Chapter 140: Cirdan

Long before the sun had even risen, some uniquely gifted beings awoke under the light of the stars in Cuivienen, and lived and multiplied there for a long time; they were the firstborn children of Eru Iluvatar, the Elves.

Cirdan was born during this period, and like Thingol, the High King of the Sindar, he was a descendant of the couple Ener, one of the three pairs of Elves who awoke first, and they were the ancestors of the Teleri.

As an Elf born in starlight, Cirdan experienced much in his life; not only did he participate in the Great Migration of the three Elven kindreds, but he also took part in most of the wars that occurred over these seven thousand-plus years, and poured a great deal of heart and soul into them.

Most praiseworthy of all is that Cirdan's shipbuilding skills were exceptionally high; as early as thousands of years ago, he could craft ships that sailed the great seas, and that White Ship "Vingilot," which rendered many meritorious services in the War of Wrath and was sanctified by the Valar, was built by Cirdan to assist Earendil.

Possessing such outstanding shipbuilding skills, it stands to reason that Cirdan could have long ago sailed to the Undying Lands he yearned for, yet he did not do so, simply because he bore an extraordinary mission: to send all the Elves to Valinor.

This was an extremely arduous task, and Cirdan had already devoted thousands of years to it. Ever since Morgoth was defeated, this Sindar king had settled in the Grey Havens with the Elves who followed him, building many great ships there and fulfilling his mission. Even the five Wizards who arrived in Middle-earth from Valinor were received by Cirdan, and at a single glance, he had singled out Gandalf as the wisest among the Maiar.

During the meeting, he would occasionally focus his attention on Gandalf. Since the meeting of the White Council before last, the two had not seen each other for hundreds of years. At that time, Gandalf had declined the proposal to serve as leader, which had disappointed Cirdan somewhat, but he held no prejudice against the Grey Wizard, believing that Gandalf must have had his own reasons for doing so.

Sure enough, over these hundreds of years, Gandalf had been traveling throughout Middle-earth, offering advice to the kings of various factions to resist the darkness. When needed, Gandalf would naturally appear before you, but if you wanted to find him, it was exceedingly difficult; such circumstances were naturally unsuitable for becoming the leader of the White Council.

As for Cirdan, he had no great interest in the battles to resist Sauron. He had his own mission in Middle-earth, and as for combat, he preferred adventuring on the sea. Cirdan had not attended the last White Council meeting held in Lothlorien; at that time, he was drifting on the surging ocean in his sea-ship.

Of course, when allies were in need, he would still extend a helping hand. After all, after Gil-galad fell, Cirdan had become the leader of the Lindon Elves, commanding powerful Elven troops; when kin or allies were invaded by darkness, he would inevitably contribute his own strength to the cause.

However, if the enemy did not launch a major invasion, the Elves living in Lindon preferred a stable life. They were keen on admiring the beauty of the sea by the shore, or setting sail for a spontaneous adventure. It is worth mentioning that the Lindon Elves were very fond of silver and possessed superb skills in crafting silver ornaments and silver tableware, which they traded as commodities with factions across Middle-earth.

As the leader of the Lindon Elves, Cirdan also strongly supported his kin in maintaining such a life. The farsighted and wise Cirdan knew that the Elves' role had already been played out in the First Age and the Second Age; in the Third Age and the years to follow, the protagonists were Humans, especially the strong among Humans, the Numenoreans.

Regarding Allen, who sat next to Gandalf at the meeting, Cirdan had heard of him long ago. After all, as the one who slew the dragon Smaug, there would always be Elves keen on traveling throughout Middle-earth who brought such news to the Grey Havens. Not long ago, a caravan, under the name of the King of Rhovanion, had purchased a great quantity of silver ornaments and silver tableware in the Lindon Kingdom. If Cirdan remembered correctly, the young leader of that caravan, who spoke of a wise and sagacious King of Men, was the young man before him.

During the meeting, Cirdan observed the tense atmosphere between Saruman, Allen, and Gandalf; after all, it had reached the point of being about to come to blows, and it was easy to spot this. However, due to the distance, he did not notice the underhanded trick Saruman used against Allen. After all, no matter how old he was, Cirdan was only a Grey Elf who had never seen the Two Trees. He might be very wise and prestigious, but his strength was still somewhat lacking compared to the other bigwigs at the meeting. Of course, the "bigwigs" here did not include the fully armed Allen at the meeting; no matter how one looked at it, Allen was still the weakest person present at the time.

From Cirdan's own perspective at the time, the conflict that occurred at the meeting was largely due to Allen's insolence toward Saruman. Although those words were very strange and seemed to contain some meanings that were not easy to understand, Allen's expression and tone at the time had already completely indicated his disdain for Saruman. One must know that the White Wizard before him was the nominal leader of the White Council and an envoy who had come to Middle-earth from Valinor from thousands of miles away. Cirdan felt that no matter what, Allen should not have treated a wise man dedicated to resisting the darkness in such a way.

Therefore, whether it was after the meeting ended or during their journey together, Cirdan just listened quietly to Elrond and Allen chatting about domestic affairs, never once taking the initiative to say a word to either of them. He could sense Allen's intention to befriend him, as the young man's gaze, which kept drifting over, was truly too eager. However, Cirdan, who already had preconceived notions in his heart, was not very willing to befriend Allen. Nevertheless, this Elven King with excellent manners did not let any embarrassing look appear on his face; facing Allen's greetings, he always nodded and responded with a smile.

Allen, who had been talking to Elrond along the way, naturally did not know Cirdan's thoughts. His eloquent talk along the way, besides hoping that the bigwig Elrond would help him bridge the gap with the descendants of Arnor, also held a tiny bit of extravagant hope in his heart: that if the bigwig Elrond heard that his situation was so miserable, perhaps he might send some powerful Elf Warriors to help him fight this battle. Of course, Allen did not hold much hope for this; it was difficult. If it succeeded, it would naturally be good, and Allen would prepare some expensive gifts as a reward; if not, then so be it. He had no better way; was he supposed to suddenly kneel down and acknowledge a "great-grandfather"?

As for Cirdan on the side, Allen was prepared to find a way to befriend him after finishing his detailed discussion with the bigwig Elrond. At this moment, Allen felt a trace of resentment toward Gandalf in his heart, because after the meeting was over, Gandalf had disappeared again and again, not even having time to say goodbye to Allen. If the Grey Wizard were here, he could have perfectly served as a middleman to introduce Allen and Cirdan to each other, and then the rest would naturally be very simple.

However, things are always unpredictable. The words Allen spoke before Elrond made Cirdan re-evaluate the young Human before him. At this moment, this young king seemed to be a completely different person from the one at the meeting. At that time, he was a sharp-edged and impolite reckless youth, but now he had become a wise monarch who was farsighted, worried about his people, and capable of understanding others. As for whether the words Allen said at this moment came from the heart, Cirdan did not doubt it, because Elrond, who had the help of "Vilya," possessed the ability to see through people's hearts. Perhaps Allen could hide certain things from him, but "deception" was almost impossible.

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"According to my understanding, the descendants of Arnor are indeed still quite numerous. You use their lost heirloom as a stepping stone to forge a friendship; it seems like a thing with a high success rate, but if this matter is not handled well, it is very easy for there to be some other implications in it. What I want to say is, if they are unwilling to send troops to help you attack the Easterlings, would you still be willing to return the 'Star of Earendil' to those wanderers living in the Wilderness?"

Cirdan, temporarily casting aside the preconceived notions in his heart, suddenly inserted this passage in the gap after hearing the conversation between Allen and Elrond. He intended to help Allen in this matter as compensation for his previous misunderstanding of others. At the same time, Cirdan also wanted to know whether the young Human before him would use the "Star of Earendil" as a bargaining chip to force the Northern wanderers to participate in a war that did not belong to them. This would determine whether the young man before him was worth an alliance with the Lindon Elves. Moreover, Cirdan believed that in front of Elrond, Allen's answer would almost certainly not be fake.

Sure enough, Cirdan's question was also of concern to Elrond. In fact, this "great-grandfather" of the Arnor royal family had also thought of this point. It was just that in his view, Allen also possessed the blood of the Numenoreans and should not do anything too excessive. Moreover, as an elder, he was embarrassed to ask such a question.

"My Lord, I think the one managing the Northern wanderers on behalf of Estel at this time should be his mother, Lady Gilraen. Regardless of whether this respectable lady agrees to my conditions, I will return the 'Star of Earendil' to them. In fact, this treasure is just a stepping stone. I will pay other prices as a reward to thank them for their help. The most critical point among them is that they are willing to sit down and listen to my thoughts. In fact, they act very secretly and are not very willing to suddenly come into contact with strangers."

Cirdan looked at Elrond's expression slightly, and seeing nothing unusual, he nodded and continued: "In fact, I have had a few simple meetings with Lady Gilraen, and the Lindon Kingdom and the descendants of Arnor have always maintained a good friendship. If you are willing, I can act as a guarantor for this matter."

Allen did not know why Cirdan wanted to make such a decision. Although it was always good to have one more bigwig to guarantee for him, as long as he had Elrond's recommendation, the success rate of this matter was actually very high. Cirdan's guarantee was actually redundant. Allen felt that this goodwill should not be used on this matter; it was an extremely wasteful act.

"My Lord, thank you very much for extending a helping hand in this matter. However, I have already entrusted this matter to Lord Elrond. As the saying goes, one matter should not bother two masters, so I will not trouble you. However, I have always had a presumptuous request, hoping to receive the help of the Lindon Kingdom. I hope you can consider it."

"Oh?"

Seeing that there was no displeasure on Cirdan's face, Allen briefly explained the need for ships. Cirdan indicated that there was absolutely no problem with this. Although the Elves of the Lindon Kingdom were more keen on building sea-ships, they could also build ships used on rivers. Cirdan generously indicated that he happened to have a few Sindar Elves under his command with sufficiently superb shipbuilding skills. After returning to the Grey Havens, he would dispatch them to Long Lake Town to help Allen complete the construction of his naval forces there, and by the way, go to the Woodland Realm to see his long-unseen kin—killing two birds with one stone.

For Cirdan's exceptionally generous help, Allen was naturally overjoyed, repeatedly saying that he would prepare sufficiently valuable gifts to thank the Lindon Kingdom for its help. Cirdan waved his hand and refused, instead inviting Allen to visit the Grey Havens when he had time to see the charm of the sea. Facing Cirdan, who had just done him a great favor, Allen naturally could not refuse, repeatedly saying that he would go to the Grey Havens at an appropriate time.

When all matters were cleared up, the leaders of the three factions started a chat mode on the long journey. After all, thanks to Allen's efforts, the Anduin Valley was now very safe, and they had plenty of time and leisure to recall past events.

Cirdan and Elrond actually knew each other very early on. The time of their first meeting could even be traced back to the First Age. After all, Cirdan and Elrond's father, Earendil, were friends, and in every sense, he was a generation older than Elrond. They had countless common languages to chat about, while Allen, benefiting from the documents recording various major events, was occasionally able to interject a few words in the conversation of the two Elven elders, and also learned some secrets he did not know before.

Among them, the two things that Allen cared about most: one was the Silmaril that once belonged to the Noldor. One of them was thrown into the deep sea by Maglor, one of the sons of Feanor, at Forochel. This matter was mentioned when Cirdan accidentally talked about his friend Ulmo, the Lord of Waters. At that time, when the two were lamenting the beauty of the three Silmarils, they accidentally talked about the whereabouts of the Silmaril. As the King of the Sea, Ulmo naturally knew where the Silmaril that sank into the sea was now, but the greedless Ulmo did not take the Silmaril, but let it lie quietly in the deep sea.

Another thing was that with the return of Sauron, the remnants of the former Kingdom of Angmar had obtained reinforcements from somewhere and had become somewhat arrogant. Some Humans living in the marginal areas seemed to have been attacked by these servants of darkness. According to the description of the two, Allen felt that these Orcish were likely the remnants who escaped from the battle at the Lonely Mountain. However, these guys did not need Allen to worry; the two bigwigs before him would send soldiers to drive them away. As for whether the help of the Northern wanderers was needed, it depended on the intentions of the two bigwigs.

Galloping along Lothlorien on the vast wilderness, if one wanted to walk to the High Pass, the time required would be about more than a month, and this journey took Allen and the others less than two months to finish, simply because the three of them were all talkative people, and they spent quite a lot of time just chatting on the way.

However, the end of a gathering is always a farewell. Allen parted ways with Cirdan and Elrond's party at the Old Ferry. After more than three months, Allen returned to his territory again.