We’ve been watching The Rings of Power so here’s a little elfy snippet. Hope you enjoy!
That’s No Elf!
The thing about Elves is that they’ve always frightened me a little. Not the way that wolves and their slavering jaws frighten me, or the way that lightning does. No, the way that the waters that fall from the Cliffs of Faith frighten me—a primal, mortal sort of fear that is half awe. In a way, I think they’re meant to frighten us. Ancient and unaging, with magics we’ll never master, the Elves are to us only a few steps away from Gods, so a little fear is only natural. And the thing about natural things, is how jarring it is when they are absent.
When Cillirien walked through the gates of the plaza with the rest of the Elf delegation, I felt right away that something was wrong. He was as beautiful as any of his kin, with long golden hair and sun-kissed skin, dressed in robes the same shade as the sky overhead. He moved with the poise of a born leader, and spoke with a silver tongue as he made his way from table to table, being introduced as the newest member of the Elven High Council. My table was one of the last, sitting as I was with the other pupils and our teacher at the far end of the plaza. Cillirien was still smiling when he reached our table, and took each one of us by the hand, even the youngest among us. When his slender fingers wrapped around mine, I realized with a jolt that I’m surprised I could keep out of my face just what was wrong—he didn’t frighten me.
I watched him all night, his light manner, his laugh, the elegance with which he spellbound all around him, even the other Elves falling for his easy charm. The fear that grew inside me as the hours wound by wasn’t the ordinary body-fear that the Elves inspire in me, but a soul-deep terror as a single thought crystallized in my mind. That’s no Elf.