In the tenth year of the Age of the Divine Tree, reckoned as 2955 of the Third Age, spring returned. Along the shores of the Inland Sea of Rhûn the lilies opened once more, and in the forest a thousand branches put forth tender green. Upon the strand stood Felárdë, chieftain of the Avari Elves, watching a white gem in his palm kindle with a soft green fire. Joy broke over his face like sunlight through rain.
At once he summoned the thirty two chiefs of the Avari. He set the shining stone before them and spoke. "Last year a mighty host from the West swept through Rhûn and smote the dark men so fiercely that the peoples round the Inland Sea have not yet recovered. I spoke then with the commander of that host, a great king out of the North. He was clothed all about with pure and holy light, and he showed me visions of the rich lands that lie to the west.
"There, five Sacred Trees shelter the Elves, even as in elder tales the Vala Oromë once spoke to our forefathers. Only now;those five Trees stand now in Middle-earth. That king promised to treat with the Ents of Fangorn, that we might dwell beneath bough and leaf, and share the blessing of the Trees. When he departed, he left me this white gem and said, when it burns green, the road is open and our people may set forth."
He lifted the stone again. "It burns now, my friends. I have summoned you to hear your counsel."
Felárdë was held in reverence among the Avari of Rhûn, or he would never have been made chieftain over thirty two tribes. Most trusted him without question. Yet, after long debate, seven tribes would not agree to go.
One of their chiefs said, "Lord Felárdë, the dark men of Rhûn are broken. We can yet live here untroubled. The road is long and weary. Our forefathers refused even the summons of them who called themselves Valar. Shall we abandon the homes of our ancestors because of a Man, and wander at his word?"
Felárdë spoke long and earnestly, but their hearts were set. At last he yielded. It was as in the Elder Days when the Great Journey began. Not all Elves followed the light, and the name Avari in the fair tongue means the Refusers. In these seven chiefs the old name lived again.
So Felárdë gathered twenty five tribes, near two hundred thousand souls, and turned their faces toward the West. Before he went, he granted wide tracts of woodland to those who would remain. "My kin," he said, "from this day we may not meet again for many long years. I honor your fate. May you prosper and grow strong in these woods."
The great host moved along the northern shores of the Inland Sea. They had neither horses nor wains. All they bore was carried by hand and shoulder. Yet in every breast there burned a quiet, steadfast hope. They yearned for the light, for the land that Felárdë had named the Elves' homeland, fair beyond telling.
Two months they journeyed, until they came to the feet of the western mountains, and still no grievous peril assailed them. In truth, the dark men of Rhûn, sorely weakened, had already withdrawn to their dens and barrows.
A horn sounded. Felárdë, marching at the van, startled in alarm. He called up ten thousand spears and bows and made the host ready. Hooves thundered down the leftward slope, and there appeared a company of Dwarven goat-riders, bright in mail. They drew up not far from the Elves, and a bold voice rang out.
"Is this the company of Felárdë, leading the westward Elves?"
"I am Felárdë," he answered, stepping forth. "Tell me why have you come helmed and armed before my people. What is your intent?"
"I come in peace, friend," cried the foremost, removing his helm with a hearty laugh. "I am Rorg, King of the Ironfists. With me are Sarnis, King of the Stiffbeards, and Amur and Kambet, Kings of the Blacklocks and Stonefoots. We ride at the call of the Dwarven hosts and at the bidding of the great King ofEowenría. We have come to guard your road and to lead you by a safer turning northwest."
At the name ofEowenría, Felárdë's tension eased. He ordered his warriors to lower their arms, then went and bowed to the kings. "Tell me all, I beg you. I know but little of the West."
"We shall tell you gladly," said King Sarnis.
Then they recounted to Felárdë and his people many of Kaen Eowenríel's deeds. King Amur said, "His Majesty has been to us as a wise master. He forged treasures for our houses and lifted us to prosperity. Therefore we hold him as a teacher and a friend." King Kambet added, "The free kindreds have formed the Free Alliance to stand against the Shadow, and His Majesty Kaen was chosen as High Lord, for he is honored alike by Men, Elves, and Dwarves."
Felárdë had seen Kaen only for a single day in the woods of the Avari and knew little of him. Now, hearing the Dwarves, he understood that the Northern King was greater than he had guessed.
So, under the guardianship of four Dwarven kings and their goat-riders, the Avari turned their path through Dorwinion and went up along the River Running toward the northwest. In those lands, more of the Avari heard of the western refuge where the light of the Trees shone. Many joined the march, and the company swelled anew to three hundred thousand.
They were assailed more than once. Variag riders attacked, and the war clans of the Wainriders hurtled down upon them with chariots and spears. Many fell, and the sorrow of the journey grew heavy. Yet the Avari warriors and the Dwarven goat-riders stood shoulder to shoulder, and the foes were driven back again and again.
Where the River Carnen meets the Celduin, Dáin, King of the Iron Hills, awaited them with three thousand riders. He took up the charge to escort the Avari onward. Under his watch the Elves heard more of Kaen's renown, of the slaying of the dragon, of the Battle of the Loney mountain, of Dol Guldur's fall, and many other tales. Songs of Kaen spread through the Avari ranks like fire in new straw. Many who had never seen him began to hold a steadfast faith.
They walked on and on. The long road did not make them falter. Their desire for the light and the deeds of Kaen kept their feet from wearying and their will from growing dim. From spring into autumn they passed, and on a day when the mists thickened and it seemed they would lose their way upon the wild, the whole host beheld a wonder.
Far off across the empty lands there shone a living radiance, a green glory rising like dawn. The Avari lifted their faces, and in the wilderness they saw the light of the Green Sacred Tree, Calencair.
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