Okay, these stories need a bit of explanation. I got the idea for a character within my own AU, who's a friend of Goren but really a huge fan like us. She writes these fantasy stories based on Goren's exploits for her children. For the purpose of these stories however, these are stories Goren and Eames have written for her nephew.
About the dialog: I don't like too-flowery or too-formal dialog in fantasy. So this is going to sound more like LeGuin than Tolkien or Norton, for those of you familiar with those works.
I dreamed these characters one night, then Dick Wolf stole them from my dream. Legally I don't own them. Spiritually they are MINE MINE MINE!
The Tales of Greno the Good
Dear child, this story may be true and it may be false. You can ask the wild wind for the truth, but she will never reveal her secrets to a mortal man.
Once upon a time, in a fair kingdom, there lived a great wizard named Greno the Good. He wove great enchantments, and knew many things, but his greatest gift was to see the hearts of men, and know there secret thoughts. Great in power he could have been, but he always used his magic for good.
His truest companion was the elven knight Alendra; dear child, some people will suspect those that are different than they, though they be pure of heart. Thus some suspected the wizard Greno did dark magic, but she knew his heart was pure, and he was worthy of love. They fought evil side by side, at the behest of their king, James One-Eye.
Chapter One: The Jewel Thief
Once, in the kingdom of James One-Eye, there arose a great evil in the land: a young thief, a miller's son, grew greedy for great jewels that were rumored to give the owner great happiness. It began with only one jewel, which he had bought for his wife to wear around her neck. However, his wife soon died, and he took sole possession of the jewel. At first, it would only remind him of his wife, and he did not look on it. But over time, bit by bit, he desired greatly to gaze upon the beautiful jewel.
One thing he did not realize, was the jewel he held was one of several of like type, and they desired always to be one with the others, and forced their needs upon their owners. So, the jewel had trapped the young man, and he desired more and more to possess the others, though in the end, they would possess him.
When the owner of the second jewel died, the thief learned of it through his spies, and went to her house and took the jewel, which she had left for her children. At first, he was happy with only two jewels and more and more, he desired greatly to own more jewels, thinking they would make him greatly happy. So, as the owners of the rest of the jewel died, so did he steal the jewels that they possessed.
Then it happened that a beautiful unicorn was horribly slain, and the whole kingdom mourned for her. King James One-Eye heard of it, and grew wroth, and sent Greno and Alendra to seek the monster who had done this.
So Greno, who knew the tongue of the birds, asked the mourning sparrows what had done this. The birds said to him, "We know not, we came too late, but we went to her glen and discovered the stone she protected is gone. Find the one who stole the stone, and thou shalt find her murderer."
"To kill a unicorn for a stone is a terrible crime," said Alendra bitterly. "Whoever did it must surely be insane."
"Or," said Greno thoughtfully, "the stone is a great jewel the killer coveted; birds are really very unobservant of details. I think I remember this unicorn now. I remember she was charged with the care of a certain emerald that was very precious. If I am right, it will be in the books of lore."
Greno, studying long into the night, found the secret of the unicorn's emerald, that it was one of many of like type, and he wove an enchantment so that he could hear the call of the emerald and its mates to come together. He and Alendra went together to find where the jewels were hidden, and they found the jewel thief in his home.
At first the thief tried to hide what he had been doing. "These," he said smoothly, "have been part of my family inheritance since time forgotten."
"Aye," the thief's father said, lying for his son, "Always have I had those, and my father, and his father before him, and so it goes. What, Greno the Good, would you destroy a poor old father and strike down his son with your black magic?"
But Greno knew the heart of the thief, and would have apprehended him to take him to the king's justice, but just then a solemn raven alighted on the windowsill. "Greno," he said gravely, "there is more news of the dead unicorn. We found a dragon's footprints on the path to the glen where she lived. All the birds are saying a dragon killed the unicorn. This thief is innocent of murder."
"What? I know there are no dragons in this kingdom—thus is King James famous, for killing the dragons."
Alendra said, "My father used to hunt dragons in the dawn of the world, for we elves live long. He said a dragon may hide its true nature by shifting its shape. But a dragon in another form will always let slip a clue to his true identity for the bravehearted and the clever to find."
"Well, then," laughed Greno, "it should be fairly easy for the three of us."
Following the solemn raven, they sought out the dragon's talonprint. Deep in the dirt it lay like a crack in the very earth itself, and it stank of sorrow and death and fear. "Look at this," said Greno, "the dragon is missing his left talon."
"Must have been a great warrior to cut off a dragon's talon. I wonder the person has not displayed it as a trophy."
"No, for recall, a dragon that is in a different form and is injured carries such injuries from shape to shape."
"Greno, you are looking awfully smug right now," remarked the raven wearily.
"I know who the dragon is," Greno sang.
Alendra suddenly smiled. "Oh, I think I do too."
They returned to the theif's house, where news had spread of Greno's visit. At Greno's approach the crowd would have booed and called him foul names, but the warrioress Alendra went before and such was the beauty and righteousness upon her face that the crowd was awed to silence.
"Miller and son, come out of this house so I may judge thee for thy crimes," called Greno, and all knew they dared not disobey, for Greno had mastered the Voice of Command.
Faces full of fear, the miller and his son came out. At Greno's word, the thief passed the collection of gems—for now it was completed—to Greno.
"Ah," said Greno, holding a shining ruby up to the light, "I see your work is finished. I can no longer hear them calling to one another. This must be the first time in a hundred years that they have all been together."
"Oooooh," said the raven, "Shiny!"
"I don't know what you mean, wizard, for those have always been in my family."
"No," said an old man, who knew the miller well, "I've never seen such gems before, and your family has always been poor." The onlookers began to mutter among themselves, fearful of Greno still but as always, curious of what he would do.
"Your father must be pleased that you have managed to gather up all the gems once more."
"My father?" said the thief, bewildered, "truly he's naught to do with any of this."
"No, indeed," said the miller with a hearty laugh, "I'm just an old man, and rather ill in my old age."
Then Goren grew wroth at the memory of the dead unicorn, and his face was terrible to see. He set the ruby in his hand down on the floor, and lifting his cane, smashed it until it broke into a million pieces.
Then something happened which was even more terrible than Greno's wrath (which dear child, is a terrible thing to see). In place of the old miller there was now a gigantic dragon, and his wings were as the sails of a ship, and his mouth was like a forest of jagged stones, and he roared like the end of the world. The crowd screamed in panic, and ran in all directions from the wrath of the great beast.
The dragon turned upon the thief, and before he could be stopped, swallowed him whole. He turned upon Greno next, but instantly Alendra's silver arrow flew like a star, pinning his shadow to the ground.
Now the dragon's roar was the end of all worlds, but Greno and Alendra held fast. Greno held up his hand and Commanded, "Speak thy crime, foul one."
"Curse upon thee,"spat the dragon.
"Why didst thou kill the unicorn?"
"She would have found out my son had the other gems, and she would have seen me as a I truly was. Thou knowest that a unicorn can see past all guises. But thou art a mortal man—how didst thou guess my true shape?"
Alendra said, "As a human you lost your two small toes in an accident building a granary, and the dragon talons we found was milling a talon."
"Ahhh," groaned the dragon, "to be always surrounded by vulgar speech, and not hear the poetry of my brethren's voices again. Well, wizard, art though to kill me now?"
"Nay, for though I am wroth, I know thou art the last of the dragons, and that I wouldst be killing an ancient creature, the last of its kind."
"But he killed the unicorn!" cried Alendra.
"Yes, though he knows the truth of it not. I think he should learn what he has truly done." And Greno snapped his fingers, and instantly the dragon's evil mind was filled with thoughts not his own. They were thoughts of a glen in happy summertime, of clear streams that sang one awake, of the sun in it sky like a fond father looking down on the world below.
"Such is it to be a unicorn," said Greno.
Then more thoughts came, pain and suffering, the breaking of a leg, the smell of death and apathy, the loss of---no, no, no no! The need to scream, the lack of a throat.
Greno nodded grimly. "Such is the death of a unicorn."
And the sorrow the dragon felt drove him mad, and he lay his head on the ground and wept dragon's tears, so rare that, if captured, they could have bought the kingdom.
Greno dashed the tears away impatiently, and wove a spell, and the dragon was once again a mortal man. And he called the men of the village to carry the man away, and bring him to a safe place where he could not harm himself or others.
"So ends the life of the unicorn," said the raven quietly.
"I feel sorry for the dragon, almost. Even as a mortal man, he will live a good many more years in his state. Elves greatly fear madness in their people."
"As do wizards, and they are more likely to go mad," said Greno. "But I feel sorry for the poor young thief. Even a dragon should love his son."