Tomas nodded. To those who had always lived in Elvandar, the elves who lived to the north of the Teeth of the World, the glamredhel, were barbaric, almost primitive, while the ocedhel, who lived across the ocean, were almost too human in their ways. ‘I can see how they would become alien to us.’
‘Yet they are still a part of us,’ said the old eldar. ‘They have lore that is lost to us, as we have lore lost to them. For us to join with them in some fashion would benefit us both.’
Tomas looked dubious. He knew much of what that lore contained from his memories of the ancient Dragon Lord, and some of it deserved to remain lost. This caused him to consider something else and he asked, is he concerned by my presence?’
‘Perhaps,’ said Acaila. ‘Gulamendis asked questions about you, but no more than any newcomer. His fear and curiosity are balanced. No, there is something else he fears more than the prospect of your Valheru nature asserting itself and establishing dominion over his people.
‘In fact,’ said the old elf with a wry smile, ‘though he tries to hide it, he believes that you would fail if you tried. These people, I think, are arrogant to the point of believing themselves to be the supreme race.’
Aglaranna said, ‘That has never been our way.’
‘Not your way, Majesty, but it is the way of the moredhel.’
Tomas nodded and the Queen said, ‘I must admit that is so.’
‘The moredhel were menial house slaves forced to build the abomination that was Sar-Sargoth, for their masters, and its twin, Sar-Isbandia for their own glory, ages ago,’ Acaila reminded.
Tomas shook his head. ‘You lead me to think we have encountered a race of eldar with the ambitions of the moredhel.’
‘Not quite,’ said Acaila. ‘That would be too simple; these elves, these Star Elves, have become something even more dangerous. From what he has said, Gulamendis is representative of these people. They are physically bigger, and I think have strength far in excess of our own.’ He smiled and nodded at Tomas. ‘Your own being the exception, my lord.’
Tomas nodded, his expression indicating it was of no importance. Despite his majestic abilities, he was without vanity. He had endured too much and caused too much pain to others coming into his power to consider himself anything other than the luckiest of beings. Finding forgiveness from those he wronged had made him profoundly humble.
‘More,’ said Acaila, ‘his magic is . . . dark.’
‘How so?’ asked the Queen.
‘I have not seen him employ any spellcraft, yet there is power in him. It’s hidden well, but it is there. He asks questions. He is insightful, perceptive, and has a keen mind, yet there is something about him that troubles me.’
‘Me, as well,’ said Tomas. ‘He brings danger.’
Both the Queen and Acaila looked at the warleader. Tomas said, ‘I don’t think he is a danger, but there’s something he’s hiding, something that will be a danger.’
The Queen said, ‘He is strange.’ She paused, then added, ‘There is no sense of kinship when he is before me.’
Acaila nodded. ‘The taredhel have changed far more than any of our kin during their time out among the stars.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘Although he does seem enthralled by our great trees; he calls them "the stars" at times. When he is not with the Spellweavers he wanders the forest floor, touching the boles, almost as if he doesn’t believe they are real.’
Aglaranna said, ‘We may be as strange and unexpected to him as he is to us. We think of ourselves as unchanged since the time of the Chaos Wars, but that is probably not true.’ She looked at her husband, knowing Tomas had memories of those days.
‘You are a stronger, more noble people, more at one with the world around you. You have risen.’ He looked back over the forest below. ‘These taredhel have risen, too, but in a very different fashion.’
‘He talks of cities,’ said Acalia. ‘Great cities of stone and glass, with massive walls and sky vaulting towers: elven cities.’
Aglaranna said, ‘That sounds strange to my ear.’
‘He hides things,’ said Acalia, ‘but also speaks of things he assumes we already know, like their Spellweavers who work with rock, stone and mud as ours work with the living magic of our forest; others who command fire, water, and air.’
‘Elementalists,’ said Tomas. ‘I remember.’ He looked out over the forests again. ‘When the Valheru were gripped by the madness of Drakin-Korin, and built their first city at Sar-Sargoth, they gave that magic to their chosen builders.’ He turned to see the Queen and Acaila looking at him intently. He smiled. ‘You don’t think the Valheru dirtied their hands by helping to build that city, do you?’ he asked wryly.
Acaila said, ‘What happened to those who build Sar-Isbandia?’
Tomas shrugged. ‘Those who remained here, those who became the moredhel, lost their arts. Their magic users have never been a strong presence, or a threat to us.’ Tomas paused, then said, ‘What this says to me is the taredhel may be more moredhel than edhel.’
Aglaranna said, ‘We are all edhel.’