"He's really powerful?"

"Yes. And if you lose a fight with Sauron and he kills you on the spot, that's the good outcome."

"I know that. But if everyone's too scared to fight him -"

"It's a problem, yes. If I knew more about the capabilities of the Noldor and their mysterious ally, I might go recommend to them that they pick a fight with Sauron, but," she shrugs.

"Mom can probably do it. I might be able to if I was stronger..."

"I could teach you some practical skills," says Shirask. "Both of us, with the stealth song, with weapons and training, with whatever else we can think of - we might be able to do something. But all things considered I think I would rather also have weapons capable of crushing Balrogs to death. So it is still a good idea to wait for the Noldorin emissary. And learning how to fight Sauron would be uncomfortable and fighting Sauron would be dangerous and you might prefer to be happy and safe. It is important to me that you are able to be happy and safe."

"I want to be strong enough to fight Sauron. If we could do it together I want to at least know how."

"Okay. Then I will help you with that."

"We should explain it to our parents in a way that doesn't make it sound dangerous, though."

"Then you should do all the talking. I am not skilled at making things sound less dangerous or at talking to—our parents."

"Okay, but - is it actually at all dangerous? Not fighting Sauron, I mean, just the learning how..."

"It's possible to be injured in the course of learning how to fight, yes."

"Like, moreso than in learning how to run between trees? I'm half-Maia, they don't keep me in a bubble..."

"How badly have you been injured in learning to run between trees?"

"I haven't been, I was good at it. Aren't we very difficult to injure?"

"Yes. I have been injured many times while learning to fight, and I am sure most of that can be blamed on Sauron's teaching style, but I don't know that all of it can."

"If I get hurt in a way I can't sing clear in a few minutes our parents will definitely freak out."

"Then we should be careful to minimize that possibility."

"Yeah. What do you want to do first?"

"I've never taught this before and I can hardly just copy Sauron's curriculum. I'll have to think about it."

"Why not copy Sauron's curriculum? Was he good at teaching?"

"He was good at teaching when he cared to be, but he was also Sauron. I do not want to do all the same things he did because it would be needlessly unpleasant for you that way. So I am not going to begin with teaching you evasion by attacking you repeatedly with no warning."

"I think you are underestimating how pleasant it's going to be not to feel useless."

"I might be. I still think there is a better way to teach you than 'copy everything Sauron did, even the awful things', and it is worth taking a few minutes to think of it."

"Okay."