Chapter Three
"What you have said Haluin, son of Valui, is unhappy, yet not wholly unexpected news. That the shadow of the north is rising again was foreseen by many here, Thranduil is wise to suggest an alliance of all the elfin races of Middle Earth. It is only by strong unity, and not proud divisions, that the Dark Lord will not be allowed to rise again. I do not deny that I have seen many things in my dreams that darken my hope, but now we are no longer idle. Messengers from my city will be sent tonight to tell King Thranduil that we are in favor of the alliance, and that his men will be treated with the utmost respect when they arrive." Haluin bowed low, his golden hair brushing the floor as he left the counsel of Galadriel.
"Candria, come forward." Candria, who had been asked by Galadriel to stay and listen to all that was said, stepped forward from her seat in the shadows of the silver hall.
"Leave at once with two of our fastest riders and bring this to Thranduil, he will know that we have accepted." Galadriel held out a golden leaf from the trees of Lorien, marked in the center with the seal of Celeborn. Candria kneeled before Galadriel and took the leaf, delicately wrapping it in a fold of material, and placing it within the shaft of her quiver.
"I go at your command my Lady. How long shall I stay in Greenwood?" Candria looked up into the clear blue eyes of Galadriel and heard:
^ I shall call for you Candria, until I do, remain at Greenwood in the care of King Thranduil ^
^^^*^^^
Candria felt the wind whip her hair around her neck as she sped towards Greenwood atop Moreaui, flanked by Feani and Reani, brothers born on the same day and great hunters themselves. The night pulled her veils back as they cut across the land at a steady pace, in no great hurry, but pulled by the haste of Candria to deliver the leaf and return to Lorien.
Candria had traveled out of the forest of her childhood but once, and then only to visit the great river Anduin. She had heard many tales of the sea as a child, of the beauty and the lure of the foaming waves of the western sea, and being a child of immesurable curiosity, had begged Galadriel to take her to see the great river, from which all travels to the sea were made. Candria found the river to be thundering and loud, that the charm of the sea, the desire to go forth on its glassy surfaces, had not been implanted in her heart. She was drawn instead to the earth, and all it contained therein. There was nothing more beautiful to Candria than the trees and flowers that sprang from the rich soil, and nothing more alluring than the crystal rivers that demanded her lips to touch them on warm summer days. She did not desire to leave Middle Earth, she wanted for nothing and could not conceive a haven more beautiful than the creation she walked in every day.
Every painful step she took away from the forests of Lorien, she longed to take back, thus loathing the sounds of Moreaui's hoof beats as they drew her from the comfort of her home. Candria wondered that Galadriel had chosen her for so important a mission. There were many brave soldierly elf-men in Lorien who would have been better suited if danger should have befallen their group. Galadriel had always been loath to afford Candria any liberty from the forests of Lorien, and now had sent her away willingly and at great speed. Could Candria have read the deepest thoughts of the Queen, she would have known that she would never see the mellyrn forests of her home again.
^^^*^^^
On their third day out from Lorien, the riders saw faintly on the horizon a thin lace of dark shadows against the crimson sunset. The forests of Greenwood were within sight, yet still a full night's travel away. Candria paused here for a moment as a feeling she had never known passed through her senses. She felt as though she were coming home for the first time, as though all of her secrets lay hidden in the vast expanse spread out before her.
Candria let Moreaui loose and they flew across the open plains, leaving Feani and Reani far behind. There was something intoxicating about the air, a current that seemed to intensify as they approached the enchanted forests of Greenwood. The wind seemed to pick up the waving grass before them and split it into a path for their horses to follow.
The night waxed and the three riders slowed their pace to see things far ahead in the inky blackness. It was said that the powerful magic of the Sindar guarded the forests surrounding the city of King Thranduil, and that all who entered were lost in eternal darkness if not shown the way by the Sindarian elves of that realm.
It was near dawn that they reached the first outskirts of trees and thus entered into Greenwood. As they made their way slowly, not daring to brandish their bows, Candria heard many voices running through her ears. They were all around her, sitting in the trees, whispering and wondering at the strangers that had come into their land. She did not dare look up and try to spot them, if they were commanded to let the riders pass, she would make no motion that could be thought aggressive.
The woods grew thicker, and the whispers in the trees grew suddenly silent causing Candria to stare ahead with nervous anticipation. The smallest leaf falling from the trees landed like thunder on her ears and caused Moreaui to prance lightly on the soft ground. The two brothers tried to calm their horses who were snorting and pawing as their riders nervously turned from side to side to hear anything they could. It was known that more than the Wood-elves of Thranduil's realm inhabited the forests of Greenwood. There were whispers of fell beasts wandering back into the dark places of the forest, infecting the land with their sicknesses of hatred and evil.
Suddenly Candria threw her head upwards, the clear ring of traveling feet on the earth echoed in her delicate ears, causing her to squeeze Moreaui's thighs to a halt. Moreaui could sense that Candria wished him to be silent and so, unlike Feani and Reani's steeds, kept still and breathed quietly into the morning air. Feani turned from his left to his right in vain attempts to see any sign of movement in the trees surrounding them.
"Silence." Candria softly touched Feani's horse with the tip of her gloved finger and the beast ceased moving. Feani stared at Candria in awe, yet not dumbfounded amazement. The legend that Lady Galadriel's Candria had special powers had been a favorite among the elfin children of Lorien.
"Welcome Candria of the Lorien elves, and Feani and Reani of the house of Fealior. Our Lord and Lady welcome you to Greenwood." It was as though the thick net of trees had parted to reveal a small band of Sindarian elves, none bearing weapons of any kind. Three of the tallest elves held in their hands cloaks of fine material woven by the hands of the elf-maidens of Thranduil's kingdom as gifts for the messengers of Lorien. The leader motioned for the riders to accept the cloaks and dismounting, each of the three messengers took their gifts from the elves.
Candria let the light material fall through her fingertips, like water slipping through cracks. The cloak was a dark blue, and when she pulled it about her shoulders she was amazed at how easily it hugged her form. After thanking the elves for their gifts, the leader of the host introduced himself as Limlias, general of the King's armies in Greenwood.
"Armies?" Candria ventured, "Has it come to armies so soon?" She looked into Limlias' eyes and saw great fear clouding his thoughts, a nameless shadow passed behind his irises and left her feeling cold inside.
"Yes my Lady, but come, there is time for talk and many other things once we reach the halls of the city. Follow me." Their progress was slow, picking their way through the woods of Greenwood while trying to find wide enough spaces for the rider's horses to pass through.
"It is not usually so difficult to bring horses through these woods, but your approach from the south west was not anticipated, the roads had been cleared to the south east. We shall manage, the main road to Thranduil's city is but a half mile further inside the woods." Limlias stroked Moreaui as he walked alongside his flanks talking with Candria.
"A magnificent beast, his sire must have been a sight to behold. Do I see the markings of a horse of Rohan?" Limlias ran his palm along Moreaui's bare back, feeling the lines of his arching figure.
"Yes. A gift to my Lady Galadriel as a sign of friendship when men and elves were still allies, before proud divisions parted all the races of Middle Earth." Candria sighed deeply, wondering at the ignorance of both man and elves, that they would not join and thus become one force to assuage the power of the forces of the north.
"Those times shall be again, the shadows have not touched all the land, and there is light yet in the hearts of men." Limlias sprinted ahead and called them towards the main road. Before them the path twisted behind the thick growth and into a valley of thickset trees and laying in the center, like a mountain amidst a barren sea, the towers of a mighty city. Unlike Caras Galadhon, this site held no lights that danced in the night, but instead had spires that twisted into the clear sky, almost touching the sun. While Candria was not impressed by its beauty, but she felt that it was not made to be admired, but instead to be a stronghold, a place of security.
"All of the realm is preparing for the ball tonight. Your coming on the last day of our festival of the sun has been a wonderful blessing and my Lord desires you to be the guests of honor at the dance." Candria laughed shortly and pulled her quiver off her back, glancing inside to be sure the leaf was still protected.
"I don't expect that we shall be staying long enough to attend a ball. I am expecting a summons from my Queen after I deliver her message." Even as she said the words she knew that they were not true, and she suddenly understood why Galadriel had sent her away. She was never going home. The horrible realization weighed down her heart to the point of agony. She suddenly felt as though she were standing on a great precipice, unable to grasp at anything familiar to keep herself from falling into immesurable sadness.
"Is something wrong my Lady?" Feani strode up beside her as her step faltered. He desired to reach out to her, but his fear of breaking Galadriel's law held him back. Candria desired more than anything to be held in that moment, to be brought into the warmth of an embrace and know that all had not abandoned her. But that touch did not come, and for the first time Candria resented the laws and the wisdom of Galadriel and Lord Celeborn.
"No Feani. I am fine." She straightened her back and stared ahead peacefully, as though she was beginning a new life with the dawn of the day. Candria did not know by what knowledge Galadriel had sent her to live with King Thranduil and the Wood-elves of Greenwood the Great, but she knew that it would be revealed to her in due time.
"What you have said Haluin, son of Valui, is unhappy, yet not wholly unexpected news. That the shadow of the north is rising again was foreseen by many here, Thranduil is wise to suggest an alliance of all the elfin races of Middle Earth. It is only by strong unity, and not proud divisions, that the Dark Lord will not be allowed to rise again. I do not deny that I have seen many things in my dreams that darken my hope, but now we are no longer idle. Messengers from my city will be sent tonight to tell King Thranduil that we are in favor of the alliance, and that his men will be treated with the utmost respect when they arrive." Haluin bowed low, his golden hair brushing the floor as he left the counsel of Galadriel.
"Candria, come forward." Candria, who had been asked by Galadriel to stay and listen to all that was said, stepped forward from her seat in the shadows of the silver hall.
"Leave at once with two of our fastest riders and bring this to Thranduil, he will know that we have accepted." Galadriel held out a golden leaf from the trees of Lorien, marked in the center with the seal of Celeborn. Candria kneeled before Galadriel and took the leaf, delicately wrapping it in a fold of material, and placing it within the shaft of her quiver.
"I go at your command my Lady. How long shall I stay in Greenwood?" Candria looked up into the clear blue eyes of Galadriel and heard:
^ I shall call for you Candria, until I do, remain at Greenwood in the care of King Thranduil ^
^^^*^^^
Candria felt the wind whip her hair around her neck as she sped towards Greenwood atop Moreaui, flanked by Feani and Reani, brothers born on the same day and great hunters themselves. The night pulled her veils back as they cut across the land at a steady pace, in no great hurry, but pulled by the haste of Candria to deliver the leaf and return to Lorien.
Candria had traveled out of the forest of her childhood but once, and then only to visit the great river Anduin. She had heard many tales of the sea as a child, of the beauty and the lure of the foaming waves of the western sea, and being a child of immesurable curiosity, had begged Galadriel to take her to see the great river, from which all travels to the sea were made. Candria found the river to be thundering and loud, that the charm of the sea, the desire to go forth on its glassy surfaces, had not been implanted in her heart. She was drawn instead to the earth, and all it contained therein. There was nothing more beautiful to Candria than the trees and flowers that sprang from the rich soil, and nothing more alluring than the crystal rivers that demanded her lips to touch them on warm summer days. She did not desire to leave Middle Earth, she wanted for nothing and could not conceive a haven more beautiful than the creation she walked in every day.
Every painful step she took away from the forests of Lorien, she longed to take back, thus loathing the sounds of Moreaui's hoof beats as they drew her from the comfort of her home. Candria wondered that Galadriel had chosen her for so important a mission. There were many brave soldierly elf-men in Lorien who would have been better suited if danger should have befallen their group. Galadriel had always been loath to afford Candria any liberty from the forests of Lorien, and now had sent her away willingly and at great speed. Could Candria have read the deepest thoughts of the Queen, she would have known that she would never see the mellyrn forests of her home again.
^^^*^^^
On their third day out from Lorien, the riders saw faintly on the horizon a thin lace of dark shadows against the crimson sunset. The forests of Greenwood were within sight, yet still a full night's travel away. Candria paused here for a moment as a feeling she had never known passed through her senses. She felt as though she were coming home for the first time, as though all of her secrets lay hidden in the vast expanse spread out before her.
Candria let Moreaui loose and they flew across the open plains, leaving Feani and Reani far behind. There was something intoxicating about the air, a current that seemed to intensify as they approached the enchanted forests of Greenwood. The wind seemed to pick up the waving grass before them and split it into a path for their horses to follow.
The night waxed and the three riders slowed their pace to see things far ahead in the inky blackness. It was said that the powerful magic of the Sindar guarded the forests surrounding the city of King Thranduil, and that all who entered were lost in eternal darkness if not shown the way by the Sindarian elves of that realm.
It was near dawn that they reached the first outskirts of trees and thus entered into Greenwood. As they made their way slowly, not daring to brandish their bows, Candria heard many voices running through her ears. They were all around her, sitting in the trees, whispering and wondering at the strangers that had come into their land. She did not dare look up and try to spot them, if they were commanded to let the riders pass, she would make no motion that could be thought aggressive.
The woods grew thicker, and the whispers in the trees grew suddenly silent causing Candria to stare ahead with nervous anticipation. The smallest leaf falling from the trees landed like thunder on her ears and caused Moreaui to prance lightly on the soft ground. The two brothers tried to calm their horses who were snorting and pawing as their riders nervously turned from side to side to hear anything they could. It was known that more than the Wood-elves of Thranduil's realm inhabited the forests of Greenwood. There were whispers of fell beasts wandering back into the dark places of the forest, infecting the land with their sicknesses of hatred and evil.
Suddenly Candria threw her head upwards, the clear ring of traveling feet on the earth echoed in her delicate ears, causing her to squeeze Moreaui's thighs to a halt. Moreaui could sense that Candria wished him to be silent and so, unlike Feani and Reani's steeds, kept still and breathed quietly into the morning air. Feani turned from his left to his right in vain attempts to see any sign of movement in the trees surrounding them.
"Silence." Candria softly touched Feani's horse with the tip of her gloved finger and the beast ceased moving. Feani stared at Candria in awe, yet not dumbfounded amazement. The legend that Lady Galadriel's Candria had special powers had been a favorite among the elfin children of Lorien.
"Welcome Candria of the Lorien elves, and Feani and Reani of the house of Fealior. Our Lord and Lady welcome you to Greenwood." It was as though the thick net of trees had parted to reveal a small band of Sindarian elves, none bearing weapons of any kind. Three of the tallest elves held in their hands cloaks of fine material woven by the hands of the elf-maidens of Thranduil's kingdom as gifts for the messengers of Lorien. The leader motioned for the riders to accept the cloaks and dismounting, each of the three messengers took their gifts from the elves.
Candria let the light material fall through her fingertips, like water slipping through cracks. The cloak was a dark blue, and when she pulled it about her shoulders she was amazed at how easily it hugged her form. After thanking the elves for their gifts, the leader of the host introduced himself as Limlias, general of the King's armies in Greenwood.
"Armies?" Candria ventured, "Has it come to armies so soon?" She looked into Limlias' eyes and saw great fear clouding his thoughts, a nameless shadow passed behind his irises and left her feeling cold inside.
"Yes my Lady, but come, there is time for talk and many other things once we reach the halls of the city. Follow me." Their progress was slow, picking their way through the woods of Greenwood while trying to find wide enough spaces for the rider's horses to pass through.
"It is not usually so difficult to bring horses through these woods, but your approach from the south west was not anticipated, the roads had been cleared to the south east. We shall manage, the main road to Thranduil's city is but a half mile further inside the woods." Limlias stroked Moreaui as he walked alongside his flanks talking with Candria.
"A magnificent beast, his sire must have been a sight to behold. Do I see the markings of a horse of Rohan?" Limlias ran his palm along Moreaui's bare back, feeling the lines of his arching figure.
"Yes. A gift to my Lady Galadriel as a sign of friendship when men and elves were still allies, before proud divisions parted all the races of Middle Earth." Candria sighed deeply, wondering at the ignorance of both man and elves, that they would not join and thus become one force to assuage the power of the forces of the north.
"Those times shall be again, the shadows have not touched all the land, and there is light yet in the hearts of men." Limlias sprinted ahead and called them towards the main road. Before them the path twisted behind the thick growth and into a valley of thickset trees and laying in the center, like a mountain amidst a barren sea, the towers of a mighty city. Unlike Caras Galadhon, this site held no lights that danced in the night, but instead had spires that twisted into the clear sky, almost touching the sun. While Candria was not impressed by its beauty, but she felt that it was not made to be admired, but instead to be a stronghold, a place of security.
"All of the realm is preparing for the ball tonight. Your coming on the last day of our festival of the sun has been a wonderful blessing and my Lord desires you to be the guests of honor at the dance." Candria laughed shortly and pulled her quiver off her back, glancing inside to be sure the leaf was still protected.
"I don't expect that we shall be staying long enough to attend a ball. I am expecting a summons from my Queen after I deliver her message." Even as she said the words she knew that they were not true, and she suddenly understood why Galadriel had sent her away. She was never going home. The horrible realization weighed down her heart to the point of agony. She suddenly felt as though she were standing on a great precipice, unable to grasp at anything familiar to keep herself from falling into immesurable sadness.
"Is something wrong my Lady?" Feani strode up beside her as her step faltered. He desired to reach out to her, but his fear of breaking Galadriel's law held him back. Candria desired more than anything to be held in that moment, to be brought into the warmth of an embrace and know that all had not abandoned her. But that touch did not come, and for the first time Candria resented the laws and the wisdom of Galadriel and Lord Celeborn.
"No Feani. I am fine." She straightened her back and stared ahead peacefully, as though she was beginning a new life with the dawn of the day. Candria did not know by what knowledge Galadriel had sent her to live with King Thranduil and the Wood-elves of Greenwood the Great, but she knew that it would be revealed to her in due time.