~The Elven-names~ Messenger of Doom

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We stood in silence for a while, the Keeper and I. At last I looked up at him. "After the mist rises, couldn't we just find the Mormir and drive them back out?"

He shook his head slowly. "It is extremely difficult to find them after they are entrenched. The Mormir are masters of disguise and cloaking techniques.

I frowned at the unfamiliar term. "Cloaking?"

"It's a way of making it appear that there is no one in a certain area, while in actuality, there may be several people there," replied the Keeper. "Some people think it's magic, but it's really just advanced camouflage and hiding carefully." The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "We Elven-named are ourselves not to bad at cloaking." He sighed. "But it is still hard to locate them once they are in place."

A dark sense of foreboding settled over me like a gloomy cloud. I bid the Keeper of the Legacy farewell and went back to my room.

*   *   *

 

The fog did not lift Saturday or Sunday. Living in the fog is a depressing thing. It was dark and gloomy in the Forest Palace despite its beauty. The trees the Palace was made of were soggy; occasionally a drop would fall from one of the branches to the floor. And you could never see anything at any distance properly--everything was obscured by the twisting clouds.

 

It was with great relief, therefore, that I awoke on Monday to the sun streaming in through the window. I got up and laughed at my worries, for the sun seemed to wipe away the dark forebodings of the day before like it had the fog. Nothing could be very wrong, it seemed, when the world was so beautiful.

 

This mood continued even after I went to school that morning. I felt nothing could harm me and I was as carefree as I had been before this whole thing started. And at first everything went wonderfully. The classes were a breeze, and Heather was friendly but not overly chatty.

 

At lunchtime I waved to Matt and Fred and sat down at an empty table with my food. I was totally surprised when Morwenna sat down beside me.

 

After an awkward silence, I finally couldn't resist my curiosity, and I asked her, "You know, I still don't understand what you meant when you said you knew all about me..."

 

She whirled on me with great vehemence. "Oh, I see your game. You're trying to make me make a fool of myself. Well, I'm not going to fall for it!"

 

I was aghast--I hadn't meant to do anything, I just wanted to learn more. "Oh, no, no," I cried softly. "That isn't it at all!"

 

Morwenna sniffed. "I don't even know why I'm bothering with you. You're just a poor, weak, little Elven-named girl, and I am a member of the M-- of a group whose destiny is to rule." Contempt was dripping from her voice, but I caught a slight hesitation. Had she been going to say she was a member of the Mormir? She went on. "And your destiny is to fail. And your downfall will come in no less than five days." Her voice was low and ominous.

 

I tried to act nonchalant. "Five days? Are you sure it will be our downfall?"

 

Her eyes narrowed. "It will come in five. days. and you will see it, and you will see the ruin of your plans." She tossed her head and walked off.

~The Elven-Names~ Morwenna

To go to school, Thoron, Gilanna, and I went to our house and went to school the way we usually did. I couldn't help feeling a bit depressed. Dad was still sick, and our whole lives had changed, but we still had to act like normal. I wanted to do something, not just go to school!

AS I entered the school, I looked around. I noticed Fred, but he didn't see me. I kept looking around for friends, and caught sight of Heather. She looked up right as I glanced at her, and her eyebrows shot up as our eyes met. She hurried over.

"Mir!" she exclaimed as she came up to me. "You're back!" She stopped and looked at me strangely. "You look different. What happened?"

I shrugged. "It's been a hard week." I stopped there, unsure of what to say next. Heather gave me another strange glance.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around--if you don't disappear again!" she smiled and ran off.

In class I noticed a new girl. What was strange about her was that she was dressed completely in black--black hoodie, black jeans, black tennis shoes, black everything! I didn't see her face, but she intrigued me.

I asked Heather about her later.

"Oh, she started coming right after you left," Heather replied. "Her name's like, Morwenna, or something. I think she's kinda weird," she added.

I nodded. "Thanks for telling me. I was just wondering who she was."

*   *   *

 

Morwenna. The name sounded strangely familiar. I thought about it until lunch, but I couldn't figure it out.

 

At lunch Matt said "Hi", but he sat at a different table, so that was alright. After I had eaten, but before classes began again, I was beginning to feel slightly relaxed. I was sitting by myself in the corner of the room, reading a book, when I looked up to see Morwenna standing in front of me. She was slender, and had what people would call 'elfin' features. You know, really pretty. She had pale blonde hair in a messy bun, and her eyes were an icy blue. I was glad she didn't wear black make-up. That would have been really creepy.

"Hi!" I said cheerfully. "I'm--"

"I know who you are," she interrupted.

I was bewildered. "You know my name?"

She gazed at me coolly. "Yes, but I know who you really are. You can't hide."

It felt like something twisted my insides. Did she mean...? I tried to look like I didn't have a clue. "I don't know what you mean. I'm just Mir Faeron."

She gave a derisive little laugh. "You can't fool me. Your name gives it away. See you around, Mirluin." She turned and walked off. After she was a little ways away, she looked back and raised her eyebrows in a mocking challenge. Then she was gone.

As I was standing there dumbfounded, her name clicked into place. Morwenna. Mor-wen-na. Dark or shadowed maiden in elvish, with a decorative 'na' at the end. Surely she was one of the Mormir. I would need to tell Matt.