Disclaimer: Tolkien's sand box, my game.

Catalyst defn:

1. A person who creates or causes change; Someone or something that helps bring about a change or causes an important event to happen

2. A person whose talk, enthusiasm or energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic or energetic.

3. [Insert favorite chemistry related definition]

The Catalyst

By K.J. Moon

Prologue

Throughout the ages, Elrond had experienced many forms of grief and despair. None of which had prepared him for the shock and heartbreaking sadness he felt when he came to learn the extent of his beloved wife's suffering under the hands of Orcs. Celebrían had been to travelling to Lothlórien on invitation of her parents. When Elrond received word from Celeborn that Celebrían had not yet arrived, he had grown concerned, a shadow of fear closed around his heart.

His son's rode out with great haste, ill prepared for what they would find. Deep within the Caradhras at Red Horn Pass, a large band of orcs had waylaid her escort, capturing her. When they learned of the Orc attack they searched tirelessly until chancing upon a cave, where inside they found her. She had been brutally violated, bound, was poisoned and only half alive.

Elrond spent hours lovingly and carefully tending to her wounds. Using all the knowledge of the healing arts he possessed he was able to heal her physically, but her spirit was broken. A broken spirit could not easily be mended. Celebrían could no longer find beauty in the world and grew weary of it. Only in Valinor with the help of the Valar would she find the strength to heal. Only in Valinor could her spirit be mended and light returned to her eyes. Her choice to set sail was not a selfish one, none of her family wished for their beloved Celebrían to enter the Halls of Mandos.

Elrond grieved for his wife. He took comfort in knowing he would one day see her again. Though that day would not be for a very long time. He wished to journey with her, but his heart still belonged in Middle Earth. He had the gift of foresight and knew these lands still needed him.

It was his children that Elrond was most concerned for. His three children had lived peaceful and happy lives in Imladris. They were unaccustomed to grief and despair. His daughter Arwen, heartbroken over her mother's pain fled to Lothlórien, into the loving arms of her Grandmother. Elrond's twin sons, Elrohir and Elladan had reacted in a completely different manner.

His sons were similar in many ways, not just in appearance but also in their skills, interests, and morals. To Elrond's surprise their differences lay in how they dealt with their grief. In his grief Elrohir was volatile and emotional, quick to anger and tears. During the day he was destructive, his actions were unpredictable and uncontrollable. Under the light of the stars he fled into the arms of his Father or Brother, and would sob uncontrollably, tormented by the sight of his mother, of which they found her. Endless tears would flow from his eyes, leaving Elrond at a loss of what to do.

Elladan on the other hand was the exact opposite. He wore his pain as a mask of indifference. He kept it all in, withdrawing from the world, his despair reflecting only in his eyes. He would let no one in and let nothing out. Elladan did not cry, rarely would he speak. He was like a dam, holding all emotion within ready to burst. Elrond tried to get Elladan to open up to him. To feel something, but Elladan was cold as ice. His heart was frozen in grief. On rare moments would Elladan allow only his brother to comfort him, for only Elrohir truly understood the pain he felt. Elladan would rest his head upon his brother's lap and lay there, cold, seemingly void of all emotion.

Elrond was not sure which one concerned him more, an irrational son who showed excessive amounts of negative emotion or a son who did not show any emotion at all. He decided it was the latter rather than the former. Elladan needed to grieve, he needed to talk or his pain would slowly destroy him.

Though the sons of Elrond were different in how they dealt with the loss of their mother, they both desired the same thing. Revenge. Ignoring the pleas of their father to stay, the brothers set out on a journey to hunt and eliminate any orc that dare cross their path. They would not stop, vowing not to return home until their self appointed task was complete. Elrond grieved for his sons. His children's desire to leave came as a second blow to his wife's need to.

Many seasons had came and gone since anyone had of heard or seen Elladan and Elrohir. Elrond feared he would never see them again. Elrond was constantly tormented by worry, until one night he had vision.