Nenuphar Image by <Lobelia>   Nenuphar's mother was from the people of Gondolin. She was killed during its fall, but some years later was reborn. Her father was from King Thingol's people, and the two of them met after the final battle with Morgoth, and the ending of that age. For many years the two of them knew great happiness, as did she and her three sisters when they finally came along (a short time before the elves discovered the betrayal of Sauron). Nenuphar grew into a fair elven woman like her sisters, with dark hair and blue-grey eyes. She was shorter than the rest of her family, a constant source of teasing. Her left-handedness became a source of consternation for their parents when they began teaching the girls archery and sword fighting. Many days their mother spent telling them of the fair land of Valinor, and the beauty that had existed under the light of the Two Trees. "Oh, my beloved daughters," she would say slowly and with less than her usual amount of grace, "do you see the sun bright in the sky? Do you feel its warmth beating down on your face, your arms, your back? Can you sense the heat and life it shares with all living things? And the moon? Its cold, clear light drowning out the stars, shining down like a silver lamp to guide us through the night. The Trees were all of that, and more. You see the trees around us and you think you know what a tree is, but I tell you, Yavanna created nothing else like Laurelin and Telperion. You look at the trees around us and you wonder how a tree could light up the world -- you don't need to tell me, I see it in your eyes -- but I tell you, there has never been anything like the light that poured forth from those two Trees." The light in her eyes was shadowed by the grief that had come after the Trees had been killed, and even more after the Kinslaying; child though she had been, this event was engraved in her heart and mind forever. While her daughters understood not her sorrow, these storytelling moments enriched their lives and filled them with wonder. Nenuphar's family wandered endlessly throughout Middle-earth. Most elves are content to remain in a small bit of forest, learning each tree, each animal, each cave with an intimacy unknown to our mortal friends. Yet her family wandered throughout the land, at home everywhere and nowhere. Sometimes they visited family and friends who had been scattered; other times they merely traveled for the joy of it. Such a solitary life often meant danger, and Nenuphar's family knew many small skirmishes, leading to all four girls being well able to defend themselves when needed. Yet none of the four would ever forget their youthful ramblings, nor look back on them as anything but good, although as a result they would never feel quite at home anywhere inside four walls. Yet all good things must come to an end, and so did that joy. One day her mother left for a short trip to visit distant kin. On the way she apparently met with some remnant of Morgoth's followers, and returned to Mandos' hall once again, this time with no return. For a time after this their father was nearly overcome with grief, but finally he was able to carry on. The sisters were heartbroken as well, but held on to each other. All five of them grew closer together as they adjusted to their loss. Their move a short time earlier to the recently founded Rivendell helped, as they were no longer so alone as they had been in the wilderness. The next several years passed swiftly for Nenuphar and her family. Her sisters married one by one, until she was the only one left single. Each began having families, and the greatest joy in her life became helping to raise her brood of nieces and nephews. Her sisters proved less prone to wandering than their parents, and even her father settled down some, although he still traveled regularly to his old haunts. Only Nenuphar continued to have itchy feet, and found companionship among many kingdoms of Middle-earth. When she was at home in Imladris, she was fond of spending time with the animals she had befriended, including her cheetah Tumbleweed and the horses she trained with her sister Eregaran and Eregaran's family. Ever did she love wild plants as well, especially trees and the water lily that was her namesake. Many years after her mother's death, Nenuphar had the bittersweet thrill of finally understanding those stories told centuries before. One autumn she traveled with companions from Rivendell to the light of a fallen star. There upon the shores of Lake Evendim, she beheld the same radiance and splendor, albeit dimmed, that had lit up her mother's childhood. Upon those same shores she also witnessed the effect this brilliance had on the Firstborn; although self-restraint ultimately prevailed and there was no second Kinslaying, she never forgot the effects of greed on elven hearts. In later years those around her noticed that in her eyes could be seen a reflection of the glow from the now renamed Lake Evenlight, dim likeness of the glow in the eyes of those who had beheld Telperion in the years before the Sun and the Moon. And thus she continued even up to the present day. Back to the top Return to the front page of the book