The Elven brothers, Part VII

     The sun seemed brighter somehow in this espel city, like Menel himself was shining upon them with his favor. Nysrelor was unchanged by the heavenly sight but Aluim felt the eminence of the sky above him and the overpowering serenity that surrounded the place and his face shined with the glow of Menel. Never before had he seen the Father as he did now, it was as a living, breathing being here, a real presence and never ignored. Aluim began to believe that if the sky was to fall this place would tumble with it.
     As they reached the silver gates that surrounded the tower, a grey old espel peeked out from behind the door. His opalescent robes that swam around his body seemed to pull themselves right out of the sky itself as did the tower. He had kind blue eyes and a grin that edged on silliness but to Aluim it seemed to fit the elf quite well. He grinned back and the old elf raised his hand in a warm wave.
     "Aaye!", the elf called to the duo on the horse, "Amin elea tanya vys caela brought amin an ot swyrel, Nysrelor." Aluim noticed at this point that the old man was not espel at all but a swyrel like himself. His hair must have been golden in his youth although it was greyed now but his cool blue eyes were as bright as any Aluim had ever seen. "Mani naa vys name ot one?", he asked.
     "Amin Aluim Aster dan sir", the young elf answered in a jovial tone, "May amin ask ya vys naa?"
     The old swyrel smiled once again and shook his silver head as he let out a friendly chuckle. "Tanya naa a dan question dear Aluim", he said, "Amin am vys teacher but vys can call amin Jondadin."
     Aluim liked this old elf and had it not been for a nagging feeling of forgetting something, he would have loved to spend a great while in the hidden city of the ancestors.
     "Veldren!", he blurted out as the thought came to him, "Amin need amin brother!" A vision of nervousness found its way to his face.
     "Quickly", Nysrelor urged the old swyrel, "Take ho a' i' orb ar' shoe ho Veldren." The old elf nodded and Aluim was swiftly taken within the tower.

*      *      *

     Marylvin stood with his nose directly in the face of the biggest human and growled like an angry bear before he spoke, "Vys naa intruders e' our glade. Vys nae na punished pa vys intrusions." His eyes glazed over as the essence of the earth permeated his soul. Veldren watched with thick anticipation as the scene unfolded. He began to have the distinct feeling that it would all end soon whether it be by the sword or some strange magics.
     "Namaarie, otmenas...", Marylvin smiled as a sudden swarm of bees assaulted the unwanted visitors, "Do nys come back, vys hear?"
     The sudden onslaught of angry insects pummeled the group of human knights so unrelentlessly that they barely had the wits about them to escape, but in time the glade was sent back to its original living solitude. The gathered arael sent up hoots and calls into the air, giving praise to the Mother and her eminent wisdom. Veldren was quite confused at this unforeseeable ending and was quick to question Marylvin.
     "Marylvin", he said quietly in the arael's pointed ear, "Mankio did lye nys just gurth sen? Sen intruded upon lye glade ar' know manke lye naa nooti."
     The arael's ears perked up at his query and he swung himself around to face the young swyrel. "Naa sen fyln?", he asked him with a confused look in his eyes. Veldren gave him a mirrored look of confusion in response and he continued with his speach,"Mankio would lye gurth sen if sen naa dan? Do vys gurth dan things? Sen naa just too curious pa sen own dan, amin think. Do nys worry vysself over tanya, ta nae na shown to vys in time."
     Veldren seemed to understand but still had a few doubts in his mind. "Sut do vys know tanya sen naa dan?", he asked, thinking himself clever for the question. He totally expected Marylvin to be stumped but there was no pause before he spoke again.
     "Does tanya matter ot swyrel? Amin do nys know tanya sen naa fyln", he smiled knowingly as Veldren's face shifted from an odd pride to an awed dumbstruck. In that moment something sunk in, what that was Veldren was yet to find out.