Ulmo's Rallying Cry

“Children of the One, hear the voice of the waters.

The fire has come, and your fields lie scorched. The Siege you held so long is broken, and Angband has vomited forth ruin. Morgoth has unleashed his might, and the dragon Glaurung leads flame and terror across your lands. Many of your kin are scattered, and the High King, Fingolfin, has fallen. I grieve with you.

Yet do not think all is lost. For Fingolfin, though slain, struck Morgoth seven times, and his cry of defiance will echo as long as my waters flow. The Black Foe is not unassailable. He bleeds, he fears, and though his shadow is great, it is not eternal.

I know your fears, you look upon the burned plain and see no path forward. You doubt your strength, for fire devours swiftly, while your hopes grow slowly. But even now, strength endures. Gondolin rises in secret. Nargothrond hides its halls beneath stone. In these places, you shall find refuge and the chance to gather hope anew.

Take heart, though Morgoth strides in pride, his doom is woven into his triumphs. Every victory of his sows the seed of his end. Despair not, for beyond ruin there is still the weaving of the Music, and even in silence and sorrow, its notes endure.

What comes next will be trial and grief. Yet the waters are patient, and so must you be. Let your courage be like the river, you have been beaten back, yet you flow ever onward. I will not forsake you. My voice will come in dreams, in the sound of rain, in the rushing of streams. Listen, and you shall know the path.

Stand fast, Children of Eru. The shadow has grown, but it shall not cover all.”