The 6th Istari
Chapter 12: Training, sleeping, training, sleeping, and more training
Note: I may have gotten some facts wrong, and if I did, and you notice, please tell me and I will try to change it asap.
Thoughts are in Italics. Thoughts spoken to each other are "in italics". If they are speaking in elvish, *elvish*, if dwarvish, dwarvish, if they are speaking normally, "It will be normal."
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As Mith walked down the hallway, he sighed. He had much to do to get those three under control. It was clear that they were bursting with power and needed training before they started to explode those they didn't like into bits. He was going to go and try to enlist the help of one of his old friends, Noldoeriar, "Knowledgeable Old One". She was an odd one as far as elves go; because she showed age.
Her story was an odd one, that was for sure. He thought to himself as he reached her room. He knocked on the door and waited. "Come in!" came a voice from inside the room. So Mith gripped the handle and entered. Nold was sitting cross-legged on a couch underneath a window. Her silver hair fell around her and created a shimmering halo from the sunlight that reflected off it from the window. Her eyes were baby blue, and her face had some wrinkles in it. She set aside the metal waistband, she was mending and unfolded her legs and stood up. The grey green dress fell about her feet and the sleeves were as long as her waist.
The two friends hugged and Mith said, "My, Nold, it's good to see you again!" "Agreed," her face wrinkled even more as she smiled, "come, sit and tell me why you're here, I can tell you have something important to say." Mith glanced down at her elegant fingers. She had one ring on, he recognized the pattern on oak leaves on it; it was her mind-feeling reading ring.
Noldoeriar had made many magic rings. Each ring she made with a certain pattern of some kind of tree leaves or flowers on it so she could always tell which ring did what. She had oak, beech, elm, sycamore, snap dragons, carnations, daises, and many more. All did something different; some opened the feelings of minds to her, like the one she was wearing now, others gave her the abilities to create shields, to lift things, create energy beams, be invisible, and others. Even Mith, who had helped her a lot on gathering the information to make the rings, didn't know all of the rings she had made or what they all did or which was which.
So he told her. He told her of Neffanwen, Macarparma, Heidi, Legolas' story, Curunir, and the events that brought them crashing together. Noldoeriar listened to his whole tale and offered no thoughts while he talked.
Once he finished she got up and sighed. She walked out onto her balcony and looked at the forest beauty, the room was a high one and looked out onto the branches of an oak tree. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Alright Mith, you have told me your story and I can guess what you want of me but confirm my fears, what is it that you want of me?" Mith smiled, he knew that Nold was going to agree. "Your help as a teacher, Nold. That's all I ask," "That's ALL!?" Nold looked over her shoulder at him, her face clearly showed her consternation and exasperation, "You are obviously not a teacher; if you were you would realize that teaching is a great responsibility and a burden."
"Which is why I am coming to you," Mith pleaded. "You're a teacher Noldoeriar, and know what is best to do, and I may not be here all the time. They need to stay here. I saw some of the things that they have done when I looked at Neffanwen's memories. They are bursting with energy and power, tricks of both elves, human, and Istar. They need to be contained and trained. And my being an Istar will get in the way, I need to go places to help maintain what peace this land has gained. Please Nold, please.?"
Nold stared at him for a bit then sighed gustily, "Alright, I'll help. But I can only go so far, you know more of the Istar then I do."
"Thanks!" Mith rushed over to her and hugged her tight. He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and rushed out of the room, he had a lot to do. Nold chuckled and sat back down to her metal belt.
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Mith then went to see the three. They were awake and still in the room they had been in from the beginning. They were wearing actual clothes now. Heidi wore a lavender dress that went to the floor with a low neckline and long sleeves, her hair was partially pinned up and the rest of her chocolate colored hair seemed to flow down her back. Macarparma was wearing a long olive shirt and russet pants, his hair was combed and clean. Heidi and Macar were sitting on the foot of Neffanwen's bed. Neffanwen wore an emerald green dress that had a box neck line and sleeve that simple flared out at the wrists and a dress that went to her ankles. She sat at the head of her bed, with her back against the backboard. He noticed that all of them still wore weapons. "I'm glad to see that you're all awake," Mith greeted them. They simply stared at him, so he continued. "I'm here to offer each of you a choice."
He turned to Macarparma, "To you there are several choices; You may go back to your village, but I think you shouldn't, for however small your power may be, it is still powerful, and can be triggered by severe circumstances, so there is little chance of it being set off. All we can foresee for you is that you will effect your sister to do something important, we are not sure what it is. So you may go to the village or you may learn here or at Rivendell. There is another of my order there, his name is Curunir, and he is skilled both in the art of books and he is interested very much in smith craft. He may help you with your love of books and swords."
He then faced Heidi, "We cannot foresee anything with you. We are not sure if you are important or not. You may go to your village or stay here or go to Rivendell. You may choose whatever and we will help you to the best of our abilities."
Lastly, he turned to Neffanwen, he had been dreading this one the most, "To you I place a choice before you but I fear you have little say in where you will go. You may go back to your village, but you know as well as I do, that if you do you can seriously wound those around you. Your power is great and strong. You are now an Istar, and can now reach even greater resources of strength within yourself. You need to be taught, trained, and contained until you learn; but I cannot force you to do what you need to do, if you choose to leave, we will not stop you, but I recommend you stay here, at least until you can control your power of Istar, elvish, and human tricks and spells. But if you stay, you must stay here, where both a friend of mine and myself can help you to control your power."
"I will leave you three to talk and decide among yourselves what you will do and where you will go," Mith turned and started towards the door; just as he reached the door Macarparma barked out, "Wait! " Mith turned around, "Yes?" "if , if.." Macar swallowed, "If I stayed here with the elves, would I have to go to Rivendell, to your friend? Or could I stay here?" Mith smiled "No, you would not have to go right away or at all even. You could stay here and learn to control and learn what we can teach you before you go to Curunir." And then he was gone.
For a while there was silence. Then all looked at the other and they were decided, it was obvious. All three of their minds knew how the others worked and all came to the same conclusion. It was clear that Neff had to stay in Arlasmar, so Macar would stay as well; and where Macar went or stayed, so would Heidi. They would stay in Arlasmar, at least for a while.
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And with that their training began. Mithrandir helped them to meditate, to bring their powers in and to control them. He showed them how to be able to pull at all their sources and to only pull at a tiny piece of they sources. He helped them to gain control over what they had some degree of control, but was evident by what happened at the village before they left and the orcs that triggered with the right circumstances, they could be set off. They also learned normal subjects such as history and crafts, as well as mind tricks an spells and incantations, which were basically the same as spells but required more energy, preparation, and concentration. But Mith was only there for 6 months when he had to leave. The king of Gondor was new, he had only been on the throne for a couple years, and he had sent a messenger to find Mith and request his help. When Mith got the message, he immediately sent the messenger back saying he was coming and started his preparations.
It was agreed that Noldoeriar would teach the three and help them. And she did; she taught them many things. But that is for another time. Mith came and helped them every once in a while. He helped them with their staffs too. They were ready for their staffs when they were 20. So he got them wood and the appropriate materials, and helped them to make them.
Neffanwen's was of woods from the Malhorn (I think I spelled this wrong) trees in Lorien. The wood was white with a tint of green and gold. And on the top was a crystal ball. The ball was about as wide as her fist and in the center were 3 grains of dirt. They were from over the sea. Mith had taken a handful of dirt from over the sea for special occasions, and this was one. He then grew the crystal around the grains and gave it to Neff. He then taught Neffanwen to put enough energy into the wood that it grew again, even though it was dead. She grew four thin branches out of the top and wound them around the ball and grew the ends together in a tip on the top of the ball. She then was able to string small pouches on a piece of string and wind the string around the staff, so she had pouches hanging of the top. She called it Rilgalad, "Bright Light" in Sindarin; in memory of her first major use of power in the Sindarin elves wood.
Macarparma's wood was from over the sea. Mith had managed to get a pole from off the ship that they Istar had come over in. The pole was a brown with a tint of ruby red, the same color but darker than his hair. On the top was a point almost like a spearhead. But the head had four flares for sides, and was engraved in many elvish runes for protection, strength, courage, and hope. The tip was a point, but was capped by a ball of mithril. Only Macar and Neff could take the ball on or off. He named it Lintetil "Swift Point".
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They were 24 ½ years old and had learned much of what Nold knew and some of Mith's knowledge. Now they were ready. Mithrandir had come back for one of his rare trips and was going to take them to Rivendell to meet Curunir, Elrond, and some others. They were to travel for several days before they would reach Rivendell, but when they did, Mithrandir promised them that it would be fantastic.
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"Come on Neff," Raph prompted her.
Neff looked down the long corridor where she was to meet the other Istar and eldars later on today and got a sick feeling in her stomach, "No, no, that's ok, you go on without me, I want to explore the outdoors some." She waved them off and watched Nold escort Heidi and Raph (hand and hand) to the library. Mith had gone off earlier to go somewhere to do something.
She turned and went back the way they had come. She had her sword, bow, arrows, and odd assortment of knives, daggers, and blades placed around her body. She walked out of the house and wandered down a path. It was a random path, chosen at a whim and when she came upon a creek that it crossed over, she decided to head down the creek and see what she would find.
So she took off her boots, and rolled up her pants. Making sure her sword didn't dip into the water with one hand and holding the boots in the other, she started off. She wandered down and around the creek. She felt small fish swim past her ankles and the scales tickle her skin. She allowed a happy smile to fill her face. The transformation was amazing. The stoic warrior wizard was gone and a simple woman was wandering around in nature. The sound of the burbling brook, birds singing, and the sigh of leaves as the wind whispered through them calmed her. The sun shone through the leaves and kept her warm.
She rounded a bend and decided to rest. She sat down at the edge of the brook, near the edge of a field of grass. She noticed that a dirt track led through the small field. Feeling at ease, she took of all her weapons and leaving them in a small heap on the shore, decided to go wade some more in the water and look for some good skipping stones.
She was in the middle of the creek when a horse galloped in to the clearing.
The rider was wearing a set of dirty clothes that had once been white, but were caked with dirt and grime from the road. He swung down and tied the horse to a tree, and had turned and was starting towards the creek when he looked up and saw her. She knew immediately he was an Istar. If asked how she knew, she couldn't explain, but she simply KNEW. Maybe it was his minds aura, or an intuition when one Istari goes near another, she didn't know. He obviously had been planning on cleaning up at the creek, and hadn't planned on her being there.
They stared at each other.
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Curunir thought that he had never seen anyone more beautiful. He knew it was Neffanwen, her face had haunted him for years. The kiss he had stolen from her that one night did not help. She was standing in the middle of the creek, staring at him as he was staring at her. She had pulled the top part of her reddish brown hair back into a ponytail, but the hair up front was too short an fell out. The locks of hair fell in front of her ears and only the points showed through. The late afternoon sun shone through the trees and caused the red in her hair to shine out like a bloody halo around her head. Her eyes were a dark brown, the color of trees, and earth and all that was good and growing. Her lips were a dark skin tone with a hint of red; she did not use make up to change the way she looked naturally. Before, Curunir had liked the girls with the make-up, but seeing her, in all the beauty, natural, no enhancers nor hiding, he saw her for what she was; no more, no less.
And if he thought she looked exquisite how she was, what if she dressed up really nice? Her loose shirt clung to her chest, revealing her full breasts. Her hips were round and her dirty pants were rolled up to above her knees and her legs were firm, muscular and smooth. There was calf-high boots on the shore, the wrinkles and lighter shade that hinted of thinnest, told of signs of wear and tear. She was certainly not some highbred lady who couldn't be bothered to walk anywhere, much less across country. Yet she stood there like a queen, she was regal no matter her dress, even more so than the "ladies". She had nothing to be ashamed of, and was independent and could care for herself. Standing there in the creek, her head held high, if she had ordered him to cut off his head, he would have done it. She stood with her feet apart and her pile of weapons weren't within arms reach, but he was sure if they were suddenly attacked she would win, with or without them.
He thought he looked terrible, he had just come from a week's hard riding and he was hot, sweaty and dirty. He was also a bit bloody, he had run into a couple of loose orcs along the way, he didn't like the way and the bloodstains complimented the now grey shirt. All he wanted was a to clean up at the creek and change into clean clothes; not to be standing in this dirty state with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen right in front of him.
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Neffanwen also thought that she had never seen anyone more handsome. He was tall, strong, and powerful. She could sense that right away. His black hair was peppered with white streaks and a small goatee was growing on his chin. His eyebrows crowned his dark, black, deep-set eyes. His lips were stern, but she could see laugh lines in his cheeks. She could also see the burdens he carried in the bags under his eyes, the wrinkles by his eyes, and the slump of his shoulders. But he stood tall, straight, and strong. He is like a tall tree that stands up to the wind, he will not back down and the wind will break first before he does. He wore a dirty shirt, it was once white, but it was so dirty now, it was a medium gray. He was handsome in a I'm-normally-very-nice-but-am-having-a rough-day-so-don't- mess-with-me-who-are-you? sort of way; she immediately liked him.
She herself felt ashamed, her weapons were out of reach, what kind of fighter would he think of her as? He was obviously a fighter with that orc blood on him, she knew it was orc blood; you didn't grow up with the Dunedain and not know the smell of orcs, or their blood. The Dunedain preferred orc blood smells, because that meant they were dead, or at least wounded. Her boots were on the shore, and her pants rolled up, not very dignified. And she was painfully aware of how her shirt exposed her breasts. What kind of person will he think I am, with such a disgraceful state that I'm in now? Well, maybe he doesn't feel the same thing that I feel, maybe he doesn't know I am Neffanwen, the new Istari. Hmph. Fat chance. If he doesn't know who I am now, he will soon enough.
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Suddenly a group came into the clearing. They swarmed around Curunir and in a babbling cacophony of voices, carried both him and his horse away. Neffanwen stared after him, as he did the same to her. He kept twisting his head around to stare at her and gaze at her. Then he had rounded a bend in the road and disappeared. She quickly gathered up her weapons and put on her boots, and straightened herself up. She cursed herself for having let the peacefulness of the wood intrude on her and let her be so careless as to leave her weapons behind. She then took off running through the trees. She had kept her bearings while she had wandered and made a beeline through the forest towards Rivendell. She quickly reached it and headed inside and hurried down the hallways towards the library. It was a good thing that Nolderior had them memorize a floor plan for Rivendell, she had come in a different entrance than the one she had left from.
Once there she quickly and quietly stalked through the rows of shelves until she spotted the group. She stopped when she was all who was there; Mithrandir, Noldoeriar, Heidi, Marcampar, Elrond, and HIM, that Istari. Great, Can't wait to find out what he told them about our first meeting.
But surprisingly, Mithrandir introduced them as if they had never met, she quickly figured out that he hadn't told them anything. Good, two can play this game, and I can play it willingly, I would hate to hear what Nold would say to having weapons out of reach, even in an elven city. She nodded her head courteously to him, Curunir; Mith said he was called. She held out her hand to shake with him and was distinctly miffed when he took her hand and bent down and lightly kissed the back of it. She was also shocked at herself, for the kiss sent ripples up and down her. But she only quirked an eyebrow and said nothing, and nothing on her face betrayed her true feelings.
Curunir straightened up and even though the expression on his face never changed, she got the feeling he was amused at her slight questioning of his motives by the eyebrow quirk.
"Good day fair lady Neffanwen, I am grateful to meet your acquaintance." He said formally to her.
She smiled and pulled her hand back, and stuck it in her pocket. Great, now a kiss from a guy has me all riled up. She bowed and shook hands to Elrond and noticed out of the corner of her eye that Curunir was grinning at her sticking her hand in her pocket. She knew that he probably wasn't paying attention and quickly included him in the conversation that she had been paying half attention to. She was miffed and annoyed when he picked up the thread of the conversation quickly and without mishap.
Valar, and I thought she was quick and beautiful at 16! At 24 she is like a knife that has been honed and sharpened and beautified father with true elvish skill, just enough to add some decoration, not enough to disturb the true beauty of the piece. He smiled again at her, and she quirked up one eyebrow at the smile and turned back to the conversation. He grinned like a fool and preceded to out beat her with his knowledge, I think I am going to enjoy this.
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And enjoy it he did. After 7 years of training Macarparma, Neffanwen, and Heidi were sick of training, yet more training awaited them. Curunir had a half a year to torture the three with any training devices and lessons he could think of. Then Neffanwen would go with Mithrandir and travel around. Heidi and Macarparma would stay with Curunir and learn more specifics from him. So they got more instruction. They spent days out in the woods or days traveling, honing their bodies to go days without food or sleep. They found the edge of their endurance and knew how far they could go and what they strength was. Most men didn't know their strength; during times of stress, adrenaline would pump through them and they could do things they never imagined. Curunir taught them to tap those energy sources and yet keep the effects from touching their minds and decisions. He also taught them not to use that way much; it would cut their years down and make them die sooner.
They also learned more of the herbs and healing skills then the most trained healer in their old village knew. The sometimes found they were yearning for that place they had left long ago, never to return. As soon as they had made their decision to stay in Arlasmar, messengers had been sent that had delivered noted they had penned to their family saying they were all right and were staying with the elves. Yet that homesickness sometimes hit them like a plague, and they found everything around them strange and odd, and at times like those the three would take a day and escape to the calm of the woods and just talk of old times. And sometimes, in the dark of night, when Neff lay alone and cold and lonely, she would think back to Keavan and wonder where he was or what he was doing. And time passed. Before they knew it a half-year had passed and the time was coming for them to leave.
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Cur put a hand to her back and nudged her down a different hallway than the one she started to go down. A tingle lay where he had placed his hand and distracted her from looked where they were going. She concentrated on that spot, trying t figure out what made her feel so giddy. Then Cur snapped out, "You're leaking, lock it down." Resentfully she slapped up a patch over the leak in her shield. The entered the weapons/training room that had weapons hanging on the walls all around. All of the sudden Cur sent a spearhead of thought at her shield and a foot at the back of her knees. She went down and her shields came crashing down too. "Dammit girl, your shields should be automatic, at least you let a bare shield up over you self," she knew what he meant, she had left a thin shield over her inner self, that part of her that was her energy reserves and her mind and being.
He knelt over her, "Either disperse that resentment or bury deep; it's a weakness and a luxury we can't afford, get rid of it." She started to feel resentful again, but quickly buried deep within her innermost shield. "Good, "He held a hand out to her to help her up. "If you had been concentrating I never would have even touched you." She knew that too, and felt chagrined and started to severely kick herself, mentally that is.
Suddenly a broadsword was in his hand and he swung it at Neff's side, but her sword was in her hand and she blocked him. She let no sign of triumph cross her face "good, but you knew your guards were doubled because I tripped you up." No emotion came from her either by her body or her mind. He felt pleased at her response, or lack of one. He retreated and then did a disengage lunge, which she parried; thrusting the blade away form her body. She twisted her blade around his and wrenched, then sword flying form his grasp. But it was replaced with a mace and chain. He swung the mace at her and it curled around a quarterstaff. She had thrust her sword back in it's scabbard and called a quarterstaff to her. He pulled the mace towards himself and the staff flew from her grasp this time. She cursed, and Cur grinned. They were both getting into the fight now.
She was younger and quicker, but he was heavier and could put more strength behind his attacks and more defenses up. They continued on though a full repertoire of weapons that included maces, shields, chains, nets, spears, long and short swords, knives, thrusting daggers, and hand-to-hand combat. They threw feral looks at the other and grins of superiority only to be replaced by a sever attack. Neff threw a sneer at Cur's thin defense and thrust a dagger at his middle and brought up her other hand with a dagger at his throat and realized the trap she had fallen for. For she too had a spear pointed at her side and knife at her head. A stalemate.
"Good, you've finally learned something even if I had to put you on your guard first." Nothing, "Let's clean up and go." They picked up and cleaned the few that had drawn blood and put hem all back. Cur didn't offer to take either her or himself to the infirmary to get cleaned and patched up and she didn't offer. Cur looked at her and marveled at her. Even covered in sweat and the few scratches he had given her, she was beautiful. She walked with a grace and an unknown quietness that came easily to all elves.
Cur was in a state. He had to test her reflexes when he realized the effect he was having on her. He didn't want her to like him because it was forced on her or somehow his feelings leaking into her and she flipped them and mistook them form feelings for him. HE was tired and she was wearing on his shields. He wanted so desperately to tear down his shields and tell her his feelings, he WANTED her, he NEEDED her. But she may not want or need him. He would NOT force her into something that would cause her pain, whatever would make her happy, he would do.
The other girl, Heidi, noticed his feelings, he was sure of it. All women have an ear and eye out for romance and gossip, and she was no exception. "Cur," he turned and looked at her," Thanks, I'll be on my guard, promise." She gave him one of those breathtaking smiles that made his heart skip a beat and disappeared into her room. Her walked down the hall to his room, not even noticing his surroundings, Damn, that woman has me wrapped around her finger. But she passed, he sighed gustily as he opened the door to his room and closed it and flopped on his bed, exhausted, yeah, she sure as hell passed.
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The next day, Mith and Nold arrived from the Greenwood with Legolas. The met Curunir and the three in the library; where they had met what seemed like years ago. After the usual greetings, they got down to business, it had been decided earlier that the three would split, and Mithrandir told them that he planned to take Neffanwen to the Northern Border and show her what it was like there, fighting every other day, not knowing if you were to live or not, the fear of life. Curunir was going to keep the other two in Rivendell and teach them more. Heidi had showed great talent in the area of art, crafts, and music. Curunir would help her as much as he could there and get her proper help on those subjects. HE would also help Macar learn smithy and the art of all swords and blades. Also he would help him with languages and books; for Macar liked that subject and could shut himself in the library for hours. But he would always end up being drawn out by Heidi, to take a moonlit walk up the tall hills on either side of the valley Rivendell was in. The two grew closer as time went by, and Neffanwen watched as they grew, and yearned for that spot in her life that was unfilled.
Neffanwen hugged Macarparma told him "Heidi is a good person, and she is right for you. I want you to know that, if I never see you again, I want you to know that I think you two are right for each other, and that I love you both dearly," They both looked back at Heidi who stood there, beaming at them, her two best friends. They brought her into their crushing embrace and the three huddled there, their foreheads touching and talked and remembered. They thought of the village, and their family, and of the time that had passed them by. They thought of what was to come ad made guesses of where they would be. And Neffanwen told them "You two are right for each other, and I want you to know that I love you both dearly, you will always be the closest people in my life besides Peranell and others that may come along. Never forget that she loved us and that I love you." With that she pulled away and giving them one last caress; very much like the way her mother gave one to her father all those many years ago, and turned, mounted her horse, and left. She wiped the few tears that had fallen and looked ahead, and hoped for a better future for them all.
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Wow, I haven't left a note on these for a while. Well, here it is so far, hope you like it! I have some idea what I am putting in chap 13, as far as a couple sentences of summaries go. Well, what do you think so far? Any ideas for (I know this sounds gruesome, but.) Macar and Heidi's death? I haven't the faintest how they should die; they are going to have to at some point, but how? If you want to leave it in my hands, that's ok, no opinions needed, just some reviews for my depressing writing skills would be good!
Oh, I am in the process of redoing chap 1 and going through and finding all the bits and pieces where I named the Istar. I acknowledge and talk about people's review in the last chapter normally, the note from me. If you want me to e-mail you a longer note on what I am doing or something, leave your e-mail, I don't get on the Internet that much that I can check and find your e-mail addresses. I have also gone back and put up some notes at the end of each chap saying basically "review and read on!"
I also forgot about he speak thing for a bit so I need to go back and put in the speech stuff, but I will basically be, "oh common speech," or "Oh, you don't speak elvish, so we'll speak common," or "we can see your a human so we will speak common and not elvish". But I will go back and change that too.
I have gone through and renamed the chaps and I have changed some of the Istar stuff but not all, so all the chaps are pretty much the same except for a couple of odds and ends mis-spellings that I caught, and I will definitely redo chap 1 and 11 where it talks the most about the Istar and a bit in chap 8 (where Mith releases who Macar and Neff's parents are) and 10 (where he relives Fae's failure). But that should be about it. think so anyway. If you see that this is updated but no new chaps then I have updated the not from me on why I haven't updated or why I won't for a while or whatever.
Basically everything I just said is in the last note, but I put it here too, because I noticed you people review on the last chap and not the note so I don't know if you read the note or not.
REVIEW, PLEASE!
~Kit ;)
l l l \ l / V
Chapter 12: Training, sleeping, training, sleeping, and more training
Note: I may have gotten some facts wrong, and if I did, and you notice, please tell me and I will try to change it asap.
Thoughts are in Italics. Thoughts spoken to each other are "in italics". If they are speaking in elvish, *elvish*, if dwarvish, dwarvish, if they are speaking normally, "It will be normal."
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As Mith walked down the hallway, he sighed. He had much to do to get those three under control. It was clear that they were bursting with power and needed training before they started to explode those they didn't like into bits. He was going to go and try to enlist the help of one of his old friends, Noldoeriar, "Knowledgeable Old One". She was an odd one as far as elves go; because she showed age.
Her story was an odd one, that was for sure. He thought to himself as he reached her room. He knocked on the door and waited. "Come in!" came a voice from inside the room. So Mith gripped the handle and entered. Nold was sitting cross-legged on a couch underneath a window. Her silver hair fell around her and created a shimmering halo from the sunlight that reflected off it from the window. Her eyes were baby blue, and her face had some wrinkles in it. She set aside the metal waistband, she was mending and unfolded her legs and stood up. The grey green dress fell about her feet and the sleeves were as long as her waist.
The two friends hugged and Mith said, "My, Nold, it's good to see you again!" "Agreed," her face wrinkled even more as she smiled, "come, sit and tell me why you're here, I can tell you have something important to say." Mith glanced down at her elegant fingers. She had one ring on, he recognized the pattern on oak leaves on it; it was her mind-feeling reading ring.
Noldoeriar had made many magic rings. Each ring she made with a certain pattern of some kind of tree leaves or flowers on it so she could always tell which ring did what. She had oak, beech, elm, sycamore, snap dragons, carnations, daises, and many more. All did something different; some opened the feelings of minds to her, like the one she was wearing now, others gave her the abilities to create shields, to lift things, create energy beams, be invisible, and others. Even Mith, who had helped her a lot on gathering the information to make the rings, didn't know all of the rings she had made or what they all did or which was which.
So he told her. He told her of Neffanwen, Macarparma, Heidi, Legolas' story, Curunir, and the events that brought them crashing together. Noldoeriar listened to his whole tale and offered no thoughts while he talked.
Once he finished she got up and sighed. She walked out onto her balcony and looked at the forest beauty, the room was a high one and looked out onto the branches of an oak tree. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Alright Mith, you have told me your story and I can guess what you want of me but confirm my fears, what is it that you want of me?" Mith smiled, he knew that Nold was going to agree. "Your help as a teacher, Nold. That's all I ask," "That's ALL!?" Nold looked over her shoulder at him, her face clearly showed her consternation and exasperation, "You are obviously not a teacher; if you were you would realize that teaching is a great responsibility and a burden."
"Which is why I am coming to you," Mith pleaded. "You're a teacher Noldoeriar, and know what is best to do, and I may not be here all the time. They need to stay here. I saw some of the things that they have done when I looked at Neffanwen's memories. They are bursting with energy and power, tricks of both elves, human, and Istar. They need to be contained and trained. And my being an Istar will get in the way, I need to go places to help maintain what peace this land has gained. Please Nold, please.?"
Nold stared at him for a bit then sighed gustily, "Alright, I'll help. But I can only go so far, you know more of the Istar then I do."
"Thanks!" Mith rushed over to her and hugged her tight. He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and rushed out of the room, he had a lot to do. Nold chuckled and sat back down to her metal belt.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Mith then went to see the three. They were awake and still in the room they had been in from the beginning. They were wearing actual clothes now. Heidi wore a lavender dress that went to the floor with a low neckline and long sleeves, her hair was partially pinned up and the rest of her chocolate colored hair seemed to flow down her back. Macarparma was wearing a long olive shirt and russet pants, his hair was combed and clean. Heidi and Macar were sitting on the foot of Neffanwen's bed. Neffanwen wore an emerald green dress that had a box neck line and sleeve that simple flared out at the wrists and a dress that went to her ankles. She sat at the head of her bed, with her back against the backboard. He noticed that all of them still wore weapons. "I'm glad to see that you're all awake," Mith greeted them. They simply stared at him, so he continued. "I'm here to offer each of you a choice."
He turned to Macarparma, "To you there are several choices; You may go back to your village, but I think you shouldn't, for however small your power may be, it is still powerful, and can be triggered by severe circumstances, so there is little chance of it being set off. All we can foresee for you is that you will effect your sister to do something important, we are not sure what it is. So you may go to the village or you may learn here or at Rivendell. There is another of my order there, his name is Curunir, and he is skilled both in the art of books and he is interested very much in smith craft. He may help you with your love of books and swords."
He then faced Heidi, "We cannot foresee anything with you. We are not sure if you are important or not. You may go to your village or stay here or go to Rivendell. You may choose whatever and we will help you to the best of our abilities."
Lastly, he turned to Neffanwen, he had been dreading this one the most, "To you I place a choice before you but I fear you have little say in where you will go. You may go back to your village, but you know as well as I do, that if you do you can seriously wound those around you. Your power is great and strong. You are now an Istar, and can now reach even greater resources of strength within yourself. You need to be taught, trained, and contained until you learn; but I cannot force you to do what you need to do, if you choose to leave, we will not stop you, but I recommend you stay here, at least until you can control your power of Istar, elvish, and human tricks and spells. But if you stay, you must stay here, where both a friend of mine and myself can help you to control your power."
"I will leave you three to talk and decide among yourselves what you will do and where you will go," Mith turned and started towards the door; just as he reached the door Macarparma barked out, "Wait! " Mith turned around, "Yes?" "if , if.." Macar swallowed, "If I stayed here with the elves, would I have to go to Rivendell, to your friend? Or could I stay here?" Mith smiled "No, you would not have to go right away or at all even. You could stay here and learn to control and learn what we can teach you before you go to Curunir." And then he was gone.
For a while there was silence. Then all looked at the other and they were decided, it was obvious. All three of their minds knew how the others worked and all came to the same conclusion. It was clear that Neff had to stay in Arlasmar, so Macar would stay as well; and where Macar went or stayed, so would Heidi. They would stay in Arlasmar, at least for a while.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And with that their training began. Mithrandir helped them to meditate, to bring their powers in and to control them. He showed them how to be able to pull at all their sources and to only pull at a tiny piece of they sources. He helped them to gain control over what they had some degree of control, but was evident by what happened at the village before they left and the orcs that triggered with the right circumstances, they could be set off. They also learned normal subjects such as history and crafts, as well as mind tricks an spells and incantations, which were basically the same as spells but required more energy, preparation, and concentration. But Mith was only there for 6 months when he had to leave. The king of Gondor was new, he had only been on the throne for a couple years, and he had sent a messenger to find Mith and request his help. When Mith got the message, he immediately sent the messenger back saying he was coming and started his preparations.
It was agreed that Noldoeriar would teach the three and help them. And she did; she taught them many things. But that is for another time. Mith came and helped them every once in a while. He helped them with their staffs too. They were ready for their staffs when they were 20. So he got them wood and the appropriate materials, and helped them to make them.
Neffanwen's was of woods from the Malhorn (I think I spelled this wrong) trees in Lorien. The wood was white with a tint of green and gold. And on the top was a crystal ball. The ball was about as wide as her fist and in the center were 3 grains of dirt. They were from over the sea. Mith had taken a handful of dirt from over the sea for special occasions, and this was one. He then grew the crystal around the grains and gave it to Neff. He then taught Neffanwen to put enough energy into the wood that it grew again, even though it was dead. She grew four thin branches out of the top and wound them around the ball and grew the ends together in a tip on the top of the ball. She then was able to string small pouches on a piece of string and wind the string around the staff, so she had pouches hanging of the top. She called it Rilgalad, "Bright Light" in Sindarin; in memory of her first major use of power in the Sindarin elves wood.
Macarparma's wood was from over the sea. Mith had managed to get a pole from off the ship that they Istar had come over in. The pole was a brown with a tint of ruby red, the same color but darker than his hair. On the top was a point almost like a spearhead. But the head had four flares for sides, and was engraved in many elvish runes for protection, strength, courage, and hope. The tip was a point, but was capped by a ball of mithril. Only Macar and Neff could take the ball on or off. He named it Lintetil "Swift Point".
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They were 24 ½ years old and had learned much of what Nold knew and some of Mith's knowledge. Now they were ready. Mithrandir had come back for one of his rare trips and was going to take them to Rivendell to meet Curunir, Elrond, and some others. They were to travel for several days before they would reach Rivendell, but when they did, Mithrandir promised them that it would be fantastic.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Come on Neff," Raph prompted her.
Neff looked down the long corridor where she was to meet the other Istar and eldars later on today and got a sick feeling in her stomach, "No, no, that's ok, you go on without me, I want to explore the outdoors some." She waved them off and watched Nold escort Heidi and Raph (hand and hand) to the library. Mith had gone off earlier to go somewhere to do something.
She turned and went back the way they had come. She had her sword, bow, arrows, and odd assortment of knives, daggers, and blades placed around her body. She walked out of the house and wandered down a path. It was a random path, chosen at a whim and when she came upon a creek that it crossed over, she decided to head down the creek and see what she would find.
So she took off her boots, and rolled up her pants. Making sure her sword didn't dip into the water with one hand and holding the boots in the other, she started off. She wandered down and around the creek. She felt small fish swim past her ankles and the scales tickle her skin. She allowed a happy smile to fill her face. The transformation was amazing. The stoic warrior wizard was gone and a simple woman was wandering around in nature. The sound of the burbling brook, birds singing, and the sigh of leaves as the wind whispered through them calmed her. The sun shone through the leaves and kept her warm.
She rounded a bend and decided to rest. She sat down at the edge of the brook, near the edge of a field of grass. She noticed that a dirt track led through the small field. Feeling at ease, she took of all her weapons and leaving them in a small heap on the shore, decided to go wade some more in the water and look for some good skipping stones.
She was in the middle of the creek when a horse galloped in to the clearing.
The rider was wearing a set of dirty clothes that had once been white, but were caked with dirt and grime from the road. He swung down and tied the horse to a tree, and had turned and was starting towards the creek when he looked up and saw her. She knew immediately he was an Istar. If asked how she knew, she couldn't explain, but she simply KNEW. Maybe it was his minds aura, or an intuition when one Istari goes near another, she didn't know. He obviously had been planning on cleaning up at the creek, and hadn't planned on her being there.
They stared at each other.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Curunir thought that he had never seen anyone more beautiful. He knew it was Neffanwen, her face had haunted him for years. The kiss he had stolen from her that one night did not help. She was standing in the middle of the creek, staring at him as he was staring at her. She had pulled the top part of her reddish brown hair back into a ponytail, but the hair up front was too short an fell out. The locks of hair fell in front of her ears and only the points showed through. The late afternoon sun shone through the trees and caused the red in her hair to shine out like a bloody halo around her head. Her eyes were a dark brown, the color of trees, and earth and all that was good and growing. Her lips were a dark skin tone with a hint of red; she did not use make up to change the way she looked naturally. Before, Curunir had liked the girls with the make-up, but seeing her, in all the beauty, natural, no enhancers nor hiding, he saw her for what she was; no more, no less.
And if he thought she looked exquisite how she was, what if she dressed up really nice? Her loose shirt clung to her chest, revealing her full breasts. Her hips were round and her dirty pants were rolled up to above her knees and her legs were firm, muscular and smooth. There was calf-high boots on the shore, the wrinkles and lighter shade that hinted of thinnest, told of signs of wear and tear. She was certainly not some highbred lady who couldn't be bothered to walk anywhere, much less across country. Yet she stood there like a queen, she was regal no matter her dress, even more so than the "ladies". She had nothing to be ashamed of, and was independent and could care for herself. Standing there in the creek, her head held high, if she had ordered him to cut off his head, he would have done it. She stood with her feet apart and her pile of weapons weren't within arms reach, but he was sure if they were suddenly attacked she would win, with or without them.
He thought he looked terrible, he had just come from a week's hard riding and he was hot, sweaty and dirty. He was also a bit bloody, he had run into a couple of loose orcs along the way, he didn't like the way and the bloodstains complimented the now grey shirt. All he wanted was a to clean up at the creek and change into clean clothes; not to be standing in this dirty state with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen right in front of him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Neffanwen also thought that she had never seen anyone more handsome. He was tall, strong, and powerful. She could sense that right away. His black hair was peppered with white streaks and a small goatee was growing on his chin. His eyebrows crowned his dark, black, deep-set eyes. His lips were stern, but she could see laugh lines in his cheeks. She could also see the burdens he carried in the bags under his eyes, the wrinkles by his eyes, and the slump of his shoulders. But he stood tall, straight, and strong. He is like a tall tree that stands up to the wind, he will not back down and the wind will break first before he does. He wore a dirty shirt, it was once white, but it was so dirty now, it was a medium gray. He was handsome in a I'm-normally-very-nice-but-am-having-a rough-day-so-don't- mess-with-me-who-are-you? sort of way; she immediately liked him.
She herself felt ashamed, her weapons were out of reach, what kind of fighter would he think of her as? He was obviously a fighter with that orc blood on him, she knew it was orc blood; you didn't grow up with the Dunedain and not know the smell of orcs, or their blood. The Dunedain preferred orc blood smells, because that meant they were dead, or at least wounded. Her boots were on the shore, and her pants rolled up, not very dignified. And she was painfully aware of how her shirt exposed her breasts. What kind of person will he think I am, with such a disgraceful state that I'm in now? Well, maybe he doesn't feel the same thing that I feel, maybe he doesn't know I am Neffanwen, the new Istari. Hmph. Fat chance. If he doesn't know who I am now, he will soon enough.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Suddenly a group came into the clearing. They swarmed around Curunir and in a babbling cacophony of voices, carried both him and his horse away. Neffanwen stared after him, as he did the same to her. He kept twisting his head around to stare at her and gaze at her. Then he had rounded a bend in the road and disappeared. She quickly gathered up her weapons and put on her boots, and straightened herself up. She cursed herself for having let the peacefulness of the wood intrude on her and let her be so careless as to leave her weapons behind. She then took off running through the trees. She had kept her bearings while she had wandered and made a beeline through the forest towards Rivendell. She quickly reached it and headed inside and hurried down the hallways towards the library. It was a good thing that Nolderior had them memorize a floor plan for Rivendell, she had come in a different entrance than the one she had left from.
Once there she quickly and quietly stalked through the rows of shelves until she spotted the group. She stopped when she was all who was there; Mithrandir, Noldoeriar, Heidi, Marcampar, Elrond, and HIM, that Istari. Great, Can't wait to find out what he told them about our first meeting.
But surprisingly, Mithrandir introduced them as if they had never met, she quickly figured out that he hadn't told them anything. Good, two can play this game, and I can play it willingly, I would hate to hear what Nold would say to having weapons out of reach, even in an elven city. She nodded her head courteously to him, Curunir; Mith said he was called. She held out her hand to shake with him and was distinctly miffed when he took her hand and bent down and lightly kissed the back of it. She was also shocked at herself, for the kiss sent ripples up and down her. But she only quirked an eyebrow and said nothing, and nothing on her face betrayed her true feelings.
Curunir straightened up and even though the expression on his face never changed, she got the feeling he was amused at her slight questioning of his motives by the eyebrow quirk.
"Good day fair lady Neffanwen, I am grateful to meet your acquaintance." He said formally to her.
She smiled and pulled her hand back, and stuck it in her pocket. Great, now a kiss from a guy has me all riled up. She bowed and shook hands to Elrond and noticed out of the corner of her eye that Curunir was grinning at her sticking her hand in her pocket. She knew that he probably wasn't paying attention and quickly included him in the conversation that she had been paying half attention to. She was miffed and annoyed when he picked up the thread of the conversation quickly and without mishap.
Valar, and I thought she was quick and beautiful at 16! At 24 she is like a knife that has been honed and sharpened and beautified father with true elvish skill, just enough to add some decoration, not enough to disturb the true beauty of the piece. He smiled again at her, and she quirked up one eyebrow at the smile and turned back to the conversation. He grinned like a fool and preceded to out beat her with his knowledge, I think I am going to enjoy this.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And enjoy it he did. After 7 years of training Macarparma, Neffanwen, and Heidi were sick of training, yet more training awaited them. Curunir had a half a year to torture the three with any training devices and lessons he could think of. Then Neffanwen would go with Mithrandir and travel around. Heidi and Macarparma would stay with Curunir and learn more specifics from him. So they got more instruction. They spent days out in the woods or days traveling, honing their bodies to go days without food or sleep. They found the edge of their endurance and knew how far they could go and what they strength was. Most men didn't know their strength; during times of stress, adrenaline would pump through them and they could do things they never imagined. Curunir taught them to tap those energy sources and yet keep the effects from touching their minds and decisions. He also taught them not to use that way much; it would cut their years down and make them die sooner.
They also learned more of the herbs and healing skills then the most trained healer in their old village knew. The sometimes found they were yearning for that place they had left long ago, never to return. As soon as they had made their decision to stay in Arlasmar, messengers had been sent that had delivered noted they had penned to their family saying they were all right and were staying with the elves. Yet that homesickness sometimes hit them like a plague, and they found everything around them strange and odd, and at times like those the three would take a day and escape to the calm of the woods and just talk of old times. And sometimes, in the dark of night, when Neff lay alone and cold and lonely, she would think back to Keavan and wonder where he was or what he was doing. And time passed. Before they knew it a half-year had passed and the time was coming for them to leave.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cur put a hand to her back and nudged her down a different hallway than the one she started to go down. A tingle lay where he had placed his hand and distracted her from looked where they were going. She concentrated on that spot, trying t figure out what made her feel so giddy. Then Cur snapped out, "You're leaking, lock it down." Resentfully she slapped up a patch over the leak in her shield. The entered the weapons/training room that had weapons hanging on the walls all around. All of the sudden Cur sent a spearhead of thought at her shield and a foot at the back of her knees. She went down and her shields came crashing down too. "Dammit girl, your shields should be automatic, at least you let a bare shield up over you self," she knew what he meant, she had left a thin shield over her inner self, that part of her that was her energy reserves and her mind and being.
He knelt over her, "Either disperse that resentment or bury deep; it's a weakness and a luxury we can't afford, get rid of it." She started to feel resentful again, but quickly buried deep within her innermost shield. "Good, "He held a hand out to her to help her up. "If you had been concentrating I never would have even touched you." She knew that too, and felt chagrined and started to severely kick herself, mentally that is.
Suddenly a broadsword was in his hand and he swung it at Neff's side, but her sword was in her hand and she blocked him. She let no sign of triumph cross her face "good, but you knew your guards were doubled because I tripped you up." No emotion came from her either by her body or her mind. He felt pleased at her response, or lack of one. He retreated and then did a disengage lunge, which she parried; thrusting the blade away form her body. She twisted her blade around his and wrenched, then sword flying form his grasp. But it was replaced with a mace and chain. He swung the mace at her and it curled around a quarterstaff. She had thrust her sword back in it's scabbard and called a quarterstaff to her. He pulled the mace towards himself and the staff flew from her grasp this time. She cursed, and Cur grinned. They were both getting into the fight now.
She was younger and quicker, but he was heavier and could put more strength behind his attacks and more defenses up. They continued on though a full repertoire of weapons that included maces, shields, chains, nets, spears, long and short swords, knives, thrusting daggers, and hand-to-hand combat. They threw feral looks at the other and grins of superiority only to be replaced by a sever attack. Neff threw a sneer at Cur's thin defense and thrust a dagger at his middle and brought up her other hand with a dagger at his throat and realized the trap she had fallen for. For she too had a spear pointed at her side and knife at her head. A stalemate.
"Good, you've finally learned something even if I had to put you on your guard first." Nothing, "Let's clean up and go." They picked up and cleaned the few that had drawn blood and put hem all back. Cur didn't offer to take either her or himself to the infirmary to get cleaned and patched up and she didn't offer. Cur looked at her and marveled at her. Even covered in sweat and the few scratches he had given her, she was beautiful. She walked with a grace and an unknown quietness that came easily to all elves.
Cur was in a state. He had to test her reflexes when he realized the effect he was having on her. He didn't want her to like him because it was forced on her or somehow his feelings leaking into her and she flipped them and mistook them form feelings for him. HE was tired and she was wearing on his shields. He wanted so desperately to tear down his shields and tell her his feelings, he WANTED her, he NEEDED her. But she may not want or need him. He would NOT force her into something that would cause her pain, whatever would make her happy, he would do.
The other girl, Heidi, noticed his feelings, he was sure of it. All women have an ear and eye out for romance and gossip, and she was no exception. "Cur," he turned and looked at her," Thanks, I'll be on my guard, promise." She gave him one of those breathtaking smiles that made his heart skip a beat and disappeared into her room. Her walked down the hall to his room, not even noticing his surroundings, Damn, that woman has me wrapped around her finger. But she passed, he sighed gustily as he opened the door to his room and closed it and flopped on his bed, exhausted, yeah, she sure as hell passed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next day, Mith and Nold arrived from the Greenwood with Legolas. The met Curunir and the three in the library; where they had met what seemed like years ago. After the usual greetings, they got down to business, it had been decided earlier that the three would split, and Mithrandir told them that he planned to take Neffanwen to the Northern Border and show her what it was like there, fighting every other day, not knowing if you were to live or not, the fear of life. Curunir was going to keep the other two in Rivendell and teach them more. Heidi had showed great talent in the area of art, crafts, and music. Curunir would help her as much as he could there and get her proper help on those subjects. HE would also help Macar learn smithy and the art of all swords and blades. Also he would help him with languages and books; for Macar liked that subject and could shut himself in the library for hours. But he would always end up being drawn out by Heidi, to take a moonlit walk up the tall hills on either side of the valley Rivendell was in. The two grew closer as time went by, and Neffanwen watched as they grew, and yearned for that spot in her life that was unfilled.
Neffanwen hugged Macarparma told him "Heidi is a good person, and she is right for you. I want you to know that, if I never see you again, I want you to know that I think you two are right for each other, and that I love you both dearly," They both looked back at Heidi who stood there, beaming at them, her two best friends. They brought her into their crushing embrace and the three huddled there, their foreheads touching and talked and remembered. They thought of the village, and their family, and of the time that had passed them by. They thought of what was to come ad made guesses of where they would be. And Neffanwen told them "You two are right for each other, and I want you to know that I love you both dearly, you will always be the closest people in my life besides Peranell and others that may come along. Never forget that she loved us and that I love you." With that she pulled away and giving them one last caress; very much like the way her mother gave one to her father all those many years ago, and turned, mounted her horse, and left. She wiped the few tears that had fallen and looked ahead, and hoped for a better future for them all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow, I haven't left a note on these for a while. Well, here it is so far, hope you like it! I have some idea what I am putting in chap 13, as far as a couple sentences of summaries go. Well, what do you think so far? Any ideas for (I know this sounds gruesome, but.) Macar and Heidi's death? I haven't the faintest how they should die; they are going to have to at some point, but how? If you want to leave it in my hands, that's ok, no opinions needed, just some reviews for my depressing writing skills would be good!
Oh, I am in the process of redoing chap 1 and going through and finding all the bits and pieces where I named the Istar. I acknowledge and talk about people's review in the last chapter normally, the note from me. If you want me to e-mail you a longer note on what I am doing or something, leave your e-mail, I don't get on the Internet that much that I can check and find your e-mail addresses. I have also gone back and put up some notes at the end of each chap saying basically "review and read on!"
I also forgot about he speak thing for a bit so I need to go back and put in the speech stuff, but I will basically be, "oh common speech," or "Oh, you don't speak elvish, so we'll speak common," or "we can see your a human so we will speak common and not elvish". But I will go back and change that too.
I have gone through and renamed the chaps and I have changed some of the Istar stuff but not all, so all the chaps are pretty much the same except for a couple of odds and ends mis-spellings that I caught, and I will definitely redo chap 1 and 11 where it talks the most about the Istar and a bit in chap 8 (where Mith releases who Macar and Neff's parents are) and 10 (where he relives Fae's failure). But that should be about it. think so anyway. If you see that this is updated but no new chaps then I have updated the not from me on why I haven't updated or why I won't for a while or whatever.
Basically everything I just said is in the last note, but I put it here too, because I noticed you people review on the last chap and not the note so I don't know if you read the note or not.
REVIEW, PLEASE!
~Kit ;)
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