Astald-Ndor
“Cuiva! Cuiva![1]” He groaned and tried to open his eyes..... “Cuiva! Cuiva!”, he felt a sharp pain on his cheek as he was slapped! “AAHH” he wanted to say, instead just a bit louder groan came from his lips.. slowly his swollen eyelids were opened to tiny slits and his blurry eyes could see a small female person tugging his arm and slappin’ his face. He tried to lift the other arm to stop her, but it didn’t move much. Slowly he came more aware and he realised he was in water... He tried to move, but was not able. He heard another voice, further away. It was a sweet voice, female but with more authority. His arm was dropped by this girl and instead he was lifted from his shoulders in a sitting position . he tried to keep himself upright, but he fell backward against the girl and she fell backward. “Tanya awra[2]” she said quite annoyed. She again lifted him in a sitting position, but this time stood behind him, so he could sit against her legs.
“Mani naa essa en lle?[3]” He heard that language before, but his muddled mind couldn’t think where what... He lifted his head and said “Water”. “Manke naa lle tuulo?[4]” ‘Hmmm got it, Elvish! Water? Water? ahh!’ “Alu”. “Alu?, ALU!” she called out. Moments later a skin bottle was given him. He rinsed his mouth out. Then drunk a few mouths full. He had learned not to drink too much at once.
“Lle rangwa amin?” “Do you understand me” he knew that phrase. He shook his head. Put his finger close to his thumb, indicating “a little”.
“Do you speak the common tongue?” a voice came from behind. He nodded. “I am Tári Telrúnya, and this is Luthien my sister. We are sea-elves and will do you no harm. Please come out of the water. Luthien please help the man.” Again she tugged on his shoulders attempted to lift him up. He slowly went on his knees and stood up. The girl reached to his shoulder. When he turned around he saw Tari, and noticed her dress was well-to-do, not from a fishing family. Her face was veiled. Her sister who was holding him and attempting to keep him from falling, was dressed in nice clothing too, except was dirty. She looked like a tomboy.
“Do you speak the common tongue?” a voice came from behind. He nodded. “I am Tári Telrúnya, and this is Luthien my sister. We are sea-elves and will do you no harm. Please come out of the water. Luthien please help the man.” Again she tugged on his shoulders attempted to lift him up. He slowly went on his knees and stood up. The girl reached to his shoulder. When he turned around he saw Tari, and noticed her dress was well-to-do, not from a fishing family. Her face was veiled. Her sister who was holding him and attempting to keep him from falling, was dressed in nice clothing too, except was dirty. She looked like a tomboy.
When on land, he again sat down. He scratched his head. Luthien sat next to him, watching him curiously. Tari came closer, but stayed a safe distance. “What is your name? Where are you from?” “hmmm, long story” She noticed the hesitation. “Can you walk up that hill? There is a cave there and we will be safe from weather and foe.” “I’ll try” He got up again and this time wanted to walk unaided, but Luthien insisted to ‘help him’. “She enjoys being the hero”, he thought. “more water, please.” Luthien gave him the bottle.
When they got up the hill there was a burned out tree stump and , quite hidden, was an entrance to a cave. They walked in. It was dark, except the light from the entrance. Luthien disappeared in the darkness and came back with a burning stick, she disappeared again. He followed with his eyes the light in the darkness of the cave. Soon there was a burning fire and 2 canelabras. Enough light to see where you were going, once your eyes were adjusted. He went to the fire and then realised how cold he was. His hands and arms were cut in many places, his legs felt like jelly. Tari said something to Luthien, who came back with a stone vessel and rags. She dipped the rag in the liquid and then attended to his arms... “ou ou ou” he yelped. “It kills the germs and prevents infection.” Tari said calmly. “Leita[5]” Luthien voice came nervous as she heard his tone of voice and saw him pulling back. He sat down again and gave her his arm... He flinched but said nothing as Luthien very gently cleaned his wounds.
He looked around to keep his mind from the pain. He saw books, barrels, table, sleeping mats. “What is this room?” “We hide here when there is trouble” “Trouble?” “Yeah our land is at war with our neighbouring countries. You are in the land Astald-Ndor. Our king is Er-Halla, ‘The tall one’.
“I am Gerhard, people call me ‘the Brave’.” There was silence. Luthien had stopped rubbing his arms and looked at him with big eyes. Kari’s eyes above the veil, were shocked, surprised. “Gerhard the Brave, ‘Camthalion Melwasúl’ in our language. Your land is out at sea on a” she hesitated “Alu pelu ndor.” He smiled “island, land surrounded by water, yes.” Her eyes asked the question she didn’t dare to ask. He nodded, with his head bowed. “I cant remember much. I somehow must have escaped. We shipwrecked. Then I woke up here as Luthien slapped me in the face”. He looked at her with a cheeky grin. She bowed in front of him “Leitha, Leitha, leitha” “Dont bow to me child, you saved my life and I will be eternally grateful. To both of you” He looked at Kari. She looked away, with a frown.
“Esta sinome. Rest here” she corrected herself. Tari went to the back and Luthien continued cleaning his wounds. He gently took the cloth from her and did start to clean his own wounds. “Tula sinom.” Luthien left in the direction of the voice. “cats eyes” he thought as he could not see past the glow of the fire. Soon Luthien came back with some dead chicken or other bird. She cut of some pieces with her big knife or short sword, he could not determine which and wondered where that came from. Both the knife and the bird... He was given a piece of meat and he ate it. “it tastes like chicken” he thought, “but then everything does”
“Esta sinome. Rest here” she corrected herself. Tari went to the back and Luthien continued cleaning his wounds. He gently took the cloth from her and did start to clean his own wounds. “Tula sinom.” Luthien left in the direction of the voice. “cats eyes” he thought as he could not see past the glow of the fire. Soon Luthien came back with some dead chicken or other bird. She cut of some pieces with her big knife or short sword, he could not determine which and wondered where that came from. Both the knife and the bird... He was given a piece of meat and he ate it. “it tastes like chicken” he thought, “but then everything does”
Kari appeared from the darkness. “you cant keep that name. It’s to dangerous.” He agreed, guided by the reaction of these women, his fame had preceded him. “What to call himself” He watched Tulien eating the little bits of meat of the ribcase as he was thinking of a name. She broke the wishbone as she tried to get the last bits of meat. “Wishbone” he said. Tari looked puzzled. He tried to think. “Irma-nnar” Tulien looked at him and burst out in laughter. Tari’s eyes also had an embarrassing smile.. “Wishbone what does that mean.” He walked to the carcass that Tulien dropped on the ground as she was in stitches laughing. He showed the bone that was broken. That is a wishbone. “Aha” she said “not a ‘bone-of-desire’. He looked at her puzzled then he understood. He did not know the word for ‘wish’ and used ‘desire’ instead. Off course even here this has a total different meaning. He grinned sheepishly. “I don’t know the name of that bone.... Maybe Romen-nnar or Hyarman-nnar. These letters looks like that.” She drew the letters pronounced ‘r’ and ‘h’ with some charcoal on the floor, and yes they looked like the Y-shape of the bone. “I keep it at Wishbone in the common tongue then. Or Wizz for short?” ‘Hmmm ‘Istar-nnar’ uuuhhh Wizard-bone, bone-of-a-wizard... That sound ok. We have to add something” Kari thought for a while. I add hereby the word “Varna” to show we accepted you. “’Varna’. ‘Safe’. How appropriate he thought”
They were in a long hall, Kári jogged ahead. Wizz was struggling to keep up.. “Kári! Amin dele ten' ho![6]” Kári stopped, turned around looked at me. “This tunnel is long but safe, apart from the snakes. Guess we don’t have to rush”. They turned left as he tried to remember the twists and turns. He did not see any snakes, but then he could hardly see, as sweat was prickling his eyes. He knew why he was sweating, he felt weak and hot: fever. He heard the woman using their swords but did not see what they were doing. He felt in a daze.
Suddenly he felt a pain in his leg, a burning pain, rushing up his leg. He fell backwards. He started waving his torch around in blind panic. He saw Luthien striking her sword. “Sal[7]” she called out “Sal. Sal!” Kári came running back. “hold your torch still” she said quiet but firm, while she hold his arm. She was strong, stronger than he expected. He held his arm still. She took of the torch and rushed to Tulien. She held the torch up, he heard the striking of the snake, but as they were in between him and the snake, he did not see the kill. They came back with the creature, still wriggling. It was as thick as his wrist, and as long as him. Its head was gone. “Drop your pants.” He looked shocked. “NO” he lifted the left sleeve of his pants, over the knee. They saw the two needle pricks and the redness around it. They took their sword, he looked at the determined look of the women and got scared. “No’ he said softly. Luthien held his leg, while Kári cut his pants length wise up his leg. He breathe a sigh of relieve. “I thought....” “and carry you all the way? No thanks.” They used the material to make a tight bandage from the bite up his leg, end what was left, down again. They used a stick to prevent him from bending his knee. They lifted him up and supported him one on each side as they walked through the maze that this cave and tunnel proved to be. The bite was very, very painful, and slowly his whole leg felt like hot water had been thrown over it. His head was dizzy from the pain and the fever. He closed his eyes and let the woman carry him, as he was trying to walk as best he could.
There were many caves and alleyways. After the third turn he was lost. The women knew where to go and chose the route without hesitation. Eventually they stopped in front of a door. He leaned against the wall, feeling very faint. He slid down the wall. Luthien caught him just before his bum hit the floor with a thud. The torch slid out of his hand. “Haba Kári![8]” He heard the sarcasm in her voice. “Sorry” he whispered, “as he was gasping for air. Where... where.... are we going?” “The king’s castle, in Ar-Tal” “NO! ATAR! Istar-nnar atara en-ale[9]” Kári looked thoughfully at her sister, while Wizz was trying to focus on what was happening. ‘Atar?’ he thought. “My sister want us to go to our parents’ place. Our mother can look after you. We have to go through Mori Kaure[10] a forest with big spiders. It is daytime, so they should be in the threes. If we are quiet, we might able to slip through. Should have brought ‘cu-pilin[11]’.”
She paused for about 15 seconds. “You ready?” He nodded and used the wall to get up. Luthien gave him the torch. The trio went up the stairs to the door. It did not have a lock. They were in a very small room with 4 doors, one on the left, one straight ahead and one on the right, and the one that they came from. Kári opened up the door on the left, and the rush of fresh air came to great them. “Oh, The sweet smell of the forest.” He felt the strength coming back as he breath in this air. With drawn swords the woman carefully moved in to the forest. They went straight ahead and looking up the trees as they passed, until they came to a stream. “Ok. She said. Douse the flame.” He stuck his torch in the water. The ‘hiss’ of the water seem very loud. “Spiders don’t like water. We stay in the creek.” They followed the creek deeper and deeper into the forest. Until he saw a bright light ahead of them.
As they entered the edge of the forest, he suddenly saw a village. They were on a ridge overlooking the sea. The harbour was full of fishing boats, the village was basking in the late afternoon sun. On the right was a fence from the sea to the ridge, with a big gate and guards. On the left he saw the forest extending towards the sea. An orchard, what looked like a corn field, cattle, horses.... ‘This is a rich village.’, he thought. “This is ‘Shae-Ostar’, my town. Please stay here, as I get my father. Luth tula![12]” They both ran off. Wizz leaned against a tree and slid down. He flinched as the rough bark rubbed his skin. He looked at his clothing as he unconsciously tried to straighten them. ‘rags.’ He suddenly was conscious of his looks. ‘The heir to the throne’, he thought.
He must have dozed off, because he was shaken gently. He opened his eyes and saw a woman looking at him with friendly eyes. “This is Atara[13], mother.” He heard Kári’s voice but could not see her. “Atara, Camthalion Melwasúl[14]” Atara looked at him intently, but her eyes stood all-wise, open, friendly. He looked at her face and was surprised how young she looked. He knew Elves age well, but she did look no older then her daughters. Looking into these eyes, he felt a great calm come over him; he knew he could trust her. She attempted to lift him, and he pushed himself up against the tree. He flinched again. Atara looked up at him, she was quite small he realised. He noticed her white hair and the bright red robe she was wearing. “Saesa omentien lle[15]” he said. He looked up. With surprise he saw a man on a horse, Kári, Luthien, Atara and another woman all looking at him with great smiles. We all understand the common tongue reasonably well. Better then you speak Elvish. They all laughed. “This is Atar, our father” She pointed to the man on the horse. “He just came home from hunting for game in the forest.” She pointed to the forest on the left of them. “Vedui[16]” he lifted his hand in a greeting. And this is my other sister, Ainariël . He looked at her. She did look more human than elf. She had bright red hair, and was taller. She had some form of armour on, and a red cape. He looked at her until their eyes met. She looked back at him curiously . “Verdui.”
“Come” Atara said with a very kind voice. Tara got off his horse and lifted him as much as he could on the horse. They all went down the hill. Atar in front leading the horse, mother next and the three sisters around him, keeping him from falling of the horse. Nobody said a word. He was exhausted and just wanted to lay down. His mind was numb of the events of the day, the week, the month. His leg was aching so much he wished he’d die He was not thinking, just holding on to the saddle knob . He did not notice the people standing on the side of the road, looking at him, the soft murmurings of the people as they were wondering who he was.
At last they arrived at a house. It looked like a big spacious farmhouse. He was ushered in to the house and then into a room with a bed. Atara pointed to the bed and mentioned with her hand to lay down. He obliged heartily. She went back and came back with a small glas with a greenish liquid in it. She gave it to him, it tasted very sweet, but after he swallowed it, he felt his mouth was on fire... She gave him some water. “This will ease the pain..Rest, we will call you when dinner is ready.” She left the room and he looked at the ceiling, trying not to focus on the pain.. after a few minutes his eyes closed and he was sound asleep.
“NO! NO! NO!” He sat up, eyes open, not seeing anything. Sweat was trickling down his forehead... Atara rushed inside his room and gently pushed him back. She looked at the bite mark on his leg. It was swollen and red, brown/green puss was seeping out. “Yee! Tanya awra![17]” she went outside, moments later came back with a bowl and a rag. She gently wiped the wound clean. Then, with the rag covering the puncture wounds, she gently squeezed the pus out of it... he did not flinch.
‘Where am I?’ he had his eyes open but everything was pitch black. He tried to sit up. There was a rustle. “who is there?”, his voice was a croaky whisper. A light came towards him. The woman stood still in the door. Looked at him and disappeared. “hey! Come back!”, voice was a bit stronger, but barely audible. The light came back. The woman walked in the door, followed by 2 more people. Quickly some more candles were lit. He saw a male elf and 2 female elves in the room. “You remember who we are?”, the man spoke. “No?” “How did you get here?” “Don’t Know” Wizz said in desperation. You have been bitten by a large fela loki[18] ... uuhmm Cave snake. Memory loss is one of the effects of its poison. In general your memory will come back over the next few days.
“I am Tara, father in elvish, and this is Atara or Mother. This is Luthien our youngest daughter. She found you laying in the water at Draeland. She and her sister Kári brought you back here. It has been 3 days since then.” “3 days!” Yeah you had a bad fever and you are very weak. He looked at Atara. Atara nodded and left. “Atara will get you some food. Then try to rest until the morning” “Thank you for your kindness” He WAS hungry. When Atara arrived with a bowl of food, Wizz was again sound asleep.
When he woke he could see the light through the curtain that hanging in the door way. He just lay there for a while, looking at the light. Slowly he remembered the events of the night. But when he tried to remember more it was all very vague, just shapes in a fog.
The curtain moved and Atara came in. She wore a bright blue dress. He sat up, then realised he was naked under the blankets. He pulled up the blankets. “we got rid of these rags. We will get you something descent. You feel like some food?” “Yes please” “Dont fall asleep on me”, she said with a cheeky grin. A short time later, she came back with a bowl of stew. “eat slowly and chew. You might not be able to cope with much. At least drink the broth.” He ate slowly, not because he wanted to, but because he was too weak to chew much at all. After a few mouthful, he just spooned the watery stock and the small pieces of vegetables and meat, that did not require any chewing. It tasted good and was nice and warm. When he was finished, he fell back on his bed. Atara took the bowl and went away. Short time after she came back with a trouser and shirt. “hope they fit you.” He looked at her. “You need to regain your strength. Sit up for a while. So you must cover yourself.” She put the clothing on the edge of the bed, near his feet. She looked at him again with a cheeky smile. “You think you need help with getting dressed? My husband will be home soon, he can help if you feel more comfortable....” “No thanks, I should be fine”
He waited until she had left and closed the curtain. He threw open the blankets and this was the first time he looked at his legs. The puncture marks where nearly gone, but still there was a big black and blue bruise . He tried to remember what happened, but nothing. He lifted up a leg with his hand and put it over the edge of the bed, the other one followed. There was no pain, just weakness. He tried to stand but fell back on the bed. He set up again and grabbed the pants. The material was unusually soft and light, but strong. It had a sheen and colour he had never seen before. He put one leg in, then the other. He again tried to stand, and this time with more success, although he was still a bit swaying. The shirt was matching and obviously a pair with the trousers. After adjusting and putting on all the buttons – there were more than he was used to – he looked at himself and was quite pleased.
He carefully walked to the chair and sat down gingerly. “So far, so good” he thought. He stayed seated for a while then slowly got up and walked to the left of the room, through the curtain into a hall way. He stood still and leaned against the wall. He looked around. He heard kitchen noises on his right, so he walked slowly that way. When he walked into the kitchen he saw Atara and Luthien busying themselves with the preparation of food. He stood in the door and looked at them. They were so engrossed in their preparations that at first they didn’t notice him standing there. “Atara! En![19]” Luthien had noticed him first and alerted her mother. She stood there looking at him with a big grin. Atara looked up “Ed' i'ear ar' elenea![20] Don’t you look handsome! However, no man allowed in the kitchen, especially not a sick guest.. out you go, quick quick!” Atari playfully pushed him out of the kitchen. “Go to the lounge, find a book and wait for my husband”
He went in the direction he was pushed and found a large hall, with hundreds of books. Again he stood in the doorway and looked around. In the middle were two giant bookshelves and around the walls there were more. A fire place on the right was burning brightly. A door on the right wall, on the left was a big table with .. he counted them.. 10 chairs. He walked to the bookshelf in the middle of the room... ‘Hmmm, Wizardry, spells, plants and their power, alchemy? Alchemy? What is alchemy?” He picked up a book and looked at the pictures. “Why does he have books in the Common Tongue and not in Elvish?”He felt tired of standing and walked with the book to the big table.
When he said down, he heard the door opening and Tara walked in. “AH feeling better, I see!” A big smile appeared on his face. “Excuse me” and walked to the kitchen. By the loud laughter and happy chatter that followed it was clear to him, that Tara had gone for a while and the family was happy to see him back.
Wizz looked through the book, but could not concentrate on reading. He just looked at the pictures. They were drawn with great accuracy. There were pictures and technical drawings of all kind of contraptions to change one item to another. There were pictures of different stones, and what properties the ‘elixir of life’ has.
Tara appeared. “Sir...” “ ‘Tara’ my friend ‘Tara’, not ‘sir!’” “Tara, I just wanted to thank you for all you have done sofar from me, but uhhmm...” he paused, embarrassed to ask. Tara looked at him and waited patiently. “Who am I?” Tara looked surprised, then understood. “Still not remembering much eh?” he continued: “OK you told us that your name is Gerhard the Brave. We have heard many stories about Gerhard the Brave, a famous warrior and heir to the throne from an island far from here. How you got here, I don’t know, but my daughters found floating in the water, near to death. They saved your hide and brought you here. While traveling here, you got bitten by a cave snake and you lost your memory. This will come back soon” he said kindly.
“Gerhard the Brave” he said to himself trying to remember more. “yes, but better not say that name out loud. You don’t know who your friends or foes are. So we decided to call you ‘Istar-Nnar Varna[21]’” he paused and looked at him. “In the common tongue your name will be Wizz-bone or Wizz for short”
He walked to the table and lay his hand on Wizz’s shoulder. “You have a marking on your shoulder you should see. Wizz looked at him incredulously. “Take your shirt off and I show you” Wizz wrestled with the buttons once again, quite curious on what to find. “just the right arm that is all.” Tara walked of and came back with a piece of highly polished copper. “Have a look” Wizz strained his neck to look behind at the polished copper that Tara was holding up. First he saw nothing, but then he say the big black M with a crown above it. “M.?.” “(Yep, look under it.” Tara was moving the copper mirror slowly down... Wizz saw nothing at first, then the saw some writing... but he could not make out what it said. “I see something. What is it?” Tara walked around him, so he could see him straight in the eye. “Gerard the Brave, Royal Guard. It looks like some seal is branded on you then your name tattooed under it.[i]) The brand is the letter M and a crown.” He studied his face for any recognition, but there was none, just a face that was trying to remember. “Anyhow, whatever you do keep your shirt on” Wizz took the mirror from him, and tried himself to aim it over his shoulder. After a few minutes of fruitless looking he gave up, rubbing his neck.
“you need to strengthen up. You need two things to get your strength back: food and exercise. Come with me” Wizz got up gingerly, his legs still a bit shaky, and followed Tara out the door. Tara closed the door and went left, behind the house to his animals. There were 2 horses and a few cows. When they reached the wooden fence he stood still. Wizz leaned against the railing, breathing in the fresh air. “feels good to be outside huh?” he said with a grin. “Let me show you: in front of you is a forest, that leads to a grassy area with trees here and there. We call it North Draeland. There is lots of game there, mainly rabbits and deer, and sometimes wild pigs. On the left, on top of that ridge is a dense dark forest with big spiders. That place we call More Tauri, ‘dark forest’ The venom of these spiders makes you lose consciousness, but you won’t die. They will wrap you in a cocoon to eat later. We hunt them, and use their venom on our arrows. It won’t kill our game or humans, but make them fall asleep.
On the other side of the village is a fence, with guards. Past that fence are grasslands, and further North is desert... Marauding bands from the Drow often come from there, hence the fence. However, the last couple of seasons have been quiet. And West is the Alta Ear[22] , Great Sea. Most of us are... linge-edan[23]... fisherman, some of us are let we say.. ‘fishers of men’. Wizz tried to take it all in, but had problems focussing on the details. However, his face looked puzzled on the phrase ‘fishers of men’ Ok we don’t like to be called that, but others call us pirates. We only take from those that are at war with us, with the kings permission. Their boats we sink, but we let the people in their life raft first.” Wizz looked at him and his eyes squinted, he had a flashback... he was on a boat and there was fighting and fire... he tried to remember more but it was gone. “you ok?” Wizz shook his head. “I thought I remembered something, but it is gone.” It wasn’t, but he did not want to say anything.
“What do you do?, you a fisherman..” he paused. “of men?” “No my friend, I have fished for fish and crab.... no you call them lobster, but mainly I am a farmer and horse breeder.” He looked at him intently.. “you remember Kári my daughter? Luthien, that is inside, and Kári saved you.” Wizz looked down, said nothing and , after a while, shook his head. “Kári is part of the entourage of the King Er Halla.” Wizz looked up. “Entourage?” “Well the polite way of saying she is one of his wives. That is why she is veiled, only the king and her immediate family can see her face. The king handsomely rewarded me for her hand. That is when I gave up fishing.” He looked at Wizz. “I think you had enough of this fresh air, better go back” Wizz nodded. Once inside Tara lead Wizz to the fire and the comfortable chairs in front of it. Wizz sat down with a sigh. It was quite chilly outside. He looked in the glow of the wood fire. Let the heat slowly warm his body.... Tara came back with two glasses. “Here. This will warm your cockles.” “Cockles?” Wizz thought but said nothing. He smelled the liquid in the glass. ‘sweet’ he had a sip, it was sticky but warm as it went down. ‘not bad’ “nice” “We get the grapes from up-north, but this is Shae-Ostar’s port. Made by me” he said with a grin. Both man sat then quietly looking in the fire. After awhile, Wizz nodded off to sleep.
Tara got up and quickly grabbed the glass of his hand, before it could spill. He sat down again. For a long time Tara sat there, looking in the fire. ‘Who was this man? Was he really Gerhard the Brave? What now to do?’ He decided he could do nothing, but wait. Hospitability demanded that he would stay until healed.
“Malia ten' vasa?[24]” Atara called out. Wizz woke up with a jolt. He looked around wondering where he was. Then he remembered. Atara and Tara stood beside his chair. “Come to the table for some dinner.” Wizz nodded and got up. They walked to the table on the other side of the room. Luthien and another woman were already seated. A large plate of grilled fish and bowls of vegetables were spread on the table. Plates knives and forks set out. Wizz was ushered to a chair. Tara sat on his left, at the head of the table, Atara on the other side. Opposite was Luthien, next to her this other person. “Do you remember her? This is Ainariël, our middle daughter” He looked at her, trying to remember... haltingly he said “verdoo” they all smiled. “Verdu-ee” Ainariël corrected him. Her voice was husky, like she had been near a fire to long, but a pleasant voice.
The plates where shared and each took some fish and hot steamy vegetables. Wizz took some and started to eat. The fish tasted spicy, the vegetables were steamed and tasty. He was amazed how much he enjoyed this food, as if he was deprived from a good meal for a long time. After, the glasses were filled with a red wine. “Straight from the King’s Cellar”, Tara said. “What do you do?” Wizz aimed the question at Ainariël. Ainariël looked at her father, who nodded. “I am a ranger for the king. I am a cuar[25], archer.” “What does a ranger do?” “hunt for the king and protect the King’s forest from poachers and other criminals. Do you know how to use a bow?” Wizz looked at Tara. “I am not sure.” “Well,” Tara budded in, “Gerhard is known for his skill with the sword, not the bow and arrow.” “Maybe you would like to learn? I am happy to teach you” Ainariël said. The tone in her voice sounded like there was more than a polite offer in this question. Tara looked at Ainariël with a slight sparkle in his eye. Wizz looked down, thinking about an answer, and missed the looks going back and forth between Ainariël and her father. Wizz decided to accept this offer. It is a skill that would never go astray, and he needed the exercise. “If you have the time...,” he said and paused as he looked up and caught the glance Ainariël gave her father, “I’d like to master that skill.” Ainariël nodded at him, and looked at her plate. Wizz studied her for a moment, then went back to his fish.
[1] Elvish – Awaken, slang: wake up
[2] Elfish – That hurt
[3] Elfish – What is your name?
[4] Elfish – Where are you from?
[5] Elfish – free, slang: sorry, forgive
[6] I am worried about him
[7] Sit still, be quiet, lit. still
[8] My hero lit. mine hero
[9] ‘Atar’ lit. Father, in context parents (‘house) Istar-nnar atara en-ale - Wizard-bone, mother look after
[10] Dark Forest – East of Ar-Tal, West of Shae-Ostar
[11] Bow - arrow
[12] Come!
[13] Mother
[14] Gerhard the Brave
[15] Pleased to meet you. Lit. Pleasure meeting you
[16] Greetings
[17] ‘Yee!’ = Eek! (sign of disgust) ‘Tanya awra!’ – That hurts!
[18] Cave snake
[19] Look!
[20] By the sea and stars! exclamation
[21] Istar-Nnar: Bone of the wizard - lit. wizard bone.
Varna: safe
[22] Great sea - lit. big sea
[23] Fisher lit. fish man
[24] Dinner is ready lit. Care for some food?
[25] archer
