Title & Chapter Number: Elencálë (The Light of the Elves) 1/?
Author(s): - Author's Index
Fandom: Middle Earth/Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Rating: NC-17 Romance/Adventure
Disclaimer:
Warnings:
Betas:
Cast: Legolas/Shu Lien
Timeline: AU - Post RotK
Spoilers: None
Summary: This story takes place about 100 years after the quest of the One Ring. Even after the fall of Sauron, the foul breath of evil can still be felt on the winds of Middle Earth. Some say it is just the nature of the world, the shadow of the light. Some say it is rising and has once again become sentient. King Elessar rules with a just and even hand, but Men throughout the land are falling into darkness, succumbing to greed, hatred and violence among themselves and against the world. The Light of the Elves departs as the Eldar continue to withdraw to the West, leaving darkness in their wake.
Notes: Elves do not close their eyes during Reverie. While I have updated the sexual culture of the Eldar to reflect more modern values (and indeed the fact that I feel that such sensual and advanced beings would revel in such a pass time and consider it natural and pure), the concept that Elves can tell if other Elves have had sex actually is Tolkien's.
Chapter 1
Shu Lien jogged with light steps up the open wooden stairway, down the porch-like halls, one side of which looked out onto the misty garden courtyard. It had been raining for days, in soft gentle sighs that played mournful melodies on the ceramic tiles of the roofs, that dripped in lamenting beads from the deep green of the forests, that filled all in the compound with the soft hollow feeling of dusk. Shu Lien knew why it rained so. The sky was mourning. The Elves of the Amaurëa <Dawn, first light> were leaving. The Light of the east was setting and would rise no more in this land.
Shu Lien closed her eyes briefly and she slowed to a walk as she neared the receiving rooms, hands folding in front of her. She could not imagine the Twin Cities without them, and trying to filled her with a despair that threatened to consume her, should she indulge it. For more millennia than even the oldest of Elves could remember, the Elf city and human city had lived in harmony and unity. The races exchanged goods, knowledge, friendship and songs. Their cultures, though different in customs, shared values: a reverence for life and the world, a love of peace and compassion, and a devotion to attention and presence. And so it had been since the beginning, since men walked their first wobbly steps on the earth, the Firstborn had nurtured them and taught them their ways, eventually to have the humans take their own bold steps beside their mentors. In the rest of Middle Earth, to the west, these paths further and further diverged, until the old ways were forgotten by both. Men began to struggle to dominate, and Elves to harden and exclude, so the distance between the races grew. Very few in the
Romanórë <eastern lands of Middle Earth> could believe such a thing, and spent no time trying to imagine it. Little communication came east of the imposing Entaramba <eastern wall> mountains, before the eastern shore. The Twin Cities and peoples of the eastern corridor flourished in isolation from the rest of Middle Earth, nestled between mountains and the deep blue sea.
Shu Lien could not imagine how the Amaurëa could endure the Calling, being so close to the sea. She saw how it raged in her friends and shield mates, the deep penetrating pain that welled up overwhelmingly in the blue of their eyes. Had they not the profound love for their homeland and her own people, they would have left these shores long before. The time had finally come when it could no longer be denied.
Taking a deep breath and the time to still her mind, Shu Lien stopped before the translucent, paneled door. Toeing off her sandals, she slid the door open and stepped up the one step onto the tightly woven grasses of the floor mats. Sliding the door closed behind her, she slowly turned around, gaze lowered as she pressed her palms together and bowed, then got to her knees and bowed again, palms in front of her, forehead inches from the floor. She sat back up, sitting on her heels, hands resting on her thighs easily and waited. The sweet and spicy scent of incense rose to embrace her, the only sound was the dripping of the gentle rain, the soft creaks of the mats as someone shifted, a lone bird who ventured a song in the gray afternoon. Diffuse light seeped through the rice paper-screened walls over half a dozen of the High Council of the Amaurëa seated cross-legged on the black cushions around the low wooden table. Interspersed with them were the leaders of her own group. The Mandärin was a spiritual order whose entire practice focused on developing the mind and body with the principles of their people. Through intensive meditation and rigorous training of the body in the arts of defense and control, the Mandärin rose above the petty yearnings of the heart and mind and kept the integrity of the spiritual culture of the humans. Shu Lien had been in the monastery since the death of her parents in her infancy. If she could find one benefit to their passing, it was that she had been brought among the Mandärin.
Elves and humans alike regarded her silently, in the thoughtful unhurried manner that was their way. Her Master, Wudan, brought the small, handle-less cup to his mouth and sipped the tea leisurely before lowering it to the table. His robes were of undyed fabric and looked sedate next to the soft blues of the garb of the Amaurëa .
Speaking in the usual Quenya he said, "Shu Lien, the Amaurëa have called upon us for one last request..." He looked to the side of the room and a young human scurried to the table with another tea cup, setting down a fresh pot of tea. Shu Lien gracefully stood and stepped forward to kneel at the place indicated, sitting on her heels on the thick mats.
Luinhin, the Regent of the Amaurëa , smiled kindly at her and picked up the tea pot, poured the tea into her cup, and passed it to her.
She placed her palms together and inclined her head before taking it and bringing the hot beverage to her lips.
"Shu Lien, we have a package which we need to be delivered to Rivendell in the west to Lord Elrond, and we wish you to escort it." Luinhin said simply as if he asked nothing more than an errand. The Mandärin earned their keep by protecting shipments, people and trade through the bandit-infested mountains and valleys of the eastern corridor. They never took life, defeating their opponent by wit, skill and non-lethal force. The ways of the East were ones of honor, and it was far more devastating to many to loose face than life. None of the ballads of the Mandärin ever spoke of venturing west beyond the mountains of the Entaramba, and certainly not into Middle Earth proper. The request was monumental.
Shu Lien paused letting the question pass through her and giving it the weight that it deserved. She understood the scope and peril of the journey. However, there was no hesitation in her response. "You honor me, my lord." She said simply bowing once again.
He smiled slightly, but continued. "This is not a duty, but a request that may be denied."
"I consider even the most casual request of the Amaurëa to be a pleasurable duty. You only ask for what you need, and you have given us more than we could ever return." She said quietly, inclining her head slightly as the other Elves smiled in appreciation of her kind words.
The soft voice of another Elf continued. Shu Lien turned to her Elvish teacher and mentor. As was the tradition, both the Mandärin and Elves trained for periods with the other's masters. Shu Lien had spent many years training with Falmalinnar, and in that time they had developed a special relationship which had endured.
"Daughter, I want you to understand what it is that we ask. The road will be most treacherous, as the package will be sought after by great evil and the way is wild. Your skills will no doubt be direly tested in its protection. I must emphasize that this must be your choice." Falmalinnar spoke slowly and meaningfully, looking deeply into her eyes. He was worried for her, Shu Lien realized and she smiled, touched, but unperturbed.
"I understand what it is you ask. I do not fear death, for I reside in the present and death occurs only after the last breath." She paused, meeting the eyes of each Elf meaningfully, "My only fear is that I will be unable to complete such a task."
Luinhin let a slow smile creep over his face as her eyes met his. "There is none better suited anywhere in the Romanórë , so I am
told." Shu Lien lowered her eyes, embarrassed. Shu Lien was considered by some to be the most accomplished warrior in the realm, human or Elvish. Whether this was by gift was unclear, it certainly wasn't gift alone. She was famous for her intense, almost fanatical discipline. Discipline was to Shu Lien a way of controlling the hollowness of her heart. Whether it was due to being an orphan or something else, Shu Lien had always been afflicted with an inner turmoil and underlying aching melancholy that drove her to push her body and mind beyond what was normally asked of a human. She expected perfection. Her reward was virtuosity.
After a pause, Luinhin continued, "This being true however, we would not unnecessarily risk mortal life but for the fact that this package cannot be wielded by an Elf. This is a quest that man must undertake, as will become clear along your journey. I must ask that you be satisfied by such little detail. More information may make the road more perilous." He paused again, taking a sip of tea thoughtfully. "Four of our people have volunteered to accompany you, and I suggest that you choose four more Mandärin to join you. Traveling quickly with few will give you an advantage as you pass through Mordor. I will provide more details, funds, and what maps we have to Master Wudan. Unfortunately, even Elvish horses will not make it through the mountains, so you will have to travel on foot. When would you be departing?"
Shu Lien paused, thinking. "We should be ready to leave in a fortnight." She glanced at Wudan who nodded in agreement.
"Then it is agreed." Luinhin smiled sitting back slightly and placing both hands on the table. "We offer you our deepest gratitude." He said looking sincerely into Shu Lien's eyes.
"You have given me a great gift, my lord. Though it pleases me to know that the Calling will no longer burn in your eyes, were I left here with nothing to ponder but the passing of the fair Amaurëa from our shores... I fear my sorrow would turn to despair." Her black, liquid eyes closed briefly in grief.
"Would that we had such a distraction." He returned softly as several of the Elves bowed their heads sadly.
Shu Lien rose stepping back slightly, making eye contact with Falmalinnar. "Namarië." She said quietly and bowed to the ground once more. Without another look, she turned and left.
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