Defender of Lorien

The Departing

It is prophesied that a female child, who is an immortal, will be born. She will be wooed by many a man, but only one will she give her heart. That one will receive a blessing from her beyond measure. This gift will be……

Anyanesta looked at the prophesy etched into a broken stone tablet. It was very old, it was said to have been written by the Valar themselves. Anya had always wondered, was she truly the one the prophesy told of, was she truly capable of giving any man a gift beyond measure? She sat there a little longer, trying to think of what the gift was, that the prophesy spoke of.

Anya was 1,500 years old, which was young for an elf, but she was already a master warrior, her father, Haldir, had taught her well. That was her true passion; defending Lothlorien was her honor and pleasure. But, as she was a mind reader, like Galadriel, she could sense that she would be leaving her beloved home soon. She didn’t know why, but that it was very important.

“Anya,” her father called as he walked around the corner,“Lady Galadriel wishes to see you.” Anya bowed her head to show she understood. She made her way up to Lady Galadriel’s beautiful tree home, surrounded by the golden leaved homes of the elves living in the beautiful forest of Lorien.

Anya bowed before Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn, “You summoned me my Lady.”

“Yes,” Galadriel answered, “Elrond of Rivendell called for a gathering, and I wish for you to go. I believe that you can represent the people of Lothlorien to the fullest. You must be to Rivendell within a fortnight. It is very urgent that you get there on time.”

“Yes my lady, I will not let you down,” Anya bowed once more before leaving Galadriel’s beautiful home, and her lovely homeland. She walked through the flower covered fields to her home to gather some of her belongings for the journey ahead of her. When she entered her house she grabbed her twin short swords some of her most faithful daggers and her bow. She changed from her white dress into her green traveling attire. And she packed her gown cloak for the meeting.

After this she went out to the field and whistled for Elyana, the fastest horse in all of Lorien, and the last free black horse in Middle Earth.

“Hello my dear friend”Anya said in elfish, “I require your assistant to travel to Rivendell.” And Elyana swayed his head to show he wanted to help her. Anya smiled and jumped up onto Elyana, ready to leave for Rivendell. The ride to Rivendell would take a fortnight at the most, but if she rode hard enough she could get to Rivendell two days before the gathering, and that’s what Anya intended to do. As she was about to set off on her trip to Rivendell, she was stopped by one of her close friends, and a fellow guard of Lorien, Bravain.

“Anya, you’re not allowed to leave quite yet,” he said as he came up alongside her.

“And why is it that I am not allowed to leave yet,” she asked even though she could have just used her telepathy.

“You haven’t said good bye to me yet,” he teased, then grabbed Anya’s waist to help her off the horse. Anya gave her friend a good bye hug, then jumped back on Elyana, and left her homeland not realizing how long it would be til she finally returned.

It’d been two days since Anya had started her journey to Rivendell and things were already starting to get difficult. The sun was just beginning to set, the air was getting chillingly cool, too cool, being that it was spring time in Middle Earth.

Anya loosened her grip on Elyana’s hair, letting him know that she wanted him to slow his past. She gazed at the woods to her right, she could feel a presents near, following her every move. She didn’t dare reach her mind out to this presents, not after what happened to her the last time she reached out without Galadriel near her.

Elyana stopped in his track, shaking his head side to side.

“What is it you hear my friend,” Anya inquired, “Where is it coming from?” But her voice didn’t seem to sooth Elyana, if anything he seemed even more agitated, “Whoa Elyana, calm yourself.” And with that Elyana bucked her off his back. Anya went flying through the air, but because of her elfishness, she was able to land on her feet, just like a cat.

Elyana didn’t try to run away, but something was defiantly upsetting the beautiful animal. There was a rustling come from the woods, which was now behind Anya. Anya held still, waiting for whatever presents was in the woods to make the first move. Anya stood there, watching her own breath slowly materialize in front of her.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Anya's sharp ears heard the sound of a sword cutting through the air behind her. Anya moved her head at the last second, grabbing out one of her daggers, and through it at her attacker. The blade cut through her opponents exposed neck, and he fell to the ground in a pile of blood.

To Anya's surprise, her attacker was an orc, far from its homeland, and seemed to be by itself. That didn’t make any sense to her, orcs never traveled alone. If there was one here, there must be more nearby, but why were they here?

Anya calmed Elyana down before scouting around to see if there were any more orcs nearby. By the time she was done, there were stars in the sky, and she knew that she’d better make camp. After searching around for a bit she found a small cave perfect for camping. Since she’d just ran into an orc she decided not to light a camp fire. She laid out her bed roll, and closed her eyes for a little rest.

Even though Anya had chosen the elvish way of life to her human, she still had to sleep like a human, while all other elves just meditated. As she slept she dreamed of her home, bright colored flowers, and of protecting her family. When she awoke there were gray clouds circling the sky above her, as if they were vultures circling their prey.

This is strange weather, it’s not natural, Anya thought to herself, I need to get to Rivendell as soon as I can, before something befalls me. And with that she jumped onto Elyana’s back and rode hard to get to Rivendell.