And In The Dawn Save Them

Part I - Chapter 1 : The Golden Age

Where the scene is set and new encounters change the course of events : with Gandalf, Arwen, and...an elf prince ! 

This story follows the chronology of The Lord of the Rings exactly, but takes a look behind the scenes ...and after them !  Respecting the characters and the coherence of Tolkien's story.

Illustration : Alan Lee, Rivendell

Music to listen to on this chapter: Dark Overture, Adrian von Ziegler

The story recounted here is not to be found in any book, and those who once told it in tales or songs are no longer here to tell it.

While we still remember the War of the Ring and the Fellowship that saved Middle-Earth, many have forgotten, centuries later, long after the Age of Men, that evil forces still prowl the edges of kingdoms, in deserted and abandoned lands, and in all the places that still cast a dark shadow over the new-found peace. And that all the forces of life and love had to be brought together to overcome them.

Yet it is a story worthy of being told, as important as that of the brave men who fought Sauron. It is the story of a woman who had to find out who she is, and who, in her quest, changed the destiny of free peoples forever.

How could she have guessed it at that moment, when she was between life and death, in the whirlwind of battle? Would she be able to save them all, to bind them together in the light of dawn and no longer in the depths of darkness? Would they finally believe in her, and in her healing power, after all she had suffered?

But this is not how her story began: not so long ago, she was blossoming in a place untouched by the turmoil of the World, in the still peaceful days of her childhood, in Rivendell, in the household of King Elrond. There, she grew up among other men and women taken in from the elven kingdom, most of them orphans, but whose unsuspected worth would be revealed in times to come. Aragorn, son of Arathorn, had been one of the most famous, but there were many others.

Alcara was one of them. She had been given her name by the elves. As she was born at dawn, she was christened with the elven name meaning 'Little Dawn'. Like the elves and other foster children, he had been taught about Court life, reading, but also about hunting and horse-riding, dancing and singing. But she had also been taught that she was not an elf, and that she should be grateful and respectful for having been brought up among immortal beings. Alcara was well aware of how lucky she was, and took it for granted that she would stay away from them, only meeting up with them on the occasion of the kingdom's major events, which forged in her a character that was both reserved and fearless.

Nevertheless, her tutor and mentor came to see her frequently: it was he who had seen in her an early gift for the sciences, and who had taught her the rudiments of medicine, chemistry and astronomy. He had also seen in her other gifts, which intrigued him and which he apprehended with curiosity and caution, but the consequences of which would become apparent much later. Without her knowing it, the elves had also sensed hidden talents in her, but the future was still too vague to know more.

For the moment, it was her guardian, whom she cherished like a father, whom Alcara heard arriving, as she did every morning in her laboratory, studying the properties of plants and making potions and remedies. From the sound of horses' hooves and cartwheels, as well as a song that seemed to come from the West, she knew it was him coming back to visit her.

She stood up and walked barefoot down the white steps through the hanging gardens to greet him with enthusiasm, as she often did. When Gandalf saw her run over and give him a hug, he laughed and returned her warm welcome.