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Underneath alien skies	By : Nuredhel Category: +Third Age > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1617 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: II do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien, and i do not earn any money from this work of fiction, it is solely written for entertainment and not for profit at all. do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien,

Chapter List
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He is making progress, the issues with his wife’s death are solved but what about the hatred he has stored up within? Can somebody help him get to the bottom of those feelings? Perhaps teach him a lesson or two? This could get interesting in deed, I think the elven king is gonna be told a story dark enough to scare the daylights out of a troll. But it is all for his own good, he can’t hope to save his son if he cannot first save himself.

Chapter Four: Out of the ashes
What’s left of a strength which have crumbled
Whats left of a soul without hope
There are things that can’t be unbroken
There are things that can’t be undone

Akisha was sitting next to Naragh and she was listening to his voice very carefully, she expected a report on the elf’s condition and progress every morning and Naragh never failed her. The elf was getting better, it went slowly but he would survive. But it was not easy being in the same room as the king, he was moody, grumpy and sometimes he was downright nasty. He was demanding wine and swearing and shouting in his own language when they did not give him what he wanted. Naragh knew he suffered, the need for alcohol was stronger even than his own will and he had suffered complete breakdowns a couple of times. Naragh had been there for him, told everybody to leave the room. He sensed that the shame of knowing that strangers had seen him like that could be too much for him. Thranduil had been crying like a child one moment and then snarling and cursing like some wild animal the next. Sometimes he was filled with self-pity and then he got a grip of himself and tried to appear brave and optimistic. And he was bored, almost out of his scull or so it seemed. Naragh knew that it wasn’t very healthy so he had tried to entertain their guest with books and stories.
He had explained about this place and the people who lived there, Thranduil had been shocked at first until he understood that the gladiatorial fights were fake and acting. He was curious about the weapon masters and Naragh had spent an afternoon explaining the ways of the very exclusive group. To fight evil and protect people was after all their main task and Thranduil was really eager to see how these people were training. He had witnessed Hawk in action and Naragh could sense how the dark elf had impressed and scared the king. Naragh had a strong suspicion that Hawk perhaps could be able to reach Thranduil in a way the healer could not. Thranduil was a warrior at heart, brothers in arms often share a special connection and Naragh hoped that Hawk would agree to his plan.
Akisha had spent some hours explaining about the Goddess and her religion and teachings and also what she and the other priestesses were doing and Thranduil had gradually developed a sense of respect and even awe towards them. They were so incredibly powerful and wise and Akisha impressed him the most. She was born as a mortal human being, inferior to his race and yet he felt like he was the weak one when she sat there speaking to him. There were oceans of wisdom within those strange blue eyes and a fierce and untamed spirit which kindled his curiosity. There were things about her that were inhuman and it scared him a bit but it was also tantalizing. She was a stunning beauty but it was a rather cold and unapproachable kind. He had no doubt that she was a very dangerous being indeed. When she spoke you just had to listen, her voice was like a sharp sword wrapped in velvet and her authority undeniable and absolute. You bowed to her or you would regret it and he soon learned that even the kings of this realm possessed less power than the warrior priestesses and their mates.
Gradually he started to forget about his royal way of being, he did no longer try to command Naragh or the servants and he accepted being given orders. He could not move yet but they had steadied him so he could sit with his upper body in a raised position and it felt so nice he almost wept. He remembered the nightmare he had had, heal and thou shall be healed, he had no idea what his father had meant with that. He could only hope that the truth would reveal itself to him, sooner rather than later. He tried to behave as he should, with gratitude and a humble heart and it became increasingly easy but his withdrawals were bad some times. He craved wine so bad he was sweating and screaming for it and it hurt like fire. Naragh had sedated him again a few times just to save him from the worst effects.
When he was dreaming he often dreamt about his son’s childhood and his youth, how different everything had been back then. He longed for those days to return, for his son to trust him once more. He had to find a way to reconnect with him, to bridge the abyss he had allowed to form between them.
Akisha had went to the temple and there she had meditated and asked the Goddess for guidance and advice. It was rather obvious that she had something to do with the whole thing, he had told her he saw a black she wolf just before he was ripped away from his own world and the goddess never showed herself in her wolf form to anyone unless there was something she wanted them to do. They just had to wait and see but she felt that they could and should help him somehow, they all had their different experiences. Naragh had already helped the elf come to terms with his wife’s death, he had now accepted that it wasn’t his fault, that it didn’t matter whether he had loved her or not and that she would have died anyhow. But there was still a lot of darkness within him and it needed to be released. Naragh had his own ideas as to how that could happen and Akisha agreed. The goddess had placed him in their path so they could help him heal, each in their own way.
Thranduil had been reading books and studying maps, it was very interesting and yet he felt like he had ants crawling everywhere. He hated being so helpless. He could use his left arm and move his left leg a bit but he was still in a lot of pain. And there were things he just could not do himself and it was very humiliating. Naragh washed him, all of him and Thranduil felt so ashamed he wanted to hide. And then it was the natural functions of the body, he had to use a sort of wide necked bottle when he had to do his business, luckily he didn’t eat much and his body did not produce much waste but it was even more embarrassing whenever he had to go. Naragh had a very natural and relaxed attitude and that helped a lot but it still felt weird and unnatural. He had always been able to take care of himself and he realized that this too was a lesson he had to learn. He had to learn how to be humble, how to accept that not everybody was as strong and perfect as his own kin. He remembered his own flaws and mistakes and he remembered the many times he had acted in a less than noble manner. He had allowed prejudice and pride to blind him, he had been filled with his own haughty self and his own perception of the truth and never allowed anyone to tell him he was wrong. It was such a shameful revelation.
Then one morning he woke up to find Hawk sitting by the fireplace, the dark elf was tending to the fire and smiled when he saw that Thranduil was awake. Thranduil swallowed, Hawk made him nervous, just by being there. The dark elf had an aura of violence that was terrifying and yet he had seen how lovingly he looked at Elywen and Thranduil knew that he couldn’t be all bad. Hawk gave him a glass of water and some fruit and the elven king thanked him with a bit of a tremble in his voice. He saw that Hawk was shirtless, his naked upper body was covered with scars almost everywhere, it looked as if someone had tried to draw a roadmap on the dark skin with white paint or something. Hawk had an amazing physique, Thranduil had never seen a more muscular elf. And to his embarrassment he felt a little jealous, Hawk was impressive and dangerous and yet beautiful in a disturbing way. Thranduil had never been one of those who felt attracted to other males but if he had been he was sure he would have been drooling. It was a dangerous beauty, like that of a well-balanced sword and he remembered how the dark elf had been fighting. It was poetry in motion, terrifying to behold and yet mesmerizing. You didn’t really want to see but you felt compelled to. It was like watching an accident happening, looking away was impossible.
Hawk grinned and sat down, stretched his long legs and pointed at the book Thranduil had left on the bedside. “Anything interesting?”
Thranduil shook his head. “No, not really. Why are you here?”
Hawk yawned. “Naragh had to go to the market to pick up some more herbs, and I was available. They tell me you are getting rather bored in here? No wonder, I would have gone insane a long time ago!”
Thranduil nodded. “It is worse than the pains, I am not used to this, not being able to move about. Damn it is frustrating.”
Hawk gave him a crooked grin. “Ah, I’ll advice you to enjoy it, a little peace and quiet before the storm. Once you have healed you will have to start training again and believe me, here you will find no mercy. They will push you and push you even more. But I can promise you that you will emerge from it all stronger and more fit than ever before.”
Thranduil cut a grimace. “Everything is better than this, I am dying for some action!”
Hawk was leaning back into his chair. “Speaking of action, I am curious. Been in any battles?”
Thranduil nodded, he felt a bit nervous but he was damned if he showed his anxiety to a warrior like Hawk. He had to show that he was a force to be reckoned with, it was perhaps a bit of masculine pride involved. “Yes, I have. A few, and a lot of minor fights against orcs and spiders and such.”
Hawk cocked his head. “Huge battles?”
He nodded, remembered the one which claimed his father and left him as the new king of Mirkwood or Greenwood as it still had been known as. He had felt so unprepared and so scared, and filled with grief. He had never even imagined losing his father in that way and he could now see that the loss had been the beginning of his downfall. He had become overly protective of his son, his people, well of everything. “Some, but we have won so far.”
Hawk smiled. “You look like a warrior, you have a good body for fighting, but you must have let yourself go for a while, I can see that. Were you any good?”
Thranduil coughed, this dark elf went straight for the throat. “Yes, I was a very skilled warrior!”
He said those words with every ounce of self-respect he had left but they rang hollow even to himself. Hawk stared at him, the pitch black eyes told nothing of what the elf was thinking, it was rather spooky and he could not comprehend how someone as lovely as Elywen could be mated with a creature like this.
Hawk knew of the things Frostbird had seen and he had understood a bit of this elf’s past. No doubt he had been skilled, possibly a master even with his weapons. He must have had a lot of self- confidence and pride. And when everything he believed in and put his trust into failed him it all had shattered beyond repair. His voice was deceptively calm when he spoke again. “And then you got burned and lost your confidence right?”
Thranduil gasped, his eyes were huge with shock and he touched his face on a pure reflex. Hawk saw the pure horror within the lovely iceblue eyes and shook his head slowly.”Frostbird showed us, don’t worry, the secret is safe with us. “
Thranduil trembled, this place would leave him without a single secret left, he was sure of it!
“Yes, yes, it was a…a dragon!”
Hawk whistled, it was a tone within it that told the elven king that he was impressed. “A dragon, damn, that’s rather brave. I would never attempt that.”
Thranduil felt a little better, a bit of pride grew within him and he tried to remain calm. “It was threatening my people, I had to do it. It killed many of us but we got it in the end.”
He looked down, a question had been brewing within him for a long time. “Ah, I heard you and the others speak when I was brought here, there are dragons within this world? And you mentioned kinship?”
Hawk nodded. “Yes, my mate Elywen is of the first people who took the form of dragons and made it their own. She can shape shift into a dragon if she wants to but she cannot remain in that form for more than a couple of days at the most. Her kind is very powerful indeed and very fierce. Ghuad is of a different type of dragon, they were created by Elywens race way back in time, to aid them in their battles. He can choose to look like a human being or elf but it is not his true form, the dragon shape is. He cannot stay out of it for more than two weeks and the longer he is disguised as a human the longer he has to remain in his true form before he can shift again.”
Thranduil was stunned by this information. “Dragons back where I am from are just that, dragons. Wicked and evil and very devious. “
He swallowed hard. “I think the last one died some years ago, it was killed before the last battle I fought. Against an evil force which is steadily spreading once more I fear.”
Hawk looked curious and Thranduil tried to keep a calm expression on his face, it was after all of that things went downhill with his son. He should have allowed him to marry her, he really should. His own stubbornness and ignorance had cost him his sons trust and affection. “I hated those beasts.”
Hawk nodded. “Understandable, Frostbird sensed a lot of hatred within you.”
He gave the dark elf a rather menacing glance. “So what? I have had good reasons to hate.”
Hawk just grinned, a grin that was terrifying to behold. “Oh I do not doubt that, too bad it is your own person you hate the most. Why!”
The last word was a command, not a question and suddenly he had the dark elf so close to his face their noses almost touched. He stared into those cold black eyes and felt chilled to the bone, he had never felt so terrified by any of his own race before. “I, I…I was a coward!”
Hawk almost purred. “Ah, there you go, let the load of your shoulders my friend.”
Thranduil shivered, he was so ashamed of himself, he had been too afraid to reveal his fear and it had made him act irrational and in a less than royal manner. “I should have helped them, we had an alliance. But when the dragon came and claimed their realm I did not dare to intervene. I was too afraid. And I was so jealous of their wealth and riches too, I wanted them for myself. I craved them, coveted them. It all seems so hollow now.”
Hawk raised a perfect eyebrow. “And then?”
The elven king sighed. “The dragon kept its treasure for many years, and I dreamt of it, wanted it. I wanted the beautiful white gems hidden within that mountain. And I hated the dwarves for not letting me having them before the dragon came and laid claim to them. And then the dwarves came to reclaim their home, there was a lot of commotion, fighting and the dragon was brought down eventually. There was a battle and we managed to patch the alliance back together again but I still don’t feel like I can trust dwarves. And the ancient enemy of ours was defeated once more but not eradicated, not entirely. I am afraid that evil is growing in strength again, and this time he will not let anyone stop him. “
Hawk just nodded. “There is more bothering you my friend.”
Thranduil sighed, he closed his eyes and felt very tired all of a sudden. “Yes, my son developed feelings for a woman of my people, but I deemed her unworthy of him and sent her away. He has never been able to forgive me.”
Hawk shook his head. “Owtch, but fear not, I am sure things will sort themselves out once you reunite.”
Thranduil felt his eyes burn. “If we ever do!”
Hawks eyes got very narrow. He knew the disease which had been gnawing away at this elf’s soul, it was a condition he had seen before in men who had lost faith in themselves and their own abilities. In order to hide and forget that they turned to other things instead and became obsessed with it. He had a feeling that Thranduil had chosen greed and he was pretty sure he was right to. The mentions of white gems told him that. “You will, believe me. Love is stronger than anything else, and the love between parent and child in special.”
Thranduil just sighed. “I pray you are right. I have to save him from becoming the same kind of man that I have been until now. I have been blind to everything except myself. I have tried to pretend that the rest of the world outside of my realm didn’t really exist.”
Hawk smiled slowly. “But now you have seen the truth, and laid the lies aside, right?”
The blond elf just nodded.
Thranduil threw a quick glance at Hawk again, he noticed something odd. The dark elf had a lot of scars but one was different. It was just a thin white line on his chest, right above the heart and he swallowed. Hawk noticed what Thranduil was staring at and grinned, the grin was cold and ugly and it made the elven king cringe. “Curious? I can see that you are. Well, I’m gonna tell you how I got that one, but the story is a nasty one. But maybe you’ll learn a little about the true nature of hatred.”
Thranduil did tremble, it was something so horrible within Hawks deep hoarse voice, a harbinger of darkness and evil on an almost unbelievable level.
Hawk leaned back once more, his eyes became distant and hard. “I was a wild one from the day I was born I guess, I was a loner and drifter, I trusted nobody and nobody trusted me. I was trouble and everybody knew it.”
Thranduil suddenly felt a sort of kinship with the dark elf, he too had been a rather wild one. Hawk sighed. “And then I met her, the woman who tamed me, told me what love was. And I was complete and whole for the first time in my life.”
Thranduil bit his lower lip. “Your soul mate?”
Hawk shook his head. “No, although I was sure she was. We had one year together, one single year. If she had been my soulmate we would not have had this conversation now. The loss would have killed me for sure. And it almost did anyhow.”
Thranduil felt sorry for the dark elf, he really truly did and it was such a new experience, empathy. “What happened?”
Hawk sighed, closed his eyes. “I was out hunting, was gone for days, When I returned….a horde of orcs and trolls had raided the village. They had slain most of the inhabitants and those who weren’t killed on the spot were brought along for entertainment and food. My wife was among them, she was pregnant and not very strong.”
Thranduil gasped in horror, the orcs within this world had to be a heck of a lot worse than even the ones he was used to. Hawk met his gaze, the black eyes were burning. “I asked the other elven tribes for help, they denied it. They could not risk any more lives, not to save just a few. So I went looking for her on my own. And I found her, deep within the orc caves. They had cut her Achilles tendons to prevent her from fleeing, I got her and fled but it was too late.”
Thranduil looked shocked, he feared to hear the rest but felt like he had to. “Too late?”
Hawk nodded slowly. “She was dying, her wounds too severe and we had the orcs chasing us. I knew that we could not survive, not the both of us. And so I ended her suffering with my own dagger and gave her body to an underground river so they would not desecrate her.”
Thranduil was staring at Hawk with eyes as large as teacups. “You killed your own wife?!”
Hawk nodded calmly. “Yes, to save her from further torture. And I started to kill orcs, became a one man army. I hated those beasts so bad I went on a killing spree for years. I did not care about anything else, all I wanted to do was to avenge her. I never mourned, never allowed my wounds to heal. I kept my pain alive so I had an excuse for doing what I did best, killing. I loved it, it was everything I felt back then, an everlasting burning hunger for more blood, more death. I was death incarnate and did not care about myself or anyone else. I was dead Thranduil, my people used to say that an elf with only hatred left within his heart is a walking dead. The soul has flown but he isn’t yet aware of it himself.”
Thranduil cringed and shivered, this was beyond terrible but he believed it, every single word. He could almost see how this dark elf would have been fighting like some mad demon. He was glad he hadn’t seen it.
The dark elf shrugged. “Remember this Thranduil, revenge is a sweet poison, once you have tasted it you will crave it again and again, more and more of it. But it will slowly devour you until there is nothing left except an empty shell of who you once were. I was so possessed by hatred and the need for vengeance I became worse than the orcs who killed her, much worse. Hatred and vengeance is like cancer, it can hide for a long time and cause you to suffer for even longer and eventually it will kill you for sure. It almost became the end of me.”
Hawk sighed once more, looked down. “And then I made a mistake, my final one I was sure. I did not care if I died as long as I could take as many orcs with me as I could and in my berserker rage I was surrounded and one got me.”
He touched the weird scar, almost lovingly. “I was skewered on a spear, it went straight through me and they left me for dead. Hell, I was dead for a while. But the goddess appeared and healed me, she gave me my life back and demanded my skills as a warrior in return. And I gladly accepted as long as I could kill more orcs. And so I did for several years and with her powers within me I was even more dangerous than before, unbeatable and cold as the heart of a glazier. I had no heart, no feelings and no thoughts except the need to kill.”
Thranduil now knew where the dark elf got his strange aura from, he had been a servant of death, one of its many reapers. No wonder he made others back away in fear. “And then?”
Hawk smiled. “I met Elywen, she was a terrible sight back then, scarred by a gruesome disease and I wanted to prove myself by getting her to her destination alive. The goddess demanded it off me. My soul was just as terrible as her looks and believe it or not, I started to care about her. I had to watch her transform into who she is now and it was horrible, her pain was terrible to behold. She gave me my heart back and my soul with it. She made me whole again, made me complete.”
Thranduil had to smile, a very shivering smile. “That’s almost romantic”
Hawk nodded. “She is the life in me now, my light and guiding star. I would gladly die for her. I hope you one day will meet love like that, the soul is never complete until it does”
Thranduil actually felt like blushing. “Ah, I have never believed in love, I have never met anyone who made my heart sing so to speak. I don’t think there is someone out there meant just for me.”
Hawk snickered. “Oh but there are, be sure. That one person could be walking straight into your life when you least of all expect it, and then everything will change.”
Thranduil just made a rather embarrassed smile. Hawk got back on his feet. “I’ll leave you in peace, Naragh will be pissed off if he sees me exhausting you with stories of my past. Let it serve you as a lesson, it is never too late to turn back and become someone new. Heck, I was terrible, so devoured by darkness I don’t think even hell would have wanted me if I had died. It was actually hell I was living in and I don’t wish that fate upon anyone, not even my worst enemy.”
Thranduil nodded slowly, he could understand and he had gotten something new to think about. Obsession, it was a sin of which he had been guilty too, and hatred was also a well-known emotion to him. He had been shown the truth and not a minute too early. He would rather die than becoming anything near what Hawk had been. The mere idea made him sick and terrified. He felt tired and so he fell asleep soon after Hawk left. He dreamed of when he taught Legolas how to ride and the memory was such a dear and precious one to him. He smiled in his sleep, he did not see the she wolf which sat by his bed for a short while. She smiled, he was on the mend, but there were still pieces missing to the puzzle. He was healing but he also needed to heal, and soon he would meet yet another stranger. And if everything went as she hoped it would he would never again be the same. She would meet the fair elven woman again and tell her of his progress, she would be very pleased indeed. She apparently cared deeply for this elf and why not, he was quite special.
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Underneath alien skies