'Never underestimate the power of the soul unleashed.'

Chapter 4: The Waking Hour

Light.

Blinding. Suffocating. Enveloping.

He felt light...incorporeal. He was...floating, amidst an ocean of shimmering white.

He looked down, and his eyes widened at the gaping wound in his chest. He touched it tentatively...and felt nothing. Even the blood gathered around the wound appeared...frozen.

"What happened?" He asked aloud, his voice hoarse and raw.

"You died," came a voice from behind him, and he spun. He closed his eyes in disbelief, but upon opening them, she was still there. "We died."

"Gin?" He rasped, trying to clear his throat. "Wha-where?"

She moved closer, seeming to glide effortlessly in the air. Smiling sadly, she reached up and gently stroked his cheek, before looking around slowly.

"This is heaven...I think," she said softly. "We're dead, and this...this is the afterlife."

A moment passed in silence.

"Then I have failed," Harry said at last, looking around. "I failed to protect you, I failed to protect our people...I failed to protect our world."

"No, no, you didn't fail me love," she reassured him, "You've never failed me. We're together, at least, and that's all that matters."

"This is not heaven, and you have not died," interupted a kind, yet firm male voice from behind them. They whirled around to see a figure emerging from the mists, striding upon the surface of the air as though it were solid stone. The figure stopped, a faint, wry smile upon his face. "Well, not exactly."

"Nor have you failed," came another voice, this one female, as another figure emerged from the mists to stand beside the first. This one smiled at them in a motherly way, eyes full of love and caring.

"What are you talking about? How did we 'not exactly' die? Who are you? What's going on? Where are we?" Harry blurted out the questions in rapid succession.

"Which would you like answered first?" The male asked, eyes twinkling with humour.

"Go in order please," Ginny inserted, looking nervously at them.

"In order? Very well," he replied, nodding slowly, before looking at his companion. "Atara?"

The female, Atara evidently, inclined her head briefly, before speaking.

"Tell me child," she said, addressing Harry. "How can you fail when you do not know your task?"

"What?" Harry asked in confusion.

"You say you have failed. Yet how do you know you failed?" She asked gently.

"Well, I just thought-"

"Moving on though," She said, smiling faintly. "You have not died. Not exactly. When an elf dies, their soul moves on to another plane of existence."

She looked around for a moment, then looked them both in the eye one at a time.

"This is not that plane. Here, time has long been powerless. For an age, this place has remained inviolate, still and silent. Waiting. You have not died. While your bodies are not exactly...whole," she said, gesturing briefly Harry's wounds. "Your souls had not yet passed beyond when we brought them here...stole them you could say."

"You stole our souls?" Ginny cried in shock.

Atara laughed. "Well, yes, in a way. We intercepted them before they were out of reach, and re-routed them. Although I must admit, I was somewhat surprised to get both of you."

Her companion laughed, and looked at her in a loving sort of way. "It is entirely your fault you know."

Atara sighed, looking up at him briefly, and giving a fake smile. "Yes, thank you Adaron dear. I did realize that."

"Wait," Harry said, butting into their little conversation. "If we're not dead...you can send us back right? I can't leave them, I need to go back."

Adaron looked at him, and smiled. "That is a noble wish child, but no. When you return to the physical plane, your wounds will be real once more. Were we to return you now, one of two things would happen. Either you would bleed away you're the rest life before help could come, or, if by some very lucky chance you could be healed in time, you would rejoin the fight against your enemies-"

"Exactly! You must let me return, they need me, I must help them!" Harry exclaimed.

Adaron looked at him sadly, shaking his head. "You would rejoin the fight, but it would do no good. Your aid as you are now would not be enough to turn the tide. You would lose. You would lose and you would die, and so would everything else you care about."

Harry paled, and looked downcast, dejected.

"But there is another way," Atara continued, and Harry looked up again.

"What is it?" Ginny asked, her hand reaching for Harry's and gripping it tightly.

"There are those who could heal your wounds with ease. Those who could turn the tide," Adaron said, and his voice took on a deeper, stronger sound. "However, there is a price to be paid for their aid."

"What price?" Harry asked.

"You," Atara said simply.

"What?" Harry and Ginny both said together.

"It is the sacrifice you must make. You are the price. Accept, and they shall fight." Adaron said fiercely.

"And if I did this...they would help my people? Help my world?" Harry asked softly, while Ginny looked on in horror.

"They would."

"Then I am willing. If my death shall save our people, I am willing," Harry said, and he lowered his head, waiting.

Laughter from the two caused him to look up in surprise.

"You are willing to sacrifice yourself for your people," Atara said, eyes twinkling. "But are you willing to fight for them? It is your life that is required, not your death. It will not be easy, but your willingness to sacrifice shows you have the will to accomplish what needs to be done. Thus, your first task is completed, your will the key. Now you have a greater task. You were brought here for a reason. That reason lies before you.

Harry looked confused, as the two started to recede back into the mists, fading slowly from view. Around them, the mists themselves recoiled, and the air beneath them grew solid.

Adaron's voice echoed back before they faded completely.

"Your breath to awaken the sleepers."

As his words faded into nothing, the mists around them receded fully, revealing white marble beneath their feets, and far above them, whitish fog marked the edge of this...place, replacing the sky.

Yet it was not the sky above their heads, or lack thereof, that caused Harry to cry out in shock, and hope.

It was not the shining marble, or the immense horn that sat a few feet away, or the jagged mountain peak that loomed over them, dwarfing the tower on which they stood.

It was not the descending mountain ranges that spread from the peak behind them, at a natural ninety degree angle to each other, each stretching far into the distance. Each range was like a natural wall, completely unclimbable from the other side.

It was what lay between, and beyond, that caused Harry's eyes to tear.

"Harry, where-?" Ginny asked, eyes wide as she took in what lay before them.

He swallowed once, then again, still not believing what his eyes were telling him.

"We-we stand upon Ilthandar, the Tower of the Dawn. This...this is Caerdara, the City of Light. The Capital City of the High Kingdom. It was from here that the High King ruled over all of Elvendom."

Below them, sheltered between the arms of the mountain ranges, stretched forth the city. Protected by inner walls that arced between the mountain ranges, the city was divided into vast sections.

Directly beneath them sat the Royal Palace, a great edifice of stone and wood, and the Palace grounds, a vast network of forest, field and garden. A series of smaller buildings radiated outward from the central palace. The tower on which they stood drove up from where Palace met mountain. Yet there was no one visible.

Next came a wall, ten foot high and quite solid, and beyond, the first district of the city. Central in this district was the High Temple of the Light, and its grounds. Also within this ring were countless homes and manors of noble families and lords, as well as several large marketplaces and parks, open to all, yet completely devoid of any signs of life.

Next was the military ring. Here, countless soldiers and mages were trained and barracked. Here too stood the Collegium, the finest specialist and officer training academy in all of the elven lands. All the marshalling yards, the drilling fields, the training grounds...empty, lifeless.

The next ring was in some ways the heart of the city, the largest of the rings, and where the vast majority of the citizens lived. Their homes built along boulevards lined with tall, broad trees, and amidst parks full of huge trees that sheltered entire neighbourhoods under, and amongst, their great boughs. Many smaller temples were spread throughout the district, as well as many marketplaces, for those not wanting to make the trek deeper into the city. And yet here too, there was no sign of life. The trees themselves stood motionless, not a breath of wind rustling their leaves.

Then came the final wall. This loomed over the buildings near it, over twenty-five feet wide, and three times as tall. Stretching over a mile, it arced between the mountain ranges at the points where they began to become less impregnable.

"Over half a million elves called this city home, not counting its standing garrison and trainees," Harry said softly, in awe at the magnificent sight.

"Then...where are they?" Ginny asked, worriedly.

"I don't know where the citizens are, perhaps inside their homes," Harry began slowly, eyes locking on a point beyond the outer walls. "But I think I see the armies."

Ginny followed his gaze, and gasped.

Beyond the outer walls was a wide plain, stretching over a league before a great forest stood. There, upon the grassy plains, stood the might of the Elven Legions.

Still as statues, rank upon rank they stood, in perfect formations. Armours and weapons still gleaming, war banners hanging limp in the still air, their arms and colours hidden.

"There's so many," Ginny said in awe, gazing at the seemingly endless ocean of elves that filled the plains below.

Harry could only nod.

"But, why aren't they moving? What's going on?" Ginny asked.

Harry swallowed, looking around slowly. The stillness of the air, the motionless city, and the great, curved horn that stood mounted upon the tower behind them. The final words Adaron had spoken rang in his mind.

"My breath to awaken the sleepers," he said quietly.

"What?" Ginny questioned, following his gaze.

"They are asleep," he whispered, looking over at her in sudden realization. "That's what happened, what caused the Vanishing...they came...here. I don't know why but...they are here, they have been here...frozen in time, for seven thousand years."

He strode towards the horn, his hand faintly tracing the carvings and designs upon it as he moved around it, to the mouthpiece.

He looked over at her again, uncertainty evident on his eyes, and she nodded softly, reassuring him.

"Well, here goes," he muttered, shrugging slightly. Inhaling deeply, he put his mouth to the mouthpiece and blew.

A moment passed before Ginny broke the silence,

"I think it's broken."

He looked at her confused, then shrugged again. He knew how to blow a horn, so it wasn't that...by all rights it should have made noise.

Suddenly, he stiffened, as he felt a faint breeze blow past, the first sign of any air movement since they'd arrived. Looking around quickly, he moved back to the edge of the tower, looking out over the city once more.

It came from below, from the heart of the tower, as though the horn he had winded had been but a trigger for another deeper within the tower. As though someone else had heard something he had not, and was responding. A low, resounding thrum that built up as it spread, echoing from the mountains, growing louder and louder as it spread through the city like a wave.

Faintly, amidst the echoing resonance of the sound, Harry could swear he heard a voice whispering in the air.

"Awaken," the voice urged, swirling round his head, and he felt a sudden lightening of his spirit, felt more energised, as though the magic effected even him. "Awaken, my warriors, my people. Long have we slept, awaiting the foreseen time when we would be needed once more. That time has come. Awake, and shake the palsy from your limbs, the sleep from your minds. Awake, and resume your duties. Awake, and prepare, for our hour is nigh."

Harry and Ginny watched silently as, far in the distance, the armies on the field began to move, stirring faintly as they slowly returned to wakefulness.

"Look," Ginny said, pointing far below them, to where a single robed figure strode from the Palace, to stand in the centre of the wide courtyard directly in front of it. A simple wooden staff was held within the figure's hands. Moments later, the pair felt a strange power suffusing the air around them, as the figure below pointed its staff upwards, towards them, somehow knowing them to be there.

Moments later, they stood on the ground below. Directly before them stood the elf, wearing fine robes with an intricate blue and gold pattern upon them. The elves' eyes took them in slowly, studying them, and they studied him in turn. He was taller then they, and older, stern looking. What struck them most though was the pale silvery-blue tattoo of an eight pointed star that shimmered upon his right cheek, one of the points cutting across his eye just touching to his forehead. It gave him a very mysterious and regal look.

He looked them over for a moment, shaking his head slightly.

"So, this is what they give us is it?" He murmured, more to himself then to them, but obviously meant for them to overhear. They got the strange feeling he was speaking a language they did not know, but somehow, through some magic, understood. "Hmm...not much to look at. I fail to see what makes you so special, but that's not my place to decide, I have my orders."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, somewhat offended. "Who are you?"

The elf looked somewhat disinterested in the whole thing, but answered.

"I am Lord Valan, First Chancellor to the High King, Duke of the Airne Marches, and Royal Battlemage. I am also your transportation." The elf responded, in a dignified air.

"Transportation?" Ginny asked shyly, somewhat in awe of his titles. "To where?"

He looked at her sharply, almost confused for a moment, before answering.

"You should be honoured. The High King has decided that you are to be trained in our ways. However, we have neither the time, nor the teachers to spare for such a task now. So, it has been decided to send you to where we can train you. I've little time, so I must prepare you quickly."

He paused for a moment, studying them again.

"Where we are sending you, is right back where you came from," he said, before pausing for a moment, smirking slightly. "When however, is, by your year, a very long time into the past."

Harry's eyes widened in shock, then understanding. It was so great an opportunity...to train in the glory days of his people, he could scarcely believe it.

"However, I can't send you like that, there can be no chance of your likenesses being recorded, and remembered," Valan said, before lifting a hand in front of him, and making a slight gesture. "There. Your scar was too noticeable," he said, pointing at Harry, "and your hair too unique, for there are few of our people with such a colour," he continued, gesturing to Ginny.

Harry's scar faded, and Ginny's hair slowly turned a dark, rich brown. Harry's hair as well slowly lightened, settling at a golden blond. He scowled darkly, as Ginny snickered at his discomfort.

"That should be enough, appearance wise. As for names, obviously you cannot use your own, so you must come up with others." Valan said urgently, evidently getting impatient. "I'll let you decide on your own, when you arrive."

Harry opened his mouth, intending to question it all, but the Mage silenced him with a gesture.

"There is no time. Your questions will have to go unanswered. Now the High King has asked me to stress unto you one simple fact, that you must always remember. It is vital."

"What?" Harry asked, feeling completely overwhelmed by everything that was being thrown at him.

Valan looked at them seriously, making sure he had their complete attention.

"Never forget, no matter what happens, you cannot change the future" He said, emphasising his words heavily. "Do you understand me? Nothing you do can endanger what will happen, what has happened. Under no circumstances can you alter what will come to pass."

Harry and Ginny both nodded, but Valan was not finished.

"Do you understand?" He demanded, "it is vitally important."

"Yes, yes, we understand." Harry said a bit uncomfortably, "we won't change the future, I give you my word."

Valan sighed, but from relief or stress Harry couldn't tell.

"Very well," The mage said, as he began to trace intricate designs into the air in front of them with his staff. "Then there is nothing left to do but send you off. It may take me a moment, I need to draw on the power of some others to cast the spell."

Harry and Ginny watched silently as he muttered to himself for a few moments, and power began to suffuse the air around them. A fierce wind picked up, swirling around them, threatening to force them from their feet.

"Wait," Harry said quickly, a sudden question popping into his head. "How will we get back?"

The winds howled around them, and the suddenly found themselves whipped off their feet, as an impossible amount of power surged around them when Valan triggered the spell. His eyes opened before them, glowing a pale blue, the tattoo on his cheek shining with power, as his voice whispered in their heads as they were pulled away, and everything around them faded.

"You won't," came the mage's voice, soft and somewhat guilt-ridden. "This is a one way trip."

Valan stumbled, clutching his staff for support as complete exhaustion swept over him. The sheer power demand of such a spell left him drained and barely able to remain on his feet.

He looked up, as the great doors to the Palace opened, and a number of elves strode forth. Foremost amongst them however were the pair who led them, each bearing a golden crown upon their brows.

"Your Majesties, it is done," Valan said weakly, smiling faintly. "Although I do wish you hadn't forced me to be such a pretentious fool."

The High King laughed, a rich warm sound, and his Queen smiled beside him.

"You understand the reasoning for it. " she said, her tone clearly showing her amusement. "Getting to the point though, what did you think?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "They were- not what I expected, to say the least. Which, I suppose, made the act easier."

He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts, before continuing, addressing this time his king.

"Still, I think it will be a most...interesting experience for them, wouldn't you say, my Sindalion?"

The High King smiled, and nodded.

"They have no idea what lies before them," he said, his voice deep and strong. "Which is as it should be."

They stood in silence, the sounds of a city slowly coming to life growing in the air around them.

AN: Sorry for the delay, I moved a month ago, and didnt have internet for a few weeks, then wasn't able to log in at all til today to upload. I know, its somewhat short, but it was the logical place to end the chapter.

And hey...at least I let them live. (for now)