Chapter one
The sun was begining to set, the sky was painted a bright orange, with a purple out line of the clouds. The wind began to pick up, and there stood a lone figure, staring off at the small village he left behind. The young mans name was Taiyo, born of a well breed family, though he himself was considered the black sheep. He wore black silk, his black hair tied back in a red velvet ribbon, with a satchel and sword that hung at his waist. He turned his back on the village, with one thought in his mind, "I will never return home again."
As the sky darkened, crystal stars began to shine and a bright sliver of moon hung suspended over the horizon. The road before him gleamed softly, beckoning him on to the unknown.
It had been a long hard winter and he had worked as hard as all the others for the good of the village, and still they wouldn't accept him.
Taiyo sighed with disatisfaction, why look back when no one there would care that he had gone? Over the years he had become used to the blows and scorn from his father but he would never get used to the fact that, the man had never loved him blaming him no doubt for his mother's death.
His father had cried as he had fallen into a drunken stupour his rage finally spent "not even mine" he sobbed "not mine".
So he carried on without regret or remorse, "I will not be missed, and i will not miss them." Taiyo, started his way down the unkown road, the wind howled as though to say, "Dont look back, your path lies here, you are your own self and always will be." His dark obsidian colored eyes, caught the last bit of color the sky held, before it became a dark abyss.
Silence, was all that could be heard now, and he knew there would be no one for miles.
Taiyo walked on for some miles. He wished he had taken a horse as all this walking was getting to his feet. He sat down near a brush to rest. He sniffed the air, leapt to his feet and grabbed his sword. He could smell sulfur, but what did it mean?
The brush he sat near burst into flames in the most biblical sort of way. Out of the flames rose a figure. The figure was hard to make out, male, female; Alf?
"Take my hand Tai." The figure stretched out a hand engulfed in fire.
"The name is Taiyo, and I will not touch your hand, it's on fire. I am liable to get burned."
The figure looked down at a stone tablet, "Taiyo eh, Taiyo. Sorry about this, wrong lonesone traveler." The figure disappeared but left Taiyo with an uneasy feeling of dread, not to mention a burning brush and a heavy dry cleaning bill.
Taiyo scratched his head with a slightly confused look on his face, "What was that about." he thought. Deciding not to dwell on it to much he continued down the road, not knowing what to expect. While he wandered down the dark dirt road, he heard yelling off in the distance. Drawing his sword Taiyo ran quietly to see what it was, he stopped and hid in the brush, not to far from him was a young boy running down the road, followed by two men, dressed in armor. "Come back here you theif!!!" they two men yelled, the kid turned his head, yelling back in response, "You have to catch me first!!!" then excellerated his speed.
Taiyo grabbed the kid by his arm and dragged him into the bush. "He~!!!" the kids mouth was covered by Taiyo's hand, hushing him. They both watched as the two men ran by the area where they hid.
The two men left the area as Taiyo held the boy still.
It took another few minutes before he turned to look at the young boy to find that he was a young male elf.
i'm the son of the rain god, said the kid
those men wanted to kill me and take my powers, so that they could rule the world
"The rain God..." Taiyo, muttered. he stood up, and introduced himself, "I am Taiyo, son of Draiko, head of the village not to far from here." the elven boy smiled "My name is Thinfëaion, son of Araglarion, the rain god." Taiyo looked around listening closely to see if the men were coming back. "They are gone, but you should perhaps stay with me for a while, because if there are people after you its better to have friends." Thinfeaion, nodded, "Your very sharp for a man." he joked, Taiyo slightly annoyed and amused, started along the side of the road, gesturing for Thinfeaion to follow. Thinfeaion shrugged with a smile, and followed him.
Taiyo had no way of knowing that Thinfeaion was never in any danger. He was fond of playing pranks on Men and was actually having a good time when Taiyo grabbed him. Thinfeaion was notorious with the other elves for having a really bizarre sense of humor.
in fact, he had just turned all of the tables in the guard house upside down, upsetting quite a few people. the guards had decided that he stole a lot of stuff, so they wanted to catch him, and make him pay for the supposed crimes.
But Taiyo knew nothing of this, all he knew was that he had a young elf behind him, claiming to be the son of a rain god,
"Rain god..." he murmured, then louder, "Rain god? then why are you here?"
The elf man smiled before replying that...
"Why not? This planet, whose name I conviently forgot, can be such a fun place sometimes."
The elf boy ran ahead of Taiyo. Taiyo followed trying to keep quiet but stepped on many branches and succomb to other stupid cliches found in Fenimore Cooper novels. When Taiyo turned round a bend near the river he found the elf splashing around violently.
"Help! I can't...swi...m!" Taiyo dashed in to save the boy. He didn't notice the depth of river suddenly drop off and found himself under the water soon enough. The elf boy was safely splashing about on a rock that for some reason sat high enough in the middle of the river. "I'm the sun of the rain god, why wouldn't I know how to swim!? Silly man."
Taiyo climbed out of the water, not amused, "I should have known better." he thought. Thinfëaion laughed, "Your so serious, but then most of your kind are." Thinfëaion, trotted out of the water up to Taiyo "So, where are you headed, Taiyo?" he asked with his hands behind his back, looking innocently up at him.
"To the North. I hear the Rangers are looking for more men." spoke Taiyo, as he started to walk away from the young elf.
"You will not find rangers without my help mortal man; or they will find you first and kill you. Shall I not accompany you?"
Taiyo looked back at Thinfëaion, "If you want to." he started, "But i dont know what good you could be of me you littler trickster." Thinfëaion protested, "I can do plenty, here ill show you."
Thinfëaion snapped his fingers as Taiyo looked at him. "Now look at yourself, Taiyo."
Taiyo held out his hands and saw that they were not his own; weather-beaten and hale-strong they now appeared. Slowly lifting and turning his fore-arm so that the sleeves of his silken jerkin fell away he beheld the limbs of a much stronger man than he. A cold shudder passed through him; "what have you done to me fool!?" he cried, loathe to be subject to any sorcery.
Thinfëaion snapped his fingers again and this time, Taiyo was reverted back to his original form but the clothing he wore stated something else.
"The clothes...they aren't mine!" yelled Taiyo, looking down at the armor he now wore. He noticed that they were belonging to the ranks of the Rangers beginning level.
Thinfëaion smiled and spoke, "You are now a Ranger in the lower levels. Training camp is in the north near Gondor. The new King of Gondor is a former Ranger. He usually is the one who watches as the new Rangers are training. He usually will join in and train alongside of them."
They both started to walk towards Gondor in respective quiet.
Taiyo, walked quietly, not saying a word to the young elf. He felt a bit annoyed, having himself become a subject to the magic of an elf. As they made their way to Gondor, Taiyo felt a sense of panic, "What am i doing?" he cried at last before reaching the gates. Thinfëaion jumped backwards, slightly startled by the sudden outburst. "What is the matter." he said calmly, Taiyo turned around "What makes you think i want to become a Ranger of the North??" he said still in a panic, Thinfëaion smiled, "I can see it in your eyes Taiyo, you want to defy your father, and become a Ranger, just to show him you can decide things on your own." Taiyo stopped, "How did you know that?" Thinfëaion laughed, "Silly Taiyo, I'm very similar to you, i defy my father all the time, but to become a ranger and help a mortal man, would really get him to create some terrible storms." Taiyo felt no comfort in that but decided to continue to Gondor
Taiyo and Thinfëaion walked for several more miles till they saw a line of young men some dressed like Taiyo was. Taiyo was not sure which line he was to get in.
"Young man, you go in this line!" yelled a man at the beginning of the line pointing towards Taiyo to move into the right side of the line.
Taiyo did what he was told with a brisk nod.
It was not too long before he got up to where the man was.
"All right, your papers from your captain." spoke the man, holding his hand out to Taiyo.
"Um...right. My papers," spoke Taiyo, as he started to search his pouch. There was a rolled up scroll which wasn't there before. He pulled it out and handed it to the man.
He read it off and told him where to go.
Taiyo nodded as he hurried off to his new bunk. He glanced behind to see Thinfëaion walking next to him. "I had no papers, Thinfëaion. Did you put that paper in my pouch?"
Taiyo found the elf's expression disquieting and suppressed a shudder as he followed the others assigned to his unit. "What have I gotten myself into?" he thought.
he looked around at all of the other rangers lounging about, he glanced back at Thinfëaion. but the elf was no where to be found. Taiyo faltered in his step and would have gone to look for the elf, but the ranger behind him told him to keep moving. Taiyo did as he was told glancing around quickly, trying to catch a glimpse of Thinfëaion.
Taiyo never saw the young elf after that. Taiyo got into his tent where he was to bunk with another Ranger in training.
Taiyo now realized how tired he was as he saw the bed and he laid down on it and closed his eyes, not minding that the other Ranger was busily making sure everything was perfect.
An hour after Taiyo laid down, he was shakened awake by the Ranger.
"Come on, dinner is about to be given out. You can sleep later. I'm Jonas," spoke the blond haired young man.
"Taiyo," replied Taiyo, as he followed Jonas out of the tent and to the line of men waiting for their meal.
While Taiyo was waiting in line he observed some of the other men. He saw that most of them were wearing a silver leaf clasp on their cloaks. He turned to Jonas and asked what they were.
" They are the clasps that show the ranks of the men. When we have finished our training we will recieve them. But I have heard that only the men recieve them if they finish a very hard task once the training is over. It is a big honor to recieve one of those, they are made by the Elves. It would mean that we have passed the first stage of becoming a Ranger."
Taiyo looked at a man near him with one of the clasps. It shown in the silver light of the moon and a red gem glimmerd at the base of the leaf.
While Taiyo looked at it with misty eyes, he wondered what horrible task he would need to perform to recieve a silver leaf of his own.
Taiyo also noticed that someone tall and regal looking but yet didn't look like he was anyone important was in that group of Rangers. He nudged Jonas and asked him about that Ranger.
"You mean him?" asked Jonas, tilting his head towards the Ranger.
"Yes. He doesn't look like a Ranger," spoke Taiyo.
"Cause, he's Aragorn, the King of Gondor and he is a Ranger," replied Jonas. "We'll see him a lot around here. If he's down here, he must be training his body again. He'll be here sleeping like the rest of us."
"I don't think he will be sleeping like the rest of us, Jonas. He'll head back to the castle and sleep with his wife or his girlfriend," spoke Taiyo, as they sat down at their table and started to eat.
Taiyo gazzed in wonderment at the Ranger/King of Gondor that was sitting at a table near him talking with some of the older Rangers
Aragorn noticed that he was being watched by couple of the newer Rangers as he looked their way and raised his goblet to them.
Jonas whispered quickly, "Raise your goblet to him but say nothing."
Taiyo did as Jonas did which got a smile from Aragorn before he turned his attention to a servant who just tapped his shoulder. Taiyo looked to see who the servan was and was so suprised to see Thinfeaion as a servant he spit his drink out.
"Thinfeaion!" he said in a low wisper, "What are you doing here!?" Thinfeaion turned his head slightly and gave his usual grin,
"You didnt think I was going to just leave you here did you, I told you I am the son of the rain god Araglarion, I can manipulate things to my will." Thinfeaion said with his mind, Jonas turned around when Taiyo coughed, "Taiyo are you ok?" he asked, Taiyo looked at Thinfeaion who spoke silently through his mind again, "Do not blow my cover Taiyo son of Draiko, They may be Rangers, but I trust them less than I trust you." Taiyo turned back to Jonas, "Yes Jonas im fine, I just choked on my drink." Taiyo then fell silent, contimplating what he was going to do now that Thinfeaion was in the camp.
Thinfeaion cast a glance back to the head table before heading back to the kitchen to get more food for the Rangers. He briefly caught Aragorn's eye and quickly turned away. Aragorn watched thoughtfully as Thinfeaion made his way gracefully through the crowded dining room.
Taiyo got a sudden wave of fear went over him as he looked at Aragorn give that pecular look. Taiyo wanted to leave suddenly and get Thinfeaion. Jonas looked over at him, "Is everything alright Taiyo, you look as though you have seen a ghost?" Taiyo looked over quickly to Jonas, "Uh yes I am fine, I just feel a little nervous I guess." Jonas gave a slight laugh, "You have no reason to be nervious, just relax."
Aragorn stood up and looked at Taiyo, he beckoned to a servant and pointed over to him. The servant walked up to Taiyo, "The king would like a word with you after your meal in his room." he said, Taiyo stammered, "Uh uh....very well." The servant left, and Taiyo sunk down where he sat. "He knows about Thinfeaion." he thought desperately.
Taiyo watched as Aragorn left the dining room. He knew he couldn't delay going to the King's chambers for too long, he was already done eating and he wasn't going back for more food.
Jonas looked at him concerned. "He wants to talk to you if you are done with your meal, Taiyo."
"I know. I never met or spoke with anyone like him before," said Taiyo.
"Don't worry. It's going to be okay, Taiyo." smiled Jonas.
"I guess so. I'll see you later," Taiyo told him, as he headed off to Aragorn's chamber where he stood at his door with his hand raised to knock on the door itself.
Knock. Knock.
A male voice called out from within the room. "Enter!"
Taiyo bowed.
" You wanted to see me, sir?" he said. Aragorn nodded.
" I have never seen you here before." he said. " Who are you, and why have you come."
" My name is Taiyo, sir." said Taiyo. " And... well... I don't exactly know why I've come."
" I see." said Aragorn. " Well, perhaps I can help you. I shall make you a soldier of Gondor."
" A- a soldier?" stammered Taiyo. " Of Gondor? But- but why, sir?"
" An honourary soldier." said Aragorn. " For your time here."
Taiyo bowed, not knowing what to say, "I-I thank you my Lord, this is an honor I will carry with pride." he said. Aragorn smiled with approval.
Taiyo let out a quiet sigh of releif, "He doesn't know about Thinfeaion." Aragorn gave a thoughtful smile at Taiyo.
"You know that servant boy don't you?" Aragorn said. Taiyo blinked in slight shock, "Uh yes my Lord, he...he is from my village, I did not know that he was here until I saw him serving you." he said, Taiyo felt another wave of panic wash over him, he didn't know why but he felt obligated to protect Thinfeaion.
"Just curious about him. You may go." Aragorn said.
Taiyo bowed and walked out of the chamber. He decided to walk around the camp when he noticed three Rangers whispering quietly. He snuck close to where they were without being seen.
"Kill him. He's not even our rightful King. If we kill Aragorn, the true rightful King of Gondor will rise up and make Gondor grand once again!" one of them whispered.
Taiyo knew they were plotting Aragorn's murder. He slipped out and started to rush back to where Aragorn's room was to warn him about the attempt on his life.
But the King was not in his room. Taiyo started to rush back to the dining hall to find that he was not there at all. Taiyo asked some of the servants where Aragorn was at that moment that he needed to speak with him urgently. They didn't know where he was at.
Taiyo returned to his tent to see Jonas sitting there.
"So what happened?" Jonas asked.
"Oh..it went fine. He just wanted to talk to me about something. But I really need your help, Jonas. He is in grave danger." spoke Taiyo, as he rushed to the tent flap and checked who was out there.
"Who do you mean?" asked Jonas, looking at him.
"Aragorn. Someone is wanting to kill him. Three Rangers want to kill him. I have to find Aragorn and warn him," said Taiyo, looking at him strongly.
Jonas looked shocked. "Are you sure, Taiyo?"
"Yes! I overheard them whispering about it. I know I have to find him and warn him. I have to go to wherever he is and warn him." spoke Taiyo.
"He could be anywhere and he would know if someone is trying something like that, Taiyo. Don't worry so much." Jonas said.
"I can't stop worrying about him. I must go find him." Taiyo whispered. "Will you help me?"
"I'll tell you where you can probably find him right now, Taiyo." spoke Jonas, placing his hand on his shoulder.
Jonas led Taiyo out of their tent and headed towards the castle, where he waved at a few people and walked towards the stables. He headed towards one of the stableboys and spoke with him. Jonas returned to Taiyo's side.
"Taiyo, can you ride a horse?" asked Jonas, looking at him.
"Yes, but why?" asked Taiyo.
"Because Aragorn has gone riding with one of his best friends. If you want to warn him about the attempt on his life, you must ride out to where he is and warn him," said Jonas.
"All right, give me the fastest horse in the stable," Taiyo said, knowing if he didn't ride the fastest horse, Aragorn might be killed.
The stableboy gave Taiyo a bay steed which he mounted quickly and was told where Aragorn was heading towards.
"Mirkwood. If you are able to get to him, they will send several archers to protect him till they are taken care of," whispered Jonas. "Good luck my friend."
Taiyo urged the steed into a full speed gallop out of the stable and away from the castle heading for Mirkwood
Taiyo rode quickly towards Mirkwood, he looked around urgently seeing if he could spot Aragorn.
"Ugh I shall never find him at this rate." he thought starting to feel hoplessness. Suddenly he heard two men not to far from him.
"It must be him!" Taiyo thought, he quickened the pace of his horse and rode up to Aragorn.
"ARAGORN!!" he cried, Aragorn turned around a little suprised to see Taiyo, "Yes? What is it, you looked troubled?"
Taiyo caught his breath, "My Lord I have ridden with urgent news! I overheard three men in our camp plotting your death!!!"
The blond haired elf that rode next to him was shocked and whispered in elven a word that made Aragorn look shocked at him.
Aragorn made the sign to dismount as he did himself. "I see I was right to pick you as an honor guard. You did me proud, Taiyo. Now, we plot against the three Rangers who think they can plot my death."
The elf spoke, "Aragorn, surely you must let me kill them for their plot against your life."
"No, Legolas. We will plot their defeat. Taiyo, you will not tell anyone about this beyond your bunkmate." said Aragorn, as they dicussed the plan to defeat the three Rangers.
Taiyo, Aragorn and Legolas rode back to the castle where Aragorn and Legolas went to their rooms. Taiyo walked back to his tent where Jonas was waiting.
"So did you find him?" he asked.
"Yes, I found him and his friend Legolas. I warned them both about the attempt." said Taiyo, as he laid down on his bed.
Jonas watched his friend sleep as he wondered what will happen to Aragorn and Taiyo if the three Rangers found out that they were overheard. He shook his head as he sat down on his bed.
The tent flap moved in and out with someone's hand rasping on the tent.
"Who is it?" asked Jonas, as Taiyo woke up.
"Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood, I wish to speak with Taiyo. Is he there?" asked the male elven voice.
"I'm here, Legolas," spoke Taiyo. He watched as the tall blond haired elf enter the tent. "Is anything wrong?" Mirian gazed at the small silver pendant her father had given to her just before he had left. The candlelight gave a warm glow to the flaked flower- petals, radiating outward like shimmering sunlight across a pond. Outside her tent, she could hear the commotion coming from that new recruit's tent. Taiyo was his name.
End of Chapter one
The sun was begining to set, the sky was painted a bright orange, with a purple out line of the clouds. The wind began to pick up, and there stood a lone figure, staring off at the small village he left behind. The young mans name was Taiyo, born of a well breed family, though he himself was considered the black sheep. He wore black silk, his black hair tied back in a red velvet ribbon, with a satchel and sword that hung at his waist. He turned his back on the village, with one thought in his mind, "I will never return home again."
As the sky darkened, crystal stars began to shine and a bright sliver of moon hung suspended over the horizon. The road before him gleamed softly, beckoning him on to the unknown.
It had been a long hard winter and he had worked as hard as all the others for the good of the village, and still they wouldn't accept him.
Taiyo sighed with disatisfaction, why look back when no one there would care that he had gone? Over the years he had become used to the blows and scorn from his father but he would never get used to the fact that, the man had never loved him blaming him no doubt for his mother's death.
His father had cried as he had fallen into a drunken stupour his rage finally spent "not even mine" he sobbed "not mine".
So he carried on without regret or remorse, "I will not be missed, and i will not miss them." Taiyo, started his way down the unkown road, the wind howled as though to say, "Dont look back, your path lies here, you are your own self and always will be." His dark obsidian colored eyes, caught the last bit of color the sky held, before it became a dark abyss.
Silence, was all that could be heard now, and he knew there would be no one for miles.
Taiyo walked on for some miles. He wished he had taken a horse as all this walking was getting to his feet. He sat down near a brush to rest. He sniffed the air, leapt to his feet and grabbed his sword. He could smell sulfur, but what did it mean?
The brush he sat near burst into flames in the most biblical sort of way. Out of the flames rose a figure. The figure was hard to make out, male, female; Alf?
"Take my hand Tai." The figure stretched out a hand engulfed in fire.
"The name is Taiyo, and I will not touch your hand, it's on fire. I am liable to get burned."
The figure looked down at a stone tablet, "Taiyo eh, Taiyo. Sorry about this, wrong lonesone traveler." The figure disappeared but left Taiyo with an uneasy feeling of dread, not to mention a burning brush and a heavy dry cleaning bill.
Taiyo scratched his head with a slightly confused look on his face, "What was that about." he thought. Deciding not to dwell on it to much he continued down the road, not knowing what to expect. While he wandered down the dark dirt road, he heard yelling off in the distance. Drawing his sword Taiyo ran quietly to see what it was, he stopped and hid in the brush, not to far from him was a young boy running down the road, followed by two men, dressed in armor. "Come back here you theif!!!" they two men yelled, the kid turned his head, yelling back in response, "You have to catch me first!!!" then excellerated his speed.
Taiyo grabbed the kid by his arm and dragged him into the bush. "He~!!!" the kids mouth was covered by Taiyo's hand, hushing him. They both watched as the two men ran by the area where they hid.
The two men left the area as Taiyo held the boy still.
It took another few minutes before he turned to look at the young boy to find that he was a young male elf.
i'm the son of the rain god, said the kid
those men wanted to kill me and take my powers, so that they could rule the world
"The rain God..." Taiyo, muttered. he stood up, and introduced himself, "I am Taiyo, son of Draiko, head of the village not to far from here." the elven boy smiled "My name is Thinfëaion, son of Araglarion, the rain god." Taiyo looked around listening closely to see if the men were coming back. "They are gone, but you should perhaps stay with me for a while, because if there are people after you its better to have friends." Thinfeaion, nodded, "Your very sharp for a man." he joked, Taiyo slightly annoyed and amused, started along the side of the road, gesturing for Thinfeaion to follow. Thinfeaion shrugged with a smile, and followed him.
Taiyo had no way of knowing that Thinfeaion was never in any danger. He was fond of playing pranks on Men and was actually having a good time when Taiyo grabbed him. Thinfeaion was notorious with the other elves for having a really bizarre sense of humor.
in fact, he had just turned all of the tables in the guard house upside down, upsetting quite a few people. the guards had decided that he stole a lot of stuff, so they wanted to catch him, and make him pay for the supposed crimes.
But Taiyo knew nothing of this, all he knew was that he had a young elf behind him, claiming to be the son of a rain god,
"Rain god..." he murmured, then louder, "Rain god? then why are you here?"
The elf man smiled before replying that...
"Why not? This planet, whose name I conviently forgot, can be such a fun place sometimes."
The elf boy ran ahead of Taiyo. Taiyo followed trying to keep quiet but stepped on many branches and succomb to other stupid cliches found in Fenimore Cooper novels. When Taiyo turned round a bend near the river he found the elf splashing around violently.
"Help! I can't...swi...m!" Taiyo dashed in to save the boy. He didn't notice the depth of river suddenly drop off and found himself under the water soon enough. The elf boy was safely splashing about on a rock that for some reason sat high enough in the middle of the river. "I'm the sun of the rain god, why wouldn't I know how to swim!? Silly man."
Taiyo climbed out of the water, not amused, "I should have known better." he thought. Thinfëaion laughed, "Your so serious, but then most of your kind are." Thinfëaion, trotted out of the water up to Taiyo "So, where are you headed, Taiyo?" he asked with his hands behind his back, looking innocently up at him.
"To the North. I hear the Rangers are looking for more men." spoke Taiyo, as he started to walk away from the young elf.
"You will not find rangers without my help mortal man; or they will find you first and kill you. Shall I not accompany you?"
Taiyo looked back at Thinfëaion, "If you want to." he started, "But i dont know what good you could be of me you littler trickster." Thinfëaion protested, "I can do plenty, here ill show you."
Thinfëaion snapped his fingers as Taiyo looked at him. "Now look at yourself, Taiyo."
Taiyo held out his hands and saw that they were not his own; weather-beaten and hale-strong they now appeared. Slowly lifting and turning his fore-arm so that the sleeves of his silken jerkin fell away he beheld the limbs of a much stronger man than he. A cold shudder passed through him; "what have you done to me fool!?" he cried, loathe to be subject to any sorcery.
Thinfëaion snapped his fingers again and this time, Taiyo was reverted back to his original form but the clothing he wore stated something else.
"The clothes...they aren't mine!" yelled Taiyo, looking down at the armor he now wore. He noticed that they were belonging to the ranks of the Rangers beginning level.
Thinfëaion smiled and spoke, "You are now a Ranger in the lower levels. Training camp is in the north near Gondor. The new King of Gondor is a former Ranger. He usually is the one who watches as the new Rangers are training. He usually will join in and train alongside of them."
They both started to walk towards Gondor in respective quiet.
Taiyo, walked quietly, not saying a word to the young elf. He felt a bit annoyed, having himself become a subject to the magic of an elf. As they made their way to Gondor, Taiyo felt a sense of panic, "What am i doing?" he cried at last before reaching the gates. Thinfëaion jumped backwards, slightly startled by the sudden outburst. "What is the matter." he said calmly, Taiyo turned around "What makes you think i want to become a Ranger of the North??" he said still in a panic, Thinfëaion smiled, "I can see it in your eyes Taiyo, you want to defy your father, and become a Ranger, just to show him you can decide things on your own." Taiyo stopped, "How did you know that?" Thinfëaion laughed, "Silly Taiyo, I'm very similar to you, i defy my father all the time, but to become a ranger and help a mortal man, would really get him to create some terrible storms." Taiyo felt no comfort in that but decided to continue to Gondor
Taiyo and Thinfëaion walked for several more miles till they saw a line of young men some dressed like Taiyo was. Taiyo was not sure which line he was to get in.
"Young man, you go in this line!" yelled a man at the beginning of the line pointing towards Taiyo to move into the right side of the line.
Taiyo did what he was told with a brisk nod.
It was not too long before he got up to where the man was.
"All right, your papers from your captain." spoke the man, holding his hand out to Taiyo.
"Um...right. My papers," spoke Taiyo, as he started to search his pouch. There was a rolled up scroll which wasn't there before. He pulled it out and handed it to the man.
He read it off and told him where to go.
Taiyo nodded as he hurried off to his new bunk. He glanced behind to see Thinfëaion walking next to him. "I had no papers, Thinfëaion. Did you put that paper in my pouch?"
Taiyo found the elf's expression disquieting and suppressed a shudder as he followed the others assigned to his unit. "What have I gotten myself into?" he thought.
he looked around at all of the other rangers lounging about, he glanced back at Thinfëaion. but the elf was no where to be found. Taiyo faltered in his step and would have gone to look for the elf, but the ranger behind him told him to keep moving. Taiyo did as he was told glancing around quickly, trying to catch a glimpse of Thinfëaion.
Taiyo never saw the young elf after that. Taiyo got into his tent where he was to bunk with another Ranger in training.
Taiyo now realized how tired he was as he saw the bed and he laid down on it and closed his eyes, not minding that the other Ranger was busily making sure everything was perfect.
An hour after Taiyo laid down, he was shakened awake by the Ranger.
"Come on, dinner is about to be given out. You can sleep later. I'm Jonas," spoke the blond haired young man.
"Taiyo," replied Taiyo, as he followed Jonas out of the tent and to the line of men waiting for their meal.
While Taiyo was waiting in line he observed some of the other men. He saw that most of them were wearing a silver leaf clasp on their cloaks. He turned to Jonas and asked what they were.
" They are the clasps that show the ranks of the men. When we have finished our training we will recieve them. But I have heard that only the men recieve them if they finish a very hard task once the training is over. It is a big honor to recieve one of those, they are made by the Elves. It would mean that we have passed the first stage of becoming a Ranger."
Taiyo looked at a man near him with one of the clasps. It shown in the silver light of the moon and a red gem glimmerd at the base of the leaf.
While Taiyo looked at it with misty eyes, he wondered what horrible task he would need to perform to recieve a silver leaf of his own.
Taiyo also noticed that someone tall and regal looking but yet didn't look like he was anyone important was in that group of Rangers. He nudged Jonas and asked him about that Ranger.
"You mean him?" asked Jonas, tilting his head towards the Ranger.
"Yes. He doesn't look like a Ranger," spoke Taiyo.
"Cause, he's Aragorn, the King of Gondor and he is a Ranger," replied Jonas. "We'll see him a lot around here. If he's down here, he must be training his body again. He'll be here sleeping like the rest of us."
"I don't think he will be sleeping like the rest of us, Jonas. He'll head back to the castle and sleep with his wife or his girlfriend," spoke Taiyo, as they sat down at their table and started to eat.
Taiyo gazzed in wonderment at the Ranger/King of Gondor that was sitting at a table near him talking with some of the older Rangers
Aragorn noticed that he was being watched by couple of the newer Rangers as he looked their way and raised his goblet to them.
Jonas whispered quickly, "Raise your goblet to him but say nothing."
Taiyo did as Jonas did which got a smile from Aragorn before he turned his attention to a servant who just tapped his shoulder. Taiyo looked to see who the servan was and was so suprised to see Thinfeaion as a servant he spit his drink out.
"Thinfeaion!" he said in a low wisper, "What are you doing here!?" Thinfeaion turned his head slightly and gave his usual grin,
"You didnt think I was going to just leave you here did you, I told you I am the son of the rain god Araglarion, I can manipulate things to my will." Thinfeaion said with his mind, Jonas turned around when Taiyo coughed, "Taiyo are you ok?" he asked, Taiyo looked at Thinfeaion who spoke silently through his mind again, "Do not blow my cover Taiyo son of Draiko, They may be Rangers, but I trust them less than I trust you." Taiyo turned back to Jonas, "Yes Jonas im fine, I just choked on my drink." Taiyo then fell silent, contimplating what he was going to do now that Thinfeaion was in the camp.
Thinfeaion cast a glance back to the head table before heading back to the kitchen to get more food for the Rangers. He briefly caught Aragorn's eye and quickly turned away. Aragorn watched thoughtfully as Thinfeaion made his way gracefully through the crowded dining room.
Taiyo got a sudden wave of fear went over him as he looked at Aragorn give that pecular look. Taiyo wanted to leave suddenly and get Thinfeaion. Jonas looked over at him, "Is everything alright Taiyo, you look as though you have seen a ghost?" Taiyo looked over quickly to Jonas, "Uh yes I am fine, I just feel a little nervous I guess." Jonas gave a slight laugh, "You have no reason to be nervious, just relax."
Aragorn stood up and looked at Taiyo, he beckoned to a servant and pointed over to him. The servant walked up to Taiyo, "The king would like a word with you after your meal in his room." he said, Taiyo stammered, "Uh uh....very well." The servant left, and Taiyo sunk down where he sat. "He knows about Thinfeaion." he thought desperately.
Taiyo watched as Aragorn left the dining room. He knew he couldn't delay going to the King's chambers for too long, he was already done eating and he wasn't going back for more food.
Jonas looked at him concerned. "He wants to talk to you if you are done with your meal, Taiyo."
"I know. I never met or spoke with anyone like him before," said Taiyo.
"Don't worry. It's going to be okay, Taiyo." smiled Jonas.
"I guess so. I'll see you later," Taiyo told him, as he headed off to Aragorn's chamber where he stood at his door with his hand raised to knock on the door itself.
Knock. Knock.
A male voice called out from within the room. "Enter!"
Taiyo bowed.
" You wanted to see me, sir?" he said. Aragorn nodded.
" I have never seen you here before." he said. " Who are you, and why have you come."
" My name is Taiyo, sir." said Taiyo. " And... well... I don't exactly know why I've come."
" I see." said Aragorn. " Well, perhaps I can help you. I shall make you a soldier of Gondor."
" A- a soldier?" stammered Taiyo. " Of Gondor? But- but why, sir?"
" An honourary soldier." said Aragorn. " For your time here."
Taiyo bowed, not knowing what to say, "I-I thank you my Lord, this is an honor I will carry with pride." he said. Aragorn smiled with approval.
Taiyo let out a quiet sigh of releif, "He doesn't know about Thinfeaion." Aragorn gave a thoughtful smile at Taiyo.
"You know that servant boy don't you?" Aragorn said. Taiyo blinked in slight shock, "Uh yes my Lord, he...he is from my village, I did not know that he was here until I saw him serving you." he said, Taiyo felt another wave of panic wash over him, he didn't know why but he felt obligated to protect Thinfeaion.
"Just curious about him. You may go." Aragorn said.
Taiyo bowed and walked out of the chamber. He decided to walk around the camp when he noticed three Rangers whispering quietly. He snuck close to where they were without being seen.
"Kill him. He's not even our rightful King. If we kill Aragorn, the true rightful King of Gondor will rise up and make Gondor grand once again!" one of them whispered.
Taiyo knew they were plotting Aragorn's murder. He slipped out and started to rush back to where Aragorn's room was to warn him about the attempt on his life.
But the King was not in his room. Taiyo started to rush back to the dining hall to find that he was not there at all. Taiyo asked some of the servants where Aragorn was at that moment that he needed to speak with him urgently. They didn't know where he was at.
Taiyo returned to his tent to see Jonas sitting there.
"So what happened?" Jonas asked.
"Oh..it went fine. He just wanted to talk to me about something. But I really need your help, Jonas. He is in grave danger." spoke Taiyo, as he rushed to the tent flap and checked who was out there.
"Who do you mean?" asked Jonas, looking at him.
"Aragorn. Someone is wanting to kill him. Three Rangers want to kill him. I have to find Aragorn and warn him," said Taiyo, looking at him strongly.
Jonas looked shocked. "Are you sure, Taiyo?"
"Yes! I overheard them whispering about it. I know I have to find him and warn him. I have to go to wherever he is and warn him." spoke Taiyo.
"He could be anywhere and he would know if someone is trying something like that, Taiyo. Don't worry so much." Jonas said.
"I can't stop worrying about him. I must go find him." Taiyo whispered. "Will you help me?"
"I'll tell you where you can probably find him right now, Taiyo." spoke Jonas, placing his hand on his shoulder.
Jonas led Taiyo out of their tent and headed towards the castle, where he waved at a few people and walked towards the stables. He headed towards one of the stableboys and spoke with him. Jonas returned to Taiyo's side.
"Taiyo, can you ride a horse?" asked Jonas, looking at him.
"Yes, but why?" asked Taiyo.
"Because Aragorn has gone riding with one of his best friends. If you want to warn him about the attempt on his life, you must ride out to where he is and warn him," said Jonas.
"All right, give me the fastest horse in the stable," Taiyo said, knowing if he didn't ride the fastest horse, Aragorn might be killed.
The stableboy gave Taiyo a bay steed which he mounted quickly and was told where Aragorn was heading towards.
"Mirkwood. If you are able to get to him, they will send several archers to protect him till they are taken care of," whispered Jonas. "Good luck my friend."
Taiyo urged the steed into a full speed gallop out of the stable and away from the castle heading for Mirkwood
Taiyo rode quickly towards Mirkwood, he looked around urgently seeing if he could spot Aragorn.
"Ugh I shall never find him at this rate." he thought starting to feel hoplessness. Suddenly he heard two men not to far from him.
"It must be him!" Taiyo thought, he quickened the pace of his horse and rode up to Aragorn.
"ARAGORN!!" he cried, Aragorn turned around a little suprised to see Taiyo, "Yes? What is it, you looked troubled?"
Taiyo caught his breath, "My Lord I have ridden with urgent news! I overheard three men in our camp plotting your death!!!"
The blond haired elf that rode next to him was shocked and whispered in elven a word that made Aragorn look shocked at him.
Aragorn made the sign to dismount as he did himself. "I see I was right to pick you as an honor guard. You did me proud, Taiyo. Now, we plot against the three Rangers who think they can plot my death."
The elf spoke, "Aragorn, surely you must let me kill them for their plot against your life."
"No, Legolas. We will plot their defeat. Taiyo, you will not tell anyone about this beyond your bunkmate." said Aragorn, as they dicussed the plan to defeat the three Rangers.
Taiyo, Aragorn and Legolas rode back to the castle where Aragorn and Legolas went to their rooms. Taiyo walked back to his tent where Jonas was waiting.
"So did you find him?" he asked.
"Yes, I found him and his friend Legolas. I warned them both about the attempt." said Taiyo, as he laid down on his bed.
Jonas watched his friend sleep as he wondered what will happen to Aragorn and Taiyo if the three Rangers found out that they were overheard. He shook his head as he sat down on his bed.
The tent flap moved in and out with someone's hand rasping on the tent.
"Who is it?" asked Jonas, as Taiyo woke up.
"Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood, I wish to speak with Taiyo. Is he there?" asked the male elven voice.
"I'm here, Legolas," spoke Taiyo. He watched as the tall blond haired elf enter the tent. "Is anything wrong?" Mirian gazed at the small silver pendant her father had given to her just before he had left. The candlelight gave a warm glow to the flaked flower- petals, radiating outward like shimmering sunlight across a pond. Outside her tent, she could hear the commotion coming from that new recruit's tent. Taiyo was his name.
End of Chapter one