4. The Krisha
…
- At Rivendell -
Everybody at the table looked at Reiya and the Blue Wizards inquisitively following their revelation about the Sun-elves.
Many aspects of the newly introduced group had yet to be addressed, understandably. Nevertheless, Galadriel proceeded to discuss the next subject of interest as the hearing resumed its course.
"We appreciate the detailed information that you've shared with us regarding the Sun-elves, Lady Reiya. I now wish to inquire about this…peculiarability of yours, if I may?" She stated.
"By all means, Lady Galadriel. Ask away." Reiya responded with a polite smile.
Thranduil looked at the elleth with keen interest, as the mystery behind her power would finally be unveiled. Thus, the Lady of Light began her questioning.
"First of all, would you be kind enough to demonstrate your ability at this time?" Galadriel inquired in a serious manner.
Thranduil looked at the senior ruler with a startled expression.
He had been quite explicit about the sheer scale of Reiya's power at their meeting that morning, and yet, Galadriel wished for her to use her abilities there and then, in spite of the risks?
Reiya considered the implications of such a petition for a brief moment, but smiled respectfully at everybody after making up her mind.
"Indeed. King Thranduil and Captain Tauriel are the only ones amongst you who witnessed my ability in person, so it is only appropriate that all of you become familiar with the sight of it as well. I will manifest a small fraction of my power for such a purpose." Reiya then stepped forward. "Please do not fear, as I will not attack you. The Blue Wizards can vouch for me on that." She pointed out.
Following her statement, flames materialized over Reiya's palms, and her eyes turned shimmering scarlet, just like on the night of the attack at Mirkwood. She had an assertive look on her face as she observed everybody's reactions to her sudden transformation.
Feren and Haldir instinctively grabbed the hilt of their swords. Arwen stepped back slightly, and her eyes widened at the sight of the elleth in such a strange form. Tauriel did not move since she had already witnessed Reiya's transformation before, but her eyes were still in awe at the raw nature of her power.
Elrond and Celeborn leaned slightly forward on the table as they observed the elleth's new form attentively but warily, and Gandalf tightened his hold around his staff while shifting his posture a bit.
The only two spectators that did not appear to be shocked by the scene were Galadriel and Thranduil.
Reiya's haunting transformation was already a familiar sight to the Elvenking, but his lips parted slightly as he made notice of something new.
That was the very first time he got to watch the fire-wielder elleth use her abilities without a mask on, and the sight had certainly left a strong impression in his mind.
Her shimmering scarlet eyes now seemed to further accentuate the emotions disclosed by her delicate features, giving her more of an enigmatic but ominous aura. In that moment, she embodied a distinctive form of deadly beauty at its fullest. One that could burn, attack, and destroy at will.
Galadriel looked at Reiya with a scrutinizing expression before proceeding to speak.
"Thank you for demonstrating your ability, Lady Reiya." She stated in acknowledgement.
Reiya politely nodded to her as the flames dissipated from her hands, and her eyes turned back to their natural color.
"Now that all of us have had the opportunity to witness your transformation firsthand, we will proceed with our questions." The Lady of Lórien remarked. "What are you exactly? And what is this power that you possess?" She asked.
"I am aKrisha, my lady. Thus, my power is a force that I inherited through means of my bloodline." Reiya pointed out.
Everybody at the table seemed confused by the elleth's statement, as none of them were familiar with the term. Making a note of that, Reiya proceeded to explain herself further.
"The Krisha is a bloodline of Sindar elves who can wield fire at will by performing ancient Elvish spells and elemental control." She explained.
Thranduil raised an eyebrow at the revelation. The fact that Reiya was a Sinda elf justified her power to some extent after all.
"Understood. Are there presently other Krisha like yourself, my lady?" Elrond asked.
Reiya's expression turned slightly somber before responding to the question. "I'm afraid not, Lord Elrond. As far as we know, I am the only Krisha alive that remains." She stated.
Everybody went silent for a brief moment following her response.
If Reiya was indeed the last remaining Krisha, her family must have either sailed to the Undying Lands or perished somehow. All of them had experienced loss and were no strangers to grief, so they opted to respect the elleth's privacy in that regard.
The whole group shifted their attention to the Blue Wizards as they deviated from the solemn topic and continued discussing the main issue at hand.
"The power wielded by the Krisha is known as the Sacred Flame. It is a legendary force created by the Valar, which resides within the casters themselves." Alatar explained.
"The Sacred Flame, uh? Looks like Lord Celeborn's translations were accurate, as expected." Gandalf stated looking at Celeborn, who nodded back in acknowledgement.
"Lady Galadriel, there is an aspect of Reiya's power that relates to your own in a distinctive way, as well." Pallando remarked.
"You grew up under the light of the Trees of the Valar, and Lady Reiya wields a power that was created by the Valar themselves, as you already know. Consequently, the two of you have been highly exposed to the same divine energy, even though your powers manifested through different elements." Alatar explained.
"I see… I assume that is the reason I was the only one able to sense that energy in the scroll, and in Lady Reiya as well?" Galadriel inquired.
"You are correct, my lady." Pallando confirmed. "The scroll was a device of our making, as we knew you would be able to tap into that divine energy and link your mind to Lady Reiya's at the moment of contact." He pointed out.
"You have been regarded as the Lady of Light due to the nature of your power, correct? That would make Reiya,the Lady of Fire, in a matter of speaking." Alatar stated.
Reiya bowed her head in Galadriel's direction as a sign of the highest respect, now that both of them were aware of their shared quirk. Galadriel bowed back at her in response, fully acknowledging the elleth for what she was.
Elrond and Celeborn glanced at one another, unsure on how to process that bit of information. Thranduil, on the other hand, rolled his eyes in annoyance at the whole ordeal.
His mind primarily registered the following facts regarding Reiya's abilities; She possessed a power similar to Galadriel's in scope, but her power had manifested through the element of fire instead of light, because she was a Krisha.
To make matters even worse, Reiya was considerably younger, seemingly more reckless, and less lenient than the more experienced and mild-tempered Galadriel. Additionally, her power could potentially be more destructive due to her abilities being fire-based.
In other words,she was a problem, or she could become one in the future, at the very least.
Keeping the balance between the Elven realms was already challenging enough with Galadriel being the most powerful being in Middle-earth. Now there was another elleth with the same power potential to keep an eye on as well?
Thranduil sighed quietly, already sensing many of the repercussions that could arise from such a predicament.
He kept listening to the Blue Wizards, hoping there wouldn't be any more questionable surprises coming from them, even though deep down he had a feeling that wasnotto be the case.
"The Krisha have always served as rulers for the Sun-elves and protected all life against the forces of evil." Pallando remarked.
'…Rulers?' Thranduil pondered, wondering why the Blue Wizard had used a term of such weight so casually.
"That leads us to the second role that I am fulfilling in this rising conflict, my lords and ladies." Reiya stated, taking over the conversation.
Her next revelation came in one of the most unexpected lines that graced Thranduil's keen ears that night.
"In addition to being a Krisha, I am alsoQueenof Xandor, the Elven realm of the Eastern lands." Reiya emphasized with a commanding tone. "For short, you may refer to me as the Red Queen, per the traditions of my ancestors."
Following her statement, Reiya gracefully positioned two fingers over her right shoulder and lightly held the side of her skirt with the other hand while performing a royal salute of sorts for all of them.
Thranduil's eyes widened as he was trying to grasp the elleth's affirmation. 'What did she just say?'
"Xandor is the home and heart of the Sun-elves in Arda. A civilization devoted to the spirit of fire, which now presides as a restored domain here in the West. A kingdom concealed by the magic of the Blue Wizards, soon-to-be unfold, as the time has come for our nation to be acknowledged by the rest of the Elven realms in Middle-earth." Reiya stated, adopting a more regal posture and clasping her hands over her waist in a queen-like manner.
Everybody at the table looked either startled or suspicious following Reiya's claims.
Thranduil's expression remained blank, as his mind was attempting to tackle multiple questions at once.
Anelf-queen? All that time, they had been speaking to a lady of such a station?
He had suspected that Reiya was an important leader of sorts from the very beginning, but never in a million years would he have ever considered the possibility that she was a queen, given that he was the only Elven ruler who had publicly claimed a royal title in the Third Age. That wouldn't be the case any longer, it seemed.
They also had that hidden realm of hers to consider—Xandor, as Reiya had called it. He was puzzled at the fact that a whole new Elven realm had been established in Middle-earth without their knowledge. But then again, the Blue Wizards had been involved in the concealment of such a realm.
Even though he was not very fond of wizards, Thranduil acknowledged the fact that they were powerful beings capable of great feats of magic, which rivaled or even surpassed those of the elves. Gandalf and Saruman's powers were proof of that.
Henceforth, the Blue Wizards could have cast some sort of spell so the Xandorian realm would remain hidden from sight and go undetected by the rest of their race.
Having two overseer wizards at her service had given the elf-queen quite an advantage in that regard. Additionally, the measure of concealing her realm in such a manner had been a smart move on her end.
On top of it all, Reiya did not name a king consort presiding by her side when she revealed her station, which implied that she was ruling that realm all on her own.
"You were quite eager to learn who I am." Reiya noted, gradually turning her face towards the Elvenking until she met his gaze once again. "Well,now you know." She emphasized with a slight, proud smile as she finally got to answer the one question that he'd asked that night at Mirkwood.
Thranduil leaned back into his chair and tactfully crossed his legs in Elvenking fashion while glaring at her. It was clear as day that her little remark had been intended forhim.
Reiya wished for him to be aware of the fact that he was not the only Elven ruler meant to wear a royal crown, and she had been looking forward to his reaction to that fact, by the looks of it. That cunning elleth...
'This queen and I need to have a talk.' Thranduil reminded himself as he contemplated the self-proclaimed female monarch in front of him—the fervent ruler whose gaze had dared confront his own in a contest of stares that night.
…
A/N: The truth about Reiya is finally out!
We have a new queen in town! And Thranduil is having a hard time processing that, haha. Unfortunately for the Elvenking, he is not going to like the bombshell that Reiya is dropping next either lol (Stay tuned for that!)
Even though Galadriel had both the power and ancestral lineage to make a claim to queenship, she preferred the titles 'Guardian' and 'Lady' when referring to her station in Lothlórien (the reasons for this have been highly debated among Tolkien fans and scholars).
Hence, Thranduil was the only ruler who held a royal title among the elves during the Third Age.
Well, not anymore in this particular story! lol
A couple of points on our latest Elven realm, Xandor!
- The idea of Xandor existing as a hidden realm has precedence in Tolkien's earlier works.
- Due to the continuing wars in Middle-earth, elves had a strong tendency to establish hidden kingdoms throughout the First Age(Source:Dr. Tom Shippey - Tolkien scholar).
- Three examples of hidden Elven realms that are often referenced in this regard areDoriath (ruled by King Thingol), Nargothrond (ruled by King Finrod), and Gondolin (ruled by King Turgon) (Source: Dr. Tom Shippey - Tolkien scholar).
- Thus, the hidden Elven realm of Xandor (ruled by Queen Reiya) was conceived with that notion in mind.