I'm glad to present Thranduil's new Gift. The following is obviously fictional lore of mine, but nonetheless any less consistent. This way we'll provide this proposal with the needed canonical accuracy of the case. Hence, not just a random jewel made of thin air, but rather a powerful heirloom in the wise hands of the Lady of Light
EMERALD STONE OF ESTË
The Emerald Stone of Estë, known also as
Verdemárë,
Springberyl, or
Greenwonder, is one of the most renowned gems in Elven-lore. It was originally hewn from the very Pelóri chain during the Years of the Trees, before the Elves even walked the earth. In the Day afore days, bathing the Ainur in the eternal morning of Valinor, Aulë had cloven an emerald gemstone from the sheer ore and rock of Aman; he afterwards fashioned that raw regal brooch in the mode of the Gods of Arda, resulting in the stupendous crafting of a magnificent jewel, later entrusted to Estë, the Valië of Solace and Rest, as a precious gift of goodwill and friendship between two venerable ones of the Powers.
It occurred, then, that Melyanna (Melian) was one of the Maiar who served Estë and tended her gardens inside the Blessed Realm. An ever-young place of mirth and restoration, where the Valar and their lesser kind used to refresh themselves, thereby ridding their weary spirits from the burdens of time and passing ages. The People of Estë are fond above all else of woods and sylvan ways, in which all wonders of the green would grow unsullied and nurtured by the preserving skills of the Valië's own servants. It is also here that Fëanor's beloved mother, Míriel, fell asleep on evergreen meadows and thenceforth parted from her physical body, consumed and spent by the very child to whom she had given birth. Thereafter, her spoils lay motionless, as though embalmed, taken care of by the angels dwelling in those shires of recovery.
Melian was accustomed to visiting the grey lands beyond the sea, voyaging oft to Middle-earth and enjoying its gloomy forests, which still slumbered and awaited the coming of the first sun, that was to appear many centuries after. Meanwhile, this fair Maia would try to cure the wounds of a benighted world, solely lit by starlight, and prepare those dreary places for a spring destined to blossom in future times. Prior to what would be her very last journey from the Undying Lands, as she was bound to encounter a lost Elwë amidst the woods of Beleriand, Estë, her Queen, decided to endow her with
Verdemárë, divining her maiden's future of joys and subsequent sorrows. The Valië's emerald gem had been blessed and hallowed, meant to shield its bearer from perils, arming him or her with a resistant magical veil which granted protection against hostile powers. In it was even a tiny fragment of the ancestral light infusing the Lit Earldom with perennial beatitude, opposed to hazard and anguish pervading the Hither-Lands. Therefore, that holy beryl she had carried from yonder-shores had partly contributed to render Doriath a cheerful, happy realm, amidst the imperious and cruel deeds of Morgoth, plaguing Middle-earth as the worst sickness ever befallen until that moment.
However, neither that sacred jewel nor Melian's widespread Girdle were enough to avert a fate that had already been decreed: Doriath was plunged in misery and utter ruin, ravaged and rent by hubris and greed. Nevertheless, before the mourning queen was to leave Beleriand to reunite with her murdered king, the Emerald Stone was bequeathed to Galadriel, Finarfin's daughter and fair princess of Kôr in Aman, for such potent artefact would avail the Noldorin dame in later eras, filling reeds and forests with primeval beauty, akin to which very little was and would be to take place. Galadriel, in fact, became in the following centuries a mighty Elven-lady, worshipped and famed among the Eldar as the sole of the Noldor-royals to have outlived the Elder Days. One of the very few left who had been alive during the Noon of Valinórë, now lost and gone forever.
After the defeat of Sauron in the Last Alliance war, the Second Age drew to an end and most of the dark forces haunting the world were either slain or routed to the filthiest caverns of Arda. The Elves were free from the One Ring's influence and so could use their Three Rings in liberty, despite their existence being concealed to the other races and to common Elven-folk, too. Nenya was wielded and used to halt the inexorable passing of time within the confines of Lothlórien, beautifying that kingdom beyond reckoning and turning the Golden Wood in a secret, timeless sanctuary where the doings of the Elves could still endure and eventually defy decay. Conversely, shadows reappeared in the adjacent vast eastern forests, forcing Thranduil to move his halls and woodland people to the northernmost boundaries of what was thenceforth renamed 'Mirkwood'. In one of their last meetings, before the two Elvish domains sealed their borders and increased the guard over wooded territories, the Elven Queen deemed it wise to gift her emerald beryl-stone to the Elvenking, since arduous were the challenges ahead and a pending doom was hovering above the carved halls of the Elf-sire.
While in Thranduil's hands,
Verdemárë kept the memory of the Ancient West alive, even across the sullen vaults and chambers of the Woodland Kingdom. Although vicious creatures began to creep in the whereabouts of such secluded land, the king's temper was never shattered nor upset by despair. Venom, sorcery and deceits were all undone and annulled, for no stain will ever darken and mar the olden emerald relic, wrought in splendour by divine mind. It may have been, furthermore, that the very stone had lastly rekindled some buried, profound desires in the sylvan lord's heart, convincing him to eventually take the route of the western seas, once the wars against Sauron ended in triumph, and the time of the Immortals grew scarce and much precarious.
ESTË: "My kindly maiden of songs and fairness, receive this my gift for thee. 'Tis Verdemárë, the emerald beryl of mine, hewn from the very armour of our Everlasting Domain. Peradventure, thither wilt thou fare and not return, enthralled by fate's tumultuous course. Pray, may this craft unmake malevolent wills, if thou be'st to tread tenebrous paths, for its virtue doth well to cheer the cheerless and kindle woods anew to glory. Thou willest good to do, gentle dame, ere times are spent and worn: I wish thee speed and vigour. Forget not thine Evergreen Fields and Uttermost West!"
***
MELYANNA: "Galadriel of Kôr and Doriath, as such is the mode in which you're known to our woodland kindred, it is time I left these sombre ways of ours. This grim world shall no longer be the temple of my sanctified ghost. I shall part from mortal ends and bounds, relieving my spirit from anguish and grief. My husband is gone, smitten by greed and smothered by ruinous longings. Now shall you flee these ravaged halls; depart in haste from the coming of further ill! My exhausted flesh will not bind me for long. I languish and soon am I to fade. Yet, in sure faith I know: teachings of old shall prove worthy enough, be it seaside kingdom or forest-realm the shire you are fated to govern. That you shall do in the manner of queens and maids of yester-days.
Take this holy token and keep it sound! Springberyl they named in tales. The Queen of Rest had given it to me, to pass the sorrows of this age unscathed. It sufficed not, it seems, at the very last. Nevertheless, it will serve you well and fine: whoever is to bear the Emerald Stone dwells content in their own domain. Evil arts it resists and boldly withstands; in gloom and doubt, dark places it shall set alight. Fond remembrances of bliss it wakes astir. Pernicious wrongs it makes wherefore aright. Wield it wisely, until you might find another, prone to troubles and requesting aid.
Farewell!"
***
GALADRIEL: "Elvenking, I glimpsed in your future and foresaw woes. Whether green and luxuriant boughs shall fall, is not to be known yet. Fates augur worse nonetheless. Vile beasts have crawled into the accursed heart of these dull woods. Famished creatures pry and lurk by the border of your dominions. A nameless fear swathes along sylvan lanes and drives the gentle away. And I dread that wights and spectres might not be the sole awful fruit of shadows, for an ancient will has taken residence in a ghoulish stronghold of darkness, plotting mischief against his foes and weaving snares to sow abroad.
What if blades, spears and mighty shields were not enough?
Marvel imbues Lothlórien already, shorn of burdens and toil. A secret lies within golden trees and adorned houses. Well armoured and ready are we to face storms and fire, albeit days feigning abeyance and enemies hiding cunningly their schemes. Please, may you heed these words of mine, as nights get colder and stars recoil, and accept this stone of yonder: the Greenwonder of Estë, Verdemárë, bringing spring where is only chill and winter; cleansing heavens from clouds and ash, when gales forebode tempest."