2: Welcome to the Northern Lights

Luckily, they were all accepted into the program. Daeron and Nimrodel even received scholarships, much to their surprise, and that lightened the economic burden on the group. During the months before they needed to leave, they continued to collect unemployment checks, though for a few weeks Glorfindel was able to find work bagging groceries at a local supermarket when one of the store’s regular employees went into the hospital for an appendectomy. They sold their vehicles, keeping Glorfindel’s mini-van, and put what they would not need into storage and finally headed off. The road was long and wearying but after a week of traveling, camping out to save money on lodgings, their goal was in sight. Once past Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory, they picked up the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks. There they splurged and found an inexpensive motel where they indulged themselves in long hot showers, visited a nearby laundromat, and ate at a McDonald’s which was across the street from the motel.

The next day, which was a Saturday, they set off for the last leg of their journey, taking the James Dalton Highway towards Wiseman, which was approximately two hundred miles away, about seventy or so miles north of the Arctic Circle. The scenery along the way was stunning, with the Brooks Mountain Range rising before them. Wiseman, according to the town’s webpage, which Daeron had printed out, lay in the foothills on the South Fork Koyukuk River.

“It’s the entry point to the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Reserve,” Daeron read to them as Glorfindel drove, “and was originally founded by gold miners back in 1919.”

Soon they crossed the Yukon River, and just beyond they came upon a marker indicating that they had crossed the Arctic Circle.

“Almost there,” Glorfindel said. “Maybe another hour or so.”

There were cheers and the Elves became excited. They had lived through much and had experienced just about all aspects of life, whether as Elves or pretending to be Mortals, but they were always eager for new experiences. That eagerness, Glorfindel had once pointed out, had probably been the reason why none of them had faded, as so many Elves who had not sailed had done.

True to his prediction, they came to the turn-off for Wiseman about an hour or so later. A sign stated that the town was only three miles away. Soon, they were crossing a bridge spanning the South Fork Koyukuk River into the town. They stopped at a 7-11 to stock up on some more snacks and to make sure that the directions they had to the college were correct. It turned out that it was situated on the northwest side of the town, closer to the mountains.

Glorfindel drove through the town while the others admired the scenery. “It’s rather pretty in a mortalish sort of way,” Mithrellas said.

Elrohir snorted. “You’ve lived in the Mortal world for millennia, Misty,” he said, using the name which she went by these days, “yet you never seem to admit that they can do something right every once in a while.”

Mithrellas gave him a sniff. “They will never surpass us Elves in the creation of beauty, Roy,” she answered, addressing him by his ‘Mortal’ name.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Elladan, who naturally went by the name Dan, said. “Morton Laurisden’s Lux Aeterna is about as sublime as you’re ever going to hear. Even our resident minstrel would agree to that, wouldn’t you, Darren?” using Daeron’s ‘Mortal’ name.

Daeron nodded distractedly, not really paying attention to the conversation as he was acting as Glorfindel’s navigator. “Turn left here at the light and then the college should be straight ahead.”

“Well, I think it’s a lovely town and the mountains in the background rather remind me of the Hithaeglir, don’t you think?” Nimrodel asked.

“Every mountain range reminds you of the Hithaeglir, Della,” Glorfindel said with a smile as he made the turn, “and the Ered Nimrais and the....”

“All right, all right, Loren,” Nimrodel said with a laugh. “Can I help it if I have a thing about mountains? Getting lost in them and wandering about for years....” she shivered and her eyes turned bleak. “If Misty hadn’t found me....”

Mithrellas took her hand and squeezed it. “I was never so happy as when I did, my lady. Guren ebennin enni. It is why I forsook my husband and children as I did.”

Nimrodel smiled at her closest friend. “And I am glad that you did, though it still grieves me that you had to make such a difficult choice as to leave your children.”

Mithrellas shrugged. “They fared well enough without me.”

“Here we are,” Glorfindel said suddenly and they all looked out the windows to see the campus before them. “Can we drop the past for a time and concentrate on the present? Darren, which way now?”

“The second right and then another left should see us there,” the Sindarin minstrel said.

Like much of the town they had just driven through, many of the campus buildings were constructed of wood and were no higher than four stories. There was a definite rustic look to the place that appealed to the Elves’ sensibilities.

“I think I could actually like this place,” Elrohir said as Glorfindel made the left turn that saw them facing a building that was only three stories high. There was a parking lot to the right and when Glorfindel showed the attendant their admission letters, he was allowed to enter.

“They’ll give you a sticker for the car during your orientation,” the attendant said. “Please be sure to have it on your vehicle before Monday or it’ll be towed.”

Glorfindel nodded and thanked the man before driving into the lot and soon the six Elves were tumbling out of the mini-van and gazing at what would be their home for the next five months.

They were amused to see a small wooden sign next to the main door of the building that had the words ‘Elf Academy’ carved into it. Inside the building they found themselves in a large foyer where a couple of tables were set up in the center, behind which two people sat. Above the two tables were cardboard signs with letters of the alphabet on them, the left sign reading ‘A-L’, while the right sign read ‘M-Z’. Other people were standing in one line or the other and the Elves split up to go to the appropriate line. Glorfindel, Daeron and Mithrellas went to the left while the other three went to the right.

When it was Glorfindel’s turn, he found himself standing before a young female with dark red-brown hair and chestnut brown eyes who looked up at him and just stared, her mouth hanging open in naked astonishment. Glorfindel hid a smile, familiar with the reaction he got from mortal females of all ages. “My name is Loren DelaFiore,” he said. “Should I spell it for you?”

“Huh? I mean, uh no,” the girl said hurriedly as she quickly flipped through the manila envelopes that contained each student’s orientation materials. “He... here you are,” she stammered and handed him the envelope. “Wel...welcome to the Northern Lights Elf Academy,” she added.

“Thank you,” Glorfindel said with a brief smile. “I’m looking forward to my classes... er... Cassie,” he said, reading the name tag on her blouse.

“Cassidy Morgan,” she answered, blushing somewhat shyly for some reason.

“A lovely name,” Glorfindel said and then stepped aside when he felt Daeron poking him in the back. Cassidy continued to stare at him.

“Hello,” Daeron said brightly. “I’m Darren, Darren Harper.”

“Oh, yes,” Cassie said, blinking rapidly and then gulping as she caught sight of the Sinda, her eyes nearly bugging out. “He-here you are. Welcome to the... um.. Northern Lights Elf Academy.” She rattled off the words rather quickly as if she was having trouble breathing.

Daeron thanked her and stepped aside for Mithrellas who looked upon the Mortal with amusement, for Cassie’s eyes were on the two ellyn who had moved away to look at their orientation packages and she was not paying attention to anyone else. “Excuse me,” she said, waving her hand in front of the girl’s eyes to get her attention. “Misty Grey.”

“Oh! What an unusual name,” Cassie said, blushing slightly as she rifled through the manila envelopes.

Mithrellas grinned. “It was a rather foggy morning when I was born and with a surname like ‘Grey’, well....” She gave her an elegant shrug.

Cassie merely nodded and handed her the package. “Welcome....”

“To the Northern Lights Elf Academy,” Mithrellas said, finishing the sentence for her, “and I thank you.” She turned away and saw that Nimrodel was now at the head of the other table with the Twins right behind her.

“Della White,” she heard Nimrodel say and then watched in amusement as the young man — she could see his name tag read ‘Matt’ — stared at her lady with the same look that Cassie had given Glorfindel and Daeron. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was and what he should be doing before he dragged his eyes from Nimrodel’s face and went through the envelopes before finding the one labeled ‘Della White’. He handed the package to her and just stared, quite forgetting to give her the usual welcome spiel. Nimrodel merely smiled broadly and stepped away for the Twins to come to the front of the line.

Matt blinked rapidly, as if not sure he should be seeing double. “Uh... names?” he asked hesitantly.

“Dan and Roy Ronaldson,” Elladan said briskly.

“Ronaldson.... Ronaldson.... Ah! Here we are,” Matt said and held up two packages and then gave the twins a bemused look. “Uh... which one of you is Dan?” he asked hesitantly.

Without even looking at one another, each ellon pointed to his twin and at the same time said, “He is.”

Mithrellas giggled at the nonplused expression on Matt’s face while Nimrodel rolled her eyes and gave Elladan a smack on the arm. Elladan gave her a wicked grin and then turned back to the Mortal. “I am, actually,” he said, taking the proffered envelope.

Matt nodded. “Well, welcome to the Northern Lights Elf Academy,” he said as he gave Elrohir his package. “I hope you enjoy your time here.”

“I’m sure we will, thank you,” Elrohir said smoothly as he and his twin moved aside and joined the others who were standing away from the crowd of students still waiting to get their packages.

“Let’s go out to the courtyard,” Glorfindel suggested and the others agreed. The building, they could see consisted of four wings with a center courtyard where they found benches on which to sit. They pulled out several sheets of paper from their envelopes. The first sheet consisted of a map of the building. In one corner of the map was a sticker with the person’s name and a room number. Only the Twins had the same number on their maps.

“I guess the rest of us will be sharing with Mortals,” Glorfindel said with a sigh.

“I wonder if we can ask to switch rooms,” Daeron said. “I don’t think it really matters who is in which room, does it?”

The others shrugged, not knowing what the Mortal etiquette would be. “Perhaps it would be best to keep the rooms and the roommates that have been assigned to us,” Nimrodel suggested. “We will have a better chance of observing these young Mortals and how they act so we can blend in better. We look no older than they, but we certainly have no idea how young Mortals act these days.”

Glorfindel nodded. “You’re right, Della,” he said. “I think it would be better as well.” He turned to the Twins. “You might consider asking to change rooms for this very reason.”

The Twins looked at one another and shook their heads almost as one. “We would rather stay together,” Elrohir said and the matter was dropped.

Looking at the map they saw that the front wing of the building consisted primarily of common rooms where people could congregate and relax. There was a games room and a TV room as well as a smaller lounge that was labeled ‘Quiet Reading’ and another room labeled ‘Aurora Borealis Internet Café’. There was also a cafeteria on the third floor and a small but apparently well-equipped gym on the second.

“All the comforts of home,” Elladan quipped.

“Except we never had a gym in Imladris,” his brother retorted.

“Not that we needed one,” Elladan replied. “Not with Glorfi training us.” Glorfindel merely smirked.

The two side wings were dormitories with the men in the left wing and the women in the right. The back wing consisted of classrooms. “Which means we have to traverse the front wing to visit with one another,” Daeron said with a slow smile. “I guess they don’t trust us.”

“Do you think they have curfews and such?” Mithrellas asked with a frown.

“We will abide by whatever rules there are,” Glorfindel said firmly, speaking more as an Elf-lord rather than their friend and companion, “however much we may find them ridiculous or onerous.” He gave the Twins a stern look. “Do not make me regret allowing you to come,” he told them.

“Allow us?” Elladan said archly. “Since when do you allow us anything?”

“Since always and forever,” Glorfindel replied coldly. “Imladris may no longer exist, but do not ever forget who I am.” He locked gazes with them and there were a few tense moments before the Twins looked away first.

“We’ll be good,” Elrohir promised and then added, “but do we have to be very good?”

“Just don’t do anything that will draw attention to us,” Daeron replied. “Remember why we’re here. We have a specific goal in mind and we don’t need you two messing things up for us.”

“We’ll be on our best behavior. Warrior’s Oath on it,” Elladan said formally and Elrohir repeated his words so as to make the oath his own.

Glorfindel seemed satisfied with that and they turned to other matters. “There’s an orientation meeting tonight after dinner,” he said, reading from the schedule, “and then it looks as if the rest of the weekend is ours to explore the town and its environs. Classes begin on Monday. Ah, here is the sticker for the car. Why don’t we go gather our things and find our rooms and roommates and get settled in? Dinner will be in about an hour or so according to this schedule. We can meet at the cafeteria.”

The others all agreed to Glorfindel’s plan and so that is what they did.

****

Glorfindel looked around the room that was to be his for the next five months. He had left the Twins and Daeron on the first floor. His room was on the third, looking out onto the courtyard. The room was not overly large. There were two twin beds and two desks, each with a reading lamp. Two sets of built-in wardrobes were on either side of the door. There was also a recessed cubicle containing a sink and mirror. He had passed the showers and toilets on his way to his room. It did not look as if his roommate had yet arrived, for both beds were unmade with the sheets, blankets and pillowcases neatly folded at the bottom of the beds. He decided to take the left-hand bed and threw his backpacks on it, going to the window and looking out. Behind the building the mountains rose to majestic heights, rugged and snow-capped. Nimrodel had been right. They did look a bit like the Misty Mountains.

He was lost in a memory of a time so far distant in the past that no Mortal could comprehend it, when he heard the door open. He turned to find a young man standing there, looking a bit uncertain. Behind him were two people who obviously were his parents. The boy, for Glorfindel did not think he was much more than eighteen or nineteen, had light brown hair and hazel eyes and was perhaps a few inches under six feet.

“Hello,” Glorfindel said with a smile as he went to greet the Mortal. “You must be my new roommate. I’m Loren DelaFiore.” He stuck out his hand and the young Man took it.

“Zu-zu-zack Austin,” the Mortal stuttered, staring up at him with an expression of mingled awe and anxiety. “I’m g-g-glad t-t-to meet you.”

“All the way in, son,” said his father with a smile and Zach blushed as he stepped further into the room to let his parents in. The man, an older version of Zach, thrust his hand out at Glorfindel. “Mike Austin,” he said by introduction, “and this is Zach’s mom, Patrice.”

“How do you do, sir, ma’am?” Glorfindel said more formally, as he shook Mike’s hand. He had long gotten into the habit of addressing any Mortal past a certain age with the respect he would have given to one of the High Kings among the Elves. Looking as young as he did, he knew that older Mortals would consider it a sign of disrespect for him to address them more familiarly, and these days, he noticed that many older Mortals were often surprised by his respectful attitude towards them, but also quite appreciative of it.

“DelaFiore,” Patrice Austin said, giving Glorfindel a frown. “Is that Italian? You don’t look Italian.”

“Now, Patrice, that’s not polite,” Mike Austin admonished her, giving Glorfindel an apologetic look.

Glorfindel just smiled. “There are many Italians with blond hair and blue eyes in northern Italy, Mrs. Austin,” he said smoothly. It was his standard reply whenever anyone asked about his heritage.

“You see?” Mike Austin said, giving his wife a triumphant look. He turned to Zach. “Now, son, you have everything?” Zach nodded, but did not say anything. “Good. Your mother and I will leave you to settle in and we’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He gave his son a warm hug and an encouraging smile and his mother did the same.

“Be good and don’t forget to brush your teeth,” she said in a whisper that Glorfindel could hear easily enough and he watched in amusement as Zach blushed.

“Come along, Patrice,” Mike said, taking his wife’s arm, shaking his head in wry amusement. “Let the boys get acquainted.” Glorfindel had to suppress a grin at being labeled a ‘boy’. “Nice meeting you, Loren.”

“And you, sir, ma’am,” Glorfindel said, and then he and Zach were alone.

“S-s-sorry about m-m-my mom,” Zach said apologetically.

Glorfindel shrugged. “I was about to unpack and then go get dinner. I came up with friends. Would you like to join us?”

Zach nodded. “Th-thank you,” he said somewhat shyly and Glorfindel gave him a warm smile as he started to unpack, all the while wondering how anyone who stuttered would be able to act effectively as a tour guide.

****

Daeron was having his own encounter with a roommate, a young man named Judson — “Just call me Jud” — von Frank who sported a Mohawk dyed red and green — “For Christmas, y’know” — and several earrings. He had brown eyes and Daeron suspected that his natural hair color might be black, for his eyebrows were very dark. He was tall for a Mortal, perhaps six-two or three, though Daeron was taller still.

“I was, like, drifting, y’know,” Jud was explaining to the Sinda as they were unpacking their things. “Going from one lousy low-paying job to the next and not really knowing what I wanted to do.”

“So now you’ve decided you want to be an Elf?” Daeron asked in bemusement.

“Hey, man! It’s better than nothing,” Jud replied with a diffident shrug. “My brother, Jake, saw an ad about this place and thought it would be a good thing for me, ’cuz I’ve always, y’know, liked the outdoors and all and I’m good with people, especially with little kids.”

“I see,” Daeron said, though in truth he didn’t see at all. “Well, hopefully, things will work out for you. If you’re finished unpacking, why don’t we go find some dinner? I came up with friends and perhaps you would like to join us.”

“Great,” Jud said. “I’m starved. Let’s go.”

As they left their room, Daeron wondered if the others had roommates as strange as his.

****

“Oh!”

Nimrodel looked up from putting away some blouses to see a diminutive girl with golden-yellow skin and very black hair and eyes that looked out on the world behind thick spectacles. She was probably in her early twenties, Nimrodel guessed, but she looked more as if she were fifteen.

“Hello,” Nimrodel said with a smile.

“Oh!” the girl said again, her expression one of dismay, looking up at her. “You’re so beautiful.”

Nimrodel gave the girl a searching look and saw how insecure she must feel. She held out her hand. “My name is Della White. What’s yours?”

“Lily, Lily Zhang,” the girl answered shyly, taking the elleth’s hand.

“Lily. That’s a lovely name,” Nimrodel said. “Have you come far?”

“Anchorage,” Lily said as she plopped her baggage on the bed that would be hers. “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m from much further away than that,” Nimrodel said with a light laugh. “I’ve recently been living in California.”

Lily gave her a puzzled look. “But that’s not where you’re from?”

“No,” Nimrodel said, her expression a bit more wistful. “That’s not where I’m from.” Then she forced herself to brighten. “So, you want to be an Elf?”

Lily sighed. “I don’t know what possessed me to apply to this place,” she said as she sat on the edge of her bed. “I mean, whoever heard of an elf wearing glasses?”

“Yet, you applied and were accepted,” Nimrodel replied.

“I thought it would be fun and I’m interested in tourism. I wanted to be a stewardess, but I’m too short and not pretty enough.”

“Lily,” Nimrodel said, speaking carefully. “Do not sell yourself short. You are quite beautiful in your own way.” Lily gave her a look of disbelief and Nimrodel nodded. “You have an inner glow that is quite lovely to see.”

The girl stood up and went to stand before the mirror that was over the sink and stared at her reflection. “I don’t see any inner glow,” she said.

“It is there, though,” Nimrodel said gently, standing behind her, “and perhaps by the time we complete this course you will see it.”

Lily sighed. “Still, whoever heard of an elf with glasses?”

Nimrodel smiled. “You cannot possibly be the only student here who wears glasses. If anyone asks, though, just tell them you’re making a fashion statement. Now, I don’t know about you, but I could do with some dinner. Why don’t we finish unpacking and then go to the cafeteria? I have some friends I would like you to meet.”

Lily nodded, pushing her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose in an unconscious gesture before going to her bags and opening them. Nimrodel watched her for a moment or two before turning her attention to her own luggage.

****

Mithrellas entered her assigned room on the second floor, having left Nimrodel to climb to the third floor, to find it already occupied. “Hello,” she said as she entered.

“Hi there,” said the girl lounging on her bed with an MP3 player sitting on her stomach. She had dark brown hair and eyes. Above her bed she had tacked a poster showing a mushroom cloud. Overlaying the picture were the words: ‘The whole world is a madhouse but here is the center’.

“So you’re my roomy, heh?” the girl said, “I’m Shane Englebert, by the way.”

“Misty Grey,” Mithrellas said. “Shane... that’s a man’s name, isn’t it?”

The girl laughed. “My mom loved Alan Ladd in the movie. She thought the name was so cool and decided her first child, boy or girl, would be given that name.” She gave the elleth a wry look. “Parents... what can you do?”

Mithrellas laughed. “Indeed.”

“Misty,” Shane said. “Now that’s unusual. Is it short for something?”

“No, just Misty,” Mithrellas replied.

“Well, it suits you somehow,” Shane said.

“Thanks.” Mithrellas dropped her backpack on the other bed and gazed out the window. Their room faced the courtyard and she wondered if any of the ellyn’s rooms did the same. “So, what made you decide you wanted to be an Elf?” she asked Shane as she turned away to start unpacking.

“Oh, I’m not really into the Christmas thing, you know,” the girl said. Mithrellas gave her an enquiring look and Shane nodded. “My family’s actually Jewish,” she said with a grin.

“Ah....” was all Mithrellas could think to say.

“Yeah, but we’re not observant Jews or anything like that,” Shane explained hastily, “and I have lots of friends who celebrate Christmas.”

“But I don’t see why....” Mithrellas started to say but Shane cut her off.

“It’s like this. My mom and I don’t get along too well anymore, not since she married Hiram.” She spoke the name with an expression of distaste on her face. “And I just decided I needed to get away, you know?” She spread her arms out and gave the elleth a saucy grin. “And this is about as far away as I could think to get. Besides,” she added, putting her arms down, “I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska. I grew up in Brooklyn, you see.”

Mithrellas nodded dutifully, not sure what the girl meant, but let it go. She had learned long ago not to get too close to Mortals and their problems. Their lives were so short; it didn’t seem worth the effort.

“Hey!” Shane said, pulling out a cell phone from one of her jeans pockets to check the time. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss dinner.”

“I’m all set,” Mithrellas said. “I have some friends who are here. Why don’t we go find them and we can all eat together?”

“Cool,” Shane replied, putting her MP3 player on the desk next to her bed, and running a comb through her thick hair before heading towards the door. “Are any of them boys?” she asked and Mithrellas was not sure how to answer that. Not even the Twins could be considered ‘boys’ in her opinion, though they were by far much younger than the other Elves, so she just shrugged and gave the girl a smile as they headed for the cafeteria.

****

Words are Sindarin.

Hithaeglir: Misty Mountains.

Ered Nimrais: White Mountains.

Guren ebennin enni: ‘My heart told me’. This is the past tense version of the attested phrase Guren bêd enni ‘My heart tells me’ [See Vinyar Tengwar 41:11].