27. From the Balrog-Slayer's Mouth
For the LiveJournal tolkien_weekly "Water: Sea" challenge.
"The very person! Elen sila am lúmen vín govaded, nín mellon!" Running ink-stained fingers distractedly through curly grey hair, Bilbo beckons the passing Elf into his study, apparently drowning in a sea of parchments.
"How best should I render this phrase – wings of fire, or flames like wings? What do you advise?"
Barely a flicker crosses the golden-haired Elda's face; but the Hobbit sees and is at once contrite.
"Forgive me – in my enthusiasm I forget! Doubtless you would rather not recall-"
"We must all suffer for scholarship's sake, little master." Smiling, Glorfindel reaches for the parchment. "Let me see…"
~~~
Elen sila am lúmen vín govaded, nín mellon - "A star shines upon the hour of our meeting, my friend." (Elen and lúmen are Old Sindarin, according to Ardalambion. I have a hunch Bilbo might have a bit of a poetical affection for the slightly flowerier-sounding O.S.)
"Bilbo's 'Translations from the Elvish'…were found to be a work of great skill and learning in which, between 1403 and 1418, he had used all the sources available to him in Rivendell, both living and written." - The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Prologue, Note on the Shire Records.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
