In LOTR with Harry Potter system-Chapter 453: Guidance
The sheer volume of information flooding into his mind left Sylas feeling momentarily overwhelmed. However, as he examined the reward more closely, he found himself somewhat perplexed.
Cosmic and astronomical knowledge? What practical benefit could this bring him?
Although Arda bore many superficial similarities to Earth, possessing corresponding celestial lights such as Mercury (Elemmírë), Venus (the Star of Eärendil), Mars (Carnil), and Jupiter (Alcarinquë), these were not true celestial bodies in the scientific sense.
The first group of stars had been created by Varda during the earliest days of Arda, fashioned from the primordial faint light to supplement the illumination of the Two Lamps. The second group was kindled by Varda using Telperion's silver dew, gathered from the Two Trees, to set new stars ablaze in the sky.
Then came the Sun, the Moon, and most notably, the Star of Eärendil. The celestial vessels were guided by Maiar: Arien commanded the Sun-vessel, bearing the last golden fruit of Laurelin; Tilion steered the Moon-vessel, carrying Telperion's final silver flower. Eärendil himself sailed the heavens aboard Vingilótë, bearing the Silmaril upon his brow.
These luminaries were not planets, they were spirits and sacred treasures, set like jewels upon a celestial veil that encircled the outer reaches of Arda, bringing light to the night. In truth, this world possessed no real celestial bodies or planetary mechanics at all.
So what use was astronomical knowledge here?
"Sylas, we are greatly pleased with your gifts. In gratitude, you may make a request of us."
Manwë's voice drew Sylas back from his contemplation.
He blinked, taken aback. He had intended the gifts merely as a gesture of goodwill, a way to build rapport with the Elder King and avoid the discourtesy of arriving empty-handed. He hadn't expected Manwë to be so generous as to offer a boon in return.
Sylas's first instinct was to politely decline. But from the corner of his eye, he caught Gandalf subtly signaling him, a small but unmistakable gesture urging him not to refuse.
He understood immediately. Declining the Elder King's offer could itself be taken as a slight, a rejection of his generosity. But neither could Sylas make an excessive demand, lest he displease the supreme ruler of the Valar. The balance had to be precise.
In the space of a heartbeat, Sylas made his decision.
Under the calm, fathomless gazes of Manwë and Varda, he bowed respectfully.
"Respected King of the Sky, Lord of the Airs, my request may seem greedy, but I wish to learn from your wisdom and knowledge. If this is too much to ask, I beg you not to take offense."
The hall fell silent.
Manwë's azure eyes regarded the supplicant before him, and then, slowly, a smile spread across the Elder King's face. His expression held even greater admiration than before.
"Sylas, your request is not excessive. Those who seek wisdom and knowledge are always worthy of praise in Valinor. You wish to study at my side, I agree."
Then his tone shifted, and a note of amusement entered his voice.
"But if you wish to learn Varda's knowledge as well, you will need her consent. That is not a decision I can make on her behalf."
He turned to his queen, his deep blue eyes warm with a smile. "What do you think, my love?"
Varda gazed down at Sylas, serene and luminous, and after a quiet moment, a gentle smile touched her lips.
"I will grant your request."
Sylas could barely contain his elation. To study alongside Manwë and Varda, the two supreme Valar, the King of the Airs and the Queen of the Stars, was an immeasurable privilege, a boon beyond anything he had dared hope for.
Gandalf, standing nearby, was even more visibly delighted on Sylas's behalf. He and Eönwë both offered sincere congratulations.
And so Sylas took up permanent residence in Ilmarin, studying at the feet of the Elder King and the Star-Queen.
His days were spent in the company of Gandalf, Eönwë, Ilmarë, Varda's chief handmaiden, and the other attendants of the great hall. Manwë, as sovereign of all Arda, was frequently occupied with the governance of the world, so Sylas spent the greater part of his time learning from Varda, studying the mysteries of starlight, the architecture of the heavens, and the deep lore of creation.
Atop Taniquetil, time seemed to flow differently, the days passing like gentle currents, swift and weightless. Sylas descended the mountain only on occasion, to visit his wife and children below.
For the greater part of his time, Sylas remained atop the mountain. Under the guise of an apprentice, he attended Manwë and Varda faithfully, immersing himself in the mysteries of creation and learning their methods of wielding divine power. The Elder King and the Star-Queen spared no effort in their tutelage, sharing freely their understanding of the cosmos and their deepest insights into its origins.
In this manner, Sylas dwelt at Ilmarin for over five hundred years.
Under Manwë and Varda's guidance, Sylas's comprehension of temporal law grew vastly more thorough. His application of time's power became increasingly flexible and profound. He even accomplished what had once seemed impossible, reversing the flow of time entirely, traversing the River of Time upstream against its current.
He passed through the temporal vortex caused by the War of Wrath and continued his journey upward, from the First Age into the Years of the Trees. There, he personally witnessed the radiance of the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion, their mingled gold and silver light illuminating the Blessed Realm in a splendor no later age would ever know. He watched as Morgoth and the great spider Ungoliant conspired together, creeping through shadow to poison and destroy them.
He pressed further still, entering the age of the Two Lamps, and beheld those enormous, pillar-like structures, the golden lamp Ormal and the silver lamp Illuin, towering above the young world. He watched Morgoth cast them down, their fall shattering the symmetry of Arda's earliest geography.
Further upstream, Sylas witnessed the Ainur themselves shaping and perfecting the world, the great labors of the Valar in building Arda, and the ceaseless battles against Morgoth who sought to mar their every work.
At last, Sylas arrived at the uttermost end of the River of Time, the very beginning of creation. Here, his footsteps stopped. Time itself required space in which to exist, and this was the place before Arda had entered the world, a still, dark void, silent and formless. There was nowhere further to go.
Lingering at the threshold of creation, Sylas contemplated the nature of time in its purest form, expanding his power and reaping considerable insight.
By now, Sylas's strength had grown enormously. He could project and sustain a Time Domain encompassing the whole of Valinor. Within this domain, he could freeze time, reverse it, or accelerate it at will.
He and the formidable Eönwë once sparred in a test of power. Beneath the weight of Sylas's Time Domain, even the mightiest of the Maiar was frozen in place, his weapons stripped from his hands before he could react.
The judge of this bout, Manwë himself, was intrigued enough to test Sylas's domain personally. The result, however, revealed the gulf that still separated them. Though Sylas managed to halt the Elder King for a single breathless moment, Manwë ultimately shattered the constraints of time through sheer overwhelming power, breaking free as effortlessly as the wind tears through morning mist.
Even so, the Valar could not stop praising Sylas's strength. To freeze the King of Arda, even for an instant, was no small feat.
Now Sylas had traversed the upper reaches of the River of Time in their entirety. Only the downstream, the future, remained unexplored.
The lower reaches were far more perilous and mysterious than the upper. The current's direction was difficult to discern, and every movement risked triggering a temporal storm or spawning countless divergent variables. A single misstep could plunge the traveler into a time quagmire, lost and adrift in some uncharted future, unable to find the way back.
To obtain complete authority over time and earn the right to ascend to the next level of power, Sylas would eventually need to traverse the downstream and claim sovereignty over the entire River of Time. But he was in no hurry. He explored the currents of the future with meticulous, unhurried caution. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
Five hundred years at Ilmarin had yielded immense rewards.
Beyond his leap in temporal mastery, Sylas had combined his existing abilities with the weather magic he learned from Manwë, refining it into what he now called celestial magic. He could effortlessly summon wind, clouds, thunder, and lightning, conjuring massive storms and weather phenomena at will.
Furthermore, he had turned his attention to Vilya, the Ring of Air, the mightiest of the Three Elven Rings, long borne by Elrond. With his deepened understanding of Manwë's domain, Sylas infused the ring with renewed power, restoring its strength to heights surpassing even what it had possessed before the destruction of the One Ring.
High above the sky, beyond the ilma, the upper atmosphere enveloping Arda, lay the inner atmospheric layer known as Vista, and above that the outermost layer called Vaiya. This highest region was also known as the Star-walls or the Kingdom of Stars, the celestial boundary where Varda's creations blazed in eternal light.
Sylas followed Varda upward, ascending via the golden bridge of Ilmavelë to this exalted realm, where he began to study the laws of starlight.
