The Little Hunter
by Pippin's Sunshine
27 28
Chapter 27—The Dragon Slayer
All of the Elves were amazed at how much like a warrior the young human
was already beginning to look. There was some “magic” instilled into
his small sword by the elves. Whenever he wore it, he almost always had
a calmer demeanor. Gilrean was amazed at the seeming change in her son.
It made her happy and sad all at the same time. She was thrilled to see
her son finally taking on the responsibilities that he needed to learn.
But yet, she was sad to see the changes in him that were making him
seem more grown up than he really was.
------------
At their next meeting, Estel greeted Rumil and Orophin warmly. He
had heard that they had returned but had not seen them. Haldir smiled
at the interaction. They had all grown close to Estel in the short time
that he had been in Lórien. Haldir thought to himself, probably too
close at times, but it was beneficial to them all.
Haldir told Estel to sit down. “Today is going to be a fairly easy
day for all of us. There is a story of a very well known dragon slayer.
We use his story to demonstrate one of the best ways to kill an animal
that is above you and in very rare circumstances, any other opponent.”
“There was a man named Haladin who lived at the beginning of the
second age. He was of the Dunedain. Haladin was a member of the King’s
guard in a small village. The Dunedain had been wary of building their
lives so near the mountain, but that was quickly overcome. At first,
they lived in fear because this was the time when dragons were
plentiful and attacked often. During this time, many men were slain
while they only managed to slay a small number of the dragons.”
“Then, one night, in this tiny village came the sweet sound of a
harp. The people were amazed when they went outside, for up in the air
was the most beautiful dragon any of them had ever seen. This dragon
did not look as fearful as most, for it did not spout fire. This dragon
was of a rare breed that used beauty and music to subdue its prey. Its
wings looked to be made of silver and gold, but what amazed the people
was the beautiful music coming from its wings. The dragon had lighted
on the top of the King’s house and was softly rubbing its wings
together.”
“Haladin was swiftly awakened by a knocking on his door. A
messenger informed him that all members of the guard were to at once
report to the War Room. Haladin quickly thanked the messenger and got
dressed. He was amazed when he stepped outside and saw the dragon for
the first time. He quickly sized up the situation based on stories he
had heard and on his way to the meeting, tried to get the people back
into their homes. He told them to cover their ears as well.”
“At the meeting, the plan was to find a way to destroy the
creature. They all knew that the hide of the dragon was far too thick
to be pierced by any weapon. This council went on long into the night.
By morning, they were all shocked when they finally dismissed. The
entire village was in ruins and the majority of the people were dead or
gravely injured. The dragon had smashed the homes and had lulled the
people so that it could do its damage. The biggest surprise was that
the dragon was still on the outskirts of the town. At that time, it was
decided that all of the able-body men who were left would chase the
dragon back into the mountains and then make some kind of attack to
seek revenge.”
“All of the Guard advised against the King joining them on this
mission, but he refused to listen to their pleas. Why should he be the
only one standing of his people if the worst should happen? A little
while later, the hunting party was ready to leave. They planned to use
a diversion to draw the dragon away from the village. While half of the
men would be following behind, the rest would be leading the dragon on
a wild goose chase. If the plan went right, they would then one by one,
fall back and rejoin the rest of the men.”
“This type of dragon was called Leucanandië by the Noldor of Eregion; by the elves of Rhovannion and Lórien: Talagand;
men simply called it 'the Harpy'. Very few had ever actually been seen,
they were generally things out of legends. It was said that the
majority of their kind had passed on, though a few still roamed Arda.”
“The plan worked for a while, then the dragon “got smart” and
started attacking the men in front of him. A few managed to make it
back to where everyone else was, but this number was not very high. The
dragon then continued on its trek home. The Dunedain were becoming
weary, but were unwilling to let down their guard or let the dragon get
too far ahead.”
“They then decided to try and encircle the dragon. This did not
work either due to the thickness of the trees, but as soon as the
dragon saw any of them, he began smashing up the trees, killing many of
the Dunedain in the process.”
“The Dunedain tried many different tactics and none of them seemed
to work. And along the way many more Dunedain were lost until there
were only a few left. They quickly realized that the King was among the
dead and decided that their best plan would be to just follow the
dragon until it stopped.”
“And it finally did. The dragon quickly found his cave high up in
the mountains. All of the work of destroying the village had tired him
out so he forgot to seal his cave as he usually did. The Dunedain took
advantage of this and snuck into the cave and hid behind the dragon’s
treasure. The dragon awoke during the night. It had been so worn out
that it did not at first notice the new smell of intruders, but the
smell had quickly overpowered its nostrils. He crept up to where many
of the Dunedain were sleep and began his spell again. No one trespassed
into his cave and got away with it.”
”Haladin awoke to the sound of his compatriots screaming. He was
suddenly grateful for his desire to be alone. Though, he felt sorry for
their plight, there was nothing he could do without being eaten as
well. So he quickly hid behind some of the taller stacks of treasure
and tried to formulate a plan. And he had one. He decided that once the
dragon had had its fill, it would be tired and lethargic and that would
be his opportune moment to attack. He watched as the dragon suddenly
flew to a perch carved into the mountain wall. He saw this as his
chance, it was now or never.”
“He quickly ran out to the center of the cavern and called out to
the dragon, “Hey! You forgot me! Come and get the sweetest piece of
flesh ever tasted.”
Haladin quickly prayed that he wasn’t just giving up his life rashly.
The dragon did not understand his words, but he was surprised that he
had missed one of the humans. He quickly flew down from his perch and
began to chase Haladin around the cavern.”
“Now, Estel, this is the important part for you to learn. Haladin
quickly stopped in his tracks, braced himself against the wall, dug his
feet sharply into the ground and thrust his blade up above him as swift
and hard as possible. Now any normal blade would not be strong enough
to pierce the hide of a dragon so strong, but Haladin’s blade was
special. It had been made and blessed by the Elven smiths of Eregion,
so it quickly dug deep into the dragon’s flesh. Haladin quickly removed
it and ran to get out from under the dragon. He was almost out of the
cave when he heard the giant crash that came when the dragon fell to
its death.”
“Thus, by slaying one of the deadliest dragons in all of Arda,
Haladin won great renown and then ever after followed a wanderer’s
life.”
Estel finally had the perfect name for his small blade.
II. - Dragon's Harp
Estel had told Haldir a few days later that he
finally had a name for his sword. Haldir stopped him from saying
anymore. “Do not tell anyone its name yet. To an elf, it is improper to
say the name of a blade before it has been blessed. I will inform Lord
Celeborn and let you know when the ceremony will be performed.”
---------
“Lord Celeborn, my Lady.” Haldir bowed to them. “Estel has informed me that he has named the blade that was given to him.”
Celeborn nodded, “We assumed this would happen soon, so we took the
liberty of informing Lord Elrond. He and the twins are already on their
way here for the ceremony. It will be hard for him, but it will quickly
teach Estel patience. Tell him that it will take about two weeks to
prepare for the ceremony.”
“Yes, my Lord, I will inform him.”
--------two weeks later-------
Haldir’s company was to meet the lords of Imladris on the border
and sneak them in. It was a risky plan, but they believed it would
work.
“My Lord Elrond, welcome back. It is a cheerful meeting indeed.
Estel has no idea what the ceremony entails and our arrival is
completely unknown. It was hard to keep such a secret, but it was not
impossible.”
Haldir quickly sized up the twin sons of Elrond who were riding
beside their father and very swiftly remembered much of the torment he
had received from these two and likewise helped bestow on Elrond.
“Elladan, Elrohir, pleasure to see you both again. We must catch up sometime. Elrond, how long will you be staying?”
”We are here on holiday so as long as it takes for Estel to finish his training, which I hear is coming along nicely.”
”Yes, it is. He truly is extraordinary. We are very slowly learning
that all our pre-conceived notions are being tossed to the winds. I
know it will be a joy to him that you have come.”
---------
“Estel, be still! The ceremony is in a few hours and you are
nowhere near being ready. Get in the bath now or I will keep you here
tied up so that you miss your own ceremony. In fact, I shall go inform
Lady Galadriel immediately.”
This scared Estel enough that he quickly did as he was told. He had
had so much energy all week that it was beginning to get worse as the
hour got closer.
----------
At the courtyard, all of the elves were already waiting. Today was
a day of celebration. Most had never seen Lord Elrond or his sons
except from a distance. But what they had heard had been enough
information to recognize them when they rode into the city. Haldir took
them to the Royal Flet and led them to their rooms so that they could
change and get ready for the ceremony.
Before the ritual started, Galadriel came to visit her family. It had
been a long while since she had seen her grandsons and far longer since
she had seen her son-in-law. Galadriel missed Celebrian most at times
like this, as did Elrond. They both missed seeing her at his side.
“Celeborn and I will be up at the front when it is announced for
young Estel to pronounce the name you may come out. We will then bless
the blade together. You have Vilya?”
“Yes, I have the ring. I cannot wait to see him again. As much as I
don’t miss the trouble he causes, I miss his spirit terribly. Anyways,
shall we get started?”
Celeborn came and escorted the Lady out. The twins were just as
excited as everyone else. They had missed their alone times with their
foster brother.
-----
Estel and Gilrean came out and were taken to their places. None of
the Elves had ever seen him so dressed up or well behaved. They walked
slowly down the walkway towards where Galadriel and Celeborn waited for
them.
Estel seated his mother in a seat on the front row and then
proceeded to calmly walk to the stone table where the Lord and Lady
were waiting. He walked as slowly and deliberately as he could, but the
waiting was tearing him up inside he was so excited.
“Remove your blade from its scabbard and place it on the table.”
Estel did as he was told and thought he caught a movement from behind
the tent curtain that was to the side of Celeborn. “Estel Dunedainion,
it is a joyous occasion that we are able to take part in this
celebration of becoming a man with you. As you well know, a sword is as
dear to a Ranger’s life as the very breath that is taken. You also know
that it is important what you name your sword. Not only will it define
you to other people, but you will define its power by this name.”
This was Elrond and the twins’ cue to exit from their hiding place.
All of the Elves bowed before the Lord of Imladris. Estel and his
mother were both equally surprised to see their foster family. Elladan
and Elrohir took a seat next to Gilrean as Elrond joined Celeborn and
Galadriel.
“Now you may pronounce its name. We hope that it is one that will
win great renown and will do justice to the person wielding it.” Estel
took a deep breath and told his tale. “Haldir told me the story of
Haladin the great Dragon Slayer. I choose to name my sword after the
dragon. Such a thing of beauty and destruction all at once is power to
me.” He picked up his sword again and held it in the air as he named it
Leucanandië.
The three elves took their turns in blessing the blade. “I bless this
sword with the power of the air that is given to me as a ring-bearer.”
“And I, bless this sword with the power of water that is given to me as
a ring-bearer. Bless this sword with the power of the elements that
they may always be in its favor.” Estel then picked up the sword and
resheathed it. Then, the whole assembly was dismissed for the
celebratory dinner to follow.
Estel and Gilrean took a moment to talk to Elrond and his sons.
None of them were surprised when Estel gave the three elves hugs. He
had missed them deeply and was overjoyed to see them again. “I did not
know you were coming. Thank you so much for being here.” “You have
named your blade well. I hope it lives up to its namesake. Come, let us
join the feast. We have much to discuss later on after the
festivities.”
Leucanandië "Harping Dragon"
top
Chapter 28
Estel and the twins stayed up until the wee hours of the morning
playing catch up. None of the trio had had very much free time lately,
so the letters had been few and far between. Elladan and Elrohir were
very grateful that their father had decided to let them come along with
him to Lothlorien. They had not seen Galadriel for sometime and would
have been very put out to miss Estel’s ceremony, and they had told
Elrond as much.
“I do wish that Glorfindel had been able to come as well, but I
know someone had to stay behind to be sure everything was kept proper.
You will not believe some of the stories that I have heard from Haldir
and his brothers. Haldir had told me how he traveled with Ada and when
they met Glorfindel. His description gave me the chills. You know how
they get so intense when they’re mad or upset? They started off that
way. But then somehow they convinced Glorfindel to join them. But I
think the best thing that Haldir told me was that Ada is afraid of
heights.”
Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other in shock. “Well Estel has
managed to find out something we didn’t know. I say we use it to our
advantage.” Elrohir grinned. Maybe having a little brother wasn’t such
a bad thing.
“There’s not much to tell from Imladris. Much of the time you have
been away so have we. The orcs have become braver and have been roaming
far too close to the borders for anyone’s comfort. There have been no
attacks inside the borders, but there are many who fear it won’t be
long. We had only returned for a few days before Ada announced that we
were to come with him here. Apparently, he and Glorfindel had a long
conversation if we would be missed too much on patrols. We eventually
found out and had a long talk with Ada and finally they both agreed to
let us come as well.”
The next morning, Elladan and Elrohir joined Estel at his training.
Haldir gave him back the wooden sword. “You know the drill. Today we
will continue our technique training. You are coming along nicely, but
maybe we will get more done, so you can show off for your brothers. And
if they care to join you in training, they will be most welcome. I am
sure the guards of Imladris would be very put out if you two came back
soft.” Haldir thought to himself, ‘Unless they become more of a
distraction.’
He was very sure that all three would benefit the others for the
remainder of their visit. He had spoken with Elrond and was informed
that as soon as Estel passed the tests, then they would all return to
Imladris. He was very sad to hear this, but had a feeling he would be
seeing more of the young human in the years to come.
“In practice it is easy to be perfect in your movements, but in a real
combat situation, you will find that these movements may not be so
perfect. But these exercises will help you get the general idea of
them. The main thing to remember is to keep your movements fluid and
able to flow into each other. This will help keep control of the sword
as well as where the sword strikes. Try to hit this target as many
times as you can alternating sides with each blow.”
Estel took up his position and began the exercise. Occasionally
Elladan and Elrohir would interject their comments on how to help him
improve his form. Haldir was very impressed that they were maintaining
some degree of professionalism. Finally, the end of the day came and
everyone headed out to their homes.
