Welcome to Gaia! ::

Maeglin squealed and ran to Amora. "Mama!" she giggled. "Playing with Iris!"

Amora laughed and put one hand on the little girl's head. "So I see," she smiled. She stepped forward and sat carefully in one of the cushy chairs in the room. She smiled at Naida. "No, you've not met me before," she replied. "My name is Amora. I have the same gift as my mother, to know things without being told. And so, I know you, at least a little."

She nodded at the boy who was standing, hiding behind Lothiriel. "My son, Egleriad." She smiled at Maeglin, who had followed her over to the chair. "Maeglin, my secondborn." She beamed down at the infant in her arms. "Lalwen, my youngest. Four weeks old."

Amora smiled at Naida. "It runs quite strongly in our family," she nodded, "especially in our branch of the family."

"In the eldest," Lothiriel added, arching one eyebrow at her daughter.

"Not always," Amora debated. "You are not the eldest."

"True," the queen conceded. "Then most often in the eldest."

"I have it too," Egleriand grinned at Naida and Jair. He blushed suddenly. "Sometimes." It was interesting ... for someone who had first seemed so regal, so proper, he suddenly looked like an embarrassed little boy.

Amora smiled warmly at Iris as she approached, though she made no movements towards her, knowing how flighty she could be.

Egleriand shrugged. "Sometimes. Sometimes I wish I could use it to know all the answers to the questions that Sir Elros asks me, then I wouldn't have to spend so much time studying."

Lothiriel laughed. "Come now, you know you need that time for your lessons. Education is more than book knowledge, you know."

"Aye, I know, Nako," the boy murmured with a faint smile. "Still, I would much rather be with Father."

Amora giggled softly at Iris and reached up to touch her hand lightly. "Even sitting down, you think I am so tall? Well. Perhaps so. But there are many here who are taller than I, or who will be someday. And what of your father, is he not tall?"

She smiled, her eyes sparkling brightly, and leaned closer to Iris. "I met your father, you know," she confided to her as if it were a secret.

Amora smiled at Iris. "Do you know how big I was when I met your father?" she asked, her eyes twinkling. She held her hand about three feet off the ground, about to Iris's stomach, a little shorter than Maeglin's height. "I was about this big. Very little," she smiled.

Egleriand puffed out his chest proudly. "He teaches me how to fight!" he boasted. "And he teaches me how to use many different weapons, and how to care for them, and how to take care of myself ..."

And once in a while, his father would even let him sit in while he did diplomatic work - if he promised to be very quiet and behave very well!

Egleriad pursed his lips slightly. "You do not sound very convinced," he commented. "But that is all right. I know not everyone likes the same things. What kind of things to you like to do?"

He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled warmly at Naida, very diplomatic - naturally, which was the amazing part.

Amora giggled at Iris. "Yes, many years have passed since then. I was very young then. In the years since that time, I have grown quite a bit. Some years before then, I was a baby - no bigger than Lelwen is now."

Egleriad's eyes lit up brightly. "I like listening to music," he beamed. "I am not good at playing it, and I'm not a very good singer, but I really like to listen to music ... what kind of music do you learn?"

Perhaps if she knew an instrument, he would ask her to play something for him ...


Amora smiled and rocked the sleeping infant gently. "You'll see someday," she murmured, "when those around you begin to grow. It takes a long time, but eventually, they will grow as well."

Egleriad smiled widely. "I know the flute, but I've never heard of a zither," he replied. "Mama's trying to teach me to play the lyre, but I just can't get it right. Mama's very good, though."

He loved listening to his mother play the lyre, better than he liked any instrument other than the harp. The harp was his personal favourite. But it was as big as he was, and he knew he could never play it until he was at least a bit bigger.

"Do you have an instrument here?" he asked Naida eagerly. "Could you show me?"


Amora smiled at Iris. "Just wait," she promised, "the next time you come for a visit, I'm sure she'll be big enough for you to play with."

Maeglin was leaning on the arm of the chair, pouting up at her mother. "Mama," she frowned, "was playing with Iris!" She wanted to play again!

Egleriad blinked at Naida. "Is it terribly big?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to one side. "Or heavy?"

That was one thing he did like about his lyre, it was very small and portable.


Maeglin giggled at the poke and reached out to poke Iris back. "Play!" she grinned at her. She reached out to poke Iris again, but Amora put one hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Not around Lelwen," she said firmly.