Guest of the King by King Naugladur

Guest of the King

Read Guest of the King

The forest of Nan Elmoth was illuminated by the cool starlight. Nothing could penetrate the thick trees of the forest, apart from the start. The rider paused for a moment, trying to surmise where he had to go. He scratched his head. “How will I find him now? King Naugladur will be ashamed of me”. He then heard a deep rumbling voice saying “You are of the house of Eöl, Maeglin, my son, and not of the Golodhrim. All this land is the land of the Teleri, and I will not deal nor have my son deal with the slayers of our kin, the invaders and usurpers of our homes. In this you shall obey me, or I will set you in bonds”.

“House of Eöl? Yes, I know where to go now!” said the rider to himself. Trusting his hearing, he found his way to the dwelling of the Lord of Nan Elmoth. He rang the doorbell and waited for Eöl to open the door.

The Dark Elf looked at his visitor and said “Welcome, master Frain. What brings you to my humble dwelling?”

“I bear a message from my master, King Naugladur of Tuunzahar. He bids you to come to his feast. Next week,  he reaches his tenth year at the throne.  Master Azaghal of Gabilgathol will also be there. Ah, I forgot, the invitation includes your son, as well. Your Maeglin is a fine lad, the King says and we will be more than glad to have you as guests in our city”.

“I say yes for both me and my son, Master Frain” replied Eöl. “You are most kind to invite us. Will you stay in my house for the night?”

“I have to go to Gabilgathol for a pressing matter, Master Eöl”, answered Frain. “At your service”.

“At yours and your family’s.”

 

It was time for him to go. The Lord of Nan Elmoth was almost ready. He told his son, “Come Maeglin, son of Eöl! Your father bids you to accompany him to the city of his friends.” However, the lad was very reluctant. “Father,” he said, “the Naugrim cannot teach me nothing new. They only know to speak of stone and metal and do nothing but smithing. How could I get along with that people?”

“No matter if you don’t like them, of which I have aught to say, they have invited you. They would be gravely insulted by your refusal. I told the messenger that I would be escorted by you and I may be considered a liar by them”, said Eöl sternly.

“You can say I am unwell”, replied Maeglin. “Furthermore, they did not invite Mother. How can I go to a place my Mother is unwelcome?

“They didn’t because she comes from the House of the Kinslayers” snapped Eöl “and they despise them, for they are so proud to try to befriend them, as they do consider us the Teleri. But, I guess you will not be persuaded by any means. Good, but do not go elsewhere than Doriath or Cirdan at the Falas and don’t approach those Kinslayers. This is my order as a father and, if you do not obey, you will be accursed”.

With those proud words, Eöl saddled his horse and left, without saying or receiving a farewell from his wife, Aredhel, or his son, Maeglin.

When Eöl arrived at Tumunzahar, at was midday. At that time, the feast was starting. The Dwarves had prepared a meal for their King and his guests, which was the whole city, as well as Lord Azaghal of Gabilgathol with his guard and Eöl, the very first Elf to be invited to a Dwarvish feast. The Lord of Nan Elmoth sat near the head of the table, opposite Lord Azaghal.

“How do you fare, Master Eöl?” asked Azaghal.

“Very well, thank you, o Lord of Gabilgathol”. “My forge is busy with work and my son and apprentice, Maeglin, is learning the mysteries of my craft”.

“If he grows to be such a fine smith as you are, Master Eöl, we will call ourselves lucky”, smiled Azaghal behind his beard.

But then, all talk stopped, since King Naugladur entered the room in his full royal attire, complete with a fine scepter of gold, with diamonds,r ubies and sapphires decorating it. He was flanked by two of his guards, in full armor and sharp axes,  saying nothing and simple following the King.

“Thank you all for coming here”, said Naugladur. “Today, I reach ten years of ruling over Tumunzahar. My speech will be brief: May Mahal bless us, his children, with prosperity and freedom! May our beards grow even longer!”

With that, a wave of applause hit the chamber. The sounds of clapping hands drowned the sounds of the drum beats which followed the King’s speech.

When the clapping stopped, Naugladur sat at the head of the table, flanked by Azaghal and Eöl. “Let the feast begin!” he announced subseqently.

Then, the King’s servants served the meals they had prepared for the day. Eöl was presented with some kind of spicy meat, accompanied by a bowl of dark ale.

“The ale is not a sweet one, at least for Elvish tastes, Master Eöl,” cautioned Azaghal. “You may ask the King for something lighter, he will take no offense”.

But Eöl told him “Since I am in a city of Dwarves, I shall dine like a Dwarf” and he took the bowl and brought it to his mouth. He felt so hot, as if a fire was burning inside him, but he still swallowed. When he left the bowl at the table, tears flowed from his eyes.

“You are full of surprises, Master Eöl”, said Azaghal. “The ale perfectly matches the meat, which you had better eat when it is hot”.

The Lord of Nan Elmoth did as Azaghal told him and grabbed the meat with his hands, biting on the flesh with his teeth. It tasted good, but was still spicy. He managed to finish it, however.

When the meal ended, Eöl accompanied Naugladur and Azaghal to the King’s forge and they talked excessively about smithing and mining. The two Dwarf lords expressed curiosity about galvorn, the metal Eöl had devised all by himself. They got him to tell them of its properties and how it could be made. In return of the favor, they eagerly shared with him their knowledge on mithril, even explaining him how it was mined and how it worked. The conversation lasted until the time of the dinner party.

The menu was the same as with midday’s, but Eöl could not stand the trauma of another bowl of the dark ale and asked his cup filled with mead, instead, which the King was gracious to do Soon, after the meal ended, the guests of the King retired for the night. As Naugladur escorted Eöl to his quarters, he asked him, “Pray tell me, Master Eöl, Frain, my messenger, told me that your son had accepted our invitation. So, why he did not honor us with his presence?”

“Ah, it was something unexpected”, said Eöl. “Something ails him and he is unable to present himself at the feast.”

Forgive my curiosity” answered Naugladur. “When the feast ends, I will give you some medicinal herbs, which can cure many illnesses.”

You are most king, o king of Tumunzahar”, said Eöl, not wanting to reveal Maeglin’s decline of the King’s invitation,  and entered his chamber.

The week of the celebrations was now over.  It was time for the citizens to return to their works and for the guests to return to their dwellings. Naugladur was true to his promise and gave Eöl many herbs and recipes for medicines his people used. The Dark Elf thanked him thrice for his kindness and, after a farewell, embarked on his journey home.

He didn’t know that, two days before, Maeglin and Aredhel had fled Nan Elmoth and were heading to Gondolin.

                                                      THE END

 

 

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Chapter End Notes

Tumunzahar= Nogrod (Khuzdul)

Gabilgathol=Belegost (Khuzdul)