Authors Note: Pronunciation Guide at the end of this Chapter. Please tell me what you think! Happy Readings! - K. Jeynkins
DISCLAIMER: I own Areleyn, Aayla, Galion, and Elrond's study. The rest goes to Tolkien and Salvatore.
Lord Elrond was still working on the riddle that would wake the sleeping beauty. That's what the elves called her. They dramatized her story, of course, by saying the tree, Alana, was mad and she didn't nurture her or love her so Alana "cocooned" her body until her true love kissed her. No one ever really knew the actual reason of why she was in the tree in the first place. Although, everyone knew there was some being in Alana that kept Wyvellya Foryal healthy and safe. That's why Elrond established Rivendell in the forest in the first place. It was one of the most feared and protected forests in the realm. Many elves had tried to figure out why but all exhibitions had failed.
Elrond hoped it was the person the world wished it to be. Supposedly, she was the fairest elf to ever walk on Middle Earth. From what Elrond had read in stories from thousands of years past, she originally was a goddess but the assassination of one of her kin resulted in her exile from her realm. The gods sent her in two peasant forms. The evil part of her formed an entirely different entity who became her brother named, Sauron, while the loving and caring part of her, dubbed Areleyn, became an ally to the good people of Middle Earth. Other stories claimed she was a simple she-elf that was angered when her husband was murdered by some assassins and mastered in blade and sorcery. Either way, either story, this woman was dangerous. She was the only one that could stop what he had foreseen.
Elrond scanned the last record that this goddess had written on. The entire document was damaged, save one line. Her only words left were…
"I will only be again when a good drow is kissed, in the circle, by mine own rose."
He'd heard of a drow that had forsaken his homeland underground and whose actions were unlike any other dark elf. He had recently dispatched two of his most skilled trackers to locate and summon this Drizzt Do'Urden to his court… "Mine own rose" What could that mean? What circle does she refer to, the tree or a special magical summoning circle?
The door to his book-filled study abruptly opened. A round- bellied Halfling entered with a grim expression on his face. Elrond's elderly butler, Galion, stopped reading and shelving books Elrond had already discarded on his tall ladder. After a few words were exchanged, Galion briskly walked away from the Halfling and approached him. "Milord, he's arrived."
Authors Note: Here's the Pronunciation Guide for this chapter. Thanks for your time! - K. Jeynkins
Pronunciation Guide:
Areleyn – air-uh- lin (lin is pronounced like in)
Alana – uh-law-nuh
Wyvellya Foryal – wi-vell-yuh for-ee-ell (vell is pronounced like yell)
Galion – gah-lee-un
Aalya – all-yuh