Chapter 6
They walked between the large colorful trees. Autumn was arriving and the
leaves were taking on shades of yellow and orange.
Legolas was in the lead, but after awhile, he realized the Vampire wasn´t
following him.
"Elros! Elros! Where are you?" Legolas was worried. He deeply wanted to help
the poor, lonely Vampire.
"Calm down, my Prince, I went to catch some food." Elros was holding a large
rabbit by the ears, blood dripping from its open throat.
"You want some?" he asked, licking his bloody fingers. "Not as good as human
blood but still quite tasty."
Legolas didn´t answer, he only stared the scarlet blood.
"Don´t resist it, you know you can´t. Just taste it, come on..." He handed
Legolas the dead rabbit.
Legolas brought it to his mouth. He licked his lips in anticipatory delight.
"We found him!" Two Elves shouted, leaping from behind the trees and running
toward them.
Legolas dropped the rabbit and waited to see Elros´ reaction. He was glaring
angrily at the intruders.
"Prince Legolas! Your father was so worried! Your disappearance brought back
to him the memory of Prince Heleghin and he ... Who is this?"
The Elves bowed respectfully to the stranger.
"Legolas! Thranduil called happily.
"Ada!" Legolas replied.
The King descended from his white horse and sweetly embraced his son. A
group of Elves stood behind him, all overjoyed to see the Prince alive.
"What happened to you? Why didn´t you come home? And you look so...weary.
He´s not weary! He´s a Vampire!" Elros said. He already had five arrows
aimed at him, but he couldn´t have cared less.
"A... A Vampire?"
Lord Thranduil gently pushed up his son's upper lip, stepping back abruptly
when he saw the pointed teeth. He shot a look at Elros.
"Who are you? What have you done to my son? Wait... I remember you... but
you are... Seize him!" he cried. Four Elves surrounded the Vampire. Lord
Thranduil had understood everything in a second, why Elros was still alive,
and what had happened to his son.
"We´re going back to Mirkwood. Guard him carefully, he´s dangerous..."
Elros grinned and, grabbing the Elf who stood nearest in an iron grip, bit
him sharply on the neck. The other Elves jumped him at once, but with his
teeth and nails, he easily got free and ran, leaving four injured Elves.
Several arrows hit Elros, but he continued running and had disappeared
within a few seconds.
"I didn't know Agarylnaers were so fast, nor so strong... Carry the injured,
and hold Legolas tightly, we don't know what could happen...
But, Ada, they´ve been bitten, they´re going to become Vampires too! You
must...
I know Legolas, don´t worry! Just try to resist the Evil that is creeping
inside you. Everything will soon be back to normal, I hope." Thranduil added
before mounting his horse.
The King's entourage went back to Mirkwood. Prince Legolas and the four injured
Elves (who were very weak and could barely move) were taken to the infirmary
and healers were sent to see to their wounds.
Meanwhile, Thranduil had a long conversation with Mithrandir, an Istari,
also known as Gandalf.
They discussed the matter of Vampires and, after awhile, Mithrandir took an
old, dusty book from a shelf and said: "Thranduil, I have never tried this
spell, but there´s no reason why it shouldn´t work. Although I don´t know
anything about the side effects, if there are any..." Gandalf hesitated and
The Lord of Mirkwood nodded, encouraging the Istari to continue.
"I´ll try to make this simple. Your son now possesses two souls. An
infinitely evil one, which assaulted and perverted Legolas´ soul. It needs
blood to survive. This perverted soul contains a part of Elros´ mortal soul.
Whenever a Vampire bites a victim, part of his soul is transferred to that
victim. If the vampire is destroyed, that part of the victim's soul also
dies, and the evil, perverted soul takes over completely. The other soul
Legolas possesses is his own incorruptible Elven soul. If we can't destroy
the evil soul, Legolas' Elven soul will, over time, be swallowed up by evil,
and he will remain a vampire for eternity."
"Will this spell change him back?" Thranduil asked anxiously.
"That is its intent. The most difficult ingredient to find is a drop of
blood of a family member. But in this case it shouldn´t be too hard to
find."
Gandalf smiled warmly before continuing, "This blood drop will strengthen
his Elven soul and allow it to overcome the evil soul. Though Legolas will
retain a part of Elros' mortal soul. During this phenomenon, the individual
will fall into a deep, troubled sleep, and if he ever awakes, he will be
back to normal."
They both gazed through the wide-open window. The sun was slowly
disappearing from the blood-red sky. The shadows of the tall trees became
lost in the deep darkness creeping over Mirkwood.
Thranduil sat down with a sigh. He turned to Gandalf and said, "What if he
never awakens?
"Then both souls will be lost, and he, an immortal Elf, will die."
An oppressive silence settled between them.
"Legolas is strong, you know it. If anyone can survive this, he will be able
to." Added Mithrandir, after seeing the veil of sadness in Thranduil´s eyes.
The Lord of Mirkwood smiled at this. He remembered Heleghin. The death of
his son had hurt him deeply, like an emptiness in his own soul nothing could
ever fill. He could still remember his son's bright blue eyes.
And the last thing he wanted was to see his last son and heir die, with no
hope of return.
"I must go prepare the potion," Gandalf said. "Just make sure nothing else
happens to Legolas." He bowed low and took his leave.
Thranduil gave Mithrandir a drop of his blood, and Gandalf prepared the
potion. Aware of the risk, Legolas had decided to try the spell. He drank
the potion, but it took him more than half an hour, the taste being so foul
and sour. It became worse when Gandalf told him what was in it, but Legolas
insisted on knowing; or else he would have never swallowed a drop, even
though he trusted Gandalf with his life.
Now the Elf fell into a restless sleep. His father, three Elves, and
Gandalf, all gathered around the bed.
"You found him just in time. The final phase of the transformation was
almost complete. A few more hours and he would have been a true Vampire.
"See..." Gandalf said, producing a small mirror and holding it where
everyone could see," he has no reflection."
The three Elves were astonished, and tried to understand how this could be.
As for Thranduil, he wasn´t really surprised, he already knew some of this.
"Now all we can do is wait, and pray the Valar he will wake up."
End of chapter 6
They walked between the large colorful trees. Autumn was arriving and the
leaves were taking on shades of yellow and orange.
Legolas was in the lead, but after awhile, he realized the Vampire wasn´t
following him.
"Elros! Elros! Where are you?" Legolas was worried. He deeply wanted to help
the poor, lonely Vampire.
"Calm down, my Prince, I went to catch some food." Elros was holding a large
rabbit by the ears, blood dripping from its open throat.
"You want some?" he asked, licking his bloody fingers. "Not as good as human
blood but still quite tasty."
Legolas didn´t answer, he only stared the scarlet blood.
"Don´t resist it, you know you can´t. Just taste it, come on..." He handed
Legolas the dead rabbit.
Legolas brought it to his mouth. He licked his lips in anticipatory delight.
"We found him!" Two Elves shouted, leaping from behind the trees and running
toward them.
Legolas dropped the rabbit and waited to see Elros´ reaction. He was glaring
angrily at the intruders.
"Prince Legolas! Your father was so worried! Your disappearance brought back
to him the memory of Prince Heleghin and he ... Who is this?"
The Elves bowed respectfully to the stranger.
"Legolas! Thranduil called happily.
"Ada!" Legolas replied.
The King descended from his white horse and sweetly embraced his son. A
group of Elves stood behind him, all overjoyed to see the Prince alive.
"What happened to you? Why didn´t you come home? And you look so...weary.
He´s not weary! He´s a Vampire!" Elros said. He already had five arrows
aimed at him, but he couldn´t have cared less.
"A... A Vampire?"
Lord Thranduil gently pushed up his son's upper lip, stepping back abruptly
when he saw the pointed teeth. He shot a look at Elros.
"Who are you? What have you done to my son? Wait... I remember you... but
you are... Seize him!" he cried. Four Elves surrounded the Vampire. Lord
Thranduil had understood everything in a second, why Elros was still alive,
and what had happened to his son.
"We´re going back to Mirkwood. Guard him carefully, he´s dangerous..."
Elros grinned and, grabbing the Elf who stood nearest in an iron grip, bit
him sharply on the neck. The other Elves jumped him at once, but with his
teeth and nails, he easily got free and ran, leaving four injured Elves.
Several arrows hit Elros, but he continued running and had disappeared
within a few seconds.
"I didn't know Agarylnaers were so fast, nor so strong... Carry the injured,
and hold Legolas tightly, we don't know what could happen...
But, Ada, they´ve been bitten, they´re going to become Vampires too! You
must...
I know Legolas, don´t worry! Just try to resist the Evil that is creeping
inside you. Everything will soon be back to normal, I hope." Thranduil added
before mounting his horse.
The King's entourage went back to Mirkwood. Prince Legolas and the four injured
Elves (who were very weak and could barely move) were taken to the infirmary
and healers were sent to see to their wounds.
Meanwhile, Thranduil had a long conversation with Mithrandir, an Istari,
also known as Gandalf.
They discussed the matter of Vampires and, after awhile, Mithrandir took an
old, dusty book from a shelf and said: "Thranduil, I have never tried this
spell, but there´s no reason why it shouldn´t work. Although I don´t know
anything about the side effects, if there are any..." Gandalf hesitated and
The Lord of Mirkwood nodded, encouraging the Istari to continue.
"I´ll try to make this simple. Your son now possesses two souls. An
infinitely evil one, which assaulted and perverted Legolas´ soul. It needs
blood to survive. This perverted soul contains a part of Elros´ mortal soul.
Whenever a Vampire bites a victim, part of his soul is transferred to that
victim. If the vampire is destroyed, that part of the victim's soul also
dies, and the evil, perverted soul takes over completely. The other soul
Legolas possesses is his own incorruptible Elven soul. If we can't destroy
the evil soul, Legolas' Elven soul will, over time, be swallowed up by evil,
and he will remain a vampire for eternity."
"Will this spell change him back?" Thranduil asked anxiously.
"That is its intent. The most difficult ingredient to find is a drop of
blood of a family member. But in this case it shouldn´t be too hard to
find."
Gandalf smiled warmly before continuing, "This blood drop will strengthen
his Elven soul and allow it to overcome the evil soul. Though Legolas will
retain a part of Elros' mortal soul. During this phenomenon, the individual
will fall into a deep, troubled sleep, and if he ever awakes, he will be
back to normal."
They both gazed through the wide-open window. The sun was slowly
disappearing from the blood-red sky. The shadows of the tall trees became
lost in the deep darkness creeping over Mirkwood.
Thranduil sat down with a sigh. He turned to Gandalf and said, "What if he
never awakens?
"Then both souls will be lost, and he, an immortal Elf, will die."
An oppressive silence settled between them.
"Legolas is strong, you know it. If anyone can survive this, he will be able
to." Added Mithrandir, after seeing the veil of sadness in Thranduil´s eyes.
The Lord of Mirkwood smiled at this. He remembered Heleghin. The death of
his son had hurt him deeply, like an emptiness in his own soul nothing could
ever fill. He could still remember his son's bright blue eyes.
And the last thing he wanted was to see his last son and heir die, with no
hope of return.
"I must go prepare the potion," Gandalf said. "Just make sure nothing else
happens to Legolas." He bowed low and took his leave.
Thranduil gave Mithrandir a drop of his blood, and Gandalf prepared the
potion. Aware of the risk, Legolas had decided to try the spell. He drank
the potion, but it took him more than half an hour, the taste being so foul
and sour. It became worse when Gandalf told him what was in it, but Legolas
insisted on knowing; or else he would have never swallowed a drop, even
though he trusted Gandalf with his life.
Now the Elf fell into a restless sleep. His father, three Elves, and
Gandalf, all gathered around the bed.
"You found him just in time. The final phase of the transformation was
almost complete. A few more hours and he would have been a true Vampire.
"See..." Gandalf said, producing a small mirror and holding it where
everyone could see," he has no reflection."
The three Elves were astonished, and tried to understand how this could be.
As for Thranduil, he wasn´t really surprised, he already knew some of this.
"Now all we can do is wait, and pray the Valar he will wake up."
End of chapter 6