The Realm Jumper

There is a place that lies between worlds, a realm outside of the realms. Some see it as a thoroughfare. Some as emptiness. Some as a forest. None can say of its beginning or its end save the One who made it, yet all agree on one thing: Only good can live there. This Wood Between the Worlds, the avenue of Realm Jumpers and wayward travelers, is a holy place. All darkness that enters there begins to die. This is how the Maker protects the realms from the spread of each world's own darkness.

Amidst the trees lay pools, each one a doorway to each world. Yet to exit and enter these pools came with caveats and exceptions. Those who had been Realm Jumpers for may long years were familiar with the identity of each pool. Many had names known by all and many were yet to be entered.

The Realm Jumpers knew most of the worlds contained there. Appointed by the Maker Himself, this diverse group was made up of specially selected individuals from countless realms. They roamed the inbetween space carrying out missions and delivering messages. Usually their work was in the background. They were never out in front simply because their identities varied from world to world and such knowledge was held with deadly secrecy. Though evil could not survive there, evil could pass between in small instances, thus another charge of the Realm Jumpers was to take special note of those they met in the Wood and to keep the peace. In addition to these great tasks, they were given power and supernatural ability. These powers were varied and unpredictable making them all the more mysterious to those who met them. Yet all Realm Jumpers had one thing in common: a connection to the Maker Himself. This was their most unique attribute.

The tall woman with the long black hair was one of these Realm Jumpers and, after slipping on her ring, she came up out of one of these pools. Still dressed in her long black coat she stepped out of the water and onto the fresh green grass. She straightened her collar and then reached into her pocket to check on the data pad. Still there and still functional. Sometimes tech didn't fare well in the Wood.

She began to review the data pad once more and commit it to memory, but before she could read only a few lines, she heard a sound to her left. She turned and saw another person standing in pool about 30 feet away. The person was shorter than her with short brown wavy hair that hung just a few inches below the chin. It was a female and a young one at that. The young girl was wearing a medium length dress with a crimson and black striped leather garment worn over it. Her cloak was dark green, almost gray, and she wore a sword at her side. She was standing in a pool, its water rippling around her ankles. In her hand she held a ring similar to the woman's.

Yet the thing that surprised the woman the most was which particular pool the girl was standing in. It was the same one she would be going into in just a few moments. The very world specified in the contents on the data pad the woman held in her hand. For a moment she stared at the girl and then the thought struck her.

"No," she thought. "That can't be…"

Then the girl looked her direction and their eyes met. The girl and the woman gawked at each other for a moment with astonished expressions and the woman grew frustrated. If this was indeed the Venë Faeur, then this mission would not be anything like she had anticipated. Quite the opposite in fact. One only had to look at this girl to see that she was out of her depth. Her brown eyes were wide with fear and she began to finger her ring as if to put it on.

"Wait," the woman began to say, but it was too late. The girl slipped on her ring, the bottom of the pool ceased to be, and the she slipped beneath the water with a gasp and a cry. The woman ran to the pool, but the girl was gone.

Before she could contemplate the matter further, she glanced to the side and observed the edge of another pool nearby. It was an old Realm Jumper trick to spot a recently exited pool. The compression of the grass around the edge and slight ripples still moving about in the normally still water were an indication. It was a safe bet that this strange girl had come from this pool, but this only made the woman's apprehensions increase.

In all the journeys and tasks of the Realm Jumpers, no world was as infamous as the one whose pool lay before her. It had once been busy in communication with other realms for countless ages. Then one day, indeed within a matter of hours, all Realm Jumpers were called out of that world with express instructions never to return. The Maker had laid sanctions on it, that no Realm Jumper should set foot therein unless expressly authorized, yet no authorization ever came. No word came from it and no one entered it. Thus it was named the "Silent World" by all.

Many had speculated as to what had happened. Some said it was because of a great disaster or perhaps some evil had overtaken it beyond repair. Yet those few Realm Jumpers who had been the last to leave reported strange occurrences upon their exit. They said that the very nature of that world had changed somehow. Some dramatic shift in the the fabric of reality had taken place.

If the woman read things right, this was the world the girl had come from. In the unmarked annals of years since the pool fell silent, none had ever emerged from its waters until now. The woman took deep steady breaths as she considered the ramifications. What kind of person would come from such a world? And why would such a person be needed in a realm like the one the girl had entered?

The woman knew that the only way to answer these questions was to follow her mission, find this girl, and perhaps get to the bottom of the mystery of the Silent World.

Not two hours later, the woman was making her way to the library. It was a warm early afternoon and the smell of the trees and the sound of distant waterfalls was a refreshing contrast to the tech ridden world she had just come from. As she at last entered the library, she observed small changes from her last visit like the position of the furniture and additions that had been made to the tall bookshelves. Many ancient artifacts lay strewn about the tables and chairs. Apparently the organization process wasn't quite yet complete.

Upon arrival to this world, the tall woman had traded her long black coat for a floor length dress. She had pulled her hair partly behind her head in the fashion of the locals and carried herself a little straighter in the spine. She had to keep up appearances if she was to blend in.

As she crossed the library, she noticed the proprietor of the place, a tall individual with similarly long black hair. He was dressed in long heavy robes that looked very old, yet well kept. He was leafing through an old book set upon a reading desk. The woman approached him from behind and sensing her presence he turned to look at her.

"Elrain," he said with a smile. "Welcome back. I had wondered when you would be returning to us."

She bowed slightly. "My Lord Elrond. I hope that my visit finds you well."

"Indeed," he said in a deeper tone. "I would ask where you have been in the wild world, but Middle-earth has been stranger and stranger of late."

"Indeed," said the tall woman with a confident expression. She was surprised that he had remembered her name. Elrain was probably one of the names she was most fond of. Hearing her elvish title also reminded her of something else. She reached up and felt her ears. They were pointed like his. She had forgotten that this came with the disguise. The Realm Jumpers had a trick that was still not wholly understood by many. When they entered a world for the first time, they would find themselves conformed to the genetic makeup of the natives of that realm. Which kind of natives was not their decision, but the Maker's. Once that decision was made, they would revert whenever they re-entered that world. Elrain hadn't been surprised when she had first found herself to be an elf. They were a more serious race which matched her demeanor. Yet they were quite suspicious and proud which made blending in difficult.

Elrain took a deep breath and began to inquire concerning the purpose of her visit. "My Lord... If I may trouble you about elvish history, have you heard of any tales or records concerning a person called the Venë Faeur?"

Elrond paused and looked at her intently. He had a curious expression on his face.

"I have," he said at last. "Though there is little known about the Venë Faeur. Nothing but a paragraph from a scrap of an old document."

He walked slowly to one of the shelves and scanned the books. Reaching in amongst them, he pulled out what looked to be a picture frame. It was an ancient piece of paper pressed between two panes of glass framed in wood. He carried it to the reading desk and placed it before Elrain. The two stood side by side as they gazed at the ancient note. The paper looked like it was one peice of a paper that had been torn up, leaving only a short group of sentences cut off at the beginning and end.

From another shelf Elrond retrieved another piece of paper. "This," he said, "is the translation of the text into the common speech. It was translated by one of our frequent guests who has a love of poetry. Of course the original text was not a poem, but our translator said it sounded better."

And this is how the poem read:

Thus follows the account

Of times yet to be known

In visions of darkness

Behold what has been shown.

The Venë Faeur shall come

A traveler and reckoning

A vanquisher of a great evil

And a seer of future things.

A gaurdian of record

From other lands shall be

A great warrior in battle

And the keeper of history

"This text," Elrond said, "was written by Palanion the seer. He was one of the elves who founded Eregion. When it fell, he came with me to Rivendell and settled here for a time before traveling further south. No one in Middle-earth as of yet knows exactly what these words mean or who the Venë Faeur will be. One can surmise that this person will be a seer as well and rid the land of darkness. But the rest I cannot discern. Palanion left the valley in great haste and this scrap of paper was all that he left behind. I was never able to ask him of its meaning."

Elrain gazed at the ancient paper and her mind's eye flashed back to the image of the girl in the wood. This couldn't be her. Such a child couldn't be a seer; that was absurd. And how could someone so young defeat any sort of evil?

"Elrain?" Elrond said noticing her silence. She looked over at him and then back at the framed paper.

"Forgive me my Lord," she said softly. "The reason for my return has to do with this text. I have reason to believe that this Venë Faeur will be arriving soon, but as to where they shall appear I am not certain."

Elrond arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes," Elrain said confidently. She enjoyed surprising Elrond. He could be quite the know-it-all when it came to Elvish history and stumping him was very satisfying. "I cannot say how or when, but I believe that I am meant to help them when they arrive," she concluded.

"Elrain," Elrond said slowly as he began to return the frame to its place on the shelf. "You know that I have great respect for you…" He paused and gave her a curious look. For a moment she wondered if he wasn't quite as confused as she thought he was. The expression on his face was far from confused, but rather resolute. "What would lead you to such a conclusion?"

Evading his question, she backed away from the reading table. She smiled and gave a small bow. "Thank you Lord Elrond, but I really must be going. This has been most helpful. You are an excellent host."

Elrond gave a stiff acknowledgment. "You are most welcome," he said. She thought she detected the hint of a smile.

"What does he know that I don't," she wondered exiting the library. "Could such a person really be that young girl I saw?"

Yet before she could contemplate the matter further, something happened that changed all of her musings. She had a collision with someone coming around a corner. The person had been looking the complete different direction and slammed so hard into Elrain that they both staggered backward. The person immediately gave a gasp and profusely apologized, but stopped abruptly. She stopped because they both recognized each other.

It was the girl from the Wood.