Tales of Eldelórne

by Karleigh Bon

  Without even a goodbye, the sound of a door clicked as their mother’s visage disappeared. They turned to see Naalin coming out of the home behind them. She stood for a moment with a lost look on her face, not recognizing anything. Roe’s heart sank at the sight of her. So much had gone wrong. He had entirely failed when she needed him the most. He could not move to reach for her. Roe lost his strength and fell to his knees sobbing into his hands. He knew now she was lost to him forever.

  As Naalin’s mind cleared, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She saw her Roevash and immediately ran, jumping into his arms. The air surrounding them glowed in their embrace.

  “We have a son,” was all Roevash could say as tears of joy ran down his face.

  They gazed at each other, not wanting to lose another moment until they both broke the silence.

  “Can you ever forgive me,” they said in unison.

  Startled by those words, their eyes sorrowfully searched each other's faces for answers their hearts already knew. Without another sound, she clung to his neck with her cheek pressed into his warm shoulder.

  Suddenly she was the smiling girl, back from the beach long past, and he was the tall, captivated shy boy. He held her in his arms, and when their lips finally met, it was blinding.

  No one seemed to notice as the waves of Ilmatar rose up and broke over in a gentle churning that swallowed them all.

  The song of triumph, from the mouth of the Lords, built to a new and glorious pitch.

  “Beloved sons of Ilmatar, you are granted the new beginning you desire. By the waters of our exalted queen mother, you will be given new bodies to begin your lives at peace in the mortal realm. You will live unnoticed throughout time until you return to us, as do all elven-kind, in the fullness of your days…” the ethereal voice resonated into the distance.

  “No one can know the ending of this great aria that you, yourselves, have written.” The words turned into the fading hiss of an ocean wave as they were sent home to live their lives together.

  EPILOGUE

  He woke on the warm sand among the sound of gulls clamoring along the beach squawking. The birds were picking at crustaceans in search of food. He rolled over and jammed his ribs into a conch shell that had also washed up on the shore. He picked it up in his hand, and curiously looked at it.

  Off in the distance, his attention focused on a red-haired girl. She was running across the sand. He was amazed at how he could hear her so clearly from so far away, as he studied the thing in his hand again, and then tossed it aside. The giant dark elf lay pondering his surroundings. He squinted his eyes to see better in the sunshine. For some reason, he wasn’t afraid, and it made him smile.

  There was another lying next to him asleep. He gently picked at some sand that had dried on her arm. Pulling his knees up to his chest, Roe sat up to look around. His long sable brown hair flowed down over his back, drying in the light breeze. He brushed at some itchy bits of sand that caught on his shoulder. It felt gritty and good on his palm as it scratched his skin.

  He was at the edge of the water, looking at an island out beyond in the bay. The lapping waves made a soothing sound as he took a deep breath, and smiled again, enjoying the warm sunshine.

  Roevash moved over to the pretty sleeping girl to look at her more closely. As he leaned down, she opened her huge sea-green eyes and gazed up at him.

  She explored his smooth, handsome face with her fingertips as he picked her up. Cradling her in his strong arms, Roe gently kissed her on the tip of her nose. Naalin smiled and giggled at him, and he knew that somehow, they belonged together.

  Fionna’s heart started beating when Eijlam came back to the realm of Ainghaille. She woke with a sudden gasp. She quickly thanked Ellinduil and Dakein as she rose to her feet and headed for the door. Like a moth to the flame, she was compelled to find him.

  It was morning, and the sun shone hot, warming the beach. She saw him lying on the sand surrounded by tall tufts of bent grass, waving in the mild breeze.

  When he did not answer her cries, she feared he would not recognize her, so she slowed down and walked the last few steps.

  “En ... en nun nun nun.”

  She heard him babbling and froze.

  “Oh gods, oh gods, no,” her mind reeled, “he has lost all his memories!”

  Fionna carefully moved closer, quietly calling his name, so as not to frighten him.

  Eijlam was lying on his back. At the sound of her voice so close, he turned his head. His large blue and golden brown eyes blinked at her curiously. His surprised expression slowly melted away when he finally saw her, a tangle of wild red hair and green eyes on a pretty girl face, and he smiled his great big sparkling idiot smile.

  “FY-o-naaa...” he said her name as she had taught him so long ago.

  She quickly knelt next to him. Tears washed over his cheeks as she kissed him.

  “Anthon’ ûr nîn anden, Fionna,” he softly spoke as his eyes and fingertips searched her beautiful face that was so near.

  “Yes, I am your Fionna,” she sniffled as her nose gently touched his.

  Breath lingered for a moment in their gaze. They smiled together, and she kissed him again.

  The End.

  Or could it be just the beginning...

  Elvish Terms

  Chapter 1, Sacred Gardens

  Mê dh’ovannen, -Well Met in the formal form

  No vêr i thîn,” -Nice evening

  Man i theled i cheniagir edhellen? -What gives you the right to know/speak elvish?

  Ú-cheniadhir - You do not understand

  Marinamin, Den ú-ídhron abelas! -My Marin, I do not want sorrow!

  Chapter 7, Honor and Heart

  Nîn hawn - means literally, “my brother” but is meant to carry the weight of a more intimate loving and caring understanding between siblings.

  Guren níniatha n'i lû n'i a-govenitham - My heart shall weep until it sees you again (I can’t stop crying)

  Díheno - please forgive me (I am not worthy, please regard me as lower than dirt on your foot bottom)

  Gweston i de cherithon - I swear it will be so done (it is an oath)

  Chapter 8, Eijlam’s Anthem

  Man i oduledh hí? - What is the purpose that you are here (What the heck are you doing?)

  Dhen iston? - Do I know you? (Who are you anyway!)

  Dhen iallon... u mass - I beg of you... No (This is not helping)

  Ni edhel - I am elven

  Ay - Yes

  Dhron nên - I want water (I am so thirsty)

  Chapter 9, Lady of Light

  “Mê g’ovannen gi suilon - Well met I greet you (hello, you look well)

  Chapter 11, Guardian Wizard

  Ni edhel, Me edhel - You are elven, I am elven (we are both elves here)

  Ni veren an dhe ngovaned - I am joyous to meet you (it is good to know you)

  Gellon ned i gelir chent gîn ned i gladhog -I delight when your eyes shine as you laugh (awe sweet... wait, is this an elven pickup line?)

  Anneg vîr mi 'uren - you are a treasure in my heart (I like you)

  Gûr nîn glassui - I thank you from my heart (I am happy)

  Mellonamin - My friend

  Chapter 13, Eyes Wide Open

  DAGO NIN! - KILL ME! (Take away my pain)

  Peditham hi sui vellyn? - We will speak now as friends? (let’s talk frankly)

  Chapter 14, Day of Autumn

  Nínion ne gwad dhîn - I cry on your leaving (my heart is breaking)

  Chapter 16, Friends Like That

  Istodh peded Edhellen? - Do you speak Elvish (do you know this tongue)

  Chapter 17, The Lion Heart

  Anthon 'ûr nîn anden - I gave you my heart (I could never forget you in all of my days)

  Chapter 23, Village of Trees

  Ned i postog a nin, ni bant - I am complete with you at my side (we are as one when together)

  Chapter 27, King of Autumwood

  Aren Vell ci fêl - You are generous my s
overeign (thanks)

  Odulen an dhe meriad - I am here to protect you (you’re welcome)

  Yavanni Elenea - September stars (Autumn Festival)

  Chapter 31, Heart of Roevash

  Bainthoreth - means “foul beauty”

  Chapter 32, Bond of Love

  A’maelamin - My beloved (Truly, I would not live without you always by my side)

  Ay - hail

  Prologue, Anthon’ ûr nîn anden, Fionna - “I gave you all of my heart, Fionna”

  About the Author

  Galu a theithad vain - Good Fortune and Good Writing. (May your stories ring truth)

  GLOSSARY

  There are spoilers ahead if you read this before reading the story.

  Ainghaille - The world as we know it. Pronounced “AING-hailey” by most dialects and common tongue speakers. It is derived from the word Annaly which in Celtic language means “middle lands”

  Glynnath - A clan of monk like elves who, through ethereal musical strains, resonate the current state of elvenkin in the mortal world.

  Ilmatar - It is complex as the creation and the omnipresent creator of all things material and mortal and immortal. Like the fluids of the womb it flows into and around all layers of existence and brings into being all existence, through waves of articulation that sounds like music.

  League - A measure of distance that is about 3 miles or 4.82 km

  Length - The measure that is about 10 inches or 25.5 cm depending on whose king you ask.

  Hand - The height of a horse as told in 4 inch increments. Most small horses were 10 to 14 hands tall. The terrifying war horses of the Darjalia homeland towered to an imposing 17 to 20 hands.

  Thendiel - meaning: Daughter of the Truth. She is the mother of Roevash and Eijlam in the mortal realm. She is also something, or someone else… hmmm.

  Lords of Ilmatar - These beings are the “sons and daughters” of Ilmatar. They are the sentient manifestation of collective awareness and laws who govern over all creation of this fantasy world. It is their voices that make up the mouth of Ilmatar. They prefer to take a shape similar to what humans know as archangels in beauty and light but they can appear in any form because they are not corporeal beings.

  Corporeal - having a body or a body of a specified kind

  Humankind - The main population of Ainghaille. With the exception of the Darjal’n, humans have a short lifespan averaging up to sixty years. Most times it is shortened even further by wars. They are easily influenced by their emotions and can be noble as well as evil. Some ambitious humans focus on power and possessions even to the destruction of their own family while others are happy wallowing in petty existence with no direction. Humans need to have a social hierarchy and a just ruler to direct them or they may fall to evil influence.

  Darjal’n - A person from Darjalia. Sometimes called Darjalian. They were granted longer lives by the Lords of Ilmatar, up to 1000 years from their birth for the act of saving the Edhellen from slaughter when they first arrived.

  Lord Untuoni - (un-to-oni) She is the Lord of the sleeping underworld of elven spirits in the void of Ilmatar. Elvenkin are brought there by way of magical sailing ships captained by Lord Atto.

  Hiisi - For the purpose of this novel, they are the most horrific of monsters. They are a destructive mutant invention that is created out of the dissonance of the fallen Lord Surmanos. They stand taller than a goblin because they are made of goblin and human crossed blood. The young, when fully incubated, bore their way out of the host womb like parasites thus killing their mothers. Their only purpose is to do the evil work of their masters voice.

  Goblin - At first they were the twisted and corrupted elf. They were made so by suffering torture and abuses of a horrific nature at the hands of Lord Surmanos in the second age. They then learned to multiply their numbers by capturing elven females to use for propagation of their young.

  Ogre - In the wilds they are most ape like and senseless. These creatures like to wield clubs to bludgeon their prey. When bred with hiisi their offspring become imposing in stature and are the bulk of the deadly armies, controlled by the fallen one. They are also known to be cannibals.

  Lord Surmanos - He sang dissonance into the world and abhorred the creation of elves. He always thought his ideas the originals while all the other Lords opposed his brilliance. When he was found to be destroying creation he fled to the mortal world to avoid punishment and to dominate it and was then known as “fallen one.”

  The Great War - at the end of the third age, the Fallen One, Lord Surmanos, posing as a dark sorcerer waged war upon all of Ainghaille in a bid for domination over men and elves.

  Elvenkin - An expression of highest creation, the elves have a delicate beauty and almost immortal life span. They were brought forth from the waves and first appeared on shores to the north. Most like deer in nature they wandered freely among the foliage unaware until they were gathered in by the Darjal’n people who were concerned for their safety. Men hunted and tortured the elves under the influence of Lord Surmanos. Scholars have theorized that the elves were created to be examples of virtue and nobility for men. Other words for elven are elf, elderhis, (female elves specifically) and Edhellen. Their language is Elvish.

  True Death - A very sad and solemn thing, True Death is when the body of an elvenkin is separated from their immortal spirit by fading from the stress of living in the mortal realm, illness or grave injury. They will then sleep in the void of Ilmatar forever. Elves usually wish to migrate back to the undying lands of Ilmatar before this happens so they would not be kept forever separated from their kin. The true death is feared as eternal loss of mortality is not easily comprehended by elves.

  Eldar - pronounced: EL-dahr. Not to be confused with Elder, these are the oldest of a clan who are teachers and traditionally, because of their assumed wisdom, make all the final decisions when problems arise.

  Lord Atto - He travels to in the mortal realm, posing as a ships captain to bring elvenkin home when their will to stay in Ainghaille fades.

  Fade or Faded - The thing that happens to elves as centuries pass or the trauma of living in the world catches up to their sensibilities.

  Pikka - Though of as lesser spirits that inhabit the gardens of Ilmatar. They usually take the form of small animals with long ears.

  Lord Lourien - He tends the gardens and small Pikka in Ilmatar. He created a path into the mortal world so humans could visit the garden in their dreams. It was found to be a threshold to his son Eijlam who learned to use it for healing and traveling into Ilmatar.

  Wizard kind - these are the spirit of Pikka who volunteered to help watch over creation on the mortal plain after the escape and fall of Surmanos into the world. They had access to magics through ethereal layers in their existence.

  Queen Galbraeth - (Gal-bray-eth) The queen of Caras Eldarhon and suspected half sister to Eijlam. She was an eldar seer of her kingdom and a known healer.

  Eijlam - (Edge-Lam) He is known as an elvenkin and yet a Lord of Ilmatar in every sense as the son of Lord Lourien. Also called Ej Pronounced: “E J” He is a believer of all things brought of kindness and of peace and is fiercely devoted to his one true love Fionna. His destiny as far as we know was to be a conduit in the final assault of the Fallen One.

  Fionna - (FY-onna) An elvenkin who was never born. She was pulled from her dead mother’s womb by the wizards and fostered by Master Farghal in the land of humans. She is quick tempered in contrast to Ej’s playful nature. She is fiercely devoted to Eijlam.

  Heart Bonded - The rare occurrence of devoted elven couples where they literally share the same tethered heart and will die together as one.

  Mind speak - A kind of telepathic ability between specific individuals of elven race. Not many have this ability. Heart bonding can give you this gift also.

  Roevash - Roe, He is the beloved son of Thendiel and older brother of Eijlam. We know him as half-blood, elven and Darjal’n. He seems to have all the aspects of his human blood exce
pt for his elven ears and huge expressive eyes. He can be bossy, stubborn and grumpy at times but he ultimately has elven grace and virtue in his heart. He loves Naalin completely.

  Naalin - Elvenkin who is Roevash’s beloved. They have a small one together named Elgelion. She has fought many monsters throughout history and is a deadly assassin. She was discovered to be Fionna’s older sister.

  Dakein of house Dacasyati - He is the last of the line of pure blooded Darjal’n at the beginning of our story. He was a young man in the third age during the Great War against the sorcerer Surmanos. He has taken up the job as commander for Roevash at the Vehlevar training and outpost in his absence.

  Cael of Ravenscar - Cael was raised in the upper tier district of the capital city. As the only son of the Duke of Ravenscar he grew up in the family estate with never a want until he was orphaned at a very young age. He was then fostered by the royal family and is thus treated as their own kin.

  King Ellinduil - (El-IN-du-el) The elven king who rules the Autumwood kingdom. He has endured the mortal realm since the beginning of creation. He owes a debt to Thendiel for saving his life so he endures time to help her clan realize their destiny.

  The Void - This is the nature of the Ilmatar when it is at rest from the chaos. It is supposed to be a never ending peaceful existence and place of rest for spirits of the elvenkin.

  Black Gate - Surmanos was not the first evil loosed from the Ilmatar and he is not the first exiled. His master is a much darker personae from Ilmatar itself. The darkness was locked away behind this gate to await the final battle that would be total annihilation of all things when it is finally opened.

  Long Memory - Another way of saying, ancestral oral history that is never forgotten.

  Elgelion - (El-gil-ee-en) meaning: Son of pale glimmering stars. I think as Naalin stared up at the multitude of stars as her son was being born she remembered her beloved Roevash’s pale blue eyes and named him for these things she loved most.