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"Long ago," Shiro translated as Kelirahc spoke, "while Arda was still new, the world was filled with evil. Melkor, the creator of evil, waged war on the Children of Ilúvatar - the elves - summoning creatures of great evil to destroy them and their world. But even that was not enough. So great was Melkor's anger against Ilúvatar that he wanted to change the people so that the Great One would not even want to help them anymore."

He blinked slowly, his voice growing softer as he recounted the atrocities that had occurred. "Elves who were taken captive in the war were sealed in the dungeons of Melkor, tortured until they mutated, changed into what they are now: the Night Elves. But though their skin became as black as Melkor's soul, their hearts could not be touched, and they did not succumb to his attempts to turn them.

"At last, one elf, G'eldirahc, escaped. In his desperation to aid his people, he bonded with a dragon ... the dragon gave its life to him, giving him its spirit, and in return G'eldirahc promised that the dragon would, through the gift of its spirit, live forever. Using the spirit of the dragon that now lived within him, he rescued his people. There were few survivors, so few that they were all able to ride the dragon together to a new land."

He looked over at Lin. "They settled here, and here they have remained ever since. And until meeting Leyenda, they thought that they were the only survivors, that the rest of the elves had been destroyed. All of the original Night Elves are dead now, and none living here have seen a regular elf before ... Kelirahc was the first."

Shiro translated Lin's question, and Kelirahc shook his head.

"There are deaths from accidents, from animal attacks, and from the volcano," he explained as Kelirahc answered in his own language, "but that is the only way the population is reduced. No one has ever left the island, to his knowledge. They assumed that the elves had been decimated and were content to remain where they were, hidden so that they could not be taken again."

Kelirahc shook his head again at the translation of the question, and went on to explain.

"He says that they know that Melkor has been stopped," Shiro translated, "because if he had not been, the entire world would have been destroyed by now. Still, they had no hope that very many people would have survived, and they didn't want to take the chance."

He smiled. "So really, our arrival here is good news for them ... one of the reasons the elders reprimanded Haldia. It means that they don't have to exile themselves out here ... though they do like it, and have no desire to leave."

Shiro relayed Lin's comment to Kelirahc, and the night elf smiled warmly and bowed his head, taking it as a compliment. Then he turned to Rhea and asked her a question, and she laughed and nodded, and then went on to explain something to him.

Shiro smiled at Lin. "He asked if she and the others here are what the elves were like in the beginning ... I guess they're a legend to the elves here now."

Shiro tilted his head at Lin. "You think their skin colour has changed since then?" he asked her. "I mean, if we compare say ... Sir Valdemar to Roydon ... they're not really any different, except that Sir Valdemar might be a bit taller, don't you think?"

Shiro nodded thoughtfully. "Though to my understanding, the land is far different from what it was when it was first created ... one of the biggest differences being that there was no sun for the entire first Age," he mused. "I wonder if there would have been any differences before then, or if they were the same then ..."

It was an interesting thought, at least.

He looked up suddenly as Roydon came to join them. "Ah, Roydon," he smiled. "Hi."

Roydon nodded at Shiro in greeting, then turned to look at all of them. "Have any of you seen Celeb?" he asked them.

"He's been avoiding her whenever Kelirahc is here," Shiro noted, looking around. "I don't think he likes him very much ..."

Kelirahc glanced at them when he heard his name, and looked back at Rhea and asked a question. She explained to him what they were talking about, and he looked up at Roydon again.

"Celeb," he said, and pointed towards the side of the shelter. It was dark, and nothing was visible there, and Roydon frowned. "Is he inside there, then?"

At Rhea's translation, Kelirahc shook his head and spoke.

"Lying against the wall," Rhea told Roydon. "He says he kind of blends. You know, skin like the sand and hair like the wall ..."

Roydon frowned and headed over to check it out.

Shiro looked over at Lin. "Remember how I wondered if they had good night vision?" he grinned. "I think we just got our answer."