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[rowancrowned]

FORM: Sending Crystal
SENDER: Thranduil
RECIPIENT: Anyone with a Crystal
WHAT: Thranduil tells a very elfy bedtime story for the benefit of any and all. Mostly all.
WHEN: Evening of Solace 10
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: ELF STORY TIME: BY ELVES, FOR ELVES (AND OTHERS)

It seems that there has been a bit of cultural exchange occurring lately. I would not have it said I did not do my part, so I offer the Inquisition a story. It is true—I was young when Beren came to our halls, but I vow that I speak only truth, if prettied to make it more appealing to all sorts of ears.

And if I stumble during the telling, I ask for forgiveness, for I know the Lay best in Sindarin, which so few speak here.

[ he settles into a more melodic tone of voice, one that rises and falls as he works through the story in an unhurried pace: ]

A king there was in days of old:
ere Men yet walked upon the mould
his power was reared in caverns' shade,
his hand was over glen and glade.
Of leaves his crown, his mantle green,
his silver lances long and keen;
the starlight in his shield was caught,
ere moon was made or sun was wrought.

[ for nearly two hours thranduil speaks for the benefit of all who care to listen. recalling from memory, he speaks of thingol and melian, of lúthien, with a fierce fondness that hints at a connection deeper than historical. of beren, he is less fond, clips the verses. he tells of their meeting, of thingol's reluctance to allow the marriage, of an impossible bride-price held by the deceiver. of trying, and failing, and the lovers succeeding once they came together. of the mortal fear of death, and the triumph over it.

the sun, hovering above the horizon when he starts, is set and skyhold's ramparts crowned with stars when he finishes. the heroes return to thingol and melian with the silmaril, healed the king, and looked to the queen: ]

His daughter returned to his halls,
his grief lifted, she was absolved.
When King turned to his Queen,
expecting joy at what they had seen,
Melian had naught to say,
knew where her daughter's Doom did lay.
She turned her back to Luthien,
and spoke no more of her again.

[ however unsatisfying the ending is to listeners, he ends it there. very faintly off to the side, there's the rasp of a glass against the wood as thranduil pauses to drink and recover his voice. the noise breaks the illusion he's spun so carefully, and sounds begin to filter in. crickets from the garden, a whuffle or two from bill the pony.

his voice rasps, a bit, when he speaks, despite best efforts. ]

Goodnight, Skyhold. May we all dream well.

Comments

[samahl]

[While others might complain about the length, Cyril easily falls into listening to it, once it's over.]

That was lovely.

Do you have many stories like these?

[rowancrowned]

[ a dalish accent is hard to forget, he knows that voice. warmly: ]

I am gladdened. I have many- for many years, we did not have writing, and so sang our histories, our knowledge.

What sort of tales do you like best?

[samahl]

This might sound strange...

But do you have tales about men who love men? Or is that sort of thing frowned upon in your world?

[rowancrowned]

Men who love Men? I am afraid the Elven scholars prefered to write only of elves, and left the writing of Mannish tales to their scholars and minstrels.

[samahl]

[He makes an amused noise.]

I apologize for the misunderstanding. I meant male elves who loved other male elves.

I'm afraid I haven't been as interested in the humans from your realm.

[rowancrowned]

[ thranduil laughs. ]

No, I am afraid I have not educated myself on the goings-on of Mortals. As for love- Glorfindel and Ecthelion, though we do not sing of him, for he is on our shores. Maedhros and Fingon had no songs. Beleg and Túrin have Laer Cú Beleg.

[ a different understanding of love than what cyril expects. it leaves him curious. ]

Why would such a thing be frowned upon?

[samahl]

From what I've heard, some realms expect that the primary function of romance is procreation, and therefore they only encourage partners to be male and female.

[rowancrowned]

You speak of- [ he pauses, mulls the words over, then answers very carefully. ]

We love one, and only one, all our lives. The act of intercourse is a permanent joining. Men may have grand ceremonies, but all elves need to consider the union legitimate is sex. The desire, the urge- it dies after a few decades of wedded life, after a few children. Otherwise perhaps there would be too many elves.

In short, we do not associate romance with procreation. Men do as they like, concerned with land and titles. We are too long-lived to be concerned with heirs.

[samahl]

[That whole idea sounds pretty forigen to him, but then so much of their realm is. Still, he wants to learn what he can from it.]

Then that one, is it always between a female and a male, or are there pairings of elves who are two females or two males?

In your story Beren is a human man who fell in love with an elvhen maiden. Are there any stories of human men who fell in love with elvhen who weren't women?

[rowancrowned]

There have always been elves who did not wed, who had an especially close companion who was enough.

[ the next one is far easier: ] No. Of the mortals who loved elves, there were only four. Beren and Lúthien, Imrazôr and Mithrellas, Tuor and Idril, and Aegnor and Andreth. All but the last were mortal men and elven women.

[samahl]

I see.

[Then, after a moment.] The Chantry destroyed a lot of historical records about elves and many more were forgotten before that. The Dalish do what we can to recover them.

The fact that you can recite such a tale from memory...

It makes me wonder what we've lost.

private ;

[rowancrowned]

[ there is real empathy in his voice when he speaks, soft and without any of the afflictions of elegance. ] I am sorry. I will do what I can to help your people.

Has Lady Galadriel taught you Tengwar?

private

[samahl]

A bit. We share stories and bits of language when we can.

private ;

[rowancrowned]

I am in the library most days from sunrise to sunset. If you- or any of the other elves- would like tutoring, I am available.

I would like to take down your histories in Sindarin.

private ;

[samahl]

I would love that.

[He'll have to keep the drooling over all of the pretty to a minimum though.]

We only have fragments but what we do have should be recorded in every way. Less chance of it being lost again.

private ;

[rowancrowned]

[ clearly, his ego needs more stroking. ]

I agree.

Tell me, what is your favorite story? It need not be true- one of the tales told to elflings at bedtime would suit just as well as a historical tale.

[samahl]

Most of the stories we know about Mythal I enjoy. That's one of the reasons she's the one I wear on my face. There's a legend around why we have day and night. There's little factual truth to it, but the story is a good one.

Elgar'nan captured the sun from the sky as punishment, she used her reason and kindness to calm him. From her words, he was able to see how his anger had betrayed him and was convinced to free the sun. He only did it for half of the day, though so on the first night after the sun was released Mythal created the moons from the glowing earth round its bed to be placed in the sky as a reminder of the sun's true glory.

I've always enjoyed stories like that one, where Mythal manages to convince those around her to do what is right, not always what they want.

[rowancrowned]

It is a fair tale.

[ interesting, though, all these stories of how the sun came to be. he knows that arien and tilion are not here, and yet the sun and the moon are still here. elves are still here.

what had iluvatar done? what had been in the Song to create this world that seems, in so many ways, a reflection of arda through a clouded mirror. ]

Forgive me, I know so little about your tattoos. Would it be rude to ask to know more?

[samahl]

It would be if you were human.

They honor our gods, but they also mark us as full members of our Clan. If a youth can have them bestowed upon them without flinching from the pain, they move to adulthood. No adult Dalish can be without first proving they can shoulder the pain of that life.

[rowancrowned]

Thank you. [ touched, of course, by the gesture. ]

And if they flinch in the midst of the application?

[samahl]

Then they are still children. They can try again when their Keeper deems them ready, but they aren't considered adults.

[rowancrowned]

Are there many elves with half-finished vallaslin running about?

[samahl]

No. Usually it only takes one to fail to make sure others don't take it on until they are ready.

[rowancrowned]

Your clans are very strong, to bear such a thing without flinching. The designs are... intricate.

[samahl]

Some of them are a bit more than others, but it's just as important to know your limitations.