174: Would You Ever Kill a Human?
Námo stared at his brother.
"You couldn't, could you?" his brother mocks. "You couldn't kill."
"Neither could you," Námo calmly points out.
Melkor sneered. "I killed thousands."
Námo smirked, the expression uncharacteristic of the stoic Vala. "No, you had Sauron and his minions kill thousands. You hid. You watched over. But you, my dear brother, did not shed blood with your own hand."
The darkness in Melkor's eyes deepened as he glared at his keeper. "You think I couldn't?"
"I know you couldn't, or else you would have." Námo turned toward the great gates that kept Melkor prisoner in the Void. "We were not made for murder, Melkor," he said as he paused halfway to the gates. "We were made to serve."
"Are you saying you wouldn't have stepped out a throttled that brat before he rallied the Noldor if you had been free to do so?" Melkor pressed.
Námo's eyes flashed. "I am saying it is not within me to take a life. I am the gatekeeper, not the reaper."
"You could be."
"No," Námo said. "No. I know me. Life is too precious to steal before its time." With that, the Doomsman slipped back through the gates and left his brother in the vast loneliness of the Void.
Muse: Námo
Fandom: The Silmarillion
Word Count: 210
"You couldn't, could you?" his brother mocks. "You couldn't kill."
"Neither could you," Námo calmly points out.
Melkor sneered. "I killed thousands."
Námo smirked, the expression uncharacteristic of the stoic Vala. "No, you had Sauron and his minions kill thousands. You hid. You watched over. But you, my dear brother, did not shed blood with your own hand."
The darkness in Melkor's eyes deepened as he glared at his keeper. "You think I couldn't?"
"I know you couldn't, or else you would have." Námo turned toward the great gates that kept Melkor prisoner in the Void. "We were not made for murder, Melkor," he said as he paused halfway to the gates. "We were made to serve."
"Are you saying you wouldn't have stepped out a throttled that brat before he rallied the Noldor if you had been free to do so?" Melkor pressed.
Námo's eyes flashed. "I am saying it is not within me to take a life. I am the gatekeeper, not the reaper."
"You could be."
"No," Námo said. "No. I know me. Life is too precious to steal before its time." With that, the Doomsman slipped back through the gates and left his brother in the vast loneliness of the Void.
Muse: Námo
Fandom: The Silmarillion
Word Count: 210