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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter seven: The memory of love lost
What doesn’t kill you
Will only add to your strength
But is it indeed weakness then
What makes your heart stronger
What makes your soul sore
And your very all ache for that one
Which makes you complete
Ravenne just kept staring at him, he looked so shocked and she did feel exactly the same way. Narriar swallowed, he looked very alone and she did still pity him but now it was mixed with a weird sort of reluctant antagonism. She didn’t want these feelings, she didn’t want to feel anything for him. He looked down, just sat there and he looked very sad, almost broken. She tried to look at this from his point of view, it had to be very hard on him and she knew that the idea of bonding with someone was unknown for his race. He probably understood less than she did and she should really be more supportive but she felt as though she couldn’t get away from him fast enough and yet she somehow knew they belonged together.
He sighed and pulled his blankets tighter around himself, he didn’t look at her, the atmosphere was tense and loaded and she wanted to be gone. The door at the end of the room opened and one of the healers entered, she smiled when she saw that the patient was awake and Narriar stared at her with wide eyes, He was probably not used to seeing someone dressed like that. He tried to back himself away from the elleth who just sent him a gentle smile. “Don’t be afraid, I am a healer. I am here to see how you are doing.”
Narriar bowed his head, Ravenne realized that the gesture represented respect and she remembered what Verya had told her of the culture of the race. He would always submit to the will of a female, it was smart that the healers were females. “My name is Lisendre, how are you feeling?”
Narriar kept his head bowed, the respect for healers was probably even greater in his culture than in hers and something about it appealed to her. “Rather good, it aches but not too badly. I just…”
Lisendre nodded gently. “Yes? “
He made a grimace. “I need to…make water?”
Ravenne felt herself blush, Lisendre just smiled. “That is good, then we know your system wasn’t damaged. I won’t let you out of that bed yet so just wait for a second.”
Narriar looked confused, Lisendre turned around and went to a closet at the end of the room, she took out a rather large porcelain bottle with a wide neck and brought it back. Ravenne turned her back to the whole scene, feeling how her cheeks burned. Lisendre held the bottle out towards him and he stared at it incredulously. “What?”
His voice revealed how confused he was and Lisendre understood how absurd this was for him. She continued smiling as she would to a nervous child. “You pee into that, just make sure you don’t spill it afterwards. “
He took the bottle and looked a bit in disbelief but he did understand how to use it, she didn’t have to show him. He pushed it down underneath his blankets and got it in position and sighed with relief when he could relieve his bladder of the pressure. Ravenne just sat there feeling very embarrassed on his behalf. Lisendre took the bottle, she took a look at the contents. “It is too dark, we need to rehydrate you, if not things could get dangerous. Your system needs to be flushed.”
She turned around and carried the bottle off and Narriar just sat there, blushing and obviously very embarrassed. “I have never had to pee in a bottle before.”
Ravenne scoffed. “Thank you for that piece of information.”
He leaned back against the pillows again. “When can I get out of here? I feel so trapped!”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but you will have to wait until the healers says it alright. They are in charge here.”
He sighed deeply, ran his fingers through his hair. It had been unbraided now and Ravenne was stunned by how thick and shiny it was. “Of course I will obey their will but I feel so helpless!”
Ravenne sat down on the bed she had used, tilted her head. “Not something you are used to I am sure?”
He shook his head vigorously. “No, even when I have been wounded I have been able to move around. This is new to me, this place is new to me. It smells so funny and it feels wrong!”
The last words were a mere whisper and she knew that he probably never had been inside of a real house before, his people did build small huts made from branches and leaves and that was it. Ravenne sighed. “I know, it must be terribly confusing but do not worry, nothing here is dangerous, everybody wants to help you. You will be fine soon.”
He grinned. “I hope so, I want to go home, those things were so terrible and I fear what would happen if they attack my tribe”
Ravenne swallowed. “Narriar, there is something I need to tell you about those creatures, they have attacked places both here on earth and in Aman, many has been killed and we have examined a dead one. “
He lifted his head, stared at her wide eyed. “A dead one? Someone managed to kill one of those things?! Who? I want to meet that warrior!”
Ravenne grinned. “It was an elleth, named Celegeth.”
He gasped. “Then I bow to her, what courage!”
Ravenne had to agree on that, she had indeed been very brave or more correctly, scared out of her wits. “Anyhow we discovered that the creatures are a bit like worker ants, you have ants in Lithui?”
He nodded, his face turned serious and she was again stunned by how beautiful he was. “Yes, we have some big red ones, a type of very small black ones that are a nuisance if they get into our huts and then another type of huge black ones that bite like hell.”
She nodded. “Then you know that the workers are genderless and just live to feed the hive, the things we have been fighting have been workers. But there has to be warriors out there too, probably a lot bigger and meaner and a queen. If we are to stop this threat we have to find and kill the queen.”
He bit his lower lip and she saw the doubt in his eyes. “If the queen is anything like those monsters it won’t be easy, and anthills are usually very protected.”
Ravenne sighed. “I know, so it won’t be easy. But these creatures has to be stopped, they have killed hundreds already, children and females included.”
He swallowed hard, his eyes got a bit distant. “Children too? You are right, they must be stopped but how?”
She could hear from the tone of his voice that the idea of children getting killed upset him, it was something personal behind it. “We plan on an expedition to Lithui, some of our best warriors. We will try to find the hive and destroy it, we have a lot of weapons the humans in this world has made and they are terrible but the cause sanctifies the means. This menace has to be ended before more has to die. But we will need the help of your people to do that, we don’t know the land at all.”
Narriar smiled, a thin smile. “I can promise you that we will do whatever we can to help, if these things spread we will be just as helpless as you are. I didn’t even manage to hurt those which attacked us and Hithiar managed to cut the hand of one of them but that was all. They were too fast and armored.”
Ravenne pressed her eyebrows together. “Describe them, I am starting to believe that you two encountered warriors, not workers.”
He described the beasts and Ravenne sighed, she was right. This ellon had seen a warrior and from what he told her they were horrifying. No wonder not even two strong Ce’agar warriors managed to kill them. “Then we know that the warriors are true monsters, damn. Have you ever heard of something like that? “
Narriar shook his head. “No never, nobody has seen anything like that, of that I am sure.”
Ravenne made a grimace. “You don’t have like fairytales of ancient monsters? Tales of something like this?”
He bit his lower lip. “I have never heard any such tales but we have one who may know if such tales exist.”
She leaned forward, a bit eager to know. “Yes? Who?”
He made a grimace. “An old elleth who lives as a hermit in the mountains, she is a shaman of some sorts and she knows everything that is to know about our past. I am sure she has been there since the very beginning, nobody knows how old she is. “
Ravenne took a deep breath. “Can you take us to her?”
He shrugged. “I can’t see why not but I am not sure she is alive any longer, I haven’t seen her for years. She never seeks the company of others, a weird one.”
Ravenne rolled her eyes a bit. “Well then, we’ll try to find her at least. She could perhaps tell us if this has happened before.”
He pulled his blanket further up and sighed. “Those workers, they are after food are they not?”
She nodded. “Yes, they eat people, and when they return back home they regurgitate everything. It leaves a terrible bloodbath. But we have discovered that they don’t like sunlight and that the workers have weaknesses.”
He put his chin on top of his knees, looked a bit lost. “I will never let anything like that happen to my people, I would rather die a thousand times. This I swear, I will help in any way possible.”
She nodded. “I know, I just pray that it won’t be in vain, that we will succeed.”
He sighed, closed his eyes. “My tribe isn’t large, we have perhaps fifty warriors and a hundred females and then there is the children. But we are fighters, we won’t back down, even for those monsters.”
She tried to grin, tried to make him feel as though she believed in this mission. “I am sure you won’t but I am sure that nobody would ask that much of you, you are few, you cannot afford to lose anyone. That you lost your ashim is bad enough”
He nodded, eyes closed and sorrow etched into his face. “Yes, he will be greatly missed and mourned, they will sing for him through the night and dance to his honor. He is not my first loss, nor my most hurtful.”
She swallowed, saw tears in his eyes and she didn’t want to know, she didn’t want anything which made her feel closer to him and yet she did, she wanted to know him, everything about him. “You have lost others?”
She felt like a fool there and then, of course he had lost others, knowing what she did of that world everybody probably had lost many beloved ones.
He sighed, eyes still closed and his chin was trembling as if he was about to start crying. It made him look a lot more real, more like flesh and blood. “I lost my sire when I was just fifty, he drowned in a flash flood. He was such a strong warrior, I was so sure that he would outlive me but no, we didn’t even find his body.”
Ravenne felt moved by his words, he didn’t do anything to hide his emotions and she realized that this was the way of this people, they never did anything to hide how they felt. He sighed. “My mother perished some years later, I wasn’t mature yet so our chief took care of me after that. She got bitten by a poisonous snake and the healers were too late to be able to help her. I felt as though the sorrow would eat a huge hole through my heart.”
Ravenne frowned. “Tell me, when do you mature?”
He sighed. “When we are about a hundred and twenty the way you count time.”
Ravenne stared at him with huge eyes. “Is that true?! Then you must develop very slowly compared with my race. We are mature at fifty!”
He cocked his head. “Really? Then you are lucky, fewer years of being vulnerable!”
She sent him a rather sheepish grin. “We aren’t as vulnerable as you when we are young, we don’t get ill or anything like that. We are vulnerable when we are being born or are giving birth and then in battle but that is it really”
He stared her straight into her eyes, his gaze was so sad. “Then your people are blessed beyond any other, you don’t have to fear losing those close to you to death. “
She didn’t know what to answer to that. She sighed, shrugged. “I guess not, among us children only die due to accidents and we do look very well after them so that don’t happen very often.”
He nodded. “We watch our little ones too, like hawks but still we lose them, many of them.”
She saw the bitterness in his eyes and she just knew that he spoke of personal experience, he had lost a child. She suddenly felt a weird sensation which resembled jealousy, she had no idea of why but the idea of another elleth having carried his child made her angry somehow. “You have lost someone like that?”
He leaned back towards the pillows and she saw tears streaming down his face, he gasped and she saw the pain in him as something almost palpable. “I have sired five children Ravenne, none…none of them has lived long enough to become mature!”
She gasped, stared at him with huge eyes. Five children?! What in the name of the Valar? Was he some kind of stud? Then the tragedy of it hit her and she felt tears in her own eyes, his pain was so terrible to behold and she couldn’t help herself, she reached out and took his hand. “Oh gods, I am so sorry, I should not have asked. I have made you upset.”
He sobbed. “It is ok, I guess you should know this about me. The females like me, and I breed well, better than most.”
She blushed from that piece of information but she did not doubt it for a second, he was probably the favorite of the ellith of his tribe. He had to be, he was so darn strong and gorgeous. “Still it is terrible, five children?! I cannot comprehend how you have managed to survive such losses!”
He took a deep breath, it sounded almost like a sob. “I am strong, more than most. But yes, it has almost driven me insane. I loved them all so much, they were my life, my very all.”
She smiled at him, didn’t for a second doubt that he spoke the truth. The Ce’agar were extremely protective of their children and very closely bonded with them. “I am sure they were.”
He gasped, rocked back and forth with his eyes closed. “I got my first when I was just a hundred and fifty, it was early but I was popular already then. The ellith want the strong males, and I was strong for my age. It was a boy and his mother named him Thethin, it means owl in our language. He had such huge gorgeous eyes and I loved that boy, by every God how I loved him. I was so looking forward to teach him everything I knew but his life was stolen from us when he was just fifteen summers old.”
She bit her lower lip, she could almost see his dead son, a gorgeous boy with huge green eyes and dark hair. “How did he die?”
He shivered and she moved over from the bed she sat on to his, felt as if she just had to do something to show her compassion. He turned around and suddenly she sat there with his face pressed against her neck, she went completely rigid but he sought comfort, nothing else than that and slowly she relaxed and put her arm around him. He sighed and relaxed against her. “He got a fever, and it didn’t break. He just got hotter and hotter and he died in my arms.”
Ravenne had hardly ever heard anything that terrible, she had problems even comprehending the horror of losing a child like that. “I didn’t think I could survive it, I wanted to die with him but I knew I could not. And Hithiar managed to give me my joy back although it was hard on him too.”
She could not help herself, she had to stroke his long silky hair and it felt amazing towards her fingers. “You were so young, I can understand that it must have been awful.”
He nodded and she felt his warm breath towards her skin, it was comfortable in a strange way. “The next one was a boy too, born some thirty summers after I lost Thethin, I felt hope once more. He looked a lot like Thethin and he was such a strong kid, he grew fast and was very vigorous and curious too, smart he was.”
She could feel that he smiled, a sad smile. “Everybody said that he was a future leader, that he was head strong and brave and he was named Athil, blade. I was so proud of him, he was all my joy in the years we got.”
Ravenne nodded. “What happened to him?”
Narriar swallowed hard, took a deep breath. “He was out hunting when he and his friends were attacked by a herd of bishrak, it is a type of animal indigenous to our world. Large fast carnivores which fear nothing and will eat anything. He got bitten rather badly but the wound would have been survivable if it hadn’t been infected. They tried to save him by amputating the leg but it was too late. He died screaming in agony and I still to this day regret that I didn’t do what I should have and ended his suffering. “
Ravenne had to gasp. “You do that?”
He nodded. “Yes, if someone is dying in great agony we will end it for them, quickly without any more pain. It is merciful.”
She had to agree on that but by the gods themselves, what a brutal world. He sighed and continued. “The next was little Ibian, pebble. He was tiny when he was born but so full of energy and since he was born just a year after I lost Athil it eased some of my sorrow, I hoped that this time it would be ok, this time my son would live to become an adult. I was wrong.”
He pressed his face tighter to her neck and she felt warm tears against her skin. “He was so pretty, so sweet. Always smiling and cheerful but he died before he was five, because of the whooping cough. Many children died back then, we lost almost a third of our young ones. It almost destroyed our tribe.”
Ravenne had to swallow to avoid sounding as if she was going to cry too. “That disease killed a lot of children here on earth too, before they got medicine that could cure it. “
He nodded slowly. “It was horrible, the healers could no nothing for them, some parents just could not bare it and went into the woods never to return. I can’t say I blame them for it.”
He took a deep breath. “I didn’t sire another child again for more than a hundred years, I didn’t want to. The losses had been too great and I feared losing yet another precious little one. But fate wanted it differently, and an elleth I just slept with once bore me another son. I didn’t dare to hope though, I guess I treated him with a bit of distance. It wasn’t that I didn’t love him because I did, desperately. I just didn’t allow myself to accept it completely, I tried to keep a distance just so I wouldn’t get so hurt if he died. How wrong I was.”
Ravenne kept stroking his hair, she had problems breathing. “Solian was going to be a healer, and he was just a handful of years away from becoming fully mature when he was taken from us, I almost went insane from it. He got trapped underneath a falling tree in a storm and I just hope that he died immediately, that he didn’t lay there suffering for hours.”
She hugged him tightly. “What did his name mean?”
Narriar gasped. “Blessed one, he had the gift to heal but it didn’t have time to develop.”
She took a deep breath. “I am so sorry to hear that Narriar, so very sorry. I know it is common to lose children for your race.”
He nodded against her neck. “Yes, but none has ever lost five! None has ever sired five either, so I guess I am both blessed and cursed at the same time. I have given up the hope that I’ll ever have a child who makes it to become fully mature.”
She felt sad on his behalf. “The last one?”
He wiped his eyes, a bit ashamed of his obvious sorrow. “Yes, my only daughter, my jewel and pride. I was so happy when she was born, the females are tougher than the young males, they do rarely die from disease and they doesn’t take that many chances, this time I hoped that it would end well. That I would see her grow into an adult elleth and maybe one day see her have children of her own. It was my great hope and dream.”
Ravenne felt tears running down her cheeks, it was absolutely terrible, so tragic. “That didn’t happen right?”
He nodded. “Yes my little Brhina passed away too, it has been almost a century since I lost her but I still miss her terribly. She was so very beautiful and she deserved her name, flower. I could have done anything for that girl Ravenne, anything.”
Ravenne closed her eyes, felt his scent and his warmth and it felt right in a strange way, familiar. It felt good to comfort him like this. “So what happened to her?”
He tensed up, held his breath for a second. “Something very unusual, and tragic. Something that never should have happened.”
She frowned. “Really?”
He grasped her hand, clenched it hard. “We have laws, and rules by which we live. To your people we may seem like a bunch of barbarians but we have a sense of what is wrong and right. There are few crimes among us but sometimes the lines are crossed and then the punishment is quick and rather hard. It has to be that way.”
Ravenne took a deep breath, there was disbelief in her voice. “She was the victim of some crime?”
He nodded, she could feel that he was almost growling. “Yes, yes she was. And I still feel that anger, that sorrow. I didn’t protect her, I didn’t see the danger she was heading into.”
Ravenne lifted his head, stared into his eyes and saw hurt and sorrow but also rage in them. “You have to explain this to me!”
He nodded and pressed his forehead against her neck again, moved into a more comfortable position. “We have some unwritten rules, no one is to touch an elleth before she is mature, it is forbidden. She can look like an adult but she isn’t, not before the healers have determined that she is fully grown. We have ceremonies which mark that transition and then the young ones can go out and seek themselves partners and share their bodies and do whatever they like. It is seen as a most horrible crime to lay with anyone who hasn’t been through the ceremony yet, both females and males and it is no difference even if they both are of the same age or yet has to be initiated. They have to wait, it is just the way it is.”
Ravenne knew that this was normal in many cultures among the humans of earth, there was a ceremony which marked the transition between child and adult. “She did it before she had been allowed to?”
He was almost shivering. “Yes, she is a good example of why we have that rule. She had been eying a young ellon for some years, they were both of the same age and neither had gone through the ceremony. She was strong and looked fully grown but the healers hadn’t allowed her to be initiated just yet. They thought that she wasn’t ready. She didn’t care, she and that boy met in secret and I guess they didn’t think that there could be any ill effects of them breaking the rules and making love before they were regarded as old enough. But there were.”
Ravenne was confused. “What effects? Is this something special for your race?”
He clenched her hand. “Yes, I guess so. It is very rare but an elleth can become with child before she is initiated, her body is fertile but at the same time not yet quite ready to carry a baby, not developed enough. “
Ravenne took a deep breath. “Oh no, don’t tell me she died in childbirth?! That is horrible!”
He let out a strange sound. “She tried to hide her condition, and she managed to do it so well that she was too far along for the healers to remove it when it was discovered. By the spirits, I was so angry and so scared, so very scared. To our people a pregnancy is very tough, it takes a lot of an elleths strength and she has to be very healthy and strong to be able to have a safe birth and a healthy child. My daughter wasn’t punished for she was regarded as a child still and neither was the ellon who had fathered the child but he was dishonored so that everybody could see that he had broken the rules. “
Ravenne frowned. “How do you do that?”
Narriar sent her a sad smile. “By cutting their hair off, they have to go almost bald for five summers before they are allowed to let it grow again.”
Ravenne tried to grin. “I bet that is embarrassing.”
He nodded. “Terribly, some would prefer to be put to death. But I guess that her destiny was punishment enough in the end.”
Ravenne took a breath. “So what did happen?”
He made a grimace. “I am not sure if you are aware of this but in our race a pregnancy lasts for two years, and she was a little over halfway when things went wrong. She started bleeding and the healers managed to stop it at first and things appeared to be alright again. You cannot believe how relieved I was, I could have cried and I refused to leave her side. Neither did her mother, we were there with her for weeks. Hithiar had to govern our tribe, I was too preoccupied watching over my daughter.”
Ravenne made a grimace. “Being pregnant for two years? Phew, that is the length of an elephant’s pregnancy here on earth. I do believe that it has to be quite a strain yes.”
He nodded and hid his face again, as if he didn’t want to show her his feelings. “You have no idea, so there is a reason why our females are forbidden to lay with anyone until they are mature, to lose a female is the worst thing that can happen to our tribe.”
He sighed and she let her hand slide through his hair again. “Then she suddenly started to bleed again and this time it war far worse, she was going into labor and I have never felt that helpless. She was my little girl, my precious gem and I could not do anything to help her, to ease her pain and fear. She struggled for three long days, at the end she was so exhausted she couldn’t push anymore and the healers told us her hips weren’t wide enough, there wasn’t room for the baby to get out. She lost too much blood and there was nothing anyone could do, she died with the child still inside her, a most terrible and un-necessary death. I wanted to kill the ellon who had done this to her but Hithiar and her mother stopped me, they hadn’t been mature enough to understand what they really were doing.”
Ravenne sighed. “I know many fathers who would have killed him if they were in your place. In fact I think even many of my own people would do that.”
He turned his face towards her again. “What father wouldn’t? I banished him from our tribe, I think he joined another clan. I could not stand the idea of seeing him every day. That was the last child I have ever sired, if the gods decide to give me more I will of course welcome them but I have no longer any hope of seeing any adult offspring of mine.”
She sighed. “That is very sad you know. I guess that you still are popular with the ellith?”
He grinned. “Yes, I have to admit that I am. I rarely sleep alone, I guess that is one of the perks of being a clan leader.”
Ravenne didn’t really know if she liked that information, the strange possessiveness she felt towards him was unnerving and she was still very confused. The bond she felt to him was an impossibility but still real. He sighed and leaned towards her, heavily. “Just sit here Ravenne? I feel so well with you near me.”
She made a grimace. “Ok, but I cannot stay for very long. I have duties.”
He nodded. “I know, but you ease my pain.”
He closed his eyes and she felt his hot breath towards her skin, he leaned into her as trusting as a child and it moved her a bit. She stroked his hair once more. “Then I will stay here for a while.”
He grinned and nuzzled her neck. “Thank you”
She remembered what Verya had told her of the affectionate ways of the Ce’agar. He sought comfort and she would feel like a bastard if she denied him that but it felt weird. Nobody had ever done that, sitting next to her like that just enjoying an embrace.
After a while Lisendre returned with a huge bottle of water and gave Narriar a strict order to drink it all, he didn’t look too happy about it. Ravenne remained sitting next to him and he did drink the water but he was muttering some words which had to be rather strong curses in his own language. She was considering getting up when a messenger entered the room, he stared at Narriar with huge eyes and went a little pale. The Ce’agar did look very exotic to anyone not used to the race and Ravenne just sighed. “Yes, spit it out!”
The messenger nodded nervously. “I am here to tell you that your brother Legolas managed to avert the attack on Tirion last night, they used fires and flammable liquids, and they fought the monsters well. They lost a hundred and ten ellyn and many were wounded but the city was saved, as was the one here on earth.”
Ravenne let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank the Valar, but that could mean that the next attacks can come already tonight? Gods, this is both good news and bad ones.”
The messenger tried to smile. “They are gathering the members of the expedition as we speak and the experts are gathering equipment. They will send both modern weapons and those well known to you all. “
Ravenne made a grimace. “That is good, I have serious doubt that it is possible to kill the warriors with the use of a sword, not without getting killed. Tell them I will go to, I demand it!”
The messenger smiled. “They anticipated that, you are most welcome.”
She sighed. “Yes, I bet I am.”
The messenger bowed and left the room and Narriar looked at her with curiosity. “You have a brother? Like a real brother?”
Ravenne grinned. “Yes, well, Legolas is my half-brother. We have the same father but not the same mother. My father was married to an elleth who was Legolas mother but she died and later he met my mother and married her, I have a sister and a brother too, full siblings.”
Narriars eyes were wide. “You have three siblings? Your father has four living children?! Lhekk,(damn) he is a lucky one!”
Ravenne had to laugh of his expression. “Yes, and my brother Astarion has four children of his own, so the family is large.”
There was something sad in Narriars green eyes. “Your father has grandchildren, I bet I never will live to see that day. Four by one mate, that is …strange to us but I guess that is the way of your race. “
Ravenne nodded. “Yes, we mate for life, usually we only marry once. My father remarried because he didn’t really love the female he was married to first, she wasn’t bonded with him. The marriage wasn’t really true in the eyes of our people, so he was free to marry again when he met the female he was meant to be with, my mother.”
Narriar frowned. “Still, I envy him, four children!”
Ravenne tilted her head. “One elf who lived a very long ago had seven sons, but he did something very stupid and that family ended up getting completely wiped out. He was a genius but he created something that drove him and others with him insane. It was their undoing.”
Narriar didn’t look as if he believed that. “Seven? And he had one wife? She must have been one exhausted elleth!”
Ravenne laughed, how typical for a Ce’agar to think like that. “Yes I guess that poor Nerdanel was a bit tired.”
There was a knock on the door and Verya came in, she looked shocked to see that Ravenne and Narriar was sitting like this, so close and she lifted an eyebrow in a very curious expression. Ravenne just made a grimace.
“So it is official, you are going!”
Ravenne nodded. “Yes, I am. I don’t know if I should be excited or terrified.”
Verya shrugged. “A little of both perhaps? A little fear is just useful. But I spoke with the head healer now, she wants to know if there is somewhere to keep Narriar until the expedition leaves?”
Ravenne frowned. “Can’t he stay here, it will only be a couple of days?”
Verya shook her head rather vigorously. “Nope, they need the infirmary in case there is another attack with wounded coming in. I suggested your apartment.”
Ravenne gasped. “You did what!!”
Verya grinned, a rather mischievous grin. “Come on, your apartment has few windows so little light to hurt his eyes and it is rather large and cozy too. It is just nice that the two of you learn more about each other, you will after all have to be cooperating soon.”
Ravenne rolled her eyes. “Cozy? Damn you Verya, it is a mess! And large? More like an overgrown closet if you ask me!”
Verya just shrugged. “It is a lot larger than mine, I have to go outside in order to change my opinion so they felt that the offer was a good one. He is to stay at your place until you leave.”
Ravenne could have strangled Verya, she sighed and rolled her eyes. Narriar was staring back and forth between the two ellith. “I will not exploit your hospitality in any way, if I am not welcome there has to be some other place I can stay? Is there any forests here?”
Ravenne turned around. “No, you misunderstand me, you are most welcome, it is just that I haven’t had time to prepare, I haven’t had guests for years and my place is a bit…untidy,”
Narriar sent her a little smile, it was a bit naughty and he looked very charming. “Don’t worry, my hut is infamous for being a death trap, weapons and stuff everywhere.”
Ravenne sent him a seemingly sweet smile while she gave Verya a gaze filled with daggers. “Then I guess it will be ok, just be prepared for something very different from what you are used to.”
He nodded and looked as if he was looking forward to seeing her apartment. She turned to Verya. “You got me into this freaking mess so go do something useful while you are at it. Go to the market and buy food, the only thing I have in my fridge is a bread that has grown a green beard and some milk that was old when Morgoth was ruling in Angband.”
Verya scoffed but nodded. “What do you want me to buy?”
Ravenne sighed. “Food, meat, vegetables, bread, some ale, perhaps a bottle of something stronger too. “
Verya rolled her eyes but took Ravenne’s card and left and Narriar looked a bit confused. Ravenne smiled to him. “I will explain that later, I guess you hunt your own food but here we have something called money and we use that to trade things between each other.”
He looked very nervous all of a sudden. “I think this world of yours is more strange than I imagined. “
Ravenne sighed deeply. “Oh you have no idea!”
A healer came in after a short while and she smiled and made Narriar lay flat down. She pulled the blanket down to his hips and Ravenne had to blush, he was indeed amazing, she had never seen a physique like that before, the wounds were nasty and red but they had closed up and the healer examined them gently. Ravenne had problems believing that these were the terrible gashes she had seen but she guessed that it really was true what they said about the Ce’agar. It was almost impossible to kill them. She had to stare a bit and she did see that Narriar noticed and that he liked it too. He grinned at her as the healer finished her job. “You doesn’t need bandages any more. I think the stitches can be removed tomorrow evening.”
The healer turned towards Ravenne. “I trust that you are familiar with removing stitches?”
Ravenne almost backed away. “Yes, I am, but do I have to?”
The healer nodded. “It will be easier like that, just use some strong pliers, he is almost completely healed already, the redness is just the outer layer of skin. You cannot do any harm to him.”
Ravenne cringed and nodded. The healer smiled. “They told me that he is going to stay with you, that is perfect. We don’t have that much room here and we fear further attacks. I will organize for transport so he can stay with you from tonight.”
Ravenne just sent the elleth a rather hostile glance but kept smiling, she didn’t like this situation at all. She just hoped that Verya did buy enough food, she would bet that he was able to eat huge meals. She threw a glance at him, turned toward the healer again. “Please, find some clothes for him? He cannot walk around like that!”
The healer nodded and giggled. “Nope, not buck naked. It is a sight to behold but I understand. I shall see what I can do.”
Ravenne let out a sigh of relief. The idea of having him walking around wearing only his birthday suit was a bit disturbing to say the least. The healer left and Narriar grinned and blinked at her. “You liked what you saw ha?”
Ravenne blushed, she just had to turn around. She remembered what Verya had said, the Ce’agar males were always ready and willing and she realized that it could become a problem. She had absolutely no interest in getting intimate with Narriar, no matter how attractive he was. She had made herself a promise and she intended to stand by it and never forget the disappointments of the past. He pulled the blanket back up and stared at the ceiling. “I am a bit scared Ravenne, I know nothing of this world.”
She felt how her anger disappeared with his reluctant and yet soft words. “Don’t be Narriar, we will take good care of you and in a few days you will be back home again.”
He sighed. “I fear the others think I am dead, I just hope it hasn’t ruined everything.”
She smiled at him. “It will be alright, I am sure it will.”
He just sighed and looked a bit melancholic, almost sad. He stared at the ceiling again and she tried to feel less offended by what Verya had done. The place was a mess yes but at least it was safe and warm and she would of course do whatever she could to keep him happy while he was there. She just feared that the cultural shock would be a rather overwhelming one on his behalf.
A servant came with some food and Narriar looked at the plates and bowls with narrow eyes, he had no idea what this was. Ravenne sat down next to him again and placed the food on a small table by the bed. “That is moshed potatoes, a sort of root. And this is porridge made from oat, a sort of grass seed. And this is honey, and this is jelly made from berries.”
He sniffed with suspicion in his gaze. “I know what honey is, but don’t you have any meat?”
Ravenne grinned so he could see all of her teeth. “No meat for you yet buddy, they don’t think your stomach can handle it until you are completely well.”
He groaned, stared at the porridge with a sad expression. “This is food for an infant, not for a grown ellon!”
Ravenne sighed and sat down, stared him straight into the eyes. “Know what? Let’s make a deal, if you eat now I will get you some good meat later, ok?”
He sighed so deeply she had to laugh, then he nodded and Ravenne took up a spoon and presented it to him. “You use this stuff here to eat with, feel free to mix some of the honey and the berries with the porridge. “
He took the spoon and studied it, stared at the food and dipped the spoon into the porridge with a grimace that told her he didn’t expect this to taste like anything that was anywhere near pleasant. He took a mouthful and she could see that he had to force himself to swallow, she had to laugh again at the expression on his face. “If this is the stuff you Aman elves live on it is no wonder most of you are such puny ones.”
Ravenne nodded and grinned. “We do eat meat too, but not much of it. I guess you eat almost only meat?”
Narriar nodded and forced himself to take another mouthful of porridge, he made a grimace and stared at her pleadingly. “Oh Ihm-shag,(dog-puke) this is so vile. Do I really have to eat this? It is…it is like eating vomit!”
She stared him straight into the eyes. “No it is not, it is good for you so finish your bowl, that is an order!”
He growled but obeyed and she got a feeling that was a bit giddy, he did follow her commands and she knew it was because she was a female. She was suddenly very glad she wasn’t born as a male. “We do eat mostly meat yes, but there are berries and roots and fruits and nuts too that we gather and eat when they are in season.”
She nodded. “As it was also for my ancestors. They ate what they found.”
He ate the whole bowl but his face told her that he didn’t like it even a bit. He wiped his mouth afterwards and she placed a glass of ale in front of him. He sniffed it with obvious suspicion and then he took a very careful sip of it. Ravenne stared as he looked seriously shocked and took another sip. Then he emptied the glass and belched, she frowned and he realized that he had done something not so very polite and blushed. “Sorry!”
Ravenne had to laugh, he held his hand over his mouth and he was blushing. With that type of table manners the next days was going to be very exiting indeed.
In Aman the day had gone by peacefully, some had left the cities but others stayed and they had brought the flashlights to most of the cities near the portals. A crate was on its way towards New Greenwood too but it hadn’t reached the place yet and would not for a couple of days. It was a long way to go and the wagon didn’t move as fast as a rider would.
The palace where the council was being held was silent that evening, many had left to take care of their families and there was little left to be done. Oropher and Thranduil would wait until Legolas returned from Tirion, then they would leave together. Thranduil wanted to see the expedition leave, he wanted to send a message with them for Ravenne and he felt nervous for her. It would be a very dangerous job and he could not help but fear for her safety. He knew that Glorfindel was going and so were also three other ellyn who were veterans from several wars, a healer would also follow them and a scholar. He suspected that the scholar would be Erestor but he wasn’t sure. As long as that person knew what he was doing it didn’t matter who it was. The night fell fast and the darkness didn’t bring any peace or rest, everywhere people were awake, nervously awaiting what this night could bring. The cities were guarded now, but everybody knew that a few guards were useless if the monsters chose to attack.
A little north of the bay with the harbor lay a rather large flat area of Northern Eldamar where people made a living raising cattle and horses, it was no large cities there, just small villages and those who lived there regarded themselves as rather safe. That night some of the farmer awoke hearing terrible screaming and roaring from terrified animals. None dared to leave their houses, they hid in the basements and shivered in mortal fear until the first morning light came and revealed the awful truth. The horses had mostly managed to escape, they were too fast and too nervous to be caught but the cattle and the sheep was another story. Most of them were simply gone but a huge amount of half eaten carcasses were left and some wounded animals which lay there moaning in agony. The elves had to go around and do the very unpleasant job of ending the sufferings and tears and wails of grief were heard many places. The monsters had found a source of food there and it was one that was easy to exploit but there were few animals left now. The horse herds were too precious to be risked and the horses that had been killed were mourned like family members. To an elf a horse is almost like a brother or sister and the losses were heartbreaking for those dedicated to breeding the best available animals.
Messengers were mounted and rode towards Valmar and the other cities to tell of this, the attacks would probably happen again. It was very hard to protect a huge herd of animals and they had no way of defending them other than spreading the herds out as much as possible.
In New Greenwood the morning had been peaceful. Nireariel had prepared the palace for the evacuation of most of the inhabitants and many had already arrived and helped with the further preparations. Many had lived in the Greenwood of old or Mirkwood as it too was called and they knew how to prepare for war. Nireariel felt nervous, she had this nagging sensation within her heart all the time and she just hoped that their realm would be left unharmed by this. She was finishing helping the servants hand out blankets and such when she heard that someone called her name. She dropped everything she held and ran downstairs towards the entrance. The huge solid stone doors were prepared to be locked and she swallowed when she saw them. Usually they were pushed aside and not so visible. A rider stood on the outside with his horse by the reins, he looked pale.
Nireariel stopped and stared at the ellon. He was one of the forest elves who lived by the river far south in the area they had gotten from the Vala Orome and she knew that he was of Avari origin, they rarely tried to keep in contact with others. “Yes?”
He bowed his head in respect. “My lady, my people have discovered something awful. We live close to the edge of the forest and on the plains there are huge herds, among them herds of buffalo. We heard roaring and screams last night, when the light returned our scouts saw that several huge herds had been completely massacred. It was just blood and fur and pieces left. It was a gruesome sight.”
Nireariel went pale, then this side of the mountains weren’t safe at all. The monsters went for the food regardless of where it was. She gasped and he bowed his head. “I have ridden for hours, I need a new horse if I am to return to my people.”
Nireariel took a deep breath. “My friend, you should not ride back, it is dangerous. You should get your people to join us here, the palace is safe.”
He just smiled. “My tribe is one of those who live with the forest, we will not leave it. The trees will protect us, we can climb and we can hide. Do not worry for me my lady.”
She sighed. “Very well then, go to the stables and they will give you a well-rested horse.”
He bowed for her. “Thank you my lady!”
She had to lean against the wall and she fought her sensation of panic. Others had to learn of this but it was many days ride back to Eldamar. Even to Tirion it took several days. She just stood there and didn’t see that Astar came walking towards her, he hawked and she jumped and stared at him with huge eyes. “Daughter, what is it?”
She had to fight herself in order to stay calm enough to talk. “I just received a message from the avari elves living by the border river. The monsters have eaten several herds of buffalo.”
Astar sighed and closed his eyes. “Then the entire land is in danger, not just Eldamar. Damn it. And it was last night? I do not think that Yvanna will do anything about it, even if it happened in her area.”
Nireariel nodded. “We have to let those to the east in Eldamar know of this but how?”
Astar smiled. “I know how, we will use the pigeons Thranduil brought here some months ago. They will try to return back home and we will attach the message to them. At least some of them will make the journey.”
Nireariel just sighed. “Well then, go ahead, send some birds. I will warn everybody of this. There are probably plenty more game to find on the plains but when they are done eating those poor animals they will go for the next best thing and that will be us I fear.”
Astar just nodded and left and Nireariel remained standing in the doorway for several minutes, staring out into the sunlight. It felt as if though shadows were creeping up around her, and she shuddered and for the first time the palace felt like a safe place and not a prison. She touched the solid stone walls with her long slender fingers. “Please be enough to keep us safe, please keep them out.”
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In a land of shadows