I first began to have frequent interactions with man during the War of the Unnamed. A messenger came to beg my father's assistance. He was shorter than my father and had not the well-balanced build I was accustomed to. His voice was gruff and he rode his animal as though it were deaf and dumb. He did not understand the customs of my people and he must not have known that we do not show the level of emotion that he expected on hearing the news. I thought my father was remarkably patient with him.
My mother took me away to another area of our palace, and I did not see the man again excepting as he rode away to tell his leader of the outcome. My mother and I had discussed the matter of The Unnamed at great length now, and she went down to hear what my father had decided. I did not go with her, for I was blessed with great hearing and it would be no trouble to hear from this short distance.
He had decided to assist man in their struggle. "This being will not be satisfied after it has destroyed mankind," he said. "Our own lands will be invaded. This is a cause that concerns everyone."
From then on, I saw many men. My father could not leave our lands, but my mother and I visited many of the neighboring villages to reassure them that we were on their side. I often rode on patrol in the forests, armed well in bow and arrow, and met men who were hiding or traveling through.
My formation during those first few months became confused. Although I believed everything my father taught me, man seemed to contradict the standards I had come to expect. Elders in my village were wise and experienced. Not so among men! The elderly men I met in the village had become small children and were unable to give comfort to their loved ones. The adults, the men who led the villages were deceitful and confused, uncertain and unsure. Even those who had matured to the approximate proportional level as myself were boastful and loud. They wanted to be proud and arrogant, afraid of nothing, sure of everything. The children, then, surely, must still know the rules that all of creation lives by. Yet I was disheartened to find that many of them already followed the example of their elder siblings, and without someone steady to depend upon, they were as doubting and uncertain.
With all this ever before me, I began to doubt myself. I wondered if perhaps I was proud, if I was missing the great, freeing experiences of my youth. Not a day went by that I did not meet a young man who could only think of flirting or confusing me. But I could no break my formation and step down to the emotional level they sat on so steadily. Nor could I find a way to speak with them, for they asked me teasing questions, knowing I could have no respectable answer.
I told my father nothing of this, but continued my studying and learning of my own peoples ways. Coming home in the evenings, for I was never allowed to patrol after dark, was like an opiate to me, assuring me that I lived in the way things were meant to be. But ever after, the next day would bring doubt back fresh in my mind.
The Elvin cities were places of calm and rest, which is one reason why we offered hospitality to those who were badly wounded. We knew of the chaos ensuing in other places, but we kept our wisdom and resource.
A young man came to our village, in sore need to healing for his entire right side. His shoulder had popped out of its socket, his arm was broken in several places, his hand was black. Many of his ribs were crushed and blood flowed. (The war was coming nearer, I knew, or he could not have come here in time.) He was in great pain and my father was possibly the only one who could save him. I took special care of him while he waited for my father. He looked at me and offered his left hand. "My name is Osmond," he said in gasps. I gave him my name and shook his hand. "Now be quiet and relax," I told him and did what I could to ease his pain and make him more comfortable, but I could it wasn't working. After a moment, I cold hear my father coming. "Thank you for caring for me," Osmond said. Then my father joined us and sent me out to help my mother, who had another severe patient. "It was nice meeting you," said Osmond as I left.
Everything that I had been brought up to know now made sense. Although I had been trying to settle for less than what I had come to expect, I now realized that even among men, order still existed. Although this young man was in great pain and could even have been dying, he had still kept his manners. Finally I knew that the way many men acted was not the way things were meant to be, and I fell easily back into my formation.
I saw him again once a few months later. He had made a slow but successful recovery thanks to my father. I had known that he was recovering and even, in recent days, taking walks and getting himself back into warrior form, but I had other duties that kept me from looking for him. Yet, as he headed off for war again, he crossed my path. Recognizing me, he stopped and bowed his head in recognition. "Thank you for attending to me," he said. "As you can see, your father has worked a miracle." Although even my father entreated him not to go back to war, he was determined. "It was nice meeting you," he said before he left.
Titheneth
