towerofanimus | There's no place like home

Entry tags:

There's no place like home

Characters: Legolas (

bow_of_the_galadhrim) and OPEN
Setting: Floor 100
Format: Prose to start, will switch
Summary: Legolas explores some new floors and chills on the 100th
Warnings: Nothing but sads

Legolas spent the day exploring as much of the new floors as he could, taking note of places to avoid, places that might be useful and so on. His hair was loose, not even the small and thin braids that usually wrapped around his head, he wore a neat blue tunic with his breeches and the same thin leather boots he always wore. On his back was his quiver, arrows and bow and he had his swords as well. If the prince was anything, it was careful. Especially with unexplored floors at hand.

Eventually, he found himself on the one-hundredth floor. And in a recreation of Mirkwood. And not just the forest, he’s in Thranduil’s Halls. A smile crossed his lips at the sight. He could never forget the look of his home, a place that he’d explored for a great many years, never allowed to leave without an escort until he was old enough to defend himself. With a smile, he passed by where his fathers throne sat, the armory, passed the rarely used prison cells, his room. Just walking around and looking. Only once did he try to touch something, a painting of his father and himself, and discovered it only an illusion.

With a sigh, he remained there for a bit longer. Even if it was fake, it was a reminder of home.

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Idrial had spend the day exploring the new floors that had appeared in the Tower. It seems this place just keeps growing and she can't help but wonder just how high this Tower will eventually grow to. It does not take her long to venture to the very top floor and as she steps there her eyes widen as she takes in her surroundings. The forests of Lothlorien and in particular her own small home where herself and her father had lived in the distance.

It seems she does not see the same image as her friend though she does spot him eventually looking up at something that she cannot see herself.

"Aaye, mellonamin, Legolas"

"This place is beautiful, is it not? Though, I doubt we are seeing the same thing," Diarmuid stops a few feet away from the elf so that he doesn't startle him. The last thing he wants to do is too rudely interrupt whatever memories he's reliving. "It's a hollow beauty, but a beauty nonetheless. I'm not sure if that is better or worse than having nothing at all of our homes.

"I wonder, though, before they only wished to show us our homes destroyed. Why now give us these views of them whole?"

He turned slowly, almost unwilling to look away from the painfully familiar sight of home. The prince knew it was all fake, a (not so) simple illusion, but it was home and it was a perfect likeness. Even if he hadn't been in any danger of forgetting what it looked like, it was pleasant to walk among it all.

"Idrial." A smile crossed his lips, glad to see her. For awhile, he'd feared that something had happened to her and yet no grave marker had appeared for her. That had given him relief but still he had worried for her.

"You are well?"

Legolas had heard the approach of another when he set foot on this floor, so he was relaxed as he could be in the presence of someone new. Last time he'd let his guard down near someone he didn't know well, he'd found a sword in his back rather than a warning.

"It is. Quite beautiful, in fact. What is it that you see?"

Perhaps a bit nosy but Legolas was somewhat inquisitive at times. Especially now. He was curious about how people could see different places yet be on the same floor.

"I hadn't thought of it. Perhaps they wish to return some hope to us who lost it during the last experiment. Or perhaps they think they've discovered a way to return what was lost and are attempting to appease us until we can return."

"I see my home in Ireland. The home of my first life," Diarmuid's eyes grow distant as he takes in the illusion around him. If he tries hard enough he can hear the sounds that should accompany the vision. His boys training in the yard. Grainne destroying the kitchen with their daughter...again. The hounds baying from their kennels.

With a little help from his own memories, the illusion becomes almost too real and he distracts himself by returning to his description, "In specific, I am standing in the doorstep. If I look beyond the house I can see the forests and mountains that decorate the land. If I take a few steps forward I will enter the house. Back then my first stop was usually the kitchens to see if I needed to try and rescue them from my wife's latest attempts to teach out daughter to cook."

He stops himself suddenly and laughs, "I'm sorry. Those are details you probably don't care about, but it does bring me hope. Or if not hope, at least comfort, and those are both things I imagine most people around here really need after the last experiment. I have only been here a month now, but it was...hard on everyone. So much time passing is difficult to bear especially for those who are not suppose to live anywhere near that long."

Diarmuid falls silent after that, his face saddening despite the pleasant surroundings. As a heroic spirit he had been meant to live again for only a week or two during the war and then he should have returned to the nothingness of the Throne of Heroes. Being recorded there was immortality of a kind, but it was an immortality he would not remember and as a result, he had been no where near prepared to face over a thousand years trapped in a place of nightmares.

While Idrial waits for her friend to see her and greet her, her eyes scan around the area once more. She could stand here and stare at the familiar surroundings for days and days on end if she was inclined to and she has to admit that she's more than a little tempted. It almost makes her heart ache to see the real Lothlorien once more. She smiles as she approaches him a little closer and she bows her head ever so slightly at his greeting.

However, when she asks her if she is well the smile falters ever so slightly. Yes, it has been a long time since she has seen Legolas or Haldir or anyone that she knows in this Tower.

"I am well now, my friend, yes. It seems the threat faced by the foul creatures of this Tower have became more known to me now. A month or so ago I was killed by one such creature. Or so I thought, for I woke up in my own bed not long after."

If only she knew just how tempted Legolas was to do the same. To sit in the halls and walk through them, to explore the forest that had been his home for centuries. He knew every inch of Mirkwood, every inch of his fathers halls, but never could he tire of the sight. It was familiar and safe. A taunting and yet tempting recreation of home from their keepers. He didn't know whether to be thankful or to curse them and yet, after the incident with thinking a thousand years had passed, he was more thankful.

"Killed? I am sorry that I was not there to help you." And he was, looking regretful at the news. For one who had died twice here and almost received a third death in September, he knew well how much it was preferred to have a friend nearby.

"Once, we were told that no one dies. That they repair our bodies before we do and then we awaken in our beds the next day. I cannot believe it for I recall vividly my first death."

"I don't know Ireland but it sounds beautiful. And wonderful to have such memories." Legolas himself had only ever had his father, learning to cook from the elves that prepared the feasts and from other warriors. And now he'd never have the opportunity to have a family. The chance was very slim in any case. Still, he can;t help but chuckle softly as the description of having to come to the rescue at attempts at learning to cook.

"It is good to take comfort and hope from such sights. I am going to choose to be hopeful. The experiment was exceedingly cruel, I think. I felt a thousand years pass, felt myself become more alike my father than ever had I wished."

Aloof, detached, lacking hope or trust in others that weren't close to him. His father had experienced a great many things in Middle Earth and so he had suffered here to fight and experience countless crude experiences.

"Perhaps this is their way to apologize for it."

"Thank you. The memories are just as precious, if not more so than the place itself. The experiment actually forced me to forget some of them for a while, so I am very glad to have them back now. I would be so lost without them," Diarmuid falls quiet for a moment pushing back the memory of how empty he had felt during the experiment. Finally, he continues, "Ireland is a beautiful land, though I don't know how a land so closely tied to its gods and spirits could be anything but beautiful. It saddens me to think that even if our worlds are not destroyed, the land is most likely very different now than when I last saw it so many thousands of years ago. I wonder if I would even recognize the place where my home once stood."

He pauses to shake himself free of the sadness that thought brings, "I expect that your home is beautiful as well. I would hear of what you see if you would be willing to share it with me."

Part of him wants to ask Legolas why he doesn't like the idea of becoming like his father since Diarmuid himself knows that feeling. The idea that he could become a fallen and false knight like his birth father had been makes him sick, and it's the fear of becoming that, that is a big part of the reason Diarmuid has reacted so badly to how he acted during the experiment. However, it would be rude to pry into such a personal matter, so he remains silent.

Diarmuid raises a curious eyebrow at the elf when he hears him mention that this floor might be some kind of apology, "While I would like to think that, do you really think that any of the people who run this place are capable of feeling bad for us? I know people have told me some seem nicer than others, but I don't think anyone thought any of them were good enough people that they would apologize for what they are doing to us. I mean, if they feel bad for us, then why continue to do what they are doing? Why not just let us go? Or if it is true that our worlds are gone, why not let us live in a better place instead of keeping us here?"

"I find that I can't believe that our worlds are gone, even with the administrators claim that none of us are from the same instance or reality. Everything we know and love, it must still be there And even if it has changed, there will always be your memories and something of the past will always linger."

Legolas has to hope. Or his closest friends and family are dead, the land he was to sail to for peace would be gone. There would be no Valinor for himself or for Gimli. The elf simply can't bring himself to believe that, he won't.

"Parts of it are, and parts still have yet to heal from the wars of the past. Now, I see the halls of my father, the Elvenking, dug deep into the ground and sealed with doors that open only on the command of our king. I recall him once telling me that he had it based upon Menegroth and Nargathrond, where once he dwelled among King Thingol's folk. To my right are two passages leading to the Upper Halls where feasts are held and it splits off to the prison cells and then to the cellars. Behind me, the Great Gates and the path to the living quarters. And it all is withing a great forest. Three times has it been named. First it was Eryn Galen, then Mirkwood and finally Eryn Lasgalen."

If anything, it was because of his fathers distrust of outsiders, of Men and dwarves. Most of all though, it was because of how his father acted and felt, that he had gone through things that made him more cynical, careful, less willing to trust others. It was as though Legolas had become that same elf during the experiment. And he didn't like it one bit.

"I think, at least, one of them do care. Dax. He wants to help us, he's tried to in the past. I don't trust them but if I were to choose one that I would trust, it would be Dax. As for why they keep us here, I don't know. Ruana implied that it's because we can survive anywhere else. That leaving the tower would kill us."

"I would hope our worlds are not truly gone. A...I would not call him friend, but a well respected fellow of mine just disappeared from this place as people sometimes do, and I would hate to think all he had to go back to is a ruined version of our home. And another colleague of mine has an important goal to accomplish once he returns home. I cannot bear to think his chance at saving his niece is no longer there," Diarmuid sighs and looks passed his house, eyes focusing on the forest behind it. "I wish I could be so trusting and hopeful as you. I was once, but I was betrayed shortly before being pulled here and ever since then it has been much more difficult for me to be so.

"I guess that is why I find it so hard to believe any of the administrators mean us well. You are not the only one who has mentioned Dax seems to care more than the others do. As much as I want to believe maybe there is some hope that they all don't view us solely as experiments, I can't help but wonder if Dax's attitude toward us is nothing more than just another of their cruel tricks."

Diarmuid pauses, falling into thought. The names that the elf has mentioned in conjunction with his home seem familiar somehow in that vague way that can be nothing more than frustrating. He knows they are not the names of any places from his world. So how does he know them?

Then it hits him... There had been an elf he met shortly after arriving and that now that he remembers the meeting she reminds him a great deal of the elf standing before him in both poise and speech.

It's a little frightening to him how long ago that time seems when he knows it's only been a little over a month since he arrived.

"Do you happen to know an elf by the name of Idrial? I spoke to her briefly when I first arrived, but I haven't seen her since. I hope that she is doing well."

"I understand. Betrayal is a hard thing to overcome, even with so many to console you and others who would never do so. Trust is such a fragile thing. I suppose that I do find it easier to trust others and in certain hopes, but I've seen many things over the years to help me. Perhaps you will too."

He had, after all, befriended a dwarf when he father quite clearly disliked them. And how could he not after what happened to Thingol? There was no hard feelings for that but obviously Legolas had gotten over that racial distrust. It could happen to others of different races as well.

"You are right, it could be. Yet I find that I cannot entertain such dark thoughts. If anything, he is the least cruel in his actions towards us. It inspires at least a small bit of hope."

And then he mentioned Idrial and Legolas can't help but laugh lightly, cheerfully, and nod.

"I do. She hails from Lothlorien, a forest not terrible far from my own. I'm sure that she is, no grave marker has appeared for her yet and she is very skilled in combat."

"Yes, it will take me a while to get over it, but I suppose as hard as it is I should be glad I have that chance. I shouldn't. I should be dead right now," Diarmuid shakes his head. It's odd, how easy it is for him to say that, but the words just come out. "This life as horrid as it might be is more than I deserve. It is only right I make the most out of it that I can--help the most people I can. That is why I hope I can learn to trust again soon. I will be able to do more then.

"Perhaps, I should start with trusting that Dax means well. So many seem to believe that anyway, and I have no real reason to believe otherwise--only suspicions I would never have had only a few months ago."

While he doesn't know her very well, after Rider's disappearance, Diarmuid is glad to hear that Idrial is doing well, "That is good news indeed. We didn't talk for long, but she seemed like a good person. It would have been a shame to lose her. This place needs as much light as it can get. I don't know if she will remember meeting me, but if you happen to remember the next time you see her, please send her my best wishes."

If only both of them could have their wish. Like everything else in this Tower though she has a feeling that the images would not last. Their keepers must have some reason behind putting this floor here but she cannot think of what that reason might be. Maybe they are trying to lull the residents into a false sense of security but only time would tell.

She shakes her head at his words, smiling a little at her friends concern, “You have no need to be sorry, my friend. You were not to know.” She frowns a little as he continues, thinking over his words. So it is possible to die here more than once. She would rather not have a repeat of her experience though for it was not a pleasant one. Not that she can imagine that any death would be pleasant.

“I cannot imagine myself ever forgetting mine. You have died here more than once? And it has had no effect on you? Well, apart from the memories of the event itself, of course.”

"Everybody deserves another chance at life if it is given to them. It is my belief that it wouldn't be given, otherwise." Everybody deserved a second chance. Well, most everybody. The young elf could think of quite a few people from back home that definitely didn't but they had done unforgivable things.

"If there's one administrator I would choose to trust, it is Dax. The others are too unpredictable, too cruel." He'd have had to have seen Infighting to understand how Legolas felt about it but that was something he'd have not wished on anyone. Bad enough that there had been children involved.

"You'll find that the memory of an elf is better than any race you'll encounter. She is certain to remember you and I will be sure to pass that along. Although, she might like it best if it came from you, personally."

Perhaps or they could be doing this to remind them that nothing is truly lost. Their motivations were a mystery to Legolas, and everyone else in the tower, but he wanted to believe that not everything was done out of cruelty. That perhaps their captors did have some form of compassion for the people they had supposedly rescued. Maybe it was naive of him to think such but after everything that had happened, he couldn't let himself despair.

"Twice, thus far. The only effect I felt after was a longer paralysis than when I first woke up here. Haldir, thankfully, prevented me from suffering a third. For all the time that I've been here, I'm truly surprised that I've evaded death since I was returned from the pods."

The monster that had emerged after the whale had exploded had been very close to killing him. He had been lucky to escape with only a broken leg.

Diarmuid can't help but smile at the elf's words, "I would like to think you are right. Maybe part of the reason I'm having so many problems in this life is because I am questioning so much. Still, it is hard for me not to. Despite how I look, in many ways I am still quite young in mind, and I love learning things. Questions are so natural to me. Unfortunately, this place twists even the simplest of answers making it so much harder to come to a satisfactory conclusion."

Diarmuid nods as Legolas speaks of the administrators, but adds nothing more. As much as he wants to believe everyone who has put their faith in Dax, that doubt inside of him still fights against it, and it will probably take him a long time to finally come to a decision on whether or not to trust him.

"I am glad to hear that. Both of you strike me as kind and intelligent individuals. I would very much like to speak with you more. And while I am unfamiliar with your people, your manner and dress remind me of the gods and goddess of my world. My foster father was one such individual and something tells me he would have loved the chance to speak with either of you. He loved to hear and tell stories, and I suspect you know a great many."

He suddenly pauses, paling slightly, "Though he would be horrified at my manners. My apologizes. I have yet to introduce myself. I am Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, First Warrior of the Fianna." He bows to the elf, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"There is no shame in enjoying learning new things, asking questions. In that way, I suppose that I am young as well, both in the eyes of my people and my love of learning. I suppose, in that way, this place is a bit convenient. We have the chance to learn quite a bit more than what would back on our own worlds."

He would trade this opportunity for the chance to go back to a full and occupied world, free of the terror Sauron imposed upon it, free to sail to Valinor with his closest friend and to see all the people that had already departed.

"You flatter me and my kin. There are certainly more intelligent elves than myself, Idrial and Haldir being two who happen to be here." There's a soft but short laugh from Legolas. "We are most certainly not gods or goddesses but we are called the Children of Iluvatar, the Firstborn. He is the one who created our world."

Legolas inclined his head, smiling. He understood completely how he and his father would feel.

"I am Legolas Thranduilion, Prince of the Woodland Realm. We are well met."

Diarmuid bows against slightly, "Indeed good, Prince. It is an honor to meet you."

"I wonder if people would get along better here if they did try to look at it as a learning experience instead of something completely negative. I know there are a good many negatives to this place, but it would probably greatly frustrate those in charge if we refused to let everything keep us down. Indeed, even with all that has happened to me, I have been given so much I never thought I would see again here. Things from my wife, my children, and my friends of old. Time alive that I shouldn't have. Freedom that I've never had. Some of that is scary, but at the same time it gives me a great chance to grow."

Diarmuid listens as Legolas speaks of his people, "If not gods and goddess, then favored as any old and wise race should be. Haldir I have not met yet, but if he is like you and Idrial, hopefully I will have the honor of meeting him sometime soon."

"Oh no, Legolas will do. Prince is but a title, and I don't intend to follow my father in ruling the forest."

No, he was ready and more than willing to sail to Valinor. He was ready for the eternal peace that the land promised his kin. To see his friends and share that place with Haldir and ensure that Gimli could see if before he died. Those were his reasons for not Fading here, besides the obvious reasoning that he's not able to.

"I'm sure that it would frustrate them to no end. It is good to hear that you are trying to focus upon what good can be found. It can be hard at times, hard to resist despair, but there is strength to be found in overcoming it."

He has no doubt that he'll be able to meet Haldir. Really, it was hard to miss the fair haired elf and the aura he put off.

"Legolas then, and my apologies if I offended you. As a knight and a man I have always shown great respect for others, and I'm learning that in the modern day that formality sometimes upsets people," Diarmuid shakes his head. "It confuses me, but much does in this time despite the information I was given when I was summoned into the war."

"Even though I can see the positives in this place more clearly than some others because of my situation, it is still hard for me to stay positive, so it amazes me to find one such as yourself who is able to still so strongly hold onto that view. If it is not prying, may I ask how long you have been here?"

"No, not at all. I've simply always found it more comfortable to be referred to as Legolas, to be thought of as a friend than a royal. Especially as I will not be succeeding the Elvenking."

To die and return for war? He'd heard tales of some who had died and returned to Middle Earth, when Mandos had either felt pity for one or the person had been needed.

"I have always been able to remain positive, even in the darkest of times. Nobody else would have if I did not, and we'd have fallen into despair." Ah, how long he had been here. A laugh escaped him, not at all humored. It was more that he couldn't believe so much time had passed.

"Ten months now. So much time would have passed quickly for me back home but here... I am acutely aware of the time that passes. Moreso than I care to know."

Diarmuid smiles gently, "It is just that kind of thinking that shows you would have been a good ruler if it has been your choice. Hopefully, it is choice and not something else that keeps you from your birthright."

He would add "and not this place" but since Legolas seems to believe they will go home someday, Diarmuid doesn't think that is the case.

"10 months...that is a such a long time. You are truly a strong individual to have survived and kept your hope for so long," his voice trails off. Once Diarmuid had been like that--hopeful, able to believe in the positive side of everything, strong--then he had been betrayed and that had changed him so drastically that he is sure he will never be able to be that way again no matter how much he wants to be.

Just look at how only one month in this place as nearly driven him to madness.

"I suppose the way time passes is just another one of their tools. One day might not be enough, but hundreds? Thousands? That is much different."

"Perhaps but that opportunity is far beyond my reach in more ways than one. I did well in my responsibilities as prince though, or so I hope."

He had gotten along very well with his kin and had spent a great deal of time with the guards and soldiers, worked with keeping the orcs, goblins and spiders away from his people. Legolas had acted more like a soldier than prince most of the time.

"I've had a great deal of experience in dealing with terrible things. And I've good friends here to support me, to keep me from allowing myself to die." Ah, the fragility of elven hearts and wills when faced with the things this tower pits them against. "Friends that I'm sure will befriend and support you if ever you need it."

Legolas would most certainly be there for him if he needed it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it is."

"I am sure that you did extremely well. There are just times when things are not meant to be, for better or worse. Worlds change. People change. All of it beyond our control."

Diarmuid bows once the elf finishes speaking, "I am honored by your trust and friendship. I would offer you the same. If you are ever in need of aid, please feel free to seek me out. I will do whatever I can help you. I am still new here, but that does not mean I won't do my best. Indeed, as pleasant as this conversation has been I should leave you to your thoughts and return to my patrol. I am only one person, but I am doing my best to watch the new floors while we figure out their dangers. Hopefully, my work will help save some people from the dangers they don't know are there yet."

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There's no place like home

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Wow, I lost this notif so I'm sorry for the late

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No worries! You're just fine. :-)

:)

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