Chapter 12: Seperate Ways

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Fingon's rescue of Maedhros did win him the great renown that e'Narmire had predicted.  All of the Noldor praised his courage and self-sacrifice and the hatred between the houses of Fingolfin and Feanor began to fade.  And true to e'Narmire's wishes, Shaelina, Taurensil, and Curucam did not utter a word of their participation, forsaking their own glory for the good of the Noldor.
 
In time, Maedhros healed.  His body recovered from his torture, but the pain still haunted him.  He once again took up his sword, wielding it in his left hand with a deadlier precision than he had possessed with his right.  But Maedhros was full of still more surprises.

As the oldest son of the oldest son, Maedhros had rightful claim on the kingship of the Noldor in Beleriand.  And none disputed this.  But, instead, he begged forgiveness for his father's desertion of Fingolfin's host in Aman.  He could never make wholly right the treason that had left so many to die on the Grinding Ice, but as a gesture of his sincerity, he then gave up his claim to the kingship to Fingolfin, saying, "If there lay no grievance between us, lord, still the kingship would rightly come to you, the eldest here of the house of Finwe, and not the least wise."  And by this act, the kingship of the Noldor in Middle Earth passed to Fingolfin, the second son of Finwe. 

Thus the Doom of Mandos came to pass.  The House of Feanor had become the Dispossessed, losing not only the cherished Simarils, but also the kingship of the Noldor, not only in Beleriand, but also in Aman, where Finarfin, the youngest son of Finwe, now ruled in the absence of his two older brothers.

Word soon came from the south, from the realm of Doriath where Thingol ruled.  He was not fond of the idea of so many Noldor princes arriving from the West and would not open his kingdom to them, nor would he remove the protective enchantment surrounding his kingdom.  Only the children of Finarfin were welcome within Doriath's borders, for they were kin to Thingol, their mother, Earwen, being the daughter of Olwe and, therefore, a niece to Thingol.

Angrod, son of Finarfin, had visited his uncle in Doriath's underground capital of Menegroth, as a messenger of his brother Finrod.  He soon returned to Mithrim with a message from Thingol, "In Hithlum, the Noldor have leave to dwell, and in the highlands of Dorthonion, and in the lands east of Doriath that are empty and wild; but elsewhere there are many of my people, and I would not have them restrained of their freedom, still less ousted from their homes.  Beware, therefore, how you Princes of the West bear yourselves; for I am Lord of Beleriand, and all who seek to dwell there shall hear my word.  Into Doriath none shall come to abide but only such as I call as guests, or who seek me in great need."

At this, the Sons of Feanor scoffed and were angered at Thingol's words, and many feared a renewed outburst of violence directed toward Doriath.  But Maedhros restrained his brothers and they were soon moving eastwards, towards the Ered Luin, the Blue Mountains.  Around the Hill of Himring they established new kingdoms, and there Maedhros and his brothers kept watch, gathering all such people as would come to them, and they had few dealings with their kinfolk in the west, save for times of great peril.

As all of this played out among the Princes of the West, the Companions took little notice, instead contenting themselves with more personal matters.  Only e'Narmire paid any attention to what was happening, and he was disheartened by the words of Thingol.  He feared those words would carry a grave price for his old friend.  And as these thoughts weighed on him, they began to worry him.  He decided to go to Doriath to visit his ancient comrade.

Over the next twenty years, the rest of the Companions went their separate ways.  Of all of the Companions, only Telemire stayed in Mithrim.  He had learned that his son had come across the Grinding Ice.  The last time they had spoken was in Aman, after hearing Feanor's fiery speech.  His son had begged him not to go, but Telemire could not resist the words of his master at that time.  Caught up in the moment, Telemire had abandoned his family in Aman, not knowing that they would follow him.

There was much resentment in his son.  Telemire understood that resentment, but not the extent of it until he was told that his beloved wife had perished in the journey, slipping out of his son's hands and under the ice of the Helcaraxe.  It took much patience and many years, but Telemire worked hard to regain the lost love of his only son, living peacefully along the coast of Lammoth near the Firth of Drengist.

After spending a few years in Mithrim, Curucam decided to go back to his home in Belegost.  From there, he began to establish a rich trade route with the Noldor, and soon began to develop a severe distaste of Caranthir, fourth son of Feanor.  Caranthir had established his kingdom along the borders of the Ered Luin, stretching to the River Gelion in the west.  In the north, his kingdom was bordered by Maedhros' realm, and in the south, Caranthir extended across the Dwarf Road to the River Ascar. 

Most of the Dwarves of Belegost simply tolerated Caranthir.  Neither had no love of the other, but their common hatred of the Enemy bound them in alliance.  Trade was reestablished into Beleriand, but all of the goods had to pass through the lands of Caranthir, granting him first opportunity to trade for the best works and granting him great riches.  Curucam despised him and sought to create a new route that would avoid Caranthir's realm as much as possible.

In this endeavor, he was largely successful.  Establishing a route that took him out of the mountains on Caranthir's borders, he quickly cut south until crossing the River Ascar before turning west.  After crossing the River Gelion, he rejoined the Dwarf Road into Beleriand.  Over this route, Curucam made many journeys to and from the realms of the Eldar, making new contacts and earning great riches in his own right.  From time to time, he would come across one of his old companions from the early days of the Sun.

It was on one such journey that Curucam saw Shaelina.  He was passing through Ossiriand, trading with the Laiquendi, when he spied her among the crowd.  For hours, the two Companions visited with each other.  Soon after Curucam's departure from Mithrim, Shaelina and Taurensil set out to finish what they had started.  At first, they went to Taurensil's homeland in Nevrast, where the ranger wanted to ensure that his people were safe and to pay his respects to the memory of his brother, lost so many years before.  It was then that many of the Sindar of Nevrast took Turgon, son of Finarfin, as their king, swearing fealty to him and taking him as their lord.

From Nevrast, the pair ventured south, returning to Eglarest in the Havens of Cirdan.  Over the next few years, they helped the shipwrights hunt down and destroy the roving bands of orcs that had managed to flee into the countryside after the breaking of the siege.  Cut off by the Noldor victory during the Dagor-nuin-Giliath in the north, they had been unable to escape back into Angband.  In many campaigns, Taurensil and Shaelina led the Eldar of the Havens into brutal skirmishes with orc stragglers before finally eradicating them.

Completing their service to Cirdan, the Companions traveled to Balar for a much needed extended rest before moving on.  Taurensil accompanied Shaelina to her childhood home in Nan-Tathren, where she, too, paid her respects to her lost family.  From there, Taurensil headed north, longing to once again to see his home, but Shaelina went east into Ossiriand, and to the only family she had left.

It was during these days of reminiscence that word came into Ossiriand of a great feast being held near the Pools of Irvin in the north.  King Fingolfin had invited all of the Eldar of Beleriand to come and rejoice in this new era of peace.  The prospect of seeing their companions again, after so many years, was too tempting for Shaelina and Curucam to resist.  Many of the Laiquendi decided to make the journey to the north, and the Companions would join them.