The Silvan (Lord of the Rings-Legolas)[Wattys2016]

Chapter 41: Warrior

Aradan, Rinion and Thranduil sat in pensive silence, a glass of wine in their hands and a far away look in their eyes.

The vote had been favourable to Thranduil's proposal, and Legolas had been proclaimed a lord, but the results of the council meetings had been all too eloquent. The Silvans were rebelling and the Sindar were slow to speak out against Bandorion, not because they sympathised with his beliefs, but for the sake of harmony. And yet that desire had backfired, for the result had been exactly the opposite of what they had wanted to achieve with their silence, for it had been logically misconstrued as complicity. With their reluctance to act, they had forced the Silvans into turning on them. It had gone too long unchecked and Bandorion had grown strong and bold, just as the Silvan and Avarin people of his realm had grown tired and frustrated.

The question now, was how to undo the damage that had been done? Was it even possible, wondered Thranduil? Had he pushed the nation too far with his idleness? With his all-encompassing self-pity?

"The situation is volatile at best," murmured the king as he sipped absently on his wine, refusing to fall into a spiral of self-loathing. He was wise enough to know that he could not have avoided his long years of hibernation.

"Yes. For now they are appeased, albeit Bandorion is shaking the Sindarin warstick. We must look to both fronts now, my King, the purists and the Silvans for I do not doubt that Erthoron is capable of much more than may be obvious to us at this point," warned Aradan.

"Bandorion should not be underestimated," added Rinion as he turned from the window to face them. "He has some interesting points he skilfully embellishes with his rhetoric - it appeals to many of the Sindar at court," he said, avoiding his father's gaze.

"Agreed," said Aradan as he turned to the crown prince. "He tempts them with talk of the olden days of glory; of great battles and famed warriors, of the pride of the Sindar. There are many that would see those days return."

"I would see those days return, in some ways," said the king, "but not at the expense of the Silvan people. They are just as much a part of us, and - they have a prior claim. Indeed I believe it is the same for them; Erthoron himself has said as much. They feel their culture is no longer a part of The Greenwood, that it is being pushed aside, belittled in favour of all things Sindarin."

"Yes, there is that," said Aradan before turning. "We must find a balance, it seems, between restoring our own heritage, and that of the Silvan people. Strike a perfect equilibrium, one that speaks of two great people, people who are different but that are enriched by each other, united in their respect the one for the other, return to the people their sense of belonging, their sense of king and nation."

"Well said," murmured the king.

"In my experience, the Silvan warriors, while good archers and disciplined troops, lack the necessary leadership skills to climb the ranks as well as our Sindarin warriors," said Rinion sincerely and Thranduil saw it for what it was.

"Your experience has been reaped in times of veiled Sindarin dominance. You have not lived in the older days, when the Silvan people were still regarded as equals, when they were ruled by Warlords. It is natural for you to think this way for these ideas have been deeply inculcated in you since childhood. Have you served with trainee Silvan lieutenants or captains?" asked the king.