Summary: Seregil's final attempt at wizardry was accidentally sending himself to another plane of existence. This fic re-explores the missing moment from the first book in the Nightrunner series. This time, he finds himself in a land very similar to the land of his birth, but also very different from it. AU.
A/N: While rereading the Nightrunner series, I had an inspiration. How would Seregil react to meeting the Elves of Middle-earth? This story takes place in Middle-earth's Third Age, in the midst of the events of The Hobbit.
Also, I have included a glossary at the end of every chapter, containing terms specific to either of these universes.
Disclaimer: I do not own either the Nightrunner series or The Hobbit.
"...Then he really did it, sending himself into another plane."
"Plane?" Alec hiccuped, wiping his eyes.
"It is like another country or world, except that it does not exist in our reality. No one really understands why they exist at all, only that they do and that there are ways to cross into them. But they are dangerous, for the most part, and difficult to return from. Had I not been with him when he did it, he would have been lost. It was then that I was forced to say 'No more'."
(from Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling, pp. 198-199)
An Elf to Elf Visitation
Chapter 1
Seregil stepped out of the translocation vortex and immediately collapsed to his hands and knees in the grass. This was worse than when Nysander cast the spell! Closing his eyes, he fought the overwhelming nausea that usually attacked him when he underwent translocation. But this was worse because he'd done it himself. As the first wave passed, he opened his eyes and found that the beautiful garden he was in was nothing like the gardens of the Orëska House, where he'd started.
Like the Orëska garden, a sense of magic permeated the air, and the land reminded him of Aurënen, the country of his birth. He knelt in a beautifully arranged garden, unpaved paths wending through the flower beds to connect to other gardens. To the East lay a huge towering mountain range, which cast long shadows in the late morning light.
There were only two places Seregil could think of where there was a mountain range in the East without a water scape in the West: one would be hated Zengat, the country known to take captives from Aurënen and sell them as slaves elsewhere; the other place was near Sarikali, or even Haman, back in Aurënen. He'd never been to Zengat, though he had heard of it. But he had been to Haman, and the magic in the air was comparable to being in Aurënen.
"No." Seregil sat on his heels, trembling at the thought. He was an Exile. If he was found by Aurënfaie of Haman, they could execute him on sight!
Elrond sat in his office, going over patrol reports with his seneschal, Glorfindel. Even as his golden-haired friend discussed the current situation in the Misty Mountains, the dark-haired Elf Lord turned to his window in surprise. Something was off.
Glorfindel stopped when he saw the younger elf's distraction. "Elrond? What is troubling you?"
The Lord of Imladris didn't turn back around, his expression puzzled. "I do not know. A strange magic has entered the heart of the valley. It is not evil, but it is foreign."
The blond Elf Lord studied him. "It is within Imladris's borders? How did it enter?"
Elrond finally turned back to face the older elf. "I do not know. It simply appeared in the gardens, and then it disappeared as quickly."
Glorfindel stood up from his seat. "Patrol reports can wait. I shall investigate this immediately."
"Thank you, mellon-nin," Elrond told him gratefully.
Glorfindel nodded to him as he left.
Glorfindel headed outside, mentally preparing himself to face whatever Elrond had sensed. In a less-frequented area of the gardens, he stopped at an unexpected sight. An elf-child knelt in the grass, trembling in fear as he looked around him. The boy was, strangely, wearing blue robes of a similar style to Gandalf's. The Elf Lord ignored this, as the child's emotional state was far more important.
He sensed something odd in the boy's fëa as he drew near. His place in the Music seemed off, like he didn't belong in Arda. An Elf not belonging in Arda? This was a very odd feeling. In addition, he sensed a deep pain that was fairly recent. And something akin to an Elven marriage bond that had been interrupted. But the bond was... wrong.
Glorfindel's blue eyes narrowed. The boy was only in his twenties, far too young for such a bond. It was a perversion of a standard Elven marital bond. This foreign elf child had been ill-used, and anything else about him could wait. The Elf Lord rushed to the boy's side and knelt beside him, gathering the slight form into his arms. Whispering soothing words in the boy's ear, he noted that, under the flowing robes, the boy was more physically developed than most Elves his age.
Seregil, still worried about being discovered by other 'faie, was startled when a very tall ya'shel came running over to him in concern. Golden hair flowed down his back, held out of his face by long, thin braids.
When the tall stranger knelt beside him and pulled Seregil close, the young apprentice stiffened. He relaxed into the older man's embrace as soothing words were whispered in his ear in a strangely accented dialect of Aurënfaie. "It will be fine, child. Whatever the problem is, we will fix it. Shhh... Everything will be fine. You are safe, here."
Seregil allowed the comforting warmth to calm him. The ya'shel seemed to radiate calmness and strength. The loving embrace encouraged him to release long pent-up emotions, and the Bôkthersan finally cried over everything that had gone wrong in his life: his father's disappointment, Ilar's seduction, the disaster of that final gathering of the clans, the exile, the failed attempts to find his place among the Tír, and this latest failure as a wizard's apprentice.
As the boy's tears ceased, Glorfindel rose to his feet, keeping a protective arm about the child's shoulders.
Seregil, feeling calmer now, turned slightly to look up at the older man. This half-'faie was close to seven feet tall, an unusual height, even for humans. A bit nervously, he said, "Uh, sir? Thanks for helping me."
Glorfindel gave the boy a reassuring squeeze, puzzled by the accent he spoke in, but willing to wait to find out what was going on. "Not at all, child. You are an elf in need. Whatever aid you require will be given to you." Beginning the walk to the house, he asked, "So what is your name, child?"
Seregil was confused. How did he not know? Still, he answered the question. "I am Seregil í Korit Solun Meringil Bôkthersa." True, he had no right to the name anymore, but this situation seemed to call for one's formal name.
Glorfindel cocked his head in confusion. "That is a very impressive name. But what does it mean?"
"Seregil is my name, Korit is my father, Solun is my grandfather, Meringil is my great-grandfather, and Bôkthersa is where I'm from. It is our fai'thast." While he was grateful that the older 'faie didn't seem to be aware of his exile, Seregil was still confused as to how he hadn't heard.
"I am unfamiliar with this term. What is a... fai'thast?" Glorfindel hesitated on the strange word, puzzling over it in his head.
Seregil stopped in his tracks, forcing his companion to halt. How could he not know a basic Aurënfaie word like this? "It is a clan's home territory, the land the clan occupies and protects." Shaking his head, he looked back up at the blond. "So, what's your name, sir?"
Glorfindel studied the boy. His own history was well-known to every Elf in Middle-earth. He decided that Seregil's youth and recent fear must have made him forgetful. "I am Glorfindel, Lord of the House of the Golden Flower in the lost city of Gondolin."
Seregil stared at the man. He didn't recognize the name of the city. The lordship made no sense at all, as Aurënfaie didn't use such titles. Trying to make sense of this, he latched onto the one thing Glorfindel hadn't said that he knew anything about. "Who is your father?"
The elf blinked in surprise. No one had asked him that in a very long time. "Child, I am so old that telling you my father's name would mean little to you. There are few left on these shores that even knew him, let alone his name."
Seregil lowered his eyes in thought. The man didn't look that old, maybe his father's age. And what did he mean by 'on these shores'? And then, he recalled that there were 'faie still alive who remembered his great uncle Corruth í Glamien, who disappeared 7 generations of Tír ago. "Sir, how is that possible? The oldest Aurënfaie I know is Brythir í Nien of Silmai, and he's 430 or so. Few get much older than that."
Glorfindel laughed a tinkling laugh of amusement. "I understand why you would see that as old, my boy. But I am far older than that. The Lord Elrond is older than that, and I am far older than he."
Astonished, Seregil decided to wait on this age thing, and grasped onto the other bit of information Glorfindel gave. "Who is Elrond?"
Glorfindel didn't think he could be any more surprised. Elrond's history was as well-known as his own. "Lord Elrond is the Lord of Imladris." He indicated the house and the gardens around them. "The Edain know this valley as Rivendell."
Seregil was very confused. He was starting to suspect he wasn't where he'd thought he was. "Who... are Edain?"
"Humans." Glorfindel furrowed his brows in puzzlement. This boy did not appear to be familiar with basic Sindarin. "The word should be well-known. It has been in use for millennia. It was invented by Noldorin Elves. Even those with little contact with mortals know the term."
Seregil stared at him. "Elves? I haven't heard anyone call us 'elves' before. Of course, I've never heard of a Noldorin, either." Glorfindel stared. He certainly looked like a Noldorin. "We are Aurënfaie."
Glorfindel blinked. There was a strange word. "We will figure this out when we see Elrond." He led Seregil inside, to Elrond's office. As Lord of Rivendell, the younger Elf Lord usually met with all of the guests of the valley. In this case, they would need to find out what was going on here.
Glossary
Orëska – an order of wizards in the Nightrunner series. Those in the nation of Skala reside in a palace in the capital, protected by magic.
Aurënen – a nation in the Nightrunner series on the Southern coast of the continent.
Zengat – a nation in the Nightrunner series on the Southwestern coast of the continent. Its people are known slavers.
Sarikali – a sacred site in Aurënen. Few actually live there. It is mostly inhabited by the spirits of the previous inhabitants.
Aurënfaie – a race of long-lived people who live in Aurënen. The average lifespan is around 400 years. Most possess inherent magic, but not all can use it.
Haman – an Aurënfaie clan from the Western frontier of Aurënen.
fai'thast – an Aurënfaie word meaning 'home'. It refers to a clan's territorial possessions.
Misty Mountains – an extensive North-South mountain range, forming the spine of the continent of Middle-earth. Its inhabitants are mostly Orcs and Trolls.
Imladris (Sindarin) – Deep Dale of the Cleft. The Elven word for Rivendell, a refuge founded by Elrond in the late Second Age.
mellon-nin (S) – my friend.
Music – The Great Music, a symphony sung by angelic beings at the beginning of Time. It binds Arda and its inhabitants and tells its history.
fëa (S) – spirit, plural fëar. It includes the person's memories and personality.
Arda – The World That Is. The planet of which Middle-earth is only its Eastern continent.
Elven marriage bond – Elves only marry once. Other Elves can sense when an elf is married. It lasts as long as the world lasts. There is no divorce, rape, or adultery.
ya'shel – The polite Aurënfaie word meaning 'half-breed'.
Tír – short for Tírfaie. Aurënfaie for 'human,' literally translated as 'short-lived folk'.
House of the Golden Flower – an Elven family, most of whom were no longer in Middle-earth after the First Age.
Gondolin – an Elven city in the Northwest of Middle-earth. It was destroyed during the wars of the First Age. Its ruins were drowned in a cataclysm at the end of that Age.
Edain (S) – Men. Usually used to refer to three groups who were more friendly to the Elves than other humans. Came to mean all humans later on.
Noldorin – one of three groupings of Elves who went on a journey early in Arda's history to live on the Western continent. They were the only group to make the return trip to Middle-earth. Nearly all are dark-haired and grey-eyed.