Disclaimer: I own Kirilla. I do not own the Lord of the Rings or any of the characters in the Lord of the Rings. Thank you. Please don't sue me!
The snowy pelt of the unicorn reflected the sunlight and the soft green glow of the forest. She moved with an ethereal grace and beauty, strides calculated and careful, but flowing. Her spiralling silvery horn curved slightly, shimmering in the light of the sun. Cloven hooves moved across the ground quickly, soundlessly, carrying her with speed and elegance, her long mane and tail flagging in the wind.
Violet eyes speckled with silver and gold watched the land as she sped through, their gaze deep, wary. She was watching for someone.. or something. They were not normal unicorn's eyes, though, and it gave her away to the observer. Elven eyes were hers, darting back and forth.
Suddenly, she came to a halt, mane and tail streaming against her neck and hindquarters. Then she peered warily around, as if to make sure she was alone. Slowly she lowered herself to the ground and curled within herself. A shimmery, white light enveloped her, and an elven maiden was left in the wake of the unicorn, curled up.
Languidly, she pulled herself to her feet and stood her full height, long hair falling about her in silvery waves. A soft, blue gown adorned her, in such a light hue it could easily be mistaken for white. Her face was gentle, her skin a pale, almost milky color. A sort of ageless beauty was possessed by the elven maiden.
The maiden darted toward the trees with the speed of a deer, or, more likely, the unicorn which must be part of her. She halted beside one of the trees and leapt upward. She leaned into the tree discreetly, opening a dark hole. From the hole she took out a sharp knife with a jeweled handle. Setting it down, she selected a dark cloak and belt and put them on over her gown. The knife was tucked into her belt, then she pulled out a quiver and settled it over her shoulder, clipping the loops together. After running a hand over the feathers to make sure of their smoothness, she pulled out a long, smoothly polished bow. One last thing pulled out: a pair of pan pipes.
Leaning back from the dark hole, she touched a finger to the trunk, and the hole closed itself up. Then she let herself fall down to the ground. After tucking the pipes away, she started off into the forest. Time to hunt what she felt has been chasing her these long years.
~*~ Explanations / Backstory ~*~
This story is about a young elven woman, but only part elven, for in her veins runs a quarter unicorn and a quarter human blood. As two sides of her are immortal, so she is as well. Her grandmother was the unicorn of the family. Because of an illness, Rilla's grandfather took the unicorn to healers.. during the healing process, they had to change her form. She became an elf, unable to transform back into a unicorn form. Because of this, Iirima slowly grew more frail, aging much more quickly than an elf or unicorn normally would. Eventually she died of a broken heart yearning to return to her homeland and be a unicorn again, yet she knew that she would not be welcomed.. indeed, they would view her as a traitor.
They married, and had only one child, an elven maiden with skin as fair as the Lady Arwen's, but with long, silvery-flaxen hair that matched her mother's. She bore a scar in the shape of a star on her forehead that glowed when danger was near. She was named Laurea, a word meaning 'like gold', and, like elves, she was able to hide well, yet her senses were extraordinary because of the unicorn blood flowing in her veins. As a little girl, she had sometimes transformed into a unicorn, and, indeed, become quite addicted to it, for the quick and light movement she had as an elf was nothing compared to as a unicorn. But her parents forbade her to continue.
Aquaraican, Rilla's father, grew up to be a ranger. Not well thought of, he wasn't the most honest of men, yet he travelled far in his days. At the time, Laurea and her family lived in a land nearby Lothlorien. He learned of their story as to why they stayed alone and came to visit, curious as to what he might find, though he knew not of the unicorn blood.. for those of Middle Earth did not know of unicorns, and if they happened to cross one, they would take it as demon spawn. Despite attempts to sway him to find someone else, a love for Laurea grew over time, and he asked her to marry him
She consented, taking his hand, for her own love grew strong, yet she never told him the origin of her scar. They stayed in a home nearby her parents, and had three children. The first two were human in appearance and behaviours. The eldest, a girl, died young. The second, a boy, grew up to the same profession as his father, sharing his need to explore. The third, birthed years after the other two, looked nearly exactly like her mother. The pale, creamy skin, the star-shaped scar, and the silvery-flaxen hair.
They named her Kirilla, which, simplified from unicorn speech, meant 'Fairest adventurer'. She grew up quickly, never questioning that she indeed could do anything. Often she became the unicorn, for she discovered it at a young age, being precocious. As the half-elven girl she was, she had many abilities, but the human blood hardly weakened her perspective. She became quite talented with bow and arrow, as well as had a special empathy with other animals, particularly equines. She learned to ride horses well, and cared for several Elven steeds in her time, most notably a palomino stallion named Anorod(Anor means 'sun' in Quenya) and a bloodstone bay mare called Melesse, which meant 'love'.
Her beauty was stunning as she grew over the years, but hidden carefully. She was always one to venture forth into the world, no matter the cost, be it dirt, grime, blood or much else. The wanderer's call flowing through her history passed on to her, and Rilla never gave up on a quest or journey, even if it meant she had to disguise herself as masculine to take part in the quests. Over a span of nearly 2,500 years, she explored much of the land of Middle-Earth. Her father died early on in her lifespan, but her mother remarried to another elven man and had another child, this time an elven girl who bore none of the unicorn characteristics, but always envied her older sister who carried their Mum's looks, while the sister held her father's homely appearance. Rilla was alone in her family.
During her early travels, she made it a personal quest to find the unicorns. Before Iirama's death, she begged her to speak of how she could contact her unicorn side of the family. With the painfully divulged information, Rilla set out to her homeland.
To her surprise, she was welcomed with open arms, so to speak. She arrived in her unicorn form, and at first they mistook her for Iirama herself. The ruler of the unicorns welcomed her warmly and begged her to tell of all that had happened since they'd lost one of their own. Gratefully she accepted their hospitality, finding herself deep within the beauty of the forest they called home, and the secret meadows many lived in groups within.
With the support of the unicorns, she learned of her distant past, and of so much more than she had imagined. She learned how to call upon the magic deep within her soul to heal many pains. She learned of weaknesses and talents, and how to best hide from view. She learned ways to speak with plants and animals of all varieties, how to use her dexterity and litheness to her advantage in battle, how to channel her empathy, and how to call upon trees and the ground to be a refuge for things she needed to keep hidden.
They explained much of what she never understood before from stories Iirama or Laurea had told. Her heritage became much more of a part of her. While she was not a true unicorn, they were open to her change, but warned against some places. There were those who had seen unicorns and slain them easily. Humans, dwarfs.. even elven folk. Unicorns were highly misunderstood and distrusted, despite holding great power with healing, among other things.
Armed with new knowledge of the ways of Middle-Earth, Kirilla set out to find more adventures. Though some wished her to stay in their safe haven, the wanderer's spirt within called her to journey on, and journey she did. For the next two thousand years, she fought many battles, healed many sick, and grew a reputation for being someone you wanted in your questing party. Yet after one thousand years of popularity, she supposedly disappeared.
Little did those of Middle-Earth know she could become a unicorn. Become a unicorn she did indeed, exploring the land and hiding from others in a unicorn form, very little being of her elven form, except to keep her abilities with bow and arrow and dagger sharp and her horseback riding skills at high levels, though she preferred her own unicorn form, with its smooth, soft strides, to the much bigger and oftentimes less smooth strides of the horses.
To many, if she wished to appear openly, she would appear as a pure white mare of regal bloodlines. This was a trick her unicorn relatives taught her. While not often, sometimes she would allow a young girl or maiden to see her in her fully unicorn form. It was to the young females she was attracted, and, indeed, even the older ones. A time or two, she allowed the Lady Galadriel, the Lady of Light to find her, though her elven identity was never revealed. Somehow, however, the Lady found out.. Rilla suspected Galadriel's Mirror Pool, as when she next allowed herself to be seen by the Lady, she was presented with a jewel containing light from one of the most precious stars. This would meld into the base of Rilla's horn, and as a human, would lay as a necklace around her elegant neck. In return, Rilla went back to see Galadriel often, learning of the horrible War of the Ring, and many other things, from Galadriel, yet she stayed in her reclusive lifestyle, hidden from the grips of evil, for should they know her true power, they would find her and take her to use as a tool to create further chaos.
In time, she grew longing to know people again. She visited Galadriel a last time in her unicorn form, and before her eyes became the elven maiden she was born as, with long, flowing silvery-flaxen hair and tall, graceful lines and movement. They spoke for a time before shewas gifted with yet another present.. an elven bow and quiver made by those from Lothlorien to replace her old, by now damaged by carelessness. Armed with these, she set out to find what it was she had been searching out for many long years, though she was not sure what this was.
On her way to the river Anduin, she was met with orcs. For many days, it was a game of hide-and-seek. Because she refused to return to her unicorn form until she found what she was looking for, it was much harder to both battle and escape from the orcs, and, one day they finally brought her down between the river and the High Pass of the Misty Mountains.
Luck was with her, however, and not far off were former members of the Fellowship of the Ring, including but not limited to: Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli. When hope was all but lost, she used a last resort, one that most ears could not pick up on, but she toned it down in the slightest, so that if there were elves nearby, they would hear. Her last resort was named the Unicorn's Call, a high-pitched keening wail which contained words of the unicorn language. She learned it while staying with her unicorn family so many years ago, but had never found need to use it. It worked. The elven warrior, Legolas, heard her cries and brought the alert to his friends, who came to her rescue. This is the story of his rescue and the adventures they had together and apart.
Aversion to Mirkwood: Rilla's family has a deep aversion to Mirkwood, for many reasons. Rilla's father, for example, had done much dishonest work with the elves of Mirkwood, having weaned his way into their culture before meeting Laurea. They disliked him as much by this time, and warned him not to return. Unicorns, also, dislike Mirkwood. When Iirama disappeared, the unicorns sent out many to search, but many returned in vain.. and many others didn't return at all. All who were slain passed through Mirkwood, and it became a land of great danger, for the wood-elves, thinking themselves superior in knowledge of the wood, had never known unicorns. With this in mind, they slew the unicorns who allowed themselves to be seen, thinking them demons.
So in Rilla's mind, it is a place she does not want to have anything to do with. Despite it as a possible healing place when she is hurt, she refused to go.. so Legolas and his friends travel the Misty Mountains to come to Rivendell, the next closest place. She only became concious twice in this journey.. the first time, her dilemma was explained and she introduced herself. Then she called for help from the land. Promptly she fell ill again. Legolas was her caretaker during this time, always fascinated with her silvery-flaxen locks of hair and her scar, and even with the gem that was given to her by Galadriel, containing the light. The second time was in the dark of the night where they were camping a day before arriving at Rivendell. She doesn't have a good recollection of either event, though.
When she called for help from the land to get to healing more quickly, the land provided well, sending help from the weather and even carving a passage that went above Moria, from one side to the other. If one looked closely and had keen vision as elves do, one could see the light on the other side. It was easy travelling, and she was brought to Rivendell and the healing powers of Elrond within the week.
And so we come to the beginning of this story. I hope it is enjoyable, and that I have not bored anyone with my history of Rilla. I stayed up for two hours writing this, would have likely done more if not for writer's block. I'll be working on the next chapters soon to come once chapters 1-3 are fixed up. :)
The snowy pelt of the unicorn reflected the sunlight and the soft green glow of the forest. She moved with an ethereal grace and beauty, strides calculated and careful, but flowing. Her spiralling silvery horn curved slightly, shimmering in the light of the sun. Cloven hooves moved across the ground quickly, soundlessly, carrying her with speed and elegance, her long mane and tail flagging in the wind.
Violet eyes speckled with silver and gold watched the land as she sped through, their gaze deep, wary. She was watching for someone.. or something. They were not normal unicorn's eyes, though, and it gave her away to the observer. Elven eyes were hers, darting back and forth.
Suddenly, she came to a halt, mane and tail streaming against her neck and hindquarters. Then she peered warily around, as if to make sure she was alone. Slowly she lowered herself to the ground and curled within herself. A shimmery, white light enveloped her, and an elven maiden was left in the wake of the unicorn, curled up.
Languidly, she pulled herself to her feet and stood her full height, long hair falling about her in silvery waves. A soft, blue gown adorned her, in such a light hue it could easily be mistaken for white. Her face was gentle, her skin a pale, almost milky color. A sort of ageless beauty was possessed by the elven maiden.
The maiden darted toward the trees with the speed of a deer, or, more likely, the unicorn which must be part of her. She halted beside one of the trees and leapt upward. She leaned into the tree discreetly, opening a dark hole. From the hole she took out a sharp knife with a jeweled handle. Setting it down, she selected a dark cloak and belt and put them on over her gown. The knife was tucked into her belt, then she pulled out a quiver and settled it over her shoulder, clipping the loops together. After running a hand over the feathers to make sure of their smoothness, she pulled out a long, smoothly polished bow. One last thing pulled out: a pair of pan pipes.
Leaning back from the dark hole, she touched a finger to the trunk, and the hole closed itself up. Then she let herself fall down to the ground. After tucking the pipes away, she started off into the forest. Time to hunt what she felt has been chasing her these long years.
~*~ Explanations / Backstory ~*~
This story is about a young elven woman, but only part elven, for in her veins runs a quarter unicorn and a quarter human blood. As two sides of her are immortal, so she is as well. Her grandmother was the unicorn of the family. Because of an illness, Rilla's grandfather took the unicorn to healers.. during the healing process, they had to change her form. She became an elf, unable to transform back into a unicorn form. Because of this, Iirima slowly grew more frail, aging much more quickly than an elf or unicorn normally would. Eventually she died of a broken heart yearning to return to her homeland and be a unicorn again, yet she knew that she would not be welcomed.. indeed, they would view her as a traitor.
They married, and had only one child, an elven maiden with skin as fair as the Lady Arwen's, but with long, silvery-flaxen hair that matched her mother's. She bore a scar in the shape of a star on her forehead that glowed when danger was near. She was named Laurea, a word meaning 'like gold', and, like elves, she was able to hide well, yet her senses were extraordinary because of the unicorn blood flowing in her veins. As a little girl, she had sometimes transformed into a unicorn, and, indeed, become quite addicted to it, for the quick and light movement she had as an elf was nothing compared to as a unicorn. But her parents forbade her to continue.
Aquaraican, Rilla's father, grew up to be a ranger. Not well thought of, he wasn't the most honest of men, yet he travelled far in his days. At the time, Laurea and her family lived in a land nearby Lothlorien. He learned of their story as to why they stayed alone and came to visit, curious as to what he might find, though he knew not of the unicorn blood.. for those of Middle Earth did not know of unicorns, and if they happened to cross one, they would take it as demon spawn. Despite attempts to sway him to find someone else, a love for Laurea grew over time, and he asked her to marry him
She consented, taking his hand, for her own love grew strong, yet she never told him the origin of her scar. They stayed in a home nearby her parents, and had three children. The first two were human in appearance and behaviours. The eldest, a girl, died young. The second, a boy, grew up to the same profession as his father, sharing his need to explore. The third, birthed years after the other two, looked nearly exactly like her mother. The pale, creamy skin, the star-shaped scar, and the silvery-flaxen hair.
They named her Kirilla, which, simplified from unicorn speech, meant 'Fairest adventurer'. She grew up quickly, never questioning that she indeed could do anything. Often she became the unicorn, for she discovered it at a young age, being precocious. As the half-elven girl she was, she had many abilities, but the human blood hardly weakened her perspective. She became quite talented with bow and arrow, as well as had a special empathy with other animals, particularly equines. She learned to ride horses well, and cared for several Elven steeds in her time, most notably a palomino stallion named Anorod(Anor means 'sun' in Quenya) and a bloodstone bay mare called Melesse, which meant 'love'.
Her beauty was stunning as she grew over the years, but hidden carefully. She was always one to venture forth into the world, no matter the cost, be it dirt, grime, blood or much else. The wanderer's call flowing through her history passed on to her, and Rilla never gave up on a quest or journey, even if it meant she had to disguise herself as masculine to take part in the quests. Over a span of nearly 2,500 years, she explored much of the land of Middle-Earth. Her father died early on in her lifespan, but her mother remarried to another elven man and had another child, this time an elven girl who bore none of the unicorn characteristics, but always envied her older sister who carried their Mum's looks, while the sister held her father's homely appearance. Rilla was alone in her family.
During her early travels, she made it a personal quest to find the unicorns. Before Iirama's death, she begged her to speak of how she could contact her unicorn side of the family. With the painfully divulged information, Rilla set out to her homeland.
To her surprise, she was welcomed with open arms, so to speak. She arrived in her unicorn form, and at first they mistook her for Iirama herself. The ruler of the unicorns welcomed her warmly and begged her to tell of all that had happened since they'd lost one of their own. Gratefully she accepted their hospitality, finding herself deep within the beauty of the forest they called home, and the secret meadows many lived in groups within.
With the support of the unicorns, she learned of her distant past, and of so much more than she had imagined. She learned how to call upon the magic deep within her soul to heal many pains. She learned of weaknesses and talents, and how to best hide from view. She learned ways to speak with plants and animals of all varieties, how to use her dexterity and litheness to her advantage in battle, how to channel her empathy, and how to call upon trees and the ground to be a refuge for things she needed to keep hidden.
They explained much of what she never understood before from stories Iirama or Laurea had told. Her heritage became much more of a part of her. While she was not a true unicorn, they were open to her change, but warned against some places. There were those who had seen unicorns and slain them easily. Humans, dwarfs.. even elven folk. Unicorns were highly misunderstood and distrusted, despite holding great power with healing, among other things.
Armed with new knowledge of the ways of Middle-Earth, Kirilla set out to find more adventures. Though some wished her to stay in their safe haven, the wanderer's spirt within called her to journey on, and journey she did. For the next two thousand years, she fought many battles, healed many sick, and grew a reputation for being someone you wanted in your questing party. Yet after one thousand years of popularity, she supposedly disappeared.
Little did those of Middle-Earth know she could become a unicorn. Become a unicorn she did indeed, exploring the land and hiding from others in a unicorn form, very little being of her elven form, except to keep her abilities with bow and arrow and dagger sharp and her horseback riding skills at high levels, though she preferred her own unicorn form, with its smooth, soft strides, to the much bigger and oftentimes less smooth strides of the horses.
To many, if she wished to appear openly, she would appear as a pure white mare of regal bloodlines. This was a trick her unicorn relatives taught her. While not often, sometimes she would allow a young girl or maiden to see her in her fully unicorn form. It was to the young females she was attracted, and, indeed, even the older ones. A time or two, she allowed the Lady Galadriel, the Lady of Light to find her, though her elven identity was never revealed. Somehow, however, the Lady found out.. Rilla suspected Galadriel's Mirror Pool, as when she next allowed herself to be seen by the Lady, she was presented with a jewel containing light from one of the most precious stars. This would meld into the base of Rilla's horn, and as a human, would lay as a necklace around her elegant neck. In return, Rilla went back to see Galadriel often, learning of the horrible War of the Ring, and many other things, from Galadriel, yet she stayed in her reclusive lifestyle, hidden from the grips of evil, for should they know her true power, they would find her and take her to use as a tool to create further chaos.
In time, she grew longing to know people again. She visited Galadriel a last time in her unicorn form, and before her eyes became the elven maiden she was born as, with long, flowing silvery-flaxen hair and tall, graceful lines and movement. They spoke for a time before shewas gifted with yet another present.. an elven bow and quiver made by those from Lothlorien to replace her old, by now damaged by carelessness. Armed with these, she set out to find what it was she had been searching out for many long years, though she was not sure what this was.
On her way to the river Anduin, she was met with orcs. For many days, it was a game of hide-and-seek. Because she refused to return to her unicorn form until she found what she was looking for, it was much harder to both battle and escape from the orcs, and, one day they finally brought her down between the river and the High Pass of the Misty Mountains.
Luck was with her, however, and not far off were former members of the Fellowship of the Ring, including but not limited to: Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli. When hope was all but lost, she used a last resort, one that most ears could not pick up on, but she toned it down in the slightest, so that if there were elves nearby, they would hear. Her last resort was named the Unicorn's Call, a high-pitched keening wail which contained words of the unicorn language. She learned it while staying with her unicorn family so many years ago, but had never found need to use it. It worked. The elven warrior, Legolas, heard her cries and brought the alert to his friends, who came to her rescue. This is the story of his rescue and the adventures they had together and apart.
Aversion to Mirkwood: Rilla's family has a deep aversion to Mirkwood, for many reasons. Rilla's father, for example, had done much dishonest work with the elves of Mirkwood, having weaned his way into their culture before meeting Laurea. They disliked him as much by this time, and warned him not to return. Unicorns, also, dislike Mirkwood. When Iirama disappeared, the unicorns sent out many to search, but many returned in vain.. and many others didn't return at all. All who were slain passed through Mirkwood, and it became a land of great danger, for the wood-elves, thinking themselves superior in knowledge of the wood, had never known unicorns. With this in mind, they slew the unicorns who allowed themselves to be seen, thinking them demons.
So in Rilla's mind, it is a place she does not want to have anything to do with. Despite it as a possible healing place when she is hurt, she refused to go.. so Legolas and his friends travel the Misty Mountains to come to Rivendell, the next closest place. She only became concious twice in this journey.. the first time, her dilemma was explained and she introduced herself. Then she called for help from the land. Promptly she fell ill again. Legolas was her caretaker during this time, always fascinated with her silvery-flaxen locks of hair and her scar, and even with the gem that was given to her by Galadriel, containing the light. The second time was in the dark of the night where they were camping a day before arriving at Rivendell. She doesn't have a good recollection of either event, though.
When she called for help from the land to get to healing more quickly, the land provided well, sending help from the weather and even carving a passage that went above Moria, from one side to the other. If one looked closely and had keen vision as elves do, one could see the light on the other side. It was easy travelling, and she was brought to Rivendell and the healing powers of Elrond within the week.
And so we come to the beginning of this story. I hope it is enjoyable, and that I have not bored anyone with my history of Rilla. I stayed up for two hours writing this, would have likely done more if not for writer's block. I'll be working on the next chapters soon to come once chapters 1-3 are fixed up. :)
