Title: “Moriquendi – The Eryn Lasgalen Cycle”

Author: Fan81981

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the LOTR characters, which is a shame.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: As darkness gathers, and games of State turn vicious Legolas and Rhinure struggle to create something lasting out of a bond that was forced upon them. Will they succeed or will this new marriage fail, as it seems doomed to? Can strength of will triumph when it is unclear where strength should be exercised?

Hello all,

If you are joining straight from the end of “Moriquendi” then this little summary is not for you, though you might like to read it anyway. If not, please continue straight to the next chapter.

If you are new readers – and I hope there are some of you who are – then this is for you. Please read “Moriquendi” as well since this is really a sequel. But if you don’t feel like it (and I won’t blame you – too much – if you don’t) then please read the following summary and character list.

Thanks,

Fan81981

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I suppose if I were to give the shortest possible summary of “Moriquendi” it would be as follows:

The War of the Ring has ended – but Mirkwood is not at peace. Attacks continue, at a surprisingly consistent and dangerous level. More and more elves succumb to the Sea-Longing, sailing for the West and leaving the Realm with insufficient numbers to protect its Borders. Coming out a War, the King knows that the only means for survival is an alliance with the only other fighting force in Mirkwood – the Avari.

The Avari have kept out of the War, and have the numbers he needs. But how to bind them to elves they view with mistrust? The answer – marry his son and Heir to their ruler, Rhinure.

In deference to the needs of their people, Rhinure and Legolas agree to marry and suffer from the usual problems that married couples face – the adjustment to a new life – along with some not so usual problems.

The Avari – Dark Elves, the Unwilling – view the Silvan Elves with suspicion and vice versa. To the Avari, the Eldar are elves who abandoned their Kin to the machinations of Melkor. They broke all vows and ties for the promise of a better life. The Eldar view the Avari as traitors, who refused the Summons of the Valar, and the commands of their liege lords.

The alliance is tenuous at best. For now, both fight a common enemy, determined not to let the Orcs claim more lives.  But the Avari are hiding a dark secret. They have reason to believe that the masterminds behinds these attacks are the Lost Ones – elves that the Avari believed to have been lost when Melkor was finally defeated. Though they have no proof, they have suspicions, suspicions they will not share with the King. For to them, these lost Avari are Kin, and Kin comes before anything.

They will not fight the Lost Ones, given a choice. But will they be given a choice? Thranduil is no fool, he is gathering his own intelligence and coming to his own conclusions. The Avari are right in one thing, he is dangerous and he will not view this Avari reticence with approval.

But the Avari too have honour, and ancient debt cannot be forgotten. For the Lost Ones are not only Kin, they are Saviours. They are the only reason why the Clan is alive today, and did not fall into Shadow. With such a blood debt, the Avari are trying their hardest to prevent a confrontation. For they know, when it comes down to it, they would rather dispose of Rhinure and the alliance than forget where and who they came from.

In all these games of state, two elves – one couple – struggle to create something lasting out of a bond that was forced upon them. Will they succeed or will this new marriage fail, as it seems doomed to?

All that can be said is that it is best not to underestimate your enemy – but it should be remembered that Fate tears lives asunder and brings them together for a reason. Let us pray that Fate knew what she was doing when she brought Legolas and Rhinure together.

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Following is a list of the more important characters. If other characters crop up which the reader should know about I will put it in the end of each chapter. That is – if anyone new is reading this. Is there?

Eryn Lasgalen (Mirkwood):

Thranduil – King of the Wood-elves. Legolas’ father (general nice-guy and not an elf to mess with)

In case any of you missed this the first time – Thranduil is a nice (okay – wonderful) person. This is not going to be an Evil!Thranduil fic.

Legolas – Prince of the Wood-elves, born in Third Age 147. Heir to the throne of Eryn Lasgalen. Member of the Fellowship (I’m sure all of you knew that but I had to put it in). Husband to the Avari Sacrifice, Rhinure.

A new husband, he is slightly clueless when it comes to his new wife. A very nice guy but don’t let that gorgeous smile fool you – he is not someone to take lightly. He gets this from his father btw. His mother, on the other hand:

Eruante – Wife to Thranduil, was a wonderful, gentle she-elf. She sailed to the West in the Third Age 1549.

Herenion – Bodyguard to the Heir (that’s Legolas, by the way). He originally served Oropher as Thranduil’s bodyguard. When Legolas was born, Thranduil made Herenion’s title official. He is unmarried at the moment and likes it that way. He has seen both Thranduil and Legolas flounder too much to like the idea of marriage.

Generally come across as a jolly elf (if Santa was to take any elf from Arda it would be this one) and always has a word of advice for his surrogate sons – too many if you ask them. He is one of the few elves in Mirkwood who is completely unafraid of Thranduil, much to the King’s disgust (who has been lectured on enough occasions to know that it is not a good idea to get on Herenion’s bad side).

Maenon ­– Ostensibly a Captain of Mirkwood’s Border Patrol (the offensive arm of Mirkwood’s forces). He is probably the oldest elf in the Realm and undoubtedly the wiliest. Among other things, he is one of Thranduil’s best spies. No one, not even Legolas, is exactly certain what Maenon does for the King.

Faelon – Lieutenant of the Prince’s Company. Legolas commands the Border Patrol and in his absence Faelon commands the Prince’s Company – Mirkwood’s best fighters. A surprising choice for someone so young, but then Faelon is devoted to his King and Prince – sometimes recklessly so. His sense of humour and obvious enthusiasm make him a popular commander.

Arandur – Captain of Mirkwood’s Home Guard – the defensive forces. The King’s own Bodyguard, he is an Avari. He is brother to the Avari Heir, Cothion. He joined King Thranduil’s service in the Third Age 1553 after having sworn an oath to serve the King for the duration of his life. A taciturn elf by Eldar standards, all we know about his personal life is that he had a beloved who he had to leave when he took up service in Mirkwood. What happened to her, whether she is still alive, or whether she married someone else is unknown. What we do know is that Arandur is not happy with his brother for sending him to serve the King of the Woodland Realm.

I think that is most of the Eldar. Other minor characters in Mirkwood who one should know about for the next few chapters at least:

Galárin – an old friend of Legolas. Head chef in the Palace. He is married to Malyian and has recently had a baby daughter.

I think that’s about it. Now we turn to the Avari. All of the Avari are OCs so now is the time to pay attention.

The Avari (Capital City – Tirnen)

The Avari – also called the Unwilling – are the only elves to have refused the Valar’s summons. They were originally part of the Eldar, i.e. they were Telari, Noldor and possibly even Vanyar in the beginning. They became Avari out of choice, however they grouped themselves into thirteen clans. It is uncertain on what basis this division was done but age and wisdom certainly played a part in it. Therefore, the oldest Avari formed Clans together.

After the Great Journey, the Avari remained in their small Clan units and slowly came together to form one race, with thirteen sub-sets. Since they were near Cuiviénen, Melkor’s minion, the Orcs and especially Sauron knew where to find them. Sauron first captured them and 6 of their Clans were tortured and corrupted into Orcs - the Avari call them the Fallen. Sauron had learnt the lessons from his Master well. However, the oldest three and the youngest four managed to escape and remain relatively together. They moved and hid far in the East, away from their traitorous Kin and Men.

But this freedom was short lived. When Melkor returned to ME in the First Age, he re-captured the Avari. He was fond of his toys after all, and if Manwe had his elves why should he not have his own? Anyway, it was about this time that the oldest four clans decided that they could not let their young fall prey to this Valar. They helped the youngest three escape but their own fate is unknown.

The three youngest were refugees for a long time, right up to the start of the Third Age when Thranduil gave them permission to settle in Mirkwood. These Three – now simply called the Clan – are Rhinure’s people.

After the end of the War of the Ring, the Avari heard started hearing news about those four clans – the Lost Ones – and it is not good. Orc attacks, surprisingly well planned considering that the Nazgul no longer ride, still plague Mirkwood. There is evidence that the Lost Ones are behind this new plot.

Even though, Thranduil does not know this, he knows that something is afoot. Which is why he has formally allied himself with the Avari (Rhinure’s Clan) by marrying his son to their Sacrifice. As more Wood-elves sail to the West, Mirkwood’s numbers are not enough to protect the Realm alone. Since Thranduil will not abandon his home he has turned to help. But the question still remains; can the Avari be trusted?

The main Avari players are:

Rhinure – Legolas’ wife, the reluctant heroine of our tale, she is also the Avari Sacrifice (their title for their Leader). It is not a hereditary position but one that is willingly entered into. Considering that the Avari treat the title in an almost literal sense, Rhinure’s decision to put on this mantle does not speak well of her state of mind.

Her mother Sarniel was Sacrifice before her. She died in the Third Age 1553, four years after her husband, Barion, leaving Rhinure an orphan. However it did not matter much since her uncle, Morion, had brought up Rhinure. He too, died recently, defending Legolas’ life.

Rhinure, like her people, is distrustful of emotions. The Avari believe emotions to be treacherous and something to be avoided, especially in public life. However, they do acknowledge that one cannot avoid them all the time, but they should only be indulged in private. It is probably the only vice the Avari indulge in. If it comes right down to it, they are fiercely protective of their feelings. It is a matter of perverse pride that they have the freedom to feel what they want, just not when they want.

As long as they do their duty, they can feel whatever they wish. That great freedom is balanced by the constraint duty places on them. Everything that the Avari do is dictated by duty. No wonder that they guard their only freedom so closely.

The Avari have four oaths – Duty, Obedience, for Life, and beyond Death. All Avari swears the first oath, duty, when they come of age. The oath to obey, the Second, is sworn by many.  However, only a rare few swear the Third – to obey and do one’s duty for one’s entire Life.

The Fourth vow – to do all of this beyond Death is the strongest vow that the Avari can swear. It is the only vow with does not finish when one dies. And therefore, it is only sworn between a married couple. Only a husband and a wife hold each other’s Four vows.

Such a vow Rhinure had sworn to Legolas – therefore, nothing is more important to her than he is. It is unfortunate that practise does not often bear out this theory.

When an Avari swear on of the Four, he puts on a ring connected by a chain to a bracelet to symbolise that vow. Therefore, an Avari who has sworn only one vow will have one ring on his thumb. Such a device is called a karha.

The marriage karha has four rings – one for each finger except for the third, which is left bare. 

Aside from marriage vows – the Three vows are the strongest. The Avari who have sworn as much are few. Rhinure is one. The others are:

Ehtewen – the First Guard. She is Rhinure’s bodyguard and one tough she-elf. She scares practically everyone, even Rhinure a little if Rhinure was truthful about it. However, Rhinure loves her like a mother, even though Ehtewen will never admit to any such reciprocal feelings. She was Sarniel’s bodyguard too.

Cothion – Commander of the Avari forces, he is Rhinure’s Heir. He is older than Rhinure and would have become Sacrifice when Sarniel died, had not Rhinure defeated him in a trial of arms. Secretly, he is glad that he is not Sacrifice, for their life span is very short for an elf. They have a habit of dying too soon.

He is Arandur’s brother, as happily married as possible for an Avari. His son, Erutunín is expecting his first child by Aladriel.

Túrgwaith – First Advisor. He is one of the oldest Avari and one of the most dangerous. Sacrifices come and go but the First Advisor endures. He was one of the few elves, who were alive in the time of Captivity. He has survived Melkor, captivity, torture and exile. Only one thing in life is important to him – the Avari’s survival. There is not much he would not do to ensure that. For that he is loved – and feared – like no other.

Istion – the Second Guard, Rhinure’s other bodyguard. He has only recently come into this position, after Morion’s death. It was not compulsory for him to swear the Three, as it is for the elves above, but he did so anyway. Another orphan, he is fanatically devoted to Rhinure. Of all the elves above, who comprise the Avari council, he is the only one who is completely and wholly on Rhinure’s side. The others would not hesitate to do away with her if they thought it best for the Clan. He, on the other hand, will not suffer any harm to befall Rhinure.

I think that’s about it. Now you may go on to the next chapter.

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