of-elves-and-mad-hatters

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

"The Azure Sky" - Chapter 11

Masterlist 

Request Guidelines

Shadows to the Brightest Flame: Series

- The legacy of Lumia’s influence is scarred eternally into the lands of Elvendale. Burdened by a prophecy foretelling her demise and need for a successor, she watches for one capable of such power. Yet her enemies are working steadily to undo all she’s labored so long for, and it is millenia too late to make peace. 

Emily Jones, heir to Eimileen, is a bold girl dedicated to protecting Elvendale, but the world she has grown so fond of is not so black and white as it seems, and the titles of Guardian of Portal and Guardian of Light may hold darker legacies some ancient elves have worked tirelessly to hide

In conjunction with the extended version of the Guardian of Light prophecy I wrote previously

Basically a rewrite of all of the Lego Elves & Secrets of Elvendale storylines with an additional arc beyond the Season 4: Into the Shadows. There will be a varying degree of deviation from canon.

Technically a crossover with Lord of the Rings/Hobbit/Silmarillion in terms of worldbuidling, as I set Elvendale as being north of Middle-Earth, cause this is fanfic and I can. So there will be mentions of the Noldor, Sindar, Silvan, and some Tolkien characters, but they will be mostly background. Definitely not an issue if you aren’t familiar with the Middle-Earth fandom; everything will still be easy to understand.

Book 1: The Azure Sky

Grieving over the unexpected death of her grandmother, Emily Jones is accidentally trapped in another world. Befriending a few young elves in an attempt to find her way home, Emily discovers many secrets about her grandmother’s past, but for every truth she learns two more questions take its place, leaving her vulnerable to darker force inhabiting this realm. 

A rewrite of Unite the Magic

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10 

_________________________________

Chapter 11

Eimileen must have loved this place. 

The small, open-air market of Urisil is like something out of a painting, surreal in the way light shines down through the silk canopies, crystals and lanterns illuminating the stalls, the structures surrounded by trees.

Emily’s gaze is darting around, trying to absorb it all, a grin helplessly plastered on her face. She doesn’t even hear Naida’s voice at first; the water elf has to tap her on the shoulder. “Emily, are you sure this will be enough? Do you need anything else?”

She looks down at the small pile of clothes Naida’s about to pay for, absorbing the question. Enough? She’s relying on the water elf’s expertise for what the mountain weather will be like, only Emily isn’t an elf, and humans seem to be frail in comparison. 

“Another coat? Just to be on the safe side?” 

Naida nods, and the shopkeeper suggests a fur-lined one in a dark, muted blue. 

Emily reaches a hand absentmindedly to her amulet. It feels cold again, prickly with static. Unpleasant. 

An intense spark jolts her finger. She recoils. 

A rush of half-faded images, a memory, impress upon her mind. Her eight-year-old self trembling under a quilt on her grandmother’s couch, crying because there was a wailing thunderstorm that night and she hated the way the world looked when it was lit up by lightning. 

They illuminated the dark faces in the trees, the ones too melded with the night to see any other time. And she begged her grandmother to make them go away. 

Her grandmother smiled pityingly, and whispered that she was too old to be hunting spirits anymore, but not to worry, that the dark things were farther away than they appeared, and that there were barriers that kept them locked away. Because that’s how the light deals with darkness, by casting it far away. 

Of course there were the few who dealt with things by swallowing the shadows, but her grandmother told her never to pay them much mind. That you should just tell them white lies because they tended to be grumpy and might not otherwise help anyone with the darkness. 

Little Emily objected. Her parents said that lying was always wrong. 

Her grandmother only smiled gently, tucked a strand of hair behind the child’s ear. Whispered, “Sometimes the only way to love is to lie”. 

And lie, Eimileen most certainly did, only Emily isn’t sure she can see the love in that particular choice. How was concealing her own heritage, the world she’d grown up in and loved, necessary to love her human family? 

“Something on your mind?”

Emily’s eyes flicker over to Naida. “Nothing…everything. I don’t know,” and she shrugs her shoulders. 

“I did not mean to upset you.”

The human shakes her head. “You didn’t. Sometimes, I just feel overwhelmed, still.” She hesitates. “…and I guess it doesn’t help that this amulet continues to surprise me.” 

Naida frowns. “How so?”

“Just little things. Like feeling as though it were charged with static electricity. Like sparking an old memory of my grandmother that I had forgotten…” Emily shakes her head. “I don’t know. It drew me to this realm. It wanted me to come here. But somehow I have this feeling it doesn’t like me very much. Does that sound stupid? I mean, it’s an amulet, not a person.”

Naida reaches out, just grazing the stone with her fingertips. “It is an artifact of great power. I’d be surprised if it did not behave strangely.” She tilts her head, thoughtful. “It was given to you by Eimileen. It should be loyal to you, but perhaps it is not fully confident in its new owner. Sometimes trust must be earned.” She takes a deep breath then, as if washing away her contemplations. “Come. We need to be on our way if we are to still stop by the bakery and return to the others by nightfall.”

________________________________________

After regrouping that night, and a restful sleep, the five travelers began their trek up the mountain paths. They hike in single file; Aira leading with the map, Farran just over her shoulder, Emily securely in the middle of the entourage, and Naida and Azari bringing up the rear. 

The human pulls her cloak tighter over her shoulders, shivers. The spots of green grass along the path are tinged with frost; she can see her breath in the crisp air. The higher they climb, the sky shifts from lavender to a crystal clear blue, unmarred by cloud and occasionally broken by birds flying in the distance. 

Emily feels Naida’s eyes on her, and hears the water elf shout, “It’s time for a rest!”. 

Aira jerks her head back, confused until her gaze falls on the human girl. “The path widens just around the next bend. Plenty of space to set up camp.” Emily can barely hide her sigh of relief. 

The narrows path does end up widening suddenly into a clearing that had been intentionally carved into the side of the mountain. Out on the edge of outcropping, to their left, stands a dilapidated windmill. The sky is quickly dimming to dusk, and Azari builds a fire close to the face of the mountain. Emily drops to her knees, stretching out her hands to warm them. She nods in Aira’s direction,“So, how much farther to the next key?” 

Azari shrugs. 

Aira, overhearing, trills, “Just a few more miles!”

“And what are we looking for, exactly?” inquires Farran. 

The wind elf finally seats herself around the fire, spreading the map on the ground, and reads, 

“Under the wings of those who rule the skies

Buried in the dark with all they find precious

An ancient hold for a beast long dead

Forgotten by those who knew not the days of malice”

Farran’s eyes widen. “A dragon cave.”

Dragon? “Wait, do you mean like an actual fire-breathing dragon, or is that a metaphor for something?” Emily questions. 

“Well, not all dragons breathe fire, but yes,” Naida confirms, “The riddle clearly points to the actual lair of one of those creatures. One long deceased.”

Azari scrunches her face, “But what on earth does the line ‘Forgotten by those who knew not the days of malice’ mean?”

Aira frowns. “Maybe it’s referring to a melkorian dragon.”

Naida mirrors her frown. “Let’s hope not. Their treasure hoards are rumored to be cursed, inciting delirium in those who linger too long.”

Emily winces at the thought. “So, what’s the difference between a melkorian dragon and other dragons?”

“Dragons are native to these lands, present at the time of creation, and friends of the northernmost elves. Melkor, an evil and powerful spirit to the south, captured a dragon and transformed it. Twisted its mind and body into a weapon of war. Its descendants we call melkorian dragons. They range from apathetic to completely wicked. Devouring sentient peoples like cattle, and hoarding gold with a compulsive greed far outweighing the natural dragons’ appreciation for beautiful gems.

It’s easy to tell the two races apart. Melkorian dragons grow to be far larger, and more powerful. Unlike other dragons, who are colorful and shimmer in the light, the scales of melkorian dragons are dull and muted in hue. They dwell along our southern borders, a frequent threat to the cities there. Though some have claimed that in rare cases, elves have been able to befriend these drakes, and redeem their natures. 

The last time melkorian dragons came this far north was before elves had established permanent towns up here, just scattered settlements. A treasure hoard of their kind would be very ancient indeed, at least by our reckoning,” the water elf explains. 

Emily absorbs this, picking a croissant out of the bakery bag being passed around the campfire. She pulls the bread apart, only realizing how hungry she is once she takes a bite. “If the cave was made by a dragon, which can fly, how do we know if it’s even accessible on foot?”

“We don’t,” Aira chirps. “But don’t worry, I’ve invented dozens of different ways to get around the problem of flight!” 

Azari makes a nauseated expression. “Flight is a problem, all right. And something to be avoided, not solved.” 

“Nonsense! Once you get over your fear of plummeting to your death…”

“Aira, stop,” Naida cuts her off. “We’re about to go to sleep, and you’re going to give Azari nightmares over a hypothetical situation.” 

“Fine. But a few pegasi-sky-diving sessions would really do her a world of good.”

_________________________________

Emily opens her eyes. She blinks, slowly, the world around her seeming blurred. The air around her is heavy with fog; she can barely distinguish the forms of her sleeping friends around the remnants of their campfire. 

The mist is dark, but as she peers into the night, she sees even deeper, darker shapes in the distance. They’re indistinct, fluid, with glowing blue eyes. Shadows. 

Emily sits up, wary, pulling her legs to her chest. The shadows are whistling, a high-pitched almost-white noise that makes her ears ache. There are whispers, too, in her head. Overlapping, wispy phrases, aggressive, rambling on and on about mortals and the passageway. 

Electric blue lightning crackles through the fog. Emily’s amulet begins to glow, shining like the shadows’ eyes. It levitates, lifting itself from the girl’s chest until the chain bites into the back of her neck. 

It’s leading her.

Shaking with apprehension, Emily allows herself to be pulled to her feet. She stumbles forward, the heavy fog obscuring anything more than a couple yards ahead. She’s lead further up the narrow mountain trail, winding endlessly towards a sky she can’t see. 

At some point, she’s turned sharply to the left. The girl continues walking forward, but realizes the ground feels different, absent. She looks down to see a gaping chasm beneath her. 

Emily considers, for the first time, that this might be a dream.

As though air were as solid as stone, the girl is lead on. She trips when her feet meet rock again, scraping her shins on a jagged outcropping. There’s a rough-hewn path with deep gauges that perhaps could have been carved from talons, if it was ever possible for a creature to have claws as wide as a school bus. 

The rock is damp from the mist, and Emily ends up sliding down the tumultuous path. Now with a scratched-up arms to match her bloody legs, she barely has time to catch her breath before the amulet drags her forward again, and enters the mouth of a monstrous cave. 

The blue glow of the amulet is her only source of light, and even that is quickly swallowed up by the darkness. Every step she takes sends small, clinking objects scattering. Gold, gems, she can’t tell what kind of treasure she’s stumbling through, but the deeper she’s lead, the more her legs sink into the hoard. 

Emily’s standing knee-deep when the amulet stops. Glow softening, it drops back against her chest with a soft thud, the surface crackling with static electricity. As its light dims, another light, deeper in the cave, moves towards her. It grows rapidly in size as it approaches, a dark, shadowy shape forming in its center, evolving into a humanoid shape. 

Emily’s heart drops. It’s them, the presence she felt in the forest. She’s sure of it, even though a part of her mind reminds her that this could just be a dream, a nightmare. 

“Who are you?” she asks, trying to still the tremor in her voice. 

“Who?” the shadowy figure repeats, tilting its head. The voice is warped, but it sounds vaguely female. “Who I am never really mattered to your grandmother. She held her own assumptions as gospel. So why do you inquire? Or did she not warn her own descendant of the dangers of this realm?”

“She must have had her reasons,” Emily spits back, defensive. “And it’s too late for me to ask her now. But I can ask you why you’ve been stalking me, and how you’re somehow connected to her amulet.”

“It was a gift, and a foolish mistake.”

Emily lifts her hand, letting it hover over the jewel, feeling the sharp pricks of electricity jumping to her skin. “Is that why it hurts me? Because you regret giving my grandmother the amulet?”

“Because I made it, and Eimileen used it for something I never condoned. As long as its purpose is being abused, it will always try to find its way back to me.” The shadow’s voice grows in volume, the cave beginning to shake. “It may be yours, little half-blood, but don’t mistake ownership for loyalty. For your own sake, give the amulet to the guardian of the castle. She has sworn to safeguard it till I return to these lands.”

The shadowy figure vanishes into a wreath of blue and green light, as the ground opens up underneath Emily, crumbling away. She falls, jewels and coins pouring in after her. And far beneath, in the darkness, are hundreds of glowing blue eyes, waiting. 

_______________

A/N: I can't believe it's been two years since I've updated this story, and a full year since I shared a segment of this chapter as a WIP. I'm so sorry to have made everyone wait so long! Hopefully, now that I'm over the hurdle that was this clunky chapter, I can finish the Azure Sky this year? Crossing my fingers.

#secrets of elvendale #lego elves #fanfiction #emily jones #fanfic #azari firedancer #aira windwhistler #naida riverheart

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

The new Percy Jackson show convinced me to pull back the series off my bookshelf because the show just doesn't do it justice :(.It feels like a lot of the personality got lost in the adaptation.

Maybe it'll get better, but idk if I even want to finish the season at this point.

#anti pjo tv show #percy jackson and the olympians

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

tolkien fans on tumblr are u still out there!! like/reblog if u are im trying to find you!! <3

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

WARNING!!!!

People, please be careful. There are also people tracking children and people and putting bids on them based on their profile pictures on whatsapp, tracking and kidnapping them. Especially young children, so please be cautious, especially parents who have their children as their profile pictures.

Please pass this on to everyone so that they are aware of the danger. I don’t how it is all around the world but I know it can’t just be here so please please spread the word. Thank you.

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

tolkien fans on tumblr are u still out there!! like/reblog if u are im trying to find you!! <3

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

Reblog if you write fic and people can inbox you random-ass questions about your stories, itemized number lists be damned.

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

(Please) Choose the next Drabble/Oneshot

Options:

Boromir x (fem)Reader

Relationship: Romantic

The Reader is a spirit who has been doomed to haunt the riverbank where she died, who Boromir crosses paths with on the way to the afterlife.

Caspian x Reader

Relationship: Romantic

A Telmarine, and childhood friend of Caspian, must choose to face their fear of Narnians and remain loyal to the true heir to the throne, or swear fealty to Miraz.

Farran Leafshade x Reader

Relationship: Platonic

The Reader has spent their life imprisoned in the depths of a mountain cell. They are finally freed when some elves stumble upon her by accident, but after all the despair and trauma they’ve endured, they still refuse to speak. When they finally see plants for the first time since their imprisonment, they become fascinated, which Farran gently encourages. 

#lotr #lord of the rings #reader insert #polls #narnia #chronicles of narnia #prince caspian #lego elves #elvendale #secrets of elvendale #boromir #caspian #farran #farran leafshade #x reader

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

WIP

A little segment from Ch. 11 of The Azure Sky that I'm working on.

----------

Emily reaches a hand absentmindedly to her amulet. It feels cold again, prickly with static. Unpleasant. 

An instense spark jolts her finger. She recoils. 

A rush of half-faded images, a memory, impress upon her mind. Her eight-year-old self trembling under a quilt on her grandmother’s couch, crying because there was a wailing thunderstorm that night and she hated the way the world looked when it was lit up by lightning. 

They illuminated the dark faces in the trees, the ones too melded with the night to see any other time. And she begged her grandmother to make them go away. 

Her grandmother smiled pityingly, and whispered that she was too old to be hunting spirits anymore, but not to worry, that the dark things were farther away than they appeared, and that there were barriers that kept them locked away. Because that’s how the light deals with darkness, by casting it far away. 

Of course there were the few who dealt with things by swallowing the shadows, but her grandmother told her never to pay them much mind. That you should just tell them white lies because they tended to be grumpy and might not otherwise help anyone with the darkness. 

Little Emily objected. Her parents said that lying was always wrong. 

Her grandmother only smiled gently, tucked a strand of hair behind the child’s ear. Whispered, “Sometimes the only way to love is to lie”. 

#the azure sky #the azure sky wip #the azure sky chapter 11 #elvendale #elvendale fandom #lego elves #lego elves fandom #emily jones #fanfiction #i am making eimileen problematic #not ooc #not villainous #but i am giving her flaws #and blind spots #she loved her granddaughter #but she may have loved others more

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

Do you ever read a fic so interesting you want behind the scenes lore, ten pinterest moodboards and one of those fancy .gif edits but none of that exists bc it's a fanfic?

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

"Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow

Of crystal, wandering water,

Thou art an emblem of the glow

Of beauty --- the unhidden heart --- "

Edgar Allan Poe, "To the River _____"

#naida riverheart #collage #made with picsart #used pics art images #elvendale #elvendale fandom #lego elves #edgar allan poe #poetry #naida

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

if you have a blank blog and keep getting blocked by every blog you follow because we're all wary of porn bots, but you don't know what to put on your blog

you look like this rn

this is what spam bots look like as well. this is a screenshot of a blog I think belongs to a person but it has no posts and no likes so I cannot tell

you can change your profile picture to literally anything. it can be a solid color. it can be a character or actor you're fond of. it can be your cat. it can be a stock photo. literally anything, but it probably shouldn't be your actual face

you can change "Untitled" (which is your blog title btw) to, again, literally anything. it can be "Hello" if you want. "Twitter Transplant" works too. just something

people here often put their name (usually not the one they use irl, or at least not their government name), their preferred pronouns, and a brief overview of their interests in their bio. there's no need to overshare or link a carrd. it can be "I'm new here and haven't set my blog up yet!"

you may have seen people encourage pinning a post to your profile. that can be very similar to your bio, just an overview of what to expect from your blog. fic writers often include their masterlist on it. if you're not set up yet, it can be a placeholder. "pinning this for later" is better than nothing

on mobile, your Edit Appearance button looks like a little paint palette board. here it is on my blog

on desktop, you go to your sidebar first

Edit Appearance brings you here

my bio looks Like That because it has links in it, which have to be coded in html

we don't want to block y'all but you have to show us some signs of life. PLEASE. also this is a blogging website and blogging involves posting or reblogging but that's another conversation

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

The bots have apparently realized they were too obvious and now don't add a description or title to their blogs at all so reminder to any new users to have Something there or you'll end up blocked and reported by mistake

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

Hey, I know it's been awhile since I've posted new content consistently on my blogs. These past few months have been a struggle for me in my personal life, and I'm not sure when things are going to get better. I just wanted to let you all know that I haven't abandoned this blog, any of my WIPs or requests. I am still writing, just more sporadically, and I appreciate your patience in waiting for long overdue posts.

Reading and writing fan-fiction has always been a source of happiness and comfort for me, and I can't thank enough anyone here who's enjoyed this content and liked, reblogged, or commented. You all have shed a little light on a dark time in my life and I deeply appreciate it. :)

#will delete later #just wanted to let you know i haven't abandoned fics

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

Fall Prompt List

Masterlist (labrats-and-clonetroopers)

Request Guidelines (labrats-and-clonetroopers)

Masterlist (of-elves-and-mad-hatters)

Request Guidelines (of-elves-and-mad-hatters)

_________________________________

“Carving pumpkins is a lot harder than it looks.” 

“The Frankenstein movie is an absolute insult to Mary Shelley’s novel! I can’t believe you would suggest we watch it!”

“I spent over an hour raking up all those leaves. If you jump in that pile, you’re dead to me.”

“Honestly, the worst part about fall is all the garden spiders constantly trying to barricade me in my own home.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re one of those people who eats six plates of food on Thanksgiving.”

“You’re gonna have to work a lot harder if you want to come up with a Halloween prank that will actually scare me.”

“No, we’re not going to trick-or-treat ‘the old fashioned way’. No vandalizing peoples’ homes if they don’t give us candy.”

“I’m not blind, you know. I’ve noticed the way you change when the weather starts to grow cold.”

“I don’t think there’s anything more romantic than holding hands, on a stroll, in the cool autumn breeze.”

“I love ghost stories. Especially the tragic ones with broken hearts and lovers who were doomed from the beginning.”

“You haven’t really lived if you’ve never camped out in a graveyard on Halloween night.”

“It’s alright. It’s just another power outage.”

“Wait, you seriously don’t like pumpkin pie?”

“I love moments like this. Just curled up by the fire, listening to the rain.”

“The only thing I plan on doing this season is reading through the complete collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s works.”

#fall writing prompt #writing prompts #autumn writing prompts #fall prompts #halloween writing prompts #thanksgiving writing prompts #seasonal writing prompts #random writing prompts

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

"Legend" Don Diego Drabble, Zorro (1957)

Masterlist 

Request Guidelines

Warning: Blood and Injury

______________________________

He knows what his father would say, the reprimanding tone in his voice barely masking his worry, You’re not invincible, you know! You could’ve gotten yourself killed. And right now, as Diego clutches one crimson hand against his side to try and stop the bleeding, he thinks it would be a rather pointless admonition. Whatever illusions he may have had about himself have been undoubtedly shattered. 

It was an illusion. One that Diego so carefully crafted. Zorro the bandit, the fox, elusive and only ever arrayed in the black of night. He made him a legend, more phantom than man, and often has Diego heard people speak of him as though he were a supernatural entity. And that wonder, that sense of mystery and invincibility has branded the legend of Zorro as an avenging angel of justice. A warning to those who would terrorize and exploit the innocent. 

Maybe, if he’s truly honest, that illusion has worked a little too well. That even Diego has been deluded by his own spell! And that would be a more amusing thought if he wasn’t dying out here in the wilderness, a legend brought down to humble mortality. 

#don diego de la vega #zorro #disney's zorro #zorro 1957 #fanfiction #drabble #tw: blood #tw: injury

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

"In the spring of youth it was my lot

To haunt of the wide world a spot

The which I could not love the less---

So lovely was the loneliness

Of a wild lake, with black rock bound,

And the tall pines that towered around."

Edgar Allan Poe, "The Lake: To ______"

#made with picsart #used images from picsart #elvendale fandom #ragana #lego elves #collage #edgar allan poe #poetry quote #elvendale

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

US SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE IS CHANGING ITS NUMBER

Taking effect July 2022, the US Suicide Prevention Hotline will change from 800-273-8255 to the three digit code of 988. Especially with families and communities reeling from back to back tragedies, it is super important to share this information!

Repeat: Starting July 2022, the US Suicide Prevention Hotline will be 988