Eastward Bound 3/4

DanMachi: The Dragon's Return

Hey, everyone! Thank you for the reviews. Please enjoy the next chapter and leave your reviews! I value the feedback! Also, I feel that it would be correct to say that this chapter begins the group arcs, considering that Lefiya's group and Tiona's group parted ways last chapter. Happy reading!

(Musical inspiration comes from LOTRO's "The Hollin Gate" and "Ered Luin.")

Chapter 12

Eastward Bound

Part 3

The Alv Mountains

…

Of all the tales told by the gods of the mortal races in which grief and tragedy abide, there are yet some in which hope blooms eternal. And of all of such tales, the most wonderous is the tale of the making of the (1) Elemmίrë, the star-jewel, which is also called "Stone of the Alfheim," which a young elf-prince named Alv gave to the spirit, (2) Harmonia, who was called "the daughter of the gods," as a bride-price.

In the ancient times before Babel, and during the great wars between the mortal races after their downfall to Enyo, the monsters of Sheol began to push the mortal races to the brink of their extinctions. In that time, there was a princess of the elves, whose forest was burned in the wars, who was captured by humans. Yet there was a young soldier who bore no love for the wars between the mortal races, and he set the elf-princess free. When the young human helped the elf-princess escape, she gave him a single night of passion in exchange for his bravery. But those humans the young soldier betrayed pursued them, and the young human sent the elf-princess away so she might live.

Exiled from her homeland and on the run, she fled until she came into the protection of another elven forest. It was there that she gave birth to a half-elf son she called Alv. But her kin shunned Alv, for they called his blood tainted with the blood of humans. But the mother would not hear the jeers of her kin for the boy, for she loved him and the memory of the human that saved her.

But one day she fell ill, and death took her, and Alv was driven from the forest of his kin. Hated by humans and elves and hunted by monsters, Alv fled south eastward, not knowing where his feet would carry him, until he came to the place of sacred mountains where Celestia one stood enthroned upon Gaia. But the mountains were near to Sheol, and the young elf was forced to cross them to escape the hands of the monsters of Sheol.

He knew not where his feet took him, nor by what strength he pushed forward, but came into a great hidden valley that the mountains encircled, and to a golden forest that the winter did not touch. And when he collapsed from his weariness, he heard singing that he was sure was the voice of goddess. The power of the voice urged him on and recovered the hurts of his body, and when he came through the bushes, he saw a girl under the flowering trees, and all the forest would still to hear her voice.

And a spell fell upon the heart of Alf, and he loved her despite not knowing her name. And when he called out to her, she looked upon him with wonder, and their dooms were sealed upon their meeting. Long they spoke together, until the dawn would break again the next day, and he called her Harmonia, for she brought peace to all things around her. But she would disappear when the morning light came, and longing would fill the heart of Alv so that he would daily practice music to please Harmonia.

Now there came a day when Zeus peered from Celestia into the Lower World, for his heart was heavy with grief for the mortal races. And when set his gaze upon the realm of the mortals, he spied Harmonia singing and laughing with Alv, and his heart grew in wonder and in hope for the mortal races. Thus Zeus humbled himself, and beseeched the High God to save mortal races.

"I have seen their plight," Zeus heard the voice of the High God in his heart, "and I have given ear to their suffering. A little longer shall the yoke of their suffering bind them, but the gift I have given them shall be their hope: for there is nothing they cannot do which they have set their minds to. Behold! Their free will makes them like unto you, but they are only free to act within their natures. From the greatest to the lowest, all are but my instruments in glorious things not yet imagined. Therefore, I shall fashion a sword out of you that shall break their yoke, and from the fires, as brilliant as lightning, shall they be reborn."

So the High God sent Gabriel to Zeus, and Zeus, desiring to test the strength of the mortal races, sent Gabriel to Alv. Yet when Gabriel came to Alv and Harmonia, the Titan separated the two and Alv bore his blade against the Titan. But Gabriel laughed and blew upon the sword of the half-elf prince, and Alv's sword shattered.

"Dark have been your days!" Gabriel laughed again. "And darker still shall be your journey ahead. Though impressive you might be, the divine have not seen you worthy. Therefore, if it is your wish to seek the hand of Harmonia, then with the blood of a god you must pay."

And when Gabriel left their sight, Alv and Harmonia fell into each other and wept bitterly, for they knew not how to complete such a task. But Harmonia revealed to Alv that the mountains that encircled the valley were the tallest the world had seen, and that the gods named them sacred. Thus Alv climbed the mountains alone to their highest peak, and cried out to the gods, calling them craven for abandoning the world to monsters. A woman, a Seraph, then appeared to Alv, bathed in starlight, but she would stare at him in silence, and with pity in her eyes. And lifting her hands towards the heavens, a crystal sword appeared before her.

"Sheol. Enyo is the fallen goddess that dwells there," the woman spoke softly to him when she gave him the crystal sword, and she disappeared from his site.

Thus Alv descended from the sacred mountains and went westwards to Sheol, and monsters fled from crystal blade of the Seraphim that were not slain in Alv's wrath. And when Alv came at last to the pit of Sheol, he cried into its darkness and called Enyo craven as he did the gods in Celestia and challenged her to single combat. The earth shook under Alv and the skies darkened above him, and he was made a lone star in the Void before the breeder of monsters, who was not yet made a prisoner of Sheol. And Enyo, the demon goddess, came.

Enyo appeared beautiful but terrible before Alv, no taller than he was, and her eyes were filled with hatred. And when she saw the crystal sword of the Seraphim, she hissed, and grew in size until she became a goliath before him, and a scythe appeared in her hand. Enyo made the first move to strike the half-elf, but Alv gracefully leapt from the swing of her scythe. Again, would she attack, and again he would leap. But Alv, being faster, struck the right heel of Enyo, and her scream of pain caused the lands around them to tremble.

But the battle drew long, and Alv grew tired, and his movements slower. And Enyo, relishing in the weakness of mortals, forced him into a pit that was made by her scythe. And when Alv fell into the pit, she stepped upon him and broke the crystal sword under her feet along with Alv's body. But when Enyo was going to take the head of the half-elf, a trumpet sounded as thunder from the heavens and the twenty-four captains of the Host of Celestia came down upon Enyo and drove her into pit of Sheol, where she was sealed and made a prisoner in its deepest places. And the Titans took the broken body of Alv and sought wisdom together.

"Behold, the courage of the mortals!" Gabriel cried. "Has not the High God said they are like gods themselves? He has completed his task, but is this to be his fate while the gods sit in Celestia?"

"Celestia is cut off from the world," Michael answered, "but is still made of it. It is not the fate of mortals to be bound to the world as the gods are; that they may even be noble enough to transcend (3) their reincarnation in death to leave the world and Celestia to the dwelling of the High God. But far off is the fate of Enyo through mortal hands, and only by the grace of the High God shall she fall."

Therefore the Titans took the shards of crystal sword and brought the body of Alv to Harmonia. And when Harmonia saw the body of Alv, she wept bitterly and sung for in lament for him. So beautiful was her voice, and her song of strength of strength of love and the bitterness of death that the Titans wept before her. Thus the Titans sought the counsel of the High God, and Michael laid his hands over the heart of Alv, and the young half-elf prince breathed once again. But this burden they laid upon them: that Harmonia would share in the mortality of Alv, living only as long as she was not weary of the world and her labors in it.

And the Titans took the shards of the crystal blade of the of the Seraphim, and refined them, and made them into a single gem set inside a necklace, which became the Elemmίrë, and renamed Alv as "Alf." Thus Alf began the lineage of the High Elves and the unification of the elven people. And the Elemmίrë, the jewel that was once the crystal sword of the Seraphim, came down to Lefiya Cranel. But it is unknown by the Titans what powers it has, save that its magic alone increases the power of its wielder and, if deemed worthy, takes away the need to chant.

…

"Why do these mountains have to be so steep?" Leyfia groaned as she stumbled on the rocky pathway.

"This is the fastest way," Riveria stopped her march at the front to turn and look at Lefiya, a scowl crossing her face briefly that terrified the young elf. "We would have taken longer to get to the southern pass in order to travel in comfort. Bear with it!"

The young elf whimpered quietly, though she quickly cheered up when she saw Ais flash her a small, encouraging smile. Lefiya was disheartened when Riveria told that the group would have to leave their horses behind in order to get over the mountains. However, she did have to agree that she didn't want any harm to come to the horses over the treacherous terrain of the mountains.

"Ais, scout ahead," Riveria commanded when she came to halt. "Ryuu, keep your guard up."

"Lady Riveria?" Ryuu frowned at the High Elf after Ais nodded and speedily leapt away from the group.

"There is something watching us," Riveria mumbled. "If anyone is going to find anything, it will be Ais, but…."

"Even the sacred Alv Mountains hold little safety," Ryuu sighed and gave a nod. "I understand."

"The only evil here is evil that is brought here," the older elf said while carefully observing the area around them. "Even so, there are also things here that act as guardians to the mountains, and they see everyone as the same unless they have proven themselves to those guardians."

"What guardians?" Ryuu raised an eyebrow.

"I've heard tales, but I don't know if they're true," Riveria frowned. "Elves that come to the Alv Mountains never come to the western area out of respect. Some say spirits dwell here, others say that there are monsters here, but those monsters are said to not under the thrall of the Dungeon, much like the Xenos young Cranell encountered."

"Is it possible for the Xenos to have been born outside the Dungeon?" the elven warrior watched the Hight Elf.

"It is, if unlikely," Riveria said softly. "But how they would be as powerful as legends claim them to be outside of the Dungeon is a different question."

A short distance behind them, Lefiya and Syr sat on a small boulder together, sipping on their water canteens. A cold wind descended upon, causing Lefiya to slightly shudder and sigh. Syr giggled and moved closer to Lefiya, with a grin painted on her face. The young elf blushed in embarrassment, though didn't protest the warmth Syr was offering.

"The air feels so different here," Syr said softly. "I never knew mountains were such a challenge."

"I think it's only going to get worse," Lefiya muttered. "It's only been a week since we started on this trail."

Syr nodded slowly in agreement and looked up to the wall of mountains that kept rising above them. When the group of women started on the trail, the path they travelled was fairly easy, though there were as many countless upward inclines as there were downclimbs. Still, the change of elevation was not horrible that first three days of the hike, until the incline simply stopped providing a downhill path. Riveria and Ais hardly seemed stressed about the challenge the mountains were providing, and Ryuu, if she was bothered, stayed quiet on the difficulty of the mountain.

"We have Riveria," Syr smiled encouragingly. "And we have Ais and Ryuu! If anything happens, they'll know what to do."

"S-Syr," Lefiya gave a small smile back. "I know that they'll know what to do. I just wish… I could be strong like they are."

"From what I've heard of you, you are plenty strong," Syr gazed into Lefiya's eyes. "You have the respect of others, but what holds your back is that you still try to grow in the shadow of others. I think learning from those around you is what you do best, and it gives you ability to adapt, but there will come a day when you no longer have the comfort of the shadow of others stronger than you."

Lefiya nodded slowly with each word Syr spoke, turning her eyes away from Syr's soul-piercing gaze. Riveria had told the young elf that she named Lefiya as her successor. Now that title carried more weight to it with Michael's revelation on her blood. Lefiya had to grow stronger, and she had been working as hard as she could to ensure that she would get stronger, but Syr had a point: there were things neither Ais nor Riveria could teach her. There were things not even her rivalry with Bell could teach her. The young elf couldn't help but wonder if she would be strong enough to face those things when the time came.

"Elves like to brood, huh?" Syr giggled once again.

"Eh?" Lefiya frowned, turning her eyes back to Syr.

"You're all always in such deep thought!" the silver-haired human smiled. "It's actually a cute trait of your kind."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended by that or not," Lefiya sighed.

…

Ais quickly moved through the rocky terrain of the mountain. Whatever Riveria had sensed, Ais felt the presence as well. However, though Ais did not feel anything hostile, she also gave thought to the possibility that whatever was watching them was masking their aura just enough to take away that feel of friendliness or hostility. The further she went, however, the more presences she felt around her, but she could not tell from where. Either whatever was watching them was well concealed or was watching them from a greater distance than Ais or Riveria gave thought to.

There was a whistle on the wind, and Ais heard a piercing cry echo through the mountains. Ais moved quickly. Though the echoes of the cry sounded loudly around her, there was a small moment of the sound of origin of the cries before they turned to echoes.

"Ariel!" Ais called out, letting her winds envelop around her body so she could move faster.

She came to a cliff that overview the walls of mountains that traveled as far as her eyes could see. There was a valley of pine trees before her, and in front of her was a small cliff on the side of the mountain walls that held a nest. A large bird of golden feathers, an eagle, was desperately defending the nest against giant. The eagle had the advantage of flight, but could do little against the large spear the giant wielded.

Ais gritted her teeth. All she could see were monsters, but Bell had shown her that some monsters had broken free of the chains of the Dungeon. Still, two monsters fighting did not help her to solve the mystery of whatever was watching her and her friends. She wanted to ignore the battle before her, but when she moved to turn away from the fight, her eyes only noticed that only the eyes of the giant glowed.

"The bird isn't a monster?" Ais thought with a frown.

But all too long did she take her moment to process what she saw that the giant pierced the golden eagle with its spear. Ais' widened as she saw blood spew from where the eagle was impaled. It cried out in pain before its weight broke the spear and went crashing into the forest below. The giant howled in victory.

"TEMPEST!" Ais cried out. Even though she had no reason to avenge the eagle, she could not allow the giant to live and possibly attack her friends.

The Sword Princess leapt from the cliff and flew as quickly as she could towards the giant. All too late did the monster notice her Ais had closed the distance and slashed the throat of the giant with her sword before stabbing into its chest to break the magic crystal within the monster. The monster fell from the cliff, turning to smoke, and Ais sheathed her sword. She frowned when she noticed two eggs inside the nest. Pity moved the heart of the Sword Princess, and she moved to take the eggs from the nest. But when she stooped to grab the eggs, three more eagles came quickly down from the skies.

"Keep away from those eggs!" a woman commanded the Ais from the back of the largest eagle as Ais pulled her sword once more. However, when Ais met the eyes of the woman, her own eyes widened, and she lowered her sword.

"Y-you're…," Ais breathed out with reverence.

…

An hour had passed since Riveria had ordered Ais to scout ahead. Lefiya grew anxious that the Sword Princess hadn't returned, but she was confident that Ais was unharmed. Still, the young elf held "what ifs" in the back of her mind. Riveria showed no emotion, but kept watching the trail. A fog had begun to set into the mountains.

"Oh, look!" Syr smiled when the shadows of two figures formed within the mist.

Lefiya sighed in relief when Ais revealed herself through the mist. However, the other figure came through, Ryuu dropped to her knees with wide eyes and an open mouth. The other figure was a beautiful woman with long, walnut hair and deep indigo eyes. She dressed simply, but her face gave dignified and regal aura. In her arms, she held two large, beige eggs. Her eyes met with the blue eyes of Ryuu and she smiled warmly. Tears formed in both her eyes and the eyes of Ryuu.

"G-goddess Astraea?" the gale elf whispered in disbelief.

"It's been too long, Ryuu," the goddess of justice said softly before moving towards Ryuu, kneeling down in front of her, setting the eggs carefully on the ground, and pulling the elf into a hug.

…

1. "Elemmίrë" comes from Elven language of the Tolkien mythos. It literally means "Star-gem," and the name was attributed to an elven woman who wrote the sorrowful histories of their people.

2. Harmonia is the Greek goddess of peace. She is, to some, considered the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, but she is considered a daughter of Zeus and Electra to others. In either case, she is (obviously) the enemy of Enyo. That being said, however, there is also a nymph (spirit) in Greek mythology named Harmonia. Nymphs, according to the mythology, are largely considered daughters of Zeus.

3. This thought takes on a blend of Hinduism and Christianity. Though Hinduism supposes that a truly purified soul joins with the spirituality of the universe typically after multiple reincarnations, the Christian subtext implies the concept that there is purification that is capable of skipping the reincarnation process and leads even beyond the finite structure of the "universe that is." The thought is more-or-less based off the crystal-clear soul that Freya saw in Bell, which made her so attracted to him.

…

Hey, everyone! Sorry it took me so long to come out with this. Life is busy, as they say! I do admit, however, I had a little trouble with this chapter, but I think it worked out well. Anyway, please review! Have a great day!