Homecoming

To my sister, Genesisemo got married like always a font of support and encouragement (Thanks also, Sis, for the poem to let them go home.) and to AFdaughter who loved this story from the first line and kept begging me for more. Glad you enjoyed it and it cheered you up!


I hadn’t intended to return home for another thirty years but my sister’s frantic phone call three days ago changed my mind. She wanted to get married - to a full-blood human at that. The family was refusing to allow her, at least until she passed her coming of age test - Roshtyn Eash Phoosee. Unfortunately, some genetic quirk had rendered us unable to do all but the simplest magic without the other. So I quickly found myself aboard a plane and across the country, renting a Jeep, and eventually walking into my sister’s bookstore.

The bell above the door twinkled merrily as I entered, not the typical strident bong, and I felt the tentative brush of magic across my skin. It identified me as friend and I was able to slip completely into the store without further announcement. My sister wasn’t in the immediate vicinity but I could see a blond head behind some boxes. Unless my sister had grown a foot and dyed and chopped her hair, it wasn’t her. When the head came out from behind the boxes, I could see it was attached to a male body. He did a double-take when he saw me and then grinned, an open, welcoming look. He came towards me, hand outstretched to shake mine. I steeled myself, locking down my shields long before he got within touching distance. “You must be Gavin,” he said, as he shook my hand, strength testing me like most men do. I may not look like much but I can hold my own. For some reason other men equate height with strength and I come up short in their eyes. “Guin told me you were coming and how much you two looked alike but I must say it’s still a shock.”

I nodded politely, not entirely sure who this man was, and asked, “Where is my sister?”

“She’s in the backroom looking for a book.” He turned and took a few steps towards the curtained doorway before calling, “Guin, your brother’s here.”

A shriek, not at all muffled by the curtain, came from the backroom and then the curtain was swept aside and my sister rushed out and threw herself into my arms. “Vin, you’re here!” she cried.

I hugged her tightly, letting my shields drop to envelope her in my mind and allow me into hers. I hadn’t touched another this way since we had separated ten years ago but we easily slipped back into our old link, able to adjust to each other like we had never been separated. “Hey, Vere,” I answered when I could breath again.

The man, almost forgotten in my happiness to see my sister again, tapped her on the shoulder. “I need to get to class, Guin. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Guinevere drew back from me and nodded. “Thanks for your help, Joe. Have a good class and a good day at school.”

He kissed her lightly on the cheek. “It was nice to meet you, Gavin.” He held out his hand to me again and I swiftly locked my shields down before he could touch me.

“It was nice to meet you too,” I replied. Once he had left, I turned my full attention to Guinevere. “So is that the guy you want to marry?”

She nodded, still resting easily in my arms. With her so close, I was able to modify my shields so that I could still read her but was blocked from everyone else. Once again, our unique bond was allowing me to more easily control my magic. “He doesn’t know yet though why I keep putting him off.”

We were alone in the store but I was still leery about talking about our family out in the open. “You haven’t taken him to the Grove yet?” I asked. This was only way I could ask without blurting out what we were.

“I haven’t exactly figured out how to tell him. Its not something you can just exclaim.”

I shook my head. I had refused to find a romantic interest among either the humans or our People but that didn’t mean I didn’t sometimes want one. I fully believed though that my sister should have already told her intended who and what we were. “Don’t you think he’ll wonder when you drop your Glamour? Besides as your intended, he has to be at the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee. I really don’t see our People putting on Glamour for what is one of the most import rites in our lives.”

“I know that, but we have three days until the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee have to figure out a way to tell him. I was hoping you could help me.”

I sighed. There was a reason I had moved halfway across the country despite how much I loved my sister. Sometimes she refused to do things without my help or me being there. I had left partly because I felt she needed to stand on her own. “I’ll be there when you tell him but you have got to tell him yourself.”

“You think I’m an idiot,” she said.

“I didn’t say that.” I had still been holding her this whole time but now I released her and stepped away, needing space to think.

“No, but you thought it,” she accused.

I rolled my eyes. “There’s a reason I don’t want you in my head.” I paced away from her, but kept her in sight. “I don’t really think you’re an idiot, Vere. I just think that its something you should have told him already. I mean there are things he’s going to have to participate in just because he’s your husband. Just think about it. Are you going to marry him in a human church or are you planning a hand-fasting? Do you plan to return your children to the Grove so they can touch the magic? You know you’re going to outlive him, even though your life span isn’t nearly as long as the others. There are things you really need to consider.”

“I have considered those things, Vin, and I know I need to tell him. I’m just not exactly sure how.” As she spoke, she emptied the cash register and locked up the store for the night. “I’ll just have to figure it out.”

“Well for one thing, I think you should show him what you look like without Glamour.”

“I know that, Vin, but I don’t think I can just drop my Glamour in front of him.”

“No. You can’t,” I agreed. She followed me out to my Jeep and got in. “You still don’t drive?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I live close enough that I can walk to work. Joe gives me a ride if he’s around.”

We spent the evening catching up on what was happening in our lives with Guinevere telling me about the People I had stayed friendly with, even after I moved. We had kept in touch by letter once I left, although we hadn’t actually seen each other. Out in the forest it was hard to get Internet access, for some reason the connections didn’t run out that far, so although I kept an e-mail account for when I was in town, I kept in touch mostly by the regular mail. Besides, many of the People had been born long before mail or computers so they were uncomfortable with the technology.

* * * * * *

Guinevere and I were sitting down to dinner with Joe the next night when I felt the pull of a Summons. Apparently, our Roshtyn Eash Phoosee was starting earlier than we had anticipated. The first step of the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee was for the High Priest to send out a Summons to the one taking it. We then had five hours to respond to the Summons or forfeit our chance to become adults. It also meant we forfeited the ability to get married or have children. Until one of the People underwent the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee, they were infertile. If we didn’t answer, Guinevere could get married in the human world but our People would never accept it and she would never be able to have children. Guinevere had planned to tell Joe about our true nature the next day when we went to the Grove, but it looked like our time schedule had been moved up a little bit. In order to answer the Summons, we would have to drop our Glamour. The Summons to Roshtyn Eash Phoosee did not allow any falsehoods to be present and Glamour was considered lying.

Guinevere looked up from the sauce she had been stirring when the Summons hit and met my eyes. I need to tell him before we eat. That way if he doesn’t understand, he doesn’t feel he has to stay, she sent to me.

I nodded. Want me to leave? After spending twenty-four hours with my sister, I almost felt more comfortable speaking to her in her mind than out loud. Still I continued to converse out loud since we had company.

No, stay please. Be my support.

I nodded and settled myself back in my chair. I had jumped when the Summons hit, not expecting it quite yet. Joe had glanced at me but didn’t say anything. Now Guinevere turned off the stove and sat down at the table where Joe and I were already sitting. “I need to tell you something before you go meet my People, Joe,” she started.

“What? You have an Uncle Tony who will be angry if he finds out we’ve had sex before marriage?” he joked in response.

She shook her head. “No, my people aren’t worried about pre-marital sex. This is a little bit bigger than that.” She took a deep breath and I sent reassurance to her. If this guy really loved her, he might freak out at her revelation, but he wouldn’t leave.

“Guin, you’re starting to scare me. What’s so important that you have to tell me before I meet your family?” His voice had lost its joking tone and he was completely serious as he reached across the table and took her hand in his. “Is Gavin a part of what you need to tell me? Is that why you haven’t told me before now?”

“Vin is a part since he’s my brother and one of the People. Look I think the best way to tell you this is just to show you. Its kind of hard to explain.”

“Show me?”

She nodded. “I don’t always look like you see me now. I’m using something called Glamour to hide my true face.”

He nodded, still serious, but obviously willing to hear her out. “All right. Show me.” He didn’t let go of her hand as he spoke.

Our link allowed me to drop my Glamour at the exact instant Guinevere dropped hers. Joe was suddenly sitting at the table with two of the People in all our glory or at least as much glory as two halflings could have.

Joe sat back, obviously in shock. Guinevere sat next to me, still dressed in the jeans and sweatshirt she had pulled on when we got home from the store, but now her hair was a true auburn and shimmered in the light. It had also lengthened, from the shoulder long bob she normally sported, and now cascaded around her ankles. Her eyes weren’t round any more but slanted and a true jade green you just didn’t see in humans. Her ears had points on the end, not as sharp as the full-bloods, but still obviously pointed. I knew I didn’t look much different, although my hair was remarkably shorter, reaching only about halfway down my back. “You’re an elf?” Joe asked, as if he were unable to believe it. “You’re both elves?”

“Well, half-elven anyway,” Guinevere corrected. “Our mother was as human as you.”

“But an elf,” he protested. “There are really such things as elves?”

“And boggarts and ghosts and banshees and all manner of things you’ve only heard of in stories,” I confirmed.

“But an elf?” he repeated.

I wondered idly how many times he would repeat that before he either accepted or left. So far he hadn’t made a move to leave the table but I thought he might be frozen in astonishment.

“We’re just as real as you are,” Guinevere insisted as we both studied the surprised look on his face.

“But an elf?” He looked from Guinevere to me, obviously trying to connect what he saw now with what he knew previously.

I slammed my hand down on the table, annoyed with his repetitive words and inability to move past his shock. Joe jumped at the sound but Guinevere didn’t; although she did turn and glare at me. She had read my intent and was able to stifle her reaction to the surprise. “We’re halflings, half-elf—not full—and half-human,” I ground out, annoyance coloring my words. “Now I realize this is a shock but you need to move past it. She’s telling you this now because she wants to marry you. There are Ceremonies that you will have to participate in as her husband, including the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee. Now if you could just sit there quietly for a moment, we need to answer the Summons.” I reached for Guinevere’s right hand with my right so our magic could join. We could do it without touch but it was easier this way. “Ready, Vere?”

Guinevere grinned and I knew she was as eager as I was to touch the magic together again. Neither of us had touched the magic together for ten years. It was one thing I had greatly missed. We had grown up touching the magic together, training together, and had rarely done magic separately. I had communed with the tress in the forest where I worked, but hadn’t actually touched the magic fully since I before I left home. “Ready, Vin,” my sister answered as we linked out fingers and opened ourselves up to the magic.

It danced down my backbone and through my body, working its way around and down my arm to meet itself coming from Guinevere’s body. The two parts of the magic joined, linking itself through our joined hands. The hairs on my arm stood as static danced across me. Falling into old rhythms, she provided the energy while I provided the focus, catching the Summons and reshaping it into our answer as I read that the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee would start at dawn. We would have to enter the Grove two hours beforehand to begin the rituals. With regret, I finished packaging the return Summons and broke both our link with each other and the magic. Did you get that? I asked before completely dissolving our link.

Dawn. Our family does love their little gestures.

I had to laugh out loud at that. Guinevere obviously hadn’t lost her annoyance with our family’s flair for the dramatic. By starting the ceremony at dawn, we were guaranteed to have the Grove bathed in sunlight and shown to the best advantage by the end of the Roshtyn rash Phoosee. I could see her mentally rolling her eyes. Joe looked at us in confusion. “Our family is a bit melodramatic at times,” I explained. “Our ceremony begins at dawn which tomorrow is 5:26 am. That means we have to get to the Grove by about 3 am.”

He started to get up. “Why don’t you call me when you get back from your ceremony?” he suggested. We can talk then and you can explain to me what being an elf means to our relationship.”

“You don’t understand,” Guinevere responded. “If you’re serious about marrying me, you have to be at the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee. There are parts of the ceremony you have to be there for.”

“I don’t know that I’m ready for that,” he said.

I pushed back from the table. “Look this is a discussion I don’t need to hear. I’m going to bed since we have to leave by 2:30. Vere, I’ll see you then. I’ll drive to the Grove. Joe, I hope to see you when we’re ready to go. Good night.”

I left the room in disgust. I didn’t envy my sister her love but I did not have to stay there and watch it fall apart. I had never had a long term relationship with either one of our People or a human. Any human that I fell in love with would die long before I did. If I fell in love with one of the People, that love would have to watch me wither and die. I had no wish to put anyone who loved me in either position. I had long ago resigned myself to living out my days alone. I was sure I would never find my Anam, my soul mate.

* * * * * *

I was surprised to find Joe sitting on the couch when I entered the living room at the ungoddessly hour of 2 am. I had expected him to bolt once I left the room the night before. The couch had been used as a bed, blankets and a pillow were still in evidence, but I didn’t think Joe had gotten much sleep. When I entered, he was running his hands through his short blond hair and blinking his eyes, obviously trying to convince himself he was awake. He looked up and met my eyes when I entered. “Morning,” he greeted me.

“Good morning. Are you going to the Grove with us?”

He nodded. “Guin convinced me I should at least go. She said if I don’t want her to say anything about us marrying, she won’t, but she wants me there.”

I shrugged, not really concerned if he went or not. It wasn’t that I wasn’t concerned about my sister. If he went and then decided not to marry her, I would be there to heal her broken heart, but I wasn’t going to beg him to stay for her. “Probably a good idea,” I answered. “Is Vere up yet?”

“She went to make me some coffee. I’m not really awake until I have some caffeine. Will I meet your fiancée at this grove?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t have an intended. No one will stand in that place for me. I don’t plan on marrying.”

“Neither did I. It sometimes sneaks up on you at the weirdest moments.” He smiled, obviously remembering something. “Did Guin tell you how we met?”

I shook my head. “She just called and told me I needed to come home because she was getting married.”

“I’m a teacher,” he explained. “Science actually. I’m working on my PhD. Anyway, I needed a book for a student who was struggling with the required reading for class. I wanted her to have our textbook on tape so she could keep up with the class assignments. The school didn’t have the money, so I decided to just buy it myself for her. I went into your sister’s shop and saw her and that was it. I knew I had found the woman I was going to marry.” He laughed. “Guin thought I was insane. My first words to her were ‘marry me’. Once I got over her turning me down, I did ask her out on a date. That was five years ago. I realized after she went to bed last night that what you two told me doesn’t change anything. She’s still the same woman who made my brain freeze up all that time ago. I’m not entirely sure what I am getting into, but I can’t imagine not marrying her. So I guess I’m going to have to get used to in-laws who are mythical beings.” He sighed. “Please don’t hold my first reactions last night against me. Normally I recover from shocks quicker than that.”

I smiled, everything would be all right. What Joe had just described was a meeting of Anam. Even though I was resigned to never finding my soul mate, I was glad my sister had found hers. Life wouldn’t be perfect for them, but they would have a long life together. Looking at my watch, I realized we had to get going or risk being too late. “Vere,” I called into the kitchen.

She came out, snapping a lid on a travel mug. “I know.” She was dressed similarly to me in jeans and a t-shirt although she wore sneakers instead of hiking boots. Joe was also dressed the same, with the added addition of a lightweight jacket.

The drive to the Grove was almost anti-climatic. Joe fell asleep about five minutes into it. Guinevere put a Celtic CD into the player and closed her eyes to absorb the music. I found my thoughts to be elusive as I drove the familiar roads.

I pulled over to the side of the road as the digital clock on the dash changed from 2:59 to 3:00. Guinevere woke Joe up and the two of them followed me down the embankment. The moon was full enough to see the darkened grove before us. We wouldn’t be able to see once we got inside, but that didn’t matter. Despite the hour, I didn’t dare cast a light ball until we were under cover. The grove wasn’t much to look at, merely a large stand of trees. That would change when we crossed from the grove to the Grove.

Under the trees now, I focused my magic and created a light ball, tossing it into the air to light our way. Its color fluctuated for a few minutes, first blue, then yellow, and then an orangey-red before settling on a green that painted our surroundings a sickly color but was at least a steady light. With the light bouncing gaily ahead of us, we walked farther into the grove of trees.

Once we were deep enough in, Guinevere and I linked hands and called the magic to us. In unison we recited the couplet that would open the doorway between this grove and our Grove.

Voices chorus to ask for entrance in,
Our presence known, now let the rite begin.

The magic danced across our skin, almost like electricity. A minute later the grove shimmered around us and a doorway appeared. The doorway resembled an arbor, not unlike what could be seen in a garden. Woodrose vines wound around the arbor, completely covering it. Guinevere took Joe’s hand, careful not to let go of mine, and we stepped through the gateway together.

We exited into something out of a fairy tale. The trees had doubled in size and towered over us. Above us, hanging walkways linked platforms together and swung gently with the weight of people crossing them. The homes themselves incorporated the trees into their design, working with nature; not against it. Ropes and rope ladders provided access to the canopy. A lantern hung near the doorway of each dwelling. All of the lanterns were lit, although they weren’t all the same color. A warm golden yellow signaled that the owner was at home while a colder blue showed a vacant dwelling.

I called my light ball back to my hands and extinguished it since the clearing was well lit. We stood in the center of the clearing, absorbing the feeling of homecoming, and waiting for someone to notice us. It only took a few minutes before some of the younger elves began to swarm down from the trees, eager to see us. They surrounded us, separating the three of us and greeting Guinevere and me with hugs and mind touches. As the first mad rush settled down, I found myself in front of my childhood friend, Amras Telemnar. He grinned and grabbed me in a bear hug, lifting me off the ground. “Ta shiu cheet, Tathar!” he bellowed when he put me back on the ground.

“Carrey jeh scansh!” I returned his hug, happy to see him.

He motioned one of the girls gathered around us closer, and presented her to me proudly. “My betrothed, Eámanë Mithrandír. We will be handfasted at the summer Solstice.”

I smiled in return. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Around us now I could hear the whispers. “The Ceithir are coming. Make way for the Ceithir. The Ceithir come to see the ones who wish to partake in the Rite of Roshtyn Eash Phoosee.”

Guinevere made her way back to my side as the crowd parted to allow the four council members access to us. In the lead were Golradir Narmolanya and his sister, Inwë Narmolanya, the only two siblings ever to serve on the Council together. Behind them came the other two Council members, Mélawen Tîwele and Findecáno Coamenel. Golradir and Inwë were the senior members; they would conduct the Questioning portion of the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee. Normally the Testing of Magic would be done separately, by the junior members, but since Guinevere and I needed to be together to work magic, we would be observed together. As the Ceithir stopped before us, we knelt and bowed our heads. “Who comes before us and asks for Roshtyn Eash Phoosee?” Golradir began the ritual with the opening question. From now on everything that happened would be part of the ritual; if we deviated from it, we could be forced to stop the ritual.

“I, Tathar Cúthalion, come before the Ceithir and the assembled Grove,” I answered first. As first born from the same womb, I would begin all of the answers. We remained on our knees with our heads bowed as we replied.

When I finished speaking, Guinevere gave her answer, “I, Finduilas Cúthalion, come before the Ceithir and the assembled Grove.”

Inwë asked the second question to the assembled People. “Who will sponsor Tathar and Finduilas for the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee?”

I held my breath as I heard the group around us mutter and fidget. If no one agreed to sponsor us, we would be unable to continue. Although I had kept in touch with my friends among the People, I hadn’t been home for ten years. I had serious doubts that anyone would agree to sponsor me. If no one spoke up for me, no one would speak up for Guinevere. The guidelines were clear; if two were presented, two must continue. There was no way for one of us to carry on where the other couldn’t.

Then the voice that had greeted me so cheerfully just a few minutes before rang out, “I will sponsor Tathar.”

As the echoes of his proclamation died away, another voice, female this time, rang out, “I will sponsor Finduilas.”

Inwë clapped her hands twice. “Take the candidates to the Pools.”

We were hauled to our feet and surrounded by our age mates again; then laughing and teasing us, they began to drag us towards the Pools, already reaching for our clothes. I looked back in time to see Inwë stop Joe, and could just make our her telling him, “Peiaghs are not allowed at the Pools during the Cleansing. You will come with us.” The Ceithir surrounded him and led him, protesting, away from us.

At the Pools, Guinevere, Amras, Silmarwen (for that was who had agreed to sponsor my sister), and I were stripped naked and plunged into the cold pool. I had never understood why tradition demanded we bathe in the one cold pool when there was plenty of hot springs available, but I gritted my teeth and didn’t complain as Amras began to scrub me down. I was perfectly capable of washing myself but this was a ritual washing away of childhood that had to be completed by an adult.

When I was deemed suitably cleansed, I was hauled out of the water, given a brief drying, and shoved into a white garment. The garment, which resembled a dress and fell to my ankles, was made of one piece of material with no seams. A length of vine from the woodrose was tied around my waist to keep the front and back together. Long, nimble fingers combed through my hair, making sure to tumble the natural waves into it. Small braids were woven into my hair along the sides of my face to finish the preparations. I caught a glance of my sister who was laughing quietly with Silmarwen as she was prepared the same way. We weren’t given shoes but the ground in the Grove was gentle on our feet.

Ready now for the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee, our sponsors took us in hand and led us to the center of the Grove. The Ceithir had changed into ritual robes, rich with embroidery, and glittering with crystals. More crystals had been worked into their blond hair, making them an unearthly vision. Guinevere and I, with our darker hair, were different from the other People of the Grove. I had never seen another elf with dark hair so I was sure the hair color had come from our mother, but our eyes, that dark jade green, had definitely come from our father. All around us, I could see others staring at us with the same green eyes. As we knelt before the Ceithir, I dared to raise my eyes and speak, “May I request a boon, Honored Ones?”

Golradir nodded. “Speak, child. What do you desire?”

I knew the address was appropriate until we passed the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee, but it was a bit annoying at thirty to be referred to as a child. “My twin and I have lived the last year among the humans and therefore have used our human names. I would like our names from our lives used in the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee.”

A figure stepped out of the crowd and approached us. He bowed to the Ceithir, before speaking, “I ask that you grant his boon, Honored Ones. Their mother bestowed those names on them before her death, and I think it would greatly honor her for those names to be used as they take their first step into adulthood.” He turned to us when he finished his speech, and smiled down at us. “Welcome home, my children.”

Our father had changed in the time we had been away. He was beginning to show his age. His once bright blond hair had faded, becoming white with age, and his eyes did not gleam as I remembered from when I was young. His back was still straight and he held himself proudly. He turned back to the Council once he had greeted us, and waited with us for their reply. They were communicating with each other, blocking us from their silent conversation. Finally Golradir turned to us. “Your boon is granted. From here on, Tathar and Finduilas will bear the names their mother bestowed on them, but will continue to be known as part of their father’s line. Hereafter Tathar Cúthalion will be known as Gavin Cúthalion and Finduilas Cúthalion will be known as Guinevere Cúthalion. We now begin the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee.”

With the ritual words, we were allowed to take our seats on provided pillows to begin the Questioning. Inwë and Golradir took their seats on intricately carved chairs. Each had been formed from a single block of wood and painstakingly carved, with the artist paying close attention to what the tree wanted to look like. The chairs were huge, towering above even the tallest of the People who all stood six feet or taller. Guinevere and I were much shorter, standing at five foot and five feet seven inches respectively, which always made me feel like a dwarf when standing with any of the People. Now we were seated below these giant chairs and I felt even smaller in the grand scheme of life. Inwë and Golradir would recite the questions together; all but the one that requested our future contributions to the People.

“Do you come before us asking to become an adult in the eyes of the People?” The Questioning began.

“I do,” we answered.

“Do you come of your own free will?”

“I do.”

“Do you understand that if you fail the testing of magic, you will be denied the ability to become an adult?”

“I do.”

“Do you understand that you will be called upon in times of need to help the People?”

“I do.”

“Do you understand that you must respond to these calls without reservation?”

“I do.”

“As an adult, you must contribute to the People. What do you bring to the People, both here and in the human world? Gavin as oldest shall be required to answer first.”

I nodded and took a moment to compose my thoughts. “In the human world, I am a forest ranger. I protect the forests of this world and teach the humans about trees and wildlife. I also spend part of each day speaking to the trees and making sure they do not need anything I can provide. I will continue with this as my contribution to the human world. Here in the Grove, I will speak to the trees before I leave and see which ones are ready for dwellings to be built in their branches. I will speak to the ones who already have dwellings and see which ones need to rest now and arrange to have their dwellings removed. I will return to the Grove at least once every two years to commune with the trees and again assist in the placement of new dwellings. Are my plans an acceptable contribution?”

The Ceithir conferred among themselves silently as I tried to shift unobtrusively on my pillow. Despite the padding, I was beginning to feel tired of sitting in the same place and I could feel an ache in my back and rear end from the pressure on them. I laughed silently to myself, causing Guinevere to give me a look, and scold, Try to remain serious. This is one of the most important ceremonies of our lives.

I know, Vere, and I am sorry. I was just finding it amusing that this is a serious moment and all I can think about is how my butt is falling asleep.

Guinevere mentally rolled her eyes at me as the Ceithir finished their consultation and turned back to us. “Arise, Gavin, your plans are a needed contribution and you have passed your Questioning,” Golradir proclaimed.

I rose to my feet and joined Amras who stood to my right. He would guide me when we left the clearing to go to another clearing for the Testing. For now, I would remain at his side while Guinevere finished her questioning.

Inwë repeated the last question to my sister, “As an adult, you must contribute to the People. What do you bring to the People, both here and in the human world?”

My sister straightened in her seat and began her answer, “In the human world, I am a bookseller. I provide a safe haven for children to learn, grow and expand their minds. I carry books in my store that cannot be found elsewhere and spread the myths about the People to protect the People. I will continue to provide education and entertainment to the humans of the world. In the Grove, I can teach the younger People about the human world and how to live within it. I can provide assistance and a place to stay for those People who wish to spend time in the human world. I can provide a bridge between the humans and our People so we may continue to coexist. Are my plans an acceptable contribution?”

Again the Ceithir conferred but Inwë’s response was different when they finished. “Your plans are a needed contribution but we have one final question for you. Are you prepared to answer your final question?”

“I am.”

“You have brought a peiagh, a human, into the Grove to observe one of our sacred ceremonies. This is not something that is commonly done. We, the Ceithir, would like to know why you brought this human with you.”

Guinevere looked over at Joe, who was now standing beside our father, and smiled. “Joe has asked me to become his betrothed. I felt he needed to be here as I became an adult in the eyes of the People so that he could better understand our culture.”

There wasn’t even enough time for them to consult before Golradir was saying, “Arise, Guinevere, you have answered truthfully and you have passed your Questioning.”

As the sun began to rise and light the Grove with natural light, Guinevere took her place beside Silmarwen. The Ceithir led the way as we made our way from this clearing to another one only a few feet away for the Testing and the last part of the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee. We would each have a separate test but would be allowed to assist each other during them. I reached across the gap between us and linked my hand with my sister’s, smiling at her as the People settled onto tree stumps or the ground around us.

In the center of the clearing was a sapling that reached about as tall as my shoulders. It was obviously not healthy though. The leaves were gray, and some were hanging on by just a thread. The branches drooped, and there was just a general air of malaise around the tree. I ached to reach out and touch it, to commune with it, and discover if there was something I could do to help, but I held myself still. I would not touch it until our rite was over or I was given permission.

Findecáno saw me looking at the tree and motioned me towards it. “Gavin, your gift has always been with what nature provides. Step closer to the tree which has been struggling and see if you can assist it in healing itself.”

I took a tighter grip on Guinevere’s hand and stepped towards the tree. Reaching out with my free hand, I lay my hand on the dying tree. Closing my eyes, I reached within myself, touching both the magic and the spirit of the tree. If I failed in this test, I could trap us forever in the spirit of the tree. Our bodies would die when the tree no longer lived and we would never again be the people we were now. I could immediately sense the problem. This tree was in the clearing so it was worried that it would be removed because it was not where other trees were. It also did not get much attention because it was not yet very big. I reassured it that the People had no intention of killing it on account of its location, but if it became a problem, they would move it to a space that would be more suitable. Meanwhile, I encouraged it to dig its roots down deep and reach the good, fresh water deeper down. I also showed it pictures of the children coming and settling beneath its branches on warm days, playing and learning. I placed an image of Guinevere below the tree also, with the children beside her and learning about the humans of the world. Now that it had a reason to want to live, I touched our magic again and began to heal the damage neglect had done to it. It took a little time but soon the sapling was straightening and its leaves took on a healthy green color. Satisfied that there was nothing else I could do for the tree, I shared the pictures of what I had shown the tree with Golradir and got his agreement to see that the plans would be carried out. Finished with my part of the testing of magic, I stepped back from the tree and allowed Guinevere to take her place in front of me.

Mélawen came forward now, to give Guinevere her task. “As an adult, you will share knowledge with the People about the human world. Now I ask you to open your mind and share with all the People some of the things you know of the human world.”

I grounded myself and opened my mind so my sister could pull whatever she needed from me. Already grounded in our link, I had a ringside seat as she shifted through memories, picking out ones to share and locking others away behind tight shields. If Guinevere failed in this test, she could leave us both locked within our own minds, forever reliving our memories. With permission, she gathered some of my memories to share with the People. With the thoughts for sharing foremost in her mind, and everything else locked behind her shields, Guinevere opened her mind and flung the memories out to the People.

The memories started early: excursions with our mother, when she was still alive to visit places that she knew as a child, college classes and fun for both of us, separating at the airport when I moved to Washington state to work, and then reuniting again just a few days ago when I came home. She shared her meeting with Joe, her joy in interacting with her customers, and being a part of the community. She took my memories of being alone in the woods, of teaching campers the correct way to set a site without disturbing the environment too much, and of ranger gatherings where we enjoyed our own company. Then she showed images of what she hoped would happen; her and Joe’s handfasting with the People around and then a wedding with his family and their friends in attendance, children that they would raise with knowledge and love of both the People and the humans, gatherings where I came home to visit and the People celebrated the continuance of life. I could feel her satisfaction coloring the link as she carefully closed the images down and sealed the link between the People and us.

Speaking as one, the Ceithir proclaimed, “Gavin and Guinevere have proven they have magic to support the People. They have agreed to abide by the regulations of the People. With this we declare the Roshtyn Eash Phoosee complete and welcome Gavin and Guinevere as the newest adult members of the People.”

A cheer went up from the assembled People as the words were passed among them. New clothes, adult clothes, were brought forth and we quickly found ourselves stripped again and helped into them. More comfortable now that I wore breeches and a shirt, I allowed myself to be passed from person to person and hugged and kissed in celebration. Food was brought out and tables assembled. The atmosphere quickly changed from solemn to celebratory. I allowed myself to be pulled into the celebration but quickly found myself overwhelmed. Slipping away, I scurried up one of the rope ladders and took refuge on a walkway.

As I stood on the walkway, staring down at the People celebrating our adulthood and my sister’s betrothal, I realized I was happy to be back here in the Grove. When I grew too old chronologically to perform my duties as a forest ranger, I would return here to my friends and live out my life happily. Content in my decision, I grabbed the rope next to me and slid down it to join the party.



The Gaelic in here translates as:

anam—soul

roshtyn—attain, reach, arrive, come within, accede, arriving, reaching, accession to power

eash phoosee—marriageable age

peiagh—human

ta shiu cheet!—hello

carrey jeh scansh—friend

ceithir—four

The translations came from: http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/search.html

The Elvish names came from this site: http://www.chriswetherell.com/elf/. Very awesome translator site. Go find out your Elvish name.