OF THE DARKNESS WITHIN (Elronduil fanfiction)
Disclaimer: As always, I don't own "Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit", they belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, neither do I own Peter Jackson's movies, which might be referenced as well. Sadly, I don't own anything apart from my insane imagination.
Relationships (ch.4): Elrond/Thranduil - Elronduil (implied), Elladan/Legolas (implied)
Characters (ch.4): Elrond, Thranduil, Legolas, Elladan, Elrohir, Erestor
Summary (ch.4): The darkness affecting Mirkwood worsens, along with Thranduil's mood. While Elrond and his men battle Orcish troops and Thranduil fights a losing battle against his inner demons young Legolas increasingly worries about his father's wellbeing and sanity. Slaying spiders and saving each others lives Legolas and the twins become brothers in arms and friends.
CHAPTER 4 – lasbelin uial (autumn twilight)
"Ma gwaem", exclaimed the older of the twins excitedly, strapped on his sword belt and swung the heavy leather backpack over his shoulder.
"Man nâ, Ell'?", he asked his younger brother, who had a troubled look on his face, despite being all set for the trip with his elven bow, his quiver filled with arrows and his long sword at his side.
"Ú-iston", replied Elladan hesitantly, "I guess I'm just kinda worried about the vile creatures we might encounter in those dark parts of the forest. I mean, we are not familiar with these woods and we don't even know what we are up against," he expressed his worries.
Before Elrohir could think of a fitting response a soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
"Man nâ?", asked Elrohir, promptly receiving the answer in a melodious elven voice: "Legolas, ernil'en eryn galen. My father sent me."
Elladan swiftly opened the door, his curious eyes meeting two crystal-clear blue orbs, adorned by flaxen strands of silky shimmering hair, in-midst a pretty elven face.
"You can call me Legolas. As a Woodland ranger, I've been appointed to lead your company through the woods," explained the Woodland prince in a friendly tone.
Elrohir almost snickered as he caught his brother open-mouthedly staring at the good-looking stranger. When he nudged him, his brother quickly closed his mouth and turned a delicate shade of pink.
"So King Thranduil sent you", Elrohir expressed his surprise, as his shy twin brother evidently still wasn't able to talk to the handsome elven prince.
"Indeed he has," replied Legolas with a slight frown, still conveniently blocking the doorway. "He might not seem the compassionate type, but my father does care about your mission and wellbeing."
Before he could get a hold of himself Elrohir snorted with contempt. "I rather had the impression that our progress at obliterating the forest's vile inhabitants is of sole importance to his majesty", he retorted, unable to conceal the resentment in his voice, while Elladan tried to hide his embarrassed face behind the door frame.
Legolas slightly lowered his head in response.
"Your reaction is understandable, regarding the way my father treated you. However, I have been assigned this task for a reason, and I beseech you, let me be of help to you. I assure you I am very resourceful, as I am quite a capable archer and know each and every hidden path around the forest. The sinister darkness represents a great threat to my homelands and I am willing to do anything and everything to dispel this evil."
Elrohir was taken aback at the sudden heartfelt response and its baffling honesty, so he simply nodded in return.
Finally Elladan managed to mutter: "Prince Legolas, I sincerely apologize for my brother's impoliteness. Of course we will accept your kind offer to accompany us on this mission."
"Well, I'm surprised that your father has no scruples allowing you to commit to this task," remarked Elrohir boldly, as they went out the door. "After all, it's quite a risky endeavor." Legolas merely shrugged, but Elladan noticed a sad shimmer in his sapphire eyes.
Early in the morning, on a clear but chilly autumn day, a sufficiently big troop of Imladris soldiers led by the Lord of Imladris himself headed out on horseback towards Misty Mountains. Lord Elrond had decided to forestall the Orcish plot to lay siege to Imladris by launching a preemptive attack.
His trusted warriors would travel northeast along the northern arm of the Bruinen, whereas another Imladris unit led by Balrog-slayer and heroic warrior Glorfindel would follow the Bruinen's southern arm eastwards, attacking from further south in a pincer movement. The ultimate target of their campaign would be the Great East road, a mountain path leading up to High Pass, where they suspected Orcs, for Thranduil's letter had clearly stated that Orc tribes currently occupied the caverns beneath Misty Mountains.
For several days the Imladris troops crossed the grasslands east of Rivendell until they reached the foothills. Galloping towards the mountain slopes with rapid speed they were met soon enough by the pervasive and horrid howling of Wargs. The Lord of Imladris involuntarily cringed upon hearing their bloodcurdling, high-pitched yelps, for they never failed to remind him of his dear wife Celebrían's fate, who had been abducted and tortured by Orcs. Although her sons had found her in time to rescue her and Elrond had tended to her wounds she had never managed to recover from her mental scars. Over 300 years had passed since Celebrían had sailed to the Undying Lands, but Elrond still blamed himself for not being able to save her from fading to her grief.
Down the steep mountain path a large division of Orcish Warg riders came running towards them, closing in on them on the verge of the grassland with frightening speed, but Elrond and his men didn't lessen their pace. Instead they directed their horses to the left and right, avoiding the frontal assault and simultaneously changing to a more advantageous battle position. With deadly precision the first wave of arrows was fired and several Orcs slumped down to the ground. The Orcs' battle cries grew frantic as they savagely swung their swords, maces and axes with brute force, aiming for elven heads and limbs, while their demonic mounts growled ferociously, snapping at the elven horses' throats and flanks.
Elrond swerved to the left with expert timing, effortlessly avoiding contact with an Orcish axe, steady hands swinging Hadhafang. With a precise cut he beheaded the Orc leader, but his mind wasn't as focused as his physique.
In perilous moments like these Elrond always tended to worry about his sons rather than being concerned for his own safety. Elladan and Elrohir were adept at getting into trouble and their intense hatred of Orcs often resulted in rash actions. Being friends with the Dúnedain the twins would often join their human companions on campaigns against Orcs in fruitless attempts to avenge their mother. Elrond, as a pensive and reflected person, was well aware of having sent his sons on yet another risky mission and not once did he regret entrusting his heirs with this vital task. However, being a father he could not help but worry about them.
Meanwhile Legolas and the twins had been marching for several days, leading their troops further into the southeastern parts of the forest, but they still had quite the journey ahead of them. Their travel had been quite an uneventful one so far: They had kept to the Silvan's path at all times, met two patrols on their way, and once they had fought a pack of hungry wolves. Yesterday they had crossed the Enchanted River and left the elven path, venturing further south along the riverbanks and deeper into the woods.
As of now they had not encountered any hostile creatures or huntable wildlife all day, as Legolas persisted that the white deer were not to be touched. As a result Elrohir began feeling a little bored, so when they rested for a while at a small clearing he decided to make a little smalltalk. After all, his brother was about to develop a serious crush on the Sinda prince, so it wouldn't hurt to get to know him better.
"So, you're the Woodland prince," Elrohir started off the conversation by stating the obvious, nonetheless assuring him his twin's immediate attention.
"What's it like, living in Greenwood the Great?", the impulsive twin tried his luck.
Legolas turned to look at him.
"Well, it has always been quite peaceful and joyous, save for the last few centuries. The Silvan people live in tree houses and little huts, tiny villages scattered all across Eryn Galen. They are a nature-loving and humble people, who lead simple lives and are content with what the forest allows them to take. Although I am a Laiquendi, thus Sindar by birth, I feel more like one of them, as I have been raised by the Silvan and taught their ways. The Woodland people simply enjoy being close to nature. In fact, they have always been at peace with the forest and its inhabitants in the past."
Here Legolas paused, looking thoughtful and a bit gloomy.
"What happened", Elladan asked quietly. "What brought about the change?"
Legolas slightly shook his head, answering truthfully: "I wish I knew. I can only say that a mysterious darkness began affecting my homelands when I was still a young elfling. At a time the Silvan people refer to as the first period of darkness Eryn Galen was threatened by the ominous darkness for the first time. We started noticing as more and more people went missing in the woods, never to return again and the soldiers sent out to look for them came back telling terrifying tales of spooky lights following them and trying to lure them off the path, of giant spider webs in the trees and the scraping and scurrying of many feet. Soon after, the first reports of man-sized carnivore spiders became cruel reality.
From then on it only got worse: More civilians and even whole patrols vanished, and hordes of Orcs and Wargs settled at the Narrows of the Forest, south of which lies the long abandoned Amon Lanc, or Dol Guldur as we call it now. It was my father, who eventually decided to move to the northern parts of Eryn Galen, across the Forest River, where he had the Elvenking's Halls built for protection. After the fall of Erebor13 the trades with men and dwarves declined and consequently the Old Forest Road was abandoned. The forest's increasing infestation with vile creatures and dark magic gradually forced us to retreat even further north, so that we are now restrained to the northernmost parts of Greenwood and the Elvenking's Halls."
Legolas hung his head low and Elladan and Elrohir exchanged worried glances.
"So you never found out the reason behind the spider invasion, the Orc attacks and the strange lights?", Elrohir inquired, watching Legolas pondering, but then pensively shaking his head. "But surely you must have discovered at least some clues or at the very least have some suspicion who or what's responsible for this strange darkness," Elrohir insisted, having noticed the prince's hesitation.
"You do not have to tell us anything, Legolas", Elladan kindly came around, not wanting his crush to feel pressured. But quite contrary to his intention his sensitive and kind-hearted remark was just what had been missing to pry an answer out of Legolas, who otherwise might not have responded.
"Well", he sighed, "I certainly do have my suspicions, but I can't quite figure out how all this falls into place.
Most of us believe that an evil presence referred to as 'the Necromancer' set up residence at Dol Guldur during the first period of darkness, although I reckon its true source probably originates even earlier than that. Somehow I feel that this sinister darkness not only spreads across Eryn Galen but also reaches into the very hearts of our people, infecting them with fear and sorrow.
Strangely enough the Necromancer, whose dark sorcery had gradually been tainting Eryn Galen, seemed to have vanished a millennium later, for the White Council investigated Amon Lanc but found no trace of him. After his mysterious disappearance the Necromancer's dismal influence slowly began to retreat and the giant spiders, Orcs and strange lights were encountered less often. Unfortunately this change was rather short-lived, bringing about merely a slight relief for our people. Only four centuries years later the darkness returned, once again emanating from Dol Guldur, and I fear that it might not only affect Eryn Galen and the Silvan, but also..."
Here Legolas paused for a moment, unsure of how to go on, uncertain if it was wise to tell anyone, let alone the two Imladris elves, of his fears and suspicions. Legolas looked into Elrohir's curious and Elladan's questioning eyes, but could not detect the slightest hint of disloyalty or distrust. That was why he decided to risk it and get the heavy burden off his chest.
"The growing darkness also seems to affect my father", he muttered, carefully keeping an eye on the twins' reaction. "I know his reputation is that of a cold-hearted king, and I am well aware that he comes across as hostile to all his visitors and cruel to his foes, but he hasn't always been this way."
"In what ways did he change?", a curious Elrohir wanted to know.
"In the past he used to be quite vivacious and humorous, hosting most exquisite feasts and enjoying good wine and pleasant company. But then he started bottling up his feelings, became cold and distant. Some say my mother's death must have been the reason for my father's transformation and for a long time I believed it too. But now I'm not convinced anymore. I just have a feeling that there is something else behind all this. Growing up I noticed him gradually changing, but according to my nurses his bearing had altered even before I was born. When I think of my father I always picture him frowning or indifferent; I don't remember him laughing or even smiling anymore."
The sympathetic looks on the twins' faces felt honest to Legolas, so he continued: "My father has never spent much time with me, but at present I scarcely get to see him and most of the time he won't even talk to me, except for ordering me around. It's quite daunting, seeing how much he has changed."
Legolas' somber voice was reduced to a whisper, as he fought back tears.
"Wait, so your adar didn't spend time with you, not even as a child? He never played hide-and-seek or other games with you or read you bedtime stories when you grew up?"
Both twins were outright shocked at this revelation, especially Elrohir, who was bold enough to ask: "But did he at least hug you or kiss you goodnight?"
"Not that I remember", Legolas replied with a sad look in his eyes.
"The last time I remember him doing something nice was when he rewarded me with a brand-new elven bow on my 50th birthday for winning the grand archery tournament in my honor." With that he showed his delicately carved wooden bow to the twins.
"It's made from yew and by the best bowyer of Greenwood", he stated proudly but the twins could not quite appreciate its beauty, as they were still in shock about what they had learnt.
"What kind of father doesn't even-", Elrohir started getting all worked up, but Elladan's reproachful glance and a muttered daro quickly shut him up.
"That's an impressive elven bow, and a fine work of craftsmanship too", Elladan complimented him, adding in a soothing tone: "I am certain that this was your father's way of appreciating your talent, his own unique way of showing you his love."
But his attempt to cheer up Legolas backfired pretty badly.
"That was a long time ago. I am afraid that he will never be the same again. What if the changes my father has gone through are irreversible? That thought scares me", the Sinda admitted in a slightly quivering voice. Both twins were surprised upon noticing Legolas' bright blue eyes shimmering with tears, although he quickly wiped them on his sleeve in a failed attempt to hide his feelings. There was a short awkward silence as the brothers looked at one another and then at their grieving friend.
"Do not despair, Legolas", Elladan's calm and quiet voice eventually broke the silence. "We will aid you in fighting the darkness that has befallen your homelands and your father's heart. I promise we will always be there for you whatever happens, mellon-nîn."
The one spoken to slowly lifted his head to look into Elladan's pale gray eyes and was met by a reassuring smile.
"Ná, we will not leave you alone! Together we will see this through and fight until all foes are vanquished and the darkness has to retreat", Elrohir joined in, fully approving of his brother's promise. For the second time in minutes Legolas was moved to tears, this time tears of joy. He felt overwhelmed by the twins' compassionate expression of friendship and loyalty.
"Guren lassui, this truly means much to me", he responded in a shaky voice, taking the brothers' stretched out hands. Two steady hands were reassuringly squeezing his, as the three companions pledged their oath by placing one hand on the heart.
Their heart-warming scene was rudely interrupted, as one of the Imladris soldiers whispered in a hushed voice: "Tan lasthal?"
All three of them hurled around at once, listening intently if they too could make out any strange sounds. Only a few moments later, faint rasping and scurrying of feet could be heard in the distance. They were in for an unpleasant surprise.
"Prepare yourselves", whispered Legolas, drawing his bow and signaling the others to ready their weapons. "Here they come", muttered Elrohir tensely, sword in hand, as the trippling noises steadily grew louder. Apparently Mirkwood's evil creatures had ventured north much further than they had expected.
One of the younger Imladris warriors involuntarily let out a small shriek and yanked up his weapon as a giant, man-sized spider rapidly descended along its thread right above his head, while five others came crawling forth between the overgrown tree branches to the left, right and front.
"Hado philinn", the twins shouted simultaneously and immediately the first series of arrows rained down on their attackers.
"Nice shot", Elrohir exclaimed, as his brother's arrow hit one of the spiders directly in the throat. He spun around, driving his blade deep into the head of another spider, which had threatened to bite his neighbor.
"Hannon le, Ro'", Elladan replied, drawing his blade, as the enemy drew loser, and cutting an attacking beast across the belly, leaving a nasty wound. The twins fought fiercely, dealing massive damage right and left, and the Imladris soldiers did their best as well, but Legolas exceeded them all: Sprinting, leaping and twirling in rapid succession he evaded each and every attack with his swift fluid movements, while not a single one of his arrows missed its target.
All of them fought well, but still a seemingly endless number of spiders poured into the clearing, appearing out of the shadows between the trees, attacking relentlessly despite their losses. There were simply too many of them and the Imladris soldiers weren't used to fighting arachnoid creatures. One by one they were wounded by their fangs, run over by their many legs, or bitten and rendered unconscious by their venom.
"Drego", the more cautious Elladan commanded, after six of their men had been struck down or paralyzed, and the others obeyed gladly. They took a few steps back, but Legolas, who was standing on one of the lower tree branches for better aim, suddenly yelled: "Alae, adell!"
With his excellent perception he had noticed muffled sounds of movement behind them. When he pointed behind them into the undergrowth the twins saw it too: At least half a dozen of spiders had secretly been creeping up behind them. They were trapped like cornered rats.
"Rhaich", cursed Elrohir as he stood back to back with his brother, facing impending death by the countless spiders surrounding them. They had gathered into a circle to protect each other as best as they could, but two of their men had already been slain by the enemy and many of the soldiers had been wounded and were hardly able to stay on their feet. More troubling than the casualties however was the awareness that their situation was only going to get worse.
"We need a plan," Elrohir commented matter-of-factly.
Just in that moment Legolas, still balancing on a tree branch high above their heads, spotted a particularly large spider launching a sneak attack at Elrohir, who was not paying attention, as he was too concentrated on pondering possible strategies, while fending off two spiders at once. The Woodland prince aimed an arrow at the beast, but missed by several inches, because the perch he was standing on suddenly gave way. He lost his footing and almost fell, but at the last second managed to jump onto a thicker branch further down the tree trunk.
"Elrohir!", he shouted, in a desperate attempt to warn his friend of the danger. The twin spun around and tried to dodge the attack, but wasn't quick enough to completely evade it. He cried out in pain, as one of the spider's pointy fangs went right through his leather armor, piercing his left shoulder. The next moment Elladan was at his brother's side and struck the beast with his blade so fiercely it instantly dropped dead.
"Hannon le Legolas, that was close", Elrohir remarked, hurriedly scrambling to his feet.
"Don't mention it", the wood elf responded with a smile, elegantly landing beside them.
After a long and exhausting day filled with tedious reports, dull and annoying visitor receptions and the much resented paperwork as well as several other of his tiresome duties as a king Thranduil shut the door to his private quarters behind him with an exasperated sigh.
The burn marks etched on his face, permanent reminder of the fateful dragon attack on Eryn Galen in Second Age, had been tormenting him the whole day and he was honestly and most definitely sick of it. Strictly speaking that was nothing new, his scars had been permanently itching and prickling for many years now, but today they stung in a particularly nasty fashion. It was difficult comparing this indescribable torture to anything, but one could say it felt much like repeatedly being stabbed with countless sharp needles for hours on end. The whole day Thranduil had had to forcefully restrain himself from violently scratching his face in another futile attempt to get rid of this painful sensation constantly agonizing him. So far he had managed to contain himself, but he knew it wouldn't take much more to finally send him over the edge.
Trudging over to the lavatory he passed by the large silver-framed mirror on the wall, delicately placed right next to his closet. Thranduil secretly despised having to walk past the full-length mirror every time he entered his bedroom, but there was no way around it. Needless to say he could not tell his servants to remove all mirrors in his private quarters without arousing suspicions. No one ever had to know that the face he showed to the public every day was a lie, a delusion produced by a cloaking charm, disguising his true face from the world. Vanity had always been one of his vices, and had vengefully got back at him. He had come to resent mirrors and loathe his reflection, a mask of flawless beauty to all but himself. The dreadful image of his scarred, disfigured face was taunting him every time he was forced to peer into a mirror, haunting him even in his sleep.
Arriving at the washbasin he discarded his many circlets and dipped his long slender fingers into the shallow repository filled with fresh clear water. Forming a cup with his hands he began applying the cold liquid to his face, in an attempt to cool his hot, tauting skin and at least temporarily lessen the burn. Splashing water onto his face usually helped ease the excruciating pain a little, but today it did nothing to soothe the burning sensation. Feeling the flames of wrath rise in him, scorching and agitating him, he panic-strickenly tried to control his violent shaking and steady his aggravated breathing, but to no avail. He desperately needed relief from this never-ending torment, for he was plunging into darkness, rapidly tumbling down without any hope of return.
In a sudden fit of rage Thranduil smashed his fist into the mirror, causing the cold and pitiless glass to burst into a million pieces. Without fail the shattering sound triggered the hasty trippling of servant feet, quickly approaching the king's chambers. The knuckles of his right hand were bleeding but Thranduil didn't notice. He didn't feel anything, except for the unrelentingly painful throbbing of his burn marks.
A myriad shards of crystal glass lay scattered everywhere, mirroring his reflection thousandfold, conjuring countless horridly distorted faces staring back at him with hatred and contempt. With a savage cry he grabbed a nearby porcelain vase from its pedestal and forcefully flung it across the floor. Breaking to pieces, it landed right in front of an entering servant girl's feet who stared at him with frightened wide eyes, not daring to move an inch.
"Noro. Si."
The baleful and sinister tone of the king's voice and the vile glistening in his darkened blue eyes made the girl run from him in terror. Thranduil ferociously slammed the door shut behind her, not bothering to avoid the scattered fragments of broken glass or porcelain. With a frantic scream he threw himself at the ground in agony, furiously clawing at his face, sharp nails digging deep into burned flesh.
Legolas abruptly turned his head, craning his neck and looking around him in bewilderment. He could have sworn he had heard someone screaming in the distance in an awfully familiar voice. Had it just been his imagination or had that really been his father's voice echoing through the woods?
Distracted by the strange cry Legolas was too caught up in his thoughts to notice the spider lurking behind him, ready to attack.
"Legolas!"
Elladan, who had realized the threat, screamed a warning, but as the other did not respond he leapt forth, swinging his blade. The Sinda prince reacted way too late, but Elladan was there in time to rescue him, slashing fervently at the monstrous spider. Yet in order to save his friend he had to turn his back on the two spiders he had battled before, which left him defenseless against their assaults.
"Ú, Elladan!"
Elrohir, fighting off three spiders all by himself, screamed in anguish as he had to watch his twin get slashed across the chest by a pair of venomous fangs. Rigorously he fought his way through countless many-legged foes, over to where Legolas, who had finally snapped out of his trance, battled the two spiders towering over Elladan's lifeless body.
Together they slew both beasts in no time and Elrohir took the chance to crouch down and quickly examine his brother. He was relieved to see him still breathing, but Elladan had been gravely injured, was bleeding from a deep gash on his chest, which demanded urgent medical attention. Soon the poison would start kicking in too, paralyzing his limbs and rendering him unconscious. In any case, he wasn't able to defend himself anymore and would certainly not be able to survive another attack.
"You'll be alright, Ell', gwestim", Elrohir whispered reassuringly, although he was frightened out of his wits at seeing his brother in such a weakened state. "We'll take care of you in a minute, we just have to finish off a few spiders first," he joked half-heartedly, receiving a weak smile in return.
"I think I've got an idea", whispered Elladan hoarsely, "but it might be the death of all of us."
"These monsters are going to kill us anyway, so we don't have much of a choice", his twin replied in dire honesty, bearing a grim but determined look on his face.
"The only weakness of darkness is fire, try fighting them with fire", Elladan mumbled weakly, before fainting due to the poison. Elrohir nodded convinced but Legolas was skeptical.
"If we use flaming arrows it could set the trees on fire, even burn down the whole forest", he pointed out, genuinely concerned.
"Well, then we mustn't let it get out of control", Elrohir replied decisively, ending the discussion.
They drew their circle even closer, so that most of the fighters formed the outer circle, and only six men, three of the best archers as well as Legolas and the twins, were left in the inner circle. Two soldiers of the outer circle, who weren't busy with defending the group lit torches and held them up for the archers to shoot through.
"We only have this one chance", announced Elrohir solemnly as they readied their bows. "So don't you miss! On the count of three... Herio!"
"Hîr vuin, a letter for you", chief counselor Erestor informed his superior, who was sitting at his writing desk, head resting on the palm of his hand, intently scanning the first sheets of a large stack of paper. Only yesterday his Lordship had returned from a successful campaign against the Misty Mountain Orcs and Erestor couldn't help but be impressed upon noticing early this morning that his master was already up and working hard.
Hearing his advisor's voice the Lord of Imladris looked up, the pensive frown on his face being replaced by a hopeful shimmer in his eyes. It took only one brief glance at the neat handwritten address for Elrond to recognize the sender. His face lit up as he gladly accepted the long awaited correspondence.
"Ni lassui, Erestor."
"Muin hîr Elrond, always so concerned for his children", the counselor thought, fondly smiling to himself, as he nodded and quietly left the study.
Dear adar,
gen suilam oeryn galen!
Regrettably we haven't encountered any Orcs so far, however, our first run-in with the creatures of Mirkwood was quite hefty. Despite being accompanied by a Woodland ranger, who turned out to be the Woodland Prince himself, and proceeding with utmost caution we were caught red-handed by the ambush. Surrounded and manifoldly outnumbered by man-sized carnivore spiders we suffered quite some casualties, two deaths and many injured by spider poison and fangs. After finding out that their weakness is fire we were able to repel our arachnoid attackers. Fortunately, the Silvan, aware of the venom and its threat, have procured an antidote with the result that all injured could be healed. Prince Legolas was truly amazing during the fight, his impressive archery skills and quick reactions saved our necks. Elladan might have a Our teamwork was great, we'll certainly become good friends in the future.
King Thranduil seems to be satisfied with our work so far, as he has given his consent to prolonging our stay. All in all, we have been running into some trouble, but managed to escape unscathed, so don't worry too much about us, ma?
A'suilam a'mibna'mîn nethig!
Melim,
Elladan & Elrohir
author's note:
Thanks a lot for reading, as always I appreciate all comments and constructive criticism!
The next chapter will have more Elrond and Thranduil in it, so you have that to look forward to! =)
Sindarin translations:
ma, mae = good, alright
gwaem = let's head out (lit. we go)
man nâ = what's the matter / who is there (lit. who / what is it)
ú-iston = I don't know
ernil-en eryn galen = prince of Greenwood
daro = stop
ú = no
guren lassui = thank you from my heart
tan lasthal = did you hear that
hado philinn = release arrows
hannon le = thanks (coll.)
drego = flee, withdraw
alae = behold, watch out
adell = behind you
rhaich = curses, damn it
noro = run, leave
si = now
gwestim = I promise
herio = charge, begin
ni lassui = thank you (lit. I am glad)
muin hîr Elrond = dear Lord Elrond
gen suilam o Eryn Galen = greetings from Greenwood the Great
ma = alright, good
suilam a'mibna'mîn nethig = greetings and kisses to our little sister
melim = love (lit. we love you)
Remarks about LOTR lore:
The Bruinen or Loudwater is the name for a river originating in the Misty Mountains and crossing eastern Eriador, its southern arm flowing through the valley of Rivendell.
Hadhafang is the name of Elrond's elven sword, a weapon invented for Peter Jackson's movies.
The Dúnedain or "west-men" are descendants of Númenor and founded the realms of Arnor and Gondor. After the Fall of Arnor the northern Dúnedain retreated to areas south of Rivendell and became known as the Rangers of the North.
The Laiquendi, the 'green elves' or 'hidden people', are Sindar people living in Eryn Galen and Lothlórien.
All elves come of age at 50 years, before that they are commonly referred to as children or 'elflings'.
In the chapter Legolas implies that he had still been a child, when the darkness emanating from Dol Guldur began to affect the Woodland realm, beginning in 1050 TA (Third Age). As Legolas' birth date is unmentioned in the books, I settled for 1015 TA, making him some hundred years younger than Peter Jackson's movies.
Wargs are a breed of evil demonic wolves allied with the Orcs.
The Elvenking's Halls, underground halls at the northeastern edge of the forest, served as the King's palace and fortress.
Erebor or Lonely Mountain was home to a Dwarfen kingdom, which was destroyed by Smaug in 2770 TA.
Legolas' guess about the ancient source of evil is correct, as the evil force behind Mirkwood's demise, Sauron, currently resides in Mordor and is of course much older than his 'Necromancer' alias. In 2063 TA, the Necromancer (a.k.a. a still rather weak Sauron) fled to the east because Gandalf investigated Dol Guldur, thus ending the first period of darkness.