The Chronicles of Valana Volume 1: Shadowlands
by AB
Chapter 8
Aru'viel nil aru'vial
Norion chuckled. "Yeah, you're amazing. I love you." He said before he could catch himself. However, he did not regret expressing himself to Aer'andil like that, even though they had known each other for barely two weeks.
Aer'andil blushed and brought his lips as close as he could to Norion's ear.
"I love you too." He said in a barely audible whisper.
If Norion was about to say anything it was lost in someone else's voice.
"You two look cute together!"
Aer'andil and Norion nearly jumped out of their skins as they gave surprised yells. Their heads shot from left to right trying to find out where the owner of the voice was.
The room was completely empty. Aer'andil drew the covers over their legs and bodies.
"No, Marco, don't ! You two look great!" The voice said giggling.
"LUCAS! Where the fuck are you?" Aer'andil said somewhere between shock and giggles.
Lucas appeared out of thin air, laughing, "It's a new trick I learned," he said.
"Don' t spy on us! And why can't we see you? I can see Micraal under his magical fleece." Aer'andil said half-joking and half serious.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. I won't do it again, I promise." Lucas said as he sat on the edge of the bed and hugged his oldest, best friend.
Aer'andil pouted before giggling. "Lucas, Norion Anorion. Norion, Lucas." He introduced them, "in other words, best friend meet my Arundiel." He concluded, blushing.
Lucas, being a Speaker, understood what Aer'andil had just said and this made his eyes almost bulge out of their sockets and his mouth hang open.
Norion bit his lower lip and turned Aer'andil's head to his with his hand, tongue kissing him softly but passionately for a few moments. Norion broke the kiss and turned his head to look at Lucas.
"Mine." Norion said, trying to keep a straight and serious face, but soon broke into laughter.
Aer'andil and Lucas followed suit and soon the room echoed with their laughter.
When they had settled down Norion got to his knees and reaching over, planted a kiss on Lucas' cheek, hugging him.
"Thank you, I am grateful to you for taking care of Aer'andil… my… love… in that other world. Any friend of Aer'andil's, is a friend of mine." Norion said seriously.
Lucas swallowed hard unable to take his eyes from Norion's crotch. The boy was naked and his splendor was visible. His lean abdomen gave way to a smooth pubic mound, glistering in sweat from the aftermath of the lovemaking he had just enjoyed with Aer'andil. Just below, it stood his round, thin, and now flaccid, boy-stick. Lucas mentally measured it to approximately almost four inches with skin covering the bulbous head. It nest l ed above his tight pouch that seemed to contain two grape sized balls.
Lucas licked his lips and mouthed a silent "wow". Norion followed his gaze and blushed a pink hue before he lay next to Aer'andil and covered himself with the white linen and cotton bed sheets.
"I'm glad Marco has made new friends here. You look like a great guy to be with… why… ehrr… no, I mean to be friends with!" Lucas amended in haste but Aer'andil giggled and looked at his boyfriend.
"Oh yes, he's great to be with!" He said making Norion hide his face i n Aer'andil's shoulder, as he blushed crimson.
Lucas thought Norion was sweet and looked so adorably cute being embarrassed like this.
Aer'andil pulled his on hand making him yell and bringing Lucas to land next to him, hugging him and Norion both.
Aer'andil had just begun to doze off in the embrace of Norion and Lucas, when the door swung open creaking and Beck and Drake came running in.
Beck jumped on the bed between Lucas and Aer'andil and Drake sat next to Norion.
Norion gave a soft yell of surprise and giggling, slapped Drake's hand away from his naked thigh.
The look on Aer'andil's face could have melted iron.
Drake shrugged his shoulders, innocently, " He is far too cute to not at least have a sample of him… " he said trying to stifle giggles.
Lucas felt the hair on the back of his neck stand to attention as if he had been hit by static electricity. After the training and lessons he had been having with Merol, and other Masters in the, he knew this to be a significant buildup of magical energy.
"Norion is off-limits. He is my Aerundil and we three belong to each other." Aer'andil said in a no-nonsense and matter-of-fact voice.
Beck had felt it too. He mouthed "no" to his twin and shook his head left to right negatively. "The three of you?" He asked surprised, stealing a n uncertain glance at Lucas.
Drake removed his hand from where it rested near Norion's thighs. Lucas felt the energy dissipating as Aer'andil looked at Beck, biting his lower lip mischievously.
"Eh… oh no, not Lucas silly, he's like a brother to me! No, Norion, Tha'ala and me,." He said grinning contently.
Beck raised an eyebrow, "Tha'ala…? WAIT, THAT'S A GIRL'S NAME!" He exclaimed almost yelling.
Lucas had to chuckle as both Aer'andil and Norion blushed.
Drake moved on to all fours on the bed and sat between Aer'andil's and Norion's legs so he could see everyone. "Have you even asked her yet if she wants this? What did she say?"
"No… not yet but we have talked and she is the most beautiful, interesting girl I have ever seen, here or on Earth. I can tell… I can feel it, deep inside me, that all three of us belong together." He said, feeling his cheeks burn as blood flushed them red.
Norion hugged him tightly. Lucas giggl ed but felt slightly envious at his best friend seemingly having found love.
"You should really ask her before making plans." Drake said, looking genuinely concerned.
Aer'andil turned his head to see him looking very calm, "I already know what her answer will be. I can feel it. I can't explain it. I don't know if I understand it myself yet but I can feel it here." He said touching his chest over his heart.
"How…? " Drake asked, now looking a bit more astonished.
Aer'andil shrugged his shoulders yawning, the day catching up to him.
"We should get some sleep. My father will want us to wake early tomorrow for our lessons in the Elven tongue, culture and history." Norion said yawning himself.
"Your father?" Lucas asked.
"Feldon Leolin." Came Norion's reply.
"Feldon is your father?!" Lucas and the twins e xclaimed almost simultaneously.
Aer'andil laughed remembering his own reaction to that piece of news, not two weeks ago.
"Yes, he is and he does not look kindly to late sleepers or being late for the "acquisition of knowledge"" Norion tried not to giggle as he imitated his father's voice.
"Yeah, I have a lesson with Merol as well… I better go to bed." Lucas said. He gave his best friend a hug and got up leaving the room.
"Hey, guys… can we have some privacy please?" Aer'andil asked the twins, trying not to giggle at seeing them horny and wanting.
Beck tried not to laugh as he made the hugest puppy eyes he could, "What? No joy for us lowly sex spirits?"
Aer'andil poked his tongue out at him, "No. And remember your tricks don't work on me!"
"You had no problem with our tricks when you… bummed me!" Drake jumped in giggling.
"Ah… well you do have a nice ass, but no." Aer'andil quipped back looking at Norion apologetically.
"Damn your Elven monogamy!" Beck said causing them all to laugh.
"Goodnight Beck and Drake." Norion told them as they started walking to the door.
Aer'andil was already half asleep when Norion turned and gave him a kiss goodnight.
Aer'andil responded, hugging him tight and reciprocating the soft kiss.
Norion touched his cheek against Aer'andil's softly, enjoying the warmth and affection as well as the smooth texture of Aer'andil's skin.
They were asleep within moments.
As usual, Feldon woke them at dawn break the next day..
"Just… once… not so early… " Aer'andil mumbled as he got up groggily.
Norion wanted to giggle but he too, was not fully awake enough to contemplate any other action than getting dressed.
They walked outside to find a very impatient Feldon waiting for them.
"You're late. Enter the ring, empty your minds." He told briskly them and entered the ring as well.
"Today you are to start learning how to protect your minds from magical attacks aimed at crippling you through illusion, pain and so forth. Guard." He said and before they could utter a word, he closed his eyes and unleashed a mind attack at them both.
Norion stood his ground and closed his eyes for a second before, once again, opening them. It was as if two bright barriers were fighting each other, one red one and one green one. The red one was faintly surrounded Norion whereas the green one pushed outwards from Feldon.
Aer'andil had never before faced such an attack and so was caught completely unaware. The mind attack blast sent him staggering a few steps back. He gripped his temples, almost bent in half from the pain.
He had not felt a pain so intense since Gilthian's torture. If nothing else, this seemed more intense. It was not pain inflicted in or on his body but in his mind and it was a whole new feeling for him.
It was as if something broke inside him. For the blink of an eye, everything went calm. There was no pain, no Norion, Feldon or anything around him, nothing but a presence and an endless void. Then, as if this had not even happened, his spirit spoke to him.
"Concentrate. It is not any different from repelling any other form of magic al attack. The o nly difference is that it targets your mind instead of an element of nature, so use your mind, Young O ne."
"H… how… " Aer'andil stuttered, almost lost in pain.
"Concentrate like with everything else… only here you concentrate on the invisible force attacking you rather than producing a magic spell to attack or defend with. Then push outwards." His spirit explained to him.
Aer'andil tried and tried but he could not concentrate long enough to create a sustainable barrier. Feldon's mind attack kept breaking it.
Then it stopped.
"Norion, you still need to improve your stance but your barrier is improving significantly. Concentrate more, not only in the attack, but also on you and your spirit. Defending against mind attacks is as much about your spirit as it is about you," he said to his son, then turned to Aer'andil and continued talking, "you need to be in harmony with your spirit and channel his or her power to your defense. Out there, you may not know a mind attack is coming so you can't prepare for it but you must be ready at a moment's notice to defend your mind from attacks. This was new, so I expected not for you even to produce a barrier, much less sustain it. We will try again now." He finished speaking and closed his eyes.
Aer'andil closed his eyes and readied his mind. He felt the mind attack come and tried to concentrate on his spirit. The brain blast hit him and he tried to repel it but his efforts were in vain. His barrier could not last and eventually he felt the same feeling again, the same void in his mind and soul. It only lasted a second, before going away.
Three hours later he had made little, to no progress at it. He felt tired, frustrated, in pain and he had had enough for one day.
"Enough! I can't do it… I want to rest." He said stomping his foot on the ground.
Feldon took a breath and looked at him releasing it slowly. "Passionate and stubborn, just like his father, but a person of his own mind." He thought and spoke.
"Very well, we shall continue to build upon your understanding of the Elven tongue then. Go clean up and meet me in the classroom as soon as you're ready." He said and left.
A couple of hours later they were done for the day.
Norion stretched his hands behind his head sitting back on his chair.
"What do you want to do for the rest of the day?" He asked Aer'andil.
"I never grow tired of walking around Glinthala with you. You know so much about the city, Elven history… I just love walking about the city listening to you talk." Aer'andil replied smiling.
Norion bit his lower lip and nodded getting up.
They started walking.
"Any particular place in the city you want to see today?" Norion asked as they exited the palace grounds.
"I was thinking, we… I have never been yet to the House of Memories. Can we go there or you've been before?" Aer'andil asked unable to hide his excitement. It made Norion giggle.
"I've been there before, yes, but I do not mind going again with you." Norion said and started walking towards the road to the House of Memories.
The House of Memories was a large building made of stone and marble with lots of windows bringing light inside. It was built in to the slope of an adjacent hill to Glinthala, about an hour's walk away.
"Here are stored all the memories of our people. Important weapons, manuscripts, anything we want to remember, be it a year from now or a million years from now." Norion explained as they entered the vaulted entrance.
The House of Memories was a series of large rooms with arched ceilings all carved marble and wood, with glass cases or bookstands holding items, books, weapons that held importance to the Elves in one way or another.
"Oh my God… look at that bow!" Aer'andil remarked using a sentence from Earth. "Look at it! It is incredible!"
"It is Malferan's bow of grace, of wrath… depends on whose side you see it from." Norion said and seeing the questioning look on Aer'andil's face, he proceeded to explain.
"Malferan was… still is the greatest archer the Elves have ever known. Nine hundred thousand years ago, only a little while after we had become Elves, the human nation called "Tavari Imperium", declared war on us. It was then the most powerful human nation known to Valana. It s till is considered one of the most powerful human nations to ever rise, at least by those that still remember those elder days. Having become so powerful they thought, mistakenly, that they could defeat us in our newfound powers and abilities.
"To give them credit, they are the only Human army to so far defeat an Elven one. In the fields of Rakerath, today it is called Odrel, back then there were no mountain s or forest s, just low planes and fields. In the fields of Rakerath, the army of the Tavari Imperium stood against the combined Elven army and won the day. King Yelon, commander of the army, routed the host back near the sea to wait for reinforcements and regroup.
"To give the army time to flee, one Elven warrior known for his skill in magic and bow, volunteered to remain behind and cover their retreat. What can one warrior do, you ask? Well Malferan used his bow, arrows and magic to such a level of sublime perfection that the commander of the Imperium's army thought he was facing a thousand desperate warriors. Before he knew of the deception, the army had retreated almost back to the sea. Malferan was slain, as he knew he would be.
"High-King Rimbral sent an emissary to Emperor Gadral with a formal request to the Imperium to return Malferan's bow and body. The emissary's head was the Emperor's response. A tragic mistake as it drove us mad. High-King Rimbral joined the army along with all other Kings of Elves and their honour guards and together they forged a path of blood and steel to the Imperium's capital city. Such was their rage, that after allowing most of the citizens to flee, they set the whole city aflame. High-King Rimbral personally executed the Emperor for crimes against both Elves and men, and reclaimed the bow from the Imperial palace. Unfortunately, as the High-King learned later from one of the surviving military officers, Malferan's body had been left on the battlefield to rot and be eaten by scavengers. In response, and an example to others, High-King Rimbral ordered the execution of every single soldier and officer that had served in that army.
"The bow is one of the most important relics of our people and a powerful symbol of our people's strength and honour in battle." Norion concluded.
"It is so beautiful… " Aer'andil whispered as he gazed upon the carved, bent bow made of wood. It was carved in the shape of two large leave s connecting at their stems.
They spent a few hours in the House of Memories going through each of the items, bookstands and cases. On the top floor, after a lot of talking and walking, they entered another vaulted room.
It was circular with a veined pink marble floor and pure white alabaster walls. Banners hang from the walls. Each of the stained glass windows had different animals which corresponded to the animals shown in the banners. In the center of the room hanging from the ceiling was a banner that had all of the animals of the other banners in it and below it in a glass-encased bookstand was a single book.
"This looks… different from the other rooms… is it more important?" Aer'andil asked as he took a few steps closer to the book, taking in the room and the simple splendor of it.
"This is the most important heirloom of our people. None other can match it." Norion said seemingly not daring to touch the glass.
"What is it?" Aer'andil asked placing his hand carefully on one side of the glass and bending over to better look at the old-looking book.
The book was opened in a page. It reminded him of pictures he had seen back in Earth from old tomes written during the medieval times by monks full of calligraphic letters and sketches. This book of course was not written in German or another language of Earth but in Elfish or at least he assumed it would be.
"It is the pact. Or rather, the book that Glothoin wrote after making the pact with the spirits. The banners and windows all signify the pact of all Elves with the spirits and magic. No one can read it though."
Aer'andil looked at Norion and then back at the book, bringing his face closer to it. He stared at the open pages.
"I… I think I can… " He said after a few moments.
Norion looked at him incredulously. "You can what?"
"I think I can understand what it says… or no, more like I think I somehow… should know what it is written in there… ugh I don't know what to explain it… but for example… that word there… I can't pronounce it but I think in Elfish it would say "person of fire?" or something like that." He said and looked back at Norion.
"I… well you are a direct descendant of Glothoin… maybe your line can read it? Maybe your father already has?" Norion said.
"Dunno… Come on let's go outside." Aer'andil said and they left the room.
On the road back to Glinthala, they heard giggles and soon after Tha'ala with a girl friend of hers appeared. She was wearing a long white and blue dress that came just below her knees with lace endings. Her hair caught behind her head in a bonnet and flowers in various spots.
"Good morrow vil methalii Aer'andil, cthali Norion." She said grinning widely at them, holding her hands in front of her lap. Her friend giggled.
"Hello vil methalii Tha'ala." Aer'andil said back to her and nodded at her friend.
"Where are you two going?" Norion asked.
"We thought to take advantage of the sun and go to Suntop for a while. Where are you coming from?"
"House of Memories. Enjoy the sun." Norion replied.
Tha'ala took a step closer to Aer'andil gazing into his mirthful eyes.
He gazed back at her unable not to smile. He felt so giddy and warm when she looked at him like this.
She took another step closer and turning her head she gave him a kiss on his cheek before stepping back. She grabbed her friend's hand and they run away giggling and laughing.
"Girls… " Norion tried not to giggle but failed miserably.
Aer'andil turned to see them leave and unconsciously brought a hand to touch the cheek she had just kissed.
"Aru'vial Tha'ala," He said in barely more than a whisper and looked at Norion. He knew this to be one of those moments in life that shape it for the future. "Aru'viel Norion Anorion." A look of contentment lay on his face.
Norion's eyes bulged out and he pressed a hand in front of his mouth.
"You should not give your heart-love so easily!" He said.
Aer'andil smiled the sweetest smile he could muster. "I've given it to the two people I seem to love most in this plane of existence or any other. I give it willingly to the two people that I may know very little of as of yet but as it would seem I cannot imagine life without you two nor do I want to."
Norion could feel tears streaking down his cheeks. He hugged Aer'andil tight. "Aru'viel Aer'andil." He whispered to his ear.
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