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Alene's smile faltered slightly. "Well ... one of the Valar ... went bad. He wanted to be above the rest, even though they were all equal. He began to destroy the world that the Valar had created. He is called Melkor. Where they created hills, he created valleys; where they made land, he destroyed it and water filled it. Light became darkness, and he brought forth his own creatures ... evil creatures that sought to destroy everything that had been created - especially the elves."

She hesitated as if wondering how much to say, how in depth to go. Miyuki was young ... but she had a fine mind.

"Melkor was jealous of the power of The One," she explained. "He wanted to destroy everything that The One had influenced - and when he could not destroy, he subverted. He captured and changed elves and animals alike, turning them into creatures of evil. There was a great war, and thanks to Lord Aldrich, the elves survived. Since that time, however, the Valar have but rarely visited the elves in their daily lives; to see a Vala at all is almost a miracle nowadays."

Alene smiled warmly. "Yes," she murmured, "now everything is all right. There has been only one real problem since that time that has to do with Melkor, and that was several years ago, and has been dealt with. So yes, now it is safe."

As far as anyone knew anyways.

"You might want to ask your mother about that," Alene offered. "She would know more than I do about it, I was not here when any of it happened. And Sir Valdemar tells me that he told her all about it."

She didn't want to put Lin on the spot, but it was the truth: Lin was more a part of that particular event than she was.

Alena just let Lin explain the story, there didn't seem to be anything that needed adding.

"Do you have any other questions?" she asked after the explanation was finished.

Alene laughed softly. "You're very welcome," she told her sincerely. "If you ever do have questions, just ask me. I am a historian, after all. I will have many answers for you. Perhaps not all, but many."

The wagon hit a bump suddenly, and Shiloh, startled, began to wail. Alene clicked her tongue and looked back at River, who had sat down in the wagon for the most part of the history lesson to listen raptly.

"River, will you take the reins?" she asked as Shiloh continued to wail.

River nodded and shuffled forward, taking the reins from Alene so that she could take Shiloh to the back of the wagon and take care of her.

Halmir, Arthael, Elros and Daeron, being the most accustomed to traveling and thus the most skilled at preparing campsites, set about setting up for the night. Alene took care of the fire, Elros looked for wood for the fire, and the other three set up tents for them to sleep in.

Luk set about preparing a small meal for everyone, and Earendil took it upon himself to take care of the horses - removing saddles, brushing them down, and so on.

Aric helped Leilani get Remiel ready for bed, and Shiro used his tablet to take a few pictures. Apparently it was going to be a photo journal for this trip, not only a written journal.

Miyuki wasn't the only one who was yawning: River had actually dozed off with the reins in her hands, and when they'd stopped she had simply stayed sitting on the wagon seat, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Leilani glanced over at Lin and smiled softly at her.

"Perhaps it would be best just to let her sleep," she suggested quietly. "Sleeping with food in one's stomach generally leads to dreaming, and not much rest."

She had already wrapped Remiel in a blanket, and the boy was fast asleep in her arms.

"She can eat in the morning," she added with a gentle smile.