Middle-Earth: Kaen, Lord of Light

Tauriel stepped forward onto the sun-drenched grass, flanked by a handful of Caladhîn bodyguards.

Her Armor was lightly Golden with the Golden Tree's symbol at its cuirass, signifying her royal status.

Her mist-gold hair streamed behind her, lifted by the forest breeze. Sunlight, filtered through the leaves, scattered across her like fragments of blessing.

Her whole figure seemed to glow faintly, as if the light itself was reluctant to leave her skin.

It was the mark of one who had long bathed in Kaen's radiance,

The blessing of the golden Sacred Tree at dawn.

The nobility of the first Caladhîn elf of Middle-earth, in that moment, was in no way inferior to any Calaquendë.

The Noldor of Nargothrond, seeing her clearly for the first time, stared in open astonishment.

Since they had sailed east to Middle-earth, this was their first encounter with a Caladhîn elf.

They could feel it at once….in her presence, her purity, her beauty, the quicksilver brightness in her eyes, the calm wisdom in her bearing….

In none of these was she lesser than they.

Not in the slightest.

In that instant, Princess Anariel finally understood why Kaen had said:

"The Elves of Middle-earth are in no way beneath the Elves of the Blessed Realm."

Faced with Kaen's queen, the supreme military commander of Caerilassil, the assembled warriors hurriedly dismounted, stepped forward, and bowed deeply.

"Lady Tauriel!"

Anariel could not help exclaiming:

"Your grace and beauty truly astonish me.

"This is my first time seeing a Caladhîn elf."

Tauriel inclined her head with a faint smile.

"Princess of Nargothrond," she replied, "your own beauty is equally striking.

"And I can feel a great deal of wisdom from you as well."

"Your Majesty."

Gandalf stepped forward, staff in hand, his eyes full of weary urgency.

"It seems you and King Kaen are not together.

"We've ridden day and night to get here—we need a clearer picture of the southern front."

Sindar hero Corthalion added, voice like a drum:

"Please tell us the current situation.

"What of Doriath?"

And the dwarf, who had taken to calling himself "Dwarf-Elf liaison" half-jokingly, grumbled:

"And what about Legolas? That pointy-eared brat.

"I want to know how he's doing."

Aragorn and Denethor both looked at Tauriel, concern plain in their eyes.

Facing all these expectant gazes, Tauriel did not waste words.

She told them everything she knew.

"According to Kaen's plan, we split our forces three ways," she said.

"I lead ten thousand Caladhîn warriors to reinforce Doriath.

"Kaen himself marched to Lond Daer.

"Reger took the elite to support Laurenandë…"

She sighed very slightly.

"We have no news from Reger yet.

"But Kaen has already broken the pirates and successfully rescued Prince Eluréd ."

"Right now, Eluréd 's column is escorting thousands of Elven civilians north toward the forests of Minhiriath.

"Among them are the two thousand Elven Shadow-wardens Kaen assigned, and around ten thousand Doriathrim soldiers."

She looked around at the gathered faces.

"After discussing with Legolas, we decided to unite all three forces, Eluréd 's retreating column in the south, King Elurin's defenders in the west, and our army in the north.

"Together, we will launch a general offensive on the enemy."

"The time…" a breath passed, "is before dawn tomorrow.

"And the signal will be, fire arrows lighting up the sky."

When they heard the plan, the expedition members and the Nargothrond Elves didn't even hesitate.

They simply nodded, one after another.

"We're in," Aragorn said.

"Been waiting for this,"muttered the dwarf.

....

Meanwhile, on the western side of the forest, Legolas lay low with his warriors in a hidden valley.

On the way here, they had been forced through an enemy formation and fought a brutal battle; more than a thousand comrades had fallen to buy them this path.

They hadn't closed their eyes for a full day and night.

Their silver cloaks were streaked with mud and caked blood.

Legolas' fingers were clenched tight around a piece of parchment—

A rough map marking where King Elurin's main force might be.

"Your Highness, we've found them," a scout whispered, barely containing his excitement. The spear in his hands trembled just the slightest bit.

"We've found the main host."

Legolas rose to his feet in one smooth motion, fatigue forgotten.

"Good," he said, eyes lighting up. "Then what are we waiting for?

"Take me to them. Now."