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The Company

Legolas gazed at his surroundings, wide-eyed. He had rarely before been allowed to travel outside the Greenwood, for the world was deemed too dangerous for children in this day and age. Even now, travelling the distance to Imladris, Legolas and his age-mates were well protected within a group of warriors.

They were travelling to the Council of the Eldar, an event held once every dozen years to allow the leaders of the Elven realms to discuss international affairs, and for the newly come of age elves to participate in the Warriors Trial, which marked the official graduation of an Elvish trainee to an Elvish warrior or healer after a long-year of training. A number of craftsmen often made the journey to ply their trade in distant lands.

Legolas had trained as a warrior since he had first been allowed to draw a bow, as had his dear friends. He was ready, he believed, to face the Trials, a vigorous test of an Elf's aptitude in the field.

It had once been the case that youths would choose between the path of a healer and a warrior during adolescence, and each group would face separate Trials, but in recent long-years, few youths had chosen to be healers only. It was the norm for youths of the Greenwood to train as warriors, and then, perhaps, later train as healers. Indeed, Legolas' friend Brethildíl fully intended to do so immediately upon passing her Trials, and hoped to be offered a chance to study under Lord Elrond for a time.

The travelling party was eighteen in all, for there were five novices, including Legolas, a healer, and six warriors, along with four craftsmen and two of Thranduil's advisors.

Legolas' father's strong voice called a halt, and the group made camp in a copse of young trees, which would shelter them from view during the night. Supper was cooked, and watches were drawn, and those assigned to the final watch cast themselves down to sleep soon after eating.

Legolas took the time to evaluate his companions. They were only a day outside the forest of his home, but already Legolas could sense that many of them were tense, and watched their surroundings as if expecting orcs to appear out of thin air. The absence of a network of trees communicating any threat to the Elves unsettled Legolas, and he realised that he had grown up in a unique environment - one where the trees themselves provided a direct link to the Elves, warning them of any disturbance in their wood.

Legolas' closest friends were also graduating at this long year's Trials. Brethildíl, and her older brother Brethilríl, softly teased each other as they readied for sleep, until their father came between them to hush his children. Lothellon was a big Elf, and his son Brethilríl had inherited his muscled frame. All three Silvan Elves had green eyes, which to Legolas were as familiar as the blue eyes of his own family. Their long brown hair, caught up in braids, had a unique curl to it, only found among this family.

Lothellon was the King's bodyguard, and the big Elf settled himself down to sleep beside Legolas' father, carefully placing himself close enough to Thranduil to be woken if the King so much as twitched in his sleep.

Thranduil slept soundly, having drawn the dawn watch. The King's distinctive golden yellow hair splayed about his head, and his glassy blue eyes gazed upwards in dreams. The king tried to be just a warrior when on the trail, but his bodyguard would never allow him to come to harm.

Legolas' mother, Aldariel, was the healer in the group. The gentle Queen conversed quietly with her own bodyguard, then tucked herself into her husband's sleeping arms to fall asleep. Aldariel was a Silvan Elf, and she was much alike in looks to any other, with her cool green eyes and soft brown hair.

Sílívren, the Queen's bodyguard, had been Aldariel's best friend since the day she learned to talk, many long-years ago. Sílívren was smaller than the average elf, small even for a wood-elf, but though lithe she was very, very strong, and faster even than the best warriors the army had to offer. Sílívren's bow and twin knives were carefully set at her side, and she set her own bedroll up beside the Queen. The little elleth had proven a valuable asset to the Queen on a number of occasions, for enemies often underestimated the demure elleth's strength and skill, some even thinking her a half-grown adolescent. Her wavy blonde hair added to the innocent appearance the bodyguard often relied upon for surprise.

Legolas' gaze fell on his best friends. Aldanna was Sílívren's daughter, and though she was much taller than her mother, she had inherited all of her musculature. Aldanna was solid muscle from head to toe, and both she and her mother had light blonde hair and warm green eyes. She had spent much of her youth swinging through trees, and climbing on rooftops, the canopy of the forest, and even the mountain, and she had a lithe grace seldom seen in one as muscled as she. The elf's lean figure hid immense strength, and Aldanna was often seen running through the treetops when she had need to travel through the forest.

Tathar, setting his bedroll up between Aldanna's and Legolas', was much like his cousins, with typical Silvan features of brown eyes and dark hair. His mother, Lothellon's sister, was a close companion to the Queen, and indeed she ran the household at the stronghold.

Neldororn, Tathar's father, was a warrior. He kissed his son's brow before taking up the watch, and Legolas followed his gait as the tall Elf made his way to the edge of camp. Neldororn was a jovial fellow, and he preferred to laugh rather than talk. Neldororn had a bow slung across his back, and a sword at his side. The hilts of small daggers stuck out of the tops of his boots, and even his arm guards. He had the same dark eyes and hair as his son, and the pair of them were often difficult to distinguish from a distance.

Ladlaurë the seamstress had set her bedroll up near to Brethildil's. As she watched her daughter, and then her son, Legolas thought of the many hours he and his friends had assisted her in dyeing newly woven silk for clothing. Ladlaurë had made the clothing of each member of this company, from their breeches to their cloaks, and she had recently begun working on a method to use spider silk to make flexible armour. Ladlaurë's dark hair stood out against her pale skin, for the weaver often worked inside, and usually didn't see enough sun to accumulate a tan like the other Silvan elves. Ladlaurë had passed her green eyes on to her children.

Eregalen, a woodworker, was a craftsman travelling to Imladris to sell trinkets. The Silvan had overstuffed saddlebags, and he had even brought a few standardised bows. He slept already, in preparation for the late watch, and Legolas' mind drifted back to the many times he had been measured for new bows over the years, as he grew. Eregalen had nondescript brown hair and eyes, glazed over in Elven dreams.

Rílmír was a Silvan, and he set his own bedroll up as close to one of the guards as he could - Legolas remembered that the guard, Rílglín, was Rílmír's son. Both Silvan ellyn had dark hair and grey eyes, and were heavily muscled. Both were girt with swords, which they placed reverently by their sleeping places, and Legolas realised that Rílmír had made many of the weapons this particular group bore on this trip. A distinctive swirling pattern marked the blades of Legolas' own white knives, declaring Rílmír to be the maker. Legolas absently fiddled with one of his knives as he assessed the swordsmith, finding no shortcomings from this cursory inspection of the muscled ellon.

Rílglín, next to his father, slept soundly. The lithe warrior usually would join various war parties to scour the realm of evil. Rílglín was yet young, having passed his Trials only a short time before, and Legolas wondered if Rílmír wanted to reign his son in a little to spend more time within the Greenwood. Rílglín carried a bow and a light sword.

Míruial, the jewelsmith, was a tiny Sindarin elleth with jet-black hair. She kept only a small blade by her side, and Legolas guessed that she wasn't much of a fighter, and hoped that she would get through this journey unscathed in such a large group.

Bragolmel, like Legolas, was half Sindarin and half Silvan, but unlike Legolas, he looked Silvan in appearance, with dark hair and grey eyes. The advisor had been the first half-half child to be born in the newly formed Greenwood, and Legolas' history with the ellon indicated he was not to be trifled with. He had a habit of catching Legolas and Tathar in the most compromising positions whenever they had attempted mischief as children, and had put a stop to a number of hare-brained attempts to skip classes, or scare girls, or get revenge upon Aldanna. Bragolmel was armed lightly, with only a bow and a knife, and Legolas hoped that he was competent in their use.

Hîmdol, a pure Sinda, had dark brown hair and grey eyes. Legolas had once been scared of the Sinda, but an incident involving Tathar and arrow misfired through a window had turned the previously stoic and imposing Elf into a gentle soul who took an intimate interest in the archery education of the youths of Greenwood. Legolas privately suspected that the Elf just didn't want to risk another uncomfortable trip to the healers to remove an arrow from his buttocks, but the Elf had gotten to know young Tathar, particularly, quite well during the years that he was learning to shoot arrows. As such, Legolas knew that Hîmdol was a good shot with a bow, but the only close-range weapon the advisor bore was, like Bragolmel, a single knife.

Kalhíth, the last Guard, stood the first watch. The Sindarin ellon was a large, muscular elf, who made little to no noise as he walked the perimeter of the camp, gazing into the distance and listening for any sound of danger. The elf's medium brown hair and grey eyes were rather nondescript, but his huge size was not, for he was even larger that the longsword-wielding Lothellon. Kalhíth had a large battle axe in hand as he kept watch, and Legolas was sure the big Elf had a number of other nasty-looking weapons stashed away upon his person.

Legolas, his mental evaluation of his companions finished, drifted off to sleep as Brethilril checked his arrows for imperfections.