you.

Action; Backdated to 3/17

[fracturedbeauty]

[Yukari went to the forge after finishing his conversation with Maglor, doing so rather unannounced. But he figured if he had called ahead, he would have lost any resolve he found to come here.

He pauses outside of the door, takes a deep breath as he runs his fingers over the sapphire in his hand, and knocks.]

Is anyone here?

Action;

[handofsilver]

(The arrival is surprising, but not unwelcome. At least not yet. However something within Celebrimbor tenses. Are his father and Yukari having issues? He never knows and he realizes it is perhaps not his place to help. Unless they ask, of course.

Stepping out from the shadows, he pulls off some leather gloves and nods politely.)

I'm here, Yukari. What is it?

[fracturedbeauty]

[Welp, this was already a bad idea. Yukari feels the urge to dismiss it and then leave like nothing happened. He doesn't want to talk. He really doesn't want to.

But he should. And he's been avoiding Celebrimbor long enough.

A deep breath, the fingers run over the sapphire again. And, after a long, awkward silence, he finally speaks.]

We need to talk. Don't we? About my choices.

[handofsilver]

(He sees the sapphire - how can he not? He is an Elf who is drawn to jewels and fine metal. But Yukari concerns him more and he approaches closer, voice softening.)

I admit I don't understand them. If you could explain your reasoning, I would be grateful.

backdated to 4/4

[so_dark_a_road]

[ On 4/4, Curufin went to attend Margaery Tyrell's resurrection at Hope's temple, and now he's back at home. He made a promise and is now trying to arrange for its fulfillment. ]

Tyelpe? I've asked Maglor if he could arrange for the family go to Margaery's Sewing Shop and ward the place. So that if Caedra still has malice towards our friend, she never gets into Margaery's shop again? And Margaery might need her apartment protected, too, but I guess she needs to ask her roommate if that's okay first. I'd take care of it all myself, but I'm afraid I'm not going to be hammering out any iron bars for portcullises anytime soon. Nor do I have the energy to be investing iron with spells at the moment, nor devising clever deadfalls in unexpected places.

And I am leaving messages for the rest of the family. Thanks, my dear son!

[handofsilver]

(He has been expecting a request of this nature and so he has already drawn up some ideas. Lady Margaery deserves their best protection.)

Caedra will not like what she finds. (Spells and traps are harder to manage, but he likes a challenge.) I feel the need to ask...

Are you taking care of yourself? Resting? Lady Margaery is whole and well-protected for the time being. Her attacker will surface again in time and we will be swift to act.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Clever, foresighted Celebrimbor, of course he has thought it through already. Curufin smiles. ]

Good. The less she likes it, the happier I will be. The happier we all will be! And I doubt not that Caedra will be back to trouble others, even if not us. We must indeed be vigilant and forearmed.

Yes, I'm taking care of myself. I slipped away to Hope's temple while your uncles and cousin Fingon were elsewhere, but of course, Maglor made a point of making me promise not to do it again. It's hard, though. I get so restless.

And you, my son? We have not had much chance to talk or spend time together talked in a while. Hadriel does seem to keep us both busy! How are you?

video -- backdated to 5/28

[so_dark_a_road]

Tyelpe?

I'm on North Island and I'm building a boat. I haven't heard from you and wondered if you were all right?

video --

[handofsilver]

Atar! I was dropped straight into the water, but I wasn't far from the West Island. Maybe I should have swum further to reunite with you?

video

[so_dark_a_road]

I'm really glad you didn't! These waters are cold and untested as yet, so far as what creatures besides fish might be swimming in there. You're on West Island now?

I'm building a boat, as I was saying, and Margaery is sewing the sail. We expect to get it into the water in about six days. We can come and find you!

[video] backdated to mid-June

[so_dark_a_road]

Tyelpe, would you be interested in working on a carpentry project? We need to build a pier on each island in order to dock the boats. There will be others involved. It will take us a week or two to be ready to start construction. What do you think?

[video] backdated to mid-June

[handofsilver]

How many boats have we acquired? (This is pleasing news if enough of the vessels have been built!)

Is there any need for a lighthouse? You know well I would not mind working on piers, Atar.

video

[so_dark_a_road]

I've only built one so far, though I have several more planned. Floki has built a boat too -- it's rather like mine, except more artistic, and a bit larger. I'm hearing that some people have found various kinds of boats left for us by the gods, but I myself have not looked for them and haven't seen any on the shores of North Island, so far. Oh, wait, Ignis probably has one of the god-sailboats.

We might need a lighthouse later on, when we set sail for distant shores or objectives. I'm assuming we will. Trafalgar Law is talking about making a voyage of exploration, and i was thinking of that myself. It might be helpful if there was a lighthouse to guide the sailors back to our islands. Do you want to plan it?

Thank you, my son! I will be pleased to be working with you again!

[ OOC: And the network post is up, and it is here. ]

[video] backdated to just after Cel departs

[so_dark_a_road]

My dear Celebrimbor, I know that you are gone and cannot receive this transmission now.

And yet I cannot help but think that somehow this message may reach you through that strange and indefinable rapport that we have always had. Two spirits could scarcely be closer than ours, father and son, the direct spiritual heirs of Míriel and Fëanor. But it is more than that. We were close from the moment your mother first laid you in my arms and you and I looked into one another's eyes and each recognized the other. This kinship runs deeper than the soul. Because of this profound connection, I know that you still exist, that you have not gone into oblivion. And so perhaps your spirit can still receive my love and know that I will never forget you nor cease to hope that we may be reunited, though we know not the time nor the place.

I dreamed that I saw you in a vast, inchoate, cloudy dark passageway that stretched away into infinity, far beyond my capacity to perceive or understand its destination or ending. I reached out to you and called your name, and you turned and saw me, and your eyes lit with silver. You were surrounded by a dazzling white light, and it shone in your gaze for that moment, and then you were gone.

Wherever you may fare, take my love with you, and let it give you strength and courage, let it be added to the strength and courage that are already yours by nature. Farewell, my son. Fare very well. I love you, always.

[ He does not want to speak out of grief, though his sorrow is intense and unrelenting. If Cel can in any sense hear him, he wants this to be a message of hope. And even if they should never meet again, his wish for Cel is that he choose his own destiny and set out on his journey with confidence, so that he may find a way to shed his innate light on whatever world he harbors in, and on whomever he finds to love and to be loved by. ]

Backdated to just before the move to the tundra planet

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin walks North Island one night when the wind is soft and the waves splash the shore not far from the forge shack. Never again will he and his son fire up the furnace and hammer away at their projects together, at least not in this world. Curufin thinks of Sansa leaving tokens of love and sorrow for those she misses, and he decides to leave a remembrance for Celebrimbor. Only it is not a physical object, it is the finished version of the song that he began to compose when Cel departed from Hadriel. He unslings his harp, sits on the edge of one of the cliffs, plays a sparkling intro, and sings softly. Let the wind bear this song across the murmuring waves, across the Dark between the worlds, let it reach the one he loves, his only son! ]

         Curufin's Elegy for Celebrimbor
(Sung to the traditional Irish tune, "Dark Iniseoghain.")

I think of a place that we loved and defended,
windswept and shadowed, all the year long,
in the harsh endless winters and the brief lovely summers,
the mountainy glades of the Pass of Aglon.

How well I remember the days of your childhood,
when we hiked the forest, your small hand in mine,
the haunted breeze blowing, your silver eyes glowing
as you listened enchanted to the song of the pines.

Oh, where do we wander when our stories are ended?
Do we bear a light to the darkness beyond?
For there’s little I’d not give to journey beside you,
and share your remembrance of dark Aglon.

I shed my heart's blood in an infamous battle,
and time like a ruinous tide rolled on.
So I was not there when your body was broken,
and you died on the far fields of blood-soaked Hollin.

They say that time flows only one way, and therefore
there can be no returning to a place that is gone.
But my soul tells me surely that one day early
we’ll meet by the green banks of lost Celon.

The winds still will whisper what we knew in silence,
and the tree-shadowed waters will ripple at dawn.
You will walk in that forest, and I’ll walk beside you,
And we’ll bring a new morning to dark Aglon.

{{And here are two artists singing versions of the traditional tune: Siobhan Owen and Mary Dillion, with Déanta.}}