Chapter Twelve: Of Elves and Men

Tranith Argan: Book 6

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Felanar must now convince Alessa’s parents to let them marry.

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It was night when the Erenár ships carrying Felanar and Alessa arrived in the Elaria port of Resina. A week had passed since the end of hostilities on the battlefield, the dead were buried, Hunil was already setting up trade negotiations with Slakh, and Felanar and Alessa had taken a ship back to Elaria to reunite with her parents now that the danger had passed. Despite it being night, they decided to move on to Laréna Forest and home instead of spending the night in the port city. Felanar was anxious to see Llarand for several reasons, and Alessa was anxious too. She had been full of determination and action the last time she had seen her parents, and now she was realizing how big a step she was taking. She had no doubts, but she knew these next few days with her parents would be important.

They walked along the soft ground for a few hours until they reached the edges of the forest. Then on through the darkness they marched, having slept on the sail over. Their wounds having completely healed, they felt invigorated by the walk and the smells of the forest. As dawn approached, Alessa saw several animal friends whom she happily greeted.

As pink streaked across the sky they reached Alessa’s home, that massive tree Felanar had first climbed as a child so many years before. A few minutes of climbing and Alessa was buried in her mother’s arms while Felanar looked on with pleasure knowing he had kept his promised to Heléste and brought her daughter back safely. Heléste had tears streaming down her face, the most emotion Felanar had seen from an elf, and it moved him. After Alessa hugged and kissed her father Llarand as well, and Felanar hugged Heléste, he and Llarand embraced.

“I am grateful for your actions,” said Llarand, his eyes moist with feeling, “all of your actions. You have proven to be an honorable and wise man from all I have heard of the battle.”

“I tried my best to think as an elf,” said Felanar.

Llarand nodded. “Yes, that makes sense, and yet maybe too much elf-thought is not the best either, eh?”

Felanar just stared at him and smiled.

Heléste sat them down and set before them a full elven breakfast full of the best flavors Felanar had tasted in months, and putting anything in Tranith Argan to shame. When Felanar downed the last bit of green liquid of astonishing flavor, Llarand turned to Felanar and spoke seriously.

“I have thought much about your words on Helóne, your ancestor, and I have invited her to live in Elaria again. Though it is possible she would prefer to live in Tranith Argan with you, her descendant.”

“Llarand!” chided Heléste.

“I am merely giving her the choice of where she might prefer to live,” Llarand replied.

“But you prefer her not to be here,” his wife said.

“No, that is not so,” objected Llarand. “I said she is welcome here and I meant that. Old mistakes will be acknowledged and I promised you I would personally apologize to her, and I will, you shall see.”

“When did you invite her?” asked Felanar.

“A couple of weeks ago,” said Llarand, “and I got word yesterday that she is on her way. I sent a band of elves to accompany her, but she insisted on traveling alone across the Elven Plain.”

“I am not surprised,” said Alessa. “She wouldn’t want to pass by East Bank with a band of elves by her side.”

“That is true,” said Felanar, “and she probably wants to greet them along the way. I think, Llarand, you will find her to be an independent elf who has spent so much time alone she does not mind doing things her way. A typical elf she will not be.”

“She never was,” said Llarand quietly.

“What are you going to do about East Bank?” asked Felanar.

“There are things I wish to discuss with Dalonír when he returns,” Llarand said.

“When will that be?” asked Heléste.

“Soon, in a day or so,” answered Felanar. “He was leaving shortly after we did, but he wanted to spend a day at Issk and see if he could find a way to put them more at ease. I’m afraid the whole island society has been upended, and not until we put food on their table will they begin to trust us. But Dalonír was going to try. He should be home soon though.”

“Good,” said Heléste, “it has been too long since both my children have been safely home.”

“Where is Llafála?” asked Felanar. “I wish to speak with him.”

“On his way here,” said Llarand. “Once he heard you were returning he sent word he would be here today.”

“Good,” said Felanar, “then let me rest for a bit until he does,” and he retired to a bedroom in order to sleep.

Later that afternoon Felanar descended to the forest floor when he was told Llafála was near. They met at the foot of the tree and for the first time in his experience Felanar saw Llafála smile.

“I wanted to speak with you as soon as I arrived,” said Felanar humbly, “for it is with regret that I must report the light has gone out of the eyes of dozens of elves, and for each one of them I am truly sorry and regretful.”

Llafála nodded, and responded with a wave of his arms as if to put Felanar at ease.

“I have heard of the battle, young king, and heard of your use of my people on the hills surrounding the city, and I further heard of your plan to enter the castle alone with only Alessa by your side. I cannot approve of your taking Alessa into castle, but that is a matter for her parents to deal with, but in every other way I was gratified to see you accepted my counsel and acted accordingly.”

Felanar nodded in return.

“Then you are not angry with me?”

“No, young king, I am quite pleased. Do not think me so ignorant of the ways of war as to think no loss of life was possible. From what I heard of this war, it speaks well of your intentions that so few elves were lost. I mourn their loss, but I have to say I even mourn the loss of your people, and also the dwarves had losses. Yet it could have been worse, and for that I thank you.”

Felanar bowed and merely said, “Thank you.”

“Now I have business with Llarand, so if you will excuse me,” and with that he climbed up the tree more quickly than someone that old should be able to do.

Felanar went for a walk, still thinking about the battle and the losses, and remembering the last time he walked this forest coming across Aren and Alessa and how he felt then. He found a tree and sat down against its trunk and was soon lost in thoughts of regret for those no longer around, as well as thoughts of love for Alessa.

A couple of hours later, as the sun was beginning to dip in the sky, Alessa found Felanar, still sitting under the tree. She sat down next to him and held his hand.

“This is a beautiful place, is it not?” she asked quietly.

“Mmm, very much so,” replied Felanar just as softly. “You will miss it, won’t you?”

“No, I won’t,” said Alessa, “for two reasons: one, I intend to visit Elaria frequently, and two, I think it will be possible to make the forest of the Golden Lakes region almost as beautiful with some help from my friends.”

“The Golden Lakes and the Woods of Arenar need less elven care than does Shanaar,” said Felanar.

“We shall beautify all such places in time, my love. All we need to do is give my people a push in that direction and they will enjoy a new hobby for many a season.”

“We need to get your people—my people too, really, when you think about it—to not be so sure of elven superiority, well, no, that’s not the word, for you are superior—“

“No we’re not,” said Alessa in a whisper, “we merely have some skills that are superior, but we are all equal in worth. If that is not the lesson I can take from our adventures, then I have traveled with my eyes closed.”

“Yes,” agreed Felanar, “that is a good way to think of it. We are all equal in worth, with skills that vary. Now if I can just get Llafála to stop thinking about us as lesser in worth, I’ll consider myself fortunate.”

“What did he say now?”

“Oh, nothing bad, just hints that men and dwarves are worth less than elves, though I doubt he even realizes it.”

“The older ones will have a harder time thinking this way, but it is the older ones who will be most likely to stick to Elaria. It is the younger ones who I think will want to travel and help other peoples, but also learn from other peoples. The young ones want to learn about the world.”

Felanar stood up as Alessa finished saying this.

“Let us go to supper and I will talk to your father about these matters,” he said. The two of them strolled back toward her home arm in arm.

Supper was pleasant and long, full of good dishes and cheer. It was when the last dish had been served and the last draft of liquid had been downed that Felanar and Alessa found themselves alone with her parents. Sitting down next to Alessa in a private room off of the main dining area, Felanar broached the subject that had been on his mind.

“Before I return to Tranith Argan, Llarand, there are a couple of matters I wish to discuss with you.”

“By all means,” replied Llarand, glancing at Heléste with some degree of anticipation.

“The Great Plain,” continued Felanar, while Heléste let out her breath in relief.

“What about the Great Plain?” asked Llarand.

“We need to decide on a course of action for the region that will defuse the tension that has built up over the years. We have achieved peace, even with the saarks, but there is still conflict between man and elf on the Great Plain.”

“This is a complicated problem,” said Llarand with a wave of his hand, as if to note once again Felanar’s inexperience.

“It is,” said Felanar, “yet there are sometimes simple solutions to thorny problems, as a knife to a knot. I want to leave you with an idea, a suggestion that you can take to the elders among the elves, and to Dalonír as the leader of the army. Think about what I am going to ask, please.”

“I will, Felanar, what is your idea?”

“We are going to need the help of the elves in making the land of Shanaar beautiful again, even as you keep the Great Plain beautiful. My idea is that elves need to work with other people more than they are used to. The elves are a wonderful and proud people, justifiably proud of their abilities and accomplishments. I have made no secret of my feeling that at times I think the elves appear arrogant to others, but perhaps this comes from being actually better at some skills than others. I would have a hard time not feeling the same way.

“But when you are a superior people, you can go in one of two directions: inward, as you have done by retreating to Elaria and away from the affairs of others. This approach leads to feelings of resentment, isolation that increases the feeling of us versus them, and on both sides. Misunderstandings abound in such an atmosphere.

“The other direction is outward. You have agreed to help us make Shanaar beautiful again. Why not do the same for all lands? Why not share your skills with the world? Why not give people a reason to love you, not fear you or mistrust you? Why not share the world itself?”

“Share the Great Plain with men?” asked Llarand.

“Yes,” said Felanar, “that is my suggestion. Start with the village of East Bank, or what is left of it. If you can get them to calm down and listen, convince them that you are sorry for the way they were treated, build them a new village, a great village, and then leave them alone. Let them expand their land as needed without walls. Let this generation die off with their hatred of elves, but let the next generation learn to love the elves. It will take time, but in the end it will lead to peace and understanding.”

Llarand was silent for a while. Heléste looked at him imploringly, and Llarand nodded at her and then spoke.

“I will try,” he said simply.

“That is all I can ask,” said Felanar. “Or rather, that is all I can ask on that subject, but there is another subject I wish to raise with you before I leave.”

Heléste took Llarand’s hand and looked anxiously at Felanar.

“I can hide nothing from you, Heléste,” said Felanar as he looked over at Alessa and smiled. “Yes, I know the fear you feel at this idea, but I have come to tell you that Alessa and I intend to be married.”

He let that obvious thought sink in for a moment as the tension in the room dissipated.

“I value both of you very much,” he continued, “and have always done so. When I first met you back when I was a child, I thought you, Heléste, were a loving mother and a kind hostess. You, Llarand, were, and still are, a wise leader of elves, and you personally treated me with more respect than I realized at the time I deserved. More recently I tried to be a comforting soul to you, Heléste, when Alessa was missing, and I felt great pains of empathy for what you were going through. In short, I love you both, I respect you both, and I shall always regard what you say and feel as being important to me.

“So I can imagine the hesitation you feel when I tell you that Alessa and I love each other. She is just a child, you feel—”

“No,” said Heléste, “not any more.”

“Mother?” asked Alessa.

“My darling daughter, you have shown courage and wisdom, even when you did wrong it was with good intentions. You have grown in my eyes in this past year and no longer seem childlike. There is a part of me that mourns the loss of your innocence, that childlike way you viewed the world. Yet another part of me knows that your childlike ways were never meant to be permanent, and the world is not as simple as you once thought. You deal with life on our level now. In fact, in some ways you have surpassed me, for you have experienced things I never have. You are full-grown, my daughter.”

“Then you do not object to our marriage?” asked Alessa.

“We have talked about this at length once you left for Shanaar and we were left behind to think about how you have changed,” said Llarand. “I worry for you, Alessa, for you will know loss and pain when Felanar’s eyes lose their light one day. Oh it will be a very long time for him, but for you it will be but a few seasons of your life. Yet it is clear to me that this pain will be there for you whether you are with Felanar or not. By now your feelings and his are intertwined. Distance would not soften the pain’s edge, and in fact would make it worse with a sense of regret, longing and loss.”

“I have told Alessa that there is no reason she cannot be married again some day, and to an elf as would be customary,” said Felanar.

“An elf it would have to be unless Alessa were to marry man after man in a succession of pain without end,” said Heléste. “But whether an elf would wish to marry her is another matter, and one I cannot say.”

“I can, it is not likely to happen, I am afraid,” said Llarand.

“In the current climate I would agree with you,” said Felanar, “but I think the world is going to change. If elves go out from Elaria to the wider world, they will get used to the idea of mingling with other kinds. Alessa will not be the only one to marry a man, I can guess, and she will not be viewed as so odd as she might today.”

“Indeed,” said Heléste as a tear formed in one of her eyes, “she will be the most famous of all elves thanks to this marriage, and perhaps be looked up to by others. Oh, excuse me, I do not mean to ruin this talk with tears, but my child is going to get married and I am going to lose her—”

“You will never lose me, mother,” said Alessa as she walked over, sat next to Heléste and put her arms around her. “I will visit often, and you can visit us often, and, well, I dislike speaking of it so openly, but yes, one day I will be alone again and I will return to Elaria. You won’t ever lose me.”

“I see your wisdom in the Helóne matter,” said Llarand to Felanar.

“I would have asked for her return regardless of any personal gain on my part,” said Felanar with a frown.

“No, no, I do not mean that,” said Llarand, “just that your thoughts about Helóne are timely. The worlds of men and elves are going to be joined in many ways, so let us right the wrongs of a past that kept those worlds separate for no good reason.”

Felanar walked over to Llarand and hugged him.

“Then I have said what I wanted to say, and now I think the time has come for me to return to Tranith Argan and sit back on my throne,” said Felanar. “Alessa, why don’t you stay here in Elaria for as long as you wish, and when you are ready come to Tranith Argan and we shall prepare a wedding. All elves are invited.”

Alessa smiled at him and said, “I will do just that, my love. Thank you.”

“Thank you,” sniffed Heléste, “we will enjoy each other’s company with no worries over our heads for the first time in a year.”

“We shall,” said Alessa.

Felanar smiled too and felt relief come over him.