LotR - Rise to War {LegoRomance}

L: White Gems of Lasgalen

Woodland Realm, 3019 TA, February 29

The king of Mirkwood sprang off his mount. The ruler of the Woodland Realm could not ride a less magnificent creature. His elk was the father of the majority of Woodland's animals. He was more powerful and swift than any stallion. There was neither a human nor an Ellon who could will it. Only Elvenking was able to acquire him as a friend. He moved closer, staring upward at the statue of his wife. It was filthy and littered with fallen leaves and roots. He knelt beside her statue and pressed his hand on it.

There was no tomb for her son or husband to mourn, although Thranduil had a statue of her likeness posted at the Elven gate. No corpse was ever located, and her ashes were scattered by the cold wind. The majority of Mirkwood was shocked when word spread that the Queen had been slaughtered by orcs on Mount Gundabad. There were several rumours and chit-chat regarding her demise, but never any facts. How did the Queen die, and how did the King know she had been slain without a corpse to prove it?

Oh, but he knew it, in the most bitter way, a father should ever face.

He recalled the day he had ridden to Erebor to meet with Thrór to ask for a share of all the gems and gold that the King under the mountain owned. White Gems of Lasgalen. The White Gems of Lasgalen were fashioned by the Dwarves of Erebor for the Elven-queen of Mirkwood. That winter day of 2550 TA, March 1st, Thranduil had reached Erebor bargain what it would cost him for the dwarves in Erebor to craft a special necklace of the White Gems of Lasgalen.

He never knew the real price that he would have to pay.

Thranduil was never given back the necklace that he had commissioned from Thrór for her. Because upon his return he had found out, that the Queen had ridden out with Legolas and two of their guards. The prince proudly wanted to travel with his mother in the Lake-town, and the Queen agreed. Esgaroth was a community of Men upon the Long Lake constructed entirely of wood and standing upon wooden pillars sunk into the lake-bed, the town was south of the Lonely Mountain and east of Mirkwood.

Legolas discovered that Esgaroth had one of the biggest metal arrows capable of killing dragons. It was an offer made by the Elvenking himself after he was burnt by the fire dragon, and he would ensure that the cities around his kingdom received these arrows as gifts. However, most did not accept his gifts; only the men of Esgaroth accepted and installed the whole bow that could fire arrows from a great distance.

Archery had always been the most essential aspect of his life, and after discovering the existence of the arrow, he wanted to see it. He was aware that asking his father would get him a frosty glance and a penalty for greed. Thranduil doted on his son, yet he refused demands for the young prince to travel. Especially since more terrible creatures had begun to appear on his doorstep and his world had gotten darker.

However, as a traveller, Eleyewn had never denied her son permission to explore the unknown. And when Legolas invited her to accompany him on a little excursion to Lake-town, she consented. It was a typical day for a mother and son to ride across the Woodland Realm until a band of orcs severed the roads. Those were warrior orcs from Mount Gundabad, sent specifically for the Elvenking upon learning he was riding to Erebor.

The orcs never found the King, instead, they found the Queen and the Prince. The guards were slain immediately, and the Queen and Legolas were captured, after a long fight. But were not strong enough to deal with a large group of trained Orcs. They were brought to Mount Gundabad and imprisoned for weeks there. What exactly had happened inside Mount Gundabad no known really knew.

Only Legolas.

Thranduil had used all his resources, troops and allies to find his family. Those were the darkest days he had ever witnessed. He managed to find a very broken and injured Legolas outside Mount Gundabad. His son narrated to him through most of the torture he had seen his mother go through and spoke less about his own. But he was sure about one thing, the orcs after torturing them for weeks had slain the Queen and eaten her. They made Legolas see all of it, knowing it would break his young Fëa and Hröa (soul and body).