The Fair Folk By Darktayle

by Blackstory

-RESUBMISSION- When elves comparable to much more silly versions of Tolkien's fair-faced creatures adopt the Boy Who Lived, you know the wizarding world is going to have trouble.

Title: The Fair Folk

Category: Books » Harry Potter

Author: Darktayle

Language: English, Rating: Rated: T

Genre: Humor/General

Published: 10-01-08, Updated: 08-07-09

Chapters: 4, Words: 9,613

Chapter 1: Disconcertion

Now, this is a crazy idea that decided to whack me round the head. Blame all irrational insanity on my muse. Her name is Chaos. She seems to find it greatly amusing to torture me with inspiration in very boring school lessons. It's evil, I tell you. Never trust Chaos. Never.

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Dobby was appalled.

The news had just gotten to him about the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, defeated by a baby of all things! Master was very angry. Dobby was used to punishments. He was used to having Master's anger taken out on him.

Dobby tetested Master- a fact over which he'd punished himself a great many times. And anything- anything- that could make Master so angry (and defeat Master's nasty master, too) was deserving of great praise in Dobby's eyes. He barely felt the punishment as his reverence for Harry Potter developed alarmingly quickly. As soon as he'd been healed by another Malfoy house elf, Dobby ported to Godric's Hollow to investigate.

One house was quite demolished. Dobby felt the shadow of dark magic wafting off it and shivered in a mixture of fear and repulsion. It was undoubtedly the Great Harry Potter's former home.

Very eager to set eye on his new hero, Dobby followed the magic residue through the air, using it as a thread of sorts to port him to where it ended.

It ended in a muggle neighbourhood, and seeing three people, he quickly disillusioned himself to invisibility and listened in.

"Albus, you can't leave him with them! They're the worst kind of muggle imaginable- I've been watching them all day!"

"They're his family, Minerva. Harry will be safe with them."

Dobby's ears perked up, and upon closer inspection, there was a small bundle in the largest one's arms. Perhaps...Harry Potter? His...family where being discussed. Minerva seemed to think it was a bad idea to leave Harry Potter with them. Minerva really annoyed Master...but then, so did Dumbledore. nsure of what to do, Dobby waited.

There was much sobbing from the big man- Hagrid, as Dumbledore called him- as he bade Harry farewell and the three left Harry potter on a doorstep.

That couldn't be good...could it?

Still unsure, Dobby cast some warming charms on Harry Potter so he wouldn't get cold. He sent a wave of magic at the door- causing a knock to sound. It was a little later that a horselike woman answered the door, shrieked at the bundle, then proceeded to have a very loud debate with a man that seemed to alternate between several shades of puce and red.

Eventually, with much reluctance, they took the child inside, and Dobby decided to see what they would do.

They put him in a cupboard. That was disturbing enough- especially after he confirmed that there were two spare bedrooms- but worse was that after leaving Harry Potter in the cupboard they paid no attention to him at all- they showered it all onto a chubby-looking baby. Even when Harry Potter started crying, all they did was kick the cupboard door and tell him to shut up.

Then they didn't feed him for four hours. Reluctant to take action, Dobby continued waiting.

Another four hours later with no attention applied to Harry Potter, and decided enough was enough. These relatives of Harry Potter didn't take care of him at all, so he had to remove him.

But how and where? The Light side was fanatically devoted to Dumbledore...and he was the one that left Harry Potter there. Minerva had told him how bad they were and he hadn't listened. Dobby definitely couldn't take Harry Potter to Master- they'd make him Dark or kill him.

Dobby panicked quite thouroughly for ten or so minutes, before he came to a conclusion.

He'd have to get the Great Masters involved. They wouldn't like this sort of thing, he was sure.

The house elf ported to a very concealed country, roughly the size of Corsica and with a similar climate. In fact, it was very close to Corsica. Just a few miles.

There was a reason that no house elf ventured there. The island of Leta'ymeru was the house elf equivalent of holy ground, and its inhabitants were the elf version of angels. Though they were perfectly friendly, asking an Imera for assistance was just not done unless it was an emergency.

Dobby considered this an emergency, but he was still horribly nervous.

No sooner than he'd set foot on the ground- covered in fallen leaves, a wide variety of trees dotted for miles- a nearby Imera sensed him and was there in a flash of silver and white.

She seemed young, but with elves you could never tell. Her hair was a soft silver, falling to the small of her back. She wore a loose white shirt and black shorts that ended just above her knees. Both articles of clothing were extremely simple at first glance, but then she shifted and the light glinted off every white threat in a thousand crystal colours, shades of blood glittering on the delicate black. She had a black strap of the same material worn over one shoulder, the glimpses of a bow and full quiver of arrows clear behind her. Her eyes were a stunning azure blue that shone with some inner light. Fixed upon her face- ornately carved into elfin grace- was a light expression of curiosity.

"It's been a very long time since any marra has visited Ymeru." She commented idly, seeming nonplussed about the unexpected visitor. She flicked her hair a little, exposing the elongated and rather pointy ears she possessed. "I didn't think they came unless it was an emergency."

"P-perhaps not a great emergency." Dobby stuttered, bowing. Suddenly this didn't seem such a good idea. "Dobby saw Harry Potter being put with some Muggles, and they isn't treating him proper."

"Harry Potter?" The elf asked with interest. "I heard he defeated that Voldemort prick yesterday. The news came in by tymerra shortly after the wizards started celebrating. Hang on, I'll go get Eranaia." Suddenly, in another blur of motion, she was gone. Dobby recovered his breath for five minutes, before it was promptly removed from him at the return of the elfin female, plus another one.

She wore exactly the same clothing as the first, only she also had a headband on, glinting with mercurial streaks of various silvers. if mercury had a colour, then that would be how to discribe her hair. It flowed with odd lighting, the soft strands reflecting a liquid softness. Some fell on the right side of her face, which was tied with what looked like a crystal hairband. The rest of her hair was unrestrained for a good length, then ended around halfway down her back. her eyes were strangely catlike: amber-gold and with slightly elongated pupils.

"What's this I heard about Harry Potter?" She queried, not bothering to introduce herself.

"H-he was been put in a bad home by the Dumbledore sir, they is not good to him."

The woman's eyes darkened considerably. "Abuse?"

Dobby hesitated a little. "Dobby does not know. Since Harry Potter sir was put there eight hours ago they put him in a cupboard and haven't fed him. They kicked Harry Potter's door and told him to be quiet when he was crying." He pused, then added "There is being two spare bedrooms in the house, but they put him in the cupboard under the stairs. They is fussing over their son very much and ignoring Harry Potter."

The woman looked livid. "Child abusers!" She hissed, eyes actually glowing. "How dare they?! Where is this home?"

"Number Four P-Privet drive in Surrey in E-England." Dobby stuttered. The catlike elf quickly disappeared, leaving behind an odd glowing white vapour that dissipated abnormally quickly. The first elf grinned at him a little.

"Don't mind her, she's the Lead Elf. Everyone in the boss family is obsessive over children...probably something to do with those 'visions of the past and future' they apparently have. Thanks for coming here." And the elf blurred away.

Suddenly, the world shivered. Something very, very potentially dangerous was about to happen.

Unfortunately for the Dursleys, they'd pissed off the wrong elf.

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Now, these elves are extremely varied. Quirks and eccentrices are not even blinked at among them. Elves are naturally very diverse, but they share the trait of peace and kindness.

Translations and pronounciation:

Merra- 'Small one'- house elf- Meh-rha

Tymerra- 'Small free one'- house elf in service of the elves- Teemeh-rha

Leta'ymeru- 'Sorrow and Joy'- the elf country- Lehtah-ee-mehroo

Imera- an inhabitant of Leta'ymeru (an elf) - Eemehra

Ymeru- abbreviation of the country because it's a bit of a mouthful- Eemehroo

Review. Or it shall not be continued. I'd like two, minimum.

Chapter 2: Convertion

Sorry for the wait. I've been detained and it will probably continue to be that way. I have three fanfictions I'm actively writing, and I've started on a project that may well last me my life. The sheer amount of groundwork I'm doing for it is astounding. If anyone's ever tried to create a world map of their own planet, they'll understand my pain with that aspect. Designing the country insignias was fun though. Drawing all the gods..... So tedious.

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"Kerina?" Eranaia called softly, careful to not wake the sleeping infant in her arms. She pushed aside the curtain of tassled material, feeling the soft draft of its movement sweep around her feet, and entered the home of her most trusted healer.

"Hm?" An elf looked up from her work. She leaned above a simple wooden table, low enough to not require chairs, and she sat on the floor. She looked over, pouring the contents of a small phial into a crystal bowl as she did so. The odd liquid changed colour as soon as it made contact with the other items (leaves, bark, odd indistinguishable mush), spiralling into one colour then the next too fast to process what colours they were. Eventually there were two colours, a red and a blue, which swirled slowly into a clear violet.

The elf herself was unique in some odd, unseen way. Unlike others, she did not wear the regular shirt and trousers (though it often became shorts in the summer). Rather she wore a steady white robe with the normal clothes underneath. Her robe was not as light a material as the other articles of clothing; it was woven in a much broader manner, allowing it to flow but not to ruffle and crease as the regular clothes did. Her hair was silver, not uncommon among elves, but her eyes were such an odd luminescent blue. They seemed ethereal, paranormal. While elves in general were known to be artful creatures who carried themselves elegantly, she had a particular air of grace that surpassed that of the others. They had learned their elegance, but hers was of instinct and moonlight. A blessing of sorts.

"You have a child in your arms." The elf observed, sounding thoughtful, but oddly not surprised at all.

"Yes." Eranaia agreed. "He was recovered from the unfortunate lack of care of the greys."

"Humans? Then why did you not simply place him within the care of humans who would care for him?"

"It is complicated. The gifted are divided. One side wishes for the child's destruction, the other placed him in the home from which he was retrieved. In the care of greys, the light would reclaim him to the unworthy and the dark would hunt him down." The leader looked her companion in the eye calculatingly. "But you already knew that, didn't you, Kerina?"

The healer returned her eyes to the mixture before her, then she swept to her feet, her only response to Eranaia's statement a fleeting smile across her face. She glided into the darker, unlit corners of her home, but it did not matter there was no candlelight. She knew the place so well she could easily navigate sightless. Kerina withdrew an empty flask of glass, then returned to her table. "Yes, sister. I knew it well."

"If I were to ask why you questioned in the first place, would I get an answer?"

Kerina's little smile did not change, did not ripple. Her expression remained serene and fixed, even as her hands carefully drained the violet liquid into the flask. "It never does damage to check the verity of one's visions, sister, you never know when they may fail you. Even with my experience, a vision is so difficult to grasp, so stubborn against my guidance."

Eranaia's lips quirked. "Perhaps that is why even the most pushy of elves obey you."

Kerina chuckled lightly. "Or perhaps they simply do not wish to anger the one who treats their injuries."

"There is that." Eranaia allowed. "But that is not why I am here. You will know, correct?"

"If I am to be accurate in my dreamreading, then I must assume that you wish to convert the child. And that you plan to raise the child if all goes well." Kerina brought her luminescent gaze up to meet her sibling's eyes for the first time that evening. Her eyes glowed softly in the flickering darkness of her abode.

"Your control is flawless, as ever."

"Well, then." Kerina hummed, inspecting the flask of purple fluid. She observed it for a few more seconds, then lowered it to the table's wooden surface. "Hand me the child, and we will see what we can do." Eranaia complied, handing the sleeping infant over to the maiden and stepping back with all the fluidity of a weasel. The healer held the child in a gentle one-armed clutch, hovering her hand without contact over the baby's head, then around his collar. A soft white glow drifted from her palm, and after a second the glow sprang forward and connected in a line to the infant's head and collar. "That was certainly the quickest result I've heard of. The child is definitely compatible, he has enough magic to withstand the change."

Eranaia nodded, looking appeased. "Now....to find his elemental advance." Kerina murmured, keeping her hand still above the infant. The incandescence illuminated brighter for a split second, and then there were colours. The light near the baby's head turned a bright azure blue, while the light nearest his collar became a rich gold-bronze. The colour extended through the light and then the two colours met. They did not appear to be clashing, more 'having a debate', as much as magical colours could. Finally, the colours invaded each other's space, sending swirls of undiluted colour into each pool of light. Kerina chuckled, and removed her hand. The glow faded.

"Well, you won't believe it, but he has a dual."

"A dual? He's a convert and he's a dual? Since when did humans have the ability to form two elements?"

Kerina hummed, and lightly tapped the scar on the child's head. "The child was attacked, and in that attack a fragment of soul gathered with his own. It has not combined, but has changed the soul-magic to lightning natured, from its original base of earth-natured. It is the blue lightning, thus the female type." She snorted softly. "It appears he has the more conflicted type."

The healer's eyes unfocused, staring into nothing. "And so it is not uncommon in this age of power for our younglings to take to two elements. Sometimes, these are of conflicting types. The elfling is born either male or female, but should one or two of their elements be against their gender...." The maiden hummed. "There are problems. "As with my son, his body says he is male, and his magic says he is female. Thus there is the agreement; he will be both." Kerina smiled. "Do you remember, sister? When such things began happening, it was difficult. The elf did not know whether to stay in one gender, which gender to love. But we are past that now. This raising is no longer a problem."

"The child here....His body says he is Earth, one of the male elements. But his magic says that he is the blue lightning, meaning female. Lightning and Air, the elements of flexibility. Two sides to both: the blue and the purple lightning. Then the sharp and the strong sides of air. It is more the nature of a male to use power, as with the battering force of male Air and the pulsing energy of the purple jolt. It is the male's nature to be volatile like fire, to be stubborn like earth. It is The female's nature to be smooth like water, swift like air, graceful like the blue lightning."

Eranaia listened. She knew the information, and had so for centuries, but her sister had a particular way of speaking that enthralled the senses. Even the most mundane of her speeches could pull you in.

"My child....he is an enigma. The healer line ensures it so all children born into it would be female in body and magic. By some chance, this child of mine was born male, while the bloodline left him with the sharp air in his soul and the water in his stance. By all means, he is elementally female. It is more likely that he will choose to stay female in his later years. But enough of that." Kerina broke from her words abruptly, grasping the flask of fluid she'd salvaged earlier. "It is time to connect this child to nature." She carried both child and flask outside, to where a river full of moonlight slinked over the stones.

It was there, the most spiritual place in all of Ymeru, that a human's wall against the world could be brought down. It was something that had to be done young, before the barrier grew with a human's ideals. Before it became too sturdy to shatter. There was magic here, magic and spirits. They whispered through the air, and she could hear them. Gently, Kerina poured the violet liquid into the child's mouth, washing it down into his stomach with a flick of her water manipulation.

The boy's eyes opened, and they glowed. Suddenly interested by the swirling, encased ripple of magic in the child before them, the spirits cloaked around him.

"He is one of your own." Kerina spoke. "Reclaim him as it was meant to be. Take him back to the ancient whispers of the earth."

The spirits heard, and they circled, coaxing out the magic and element in the infant in a way only capable of such mysterious beings. The nature within the child responded eagerly, battering against the wall as it never would have normally. And it broke through. The barrier crumbled, and the fated child belonged to the earth again.

The changes were seen instantly, small and fleet, but instant. The baby's ears were now pointed, his magic roamed freely in a way only an elf's did.

"It is done." Kerina spoke, knowing that Eranaia was behind her. "Here. Take him. Before you do, know that the fates have great plans for this infant. He must walk among the gifted eventually."

Eranaia took him with no hesitation. "Then it will not be suspicious for the elf prince to be trained with much more effort than another child would be."

Kerina chuckled. "True. What is his name?"

The queen glanced at her new heir distastefully. "Harry. I understand it is the name his dam and sire bestowed upon him, but it is not worthy of a free being. Too tame, too caged."

Kerina hummed. "What think you of Kaanra? I believe it fits the circumstances."

"Destiny?" Eranaia quirked an eyebrow, amused. "To go with your Fate?"

"Shanri has a destiny merely because his is tied with that of your child. They should be raised as brothers, in heart if not in blood."

"I wasn't disagreeing, sister. It is a good idea." Eranaia played with the idea in her mind. "Kaanra it is. I will send out a tymerra to locate specific details, such as his date of birth. In the meantime, I must inform the servants of my heir." With the child, she blew away, leaving glitters of windswept dust behind her.

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It may be a little confusing, so I'll give you a summary: Eranaia is the elf queen, her sister is in a very important position of the royal healer, which means more than simply having to regenerate people. Kerina, the healer, has a son named Shanri who should technically be male but his magic thinks otherwise. Eranaia has adopted Harry as her own, and had him turned into an elf. Harry, while he is technically male, a lesser portion of his magic disagrees. So, like Shanri, he'll be able to become female at will. Harry's name was changed to Kaanra, and his elements are lightning and earth. Shanri's elements are water and air. Kerina has a primary element of water, but being the healer has slowly developed another element, the purest: spirit. Eranaia's element is air. Kaanra is the elf prince now.

Chapter 3: Preparation

I think my muse likes this story now, I'm getting a lot of ideas. Unfortunately, they're more ideas in the near future rather than the now, so I'm unsure of what and how to write this chapter. It'll be difficult, I suppose. But eh, I have to try. Can't leave my wonderful readers hanging, can I? :D I'll give you the vocab now, otherwise you may have no idea what some of the dudes are blabbing on about. There will be a lot of timeskip in this chapter. Be warned: the story will have mystical and confusing parts, where I'll withold information from you. You'll get it eventually.

Kaanra- destiny (karn-rah)

Shanri- fate (sharn-ree)

Kerina- whisper (keh-ree-nah)

Ashara- Moon (ashar-rah)

Atura- Snow star (at-oo-rah)

Ura- star (oo-rah)

Atu- snow (at-oo)

Eranaia- echo (elongated version, more commonly said as 'naia' in both noun and name) (eh-rha-ny-ah)

Ulumen- Tree of Origin (Oo-loo-men)

Shirsha- Fire (shir-shah (shir pronounced like that from 'shirt') (Shiril- sheer eel)

Marn- Earth (marn) (Marnil- marn eel)

Rinshun- Sharp Wind (Reehnshoon) (Rinil- reen eel)

Shunrin- Strong Wind (Shoon-rihn) (Rinil- reen eel)

Sinara- Water (seen-ah-rah) (Sinil- seen eel)

Loryle- Swift Lightning (Lor-eel) (Rylil- reel eel)

Rylor- Strong Lightning (reel-oar) (Rylil- reel eel)

Karai- Spiritual (Car-eye) (Karil- car eel)

il- added to the end of words such as Ymeru, becoming Ymeril, which would be like the word 'african' in how it refers to someone as of a country. It can be added to the elements, becoming Marnil, Rinil, Rylil, Shiril, Sinil, or Karil. In that case it would refer to someone being 'of' that particular element. (eel)

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Kaanra's early years passed in a vague haze of laughter - bubbling, giggling - shared with his bretheren, and the sun-stained memory of senseless playtimes. Warm, colour and life and milk. Knowing nothing, nothing at all, a child of the forest open to nothing and everything. Even to a young child, his youngest memories are hard to recall, as he has no practice in concentrating. But with older people, their memories are too faded with time and too old to recall but the barest trace. Either way, early childhood was simple and full for Kaanra, a time where he had developed his first bonds with Shanri. Not his brother - his cousin, but more of a brother then that. Too close for cousins. One thing he'd always remembered clearly was his annoyance with Shanri when they played in the shallowsprings. Shanri cheated - he didn't need to come up for air like Kaanra did. It was stupid and unfair, so Kaanra avoided playing games that involved competitions in water if he could. He always lost.

He wasn't allowed very far outside the Ulumen- a giant oak as old as the world, made of something deeper than wood and sap, a focal point of the earth's magic. The ambient energy had dyed it wood a magnificent gleaming mother-of-pearl, looking so odd but beautiful for a tree. The leaves changed colour every season. In spring they were azure blue, summer they were green (but a prettier green than the leaves of the other trees), autumn they turned ruby-red and sparkled with fire, and in winter they became as white as the branches they grew on. The tree spanned upwards for endless lengths. Apparently there were watch-towers abandoned at the top, relics from a time of fear and paranoia for his people. The width of the tree was phenomenal - it had to be at least thirty meters wide.

And it was where he lived. He, mother, and the rest of his family. It wasn't large. The royal branch was never large anymore, and no one ever told him why. They seemed sad about it.

Though the Ulumen was so large, no one dared do something as appalling as carve their homes into its bark. The most they did was take its stripping bark and the fallen branches for special rites and spell-arrows, taking only what the tree itself rejected. No, they built great loops of wood around its trunk, rooms ringed around the ancient wood. Rather than have to go through other rooms to reach one in particular, there was an efficient but complicated system of rickety rope bridges, pulleys, and platforms planted around the treetops. The platforms were broad and strong, covered with barest shelters of thatch mats draped on branches above. the platforms were not meant for resting, simply a location which would support the bridges and the pulleys, as well as the great ropes of vine that hung limply down to the faraway floor. Platforms where an elf would clamber up the vine or the tree to, and pull up a package he had placed in a box attached to the pulley at the bottom. There were so many platforms and pathways through the trees that it was immensely difficult to remember where to go, especially since it all looked so similar.

But for Kaanra and Shanri, who had never been allowed past ten trees away, they had memorized every bridge, rope, and rooftop in the ten-tree radius by the age of five. Of course, they had trouble getting around, as they were young and their fingers were chubby, and it was not an option for them to lace freely through the branches as their kinsmen did. Through nothing but strength born of sheer practiced, and of course the technique that came with such practice, they could climb admirably well considering their disadvantages. But as they couldn't clutch the vines firmly enough with their young hands, they'd never been able to climb very far. They tried, but usually ended up using the pullies to elevate themselves to various platforms.

He'd heard that in other places, where the closed-in humans thrived, their royalty was groveled to without fail. That didn't happen in Ymeru. He'd toyed with the idea of everyone bowing to him and showing him with honor, but found it immensely unappealing. How boring it would be if no one went against him! He was also a firm believer in the dangers of arrogance, mainly as his tutors drummed it into his head daily. It was also a bit hard to get obtuse about your skills when any elf worth their salt could pound you into the ground in three seconds flat, elements and companions or no.

His tutors taught he and Shanri the usual expected things. Reading, writing....they made sure to slowly refine his handwriting as his hands grew suitably slim enough to craft himself rather fancy handwriting. They also taught him meditation, to come into contact with his three souls. Name, Spirit, Mage. The NameSoul was what defined your form, your genes, the very blood that played beneath your skin. The speed at which your hair grew and how fast you grew physically powerful. The NameSpirit would define your looks, and could be influenced by the other two. The Spiritsoul was centered around your brain, and was what determined your intellect and personality. It shaped the way you thought, acted, dreamed. The MageSoul was located at your collar, the center of all magic that flowed in your body. The very spirit of the earth was what created your MageSpirit, and gave it its element. From its flow, the magic would bring element to the SpiritSoul.

Occasionally, your Spiritsoul would come into conflict with the element offered to it. Your personality, already foretold, would object to the nature of the earth's chosen element. In most cases, it would take the element anyway due to a lack of ability to do otherwise. But as was becoming more common lately, you could be born with enough power that the Spiritsoul would develop its own element that fitted your personality more. So you'd become a Dual.

Kaanra had visited the vast ocean of his MageSoul, and tasted its power. He longed to bring it to the surface and make it real, but his tutors were stern and told him that he wasn't yet ready. He'd plunged to the depths of his spirit, and gained a much greater understanding of himself and his flaws. He'd felt his elements coursing with intangible energy, and reveled in how comfortingly familiar they felt. His Spiritsoul had chosen the Loryle - quick, unpredictable, and dangerous when roused. With all the potential for the ancient anger of a storm, the wild freedom of a lightningbolt splitting through the air. The feral laughter that was the thunder's roar over the lands.

But as his MageSoul had chosen Marn, he had not the raw characteristics of an elf imbued with the Loryle's power. He appreciated the earth's steadfast immortality, its inclination to face all problems rather than skirting around them. Its stubborn hardiness, holding firmly to what it believed to be true.

However, he felt something unnerving stirring in his souls. Like a stream of mage energy that stretched beyond himself, stretched everywhere. He could feel it growing, steadily spanning across the globe, farther than he knew at all. When he drew upon its source, it reprimandingly refused to grant him its power, but he was swamped with overwhelming images of places beyond. Barren miles of red sand, mountainous forests of pine and snow, a canyon whose skies were prowled by the eagle. They were unfocused, and he didn't understand what it was. It flowed into him through his Spiritsoul and Magesoul from nowhere, coiling gently around them like a wary serpent. As of yet, the folds of this enigma had yet to invade his souls, but he felt sure it was only a matter of time.

He'd inquired to his teachers about it, but they were less than forthcoming. Then he'd discuss it with Shanri, and found that his cousin also harboured those oppressive streamflows. Though his was immensely different in how Shanri could feed into the streams precisely, seeing what he wanted to see. But, with confusion, Shanri admitted that he'd felt not the barest trace of the immeasurable power that the trails held.

Looking back later, Kaanra would muse on how naive they'd been.

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Even in his early years, the young heir understood that there was a first time for everything.

The first time he lifted a weapon.

The first time he lighting-scorched a target.

The first time he and Shanri pulled a prank - much to the displeasure of the elves.

The first time he used his fight-style to spar with Shanri, who used his own.

The first time he could climb well enough to reach Eranaia's rooms.

The first time he understood what being one of the royals meant.

It did not mean he was gifted with power over others, at least, not solely. It did not make him superior. No, it held a much darker meaning.

Somewhere, deep, he'd known it ever since he touched to the spiritstreams. The moment he stepped into his mother's room.

After all, it was difficult to retain your naivety after seeing a valued family member writhing in agony, sheets kicked back by frenzied and unconscious kicks. The elfin queen had been breathing heavily, tossing and turning and kicking at invisible assailants. Occasionally she opened her mouth as if screaming, but there was no sound. That was when Kaanra realized that there was no sound, and that there was a silencing ward around her bed.

Scared and confused, he'd ran through the ward, flinching at the instant onslaught of noise to his sensitive ears. He clutched at her arm, then fell back with a yell of fear and surprise when images started flashing in his head, like when he touched the spiritstreams. But longer, like a sequence, and infinitely clearer. A child burning alive. An old, grisly tramp shoving a knife into the throat of a woman as to retrieve money from her husband. The sight of a village drowning in a flash flood, some dead in their sleep, others not so lucky. He could feel them, gasping and scrabbling against their submerged doors, writhing and screaming, heavy sprays of bubbles snatching away their last traces of life, drifting through the tide to sleep forever.

Then it broke away, and Kaanra found himself huddled on the wooden floor, shaking so violently that it was difficult to not topple over. Eranaia, shaky herself, slowly drifted over to him in a sweep of her white bedrobes.

"Kaanra," She whispered. "Oh Kaanra...there are reasons for rules, you know."

He distinctly comprehended her words, but they didn't register. the horror, the feeling of despair and dying a thousand times over, was far too fresh. Too close. Much too close.

"What have you done?" Eranaia spoke softly, caressing his face with all the pity of a mother who looks upon her injured child. His body trembled with dry sobs. He was only a child. "Shh, Kaanra. Perhaps it is time that we stop eluding your questions. Now, especially, as I fear this little incident may have sped up the process." She sighed, and raised her hand, murmuring some incomprehensible words beneath her breath, the veins in her hand suddenly lit from within, casting her hand into an eerie webbed network of glowing red, like a torch pressed to skin. She passed her hand briefly over his forehead, then his collar, then in the air around him.

His souls settled. Appeased by the soft words of magic, and the luminescent offering, they drifted away and so with them brought their host. Within seconds, Kaanra was asleep. Tiredly, Eranaia rose her hand again, but this time for no magic. She made a peculiar twist of her fingers, a gesture, and an elfin guard dropped from the wood from which the room was made, sinking deep into a bow.

"My lady." He greeted. "You would like me to return the child to his rooms?"

She smiled, the expression strained with fatigue. "If you would." The elf moved to carry out his orders, and Eranaia returned to her sleep, hoping the spiritstreams would not disturb her again.

xxxxxx

Shanri, for the life of him, could not understand why Kaanra seemed so subdued the next day. When they were called to Kerina's quarters, he didn't seem surprised as he did. They both entered the quarters, Kaanra a little slower than Shanri. He was reluctant, and also not as familiar with the healer's rooms as Shanri was. Kerina was seated, as serene and calm as ever, on the low chair by her low table. On the table itself, among a clutter of potions and plants, sat a snow white weasel, Atura, with iridescent blue eyes that matched Kerina's perfectly. Kaanra was fascinated - he'd never seen Kerina's Companion before. He'd seen Eranaia's, on occasion, but the little weasel was as elusive as a handful of water.

Eranaia emerged from the dark depths of her sister's corridors, full of impressive rarities and tools of her trade. "Kerina, why did you not tell me you had some spare firestone?" The queen seemed remarkably grumpy.

"Because you would use it for no more than sating Azurii's fire." Kerina rose an eyebrow in amusement. "There are far more important uses for firestone, sister. But now is not a time for such banter, the children are here." Eranaia nodded slowly, sadly, then seated herself on a spare seat. Seeing nothing else to do, the young elflings knelt on the wood-boarded ground, and stared straight ahead, unblinking, as per the conduct of an important audience.

"I hoped I would never have to tell you this." Eranaia said, mournfully. "But I always knew I'd have to. You two do not know of what is destined for you, though everyone else knows at least the outline. It....is not fair to keep you in the dark." She sighed heavily, and sunk backwards into her chair. "You know that we elves are immortal. As long as circumstance does not do us ill, we live on."

The two nodded: they knew this. It was common knowledge.

"Perhaps....perhaps you believe that this is true for all elves. But it is not. Not all of us are immortal." Eranaia swept her sharp eyes to her sister, who recognized the cue.

"One thousand, eight hundred, and twelve years ago...there was a dark age. Then, elves roamed the world among human and wizard and werewolf. Vampire, goblin, dwarf. It was Merlin's time. The age when Atlantis fell, and Avalon was cast into the sands of time. Our memory of that event is hazy, and we do know from the surviviors that there was a great war between them all. Merlin guided King Arthur, Nimueh opposed, Morgana wrote her destiny. Their parts in the fray are clouded and unknown, we have but the gist of the story. But we do know that somehow, the ancient channels of magic that sustains the earth itself were manipulated, and in turn many magical beings died. Some races died out, many dwindled to numbers so low they may as well be extinct. Humans were shut off from their magic, save a few who evaded the blow, like the survivors of each race. And those were the wizards, and that is why they are few. As for the magical races, they were feared by the numerous magic-sealed humans. Fear turned to hate, and those humans began finishing the job that the war started. Prejudice formed, species were exiled, and many of us had to flee where we could not be found. The elven remnants came here, to this undiscovered island where the soulstream flowed so strongly, and they claimed it." Kerina paused for breath.

"They built battlements, because they were still hunted, and they created new magics that had never been used before. They had taken many of the remnant species of creature with them, who inhabit Ymeru to this day. They formed companionships: the creatures would guard humans if the humans would guard them. It developed. Ways of linking the mind and soul were created, and the Companionship of magical creatures is naturally a custom still practiced." Kerina ran a finger over her weasel's head, who closed its eyes slowly, then opened them again. "They were attacked by those humans, who still followed and still hunted. They fought as they had before, but with a home advantage. In the end, the lord of the elves sacrificed himself to the soulstream in return for the energy to stop the fighting, and so it did. The island was masked, the humans retreated, and slowly elves became the stuff of legend. Leta'ymeru passed out of the minds of all humans. But the price of the soulstreams, once roused, is terrible indeed. By sacrificing himself as he had, he bound his line and the line after and on to his sacrifice. That line became the royal line known today."

Both Kaanra, and Shanri, were utterly silent. They listened with eyes wide, rapt attention, an overwhelming feeling of trepidation. Eranaia took over.

"That lord had two children. Two daughters. Both became bound to the soulstreams, but with differing effects. The firstborn received the brunt of the power, able to draw on the soulstream's energy, but not control it. The younger could take no power, but instead could read the streams as the flow of time, past, present, and future. But the effects of hosting such power are not to be taken lightly. As it is said by the eldest among us, one day the firstborn sat up, and began walking, as if possessed. She walked to the very spring outside this house, and it glowed. Apparently, it stole the magic from her as the price for its aid. A few more years later, the same thing happened to her sister. It has been as such for every queen and healer since."

"While the younger of the two took a mate, and had a daughter, the firstborn's unruly connection to the soulstream rejected the magic of any she tried to take as a mate, and so she could not have children. Instead, she used old rituals to bind another child to herself, bind it to her three souls as every child is bound to their parent among our people. So while not her child in blood, it was her child in all else, and so received the full brunt of the soulstream as its predecessor had. And thus the line continued this way, cursed for eternity. You, Kaanra, are the child I chose....and Ulumen forgive me for it. Soon, you will start to have the visions, like I do. You won't be able to control them, but they will make you powerful. Powerful enough to one day rule this country in my place."

Kaanra thought back to what he'd seen: the anguish, the panic, the full-blown chaos. He didn't want that, but he supposed he didn't have a choice. He shifted uncomfortably.

Seeing that he wasn't about to say anything, Eranaia continued. "But there is more than that. You were not born an elf, Kaanra. You were born a human."

Both elflings froze. Kaanra felt like icy needles were stabbing into his chest, chilling, immobilizing.... "What?" He bit out.

"How's that possible?!" Shanri demanded, breaking from his usual calm demeanor in an instant.

"You were young, Kaanra, when a merra from the wizarding world came to me with the information that there was a child - a magical child - being mistreated among muggles. Muggles! As of the curse, all children are very dear to our family, so I went to retrieve this child from those that were 'caring' for him, and I brought him back to Ulumen so I could Convert the child to our species, break away the barrier that lies between humans and nature. But this child....this child had power. He had a destiny."

It was evident that the last word had an impact - Kaanra flinched. Destiny was the very meaning of his own name.

"All the signs pointed to it....Kerina had her foredreams, I had my flashes and impressions, and I decided that you would become my heir." She sighed. "It wasn't until after I had my tymerra fetch information on you that I realized you had been different from other humans. You had put an end to the reigning dark lord, unconsciously invoking ancient magic and prophecy when he tried to destroy you. It was this dark lord who killed your original parents, and he had cowed the humans into a war of fear. Because you put an end to that, you are hailed among them as Harry Potter, their great savior. You are quite famous, especially as you disappeared."

"I...." Kaanra was at a loss of what to say. Then he regained his balance, if only a little. "Great. So now I have a few platoons of humans mooning over me." He stated flatly. Eranaia chuckled, and Shanri merely cast a worried glance at his cousin. Kerina and Atura watched from their posts, poised with identical expressions of graceful interest.

"Whatever your feelings, I am afraid you must return to them to learn their arts in five years. It is not enough time to prepare you for the dangers you will face there, so we must move it all quicker." Eranaia informed sadly.

Kaanra's eyes widened. "I have to leave?!"

"Mother!" Shanri turned to her, liquid blue eyes blazing with cold fire. "You cannot allow this, surely!"

"I said you have to go learn with them. I never said forever." The elf queen corrected, calming the elflings, but not entirely. They now watched with wariness. "You will attend a human school, and not reveal that you are one of us, or even that we exist. As is the way of their schools, you will return to us each year. Once you have your place in their society established, perhaps it is time for us to come out of hiding, with you as our diplomat."

The poor child looked stricken. "Humans." He repeated distatefully. "Will I have to use a magic-stick?"

Kerina chuckled. "I'm afraid so."

Kaanra deflated, then exchanged a glance with Shanri. "I'm not going without Shanri." The mentioned elfling nodded sharply, levelling them all with a flat stare.

"I'm sure we can arrange for that." Eranaia affirmed. She didn't look surprised. "We will have to train you both as quickly as possible. It will be difficult, but nescessary. Hopefully, in ten months, you will be powerful enough to undergo the Rite of Alliance."

"Ten months?!" Kaanra burst out, eyes flicked open.

"Really?" Shanri asked, just as eager as his cousin.

"Yes, children." Kerina confirmed with a chuckle, then turned to her sister. "Perhaps it is time to show them more of the city, hm?"

By mutual agreement, the two royals would be given a city tour the next day, while under the effects of a remembrance spell. It would allow them to remember everything: every route, every sight, with photographic memory for as long as they lived.

The city was the largest on Ymeru, the obvious capital. Centered around the tree of origin, it was named after it, and the city of Ulumen was inhabited by scores and scores of elves. All recognized the guests patrolling their treetops, and gave respectful nods as they passed. The houses were near impossible to see unless you had an elf's experience with seeming them. To a human, houses on the tree trunk would appear to be a large growth upon it. And with the joyous magic of space expansion, the insides were much bigger than the meager insides, allowing for hundreds of residences in the ancient forest. Houses in the treetops were weaved of leaves and branches, camouflaged to even greater invisibility within its foliage. Elves jumped to platforms, zipped along the bridges, fell, climbed, all with the grace of many years. The number was astonishing: neither elfling had ever seen so many elves at once before.

"Our people may have great numbers, but they increase very slowly. As you know, children are very rare here, unlike among the humans. Humanity has large families, couples that argue will have children regardless. Then later, those same children are often left with divorced parents. Love is very underrated among them. It is not so here, we are lucky if we get more than one child per two decades. Ymeru serves us well with her land, but eventually we will run out of room. That is why we contemplate stepping out to the world again." Eranaia explained.

Thus Kaanra knew the city.

xxxxxx

"Good, see if you can do that again." Eferen, his archery tutor, commented approvingly. The targets were riddled with arrows, and Kaanra's latest one had hit bullseye. He'd found he had very good hand-to-eye coordination, accuracy, and strength more than speed or stealth, or good evasiveness. Shanri was nearly opposite: he had good accuracy, but often his speed got him ahead of himself and he miscalculated his hits. He was extremely fast, fluid, and fought in an odd style of slinking around the enemy, attacking and avoiding. Kaanra preferred head-on fighting, aggression and stubborn-styled. He blocked with all the sturdiness of a mountain, and attacked with the deadly power of a landslide. When he got into a fight, he struck quick and fatal like a lance of lightning, channeling the energy through his weapons.

Kaanra concentrated for a moment, strung his bow in a heartbeat, and with a familiar whizz he let his arrow fly. The whole sequence took less than a second, as all elves were trained. The arrow hit close, but not quite bullseye. Close enough that it chipped the other arrow.

"Good technique, Kaanra. You may not be as fast as Shanri is, but you're Rinil! You can be just as quick when you try. Carry on. Soon you'll know more than I can teach you, but archery is quite simple anyway. Try motion shooting."

He nodded, then started sprinting, keeping track of his route via the earth's warnings but never letting his eyes lose his target. He strung another arrow, just as quickly, and released. Obviously it wasn't as accurate as the other aroows had been, but not far off at all. He continued, falling more and more into the familiarity and pattern of the art. It was not long after that his arrows hit bullseye every time, from varying distances. At least 100 feet, spanning up to almost 300.

Eyes glinting, Eferen called to him. "Perhaps you should try some real targets? There are plenty of birds in the sky."

Kaanra bit his lip. Those were small targets. But still... it should be possible. He let an arrow fly at a pidgeon, roughly twenty feet up. It fell with a surprised squawk, dying instantly. He closed his eyes in the brief respect for nature's gifts, and targeted a much more distant bird, but a larger one. And slower. 150 feet away, the pheasant fell, pulled steadily closer to his location by a moving tug of earth. Next was a blackbird, pulled from flight 200 feet away. A good hit, to be sure. He attempted a sparrow, but failed by a handlength. Cursing, he focused all his attention on those damned sparrows. And he got them.

"It's overwhelming how quickly you learned archery." Eferen commented. "Better than any other student I've had, certainly. I think all you can do now is improve over time. There's no more technique to work on. You know how to make your own arrows, so I can trust you not to run out, as long as you have the materials required. You'd better go to your next instructor - what was it, element and combat?"

"Yep." Kaanra nodded. "Thanks, Eferen. I hope to see you again soon, hm?"

The archer chuckled, and nodded. "I'll see you, Kaanra. Go, if it's Rensor who's teaching you you don't want to be late."

The elf prince shuddered. "Good point. Bye!" With that, he jumped remarkably high and flipped into a diving position. The next second he 'splashed' into the earth, fading entirely from sight, and the ground he'd dove into closed up as it had always been. Without the grass. The sight was very odd, because obviously when someone dives toward earth you expect them to impact. Instead, it was like he somehow super-burrowed his way in, leaving seemingly untouched earth behind him. Like quicksand, he seemed to slip into it. Eferen continued to watch the earth circle, bemused.

"I'll never get used to the Marnil, I swear."

x

Kaanra had barely poked a finger out of the earth than a very powerful elf reached in his hand and pulled him out, promptly beginning an attack, swinging around a sword at his captive. Kaanra snarled, and drew his own weapon quick as a flash, twisting out of the grasp of the assailant. He parried the coming blow, as if the metal was his own arm.

"Good." Rensor rumbled, his voice like a lion's growl. He was stocky, broad-shouldered. He looked distinctly feline, with catlike eyes and ears higher on his head than normal, and rather large, accenting the catlike look. "You're learning. But remember to always make sure the enemy doesn't know you're there."

"Thanks." Kaanra brushed the dust off his clothes, not really having to do much thanks to the dirt-repelling spell. It made life much more convenient for the Marnil. "What're we working on today?"

"Dropping big rocks on people." Rensor shrugged, nonplussed.

"Again? We've been doing that for the past month!"

"No, you don't get it." Rensor clarified. "I mean really big rocks."

"....You said that yesterday. They were barely bigger than the usual."

"Alright, alright." He chuckled, the sound rough. "I guess that's what I get for trying to slack off. Right, so we....can.....uhm.....Oh I know! We'll work on you blowing stuff up."

"....Don't you remember what happened the last time we tried that?" Kaanra deadpanned.

"That was only because I forgot zappy stuff isn't good on trees, 'cause they're grounded and all."

Kaanra remembered it rather clearly. Rensor was Marnil, like him, but unlike him he was NOT Rinil. So when he tried to teach him how to use his lightning-soul....it was rather hard. Rensor had suggested trying to fry a tree, and much to Kaanra's annoyance it took a lot of electric energy before something finnaly happened. The tree exploded, and they were barely saved by hastily erected earth-walls. Apparently, since trees were grounded, lightning had little effect on them. And once he put a little too much energy in, it superheated the sap and made it go boom, to be blunt.

"Sure." He sighed. "So what am I killing today?"

"Hmm...." Rensor inspected the hillside. "There's some bunnies over there. Go fry one, and I want to be able to eat it this time." Last time he'd put too much energy in, and the running rodent had met an unfortunate and very crispy demise.

Kaanra concentrated. Just like archery, he thought. Only with lightning. He summoned the energy to his fingertips, held out his hand. He aimed for an exceptionally large one, concentrating with the absolute precision he did in archery.

Suddenly, something in his perspective changed. Like he could sense when something moved the earth, now he couldd sense that there was a minute electrical current in the rabbit's body. So faint, but easily recognizable.

"Eshkra said something about that." He breathed, remembering. "He said all living things have electricity in them. Now I understand." It was like that electrical signature was a lightningrod, it drew his powers with the most astonishing accuracy. He let loose his blue lightning, the lances crackling thinly through the air, barely visible as more than an icy glow. The next second, the rabbit squealed, and was no more. Kaanra moved the earth, carrying the rabbit over so he could inspect it. "I got the heart." He remarked, pleased. "I was aiming for that."

Rensor stared. "Riiight." He drawled. "So you're an accurate little sod. I haven't forgotten how crap you are with daggers, don't let it get to your head."

"Rensor!" Kaanra whined. "I was happy for a minute there!"

The earth master rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Get back to work, I think you're on to something."

"Hmph." With that, Kaanra began exploiting his new-found electrical homing beacon to drastic proportion.

The bunnies didn't stand a chance.

xxxxxxxxx

This story is a resubmission of Darktayle's story. Any replicas found elsewhere have been stolen. This has been posted with full approval from Darktayle, who wished to clear her profile while still allowing readers access to her previous works. This story will not be updated--again, if it is found elsewhere and has been updated, then it is a stolen idea and a stolen story.

Thank you.