After my question, Elrond cleared his throat and with typical elvish poise he strode forward and he came closer before sitting across from me and the couch I was in.
Then he spoke. His voice a smooth song in of itself that whispered of his wisdom and inner kindness. "I named you as a child of Rivendel dropped in front of my own home as you were left with no note, no letter, of any declaration beyond your own divinity. Did you already have a name?"
I paused at his question and then I spoke unsurely. "That name... Is no longer who I am. I belong to a different tune, a different song now. Othorion Taltharion will be a fine name."
Elrond gave a small nod with a smaller smile crossing his lips as he relaxed ever so slightly. Then he took a breath before asking rather bluntly. "Do you know why you were sent upon my lands boy? Even for an elvish child, your mind is swift and you have the mental age of a man in your eyes."
And by the mental age of a 'man' I knew he didn't mean an actual adult male. But of the race of Man itself.
So I was honest. "I... Was of Man, until I was changed into this. Blessed in equal parts and yet cursed with the knowledge as my human age. Is nowhere near the age of adulthood for the fairest of folk."
Elrond sniffed and said helplessly. "The Valar have their goals no doubt. The tides of fate are ever changing, and if they sent you here and changed you. Then you will have a fate most dire indeed."
His brow tightened before he asked curiously. "Then, when you were human, where did you hail? From what land were you born by?"
To which I could only shake my head. He wore a frown as I said honestly. "A land whose song had gone mute. A land where the magic in the tree's and rivers became flat and without glimmering stars. A land in which I cannot return now."
There was a pause before Elrond slowly nodded and then said with some amusement as he looked at the door in which Celestine was almost certainly hovering behind.
"Very well. You are welcome within my home, Celestine will still be your caretaker as I have much to do... And no proper maternal figure to give you the proper guidance a growing elf needs."
With that he stood up with and said easily. "I will watch with interest to see how you grow over the next century Othorion. I do hope you grow into your power well. I will however ask you remain in Rivendel regardless though... As your power radiates to those with the senses and many of whom with those senses."
He drew off with a shake of his head.
And Elrond merely gave me a look before he strode out of Celestine's library with the blond elf quickly bypassing and entering the room after Elrond had left with her coming over and asking quickly.
"Did Lord Elrond press you too hard? I told him that you had only awoken earlier and needed more rest!"
I merely smiled and said softly. "He was just checking in on me."
Celestine took her seat next to me... And then promptly picked me up and placed me back into her lap with her softly holding me around my waist. "Hmph, you are still young and don't know that man's maze of a mind." She grumbled before sighing.
I for one... Kept quiet as I myself was very confused on how to actually act right now.
I was twenty years old sure. But a twenty-year-old elf still only had the mental and physical development of a five to seven-year-old!
Hence why, when I explained I was previously in life of the race of Man. Elrond relaxed at my normal speech and adult mannerisms.
So I just decided to go with the flow. As I DID need help to figure out how to survive in this world... And just because I was an adult in a kids body. That didn't mean I knew how to do laundry by hand.
I didn't know how to read the world's common tongue or the elvish tongue.
To say the least, I did need guidance to say nothing of learning how to walk like an elf and train myself to be as agile as an elf.
'With the agility of an elf... Woudn't that make me perfect for an agility/magic build when I do get into the Lands Between?' I mused to myself thoughtfully.
I rested my head against Celestine's bosom, who then brought back the book and laid it partly on my lap so I could see it before she spoke softly.
"Now... Let's go back to our lesson, shall we?"
And so Celestine continued to slowly read, using a finger to trail where she was reading from. So that I could follow and more easily begin to memorize the letters.
After the reading, Celestine sighed after taking a drink before she said softly. "You... Are not a normal child. I worry I myself am getting too attached entirely too quickly."
I exhaled and said helplessly. "I will try not to burden you Celestine."
There was a pause before my eye's went crosseyed as she poked my nose and I felt a chuckle as her ample bosom bounced against the back of my head.
"Oh don't think I am blaming you. I am merely... A tired mother who has had too much on her shoulders. So having a new ray of starlight is merely confusing for me."
I could only remain silent at that point. As I had no idea what to say.
Then after a minute, she said. "Come now. I still have clothes that will fit you for bed."
As, while I wasn't too physically tired right now. Admittedly, I was rather mentally exhausted as I had been pushing myself to memorize the lettering and words.
So I just nodded and didn't reject Celestine when she took my hand and brought me to the 'privy' or bathroom and explained how it worked.
-
Days swiftly passed into weeks as I got used to my new life in fantasy land with little fanfare or much to go over.
I mean, it was an elvish city. Things inherently didn't change, and yet... If it wasn't for Celestine, I would definitely get lonely as the fading of the elves was all too clear.
At this point, even before the adventurers to slay Smaug. There weren't any other elven children or even 'teenagers' which was why I had been accepted so readily into Rivendel.
As my arrival had brought magic back into the world as my passive divinity leaked into the world. The Evenstar brightened, which meant that in time, more elves could be born as the spark of magic continued.
Until I faded or left for Valinor anyway.
And yet it took me a few weeks but I swiftly realized that as an elf, even as a child, I had... A lot more patience of a sort for the passing of time. I barely noticed the days passing by each day as Celestine brought me around Rivendell to make a life.
Celestine herself worked at times as a handmaid within Elrond's own mansion, and outside of that, she was also a skilled smith, jeweler, and seamstress, though she was more focused on making dresses.
"Tsk!" I hissed as I stabbed myself with a needle made out of bone, with Celestine giggling behind me as she said softly.
"You are being too fast, Othorion. You must tie in the weave with each dive and retraction." She gently advised before she helped me fix the threads I was working on.
As she herself woudn't allow me a child to enter a smithy to learn how to properly smith weapons... So I at least got her to teach me how to sow fabric and make clothes which was also going to be valuable in the future.
As I wanted to make a Spiraltree Seal as soon as possible, as I knew that faith magic was my best bet right now.
All I needed to make it was holy divine divine-oriented wood made into a badge with treated blood dye to make the seal. And all those things didn't require me to enter the Lands Between at all.
Still, such a plan was a way away... Especially because I had a strong feeling that if I started throwing lightning bolts, Celestine was going to cry and bawl at the thought of me going on an adventure and dying as her other two children did.
"Can I work on polishing stones and such next?" I asked with a slight pout at how my finger tip bled, and I made a mental note to make a thimble to protect my finger when I could.
Celestine chuckled before she said kindly. "Of course. This dress doesn't need to be done for another three months anyway. So we have plenty of time."
With that, Celestine took my hand and she brought me out of her small but cozy house built into the cliffs that Rivendell was formed upon.
And we headed down the city with many elves giving me smiles and nods before they went about their immortal business.
Once we got down to the bottom of the small city, I perked up at the sight at seeing the older elf Endinos who chuckled easily at seeing me and Celestine.
"Haa, is the young lad wanting to go fishing again?" He asked Celestine, who sniffed at the thought before she sighed and said with a clear smile I could hear without even looking to her.
"I am sure he does." And she looked down at me and asked. "Do you want to try to fish up some food again?"
The river's surrounding Rivendel were filled with vibrant life and the fish... To die for, compared to the farm-raised fish of my old life that I was so used to.
And the elves did know their spices, which made sense. After living for millennia, it made perfect sense they enjoyed trying new types of food.
"If it's not an issue Endinos, I appreciate letting me borrow a rod to fish with." I said respectfully with the older elf just nodding regally before he went into his fishing shack to bring out a pole that had a metal hook tied to the corded elf hair string.
"You find the bait you need, young Othorion. It is good for you to find your own bait haha." He chuckled at Celestine's disapproving gaze as it was clear she didn't want me to get dirty turning over rocks and such.
Still, I just smiled and thanked the older elf, and with Celestine, we walked a bit down the river casually.
We walked for a good way until we reached a point where the river was calmer and I could cast the line after I found a couple of healthy worms under some nearby rocks.
And with the pole planted upright with a painted cork bobber at the top I turned to Celestine with a smile and asked. "So! What kind of rocks would be good for practicing gem cutting?"
To which she made a humming noise before saying. "Come with me. We are looking for hollow rocks filled with quartz. Once we break open the rock and take out some of the quartz. You can practice gem cutting on the quartz."
She carefully pulled me into the river and we had already removed our leather shoes and our socks so our bare feet were run over by the river's cold water. And I could feel the smooth river rocks beneath our feet.
And so she showed me how to tell the smoother river rocks apart. To find the seams in the rocks to find where inner crystals were buried, along with showing me stones that, if polished and hollowed out greatly, could be used as lamp covers and such.
"Can you make arrowheads?" I asked curiously.
Celestine giggled and said softly. "Of course. I can make stone and metal arrowheads. All elves are taught how to make their own arrows as it's a coming-of-age rite for men to make their own bows, remember?"
It was a good coming-of-age rite when you thought about it. A skilled elven archer was clearly an adult as they could support themselves as a soldier in Elrond's scouts who went to hunt down orcs in the nearby mountains. Or just simply as a hunter.
I made a humming noise as I said quietly more to myself. "I should also ponder on what kind of bow I want."
I had zero idea when I was in the timeline for when Bilbo would roll around, as although I knew the events of The Lord of the Rings... I didn't know like. The dates of when things happened, even if I knew there was such information.
Still for a long moment, I was stuck thinking that I needed to make a Great Bow in order to deal with Smaug in the future... Before I realized it would be literal decades before I was grown up big enough to use such a bow at all.
"Oh... Something is on the line." Celestine said with a giggle as I yelped and shot for the rod, as fly fishing was a pain, and I wasn't going to let my bait be lost for free!