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6 Fourth Age: returning to our hearts; Legolas
Topic Started: 11 Sep 2008, 12:19 AM (485 Views)
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Her gentle white horse guided her gracefully through the forest. Her sapphire blue hood hid her face from view but said clearly to anyone that she was a friend. She looked around at the trees around her. She was happy that she had managed to sneak away from her mother once more. She loved the woman but sometimes she was too overbearing.

She found herself admiring Ithilien. She had been here very few times when she was younger. But then days had been darker and so had Ithilien. She was happy to see it in its glory again. She carried on, head bowed as she listened for the sounds of the elves. She wanted so much to see this beautiful race again. It broke her heart to know that most were gone now.

She was a Dunedain so she hoped that they would know she came in peace although today she wasn't dressed like a Dunedain. On the contrary she was rather well dressed. She still had her dagger and small sword attached to her belt although they were well hidden and not likely to be used here.

She saw a small stream up ahead. She guided her horse down to it and allowed it to drink. She dismounted and looked around her for any sign of the elves
 
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The brown bay mare bore her Elven rider through the woods at a breakneck pace that clearly signified the desperate urgency of the rider's mission. Not since his days as one of the Nine Walkers had Legolas son of Thranduil been since called upon to move with such great haste. As one of the Eldar he had the gift (or curse, depending upon which mind was doing the judging) of long, and possibly everlasting life, and thus he usually moved through time at a different tempo than those of mortal descent. What a mortal would feel needed to be done right in the here and now, an Elf would defer to a later time. Each moved through life at a different pace, but given that they both occupied the same physical and spatial realm, their paths and fate were often intertwined and each was given the task of having to shift his own tempo accordingly.

This was one of those times. Middle Earth was now shifting into the Age of Men, and though many of Legolas' kindred had departed from these lands, the few that had remained adapted nevertheless. Since men had relatively little time, their events always seemed to happen with such great haste, that reaction to them had to happen even more quickly.

His horse sped diligently along, managing the faint path through the brambles and roots with the ease that suggested that she knew it well enough to keep her rider from tumbling into harm's way. The dim brown and the deep green of the forest were a blur to even his Elvish eyes, and given his own choice of colouring he may have been a vanishing blur to match it. But, however deep he delved into his own thoughts, and however quickly his surrounding coasted by him, his keen eyes could have never missed the all too vivid blue of a cloak, nor the stark contrast of a snowy horse against the backdrop of the forest.

He brought his own brown horse, who blended so well with the wooded surroundings, to a sudden halt. All of his own people had been accounted for when he had left the colony, and no Orc or creature of such wicked inclination would have clothed itself so. The mare let out a whinny of greeting to the white horse by the small stream as Legolas guided the horse forward, catching a glimpse of a scarlet head amongst the folds of blue cloth, he called out a greeting of his own, "Hail, stranger! It does not do to tarry by the roadside and call attention to oneself!" His own experience in the pale hours of the morning had done much to colour his perceptions, and although his journey was one of urgency, he felt that it was his duty to keep those who chose to travel this far south as safe as was at all possible.
 
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The sound of a whinny from another horse caused Haleana to look up. She noticed another horse a brown one further up from the stream. She straightened and stroked the mane of her own horse. She watched the figure carefully making sure to note the features which she soon identified as an elf. She took a few steps forward carefully.

"Hail, stranger! It does not do to tarry by the roadside and call attention to oneself!"

"And here was I believing this colony to be a peaeful place" called Haeleana mounting her horse again. She guided her horse towards the elf whom she recognised as Legolas Thrandulian. She had seen him several times before in this place although she had never met him. It was he who accompanied Aragorn on the adventures with the ring.

"Have the rumours about the disturbance of our peace reached here then?" she asked with a frown.
 
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"And here was I believing this colony to be a peaceful place."

He studied the figure before him for any clue as to who this woman was or from what realm of men she hailed from. While certain aspects of her appearance spoke of the Dunedain that he had encountered previously in his life, her manner of dress distorted that particular deduction. He remained upon the bay mare though even as she approached him. His business to Minas Tirith was urgent and delays of any kind could not be afforded. But he had a duty to his own and to travelers alike to keep them safe within the borders of his small colony.

"This place has been under the shadow of Minas Morgul for many lives of men, and although that influence has since been removed from this land, we Elves have not yet succeeded in completely purging the darkness from it. It is best to be on guard, I myself recently encountered a band of Uruk-hai roaming our borders." Despite the need for haste that he had been constantly reminding himself of, he dismounted his horse.

"Have the rumours about the disturbance of our peace reached here then?"

He narrowed his eyes and could not stop the look of surprise that suddenly bloomed over his face. "Disturbance of your peace? From whence do you come, lady?" He had not previously heard news of any disquiet from other lands, but then again, he had not ventured far from Eryn Silivren for some time now as he had been so consumed with the restoration of its land. Travelers and heralds to this part of the world had also been few. Therefore, it was not surprising that he was eager for whatever news it was that she possessed.
 
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"This place has been under the shadow of Minas Morgul for many lives of men, and although that influence has since been removed from this land, we Elves have not yet succeeded in completely purging the darkness from it. It is best to be on guard, I myself recently encountered a band of Uruk-hai roaming our borders."

"Uruk-hai?" she asked in surprise. "This surprises me since I was under the impression that something much darker was at work here. Something lies in the North and I was hoping that some light may be shed on that" she said as Athelas began to get restless. "Man le trasta Athelas?" she asked her restless horse stroking the soft mane. She looked back up at the elf in front of her. "Of course I would not want to be the start of any vicious rumours not in these days" she added in a serious tone.

"Disturbance of your peace? From whence do you come, lady?"

"Do you not feel something like poison in the air?" she asked. "It reminds me of when Sauron threatened these lands..." she said looking around her. "But something new is here and it is disturbing all that we have built." She turned back to the elf again. "I am a Dunedain, I have no particular land to come from although I was born in Arnor if that is what you mean" she explained.

Translation

Man le trasta - What troubles you?
 
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"Uruk-hai? This surprises me since I was under the impression that something much darker was at work here. Something lies in the North and I was hoping that some light may be shed on that"

"There has ever been dark forces in these places," he said once more to the woman who now identified herself to him as one of the Dunedain. "Since the Enemy's defeat, a great hole has been created within his old ranks, calling out for another to take his place." He looked at her gravely before continuing on. "Perhaps what you feel is a new lieutenant taking hold. That is the light that you may find here at the edge of things." He did not mention the man who led the Uruks as he did not yet feel that it was vital information that needed to be shared. A general warning would suffice. For now at least.

"Of course I would not want to be the start of any vicious rumours not in these days"

He smiled more gently as he approached her anxious horse and placed a comforting hand on its neck. "It is not 'vicious' if what you speak is the truth as you know it, so I would hear what news you bring to my colony here. Visitors are not common in these parts as you may have realized." As she went on about poisons in the air, he nodded his reluctant agreement.

"As you say, there is something deadly in the air." As he moved his arm down, he felt the twinge of the arrow that had cut his arm. Of course, the healers in his colony had treated the wound and drawn out whatever poison might have tainted him, but the cut had still pained him. And although he had been fortunate that the cut was not deep, by the time he had returned to the safety of the colony, the tunic below his elbow had been red with his own blood. "The Dunedain are well known to me and mine, and your people have my everlasting respect. In fact, I am riding to visit with one of your own people on a matter of some urgency."
 
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"There has ever been dark forces in these places," he said once more to the woman who now identified herself to him as one of the Dunedain. "Since the Enemy's defeat, a great hole has been created within his old ranks, calling out for another to take his place." He looked at her gravely before continuing on. "Perhaps what you feel is a new lieutenant taking hold. That is the light that you may find here at the edge of things."

Haeleana nodded being careful not to forget any of what he was telling her. It would surely all piece together when the time was right to face this person. She looked up into the elf's eyes and smiled slightly. "I hope you don't mind me asking but I am sure I have seen you before or someone who looks like you" she said. "In the woods of Mirkwood at least eight or so years ago before the War of the Ring" she said. "I might be mistaken but my clan happened to be visiting Mirkwood at the time." she said quietly. She felt Athelas relax when the elf placed a comforting hand on him. She looked down at her horse. "I know not why he is so restless."

"It is not 'vicious' if what you speak is the truth as you know it, so I would hear what news you bring to my colony here. Visitors are not common in these parts as you may have realized."

"Is there any movement from the Black Land? What about Harad or Umbar? Do you think perhaps this new lieutenant might decide to regather the old armies?" she asked concern in her voice.

"The Dunedain are well known to me and mine, and your people have my everlasting respect."

Haeleana smiled and bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you. The elves especially those who remain, I have always admired for supporting the world of men even though men are quite susceptible to the darkness" she said graciously.

"In fact, I am riding to visit with one of your own people on a matter of some urgency"

"Might I join you, if it is towards Minas Tirith you head? It would seem that this news about Uruk Hai makes me worry about the hobbit of whom I am the charge of, in Minas Tirith. This is worrying news. I must get him back to the Shire in due haste"
 
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"I hope you don't mind me asking but I am sure I have seen you before or someone who looks like you. In the woods of Mirkwood at least eight or so years ago before the War of the Ring. I might be mistaken but my clan happened to be visiting Mirkwood at the time."

Legolas smiled, as the carefree air that he had often been known by slipped around him. "Indeed," he replied. "It would seem that I have neglected the very basic courtesies by not introducing myself. I am called Legolas Thranduilion, and you are correct in assuming that I hail from Eryn Lasgalen, or Mirkwood, as you would call it. However, you must forgive me if I do not recall your face, for many of my kind it is difficult to discern one human face from another. It was not until my own journeys with those of the race of Man that I was able to make the individual distinctions for myself." He ran his fingers through her horse's white mane and then looked up again, "I hope you do not take offense." He offered.

"Is there any movement from the Black Land? What about Harad or Umbar? Do you think perhaps this new lieutenant might decide to regather the old armies?"

A grim shadow crossed his mannerisms as he considered this question. "In truth, I know not. My colony has been relatively isolated during this time and, I can only offer you the hope that what we are witnessing is only the beginning of an infection that, with the proper action taken, can be treated and cured. Of the lands of Harad and Umbar I have heard nothing, though I suspect that the Corsairs that terrorized Gondor have not had the required time, resources, or the will to rebuild their fleet after the Army of the Dead laid waste to them." He held that particular moment quite clearly in his mind's eye. He felt sure that none of the Corsairs could have survived such a massacre, so who could there be left in the land of Umbar to rebuild their ships and then to man them?

"Might I join you, if it is towards Minas Tirith you head? It would seem that this news about Uruk Hai makes me worry about the hobbit of whom I am the charge of, in Minas Tirith. This is worrying news. I must get him back to the Shire in due haste"

The Elf considered this for a moment and then gave his response. "You may. Though you should keep in mind that I do not require rest in the same way that those of your race do. Do you feel that you will be able to keep the pace that I will set? For it is as I said before, I ride on an errand of great urgency."
 
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