Chapter 27—The Dragon Slayer

All of the Elves were amazed at how much like a warrior the young human was already beginning to look. There was some "magic" instilled into his small sword by the elves. Whenever he wore it, he almost always had a calmer demeanor. Gilrean was amazed at the seeming change in her son. It made her happy and sad all at the same time. She was thrilled to see her son finally taking on the responsibilities that he needed to learn. But yet, she was sad to see the changes in him that were making him seem more grown up than he really was.

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At their next meeting, Estel greeted Rumil and Orophin warmly. He had heard that they had returned but had not seen them. Haldir smiled at the interaction. They had all grown close to Estel in the short time that he had been in Lórien. Haldir thought to himself, probably too close at times, but it was beneficial to them all.

Haldir told Estel to sit down. "Today is going to be a fairly easy day for all of us. There is a story of a very well known dragon slayer. We use his story to demonstrate one of the best ways to kill an animal that is above you and in very rare circumstances, any other opponent."

"There was a man named Haladin who lived at the beginning of the second age. He was of the Dunedain. Haladin was a member of the King's guard in a small village. The Dunedain had been wary of building their lives so near the mountain, but that was quickly overcome. At first, they lived in fear because this was the time when dragons were plentiful and attacked often. During this time, many men were slain while they only managed to slay a small number of the dragons."

"Then, one night, in this tiny village came the sweet sound of a harp. The people were amazed when they went outside, for up in the air was the most beautiful dragon any of them had ever seen. This dragon did not look as fearful as most, for it did not spout fire. This dragon was of a rare breed that used beauty and music to subdue its prey. Its wings looked to be made of silver and gold, but what amazed the people was the beautiful music coming from its wings. The dragon had lighted on the top of the King's house and was softly rubbing its wings together."

"Haladin was swiftly awakened by a knocking on his door. A messenger informed him that all members of the guard were to at once report to the War Room. Haladin quickly thanked the messenger and got dressed. He was amazed when he stepped outside and saw the dragon for the first time. He quickly sized up the situation based on stories he had heard and on his way to the meeting, tried to get the people back into their homes. He told them to cover their ears as well."

"At the meeting, the plan was to find a way to destroy the creature. They all knew that the hide of the dragon was far too thick to be pierced by any weapon. This council went on long into the night. By morning, they were all shocked when they finally dismissed. The entire village was in ruins and the majority of the people were dead or gravely injured. The dragon had smashed the homes and had lulled the people so that it could do its damage. The biggest surprise was that the dragon was still on the outskirts of the town. At that time, it was decided that all of the able-body men who were left would chase the dragon back into the mountains and then make some kind of attack to seek revenge."

"All of the Guard advised against the King joining them on this mission, but he refused to listen to their pleas. Why should he be the only one standing of his people if the worst should happen? A little while later, the hunting party was ready to leave. They planned to use a diversion to draw the dragon away from the village. While half of the men would be following behind, the rest would be leading the dragon on a wild goose chase. If the plan went right, they would then one by one, fall back and rejoin the rest of the men."

"This type of dragon was called Leucanandië by the Noldor of Eregion; by the elves of Rhovannion and Lórien Talagand; men simply called it 'the Harpy'. Very few had ever actually been seen, they were generally things out of legends. It was said that the majority of their kind had passed on, though a few still roamed Arda."

"The plan worked for a while, then the dragon "got smart" and started attacking the men in front of him. A few managed to make it back to where everyone else was, but this number was not very high. The dragon then continued on its trek home. The Dunedain were becoming weary, but were unwilling to let down their guard or let the dragon get too far ahead."

"They then decided to try and encircle the dragon. This did not work either due to the thickness of the trees, but as soon as the dragon saw any of them, he began smashing up the trees, killing many of the Dunedain in the process."

"The Dunedain tried many different tactics and none of them seemed to work. And along the way many more Dunedain were lost until there were only a few left. They quickly realized that the King was among the dead and decided that their best plan would be to just follow the dragon until it stopped."

"And it finally did. The dragon quickly found his cave high up in the mountains. All of the work of destroying the village had tired him out so he forgot to seal his cave as he usually did. The Dunedain took advantage of this and snuck into the cave and hid behind the dragon's treasure. The dragon awoke during the night. It had been so worn out that it did not at first notice the new smell of intruders, but the smell had quickly overpowered its nostrils. He crept up to where many of the Dunedain were sleep and began his spell again. No one trespassed into his cave and got away with it."

"Haladin awoke to the sound of his compatriots screaming. He was suddenly grateful for his desire to be alone. Though, he felt sorry for their plight, there was nothing he could do without being eaten as well. So he quickly hid behind some of the taller stacks of treasure and tried to formulate a plan. And he had one. He decided that once the dragon had had its fill, it would be tired and lethargic and that would be his opportune moment to attack. He watched as the dragon suddenly flew to a perch carved into the mountain wall. He saw this as his chance, it was now or never."

"He quickly ran out to the center of the cavern and called out to the dragon, "Hey! You forgot me! Come and get the sweetest piece of flesh ever tasted." Haladin quickly prayed that he wasn't just giving up his life rashly. The dragon did not understand his words, but he was surprised that he had missed one of the humans. He quickly flew down from his perch and began to chase Haladin around the cavern."
"Now, Estel, this is the important part for you to learn. Haladin quickly stopped in his tracks, braced himself against the wall, dug his feet sharply into the ground and thrust his blade up above him as swift and hard as possible. Now any normal blade would not be strong enough to pierce the hide of a dragon so strong, but Haladin's blade was special. It had been made and blessed by the Elven smiths of Eregion, so it quickly dug deep into the dragon's flesh. Haladin quickly removed it and ran to get out from under the dragon. He was almost out of the cave when he heard the giant crash that came when the dragon fell to its death."

"Thus, by slaying one of the deadliest dragons in all of Arda, Haladin won great renown and then ever after followed a wanderer's life."

Estel finally had the perfect name for his small blade.

Estel had told Haldir a few days later that he finally had a name for his sword. Haldir stopped him from saying anymore. "Do not tell anyone its name yet. To an elf, it is improper to say the name of a blade before it has been blessed. I will inform Lord Celeborn and let you know when the ceremony will be performed."

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"Lord Celeborn, my Lady." Haldir bowed to them. "Estel has informed me that he has named the blade that was given to him."

Celeborn nodded, "We assumed this would happen soon, so we took the liberty of informing Lord Elrond. He and the twins are already on their way here for the ceremony. It will be hard for him, but it will quickly teach Estel patience. Tell him that it will take about two weeks to prepare for the ceremony."

"Yes, my Lord, I will inform him."

--------two weeks later-------

Haldir's company was to meet the lords of Imladris on the border and sneak them in. It was a risky plan, but they believed it would work.

"My Lord Elrond, welcome back. It is a cheerful meeting indeed. Estel has no idea what the ceremony entails and our arrival is completely unknown. It was hard to keep such a secret, but it was not impossible."

Haldir quickly sized up the twin sons of Elrond who were riding beside their father and very swiftly remembered much of the torment he had received from these two and likewise helped bestow on Elrond.

"Elladan, Elrohir, pleasure to see you both again. We must catch up sometime. Elrond, how long will you be staying?"

"We are here on holiday so as long as it takes for Estel to finish his training, which I hear is coming along nicely."

"Yes, it is. He truly is extraordinary. We are very slowly learning that all our pre-conceived notions are being tossed to the winds. I know it will be a joy to him that you have come."

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"Estel, be still! The ceremony is in a few hours and you are nowhere near being ready. Get in the bath now or I will keep you here tied up so that you miss your own ceremony. In fact, I shall go inform Lady Galadriel immediately."

This scared Estel enough that he quickly did as he was told. He had had so much energy all week that it was beginning to get worse as the hour got closer.

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At the courtyard, all of the elves were already waiting. Today was a day of celebration. Most had never seen Lord Elrond or his sons except from a distance. But what they had heard had been enough information to recognize them when they rode into the city. Haldir took them to the Royal Flet and led them to their rooms so that they could change and get ready for the ceremony.

Before the ritual started, Galadriel came to visit her family. It had been a long while since she had seen her grandsons and far longer since she had seen her son-in-law. Galadriel missed Celebrian most at times like this, as did Elrond. They both missed seeing her at his side.

"Celeborn and I will be up at the front when it is announced for young Estel to pronounce the name you may come out. We will then bless the blade together. You have Vilya?"

"Yes, I have the ring. I cannot wait to see him again. As much as I don't miss the trouble he causes, I miss his spirit terribly. Anyways, shall we get started?"

Celeborn came and escorted the Lady out. The twins were just as excited as everyone else. They had missed their alone times with their foster brother.

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Estel and Gilrean came out and were taken to their places. None of the Elves had ever seen him so dressed up or well behaved. They walked slowly down the walkway towards where Galadriel and Celeborn waited for them.

Estel seated his mother in a seat on the front row and then proceeded to calmly walk to the stone table where the Lord and Lady were waiting. He walked as slowly and deliberately as he could, but the waiting was tearing him up inside he was so excited.

"Remove your blade from its scabbard and place it on the table." Estel did as he was told and thought he caught a movement from behind the tent curtain that was to the side of Celeborn. "Estel Dunedainion, it is a joyous occasion that we are able to take part in this celebration of becoming a man with you. As you well know, a sword is as dear to a Ranger's life as the very breath that is taken. You also know that it is important what you name your sword. Not only will it define you to other people, but you will define its power by this name."

This was Elrond and the twins' cue to exit from their hiding place. All of the Elves bowed before the Lord of Imladris. Estel and his mother were both equally surprised to see their foster family. Elladan and Elrohir took a seat next to Gilrean as Elrond joined Celeborn and Galadriel.

"Now you may pronounce its name. We hope that it is one that will win great renown and will do justice to the person wielding it." Estel took a deep breath and told his tale. "Haldir told me the story of Haladin the great Dragon Slayer. I choose to name my sword after the dragon. Such a thing of beauty and destruction all at once is power to me." He picked up his sword again and held it in the air as he named it Leucanandië.

The three elves took their turns in blessing the blade. "I bless this sword with the power of the air that is given to me as a ring-bearer." "And I, bless this sword with the power of water that is given to me as a ring-bearer. Bless this sword with the power of the elements that they may always be in its favor." Estel then picked up the sword and resheathed it. Then, the whole assembly was dismissed for the celebratory dinner to follow.

Estel and Gilrean took a moment to talk to Elrond and his sons. None of them were surprised when Estel gave the three elves hugs. He had missed them deeply and was overjoyed to see them again. "I did not know you were coming. Thank you so much for being here." "You have named your blade well. I hope it lives up to its namesake. Come, let us join the feast. We have much to discuss later on after the festivities."

Leucanandië "Harping Dragon"