FRAGMENTS FROM THE HISTORY OF DALÁR

written down by Katerine Trend,
daughter of John Trend
and elfa Elariel Elanseili

s it is known, Dalár Elves have no chronicles, and why should they, when they always have Alleon the King of Drellain who can tell the history of our world as he had seen it with his own eyes; and when he is not available, Elanseili always can help them, who is even one generation older than the King. But yet I dare to write down some stories from those that Alleon told me when I lived in Idris Castle of Eltanor Woods, because even my mother may happen to be far from me when I will have to tell to my child why everything is thus and not otherwise. On the matter of the writing: according to something I will tell later, it means for Elves a great lot; but the reality of recorded history simply does not interest them, and this is why I have never seen Elvish chronicles, though manuscripts of fiction and belles-lettres I have read very many.

THE CREATION OF LAYD

n the beginning there was not a thing. Then the Author wrote himself and came to exist. He was lonely, and no one was there to address to him, and no one there was for him to address to. So the Author took to create the being in order to fill the eternity, and he created light, and darkness appeared by itself. And he created hard bodies of the worlds and fire ones of the luminaries, and the space between them appeared by itself. And he saw that whatever he created, the opposition to it appeared by itself out of the creation, and he liked it. So he understood that he knows with what to fill the eternity, and he took one luminary and one world to settle it. The Author wrote for this world water and air, rocks and soils, and he lit in its heart a fire that the future life would not freeze. And he created metals and minerals in the bowels of the world, and let the fire out through high mountains, that the fire would not smother in the heart of the world. And the Author stepped aside in contemplation.

e thought of living creatures who have nothing except their very life, of those feeding on sunlight and water, of hard and soft injudicious living creatures, subjects to the wind; and, having turned to his world, he saw that the world is covered with grass and trees. Then he took to create various flowers and grasses, all kinds of trees and bushes, that the world would please the eye with diversity, and he created high trees and creeping ivies on the land and seaweeds in the ocean. And again he paused in contemplation.

nd he was sad that the living created by him cannot move otherwise than by will of wind and waves, and he thought of other living creatures that would be able to move around the world by themselves, and he created fishes in the ocean, birds in the skies and the beasts on the land. But fishes took to eat each other, birds took to hunt fishes, and beasts – one another and birds, and the Author was amazed how the being changes his project. And the Author thought that the world written by him has its own will that differs from his own, Author's wish, and he was sad that this world possesses not a tongue to speak with him. And he created for himself beautiful body on two legs that was able to walk and to speak, and an animal upon which he could ride across the world for to see it closely, and he called himself: Alleon, and the animal he called Horse. And he embodied himself in the body that he created, and he saddled Horse and rode his world from North to South

nd he saw the ice on the northern top of the world, and the ice was beautiful and shone blue; and he saw the plains with low small trees bent down by the wind, and long-legged stags with branchy horns, and winding rivers slowly flowing to the ocean, and low hills covered with high grass and little forests, and upon the highest hill he dismounted, and stood there looking down at the line of the hills flowing one into another, and the wind played with his hair and pearly mane of the horse. Having again mounted on Horse and riding southward, the Author saw high mountains enclosing little woodland country cut throughout with three big rivers, and in the middle of this country again he dismounted and, raising his head, looked at the trees created by him, and they were beautiful. And for the third time he sat on his Horse, and Horse took him southward, to the Southern Mountains, closing the ring around little country, and there, in the mountains, he stepped upon the earth for the last time, watching snow-white tops of the surrounding mountains and blades of the rocks. And here his body created by him could no more contain his fiery spirit, and dissolved together with Horse, and the Author again was where he have been before, that is everywhere. And where his feet thrice touched the ground, there grew three great trees full of his fiery force: Northern tree, mighty oak, whose leaves shone on all the Land of the Hills, Middle tree, giant elm that was seen from every point of the Woodland, and Southern one, hidden from the people of the world by two high mountains, but reaching their tops - great mountain pine with long pitchy needles. The trees arose above the world and enlightened it with the light of the Author, and he looked upon his world and was delighted, and he gave to it a name: Layd.

THE CREATION OF DRELLAIN

he Author looked at the world and saw that his living creatures are growing old and dying, loosing hair and feathers by the course of time, eyes are getting blind, bodies weakening; and he pitied poor animals, but the creation could not be changed; and he conceived an immortal thinking people whose deeds would please him for ever; but even when his people were ready to appear there, where his feet stepped, he hesitated, and he decided to wake them not in the blessed valley between the mountains, but in other land, over the ocean, rich with metals, minerals and growth, that in their being would exist a notion of movement. And then they awoke there, in the forest, among the high conifers – ten boys and girls with long hair of different colours – they saw each other, looked around and sang praise to the world that have greeted them with sweet morning sun. And they turned to each other and gave names to each one of them, and since that moment they begun to live, enjoying the world.

© Katy J. Trend, 1996