Goodness, I wrote this a while ago.  I used to write about elves a lot, although ever since LOTR came out, I haven’t had much of an urge to include elves in any major role in my fantasy worlds.  Some day I will edit this and make it better, but until then….uh…this is it.

I created the world and all its characters.  And here is the prologue….

Creation

Long before written word appeared, songs were sung and passed down through the generations by the elves.  The elves loved music; they prized it above all else, even the land in which they lived.  A land that was young and beautiful.  A land that had not yet seen war, death or turmoil.  A land of magic and laughter, love and charity.

In this time, long ago, lived a young elf called Alomawyn by his peers.  His love of music far surpassed that of his community.  So much so that the young elf vowed to devote his life to music and learn the songs of old.  He yearned to learn all the songs that had been sung since the beginning of time and set out on a great journey to discover the lost ballads.  His search led him far and wide and he travelled for many years, living only for the scent of a tune.

It was during these travels that Alomawyn stumbled upon a strange tune.  It was during the early years of the forest, for an elf’s’ life is eternal, that Alomawyn discovered the hint of the greatest song ever sung.  A song so powerful that it was this song, which brought about the creation of the world.

Indeed, this song was so powerful that the young elf who sang the verses knew not what she was singing and not the effects of the song.  How she even came to know the song was a mystery, it was her destiny to utter the words and she did.  Alomawyn happened upon her in a sunny glade of the great forest.  The great forest, in those times, encompassed all of the earth, giving way only to the great rivers.  He had heard her voice from a great distance, barely more than a whisper, but the beauty of it had drawn him like a bee to a flower.  She sat on a low branch of a mighty tree, her eyes were closed and she seemed almost asleep except for her moving lips.  He stood at the clearing, entranced by the music around him.  Like her, his eyes were closed and he breathed in the sounds more than he heard them.  The music was everywhere.  It was in the trees, the grass, the sky, and the air.  It was in her and it was in him, for it was his destiny that also brought him to this spot.  Their fates entwined and combined in purpose, one soul to share.

Abruptly her song ended, for the part suited to her voice was finished.  It waited eagerly for the next words to be uttered and Alomawyn fell to the earth, weeping for the loss of such a beautiful sound.  Around him everything seemed changed.  The sun seemed paler and the forest was no longer teeming with colour and life.  In truth while he had stood, entranced, more than a year had passed.  He felt no difference, for the song had sustained him and prevented him from growing weary.  The elf in the tree also appeared disoriented and blinked as if first awakening.  Then their eyes met and she smiled, knowing her soul mate had at last appeared.

From thence Alomawyn felt nothing but desire to hear the song again and again.  She filled his mind and the song, his heart, he was no longer wholly himself, he was now a tool of Destiny.  He had a great mind for music and had indeed remembered every note of every song he had ever heard.  This song was no exception.  Immediately he set out singing, a different pitch than hers, but equally beautiful.  She trembled as his voice rang out, echoing throughout the land, longing to join with him in song.  Her voice joined his, soaring into the highest pitches and they blended so perfectly in harmony as to become one.  The song rang throughout the earth, spreading like fire through the great forest and all who heard it were struck mesmerized where they stood.

Years passed and Alomawyn and Esmilyn, both living in the song could not stop it, nor would they have tried if they could.  They sang together, meshed into one being, living only for the music and the life that came with it.  The magic flowed from the song, spreading around the world, bringing great change to the land.  The rivers flowed together, becoming mighty oceans and eating into the land greedily.  The trees withdrew from the banks as the oceans poisoned them with salt.  Great mountains rose from the earth, and new animals were born.  They filled the skies, the waters and the land.  Dominating and destroying, perishing and ever changing.  For many hundreds of years they continued the song until at last, used up by the magic, they fell as one into a great chasm opened by the magic.  The legends tell that they fell forever, indeed, are still falling today, forever entwined in spirit.

From the place where they fell sprung a trickle of water.  The water flowed, engulfing the chasm and filling it to capacity before overflowing and flooding a path through the forest, opening up into a wide tributary full of the purest, most sustaining water possible.  It was this water where they first appeared, the ones who would claim the earth, dominate the beasts and bend the land to their will.  They thrived in its waters, growing strong and sapient.  They soon began to rove further from the water, searching for more they could claim, destroy, murder and pollute.  The waters healed themselves and ran pure once again, withdrawing from the service of man.

The whereabouts of the stream were soon lost, as those it begat moved on to populate the earth.  Yet it was much sought after, but always elusive, for only those with a pure heart could discover it’s location.  A pure heart, untouched by cruelty or malice, striving to fix what once deviated from its path. 

Thus, my children, is the beginning of the age in which we live.  My tale draws to its conclusion, for nothing but the future remains to be controlled by destiny.

The gnarled old man concluded his tale and the listeners were silent.  Who can tell the thoughts of children, whether they listened and believed or scoffed in private.  The elders had long since stopped believing, but he treasured the story still and strove to implant it in the mind and heart of at least one.  Then his mission would be complete and the tale would survive yet another lifetime.  He smiled.