Right, like someone else mentioned, wrist injuries! Not just Olorin, if that’s who he was, but Erenquaro should have noticed too.

They need to send Yavanna to court mandated therapy sessions already.

Also, I like how Nienna has a sense of humor.

Curumo feels almost too malicious. I mean, he is not even trying to pretend he is nice. I know we remember him like this at the end of the Third Age. But here, even before he would’ve been considered a chief Istarsurely he would be hiding the pettiness and insecurity better (assuming they were already there)?

Not that I am really complaining. The behavior fits what we’ve seen of him. And whoever said that Saruman was wise once might have been mistaken, or fooled by his powers of persuasion.

I have a hard time imagining a Maia of Yavanna pulling out living plants just because they are poisonous. He would probably know how some things can be both a cure and a poison in different situations, or even just from different perspectives (they all do drink wine and ale, after all).
I imagine they should also be familiar with death, knowing how the men were planned to be mortal ahead of time (and so were probably animals?).
I am not certain if animals have fea? They must, right? I guess they must. What happens to them when they die, I wonder, then? They can’t have the gift of the secondborn, can they? So they must stay somewhere in Arda. Oh, well.

Also, I am not sure if Maiar were assigned to specific Valar before descending into Arda. Were they? In my head, there weren’t hierarchies outside of Arda.

Anyway, rant out of the way, I do like the friendship between Aiwendil and Erenquaro. I can’t believe the rudeness of Curumo! I mean, I can, I am just expressing the shock.

I think Valar and Maiar must have been literate.

I don’t know if Valar had any pre-elven script, but Sauron would have had to learn the languages and writing systems during his time as an interrogator at least.

I always like honest tales of villains and/or redemption. Thank you for writing this. Enjoying it a lot so far.

What I am surprised though is the difficulty Sauron has controlling himself. What’s a few ages of slavery to a Maia? As long as you are alive you have time to plot revenge and ingratiate yourself with your captors. This could be explained by the damage of his spirit, I suppose. Having the necromancy ripped out of him is probably not a lot more pleasant than going cold turkey for an addict.
This is making think though, he may never heal fully. Although he might adjust I guess.

Anyway, I better get back to reading.

Million-dollar question: Did Olorin discover his wrist injuries? Because he strikes me as the type to be much too thorough not to, which means tomorrow's conversation will have to be about how he got that, and whatever that will mean for where he will be staying. I admit I'm hoping she defacto decides he doesn't get to go back to Aule's house without a permanent guard. It will be an interesting weekend.

And the rest of that day and all through the rest of the week, all Wilwarien could think about was stupid Sauron, who she was absolutely not going to waste a minute of her day on. His stupid hair, his stupid voice, his stupid attitude. Let the obsession start.

Now I'm thinking she and our elf in question are going to spend their hours away from Sauron bitching about him together. Along with all his escorts and probably Aiwendel. And thus, Sauron Drinking Hour was formed for the mutual support of those forced to deal with him.

Hello !
It's been an awfully long time since I came here. I was really happy to find new chapters to read. It's always very motivating !
Sauron still has a very long way to go, and he is by no means out of danger. But right now, he's unraveling. It seems that he will go by the stages of mourning ? It would make sense. He was attached to Morgoth and to his life and he lost them. He's all alone in a new world and his previous position makes it difficult for him to find his place. He is furthermore dependent on the willingness of others. For one used to lead, it must be awful...
We can also see his future rivals and allies revealing themselves. I still think Yavannah is detrimental to his well-being. Once he proves that he can be redeemed, she will probably feel ashamed... But she is less worrying than Saroumane ! You portrayed perfectly his jealousy and meanness. Apparently he took Mairon's place when he defected - and still, he's too narrow-minded to be half as good as him. I found that hilarious. But his influence will be bad for Sauron, though I think he will be defeated. And once more, Aulë sees nothing... I feel sorry for him, though he is also funny. I see him as a genious entirely consummed by his art, and therefore disconnected from the real world. He is obviously able to inspire reverence in his Maiar, but he really is inattentive !
I'm not sure how you will save Sauron, though. The atmosphere is so bad in Aulë's forge that it will probably need a witnessed attack for him to get the benefit of the doubt.
As for Sauron's future allies, I really hope that Erenquaro will finally see his brother's pettiness for what it is, and understand that his selfless kindness is worth more than Saroumane's art. He will make a good friend for Sauron - once he stops being cruel with him. Honestly, your Sauron is the sort that would think striking Erenquaro below him, and his behaving like that shows that he is not well. He is in fact showing everyone his angst - which makes your story very believable.
I think Erenquaro, Aiwendil and Eönwë will each have a role in Sauron's redeeming. Erenquaro does not judge others, while Eönwë can provide moral grounds (and Sauron DOES need a moral compass... for a while, at least). As for Aiwendil, well... Everyone needs to disconnect sometimes :D
I assume that he was in an almost relationship with the Lady Maia (whose name I forgot... :() but she doesn't strike me as able of keeping his attention. She may be nice, but I think he is too intense and domineering to go with her. Such a proud and powerful dark beeing is at odd with an ethereal beeing... So I'm waiting to see what you will do with her !
And as for Nienna... I find her perfect ! She's not weak at all (being a Valië, she wouldn't be, but some, like Sauron for now, equal compassion with weakness). I think she is quite cunning in her handling of Sauron. No use speaking to him right now, he would neither listen nor understand. But just letting him rest is the best way. I hope the other Valar will be as beneficial as her ! I keep hoping they will end up together, but let's wait a bit :D And it seems she would also need healing ? I wonder who gave her this black mark. I would say Morgoth, since she and him are the only unmated Valar, but with what Namo said, I'm not so sure.
All in all, the day Sauron understands his self-destructiveness, and how the seduction of darkness turned him into a slave (as I undersand when seeing he doesn't remember part of his life), he will have made a big progress. I am tempted to think that the Shroud was put by Morgoth to make sure Sauron would not go back to Mairon. Let's see if, instead, Sauron did it to himself ;)
So, now that I've finished telling you what you yourself wrote, I'll just add that : though we would never accept such a thing in real life, your Sauron is a bad guy we want to see redeemed. Thank you for this story and good continuation !
Almedias

good story, please write more

Redeem this agaaaaaain, because it’s greaaaaaat! I wish he would just LET himself be HAPPY. He’s so CLOSE. It would all be okay if he could forgive himself.

I love it so much!

This is quite the fascinating tale, the subtle flex and resonance of power btwn the players. And how far he has yet to go. Magnificent.

I did not know I needed vulnerable/passive/wounded/smol Sauron and gentle/powerful/mischievous/warm blanket Nienna. Nienna's report to her siblings would probably be something like: "Well, the good news is he's not trying to seduce me, and, the bad news is, it's working."

Well, she'll have an easy time lavishing comfort on him, since he so clearly needs it. I agree she seemed to be testing his boundaries this time around, but I'm guessing she didn't expect him to be so volatile.

And he's going to eventually let her "pet" him. And telling himself he's absolutely not letting her pet him, not voluntarily. He's just humoring her. Mighty cat Sauron does not do petting as he is a dangerous tiger. And she will probably be denying it's anything but therapy. And probably like a certain butterfly girl, realizing she is spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about him.

Poor Sauron is probably so confused about his reaction as well, but I think for Nienna he will actually make an effort to get along (and like it, which he will resent) simply because he can "tolerate" her (he actually really likes her). And then find it's frighteningly easy, giving him more to worry about. This has the added benefit of being hilariously adorable in ways that don't diminish his-imperial-cat-ness, maturity, or his danger factor. He really doesn't have experience with relationships like this (therapy or romance. Also cuddles.), so this is an area where he actually needs his Mairon past to help.

Well, first of all, I must admit I've read this chapter a few times already and yet I didn't leave a review which has made me feel quite guilty especially considering the fact that it was definitely my favorite chapter so far. I don't even know where to begin my praising. I love the beginning, this short conversation between Námo and Nienna showed so much of a sibling bond between them and also added more depth to those characters. Another interesting thing was how this chapter seemed to be a little moment of reprieve after all the trouble that Sauron has to face in his new life in Valinor, especially the puzzle part. But no! Of course it couldn't be just good peace and rest, you had to end this chapter with something huge. And it completely blew my mind, I was smiling all the while to the last line and in my mind I was screamingFinally!". And actually, every time I read it again, I start smiling, so you definitely know how to make people happy, which, especially in these uncertain times, is very important.

Also there is one more thing that intrigues me, well maybe two things. First, when Nienna saidI am not afraid to face HIM again", was she talking about Melkor? It feels as such, and if it is so, then I'm most interested in what exactly did she mean. It seems like you weaved some more story than just her supporting Melkor's pleas for pardon.

The second thing I wanna address is if there is some connection between Nienna's black scar marring her spirit and that black strand of hair standing out against her usual silver hair. I think it could be some kind of a physical representation of that scar. Maybe it's a bit of an overinterpretation but I can't help but wonder given that you're such an amazing author and dropped similar hints in the previous chapters.

Lastly, I can't wait to see what happens next and I know that no matter how long I have to wait, it'll be worth it. One last question, can we expect some of Sauron's flashbacks to tell us more about his past with Wilwarien? This would be nice.

Thank you for your amazing work!

Wonderful work! Sauron’s thinking and inner workings remind me of a character in The Great Divorce by C. . I highly recommend it to you . So much depth . Sauron is just deceiving himself . But when the scales are off his eye, can he accept the truth?