~Caras Galadhon~
Thibinoriel was sitting at her desk with quill in hand when she heard a knock on the door frame outside her study. Standing there was her sister Eregiel.
'Nésa, do you have a moment?' Eregiel asked.
'For you, dear nésa, I have *two* moments,' replied Thibinoriel with a laugh. Eregiel laughed, too.
Eregiel entered the room, gracefully sitting in the open chair beside Thibinoriel's desk. Eregiel gently moved aside a stack of books so that she could see her sister's face. Thibinoriel set down her quill.
'I have been wondering about the steeds of Rohan that carried us home after our captivity in Isengard,' said Eregiel. 'Amidst all of these tomes,' Eregiel glanced about the room, 'is there anything written regarding the source of those beautiful horses?'
'It is interesting that you should ask, nésa,' replied Thibinoriel, 'for I made this very topic the primary subject of my study after you and Calentauriel departed for Imladris where you joined Elrond's sons on some mysterious mission.'
'Did you? That is wonderful!' exclaimed Eregiel. 'May I see what you have written?"
'The tale is not yet finished, but I will happily share with you what I have written thus far,' Thibinoriel answered.
'Thank you, I would like that very much,' said Eregiel.
'In answer to your original question, no, I have very little information regarding the horses of Rohan in my library. In fact, I have nothing at all. I sought to remedy that in Minas Tirith after we, that is, the contingent from Lothlórien, arrived for the wedding of Elessar and Undómiel.'
'Because of the great library of Gondor?' Eregiel surmised.
'Precisely,' answered Thibinoriel. 'Mithrandir would also be attending the wedding, so I hoped he would spare a moment to speak with me.'
'Did he?' asked Eregiel.
'He did,' said Thibinoriel. 'I also paid a visit to Shadowfax, his magnificent steed.'
'Did Shadowfax say aught to you?' Eregiel wondered.
'I fear those rumours about the mearas are untrue,' Thibinoriel replied with a laugh. 'However,' Thibinoriel continued, 'Mithrandir did provide a reliable source for information about the mearas.'
'Excellent! Who or what was it?' Eregiel eagerly asked.
'"The Eorlingas do not preserve their history in writing," Mithrandir explained. "Rather, they perpetuate their legends in song and story. If you wish to learn something of them, I can think of no better source than Gléowine, minstrel to Théoden King."'
'Gléowine? Théoden fell in battle on the Pelennor. I hope his minstrel did not suffer the same fate,' I said to him.
"'Fortunately, Gléowine survived the battle," answered Mithrandir. "He is now minstrel to Rohan's new king, Éomer Éadig."'
'That is wonderful! What did Gléowine say?' Eregiel excitedly asked.
'Éomer did not attend the wedding,' answered Thibinoreil, 'nor did his minstrel.'
Eregiel frowned disappointedly.
'Éomer had returned to Edoras to set things in order. However, he returned to accompany Théoden's body on its journey home,' Thibinoriel continued.
'Was Gléowine with him?' inquired Eregiel.
'If he was I did not see him,' replied Thibinoriel.
Eregiel frowned again.
'I spoke with Gléowine at length, though,' said Thibinoriel with a smile, 'after our party arrived in Edoras for Théoden's memorial feast.'
'And what did the king's minstrel have to say?' asked Eregiel, barely able to contain her anticipation.
'The Rohirrim have a legend about Oromë, the Huntsman of the Valar,' answered Thibimoriel. 'They call him Béma. They believe that Béma brought certain animals with him to Middle-earth, especially the mearas, a race of horses that are strong, wise, and exceptionally fast. Some, they say, could even speak like Men.'
Eregiel smiled. 'I was familiar with that last bit of lore.'
'So I gathered from your jest,' said Thibinoriel with a laugh. 'Sadly, it appears that the ability to speak, if it had ever existed, had been lost by the time Shadowfax was foaled.'
~Eorl and Felaróf~
'"My people have been in these lands for some five hundred years," Gléowine told me. "Calenardhon was given to Eorl by Steward Cirion for coming to Gondor's aid at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. There's a tapestry depicting Eorl's crossing the Anduin in this very hall."
"May I see it?"' I asked.
"It would be my pleasure to show it to you, lady," he courteously replied.'
'Oh, yes,' said Eregiel. 'I examined all the tapestries hanging in the Golden Hall during our stay. They were somewhat worn and faded, and a bit dusty, but they must have been a wonder to behold when they were newly woven.'
'This particular tapestry brought to mind Oromë blowing upon the Valaróma while seated on the back of Nahar,' Thibinoriel observed.
'What was the name of Eorl's horse?' asked Eregiel.
'I was just coming to that part,' said Thibinoriel.
'"Eorl was the leader of the Éothéod. He succeeded his father, Léod, who died at the age of two and forty years,' explained Gléowine. "Léod was a tamer of wild horses that roamed the northern lands where the Éothéod dwelt. He captured a young foal of one of the mearas with the thought of taming and riding it when it had grown. Tragically, the young mearh threw Léod from its back, who struck his head on a stone and died."
Gléowine paused a moment to collect his thoughts and, perhaps, his emotions before continuing.
"Eorl, seeking vengeance for his father's death, hunted the young mearh. Rather than killing it, however, young Eorl demanded it become his steed to compensate him for the loss of his father. The mearh agreed. Eorl named him Felaróf."'
'So the mearas are descended from Felaróf?' surmised Eregiel.
'They are,' answered Thibinoriel, 'and may only be ridden by the Lords of the Riddermark, who are the descendants of Eorl.'
'But what of Mithrandir and Shadowfax?' pondered Eregiel.
'They are the exception,' replied Thibinoriel. 'At first Théoden loaned Shadowfax to Mithrandir to speed him from Rohan, but later gave Shadowfax to Mithrandir for curing the king of Gríma Wormtongue's poisonous utterings.'
'The horses we tamed and rode must not have been mearas. Though very fine steeds, they were lesser relations to Felaróf,' said Eregiel.
'Yes, nésa, I believe you are correct,' replied Thibinoriel.
Eregiel rose from her chair. 'Thank you, nésa,' she said to her sister. 'That was very enlightening, and just the thing I wanted to know.'
Thibinoriel, who also stood, smiled at her sister. 'As always, nésa, I am happy to share with you what I have learned.'
Eregiel embraced her sister, turned, then departed. Thibinoriel sat down once more, picked up her quill, then began to write.
~The End~
