By: Shadow Chaser
Disclaimer:
Based off of the movie and the various history books by J.R.R. Tolkien. I do not own the characters, situations, or languages of the Elves, these belong to Tolkien and I am not making a profit from this fic. Timeframe: 2,000 Years and more before Fellowship of the Ring
Chapter 4 – Of Swordmaidens and KnowledgeThey were led to Elrond's open aired chamber where he usually greeted guests and before reaching it, the Rivendell Elves parted their company, taking Petrio away at the same time. Davandil had made a noise of protest, but Rinaran reassured him that Petrio was going to be given care for the poison that had consumed him. Of the guards around them, she was the only one to lead them to meet Elrond.
As they entered, Haldir let a brief smile flit across his face as he remembered the Elven Lord of Rivendell. After the War of the Ring, he had only met Elrond once or twice, but only in passing as he had only come to talk with Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn; but in that once or twice passing, he had been accompanied by the Lord and Lady's daughter Celebrian.
But Celebrian was long gone by now, having left for Valinor, or the Undying Lands to live under the light, as her heart, mind, and soul had been called to there for some unknown reason. Haldir himself didn't really know the true reason for the fair Elven Princess to be called there, but didn't trouble himself with it as he focused now on the situation at hand.
Lord Elrond had not changed one bit since he had last seen him in passing. Gone was the dirt and battle smudges from the War of the Ring against Sauron, and in place was a stately Elf, noble and regal. His long brown hair was tied back, and on his head rested a lightly jeweled crown, the only thing that set him apart from the other Rivendell Elves, especially those that they had passed who were not wearing the battle armor of the Rivendell guards.
Of all the Elven Armies, Rivendell contained the fewest, with Woodland not close behind. But Rivendell had not lost its population of warriors in the War of the Ring, rather, it was just a very small Elven community where there was only two barracks…unlike Woodland's twelve or some number around there. But as the warrior code of the Elven population, each community had at least a few Swordmaidens, and from what he could guess about Rinaran, she was the leader of the Swordmaidens of Rivendell, but that could be questionable, as he did not know.
The Elven Lord stood up from his high backed chair and bowed his head slightly to acknowledge them. Haldir and the rest of his company returned the bow, with Rinaran moving to the shadows of the chamber room, showing respect to leave them be.
"Lady Galadriel and messages from my sons told me of an evil growing in the Eastern Areas…particularly near Rhun," Elrond stated, his voice clipped and precise.
"Yes, milord," Haldir stepped forward his eyes unblinking, "we request the use of maps and information from your libraries before we are to set out on this journey."
"Your request will be accepted," Elrond steeple his fingers, "you may all rest to recover your strength and reassured for one of your companions that had fallen to shadow. He will be healed."
There was a note of finality to the very short conversation as Rinaran approached from where she was standing in the shadows and beckoned them to follow her. Haldir nodded a grateful thanks to Elrond and saluted him before turning and following the rest of his company out. He glanced back to see Legolas hanging back and hesitated in a step, wondering if he should stay as well, but something told him that it was a private conversation between two nobles, so he continued on.
* * *
Legolas watched as the rest of the company left for their rooms in the beautiful picturesque city of Rivendell, then turned and bowed formally to Elrond. It was more of a bow between nobles, not that of a soldier. He had stayed behind because he knew that Elrond would have wanted to talk to him. Thranduil and Elrond were good friends, and most likely he would have wanted to hear something from Woodland.
""It's been too long, Legolas Thranduillion," Elrond stood up from his chair, a smile on his face, "come walk with me and tell me of the Woodland Elves."
He obliged the Elf Lord and followed him out. "Thranduil is well in health, but he's been having quite a few problems with the borders of his Caves," he decided to just tell of the court proceedings happening in there and didn't want to make any mention to Elrond about the strife torn between father and son, "though our wardens and barracks are beginning to become populated again, it has been slow."
"Slow for you, young Elf," Elrond interjected as they walked around the beautiful archways that lined the halls and buildings together, "you are but only a young elf, not even over a thousand years old yet."
Legolas blushed slightly and ducked his head, he knew that he was very young by comparison to most Elves, even to Valiya who was already a thousand and few hundred years old, and to compare with the likes of Elrond…it seemed that the older Elf could have been his grandfather of sorts. "I only learn through my observations, Lord," he apologized, "but from what my father and those written in the history books in our small library, it has been very slow since the War of the Ring."
"Yes," Elrond looked thoughtful, but then frowned slightly, "the Elves are diminishing…"
Legolas chose not to answer the comment as he noticed the troubled look on the Half-Elven's face. It had been a long time since he had seen Elrond, and the last time was when the Elven Lord came to visit Mirkwood, with his family, two gawky teenaged Elven twins who were dragging their little sister along. Their mother, whom Legolas tried to remember the name but it eluded him at the moment, was a fair beauty, and he, only a young Elf back then, had kept his gaze downcast through the whole audience. But he remembered how sharp Lord Elrond's eyes were, and how much they bore into him, like they were reading his mind.
Now those same eyes had never lost their sharpness, but they were filled with an even more troubled look than before. "Thranduil also sends his regards to go with your family, and knows that your youngest, your daughter, has probably grown into a beauty like her mother."
The sudden flare of pain lighting up Elrond's eyes was enough to make Legolas realize that he had said something terrible and wrong. "Begging your pardon, Lord, I did not know-"
"No…Arwen is just like her mother, Celebrian, she's the Evenstar of our people. Though Thranduil might not know, but Celebrian has gone to the West, it is okay…" there was pain and sorrow evident in Elrond's voice, but there was also the look of pride on his face when he mentioned his daughter.
They walked on in silence, Legolas taking in the beauty of the Elven community, doing his best not to upset Elrond anymore. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wished that he had paid more attention to the etiquette of talking with polite manners when his father was dealing with the Dwarves, the Men of the North, and other important dignities…but he brushed that thought away. He didn't want to be confined to such a position, where there was nothing but political bantering and being seemingly cryptic, he wanted adventure, the life of a soldier…the life where he could make his own choices, not the choices that he was born into.
"This is where I must leave you, Legolas," Elrond suddenly stopped and Legolas looked up from his musings, stopping just in time before he ran into Elrond. He noticed that they had arrived at the library, the entrance decorated with carvings of ivy and leaves crawling all over the place. "Last I heard from your father was that you were a curious young Elf…and I think you would like the history that we have stored in here." The Elven Lord of Rivendell smiled then bowed slightly, to which Legolas returned, then turned and left.
He watched as Elrond walked away then turned and stared at the wooden entrance to the library. True, some part of him wanted to know the history of Middle Earth and how Iluvatar created this world, but he also wanted to explore the area…
With his decision made, he headed into the library, eager to absorb the information of the history of the Elves and of Middle Earth.
* * *
They stayed in Rivendell for at least three days and during those three days, everyone had something to do. Haldir had gone and talked with Elrond, the two of the pouring over the maps that lead to Rhun. They decided to take the course which would lead them past Lothlorien, where they would spend some time to rest before heading out to Rhun, but they had also talked about the stirrings in the darkness, as Elrond bade Haldir to be very careful as the stirrings of something dark drew near.
Valiya had gone to visit the Swordmaidens of Rivendell, and Haldir had found out that Rinaran was indeed the commanding officer of the Swordmaidens of Rivendell. Though Valiya was rarely seen without her compatriots it was as if something dark had been lifted from her, leaving her smiling freely and easily, leaving her carefree and very happy. She rarely talked to the rest of them, and spent most of her time with the other Swordmaidens, exchanging words and languages that they did not know save for the Swordmaidens themselves.
Davandil and Yulin had gone exploring the outskirts of Rivendell with a few of the patrol groups, but Davandil had mostly stayed by his blood brother's side, as Petrio had not awakened from his deep slumber. Haldir didn't know if the Lothlorien Elf would be all right, but he hoped and prayed to Iluvatar that Petrio would be healed soon. He hated to leave one of the Galadhrim, as Lady Galadriel would probably be expecting all of them when they stopped by Lothlorien on their journey towards Rhun.
Artalion, however, had not been seen for the last two days. It was only through the asking of a few of the patrols and of Rinaran that Haldir had found out that the Elf Artalion had acknowledged back when they first arrived at Rivendell, was none other than his own son. Artalion, though a Woodland Elf, had a wife who was one of Arwen Undomiel's handmaidens, and their son was part of Rinaran's patrol unit.
One of the few things that Haldir found a bit humorous was his best friend's state, both mentally and physically. He had found out that Legolas spent most of his time in the libraries, pouring through various battle maps and writings written by historians. He had spent so much time in the library that every time he came out to take his rest of at least a few hours, or to even join them for meals, there was a dazed look to his face, and his eyes were slightly glazed from the amount of information he was probably absorbing. Haldir considered poking fun at his best friend, but left it alone, as he knew that the Woodland Elf had a very curious mind.
On the third day however, Haldir snagged Legolas before he was to dash off to the library once more, and offered him a friendly little competition that the Swordmaidens were challenging to anyone who wanted to come, and Legolas had reluctantly agreed, giving the building that the library was located one long glance before following him to where the Swordmaidens practiced and lived.
"If only you'd been born in the Second or First Age…" Haldir shook his head slightly, grinning at Legolas, "Seriously…where did you read up to?"
"Something about the Numenor after the Breaking of Thangorodrim or something of that nature…" Haldir watched as the Silvan Elf rubbed his forehead, trying to remember.
Bowing his head slightly, he sighed then clapped his friend on the back, "Don't worry about it too much. You will gradually learn of Elven History…"
"I guess," Legolas shrugged, still in a thoughtful mood.
They arrived at the clearing where the Swordmaidens were holding their challenges for the day and Haldir was a bit surprised to see so many young Elves, probably fresh from the barracks, taking the time and chance to see if their skills could compare with the Swordmaidens…of course they came just in time to see a particularly young Elf get pummeled by Valiya…
Giving her opponent the final blow, she stood up and bowed to those encircling the ring, and while her fellow Swordmaidens clapped and cheered, there were a few grudging clappers among the other soldiers, but they joined in enthusiastically as soon as she helped the fallen Elf up.
"Haldir, Prince, we are pleased that you took time from your activities to join us," Rinaran's voice spoke to their left and they turned to see her walking towards them, a long bow in her hand and a full quiver on her back. "Ah, I see that you've been watching the combat ring…Valiya is a great fighter, you are lucky to have a warrior of such caliber within Woodland, Prince."
Haldir raised an eyebrow as Legolas nodded formally, "She and the rest of the Swordmaidens of Woodland take a lot of pride in what they do. For this comment to be coming from one of the Noldor of the old, thank you."
Rinaran looked surprise but then smiled and laughed, "You have been studying Elven history a little too much Prince, but I'm glad that you've picked up the subtle differences of Noldorian Elves and those of Sindarin or Teleri kind. It took Haldir here at least an Age to figure out which one is which, and to say, he has Noldorian blood and Teleri blood within him."
"At least I knew the languages before you ever learned all of it," Haldir grumbled, not really happy that Rinaran always took the opportunity to dig his grave a little deeper each time they met. Though it was just bantering among friends, he knew that Rinaran had no other feelings, other than comradeship, for him, as her beloved was where Cirdan's Elves were, in the Grey Havens.
"Then tell, me, what is the language the Swordmaidens speak of?" Rinaran smiled a bit predatorily and Haldir returned the grin.
"Sindarin, but a variation form of it. It has a few of the Teleri's sea language thrown in," he replied.
"Hmmm…so I was wrong about you, Haldir of Lothlorien," Rinaran gave him an appraising look before clapping her hands together, "well then, enough of this talk. We would be having an archery match in a few minutes, and I wanted to know if the two of you would like to join? Of course we have those bows that the Lothlorien Elves treasure so much, along with Woodland ones. The arrows however, are of Rivendell make."
The mention of archery brightened Legolas' eyes and Haldir watched as his best friend nod quickly before he himself shook his head, "I will decline the offer for the first round, Rinaran."
"Very well then," she gestured to them to follow her, "Prince, what bow would you prefer?"
* * *
Legolas marveled at the weight of the bow of Lothlorien given to him. He had heard of these legendary bows, created to have more range and better aim, but then again, he didn't need the better aim part of it as his skill was natural, honed in by years of training with the palace guards. But never had he held a bow so light, yet so durable. He wished he could have one, but he knew that these belonged specifically to Rivendell…but while the Lothlorien bow was fine tuned to almost perfection, his Woodland bow was hardy enough to outlast dark creature attacks that frequented the outskirts of Thranduil's Caverns.
Bending his bow, he notched an arrow and held it at ready position, then glanced at his opponent, a Swordmaiden who looked as fierce as the frown she constantly wore. He had found out that her name was Peleain, and all throughout her life, she had only twice given anyone a smile. She glanced at him then at the various targets set everywhere in the open clearing, some moving, others stationary. The goal was to hit all the targets with the fastest reaction time.
As agreed, Peleain would go first, and she looked ready, her bow steady, waiting for the signal given by Rinaran to start.
"Ready?" Rinaran voice suddenly spoke sharply and Legolas could see Peleain tense, "Nelde (Three)…Atta (Two)…Minya (One)!"
Her hands flew from her quiver to the string in a slight blur, only slowing as she moved her bow in different directions to aim at different targets. In the back, through the distant murmur of onlookers, he could dimly hear Rinaran and a few others counting in Elvish, counting the time that passed by until suddenly Peleain stopped shooting and lowered her bow. She turned to look at Rinaran and two other Swordmaidens who were staring down at her with impassive gazes.
"Thirty seconds, to bring down all targets," Rinaran said, "Ready?"
Legolas started slightly, cursing himself for not paying attention then raised his bow and pulled back on his first arrow. He noticed with some surprise that the targets had been all set in their same position again, the moving ones replaced by other moving ones, the stationary with an arrow in each of them.
"Nelde…Atta…Minya!"
It was as if he was moving through water, but in some type of awareness…Legolas saw the targets and his hand moved to its own accord. He targeted then shot an arrow, targeted again and shot another arrow. It seemed like a few seconds but then he suddenly stopped as he put down his last target then turned and faced Rinaran, noting the slightly surprised look on her face.
"Twenty…seconds, to bring down all targets," Rinaran said, "Prince Legolas of Woodland is the victor of this round."
Holding his bow in one hand, he turned and bowed formally to Peleain who returned it then the customary frown on her face disappeared as she smiled. Legolas returned the smile then turned and headed to return the bow he borrowed; Haldir and Rinaran, Haldir clapping him on the back in congratulations joined him. Rinaran however, was stifling a laugh behind the back of her hand and he looked at her curiously.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Peleain only smiles for those she has taken a liking too…" Rinaran laughed lightly.
* * *
Author's Notes:
Well, sorry if this chapter is a bit awkward at times, but I wanted to put at least some type of fluff or humor scene in here before everything goes dark. Anyways, the thing with Legolas coming out dazed from finding and researching is just like me, reading the history of the Elves…oui… Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and more will come, but slightly slower as school starts tomorrow. Oh yeah, Legolas isn't really a bookworm, but he's curious…so since he was born in the Third Age, somehow he has to know some Elven history… Shadow Chaser signing off…1/1/03.