Act I, Part XII: Departure from Nan Elmoth
Tinnurion slept for days with waking eyes, and many were his dreams, and when at last he woke he was alone. His face was terrible but he said nothing. Silently he walked the dim halls outside to the pool of Gladuial. There he stood and looked into the still water, black as night. Hardly could he recognise himself now; changed in face and stooped in stature. Not long he stood there before some of his companions met him, and all the while they hid their fear for the terrible look in his eyes.
As time passed, Tinnurion started to venture outside of the dim halls again; seeking the beauty of starlight and the feel of wind in hair and face. In time, the woe and horror of Angband left him, but not fully, for he remained faint in arm and heart. Even to his fellow servants, he was no pleasant company, and without their lord they turned restless and eager to leave.
Hence, those days saw the departure of nearly all his fellow servants. Some left the woods and were never heard from again. Others left for Doriath, to serve Elu Thingol in his woodland realm. Only two remained who, like Tinnurion, remained faithful to the keeping of their master's halls. They tended to his dwelling, still awaiting his return, though in their heart they knew that day would not come. Eöl's household lay abandoned, though it did not seem like that news had yet reached Doriath.
Tinnurion meanwhile stayed true to his master's will, and he did what was necessary to maintain appearances towards the surrounding fiefs. He met with the Dwarves upon the Dwarf Road north of Nan Elmoth and traded with them. He gathered news from Doriath and the lands of the Noldor. He even worked Eöl's smithy and reforged a blade that shone like black glass, calling it Níniolêg, The Weeping Thorn. A gift for his master should he return to judge its craftsmanship.
But come every spring into summer Tinnurion's mood turned dark and he slipped back into sorrow. Then he would sit in long unbroken silences in dark places of the forest and grow feelings of jealousy and hatred in his heart, and sometimes his words sowed dissent amongst others. But he knew that this was the work of Morgoth, who could pursue his enemies with woe wherever they went, and he cursed him for it.
Then at last the foretelling nature of his words of warning to the Noldor in Dorthonion came to pass, as Morgoth sent forth rivers of flame from Angband and his armies followed suit, lead by Gothmog and Glaurung. Aegnor and Angrod were both slain and Dorthonion was taken. Glaurung burned a hole through the Long Peace and came through the Pass of Aglon where Curufin and Celegorm fled before the coming destruction. Orcs roamed freely through the lands and Glaurung was unchecked and unchallenged and set to flames much of Eastern Beleriand. Tinnurion could see the smoke rising from afar and he recoiled in fear. He retreated deep into the woods of Nan Elmoth to wait out the storm. In this he succeeded, but he knew that in time the fires of Angband would spread to Nan Elmoth, and therefore he had a choice to make.
To Doriath he would not or could not go. He knew they would not welcome him, for distrust lay ever between the Eldar and those who had tasted the slavery of Melkor. So he moved eastward to the Blue Mountains instead where he and his two remaining companions settled on its forested slopes, close to the dwellings of the Dwarves. But he was heavy-hearted for leaving Nan Elmoth, and often his mind dwelled on it.
And so bereft of home and belonging the many wanderings of Tinnurion began.
