Before I begin this novel, and my story unfolds, I think I might introduce myself. For starters, my name is Mira, daughter of Thiren, King of the elves. My father has told me many times of my responsibility to the kingdom of Miran, the kingdom he rules over, and the kingdom after which I was named. It is said that I, Mira Iondiel, am a living miracle. i am not sure to this day whether I believe this! It seems that throughout all of my adventures my luck has saved me, above anything else, and I have relied on my luck more than men. ( I have found my luck is more dependable most times.) Elves are quite dependable, indeed, but men! The race of men is far too technologically influenced. But we can talk about that some other time. Before we begin, I must warn you! Do not believe that I tell this story for no other reason than to brag upon my bravery and wit, for that is not so! I tell my story so that I may leave my mark in history, before the time of the elves comes to a close. Now, with that said, we begin.
I remember the very first day I began my voyage. I did not know it then, when I woke that morning, but that day was the day that all I ever knew and loved would diminish before my eyes. The sun shone red when I awoke. I had wondered why, for the kingdom of Miran, the sun had forever shone a brilliant yellow. I laid in my hammock, staring at it. Suddenly, a sharp cry pierced the air, and it left my ears ringing. I covered them, in case it should happen again. The cry sounded serval more times, each time louder and more threatening. It was then that I realized what the sound was. The battle horns of the kingdom of Aubrin! My father had feared for many years that the people of Aubrin would break the peace between all nations of the elves, and now that time had come. The Aubrin people were, of course, the stone elves of the North. And we, being the forest elves of Miran, had somehow provoked them into war against us! The ears of a forest elf are sharp, and it wasn’t long before I heard the drums of the stone elves beating out a battle rhythm. I hastened to go meet with my parents, and fell out of the hammock in my hurriedness. I slipped on my leather mocassins, and ran to go find Mami and Papi. I wanted badly to fly, but Papi had warned me many times to only fly in the open fields, lest I tear my wings on branches and twigs. So I ran. Tripping over bramble, I ran to te tree where they slept, high in the branches in our nest. Usually, I would sleep there, with them, but the night before I had begged to be allowed to spend the night on the edge of the forest. Looking up at the tree, I wished I had stayed with them that night. They were gone. I nimbly climbed the branches to have a second look. Still, I saw no clues as to where they could be.My mind worked rapidly, trying to figure out what had happened to them. All this time, the battle drums had been growing fainter. I sat cross-legged in the nest, and trembled. They must have been kidnapped! Everything valueable had been taken. But wait. I clung to the trunk of the mighty oak and swung around to the opposite side. Finding the hole beneath a rough piece of bark, I reached inside and felt around. I could feel the damp sides of the hole inside. Where were my family’s prized possesions? I groped around inside the hole once again. This time, I noticed some leaves at the very bottom. I dug deep into these leaves, and touched a smooth, hard, stone. Could it be? I lifted it out of the safe-like hole. It was! My mother’s prized emerald pin. Normally, elves do not care for gems and metals, but this pin was shaped like a leaf, and Mami adored it greatly. I slipped the pin into my mocassin, and desended. At the very spot I landed there was a not, written on a leaf the size of my palm.
“Go to the place where the river splits in two.- Mami and Papi”
I was overjoyed. I raced around, looking for a sack to carry food and supplies in. It was then I realized. All of our belongings had been taken. Either by the kidnappers, or thieves in the aftermath. Trying to be as optimistic as I could, I trudged off to Lena’s tree, a willow, not knowing what I would find there. What I found was devastating. Lena, along with her parents were missing. Well, I knew I wouldn’t be finding them, they were most likely prisoners of war by now. Sighing, I searched the nooks of their tree. I found nothing. Absolutely nothing. I carried on to all the other homes in the Oak circle, (some oaks, some willows) and found that all the homes were in much the same condition. I did find, however, a compass, a rope, and a bottle with glowing liquid inside. I shook the bottle, and it glowed brighter. I also found a woven bag to carry my new belongings. But no food, yet at least. I knew how to make some foods, but where would I find the things to make it with.
That night, I slept in my hammock, not wanting to return to the nest. When I rose in the morning I shouldered my pack, and flew high in search of the river. When I spotted it, I looked around for my hammock again. It was far to the East. So I had traveled West. I flew down to the banks of the river, and sat there, cross-legged watching the bubbles rise and burst as they hit the rocks. A stirring in the bushes diverted my attention to the opposite bank. A river elf appeared, and held his hands up to show me that he had no weapons. “come.” I said. “Sit with me. I am alone.” He hesitated, and then dove into the river. He fought the current with a strength that made it look easy. His arms sliced through the water as wind would through leaves. And then he was beside me. “Er, hello.” He said. “My name isThrendiel, son of Tira’, conquerer of the river.” I held out my hand, and he took in his. “Mira’ Iondiel, daughter of Thiren, king of the forest elves.” For many long moments we sat in silence, debating whether or not we could trust one another. I looked into his eyes, trying to read his character, a trait give to me from Mami. They were an blue, of course, for he was a river elf, and they all have blue eyes. But his eyes… When you looked into his eyes, you didn’t see the cold, hard eyes of a normal river elf, no. Mongul’s eyes were a dark blue, darker than I had ever seen before.
“What?” He had looked up, and had seen me staring. But he had been staring, too. I know what he saw in my eyes, (if he could) for Mami had once done the same, and she saw this- warm, soft eyes, but there was a hint of a rebel in them, that would come out someday. She saw green, shot through with brown that told everyone I was a forest elf, and she said, looking so deep into my eyes she was almost lookin through them- she saw fire. “No, Mami, ” I had said, “Not fire, you are wrong, Mami, Mami, look again.” And she looked again. “Yes,” she said, “Fire.” Now you may be sitting there, reading this and not knowing the values of a forest elf. Well, Mother Earth despises fire above anything else. Fire only destroys whatever she makes. And Mami saw fire behind my eyes. I hung my head. Sitting beside the river boy, I hung my head so he would not see the fire.
He put out his hand and lifted my chin. Clicking his tounge he said, “What is wrong, Mira? There is something troubling you.” “It could be,” I began “that my family has been taken away by the wicked, wicked stone elves.” My voice had taken on a gray, hard quality I did not recognized, and Threndiel looked alarmed, but I continued , “My father left me a note, telling me to go to where the river splits in two, but I cannot find it.” My voice broke, and large tears rolled down my face. Threndiel puts his arms around me and tried his best to comfort me over the loss of my parents. “There is still hope.” He said. “Do not give up hope. Where did you say you are going?” I shivered and muttered “the place where the river splits in two, but I cannot ifnd it, and-” he put his fingers to my lips to silence me. “Do not lose hope.” I watched as my tears fell upon his hand, but he did not draw it away. When finally I calmed down, he stood up, and waved for me to follow him. “Come,” he said. “come to my own home, and you will see.” I did not know what he meant by that, but I had nothing else I could do. “You will be welcomed there” he said, and I smiled. He wanted to swim there, for his home was right up by the river, he said, but I could not swim. He offered to teach me, but I declined. I did not desire at all to swim in the icy waters of the river. And besides, it was upstream he was pointing. “I will fly.” I said, coming to a decision. “You can swim, and I will follow you in the air.” I knew I could not fly well, but no way was I going to swim, and he did not know the way of the forest. “Very well,” he said, and smiled at me. I shivered. His smile warmed my heart so, but Mami… Mami had said the face of a river elf was decieving. I saw no deciet in his eyes though, so I conceeded to follow him along the river. Flight is a beautiful thing. The air was warm and fragrant, and I soared along smoothly, eyeing the trim body powerfully sliving through the water. A sparrow passed but not 3 feet away. I beckoned to him, and he came and lit upon my shoulder as I flew. I called him Moni and he stayed with me as I landed. Threndiel’s house was in the middle of the river. The river flowed on the left side of it, and on the right side of it, but not under it of through it. I thought this kind of odd, but landed nonetheless. Threndiel smiled and held open the door for me and Moni to pass through. He asked where I had gotten the bird, and I told him the story. He smiled again and petted Moni. Moni took off at this, and flew in circles around the house. We laughed, and sat down to eat. There was fish-cakes, which I had never had before, and rice patties, which I had often. The fish-cakes were like corn biscuts with pieces of cooked fish in them. They were very good, and we were finished eating soon. “Well,” Threndiel began, “should we go find your special place, where the river splits in two?” I thought a moment. “You can stay here while I go and fly high above and look at the river to see the special place.” Threndiel agreed and helped himself to another fish-cake, which he shared with Moni. I flew high, higher than I had ever flown before, and the air was beginning to get thinner. I struggled for breath, and looked for that special place. I had found it at last! I plummeted down to the area to tell Threndiel, and as I descended, I realized. It was at his home that the river split in two! I laughed at myself and how stupid I had been, and I raced in to tell him. When I finally managed to catch my breath and explain it all to him, he nodded and swallowed the last bite of his fish-cake. “I know.” He said, laughing. “I knew THAT!”. I did not think this was funny at all! “Why didn’t you tell me!” I demanded. I pounded my fist on the short table and Moni fell off it. Threndiel only laughed some more. “You know me.” He said. I shook my head, “of course I do! You are Threndiel! I just met you at the river some time ago!” I was getting madder and madder by the moment. Threndiel laughed again. Rolling laughter, like water on stones, he laughed. “ahah, but you have known me longer than that.” He stopped laughing. I was about to scream at him again, and tell him what a fool he was, but I stopped, and thought. Bright visions of days spent sitting by the river with Mami and Papi flew across my eyes. We were watcing the bubbles burst as they hit the rocks. We were laughing, and Mami’s laugh was warm like syrup pouring out of a bottle. And Papi stood up. He had heard a noise in the bushes. We left, and later, when they were busy, I had raced back to the river. There I had seen a small river boy, sitting on a smooth rock and playing his flute. We played together by the river, but I had never known his name. And now I did. “Threndiel,” I spoke, and he nodded, seeing I remembered him. “THRENDIEL! Oh, sweet Elbereth, it is really you!” I threw my arms around his neck, crying and laughing. Sweet tears of joy streamed down my face. He would help me. He would know what to do. Everything was all right now.