Cinnamon Raymaker
Returning to the fae tree fort, and subsequently the skylet where safety surrounds her, Elwing gazes across the lands and sees the other skylets that Pincess Fur had mentioned. She wonders what else is out there in this unknown land with its hidden secrets. She heads for the fire and a soft place to lie for the night. Looking across the open seas, she sees the vast expanse of sky, devoid of her beloved Earendil and the essence of elven hope contained in the precious silmaril he carries.
Wondering what will next befall her in this strange land, she takes the common sense action and lies down to try and get some rest As she tries to sleep the echoes of the hideous laughter she heard in those dark, secret places she discovered threaten to drive her mad. Elwing quiets her mind by recalling the happy days of her childhood and remembers the love of her family - the comfort of her father's presence - and the shining stars of the night sky - the precious gift given to elven kind by Varda, the Lady of the Heavens, so long ago at their awakening. With these comforting thoughts, Elwing dozes, smiling slightly, in the warmth of the campfire.
As she falls deeper into the dream state, Elwing tosses and turns, breathing quickening as she feels herself again being taunted by the malevolent laughter. The sight of the dark sky without her beloved confronts her again and again. She feels this loss desperately - it calls out to her very being. "Earendil!" she keens in return, and she suddenly awakens to the light of day.
Dazed she rises from the soft grass and makes her way quickly to the forest floor. She walks quietly through the woods back to the shore from whence she came to this land. Then defeated by thirst and hunger she turns to find sustenance from the stone tavern close by. After pouring a tankard from the huge barrel of ale, Elwing sits at the small wooden table, her back to the forest. Seeing the plates of food on the table, she eats an egg from the plate in front of her then takes a draught from the mug of ale.
Daza Mistwalker climbs the hill, gasping and panting in the stifling heat and wipes the sweat from his eyes and blinks them open to see someone sitting in the tavern. He walks up and softly says "Vedui!"
Elwing is lost in thought. She jolts a little and turns to face the newcomer.
"Please pardon my rudeness I did not see you there! Please come and join me sir."
Daza Mistwalker smiles "I am Daza....high mage of Sylvhara."
"Well met, Lord Daza, I am Elwing the White, Princess of Doriath, lost here on a quest to find my uncle. He is Olwe of the Teleri."
Daza Mistwalker walks into the coolness of the shelter and licks his lips looking at the large barrel of ale, barely listening until the last part. "A Princess...of Doriath......Olwe!"
Elwing gazes up at the high mage. "Aye my Lord! I heard tell he was in grave trouble and very ill."
Daza Mistwalker fills his mug and takes a large swallow "Olwe...high king of the Teleri...yes! He is quite ill indeed!"
Elwing continues. "I was charged with finding him and reporting back to the mighty Valar, Lord Ulmo. You have seen my uncle?"
Daza Mistwalker sits across from the princess and sighs "Aye...I have."
Elwing looks keenly at the high mage and asks, "Please tell me of him?"
"It has been many weeks since we sent him on his way to Alqualonde, but he was not in good health...he was very grave and troubled," replies the mage.
Elwing looks troubled. "I think that will indeed further worry the Valar. Are you able to tell me more, my Lord?"
Daza Mistwalker feels somewhat more refreshed drinking the ale. "Well....he was infected by some evil plants we have here called the Nightmare's Tears....I myself was sickened and afflicted by them several months ago."
Raising an eyebrow in alarm, Elwing queries, " The plants are here my Lord?"
Daza Mistwalker takes another long draft and swallows and smiles "No...not here in Vana...you are quite safe here."
Elwing shakes her head, "Of that I cannot be sure, my Lord. I have met no one here other than the Princess Fur and yourself."
Daza Mistwalker wipes his brow again, smiling at the mention of Princess Fur. "Other than the stifling heat...this is probably the safest realm you could find." Elwing looks intently at the high mage. "Ah...well there is no better than her. But there are other residents here. They are often busy. The fae rarely stick to one place very long."
"Aye tis warm, my Lord, but for some reason I cannot ascertain it has left me cold and disheartened. My explorations have led me to some dark places I would not wish to enter again. I am sure it was only by the will of Iluvatar that I was able to withdraw. My friends the seabirds, warned me before it was too late and I was able to resist." Elwing shudders, recalling the memory.
Daza Mistwalker grins. "Oh...talk to birds do you? I sometimes can understand the birds who live in the forests."
Elwing smiles. "Indeed my Lord. I have talked to the birds and also flown with them."
Daza Mistwalker raises a brow and looks for her wings. "Flown with them?"
Elwing chuckles at the mage's puzzlement. "Indeed, my Lord. My great benefactor, Lord Ulmo, allows me to fly when needed."
Daza Mistwalker nods with some acknowledgement as well as some slight skepticism. "Ulmo you say,the Vala of the ocean. Yes, I have read some of the old scrolls."
Elwing nods. "Indeed, my Lord mage, the old scrolls seem to be known by few in these parts. It is lucky Princess Fur knows of them. She was kind enough to give me shelter when I landed here."
Daza Mistwalker nods. "Indeed, not many of my fellow elves are familiar with that particular branch of our history, but Princess Fur is remarkable that way, as well as in many other ways." Elwing nods.
" So you found yourself washed up here while looking for King Olwe? Too bad he is back in Alqualonde now," continues the mage.
Elwing looks sadly across at the mage "I don't believe it. You are telling me that I have been downed by the darkness, and my Uncle is home safe?"
Daza Mistwalker drains his mug and places it on the table "Aye, he sailed weeks ago. He is surely there by now. How safe he is, I can not say...I've been meaning to check on him."
Elwing picks at a piece of bread, wondering what she is going to do next then sighs. "Are you aware of the other catastrophe that has befallen us Lord Mage?"
Daza Mistwalker wipes his brow, unaccustomed to this heat compared to the cold of Sylvhara. "The trouble is, I cannot quite find my way to Alqualonde because the star I use to navigate is.....hrm....missing."
Elwing feels the tears welling up in her eyes and nods "Aye," she splutters, "Vingilot has disappeared and taken with it my beloved Earendil and the silmaril of the heavens." Elwing shakes her head. "Forgive me Lord Mage."
Daza Mistwalker looks as the elf maid's eyes well up, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry. You mean it is your husband?" He struggles to remember this articular legend, astonished that it might actually be true.
Elwing looks to the elven mage across the table and smiles a whimsical smile. "Oh yes, Lord Mage, 'tis true. I live this every day. Tis no legend - though sometimes I wish it were so."
Daza Mistwalker 's eyes widen. "Soo...you really ARE the wife of Earendil? This is truly remarkable!"
Elwing nods and replies, "Yes, my Lord, I am she. Though I know not how that can help my uncle or my beloved at this time."
Daza Mistwalker wipes his brow and looks at the empty ale mug a moment, wondering just how strong it was and shakes his head and blinks "Well then, m'lady, I am well honored to meet you! "
Elwing smiles. "No more honoured than I am to meet you, Lord Mage."
Daza Mistwalker sighs and drums the table with his fingertips, thinking. "I'm not sure exactly what to do, myself. Without the star, it will be difficult to find your uncle. But finding a missing star....that is also most difficult."
Elwing nods at the mage. "Indeed, it will be difficult my lord. However, I believe that there must be some way of finding it."
Daza Mistwalker sighs and nods "Oh, I'm sure there is....it will take some time and thought and studying to learn the way."
Elwing's ears prick up in interest. "You think there may be a way my lord?"
"Our library has many old and ancient scrolls. I have been studying them since discovering the disappearnce of the morning star," replies the mage. Elwing feels heartened by this great news and thanks Iluvatar for this chance meeting. The mage continues. "I believe there may be a way of doing at least one of these. Alqualonde's library is much more complete on this subject."
"Have you been to Alqualonde Lord Mage?" queries Elwing.
Daza Mistwalker feels the breeze come in from the nearby ocean, and feels refreshed. "No...no I have not, as a matter of fact. The Queen made a visit several months ago, but I was unable to attend."
Elwing looks with interest at the mage and asks, "The Queen?"
Daza Mistwalker 's eyes light up with some realization. " Ahh....Queen Comet,King Olwe's cousin, you may have never met her."
Elwing nods to the mage, "Indeed my lord , I was on my way to her lands to find my uncle and have not yet made it that far. Is it far from here?"
Daza Mistwalker laughs softly. "Well, no, it is not too far at all!"
Elwing's eyes light up with hope for the first time since landing on this place. "But there are some dangers between here and there."
Elwing looks across at the mage and says, "Tell me of these dangers. I would rather face danger and be active than sit here downhearted."
The mage continues. "Ahh, well, the land adjacent to this one is a very dark place filled with dark creatures like wolves, demons, unseelie, dark dragons and orcs."
Elwing nods. "Yet you traverse these lands a lot.?"
Daza Mistwalker smirks a bit. "Well, as a mage I can portal, move quickly, and bypass hese dangers. Certainly your ability to fly might come in handy for that."
Elwing looks intently at the mage. "Aye, it would, my lord mage, as long as the darkness cannot get to me again. It senses when I am flying over water. I am not sure about across the land."
"Well, we can walk,.but it is dangerous. I could also portal you with me, of course," replies the mage.
Elwng looks into the mage's eyes. "Tell me true, my lord mage, would that be dangerous for you - taking me through the portal? I would not risk the life of another."
Daza Mistwalker chuckles. "Not dangerous to me at all! But some who have never done it before sometimes feel a bit ill afterwards from the strange magiks and sensations involved in moving your essence and body over a great distance so quickly."
Elwing chuckles, "That I can well imagine my lord. It must be somewhat like the shimmering I experience."
"Shimmering?"
"Aye! When I take into, or come out of my plumage," replies Elwing. "I fly not as elf maiden but as great white bird! Tis how Ulmo made it. The great sea birds can fly long distances."
Daza Mistwalker 's eyes light up with fascination and curosity "Ahh, so you transmutate into a bird! Very fascinating!"
Elwing chuckles. "All one would see is a shining white light as normally I am flying so high to meet Vingilot, I would be out of sight of the naked eye."
"I see. Well, I can take you to Sylvhara," the mage reassures Elwing.
Elwing smiles. " I assume you have come to this place to carry out some work, lord mage? I will not press you to leave in a hurry."
Daza Mistwalker nods and smiles. "I was gathering materials for potions. I also come to relax as Vana is a place of great healing. And many of my friends live here as well."
Elwing smiles. " I will need to tarry a while longer as well. I am not yet fully recovered from my meeting with that dark force which brought me down."
"Well, if you could fly, for even a short distance, going back and forth would not be a problem," explains the mage. Elwing smiles, picks up the tankard and takes another draught of ale. Daza Mistwalker smiles. "And if the land does not heal you, almost all the residents here are capable healers."
Setting down the tankard, Elwing takes a bite of the bread in her hand, listens and nods. "Though I must take care where I tread here. That I have already learnt."
Daza Mistwalker raises an eyebrow, "oh?"
Elwing nods. "Indeed, my lord mage. I did allude to the secrets I have stumbled on here. But I will not bore you with them now."
> Next
Wondering what will next befall her in this strange land, she takes the common sense action and lies down to try and get some rest As she tries to sleep the echoes of the hideous laughter she heard in those dark, secret places she discovered threaten to drive her mad. Elwing quiets her mind by recalling the happy days of her childhood and remembers the love of her family - the comfort of her father's presence - and the shining stars of the night sky - the precious gift given to elven kind by Varda, the Lady of the Heavens, so long ago at their awakening. With these comforting thoughts, Elwing dozes, smiling slightly, in the warmth of the campfire.
As she falls deeper into the dream state, Elwing tosses and turns, breathing quickening as she feels herself again being taunted by the malevolent laughter. The sight of the dark sky without her beloved confronts her again and again. She feels this loss desperately - it calls out to her very being. "Earendil!" she keens in return, and she suddenly awakens to the light of day.
Dazed she rises from the soft grass and makes her way quickly to the forest floor. She walks quietly through the woods back to the shore from whence she came to this land. Then defeated by thirst and hunger she turns to find sustenance from the stone tavern close by. After pouring a tankard from the huge barrel of ale, Elwing sits at the small wooden table, her back to the forest. Seeing the plates of food on the table, she eats an egg from the plate in front of her then takes a draught from the mug of ale.
Daza Mistwalker climbs the hill, gasping and panting in the stifling heat and wipes the sweat from his eyes and blinks them open to see someone sitting in the tavern. He walks up and softly says "Vedui!"
Elwing is lost in thought. She jolts a little and turns to face the newcomer.
"Please pardon my rudeness I did not see you there! Please come and join me sir."
Daza Mistwalker smiles "I am Daza....high mage of Sylvhara."
"Well met, Lord Daza, I am Elwing the White, Princess of Doriath, lost here on a quest to find my uncle. He is Olwe of the Teleri."
Daza Mistwalker walks into the coolness of the shelter and licks his lips looking at the large barrel of ale, barely listening until the last part. "A Princess...of Doriath......Olwe!"
Elwing gazes up at the high mage. "Aye my Lord! I heard tell he was in grave trouble and very ill."
Daza Mistwalker fills his mug and takes a large swallow "Olwe...high king of the Teleri...yes! He is quite ill indeed!"
Elwing continues. "I was charged with finding him and reporting back to the mighty Valar, Lord Ulmo. You have seen my uncle?"
Daza Mistwalker sits across from the princess and sighs "Aye...I have."
Elwing looks keenly at the high mage and asks, "Please tell me of him?"
"It has been many weeks since we sent him on his way to Alqualonde, but he was not in good health...he was very grave and troubled," replies the mage.
Elwing looks troubled. "I think that will indeed further worry the Valar. Are you able to tell me more, my Lord?"
Daza Mistwalker feels somewhat more refreshed drinking the ale. "Well....he was infected by some evil plants we have here called the Nightmare's Tears....I myself was sickened and afflicted by them several months ago."
Raising an eyebrow in alarm, Elwing queries, " The plants are here my Lord?"
Daza Mistwalker takes another long draft and swallows and smiles "No...not here in Vana...you are quite safe here."
Elwing shakes her head, "Of that I cannot be sure, my Lord. I have met no one here other than the Princess Fur and yourself."
Daza Mistwalker wipes his brow again, smiling at the mention of Princess Fur. "Other than the stifling heat...this is probably the safest realm you could find." Elwing looks intently at the high mage. "Ah...well there is no better than her. But there are other residents here. They are often busy. The fae rarely stick to one place very long."
"Aye tis warm, my Lord, but for some reason I cannot ascertain it has left me cold and disheartened. My explorations have led me to some dark places I would not wish to enter again. I am sure it was only by the will of Iluvatar that I was able to withdraw. My friends the seabirds, warned me before it was too late and I was able to resist." Elwing shudders, recalling the memory.
Daza Mistwalker grins. "Oh...talk to birds do you? I sometimes can understand the birds who live in the forests."
Elwing smiles. "Indeed my Lord. I have talked to the birds and also flown with them."
Daza Mistwalker raises a brow and looks for her wings. "Flown with them?"
Elwing chuckles at the mage's puzzlement. "Indeed, my Lord. My great benefactor, Lord Ulmo, allows me to fly when needed."
Daza Mistwalker nods with some acknowledgement as well as some slight skepticism. "Ulmo you say,the Vala of the ocean. Yes, I have read some of the old scrolls."
Elwing nods. "Indeed, my Lord mage, the old scrolls seem to be known by few in these parts. It is lucky Princess Fur knows of them. She was kind enough to give me shelter when I landed here."
Daza Mistwalker nods. "Indeed, not many of my fellow elves are familiar with that particular branch of our history, but Princess Fur is remarkable that way, as well as in many other ways." Elwing nods.
" So you found yourself washed up here while looking for King Olwe? Too bad he is back in Alqualonde now," continues the mage.
Elwing looks sadly across at the mage "I don't believe it. You are telling me that I have been downed by the darkness, and my Uncle is home safe?"
Daza Mistwalker drains his mug and places it on the table "Aye, he sailed weeks ago. He is surely there by now. How safe he is, I can not say...I've been meaning to check on him."
Elwing picks at a piece of bread, wondering what she is going to do next then sighs. "Are you aware of the other catastrophe that has befallen us Lord Mage?"
Daza Mistwalker wipes his brow, unaccustomed to this heat compared to the cold of Sylvhara. "The trouble is, I cannot quite find my way to Alqualonde because the star I use to navigate is.....hrm....missing."
Elwing feels the tears welling up in her eyes and nods "Aye," she splutters, "Vingilot has disappeared and taken with it my beloved Earendil and the silmaril of the heavens." Elwing shakes her head. "Forgive me Lord Mage."
Daza Mistwalker looks as the elf maid's eyes well up, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry. You mean it is your husband?" He struggles to remember this articular legend, astonished that it might actually be true.
Elwing looks to the elven mage across the table and smiles a whimsical smile. "Oh yes, Lord Mage, 'tis true. I live this every day. Tis no legend - though sometimes I wish it were so."
Daza Mistwalker 's eyes widen. "Soo...you really ARE the wife of Earendil? This is truly remarkable!"
Elwing nods and replies, "Yes, my Lord, I am she. Though I know not how that can help my uncle or my beloved at this time."
Daza Mistwalker wipes his brow and looks at the empty ale mug a moment, wondering just how strong it was and shakes his head and blinks "Well then, m'lady, I am well honored to meet you! "
Elwing smiles. "No more honoured than I am to meet you, Lord Mage."
Daza Mistwalker sighs and drums the table with his fingertips, thinking. "I'm not sure exactly what to do, myself. Without the star, it will be difficult to find your uncle. But finding a missing star....that is also most difficult."
Elwing nods at the mage. "Indeed, it will be difficult my lord. However, I believe that there must be some way of finding it."
Daza Mistwalker sighs and nods "Oh, I'm sure there is....it will take some time and thought and studying to learn the way."
Elwing's ears prick up in interest. "You think there may be a way my lord?"
"Our library has many old and ancient scrolls. I have been studying them since discovering the disappearnce of the morning star," replies the mage. Elwing feels heartened by this great news and thanks Iluvatar for this chance meeting. The mage continues. "I believe there may be a way of doing at least one of these. Alqualonde's library is much more complete on this subject."
"Have you been to Alqualonde Lord Mage?" queries Elwing.
Daza Mistwalker feels the breeze come in from the nearby ocean, and feels refreshed. "No...no I have not, as a matter of fact. The Queen made a visit several months ago, but I was unable to attend."
Elwing looks with interest at the mage and asks, "The Queen?"
Daza Mistwalker 's eyes light up with some realization. " Ahh....Queen Comet,King Olwe's cousin, you may have never met her."
Elwing nods to the mage, "Indeed my lord , I was on my way to her lands to find my uncle and have not yet made it that far. Is it far from here?"
Daza Mistwalker laughs softly. "Well, no, it is not too far at all!"
Elwing's eyes light up with hope for the first time since landing on this place. "But there are some dangers between here and there."
Elwing looks across at the mage and says, "Tell me of these dangers. I would rather face danger and be active than sit here downhearted."
The mage continues. "Ahh, well, the land adjacent to this one is a very dark place filled with dark creatures like wolves, demons, unseelie, dark dragons and orcs."
Elwing nods. "Yet you traverse these lands a lot.?"
Daza Mistwalker smirks a bit. "Well, as a mage I can portal, move quickly, and bypass hese dangers. Certainly your ability to fly might come in handy for that."
Elwing looks intently at the mage. "Aye, it would, my lord mage, as long as the darkness cannot get to me again. It senses when I am flying over water. I am not sure about across the land."
"Well, we can walk,.but it is dangerous. I could also portal you with me, of course," replies the mage.
Elwng looks into the mage's eyes. "Tell me true, my lord mage, would that be dangerous for you - taking me through the portal? I would not risk the life of another."
Daza Mistwalker chuckles. "Not dangerous to me at all! But some who have never done it before sometimes feel a bit ill afterwards from the strange magiks and sensations involved in moving your essence and body over a great distance so quickly."
Elwing chuckles, "That I can well imagine my lord. It must be somewhat like the shimmering I experience."
"Shimmering?"
"Aye! When I take into, or come out of my plumage," replies Elwing. "I fly not as elf maiden but as great white bird! Tis how Ulmo made it. The great sea birds can fly long distances."
Daza Mistwalker 's eyes light up with fascination and curosity "Ahh, so you transmutate into a bird! Very fascinating!"
Elwing chuckles. "All one would see is a shining white light as normally I am flying so high to meet Vingilot, I would be out of sight of the naked eye."
"I see. Well, I can take you to Sylvhara," the mage reassures Elwing.
Elwing smiles. " I assume you have come to this place to carry out some work, lord mage? I will not press you to leave in a hurry."
Daza Mistwalker nods and smiles. "I was gathering materials for potions. I also come to relax as Vana is a place of great healing. And many of my friends live here as well."
Elwing smiles. " I will need to tarry a while longer as well. I am not yet fully recovered from my meeting with that dark force which brought me down."
"Well, if you could fly, for even a short distance, going back and forth would not be a problem," explains the mage. Elwing smiles, picks up the tankard and takes another draught of ale. Daza Mistwalker smiles. "And if the land does not heal you, almost all the residents here are capable healers."
Setting down the tankard, Elwing takes a bite of the bread in her hand, listens and nods. "Though I must take care where I tread here. That I have already learnt."
Daza Mistwalker raises an eyebrow, "oh?"
Elwing nods. "Indeed, my lord mage. I did allude to the secrets I have stumbled on here. But I will not bore you with them now."
> Next