Chapter Eight: Alessa
Tranith Argan: Book 1
The young boy Felanar, along with Bren, Ravesfel and the elf Lafáris took a brief boat ride to the land of Elaria. At last Felanar gets to see this mysterious home of the wood elves.
[Don’t forget the Maps page on my Substack, if you get lost with the place names.]
As the boat was tied to the dock on the far side of the water, Felanar tried to see any signs of life other than the elves on the dock. He saw no houses and no lights beyond the lamps of the harbor. This puzzled him and he asked Bren, “How many elves live in Melanaré?”
“Several hundred, I would say.”
“Are they all asleep? It’s not that late.”
Llafáris, hearing this, laughed and said, “No, they are quite awake, young master. Can you not see Inla’s house? Or the house of Enéra over there? I assure you, they are observing you even if you are not observing them.”
“I cannot see any houses,” said Felanar as he looked all around.
“Actually,” Bren said, “the Findára live in homes in the trees. But their homes are well hidden by the leaves and branches. You could walk right under a city of elves in a forest and never know it!”
“Of course a single man cannot walk within a hundred yards of us without being noticed,” said Llafáris with a grin and a sidelong glance at Bren.
Ravesfel jumped in to say, “Let’s not start those old arguments again, shall we? Don’t pay them any attention, Felanar, they’re just jealous of each other.”
“Jealous!” protested Bren and Lafáris simultaneously, while the Erenár steering the boat began to laugh among themselves. Felanar joined in, laughing loud and long and for the first time feeling completely at ease around Llafáris – elves could be as funny as men! – and especially Ravesfel. When the old man joked like that he appeared grandfatherly. In fact, Felanar noticed, he had never seen Ravesfel so relaxed. He also felt relaxed and at peace. Elaria was already pleasant to him.
Two of the Erenár tied the ship to the harbor and the passengers disembarked. From the well-maintained dock the three travelers were led into nearby woods. The Erenár stayed behind on the dock.
As they walked through the woods, Felanar noticed how fresh the air seemed, clean and vibrant, with a scent of flowers and fruit. The ground was green and mossy and they walked in near silence. Lafáris was truly silent, but the men still made some noise. A few hundred feet in, they came to a large oak tree and here Llafáris motioned for them to stop.
“Excuse me for a moment,” he said, and with a sudden leap he sprang up the side of the tree and onto a nearby branch. From there he quickly scampered up into the thick foliage. Felanar had never seen anything like it. He and Alak liked to climb trees, but their skill was nothing compared to that of Llafáris. He ran up the oak tree as if it were a road.
A twisted vine fell to the ground and Ravesfel said to Felanar, “Up you go, now!” The boy grasped the thin but strong vine and pulled himself up into the foliage, steadying himself with his feet against the bark. At first he saw nothing ahead but more thickly entwined branches and leaves, but then he could make out Llafáris standing on a platform high above. Felanar kept pulling himself upward until he nearly reached the elf. Llafáris then reached down and helped the boy up onto the circular wooden platform that surrounded the trunk.
What had looked like a normal oak tree now appeared from the inside as a large house. Branches had been pruned away to form a large living area. On the platform were beds of goose down neatly arranged to one side. A small wooden table sat near the clearing and a few small, low chairs surrounded it. The table was lit by a couple of candles and food was set for the travelers. Felanar was amazed at this tree house, for it truly could be called a house.
By now Bren and Ravesfel had made the climb, Ravesfel complaining under his breath about elven architecture. Llafáris then pulled up the vine and invited all of them to sit at the table while he served supper. This consisted of fruits, nuts and more of the delicious elven bread. To drink there was a juice of some fruit unknown to Felanar. It was green, bright green, and cool and very smooth, with an intensely fruity taste. Felanar decided if this was typical of what their food was going to be like he would be quite fond of elven food.
As they ate, he was able to examine Llafáris up close, without feeling self-conscious. He appeared to be a very young elf. His blond hair and eyebrows and fair complexion contrasted with his dark green jerkin. Felanar again noticed his eyes had an inner light, though this still could be attributed to an outside source: the candles. His build was slender and not muscular, yet he had climbed that tree without the slightest hesitation. Bren was well-built and didn’t have any trouble pulling himself up the vine, but even he caught his breath at the top. Llafáris seemed not to have noticed the climb at all.
With supper finished, they sat around the table and Ravesfel sighed contentedly. He and Bren both lit pipes and the aroma of tobacco filled the air. This seemed to mildly annoy the elf who commented that the air of Elaria was pleasant enough on its own. The men seemed not to notice.
Felanar was now quite tired and went to bed, with Bren following soon afterward. Ravesfel and Llafáris talked together for a while. Soon Felanar was asleep on the soft bed, where he slept soundly all night, remembering none of his dreams, though it did seem that he dreamed often and always with a pleasant feeling. He woke up momentarily early in the morning and briefly looked around the room in the dim light that streamed through the leaves. He saw Llafáris sitting in his chair and was startled at first for the elf had his eyes open and was staring at him. He was about to say something when he realized that the elf was actually not staring at him or anything else, but was actually asleep. Or seemed to be. Or wasn’t. It was confusing to the boy and he fell back to sleep wondering about the ways of the elves.
When they all arose the next morning, they descended from the tree. Their horses had not been tied up overnight yet had not strayed more than a few yards to graze. When the horses saw the travelers descending from the tree, they moved back toward them. The men and elf mounted their steeds and rode off to the north through the forest. Felanar stared back at the oak tree where they had spent the night. This was evidently a guest house of sorts. He stared hard at the receding tree but could see no sign of the dwelling space within. Elven homes were hard to detect!
They were headed north and west to Irulára on the far side of Lloréna Forest. As they passed through the small woods in which they had spent the night they emerged into what Felanar felt was the most beautiful land he had ever seen. Fields of vibrant green rolled up and down gentle hills, intersected with patches of dark green copses of trees and bushes. From a distance it seemed that a patchwork quilt of many shades of green had been laid down over the hills. They passed meadows thick with small, multi-colored flowers that filled the air with a sweet scent. They crossed over little babbling brooks that yielded wonderfully fresh-tasting drinking water. Truly, Elaria was one big, lovingly cultivated garden.
Lloréna Forest didn’t disappoint either, as Llafáris had promised. Magnificent trees shot out of the ground and soared high into the air. Trunks thick and thin grew densely from the ground until there were sections where you could not see more than a few feet. The mossy ground along the path muffled the sound of the horse’s hoofs and the air was fresh with the scent of the trees. Even though it was a warm day, it was refreshingly cool here. Felanar felt very much at peace. He breathed deeply the fresh, lightly scented air, and listened to the birds chirping on the branches. He decided privately that he agreed more with Llafáris than with Bren on the subject of this forest.
They rode all that day through the forest, following paths made by the elves. They occasionally overtook a band of elves making their way along the path. More often than not, however, the elves they came across were making their way through the thick trees, though how they could find their way through that maze was beyond Felanar. The elves they encountered seemed similar to Llafáris, yet each unique. Some had his blond hair, but not all; in fact some had quite dark hair and eyebrows. Most were tall and slender, both among the females and the males. They seemed to be of various ages, though none appeared to be old. All seemed happy to see them, and all seemed to have that same gleam in their eyes. Yet little light was able to stream in through the thicket of leaves overhead. Felanar wondered if the light of their eyes came from within.
A few of the elves spoke to the travelers with words of greeting and some even spoke to the horses. On one occasion an elf spoke to Felanar’s horse and in response it whinnied loudly, sounding, if it were possible, like laughter. It made Felanar feel slightly uncomfortable, as if he were the brunt of a joke. Llafáris turned back and explained that the elf had merely said to Felanar’s horse that he had gotten the easy job that day, only having to carry a child of the Men, and not a fat full-grown Man. With that Felanar felt better and laughed, though Bren now stiffened up in his saddle and got an aggrieved look upon his face. Felanar realized Llafáris had translated as much for Bren’s benefit as his own. That made him laugh again.
They rode through beautiful Lloréna Forest all that day and as the light began to fail, Llafáris announced they were nearing Irulára. As was the case with Melanaré, to the untrained eye there was no town to be seen. They drew up to a clump of enormous towering trees that reached far up into the sky with thick trunks. As the horses stopped, a couple of Findára climbed down from one of the nearby trees. The travelers dismounted and two vines fell from the largest of the trees. The two Findára invited them to climb. Bren, Ravesfel and Felanar began to climb using the vines while Llafáris again scampered up the tree without one. He was waiting for them as they reached a landing similar to the one they had spent the previous night upon. With him were two other elves, dressed in fine clothes of white silk with green trim and with the insignia of a tree upon their shoulders.
“We bid you welcome, honored guests,” said the older of the two elves as they both bowed deeply toward the travelers. “It brings us pleasure to see you safe after your journey. We hope the trip was as pleasurable as it was safe.”
“Pleasant enough, considering all this tree climbing,” said Ravesfel. “Is Llarand here now?”
“Yes, Ravesfel, he is at home and awaiting you in the main hall. His instructions were for you to join him at his table for a meal.”
This tree was much larger than the one they had slept in the night before. It was the most massive tree Felanar had ever seen. It had many platforms on many levels, connected by wooden spiral staircases in the center of each platform. As they climbed, Bren explained to Felanar that the stairs had been put in place as a convenience to visitors. Convenient it was, for they ascended through level after level, each one with furnishings for the elves. On some levels they saw elves wearing the same white garments with the tree insignia. Felanar asked what that insignia meant and Llafáris explained that it showed they were Knights of the Order of Findára.
“They are the guardians of the realm, Felanar.”
Finally they reached the main level and it was truly huge. It contained a great hall set with a banquet table and what appeared to be smaller rooms around the edges. It was to this table the travelers were brought. On the table were set fresh flowers and herbs, along with food and drink. It was lit by lamps, set on the table as well as around the hall itself.
Four Findára sat at the far end of the table, watching the travelers as they approached. They appeared to Felanar to be a family of elves. At the head of the table sat a tall, white-haired elf with large bushy white eyebrows. He was dressed in a flowing white garment that gleamed in the light of the flickering lamps. He smiled at the newcomers and his dark brown eyes focused on Felanar as they all approached.
To his right sat a female elf. She had light brown hair with streaks of grey and white. Her face was kind, and seeing that, Felanar felt welcome. Across from her sat a young elf who appeared to be the same age as Llafáris. In contrast to the older ones, his hair was blond and he had blue eyes. His face showed nothing other than recognition of Llafáris and Ravesfel.
Next to him sat a young female elf. She appeared to be the same age as the young male elf, but her reaction was different. As she turned to see who approached, she brushed a curtain of dark brown hair from her face and smiled sweetly at the visitors. Her eyes, the color of the sea on a stormy day, hinted at intelligence. Her gaze passed from visitor to visitor, seeming to measure each one and to hold their return gaze for a moment of recognition and then passed to the next. When her eyes met Felanar’s, he felt himself blushing but he did not turn away. Deep into her eyes he stared and it was as if he could fall into those eyes and never reach the end of that blue and grey well. Then she turned to Ravesfel and she smiled warmly at the old man. In that moment Felanar thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life, nor one so sure of herself as this young elf princess.
For a princess she turned out to be, as Felanar learned when Ravesfel introduced Felanar to the family. The father was Llarand, ruler of all the elves of Elaria. His wife was Heléste, his son Dalonír and his daughter was Alessa. The travelers were invited to sit at the table where places had been set for the four of them. Llarand called for dinner and two elves appeared and began serving bowls of steaming broth. As was becoming the norm, Felanar enjoyed the elf food and found the soup both interesting and delightful. He couldn’t quite place what he was tasting – was it a vegetable, an herb, a fruit, a nut? – but it satisfied him deeply. The one thing that was unpleasant about the dinner, though, was his constant worry that he was using some utensil incorrectly. He was not used to dining with royalty, or eating with elves, and he continually glanced at Bren across the table to check what he should do.
As dinner progressed, Llarand asked Ravesfel about the journey, and the old man quietly described the events of their travel, such as they were. Felanar wanted to hear more of this conversation with the ruler of the elves, who was as old as the Straits. However, he was sitting next to the children and they soon distracted him. Felanar wondered how old they were, for they seemed as young as Llafáris, though now that he thought about it he had no idea how old that made them.
“Where do you live?”
That question, asked by Dalonír, brought Felanar out of his reverie. He looked past Alessa toward his questioner and answered, “Brindledown.”
“Brindledown…hmm…”
“A town south of Tranith Argan by Lake Brindle,” interrupted Alessa with a glance at her brother. She then turned back to Felanar and asked, “Are you a going to be a fisherman? I’ve been told that the men of your village fish.”
“Yes,” Felanar answered, still transfixed by her blue-grey eyes. “I’m going to learn soon. You have to be twelve to begin learning.” He was surprised by the extent of her knowledge of his world, and he felt chagrin at knowing so little of her world, despite those books Kara and he had pored over so many evenings. Now those old books seemed to have much more relevance and he wished he had paid even more attention to them.
“In that case,” she continued, “you will enjoy the Erenár very much, for the water is their true home and you will be welcome among them. I’m surprised to hear you say you are not old enough to learn. I would have ventured to say you were more than old enough.”
Felanar nodded and said he was almost twelve, being only a few months short of his birthday. He then asked Alessa how old she and Dalonír were.
Dalonír smiled and Alessa laughed warmly and replied, “Such is always the way with men. Short lives necessitate an interest in time. I’ve not had much dealings with your kind, but every time I have the subject of age has arisen. Still, I must not be harsh for indeed I raised the subject this time, didn’t I? Tell me, Felanar, how old would you guess I am?”
As this was the very puzzle Felanar was hopelessly trying to work out, he had no idea what to answer. Would it be insulting to guess high, or might an elf find this flattering? Truly, it did not matter at that moment for he didn’t know where to begin. Seeing the look in his eyes, Alessa rescued the boy.
“We do not count the days in the same manner as men who use the sun to determine years and months. For us, it is the seasons that matter most. We note each change in season as something to be commemorated and cherished, and so we like to say we have seen a certain number of seasons. Dalonír, my brother, has seen eight hundred and twenty seasons in his life. For myself, I’ve seen but one hundred and seven.”
If Felanar wondered before, he now marveled. If he understood correctly, she was saying that her brother was 205 years old and she was almost twenty-seven. That age difference was, to him, extreme, and yet they appeared the same age.
“Tell us, young man,” came the deep voice of Llarand from the end of the table as he now interrupted, “as this is your first visit to Elaria, what are your impressions? Has Ravesfel told you tales of the terrible elves and their mystical ways?” In saying this, Llarand smiled and tried to put the boy at ease.
Felanar focused on the older elf and wondered just how many seasons one has to witness to be as old as the Straits.
“I like it very much, sir. I mean to say it is very beautiful here. I would love to have a tree house like this!”
Everyone laughed at this boyish wish. He continued, “Everyone has been very nice to me, sir.”
“It cheers my heart to hear it,” said Llarand. “I would not have it said that the Findára and Erenár are inhospitable to our friends. There are too many dangers in this world today and we need our friends.”
Ravesfel spoke up and said, “Indeed we do and especially such friends who serve such excellent food. A bit more of the drink, if you please.”
Bren seconded the notion and the two of them seemed engrossed in the meal as Llarand asked Felanar about Brindledown and his family.
“Who are your parents, Felanar?”
“Chafrar and Sera, sir. He is a fisherman in the village.”
“Are they both from Brindledown?” asked Llarand.
“My father is, but my mother is from up north, near Brinham. Do you know Brinham?”
“Yes,” said the elf lord, “I have seen it though not for many seasons now. A busy harbor town for the region, is it not, assuming you do not mean the town of the same name in the west? I’m surprised to hear that your mother came from there and your father from Brindledown. Not many travelers make that journey these days.”
“My father had relations in Brinham and when visiting them once he met my mother.”
“I see, and do you have brothers or sisters?”
“One of each, sir, Alak and Kara. I wish Kara could have come on this journey. She so wanted to meet elves!”
Felanar blushed after he said that for everyone was staring at him with smiles and he felt it was perhaps a childish thing to say to such important people. Heléste laughed softly and said, “And we would love to meet her, Felanar. Please tell her she is welcome to visit any time she pleases.”
After the meal was finished with a dessert of fruit in a glaze that glistened in the light (and on closer inspection actually glistened independently of the light), Alessa showed Felanar around their home. He felt more comfortable in her presence now. She had a true kindness to her spirit and made him feel welcome and special. By the time they all went to bed he felt he had made a good friend.
Bren and Felanar found beds waiting for them in one of the guest rooms on the next level up the tree. Llafáris and Dalonír stayed up talking with each other, as they seemed to be close friends. Ravesfel continued speaking with Llarand deep into the night.
“This boy seems as you described, Ravesfel, my friend,” said Llarand as he reached for his cup. They were still seated around the table, and only Heléste was with them now.
“Yes,” replied Ravesfel, “I am pleased with his progress thus far. I am more pleased that word of his training seems to have escaped notice in the capital. This is a tricky business.”
“It has ever been thus,” said Llarand who then changed his tone slightly. “I’m sorry you left the girl at home, Kara was the name?”
“Yes, Kara, and she’s doing well too, according to Bren, but she is hardly the focus of my efforts.”
“You should consider her more, I would think, given the fragility of men.”
Ravesfel looked at the elf lord for a moment and replied, “It is not the way of these people. Women have a different place. Would you have Alessa stand in Dalonír’s stead? I think even the Llaráin understand such limitations”
“Limitations of age,” said Heléste, “not of gender. Alessa is but a child. I would not allow such things for a child.”
“And I do not have such expectations for Kara,” said Ravesfel, “for she is even more a child than Alessa.”
“Yet our hopes do rest on a child nevertheless,” responded Llarand thoughtfully.
Ravesfel said nothing but took another sip of his drink and then announced he was going to sleep, excusing himself from the table.