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Earendil and Celeb were staring at the man as well, and it proved too much for him. He burst into hearty laughter.

"Indeed you are!" he laughed. "Small though it may be, it is too large to be considered an island."

"He is right, you know," Haldia spoke up. "From the air, I believe it is similar in size to the Southland ... and not just the elven half, the entire Southland. Both nations."

"How did any of the Elves come into being?" Favian smiled back at Lin. "They were created, of course. Created by Eru, and given knowledge by different Valar. Those taught by Ulmo, Lord of the Seas, became the Water Elves. Those taught by Aule, Lord of the Land, because the Earth Elves. Those taught by Manwe, the first of Kings, Lord of Arda, Ruler of all, became the White Elves, the Elves of Life."

Earendil wasn't paying much attention anymore. Instead, he was staring at Haldia, his expression incredulous.

"What?" she asked him, her brow furrowing.

He frowned at her. "You knew there was land here? But you didn't say anything when we were panicking on the ship?"

Haldia blinked. "I did not know it was the same land," she defended herself. "I flew over it when I returned home three years ago. I did not know what direction we were being brought."

"It is never too late to ask about something," Favian smiled. He paused, then amended, "Unless you are dead, then it is indeed too late."

"You crack me up," Celeb said dryly. "Anyway, where exactly are we headed?"

So far it seemed they were just wandering the streets - and while it was interesting to see the variety of people - different races, varieties within the races, and the mixtures of races - eventually they did have to do something specific.

Favian looked back at Celeb. "Well, as no one has made a real request, I thought we might visit Luk and let him know about his half-sister," he replied.

Earendil held out one hand to Miyuki, requesting her silently to come back to them. "You promised to stay close, remember," he reminded her.

Ahead of them was a city gate, wide open: the walls were still marble and trimmed with silver, and the masonry above the gate was beautiful: the image of celestial beings, likely the Valar. The detail was intricate, better than anything Earendil had ever seen, even by the dwarfs that had done the palace at Tor Karad.

"Are we going outside the city?" he asked, looking over at Favian.

The man nodded. "Luk lives alone outside the city walls," he told them. "He has lived alone since his parents vanished."

Earendil squeezed Miyuki's hand to tell her it was okay, then turned back to Favian. "He's not much for company, then?"

Favian shook his head. "Loss is difficult for anyone to face, but to lose not one, but two fathers, his mother, and his unborn sibling? He shut himself off from society, for the most part."

Earendil tried to think back to the senator named Luk. He couldn't really remember much about him save that he had looked like a human. There hadn't been much about him that stood out ...

"Well, there's a question," Favian mused, looking down at Miyuki.

They left the city, and the moment they were beyond its walls they were just about lost in a thick forest. There was no chance of them getting truly lost, though: they were still following a marble road that led through the thick undergrowth. Despite being surrounded by thick, fertile earth, the marble itself was almost a sparkling white - except at the edges, where it, like the walls, was trimmed in silver.

"I think this is one of those cases where he would be as lonely in the middle of a city as he would be living out here on his own," he went on. "It's not a physical loneliness - and he does see people in the city quite often, and as a Senator he does have to come to our meetings every week - but rather an emotional loneliness. He doesn't have a family, or any dear friends."

It was a few more minutes' walk along the path before they reached a small cottage-style house. Vines grew over the wooden planks of the walls, curling around the glass-paned windows. There was something of a yard around it, a circle of land where nothing but grass grew, though the trees that grew around it towered above it, blocking out a fair amount of sunlight, but nevertheless it was a quaint picture of a home. The finishing touch was the brick chimney that rose from the rooftop.

"Beautiful," Haldia smiled softly, her eyes growing warm as she looked at the house.

Favian smiled at Haldia. "The one thing he takes very dear care of," he murmured, stepping up to the door. He knocked solidly, then stepped back to wait for an answer.