Legolas had met Gimli before the Fellowship was formed, though neither realized it till much later. It was at the Lonely Mountain, whence Legolas had been sent on a mission of peace to King Dain, for Mithrandir had advised the king that soon there would be great need of arms and armor.
It was whilst Legolas wandered among the mountain, beholding the dwarves great stone-works, that he paused to observe the young dwarves in the ring, practicing their skill. The Naugrim fought in a style alien to the Eldar, and Legolas wondered at it.
One young dwarf, catching sight of him, cried aloud. "Ha, master elf! Come to learn the secrets of our craft, doubtless? Or is your skill so little that you hope to learn by watching?"
"An observer may see more than a man embroiled," answered Legolas, stung to the quick. "Yet little indeed could I learn from such crude and clumsy novices." He spoke thus, for he had endured much travail and mockery in the Lonely Mountain, despite his mission and his station.
"Then come, master elf!" The dwarf gestured with his axe. "Come, and let us test your mettle."
The dwarf was young and inexperienced, and Legolas had on him the wisdom of many ages. Yet the dwarf was hardy, and fought with an energy that astonished the prince. He wielded his axe with the skill of a warrior twice his age, and though in the end the victory was Legolas's, he stood back astonished as the dwarf's comrades carried him off to the healers.
After that there was more respect and greater courtesy for the prince in the Lonely Mountain, for he learned that the dwarf he had beaten was a champion amongst the warriors of Erebor. Yet he did not learn the dwarf's name until many years later, amidst the gloom of Moria.
"Master elf," said Gimli, as they walked amongst the tunnels. "Were you ever entertained at the Lonely Mountain?"
"Indeed," answered Legolas, his mind on other things. "I visited there as an emissary to purchase arms and armor for my people."
"Ah!" the dwarf answered. "Then it was you that I fought in the ring when I was a lad."
Legolas looked upon the dwarf, and at last knew him. "It was a foolish request for one so young to make," he said.
Gimli laughed. "I am no longer young," he said. "Nor am I foolish. Rest assured that should we cross weapons again, I will not be the one carried off."
"That remains to be seen," said Legolas. Little did he know that Gimli Elf-friend, Lord of the Glittering Caves, would stand by his side, years later, as they set out for the Undying Lands, last of the Eldar and the first of the Naugrim to be welcomed to Valinor.
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Many Meetings and Partings
أدب الهواةLegolas Greenleaf describes, in a series of short one-shots, how he met each member of the Fellowship.
