Sylvanlight, Book I by slflew

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Chapter 8. King Arthur.

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Chapter 8.

"But be warned, you who thirst for knowledge, be warned about the thicket of opinions and the fight over words. Whether beautiful or ugly, wise or foolish, opinions are unimportant, anyone can follow them or reject them." ~ Siddhartha

 

Gwen woke up suddenly inside a jolting carriage. The pain in her hand had eased to a dull ache, and her skull throbbed from cracking on the cobblestones. She met her master's steady gaze. He smiled wanly. "I assume you learned your lesson."

She stared at him sullenly.

His tone was level as he continued. "There's always a first time, they say. Your brand is your identification and your discipline. I wouldn't pull that again."

She gazed down at it, noting the red of hot metal was gone, cooled to a dull silver. "What this symbol?" she asked.

He pursed his lips, glancing briefly at her hand. "The letter F. For my name, Feanor. All brands are in the letter of their master."

She struggled to keep him talking. "How many...slaves...do you have?"

"Well, one. You." His hands were resting on his cane. "I've never had a slave before. But I'll be a better master to you than any of those idiot louts in that auction house."

She raised her eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?"

He looked back through the window and spoke in a clipped accent. "That trash - they're breeders. Everyone sold in that auction house was chosen for breeding stock."

"What?" Gwen couldn't believe what she was hearing. She took a breath and calmed herself. "I'm not sure I understand."

He gave her a dark glance. "The slaves that were in the auction house had the highest amounts of Numenorean blood amongst all those that were captured. Breeders bid on them so that they can...breed more slaves with high amounts of Numenorean blood. It's a status symbol, to have a slave with good blood. They're highly sought after."

"So I'm your status symbol," she said bluntly.

There was a long uncomfortable silence and the horses' hooves beat their tempo. Eventually, he sighed. "No. I was merely saving you from an unsavory fate."

She had more questions; she wanted to keep him talking. "How do they determine this ‘Numenorean' thing?'"

"I'd assume they used a bloodstone."

Ah, yes. The cut on her finger.

"But we're the same," she said abruptly. "Why are you enslaving people of your own race?"

He closed his eyes briefly, then looked at her stoically. "We're not the same race, Gwendolyn."

Her mind raced back to the sunny green times before she was ripped from her home. Red hair, blue eyes - an elf that looked like a man. "Finrod," she whispered. She looked at him. "You're an elf?" she blurted.

Several emotions flickered across his face - sadness, resentment, anger. "Finrod," he spat out. "How is it that you know that name?"

"I knew him at home." Her once dry eyes grew wet once more with tears that she managed to hold back.

Rain began to streak the grit on the window. He spoke bitterly. "Don't say that name around me. He's getting what he deserves." Seeing her questioning look, he continued, gripping his cane tighter. "The ships that bore you also brought back those recreants."

She internalized this. Good, a friend here in a foreign place. "The Elves aren't slaves, then?" she asked.

"Indeed. But Men are not the only slaves here. Dwarves and Halflings are as well."

Gwen blinked. Halflings? All of these terms were being thrown around, which she didn't understand. Then the carriage stopped. "We're here," Feanor said, and opened the door, stepping out into the dreary rain. They walked quickly through a fence gate and through a front door into a warm, cozy room.

*

Finrod sighed. Kneeling on a stone-cold floor was not his idea of fun. It had been over a thousand years since he had even set foot on this planet, and he was already in deep trouble. Well, that's life, he concluded.

He was in a large pillared hall, surrounded by finely dressed Elves. The Valar were holding court, judging the Elves that had been returned to their world. The twelve bright forms looked solemnly at him. The most powerful, their leader, Manwe, summed up the evidence the Maia had given him.

When Finrod and the ship landed in Britain, they landed at the point in time when the Romans were pulling out from the furthest reaches of their empire, which included Britain. Britain was under threat of invasion, and it was amidst this turmoil that they arrived, a group of individuals in a strange land.

Rumors spread quickly throughout the countryside - a boat had come bearing fair and otherworldly people that could save them from extinction. The Elves found then that they could do things they could never do before - in this world, they had power beyond dreaming. They could make things the way they wanted, walk unseen, and more. The Maiar among them also discovered an increase in their power, unlike the Numenoreans with them. They saw that these people needed their help - left without defense, farming with poor practices, their society falling apart.

So they conferred together, Elf, Human, Maia, trying to come up with a solution. They didn't want to go back, they decided, but to help these people. A small group of them refused to help, left, and went their own paths, forming what would later be called the Unseelie court. Their leader was Caranthir, the spiteful son of Feanor. The rest banded with the best warriors in the land, fighting and defeating the invading enemy.

To strengthen the land, they decided to create the fortress of Caerleon (Camelot, it was later  named) and the Britons desired the hero of the battle, the leader, to become king. He was Arthur, the youngest and noblest of the Numenoreans, the last remnant of their ancient kings. It was thus decided he would become High King.

The Unseelie court perceived this and grew angry. Why did those who helped a low people gain such a position of power? To sow discord amongst the Britons and the Numenoreans, the Unseelie court planted a sword set in a stone with the plaque - "Whosoever draws out this sword will be king of all Britain." They watched in glee as different noblemen vied for the crown. A miracle, it was whispered throughout the country. The will of God.

Nevertheless, Arthur still drew the sword, to the relief of many who had watched the strife. The power of the Numenorean line, the Elves would find, was enough to break many bonds. The Elves, to unite their world and that of men, gave Arthur the hand of an Elf maiden.

Under their rule the land prospered. The term Maiar was shifted in stories to Myrddin, a term of respect, and they were consulted for many reasons related to the kingdom. Numenorean lords and the noblemen of the land united under the king and served him as knights - Cai, Arthur's foster brother, Gawain, his cousin.

As for Finrod, he roamed the land, learning as much as he could about their culture, as he had once in Middle-Earth, in his younger days. He went to the farthest reaches of the isles, playing his harp, singing such wondrous music that he was welcomed as a bard everywhere he went. Wondrous music indeed - the Elf that had challenged Morgoth to a duel sang songs that made sick people well and tore down the castles of evil kings. Taliesin, he was named in the Welsh tongue, meaning "bright-brow," for indeed he was an Elf, with the glimmer of the stars about him.

But as he roamed, a Briton nobleman, Mordred, began spreading rumors of the infidelity of Arthur's wife. Being an Elven maid, this was improbable, but nonetheless the court began pressuring him. Eventually, however, the queen bore Arthur a son. Despite the prosperity of the kingdom, Mordred despised the rule of a foreigner, and gathered forces to fight Arthur. The Unseelie court joined him, and the two armies clashed with deadly consequences.

Arthur and Mordred grappled with one another until they both died, and with the loss of their leader, Arthur's army was decimated - though some of the knights escaped the carnage. Mordred's army continued to Caerleon and burned it to the ground, tearing down the stones of the beautiful fortress. There was barely anything left, and the rest was leveled by peasants who used the stones to build their own homes.

The queen died in the destruction, but the Maiar managed to spirit away the son of Arthur to safety. Arthur and his knights were buried in a tomb carved into a hill; residents to this day tell of the king buried under it. It said that one day he will ride forth with all knights to save mankind from destruction.

The brutality of their fall shook the Numenoreans and Elves to their core - they determined amongst themselves to strengthen and keep the last remnant of the line of Numenorean kings. They settled deep in Wales, giving their sons and daughters to be wed to Arthur's children, to keep the vitality of the Numenorean bloodline.

Both Elves and Maiar, distressed, dispersed into the world. They traveled under different personas and learned much before returning to perceive the black-haired grey-eyed descendents of the Numenoreans. The Seelie court decided to sever most contact with humanity after being perceived as evil - however, they also decided by lot which one of their numbers would marry into and strengthen the line of Numenorean men. Even the Maiar kept the tradition until one was left. The last Elf to marry a human before the Elves were returned to their world was Jaime.

The sullying and punishment of Finrod on Earth was the result of his meddling in the affairs of humans, which even in Middle-Earth the Elves were loathe to do, and after the head Maia's patience wore thin, he punished Finrod by making him look like the people he so loved.

At court, Finrod once more shifted his weight, somewhat uncomfortable under scrutiny. The twelve figures of the Valar began to confer amongst one another.

"My concern with your past behavior," Namo stated, "is that your love of humans might cause you to meddle with slave affairs."

Finrod blinked. "I understand your concern, my lord," he said, "but I assure you I know my place in this world."

"Do you really?" asked Tulkas, bemused. "In the army, you disobeyed direct orders by not making slaves on another world. You set us back years in their occupation."

"I've since learned my lesson, my lords. If you'll remember, I have already paid for those actions. I would never cross your power again - you have demonstrated it considerably by bringing us back from another world."

"Indeed," interjected Ulmo. "My brothers, we cannot condemn the Elf because of what might happen in the future."

A couple of the Valar nodded in approval. Manwe looked at the Elf dubiously. "Very well, Finrod, you may go with no penance for your actions. Be warned, however - if you meddle with the Ownling system, you will be punished."

Finrod bowed deeply and left the court, pleased with the decision. Then he made his way to the Libraries to find the slave records.