Daughter of the Golden Wood

This is for my Minstrel friend, Maerilin.

She was a prisoner in the Frozen North with me, and through the long days and nights the sound of her voice drove away the cold of Forochel and kept away my nightmares. We were both given as a pledge to the Lossoth, so the rest of our company would return from their quest in case they were victorious. We all risked everything for one man, guilty of his crimes, but repentant. It was our love and loyalty towards him that finally allowed us all to sail back south, confident that life would be easier from now on.

Of course other hardships came and destroyed what peace we had worked so hard to build. Our captain was killed, his wife went missing, and I left my home in the Shire, determined to find out what had happened to our company. After wandering in the wilderness for months, stopping at every town and village to ask for them, I found Maerilin in Rivendell. She hadn’t gone home to Lórien, so I met her by the stream that flows through the Valley.

Where would the Road lead us next? Were the others of our company searching for us, as we were searching for them?

Tell me if you have seen them.

Tilhi of the Stoors

A wandering Minstrel