Elves and Dragons
Prologue: The Beginning
Come
and sit, and listen to a story of brave Elves, scheming pirates, the unyielding
sea, fearsome dragons and magic….
It
was an unusual adventure that first brought the Elves of the Glades and the
dragons together. A wily pirate, by the name of Jack Sparrow, had by a quirk of
magic lost both his ship and his right time in history.
Jack had then presumed
upon the hospitality of our good Brother, Attillian,
and his lovely Lady Advian, and had been resident in
their keep for a number of weeks. Attillian, becoming
desperate to see the back of this unwelcome houseguest, asked his brother Elves
to help in ridding himself of the troublesome pirate.
Jack
had insisted that by use of a map and magical compass, now in Attillian’s possession, that they could sail across the seas
and recover his ship,
which was anchored near a mysterious deserted island.
According to some ancient lines of writing on the map, upon this island was a
cave, wherein was hidden a great treasure that was guarded by a “fire beast”.
The Elves, meeting in the old city of
They arrived
without mishap, anchored the ship, and went ashore. In the end, the cave was not
difficult to find, although the entrance was blocked by a magical shield. Our
Brother, Ailill, who is gifted with the knowledge and
use of magic, was able to open the entrance, however, by placing a magical runeglobe into the appropriate niche at the cave’s mouth.
This then made a triad with two other globes already in place in their niches,
and worked the magic to open the shield. What the Elves found, though, was
slightly unexpected….
The
fierce “fire beast” guarding the cave entrance was only a baby! From sounds
issuing from deeper within the cave, however, it was evident the mother was
near. Being mistakenly injured by an arrow in its rump, this small armful of a
dragon was tended carefully by our Brother Healer, Melfindel. This was done under the watchful care of our
Brother A’maelme’a, who has a particular affinity with
all animals, and to whom the little creature had taken a particular liking. Once
his injury had been seen to, the small dragon was sent back into the cave to its
mother.
By
this time the Elves knew something was wrong, as earth tremors had begun to
shake the island. They spent an uncomfortable night debating what course of
action to take. Jack was bent on treasure, though, so it was decided to pursue
its recovery. Ailill once more called upon his
knowledge of magic and put the dragons to sleep long enough for some of the
treasure to be collected. The earthquakes increased, however, and Jack and the
Elves made a hasty retreat to their ships, and arrived just in time to see a
fearsome sight…from the sea at the far side of the island rose a black
dragon 
one of the species that is renown for its evil. The dragons in the cave
were not the guardians of the treasure after all, but were part of
it.
A’maelme’a and Undómel felt it
together…the
feelings of distress and fear from the two dragons trapped in the cave. In a
selfless act of courage, they fought the now raging seas to return and free
them. Opening the cave as they has seen done before, both used their different
abilities to calm and communicate with the creatures, and fearing for their
brethren who now were engaged in battle with the evil Black, they asked the
mother dragon to give them aid.
She
needed no persuasion,
but flew immediately and willingly to engage the Black. A
fierce battle ensued, during which the mother dragon was injured, but with the
brave and skilful tending once more by Melfindel, who
was this time aided by Ithilas, she flew back to the
fight. The Elves shot concentrated volleys of arrows, which were of only limited
effect against the scaly hide of a dragon, but the battle was turned by salvos
of cannon fire from The Black Pearl. The Black dragon was defeated and fell into
the sea, which bubbled and hissed as it swallowed him up.
The
Mother dragon was reunited with her youngster, and also with a most precious
object...her egg! She then flew off, back to the island with her little brood.
Jack, his ship and crew were returned to their own time, and the Elves sailed
once more for home. That, so far as they knew, was the end of the tale…until
more recent events proved otherwise.
This
is my retelling of the first part of the story. I bid you all to hear and be
enlightened. More shall be added by others hereafter…but until the Earth, Sea,
and Sky pass away, I do stand by my account.
I am Undómel, Elf of the Glades