Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

In a land of shadows	By : Nuredhel Category: -Fourth Age to Modern times and beyond > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1448 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I 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.I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien,

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Chapter Four: The wounded warrior
Like a dragon with broken wings
My fire is still burning hot and fierce
Like a hawk trapped in a golden cage
I still dream of soaring free
Like a dragon with broken wings
I still have my fury my wrath
You cannot keep me in chains for
I will go down fighting
And my enemy will fear my flames

(Ravenne’s POV)
She was staring at what had to be the worst mayhem she had ever encountered, she had real problems even believing what she saw. Others from the colony were there with her, and she could see Mithrandir and one of the other Istari trying to place the right kind of spell around the site so that the mortals didn’t realize what this really was. She sighed and wiped her eyes, they felt sore because of the smoke and her tears. The scene looked like a nightmare of some sort, she had a strange suspicion that her father may have seen something like it, during the many battles he had been in. It had been a quiet little suburb just outside of a larger city along the bank of one of the great lakes and she was really wondering about how this was to be disguised. It was hard to explain something like this as anything else than what it really was. The bodies were mutilated beyond imagination and she had felt like puking several times. Luckily this attack had not been a huge one, perhaps two or three hundred deaths.
She had a sense of confusion, it was as if this attack had been interrupted, as if the culprits had been stopped before they had time to do all that they wanted to do. She raised her head and saw that the wizards were done with their work, hopefully the humans would believe the illusion they had cast upon this place. Ravenne shook her head, she was so tired right now. This was the fifth attack they knew of and she knew that this had to have happened back in Aman as well. It was terrible to think about and she worried about her family and their safety. She knew that her father would do anything within his power to keep them all safe but having seen what she had she had started to doubt that any place could be kept safe from these assailants, whatever they were. The houses were levelled with the ground, cars burning, trees torn out of the ground. It looked as if some sort of tornado had passed through the area but there had been no storms there for weeks. Still she knew that the wizards were powerful enough to make everybody believe that some freakish natural event had taken place.
She wandered through what had been a nice garden when she saw that one of the others came rushing towards her, it was one of the other inhabitants of the colony, an elleth named Verya and she looked as if she had seen something really out of the ordinary. She shouted when she saw Ravenne. “Rav, come quick. I think I know why this attack was over so quickly!”
Ravenne ran towards Verya who turned around and set course towards the backyard of what had been a very nice house. The thing Ravenne saw made her stop and just stare. It was summer but an area of the backyard was covered with snow, more than a feet deep. It looked as if someone had taken a pair of scissors and cut out a piece of another world and then just dropped it into this backyard. The border between the snow covered ground and the asphalt of the drive way was so sharp and clearly defined it looked unreal. The area was not large, perhaps five meters by six meters across and some bushes and leaves were protruding from the snow which was trampled by many huge strange feet. But it wasn’t the snow in itself that had caused Verya to react, in the middle of the snowy area lay two bodies covered with blood and they were definitely not human and absolutely not the monsters which had done this.
Ravenne walked closer in a sort of fascinated trance like state, she had never seen one of the Ce’agar elves before and she felt sorry that her first encounter with the race had to be with two corpses. Verya looked excited. “Look, I bet they tried to interfere in some way and was pulled along with the monsters, ended up here with them. “
Ravenne nodded. She could see that both were armed and their blades covered with a thick greenish goo that had to be the blood of the things responsible for this. She swallowed hard. Dead elves, she would never get used to that sight. One was laying on his back, his hand clenching his throat which appeared to be cut with some sort of very ragged blade, he also had a terrible gash in his chest and his left arm was severed right beneath the elbow. His eyes were staring into the sky and she had to look away, the expression of intense fear and pain on his face was terrible to behold. He was wearing some sort of leather armor, very simple and not at all able to protect anyone against whatever it was that these two had been up against, it looked very primitive and yet it had a sort of elegance to it that Ravenne found fascinating. It was obvious that this race had the elven sense of beauty. Other than the primitive armor he wore just knee high boots, a loincloth of thin leather and a belt. If the place he came from was snowy he had to be a hardy creature in deed, it had to be freezing cold.
Ravenne studied the face with a mixture of pity and interest, he was beautiful in an unusual way, the features a bit more rough than on an ordinary elf but still perfect, he looked very masculine and appeared to be rather young. The eyes were green, in a deep dark color that looked unnatural and since his mouth was open she could see that his teeth were unbelievably white and perfect but also rather sharp, as if he was some sort of predator. She suddenly realized that she mourned his death, although she never had met him before, he was just so…perfect. He had to be just a couple of inches short of being seven feet tall and the body was in perfect shape with strong defined muscles and yet he was as sleek and elegant as a huge cat. His hands were long and beautiful and he had long legs and a wide chest. Ravenne saw that his skin was covered with weird symbols here and there, tattoos. Ordinary elves would never do that but she guessed that it was a part of this race’s culture. He also had several pieces of black rock placed in the lower edge of his ear and she winced when she saw it. Elven ears are extremely sensitive and to have them pierced like that had to hurt like hell.
The ellons hair was very long and thick, just as silky in appearance as the usual elven hair but it appeared that each strand was a bit thicker than on elves of Ravenne’s race. It had a deep dark brown color and she did notice something weird. He had a single very long and thin braid starting from behind his right ear and it appeared to reach his knees. Verya saw that she stared and she nodded. “He is a bowman, they grow a long braid like that, to make bowstrings.”
Ravenne frowned. “They use their own hair as bowstrings?!”
Verya nodded. “Yes, it is very strong by the way, they are fascinating creatures.”
Ravenne knew that Verya had been to Lithui and suddenly she envied the other elleth the experience. Verya continued. “They always work in pairs, one archer and one sword fighter, it is the basic unit of their people, or at least their defensive forces.”
Ravenne walked over towards the other corpse, he laid flat on his belly and the ground was covered with blood. She felt a strange and intense feeling of grief, this should not have happened. “Then I guess this one is a sword fighter?”
A very elegant blade lay in the snow next to the dead ellon and she picked it up, it looked almost as if dwarves had made it and it was light but yet very strong, she did not recognize the metal it was made of. Verya nodded. “Yes, I guess he is. A real pity, these ellyn are so gorgeous, any elleths dream come true I would say.”
Verya bowed down and grasped the ellon by the shoulder, began to turn the body around. He was wearing exactly the same simple armor and clothes as the other one but he was even taller and his hair was night black and gathered into many thin braids. Ravenne gasped, he had several terrible wounds in his stomack and what had to be some sort of spear shaft protruded from his chest just beneath the sternum, angled upwards towards the heart. The sight made her cringe and she felt tears against her cheeks. His face was covered with blood and she felt a sudden urge to bend down and wipe it off him. Verya had gone quiet, she stared at the tattoos with narrow eyes, then she bent down and appeared to check the back of his right hand for something. Ravenne stared at her. “What are you doing?”
Verya bit her lip. “I have a bad feeling, a very bad bad feeling. I think I might know who this is!”
Ravenne just gasped. “What?”
Verya made a grimace. “I have not met him, but I have heard of him. And if I don’t misinterpret this mark here” She pointed at a strange tattoo on his hand. “He is of the right clan, and he looks suspiciously like the one I fear he is”
Ravenne squinted, she stared at the mark. It almost looked like Cirth runes but it had more rounded shapes. “Clan? Are they divided into clans?”
Verya nodded, she got up and waved her hand, shouted at the others who were going through the rubble. When someone answered she told them to go get Lerinar and off they went. “Lerinar has met this clan, he knows who everybody is.”
Verya sighed and her eyes were sad. “He is so damn pretty, don’t you think? Ah, back to your question, yes they are divided into clans. Five of them to be precise and those are the clan of the Mhirbak, wolves. The clan of the Fhitab, elkes. The clan of the Uilar, cats. The clan of the Imari, hawks and then the clan of the dragon, the amlog. These two are of the amlog clan, the smallest but most powerful one.”
Ravenne frowned. “The smallest one and yet most powerful?”
Verya nodded. “Yes, it is not so much the number of people in a clan that determines its strengths as it is the strength of those within it. This clan is renowned to have the best warriors, they are fierce, without fear and they never back down. “
She bent down once more and touched the ellon’s forehead, almost lovingly. “Oh I bet you and your ashim did fight well before the end, didn’t you? “
Ravenne could see that Verya also was close to tears. “Ashim?”
Verya grinned. “Yes, it means brother by choice. They probably share the same sire but not the same mother. These warriors are raised together to form the bond between the two in a pair, it is rather strong. That way they will always watch each other’s back and never leave anyone behind.”
Ravenne made a grimace. “Does that mean that they are…ah…well…you know?”
Verya shook her head rather vigorously. “Nope, there is no such thing as a gay Ce’agar. They don’t know what homosexuality is, it is unheard of among them.”
Ravenne had to grin. “So they are just very very close?”
Verya nodded and sighed, her eyes were sad. “Yes, extremely so, the closest bond possible among their race except from the bond between parent and child. Ashim will share everything, and if one dies the other usually succumbs to his grief soon. It is a mercy that they both are dead, at least they are together.”
Ravenne shook her head. “Then they really are different from us indeed.”
Verya sent her a small crooked grin. “Oh you have no idea!”
A tall ellon with long sandbrown hair and a pair of kind blue eyes came running, he stopped and stared and his eyes got wide. “Oh gods no, it cannot be!”
He bent down and wiped the blood away from the warriors face. “It is him, damnation! Then we might encounter huge problems”
Verya gasped and she swallowed hard. “Oh den rhacho,(curse it) I feared that.”
Ravenne stared at them with confusion. “Who is he?”
Lerinar sighed and shook his head in sorrow. “He is the leader of the amlog clan, in principle the leader of all the Ce’agar. His name is Narriar, fireblood, and that other ellon over there has to be his ashim Hithiar, mistblood”
Ravenne stared down at the face, he did look like a leader yes, strong features and his face looked almost peaceful even in death, as if he had accepted his fate and faced it willingly. Lerinar looked puzzled. “These two are of the best warriors of their race, the enemy must indeed be terrible to have felled two such amazing fighters.”
Verya nodded. “They did fight back though, I see blood on their weapons”
Ravenne knelt down, so this ellon was in fact almost like a king or something? It was something disturbingly unworthy about seeing him laying like this, bloody and torn. He should have been alive, strong and vigorous and ready to fight. She felt like she had to do something, make him look less messed up, give him some dignity back. She grasped his hand and placed it on his chest, reached over and took the other one too, tried to fold them together. She let out a small shriek as she suddenly felt his hand grasping hers for a short second. “He moved!”
Lerinar frowned. “No way, it must have been death spasms. He cannot have been dead for long.”
Verya was on her knees, she pressed her fingers to his jugular. “Is he really dead? I have seen these Ce’agar elves survive the impossible.”
Lerniar shook his head. “Look at all the blood? There cannot be anything left in him? “
Verya just snarled, she was in a frenzy. “He is alive, I feel a pulse but it is so darn weak.”
She was on her feet, screamed out loud. “Healer, over here, now!”
Everything turned into a chaos within seconds, suddenly there were elves rushing around everywhere and Ravenne just stood there staring. Someone wrapped the dead ellon in a bodybag and carried him off, healers were swarming around Narriar and he was carefully lifted onto a stretcher and they took him to an awaiting helicopter. Ravenne knew that they would take him back to the colony right away and she felt a sudden urge to follow him. Verya nodded to her. “Go, they will want to know the details and I am busy here, cleaning up.”
Ravenne hesitated for a second, then she ran and found a place just before they lifted off.
The colony was a closed neighborhood placed within the more wealthy parts of the city, on paper it belonged to the members of a religious community which didn’t allow outsiders access and it was usually respected. They had a small hospital there and it had all the modern equipment it needed but also relied heavily on their elven medicine of old. The helicopter landed on the pad outside of the building and Ravenne ran after the stretcher. The healers were already ready and she had to wait outside of the operation theatre, she wasn’t clean enough to enter. She found a chair and sat down, her heart was racing and she had to fight an intense feeling of confusion, what was going on? After a while one of the leaders of the colony approached her, he was an ellon who had lived in Aman his whole life and Ravenne had always found him a bit too soft for her liking. He had nothing of the natural authority a leader should have but she guessed that it is a good thing to have relatives with power when there is a job you want. His name was Luin and he smiled and sat down, she could see that he was upset. “Gods, a Ce’agar here in this world, and in this state. I never thought I would see this day”
Ravenne sighed. “It is bad isn’t it?”
Luin nodded slowly. “Yes, it is. He is hovering between life and death at the moment but they are of course doing all they can for him. It is just difficult, their anatomy is a bit different from ours.”
Ravenne tried to smile, she should at least be polite. “So I have heard. Will there be problems if he dies?”
Luin let his hand run through his hair, he looked down. “Maybe, his clan is the one with the most influence, they could perhaps put the blame on us for his death, and become hostile. Or they may just refuse to cooperate with our expeditions. That would be bad too. And on the other hand, he has seen this enemy, if he dies we won’t know that much about them. His knowledge is vital right now.”
Ravenne looked down at the floors, she had a thousand thoughts running through her mind at once and it felt strange. “Then we’d better pray that he survives!”
Luin nodded and got on his feet again. “It is nice that you stay with him Ravenne, you are strong enough to cope with even the most fierce of personalities.”
She made a grimace, stay with him? She hadn’t really thought that far, she just wanted to know if he was going to make it or not. She leaned back against the wall and tried to relax, it was almost impossible. She had seen things she never had imagined that she would and she was afraid. She had to admit that to herself. There was no point in denying that she had no idea of how this new threat was to be stopped. She sat there dozing for several hours before Verya suddenly rushed in, she looked nervous and sat down, her face a bit pale. “We are done with the cleanup, and the mortals think it was a natural disaster. But they won’t believe it if this happens again. How is he?”
Ravenne pinched the bridge of her nose, a headache was developing. “I don’t know, they haven’t told me yet!”
Verya leaned back against the wall and yawned, she looked very tired. “No surprise, I bet they are sweating like crazy in there. Do you know if any of the healers who has been to Lithui are in there?”
Ravenne shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know anything.”
Verya made a grimace. “I hope that there is, if not he is really dead. They are so different from us.”
Ravenne turned her head towards Verya. “You have been there? Tell me more about them?”
Verya tipped her head from side to side, she looked as if she couldn’t really make up her own mind. “Ok, but where do I start then? What do you want to know?”
Ravenne was thinking fast. “You said that the bond between these ashim was the strongest there is among their people, do they not bond with their mates?”
Verya grinned, the grin was a bit wicked. “No, that is one of the greatest differences between our people and theirs I guess. You see, the mortality rate is high, if they were like us they would be extinct. They are more like humans when it comes to reproduction, or rather, rabbits!”
Ravenne had to giggle. “Really?”
Verya nodded and she leaned towards Ravenne. “Yes. Their race has a completely different attitude to this kind of activities than us, it is just natural. They have to replace their losses and so they focus much of their energy on that.”
Ravenne felt herself blush, she saw that Verya noticed. “Don’t be so shy Rav, it is very interesting from a scientific point of view. You see, they don’t need to merge their faer or something like that to produce offspring, all that is needed is for an egg and a sperm to meet, just as in humans.”
Ravenne made a grimace. “That’s sounds simple.”
Verya tilted her head. “Yes, but it isn’t. You see, the females of this race have evolved to be able to produce offspring as often as possible. They don’t ovulate like humans do once a month, they have what is known as induced ovulation. It is the act itself that makes them fertile.”
Ravenne blushed even deeper. “And that means that?”
Verya giggled. “It means that she has to come to be able to get pregnant, and an ellon who is good in bed is more likely to produce many offspring than one who is a klutz”
Ravenne had to laugh. “I bet that creates a bit of pressure on them!”
Verya nodded and her eyes were serious. “Yes, it does. But that said, they are in fact very energetic, and eager too. It is in their culture and the way they are raised. They don’t waste a single opportunity to breed. “
Ravenne nodded. “If what I have heard of the child mortality rate is true that is no wonder. But they do care about their offspring?”
Verya smiled. “Yes, they adore children, and every child is being raised by the entire clan together. They see every adult as an ant or uncle. The parents are fiercely protective of their young, they would gladly die for them and believe me, I would not stand between a Ce’agar mother and her child.”
Ravenne could understand that. “What about the fathers? Are they involved in the raising of the young?”
Verya made a grimace. “They are, they are just as fond of their children as the mothers but they do not form relationships as we do. There are no marriages or couples, they bed whoever is willing and then they move on to the next partner. You could perhaps call them extremely promiscuous but it is all in the nature of their race, it is evolution. If an ellon sires a child he will develop a very tight bond with the mother and protect her with his own life until the child is born, then the child gets bonded with him and the mother is more or less forgotten.”
Ravenne had to admit that this practice was a bit weird when she considered the customs and rules by which the eldar lived. “How do the ellyn know that they are the father? If the females lay with any male available then it must most certainly be a bit tricky?”
Verya shook her head, leaned against the wall once more. “No, somehow they know if the baby is theirs, call it a sort of instinct. She doesn’t even have to tell him she is pregnant, he will know. And to them becoming a father is something of immense importance and joy, they are always so very proud. “
Ravenne frowned. “But children die often there, doesn’t that affect them?”
Verya rolled her eyes. “Of course it does, the grief is almost enough to kill them, but still they continue trying, if they manage to get just one child safely through adolescence and into adulthood they have made it.”
Ravenne thought that it had to be a very stressful way of living. “That sounds rather terrible if you ask me, having as many children as you possibly can and yet not knowing if any of them will live to become a parent too.”
Verya shrugged. “Yes, but it has worked for them for ages. There are very few infertile Ce’agar, and those who are will always be regarded with a huge amount of pity. It is seen as a very sad fate.”
Ravenne had to grin. “So they are really a bit like rabbits, always screwing around?”
Verya sighed and she looked a bit as if she didn’t really know what to say. “I would not say that, our first explorers were shocked by their customs and apparent lack of moral but they do have rules and to them reproduction is a duty almost, one they enjoy a lot yes, but still a duty.”
Ravenne raised an eyebrow. “So they do enjoy sex? It is not just a job that needs to be done?”
Verya huffed. “Of course they enjoy it, and they are rather amazing at it too. To the Ce’agar any female is sacred, they see that ability to give birth as a blessing from the gods themselves and so the words of a female is law. Any ellon would gladly lay down his life for a female, she doesn’t have to be related to him, pregnant by him or anything. It is enough that she is female. It is a society where the females have the real power. All the ellyn want is to keep the females and children safe and pleased, that is their task in life.”
Ravenne found that puzzling. “And yet their leaders are male?”
Verya sighed and leaned forward again, rested her hands on her knees. “Yes, because nobody will be allowed to lead who isn’t willing to take a risk and possibly get killed. To lose an ellon is not as bad as losing a female, an ellon can have many offspring but a female only have one at a time and then it will take at least a few years before she becomes fertile once more. The females are too valuable to be risked in any way.”
Ravenne stared at Verya with narrow eyes. “So the females are not allowed to fight?”
Verya shook her head. “No, not while they are in the fertile stage of their lives. But they are trained alongside the ellon before they reach puberty and they also fight once they are done having children. Believe me, they are warriors just as much as the men, but they do dedicate themselves to having children while they can.”
Ravenne tried to imagine a society like that but she had problems with it. “So the ellyn serve the ellith?”
Verya nodded and grinned. “Yes, a pregnant elleth is treated as if she was a goddess and every birth is celebrated as if it was a miracle. The ellith can change her clan too if she wants to, she can just move over to another clan but the ellyn can never leave the clan they are born into. It is a way of preventing inbreeding I guess.”
Ravenne sent Verya a crooked grin. “A smart move, so most of them have many children?”
Verya made a grimace. “Three or four at the most, remember, these elves usually don’t live very long. There are great dangers there and they usually don’t have time to produce that many offspring. The females are not that very fertile either, in spite of the small trick with their ovulation. I think nine out of ten attempts results in nothing at all even if they do everything right. And then there is a risk of miscarriage and such too. So it is no wonder why they keep trying as much as possible. To them having sex is like drinking, eating and sleeping, it is just natural and nothing they are ashamed of or are trying to hide.”
Ravenne had to giggle. “So how did they react to the first explorers from Aman?”
Verya rolled her eyes. “With disbelief! They did try to bed some of the eldar who came to visit and were confused when they were rejected. They did not understand it at all. To them not wanting to share their bodies is a bit hard to comprehend. If you ever get to Lithui be aware of this, some of the ellyn are a bit strange, if you appear to be not interested they will pursue you even harder. And even though they respect a female and her wishes they can act in a way that to us will seem a bit threatening. They are too eager you might say.”
Ravenne nodded. “I got it. So the ellyn are basically trying to get laid with every female they find attractive?”
Verya had a wicked grin on her face and her eyes were filled with mischievous mirth. “Yes. And she doesn’t have to be that attractive at all, if she is alive they’ll fuck her if she is willing to let them.”
Ravenne shook her head. “They sound like humans in their late teens, only hormones and very little brainpower.”
Verya tossed her head back and laughed out loud. “Yes, when it comes to the hormones, they are always ready and willing.”
Ravenne sighed. “So then the females of their clans are very lucky in deed?”
Verya grinned again. “Yes, but they aren’t blunt if you think that, they are not animals who just fuck and then it’s over with, they are very fond of physical contact, love to caress each other and are extremely gentle towards their partners. They would never hurt anyone, it is all about pleasure.”
Ravenne just had to sigh. “Sounds like they know how to enjoy life.”
Verya looked at the wall with a distant look in her blue eyes. “Yes, they love life, they celebrate it in every way they can because it can be over so soon. I have never met people so full of life and joy but I have never seen such grief either. To them everybody is a beloved family member.”
Ravenne was starting to realize that this people were very different from her own in some ways and perhaps not so much in others. She felt as though she could understand them in a way. In Aman nothing really happened, people had no reason to celebrate and when they did it was due to tradition. She knew that the elves of her father’s kingdom were more vigorous when it came to celebrations, they held onto their old ways and lived closer to nature.
Verya raised an eyebrow and grinned once more. “There is one important difference between their ellyn and ours, they are a bit like bunnies in more ways than just one.”
Ravenne sighed, she was getting a bit tired of this talk, it just reminded her of the things she never could have. “Really? How?”
Verya giggled. “Another biological adaptation to increase the chances of conception, their seed is extremely sticky and doesn’t leave the female as fast as it would otherwise. But that makes it harder to ejaculate, the muscles have to work much harder to get it out and because of that they come in three stages. First they feel the pleasure of orgasm and to them it is much stronger and longer lasting than for other races, then they pass out and only then can they release their seed. If they were conscious it would in fact hurt like hell. Their inner anatomy is a bit different from that of other elves and humans, much stronger pelvic muscles and a different nervous system too.”
Ravenne had problems believing this. “So they pass out? Every time?”
Verya nodded. “Yes, if they do climax they pass out, like a candle. Well, they usually scream like somebody is murdering them first and then they collapse and when they wake up they feel extremely well and very affectionate towards their partner.”
Ravenne had to laugh. “Yep, sounds like rabbits except from the affection part. How the heck do you know this anyhow?”
Verya had a very peculiar expression upon her face, she blushed. Ravenne stared at her with wide eyes. “No? Don’t tell me that you…You didn’t?”
Verya just giggled. “Well, as a matter of fact I did, all in the name of science. I was a bit…overwhelmed though. It was great and by the Valar how amazing he was with me but I could hardly walk afterwards.”
Ravenne still just stared, Verya had slept with one of the Ce’agar? Then she remembered what she had done herself and knew that she shouldn’t be the one to look down upon anyone. Her own grandfather used to say that the old customs were crap and just pious relics of a time long forgotten. They had long known that consummation didn’t necessarily mean bonding and she knew that very well. She hadn’t bonded at all with the young ellon she lost her virginity to and perhaps it only was some of the most traditional elves of the Vanyar or Noldor groups that still believed in the old ways. “You really did it with one of them? Weren’t you nervous at all?”
Verya shook her head. “Nope, we wanted to learn more about them and sometimes asking questions just won’t do. And I knew this young one liked me very much and he was really handsome and very respectful so I went for it.”
Ravenne still had problems believing this. “And it was…alright?”
Verya giggled. “More than just that, damn he was good. I have never felt that pampered in my entire life. “
Ravenne raised an eyebrow. “Pampered?”
Verya nodded vigorously. “Yes, worshiped! They really know how to treat a female and he was so grateful for being allowed to be with me he was almost crying. It is rather normal I think, to them females are to be respected, worshiped and treated with the outmost respect and admiration. Being able to give her as much pleasure as possible is just a part of it.”
Ravenne sent Verya a small smile. “Sounds like a females dream yes.”
Verya made a grimace. “Well, wild between the sheets and wilder even with sword in hand is how to describe them. They fight like nothing I have ever seen before, I really wonder what it was that those two encountered since they both were brought down like that.”
Ravenne returned to the moment, she stared at the door to the operating theater. “So do I, and why is it taking so long?”
Verya grimaced. “I have no idea, but he was very hurt. That spear was pretty close to his heart I think and he must have been bleeding heavily internally too.”
Ravenne sighed and put her head into her hands. They had to save him, they had to hear what he had seen. “Do they speak sindarin?”
Verya shrugged. “Some do, most of the leaders, the healers and the shamans have learned it. I bet he can speak it rather fluently, they are very fond of learning new things and they are proud to learn too. Being smart is a very good way to gain a good reputation and social status.”
Ravenne nodded, she could understand this, being a bit primitive does not mean that one is stupid and she just hoped that he would be able to talk. Verya sighed, she stretched herself and yawned. “Anyhow, the enemy has come from Lithui and so someone has to go over there and see if there is anything we can do.”
Ravenne felt a strange sensation there and then, as if someone had poured something ice cold down her back. Why she had no idea but she was suddenly afraid, very afraid. She somehow knew that this person would be her and if she went she probably wouldn’t return.
The door opened and a healer came out, she was covered in blood up to her elbows and looked terrible. “He is alive, and I think he will make it. Remarkable creature really, his stomach was so damaged it was hard to tell what everything really was and the spear had gone almost all the way through him but he has pulled through so far.”
Verya tilted her head, looked curious. “You have been there?”
The healer nodded. “Yes, so I know how to treat them. We have sedated him, eight times the normal dose. He doesn’t look that bad now when we have stitched him up again and one of the best are with him now. She will make the wounds close up within a few hours, we gave him some blood too. It is good that they accept any blood type.”
Ravenne was stunned to hear that. “Any blood type?”
The healer nodded. “Yes, be it human or elven, as long as it is alive they will accept it. Their immune system is rather amazing, like none other I think.”
Verya grinned and nodded. “Then he will live, good to know. “
The healer smiled. “Yes, there is no danger of infections, he has just lost much blood. But we will keep him under for a couple of days I think. “
Verya shook her head. “You can’t, we need to know what it was that he fought right away.”
The healer made a grimace. “Very well, we’ll wake him up but just for a few minutes, he is in agony and very weak. It would be cruel to keep him awake for longer than that, in special when you know what happened to his friend.”
Verya nodded. “Yes, but we have to know.”
The healer nodded. “I understand, follow me.”
She walked through a door and Ravenne and Verya followed her into a very small but cozy room lighted only by a fireplace and a few candles. “His eyes are very light sensitive, we cannot use the electric lights here. “
Narriar lay in a bed and he was looking a lot better, the blood had been washes away from his skin and hair and his eyes were closed. He lay relaxed on his back and was breathing in a slow but steady rhythm. Ravenne had not really seen his face until now, she had been in too much of a shock and he had been covered by blood. Now she really saw him and she realized that he really was extremely handsome, even for an elf. He just looked a bit more stocky than the normal elves. The tattoos were so strange and they covered his upper arms and shoulders, he also had some on his face and neck and she could see that he too had pierced his ears. She saw that he in fact had a piercing in the tip of his left ear and it would have had to be extremely painful.
The healer took a syringe and injected his arm with a clear liquid. “He will wake up now but he won’t be able to move, beware. He’d might panic so be quick with it. This only last a couple of minutes on someone like him.”
Verya smiled and sat down by the bed. She grasped his hand and Ravenne took the other one, almost hesitantly. It was warm now, and strong with callouses and visible sinews, a fighters hand in deed. His skin was so real to her all of a sudden, as if she hadn’t really been able to grasp the idea of him being there for real, she stroked his palm and saw that he was starting to wake up. He whimpered and tossed his head back and forth. His chest and stomach were covered with bandages but he did look like a wounded person now, not like a corpse. Verya bit her lower lip, she looked nervous. He gasped and then he opened his eyes, staring straight into the ceiling. His eyes were green, just like his friends but they had a lighter color, it had specks of gold in it and he groaned and looked absolutely terrified. Verya squeezed his hand, she tried to look as comforting as she could. “Relax, you are safe. You got hurt but we have healed you.”
He turned his head towards the sound, whimpered again. “Where?”
He stared up again, Ravenne could see that he started to remember and his eyes went wide and filled with horror. “Hithiar!”
Verya swallowed hard. “He isn’t here Narriar, please, what did this to you?”
He turned his head again, saw Ravenne and he just stared with a strange expression in his eyes. “He is dead is he not, I cannot…feel him”
He whimpered and tears started to flow down his cheeks, he sobbed. Ravenne felt a strange feeling in her chest, she wanted so badly to comfort him, to take away his grief and pain. “It is ok, you are safe. You fought well, both of you did. What attacked you?”
He stared at her again, in disbelief. “Ai othain me chikrai, they were monsters. They just came wandering through our forest and we were discovered. They were so hard to kill and there were so many of them and….”
He gasped for air and let out a piercing wail of pure raw emotion. “Hithiar, oh ashim nen, I should have joined you!”
Ravenne looked at Verya. “What did it mean, the things he just said? Ai othain…?
Verya had to think hard for a second. “Ah, geez, I think it means something like –honored one born of starlight- He thinks you are a goddess”
Ravenne had to blush, why she did not know. “You said monsters, what did they look like?”
He was shaking now, tears flowing down his cheeks and he was sobbing in wild gasps. “Ebathui, ebathui, mel ren ebathui”
Verya looked very confused. “Darkness, darkness, only pure darkness?”
He was rolling his eyes and Ravenne knew that he was fading into unconsciousness once more. She shook him but he was gone and she swore and got on her feet. Darkness? That did not tell them much but he would hopefully come too again and then he could hopefully tell them more. She felt so sorry for him, the sorrow in his voice and eyes was so obvious and she tried to imagine what she would have felt like if someone had killed any of her family. Yes she could understand him, very well in fact. She grasped a cloth from a washing stand and washed the tears of his face, very gently and Verya stared at her with a puzzled expression in her face. “If I didn’t know any better I would say that you care about him?”
Ravenne just mumbled. “I pity him, that’s all.”
Verya sighed and got up. “I am going home, are you staying here?”
Ravenne nodded. “I suppose I am, in case he wakes up again.”
Verya smiled. “That’s great, you look tired so take the bed over there, you need some rest too. And if you ask they will surely give you something to eat. “
Ravenne just smiled at her and pulled the bed closer to his, he was sleeping and breathing regularly, could these elves will themselves to die as her race were known to do in cases of extreme sorrow? She hoped not, he had to live. He could hold the key to this mystery.
She laid down on the bed and relaxed, felt how her head was spinning. It did not last long before she was asleep and she saw it all once more, the bloody snow covered with footprints and the two mangled bodies. She gasped in her sleep and whispered his name and he moved slightly, as if he heard her and reacted to the sound of his name.
Ravenne was awakened by one of the healers, the elleth looked a bit shocked. “Wake up my lady, there was an attack in Aman too, but this time they found a dead one. They are bringing it to us right now!”
Ravenne had problems gathering her thoughts but then she pulled herself together. “A dead one? How? Who killed it?”
The healer grinned. “An elleth, Celegeth, Elladan’s fiancée.”
Ravenne was on her feet, suddenly she felt eager, filled with energy. “Show me!”
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In a land of shadows