Authors Note - Tolkien purists, please do not take offence at any liberties
I have taken with J.R.R.'s original ideas. I have written this out of
respect for his masterpiece and my admiration for the film. Hope you enjoy!
N.B. Timeline note - this takes place several years before The Fellowship of the Ring.
1 Branching Out
This was Legolas' third time alone in the forest without his Elven brothers in as many days. He hummed a tune as he skipped from limb to limb high in the boughs of the Twisted Oak. It was a tune his mother had sung to him to help him sleep as a child when the dogs howled at night and he liked to repeat its sweet melody in times when he was in need of comfort. This was one such time.
Anger was an alien emotion to the young Elf, but he felt it now. Anger brewed in him as he reflected on the words he had heard three moons ago, words that still stung his tapered ears like disturbed fire wasps.
'Legolas I am sorry.' Brinwier had started, 'I realise how skilled you have become with your bow, I know you are light of step and nimble of mind and I also know that your heart is pure.' Legolas had already guessed what was coming next. He stared pleadingly at his elder's face, illuminated by the blue flame of the fire ring at which they were sat, but Brinwier had remained impassive. 'Your time will come my brother,' he had gently said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, 'do not be so impatient to join the battle.' Legolas had tried to argue his case, he had tried to convince Brinwier that he was needed in their raiding party, but to no avail.
And so the party had left three days ago to confront their enemy, and Legolas had stayed in the village with the elders and the mothers.
He swung around an outstretched branch of the tree and sat in a large fork, nestled on his wooden throne. Unwrapping a piece of apple he began to nibble upon it as he considered the beings he was trying to track down.
The Darkroot Dwarves had struck his village more than three weeks ago and taken much of their Elven gold and silks. It had taken his brothers this long to decide what to do about it. Once a counter strike had been approved, after many councils, the Elves gathered together a party of six of their best warriors plus the tracker, Scarp Hedin. They had resolved to hunt down and punish the marauding Dwarves, taking back what was rightfully theirs and perhaps saving other communities from the Dwarves' greed. This would be no easy task - the Dwarves were tough and fierce, a few of them seemed to be Orcish half-breeds and at least one was practised in the dark arts. As far as the Elven council could make out there were no more than a dozen of these renegade creatures and they reasoned that their slowness should be no match for the quick-wittedness of the Elves. All the same, surely one more archer could not hurt the party - could it?
Legolas cocked his head to one side and listened to the sounds being born on the gentle breeze which whispered around the top of the Oak. He could hear birds arguing over worms, the crystalline splashes of Silver Beard Waterfall over four miles away, the grunts of Goblins digging for roots in the mud around their caves to the East and then the soft voices of his brothers. It sounded as if they had made camp. He could not hear the gravelly throat of Hedin so he must be away, following scents and broken stems.
Legolas could hear Ambrore and Emedial joking with one another. He could hear Dellane, Primdale and Fremora discussing how they would make the Dwarves pay for their actions and he could hear Brinwier talking gently to his bow. The words were almost song-like and Legolas could hear him plucking at the string as if it were a single note harp. 'Fire straight my bow, fire true. Find thy target and run him through. May thy shaft never bend or crack. Take flight Elven arrows, then come back.'
Legolas leaned back and smiled to himself. Brinwier was ready for a fight. The Dwarves couldn't be too far away now. Finally he would get the chance to prove himself!
As dusk descended Legolas closed his eyes and dreamed of running across snow-laden mountain tops, and of leaving no trace of his passage.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if you want more.
- NJB
N.B. Timeline note - this takes place several years before The Fellowship of the Ring.
1 Branching Out
This was Legolas' third time alone in the forest without his Elven brothers in as many days. He hummed a tune as he skipped from limb to limb high in the boughs of the Twisted Oak. It was a tune his mother had sung to him to help him sleep as a child when the dogs howled at night and he liked to repeat its sweet melody in times when he was in need of comfort. This was one such time.
Anger was an alien emotion to the young Elf, but he felt it now. Anger brewed in him as he reflected on the words he had heard three moons ago, words that still stung his tapered ears like disturbed fire wasps.
'Legolas I am sorry.' Brinwier had started, 'I realise how skilled you have become with your bow, I know you are light of step and nimble of mind and I also know that your heart is pure.' Legolas had already guessed what was coming next. He stared pleadingly at his elder's face, illuminated by the blue flame of the fire ring at which they were sat, but Brinwier had remained impassive. 'Your time will come my brother,' he had gently said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, 'do not be so impatient to join the battle.' Legolas had tried to argue his case, he had tried to convince Brinwier that he was needed in their raiding party, but to no avail.
And so the party had left three days ago to confront their enemy, and Legolas had stayed in the village with the elders and the mothers.
He swung around an outstretched branch of the tree and sat in a large fork, nestled on his wooden throne. Unwrapping a piece of apple he began to nibble upon it as he considered the beings he was trying to track down.
The Darkroot Dwarves had struck his village more than three weeks ago and taken much of their Elven gold and silks. It had taken his brothers this long to decide what to do about it. Once a counter strike had been approved, after many councils, the Elves gathered together a party of six of their best warriors plus the tracker, Scarp Hedin. They had resolved to hunt down and punish the marauding Dwarves, taking back what was rightfully theirs and perhaps saving other communities from the Dwarves' greed. This would be no easy task - the Dwarves were tough and fierce, a few of them seemed to be Orcish half-breeds and at least one was practised in the dark arts. As far as the Elven council could make out there were no more than a dozen of these renegade creatures and they reasoned that their slowness should be no match for the quick-wittedness of the Elves. All the same, surely one more archer could not hurt the party - could it?
Legolas cocked his head to one side and listened to the sounds being born on the gentle breeze which whispered around the top of the Oak. He could hear birds arguing over worms, the crystalline splashes of Silver Beard Waterfall over four miles away, the grunts of Goblins digging for roots in the mud around their caves to the East and then the soft voices of his brothers. It sounded as if they had made camp. He could not hear the gravelly throat of Hedin so he must be away, following scents and broken stems.
Legolas could hear Ambrore and Emedial joking with one another. He could hear Dellane, Primdale and Fremora discussing how they would make the Dwarves pay for their actions and he could hear Brinwier talking gently to his bow. The words were almost song-like and Legolas could hear him plucking at the string as if it were a single note harp. 'Fire straight my bow, fire true. Find thy target and run him through. May thy shaft never bend or crack. Take flight Elven arrows, then come back.'
Legolas leaned back and smiled to himself. Brinwier was ready for a fight. The Dwarves couldn't be too far away now. Finally he would get the chance to prove himself!
As dusk descended Legolas closed his eyes and dreamed of running across snow-laden mountain tops, and of leaving no trace of his passage.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if you want more.
- NJB
