A Tale of Swords and Dragons: The Journey Begins. A 'The Hobbit' Fanfiction

Trolls

* = Alagaësian Elvish - The Guarding Forest

** = Alagaësian Dwarvish - Helm of Giants

*** = Alagaësian Dwarvish - Our Father

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"Come on Zorina, tell us!" Kili whines as he gazes up at me with puppy dog eyes. I'm still in the tree, trying to keep an eye on the ponies while Fili and Kili harass me with questions. It's night now, the wind blowing softly in the leaves, the moon shining eerily though the canopy of trees.

"Why do you want to know?" I ask bluntly, staring down at the young brunette Dwarf.

"We've never been outside of Middle-Earth. We're curious. Please tell us about your homeland." Kili practically begs me, his brother chuckling beside him.

I sigh in defeat as I lean back into my branch, staring up into the sky of leaves and patches of the starry night sky. I close my eyes as I picture my homeland. "Alagaësia is the land of Dragons. The west is bordered by the sea, shining brightly in the light of the setting sun. Most of the coast is fringed by the large barrier mountains known as the Spine, a treacherous place where few return from. It's virtually untouched by anyone, its dangerous beauty left untouched.

"After that are grasslands, stretching across the horizon like golden wheat fields. After the Ramr River, the grasslands blends into the great Hadarac Desert, where the nomads live. It's the dominant area of Alagaësia and it separates Du Weldenvarden* in the north and the Beor Mountains in the south. Du Weldenvarden is a vast, enchanted forest where the Elves reside, and the Beor Mountains are the enormous mountain range where the Dwarves live.

"The mountains are so tall they reach high above the clouds, reaching for the heavens. No one knows what is east of the desert, none who have ventured there have returned."

"What are the Dwarf cities like?" Fili asks, his curiosity arising at the mention of Dwarves in distant lands.

I smile as memories of my childhood spent in the Beor Mountains flash before me. I can hear the laughter of children ring in my ears. "We live in the mountains, there are cities scattered throughout them. But the biggest is Tronjheim**, the capital. It resides in Farthen Dûr***, the largest mountain in the range. Dwarves hollowed it out generation ago to create an underground stronghold, where the entire Dwarvish race could be housed in times of great need.

"Tronjheim was... amazing. The ceiling at the top of the city was open, letting in the sunlight, but it's capped off by the Isidar Mithrim, or Star Sapphire. It's a gigantic gem, sixty feet in diameter, carved to resemble a rose in full bloom-"

"What a minute." Fili suddenly interrupts, jumping up from his sitting position at the base of the tree. He looks around, uneasy. "Somethings not right." I scan the area with my eyes, something did seem off. That's when my eyes fall on an up-turned tree, right where some ponies were. I do a quick headcount of the ponies.

"Fili," I gain the young Dwarf's attention, "how many ponies do we have?"