Kizár Elená Durin · @SilmarilNaro
22nd Dec 2014 from TwitLonger
Quest-verse: The Defeat of Smaug
Set after http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj9elv
Smaug is fought and the Arkenstone reveals something surprising.
@SonofDari @SilmarilNaro @LordoftheReach @SilmarilAndrast
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Kíli
The mountain's silence is heavy as they sneak deeper and deeper into what once was the great Kingdom of Erebor. Knowing Elenaria right beside him - understanding their bond better than before - Kíli is calm, icy calm now, the fear and doubts of the past months are gone. To Elenaria's right he can see Maedhros, the elf moving like a shadow, and with as much icy calm.
When they cross a bridge and enter a huge hall, Kíli stops, calm giving way to incredulous puzzlement. "That has to be a joke..." The hall is full of gold, the hoard stretches in all directions, piles and piles of gold, jewelry and more gold. it is so much that Kíli can only wonder what greed, what lust for gold assembled as much.... and who in the world should clean up in here, after the fact.
Kizár
Kizár looks across the heaps of treasure with a small grimace, thinking of a few memories she now is starting to accept once again. She has to admit she has never seen a treasure vault with quite this much in it, in any stage of her life, though she privately wonders if an equivalent might have existed in the dragon lairs of Angband. "Just don't drop me in there, I'd get a bit lost amongst all that." She says with a wry tone, the ghost image she now wears having shifted to the otherworld elf in silver and blue. It is not what she used to wear when facing battle, but until the dragon shows himself, it is an self-image that suits the shields she has to keep her presence subdued.
Russandol
Maedhros turns to his sister, her wry comment reminding him so much of other days, of small quips and jokes they shared at his father's expense. "You could..." he hesitates for a moment, not sure if he has a right to suggest this again. "you could tap into my strength, my fëa... to stabilize your form, and to not get lost." They did this secretly sometimes, back in the hills outside Tirion, in a life so long ago, it seems like a dream.
Kíli
"I will not drop you," Kíli says, securing the pouch at his belt. He would find her, even in this pile of gold, because he would hear her call, but he would not want her to fear being lost again.
Kizár
Even as she rests a grateful hand on Kíli's shoulder, her mind is busy recalling those bright days long ago, reaching out as Rú has suggested, gently touching his soul. So long living in a different world, where the magic worked significantly differently, gives her thoughts on how to do things slightly differently, and she recalls a test she once went through, when she was living without her full memories of herself, and how, on instinct, her self-image had briefly been Ñoldor and just as instinctively she had reverted it to how her body appeared. She draws on that memory now, her ghost-form growing significantly less ghostly, though the heavy armour she used to wear also appearing around her, and two swords, their sheathes harnessed at her back.
She looks up at Russandol. "Do you think we're ready to wake the drake?" She asks, a small smile on her lips.
Russandol
Seeing his sister take form was... different and amazing. The gentle touch of their minds had changed too, become deeper and firmer. They both have changed, and yet they both are still the same. Why is it, that he suddenly feels proud to see his little sister having come into her own?
"I think we are." he replies softly.
A sound from behind them, makes him turn around, it is sound of falling gold, of coin clanking on coin as they fall, as the very pile of gold starts to move.
Kizár
Kizár watches as the coins tumble in a manner not unlike a waterfall, as Smaug's red-scaled body starts to emerge, his head turning to scan the chamber. Frowning at him thoughtfully she thinks that despite anything, he *is* an impressive beast, certainly not as gnarled and twisted as the Archdemon. Still, even if she acknowledges that he is not ugly, she does not have any wish to spare him. He certainly did not spare Durin's Folk when he came to this mountain.
"A Man, a Dwarf, an Elf, and something... curious. What shiny bauble do such invaders carry with them?"
Kizár sighs, exasperated. A bauble? That annoyed her even more. "Well that's it then! You die for that!" She says in annoyance.
Russandol
Kizár's brave words elicit Smaug's laughter, and it sends an icy chill down Kíli's spine. It stirs something inside him, a fear... or a memory? He does not know. All he knows is, that something inside him reacts with a violent will to the presence of the beast.
Beside him Maedhros advances, sword in his left hand. "If you want her... you can try to get her." his elven voice echoes clearly in the hall and Smaug hesitates no moment to take the invitation.
The lizard's body shoots forward, a swipe of the paw half burying the elf in a flood of gold, while Kíli is swiped to the side by a lash of his tail.
Kizár
Kizár swords are out in a moment, one already wreathed in bright fire, while the other has a line of runes glowing with gold-white light. Both of them are memories of swords long gone, now giving form to Kizár's own power, a mix of arcane conjuration and the way she shaped her fire while burning Kíli's wounds.
"Not that I would let a dragon touch me either. I have faced bigger and more dangerous beasts than you, and burnt them for their presumption." A hard tone that recalls her warrior life as Elenaria, as she stalks towards Smaug. "Care to see how successful you will be when I could do damage to Anglacon the Black?" She does not bother to wait for Smaug to respond before diving in towards his wing, White Fire flaring around her swords.
Kíli
The dragon screams as the blades cut into his wing, and while Kíli is awed by Elenaria's direct attack - he knows he should not, Kélan saw her do many brave things in their other lives - he also sees that the dragon becomes more dangerous in his pain, roaring and trampling across the hall, practically burying Maedhros in gold, the tail slinging around a pillar yanking it free. Kíli dodges the tail this time, something has gone still inside him, cold. It is not Kélan, it is something else and this something, only half-remembered, and yet half familiar reacts with utter clarity.
He dives under the paw of the dragon, grabbing one of the ceremonial, mithril-tipped spears from the hoard and running it right through the paw, nailing it to the ground.
Kizár
Another angry bellow reverberates around the chamber, and Elenaria smirks before turning to duck under the wing, towards that lashing tail, slashing along Smaug's flank. It does not do much damage as the scales are strong, but her Fire still scorches along the surface. Even as she ducks a leg trying to kick at her, something catches her eye and for a moment she glances away, trying to spot the glimmer. It is not a good idea as Smaug tries to kick out again, sending Elenaria tumbling and making her form flicker briefly into a ghostly state before solidifying again.
"You will pay for that one." She growls as she stands, approaching the troublesome tail as Russandol, now out from under the gold, comes at it from the other side.
Russandol
Seeing Elenaria fall for a moment, feeling her state shift, Maedhros lets himself slide between her and the paw. His sword clashes against the scales and while the cut is not deep, they crack open, the blacksteel blade eating through them. Smaug's head shoots at him, and from the corner of his eye he sees Fion who throws one of his blades, it misses the main target but strikes the dragon's tooth, which shatters and leaves Smaug howling in pain.
Blinded by pain and rage the dragon rampages across the hall, kicking Kíli against a pillar and raining gold down on all of them.
Kizár
"Kélan!" Elenaria yells, so deep in the mindset of her Grey Warden self that she thinks that name first. She runs, slipping and stumbling over unstable coins, moving as fast as she can to his side. pulling off a gauntlet, she touches him, concerned that he may be injured. "Kélan? Are you okay?" Her worry rises in her voice. Even with the magic in Thedas, she had never been a great healer, leaving that to companions who were better talented at it.
Kíli
His hand closes around her hand, as he pulls himself to his feet, in his neck he can feel the blood running from the place where his head hit the pillar. "Still standing, commander." he says with a grim smile. "Let's get to the head of this snake."
Kizár
Elenaria breathes a sigh of relief and nods, offering him a hand to help stand. "As you say, my brother Warden." As Kíli stands, Elenaria looks towards the dragon. It seemed some of Fion's fellow dwarves were keeping Smaug distracted while Russandol was able to do more to disable the beast. A movement from the side bring to her notice Bard, who has in hand an arrow long enough to be almost a short spear, and his longbow. She is unsure the bow can handle an arrow of that size, and even Bard seems to realise as much as he slings the bow and watches for an opening.
Kíli
Bard is brave, Kélan will give him that, but this is not the way the dragon can be killed. Gripping his sword with one hand, he looks at Elenaria. "Go for the head... I will bring him to you." Without further words, he slides down on the gold, just in time to prevent Fion from ending up in that greedy lizard's mouth. Maedhros has cut the sinews of the dragon's wings, he cannot fly any more, and now it is time for this to end.
Kélan hits the dragon's head with the sword, not for damage, but for pain, to make him angry. "let's dance, lizard."
Furious Smaug comes about, chasing after Kélan who ducks under the attack and takes a step back, luring him closer and closer towards a point where Elenaria can jump on his head.
Kizár
This is a move Elenaria know well. Through her life in Thedas, there had been a good few dragons she had been party to taking down, and while the first on the mountain where her sister resided had fallen to another, it had been Elenaria who had taken the Archdemon. As Smaug charged towards Kíli, an incomprehensible garble of swearing coming from him, Elenaria shields her presence until he has passed her. Slashed wing passing her, Elenaria turns her swords in her hands and strikes his back leg, digging the blades in and using them to climb onto the dragon's back. Her action does not go unnoticed and Smaug tries to turn to see her as she climbs along his spine, but between Kíli, Russandol, Fion and his comrades, and even Bard on the edges of the battle, his attention is once again drawn away, giving Elenaria an opening for the last stretch of neck.
"In the name of Durin's Folk, the Men of Dale, the children of Fëanáro, and the Two Trees of Valinor... begone beast!" She growls as the sword shaped after her sister's own blade plunges into Smaug's skull, burning through resistance into his brain.
Kíli
The dragon's last scream is a howl that that rings out loudly in the vast halls of the mountain, before his body splashes into the gold one last time, setting off currents of coin running in all directions. Ignoring the despicable rubble around them, Kélan sprints towards the head, as it goes still. He knows this is not an Archdemon, he knows there is no taint this time... but a part of him still fears, as he did that day on the walls of Denerim, that the Dragonsoul may enter his sister's form and force him to do... what he could never allow to happen.
"Elenaria... are you alright?" He reaches out, helping her to slide off the head of the beast.
Kizár
As the dragon collapses, Elenaria falls with it, but only a stubborn grip on her blade keeps her from being thrown. With the monster dead, a feeling akin to shock takes her over, but her brother's voice helps keep it from taking her over and she looks up at him, nodding breathless. "Kélan... Kíli." She answers him, letting him know she is still there. "I- I'm alright..." She struggles to her feet to meet him, the sword left behind vanishing from existence and it's partner dropped some time ago with it, and her form shifting, armour disappearing and instead of the Warden who fought yet another battle she returns to the dwarf lass she has been for the last several decades.
"I'm fine, just fine. A little tired. Haven't channeled power at that level for a long time."
Kíli
Kíli embraces her, holding his sister tight. "You will be alright, Stone-Sister," he says softly, in Khuzdul. "I'll take care of you..." he does not know how to give her strength, how to fuel another fëa, it is nothing he ever learned, but he remembers how she strengthened him, when his spark awoke, and at other dire times. Holding onto her, cradling her against his shoulder, Kíli tries to reach for her mind, to intertwine their minds the way she did in the past, so she can have his strength to recover.
Kizár
Kizár lets herself settle into Kíli's mind, in that warm comfortable place that is her haven with her Fire-Brother. She does not draw hard on his flame, but a slow steady warmth helps her feel not quite as tired and will slowly aid her recovery.
A few moments of just curling in Kíli's care and she remembers something that distracted her earlier. "I think I briefly spotted the Arkenstone before. It would be best if we warn everyone to be careful of it."
Kíli
"The Arkenstone... mighty important useless jewel..." for a moment the younger side of Kíli reappears with a small grin. "Do you think we could ask your older brother to look for it? With the amount of powerful jewels he knew, I doubt our little one will be a danger to him?" He knows he should not be that cavalier about the King's Jewel, but something inside him strongly opposes to link kingship to some piece of jewelry... or gold for that matter.
Russandol
Maedhros was at first surprise to see how Elenarien curled into her dwarf-Brother's embrace, but seeing them he begins to glimpse how close they are, how much Kíli has become her brother. "I saw it too." he replies loudly, to the mention of the Stone. "The dragon threw it somewhere over towards the exit."
Kizár
"Be careful with it, Maitimo." Kizár says, giving him a tired smile. "I was given good reason to believe it had links to an ancient curse that could be trouble," She glances Kíli's way. "Particularly for the line of Durin. Not something I want to catch them either." She trusts Russandol knows well enough how to sense arcane dangers and will be able to keep it from taking any hold on him.
Russandol
Maedhros does not ask how Elenarien knows that the stone might be cursed, if she has reason to believe so, than being careful is a wise option. "Remain here, I shall find the stone." he says, gesturing Fion to take the other side of the hall.
Searching for one jewel inside such a huge pile of gold would usually be futile, but something tingles on his senses, that he cannot quite ignore. Following that sense Maedhros approaches the exit of the hall, stopping there. The sense is growing stronger, more intense. Looking up he spots the jewel sitting atop a pile of gold, glittering coldly. It reminds him of works of his father and of darker things he has seen... yet no dark thing contains a spark of light, like this stone. Carefully picking it up, he can feel the power leech from the stone. "I think this stone will need your judgement, sister."
Kizár
As Russandol sets the Arkenstone in her hands Kizár can sense a dozen conflicting impressions from the jewel. The first and greatest impression was anger and wariness, backed by a lingering sense of the Deep Fire, but that felt... like a mask, a shield hiding something deeper. Though she remains tired she calls up a small amount of her power to look deeper...
Kizár jerks back, eyes wide in shock. "It can't-" She shakes her head. "Everyone has said-"
Kíli
Kíli can feel the shock form her, and something other - and echo, small, oh so very small, but it reminds him vividly of the shy stone he heard cry when he was just a little dwarfling. Kneeling down beside his sister's ghostly form, he gently reaches for her arm. "What is it, Kizár?" he asks softly. "do you know..." he wanted to say 'the stone' but the words seem wrong.
Kizár
Kizár turns the Arkenstone in her hands, looking at the faceted outer surface. "Do you recall all the rumours about this stone I always dismissed as silly wishful thinking?" She looks up at Kíli. "I once pulled this stone out of an urn of ashes. Now it seems I have ended up finding her in an unexpected place again."
Kíli
Kíli's eyes widen, it is a reference only Kélan can understand though. He was not there at the time, he had met Elenaria only later, when she came to Orzammar, but he knew the necklace she had worn... and the story of the Jewel and of the Urn of Sacred Ashes. But here... now, here that he understands much better who Kizár, his little sister, truly is, he begins to grasp what it means. "Your sister..." he whispers, embracing her fully, holding her. "she is your sister."
Lossanárë
Another ghostly form appears with barely a whisper. Tall and beautiful as any Ñoldor, hair as red as Russandol's, and garbed in a long white gown with a blue sash. Lossanárë kneels before the two, her eyes set on Kizár. "My sister, come again to find me. This time was even longer than in that life, but I am glad you're finally here Elennárë."
Kizár
Still wide-eyed, Kizár leans forward, reaching out to her sister, though her finger go straight through Lossanárë's form. "Every tale we have heard about what happened to you says you were with Eärendil, beyond the reach of any in this world."
Lossanárë
Lossanárë laughs quietly. "Sindar pride, I suspect." She waved a hand. "They would not want to admit that they were wrong, that Thingol and his family after him held me prisoner, and the Valar themselves judged them as being wrong for ignoring my wishes and granted my will to return and find you again."
Russandol
Staring at the beautiful elf appearing, Maedhros feels beyond belief... beyond comprehending how it would be possible. It is her... their lost sister. As beautiful and serene as ever, and... now even more than ever because she reminds him of Nerdanel. He does not move or intrude upon the sister's reuniting, he knows there is not real room for him in that... and yet his heart soars, knowing that two of them, two of them are free. Though with the form she took, he also knows things might not yet be over or easy.
Kíli
Kíli has retreated a bit, enough to give the sisters space. Andraste and Elenaria, Elennárë and Lossanárë... he cannot hide a bright smile, at seeing them together again. He knows that this will make things complicated, the Arkenstone was the King's jewel, symbol of Thrór's rule and sought by Thorin... at Gandalf's behest no less. He cannot allow Thorin to lay a claim to the stone again, which will not be easy, to say the least.
Kizár
Kizár looks down at the stone, looking at the facets around it. "Did you somehow end up in the Deep Fire as well? Your shell certainly has signs of it." She does not know why of all things that is the first she asks about, but she thinks she needs some time to reset her mind after so long believing Lossanárë was out of reach.
Lossanárë
That brings up another quiet laugh. "I did, for a short while. Rumours about my being with Eärendil are not totally baseless. After the Valar made their judgement on what happened to me, Eärendil was given the task of delivering me back to Middle Earth with all speed. He was intercepted by Anglacon though and I ended up being thrown loose... and with the growing upheaval of the land quite a number of mountains around Middle Earth were actively erupting, this mountain included."
Russandol
"The Light... that was you?" Maedhros' eyes widen, when he realizes that the falling star he saw in that night, was his sister. "The star falling from the skies?" he can hardly believe it, but then... it would be like one of his sisters.
Lossanárë
Lossanárë turns to look up at Russandol for a moment, before rising to her feet and walking over to him. "My brother, Nelyafinwë Maitimo." An ephemeral hand comes to rest gently on his cheek. "I am sure if anyone had a moment to spare to watch the skies in that moment then I would have been very visible."
Her eyes move to rest on the arm missing a hand that she had heard tell of, even in Angband. "The Valar originally expected Eonwë to return with Elennárë and Elenlossë, so we would be reunited, but that did not go quite to plan, so another path was found. Not that I minded too much, once the mountain calmed and the stone around me cooled solid, I had a peaceful time until the dwarves found the diamond deposit I was in."
Russandol
"You were, a bright star falling from the skies, lighting up the skies like fire..." Maitimo gently reaches up to touch the translucent Hand. "I..." he does not know what to say, had he not insisted on stealing Elennárë and Elenlossë the sisters might have reunited Long ago... and yet, deep down knowing they are here now, he cannot quite regret it either.
"The dwarves... did they..." he does not know how to ask, if they laid Claim to his wonderful sister.
Kíli
Kíli watches Lossanárë as she greets her brother, but there is something in her... in her voice, in her echo mingled into the echo of her sister that stirs a memory deep inside him. Something he knows, that now painfully comes to the foreground.
"Whatever claim King Thrór might have made in past," he says his own voice almost sounding strange to his ears, like he hears a stranger speaking. "is no longer valid."
Kizár
Kizár looks at him, curious about his statement. The tone sounds... there was a night, right after a battle, when she and Kélan sat and talked about impending death and how, despite that, she would not truly disappear on him. It had been when Kélan held her stone she had heard a tone like that, leading her to look deeper and see something more than a Casteless turned newly Joined Warden.
Lossanárë
Lossanárë turns back to Kíli, looking at him with a thoughtful eye. "May I ask, what you mean, Ser..."
Kizár
"Kíli," Kizár offers the name to her sister. "Once Warden Kélan as well."
That gains a thankful nod and a soft mental touch from her sister.
Kíli
Her curious if confused voice echoes through the empty hall and for a moment, the pictures swim before Kíli's eyes. Suddenly he is again in those tunnels - in the dark, endless halls of fire, the body of his brother lying behind him, having died from the pain, the torture... beyond help, even when help reached him. And now he can hear the Orcs, closing in... still determined to bring his brother home, even if it only was a corpse.
Taking a deep breath he looks up at the red-haired lady, like he did a long time ago. "Long ago, in a much darker place, you showed a dwarf how to escape with his murdered brother," he says to her. "he - I - believed you to be a ghost, an elven fëa trapped forever in darkness, you and your sisters... he promised he'd try to come back and find you." He know remembers, understands why his soul was drawn into Thedas, after death, how his journey led him to Orzammar.
"And while I failed you there - failed to find you, I met you again in Thedas, to make up for it." he squares his shoulders, his entire posture shifting a little, as the one, who's memory woke inside him grows stronger. "And as Prince of the Line of Durin, I rescind all claims that my kin or my people ever made to you."
Lossanárë
"Prince Askíl..." Lossanárë murmurs, returning to Kíli's side. "We wanted to help more, but the Dark One had learned ways to restrain us, even when we wandered. She looks at Kizár for a moment, knowing she too is now remembering what Kíli refers to. "Beren and Lúthien came soon after, and all the trouble that brought..." she shrugs delicately, knowing one point of those events involved dwarves, if not those under Askíl's rule.
"Your rescinding of your claim is very welcome, Prince of the Line of Durin, and I in turn would offer instead to remain an ally of the one my sister considers her brother."
Kíli
"You have my friendship, Lady Lossanárë," Kíli replied, the presence of another still close inside him, a change that almost overwhelmed him.
"How dare you?" A deep voice came from the stairs that led above, to the bridges high over the golden hall. "You have no right to barter away our birthright..."
Somewhere out there, beyond these halls Durin's Day has arrived, Kíli realizes, and Thorin is here. "Leave that to me." he says softly to the sisters, before turning around, striding up the stairs towards the angered King.
"I dare, by right of bloodline, by obligation of our house - and most of all, by right of conquest. My chosen sister killed the dragon, with help from Lord Maitimo and myself." His eyes lock with those of an angry dwarf-king. "Our house made many mistakes - I committed the gravest of them - but laying claim to this stone was a folly as grave as the folly of Thingol and Draghazûr," he uses the dwarven name of the King of Belegost who'd later would become known as Thingol's murderer.
Thorin frowns, his hand on his sword. "You have no right, Kíli, you are a younger son, it is for the King alone to make such choice, and not spread our treasure to thieves."
Russandol
Maedhros watches the dwarves' quarrel rise - he understands their tongue fluently, having learned modern Khuzdul in his Long years in the Peak. And he sees the signs of danger - he knows Kíli for who he is - a reincarnation barely having become Aware of his own Soul, maybe even an awakening come too early, pushed out by danger and circumstance. While he is ready to draw his sword and teach Thorin, Son of Thrain, Son of Thrór the Golden, a lesson about ever claiming one of his sisters, he holds back... yet.
Kíli
"Thieves?" Kíli... Askíl shakes his head as he crosses the bridge to stand in front of Thorin. "They freed this mountain from the dragon, they have more claim to this disgusting hoard than you ever had, Thorin, Son of Thrain. And I will not have you dishonor our house - either respect my word or face me in the Deeps."
"How... how do you know of this?" Thorin's eyes have widened, seeing the almost stranger in Kíli's form. He should not know of the way how such quarrels are resolved inside their house. "You cannot even access the deeps..."
"Are you ready to put that to a test?" Askíl growls "I gave my word to this lady long ago, and I stand by it. Her sister is my chosen sister, any claim you want to lay to them, you have to go through me first. What is your choice?"
Kizár
Kizár steps back to stand at Lossanárë's side, not really thinking about it as she shifts back into the form of Elenaria Surana, armour and swords all present. A flicker to her side makes her look and see that not only has Lossanárë mirrored her change and shifted forms to the blonde arcane warrior that was the real Andraste, but a third ghostly figure had joined them, standing just behind his wife's shoulder.
Lossanárë
For all the inaccuracies that had filtered into Chantry doctrine, it had amused Lossanárë down through the years that iconography got two things right, that Andraste had long blonde hair and that she had claimed the spiked crown of the High Magister of Emerius after she had slain him. Chantry history never remembered the bronze crown was Tevinter though.
She briefly glances at her sister and cannot help muffle a brief laugh as she sees they hold the same Cirth-engraved sword, Elenaria having borne it after being given it by Lossanárë's long-time guardian and husband. She can feel him just behind her as well, and is glad of him being there in her support, as he was all through Thingol's constant attempts to turn her from her true family.
Kizár
Kizár watches the other dwarves of the Company lurk behind Thorin, noting the stressed and drawn look on Bilbo's face in particular. Her eyes return to Thorin, then glance at her sister's stoneform, still in her hand. "The curse is not yet gone..." She murmurs.
Russandol
Seeing the Change in his sisters is amazing, Maedhros has yet to grow used to their different faces, or appearances and yet he cannot stop marvel at the two beautiful ladies, who stand side by side, sword in hand. He does not know who the other ghost is, that appeared beside Lossanárë, but he also feels that this is not the time to ask.
Hearing Kizár's whisper, he studies the dwarves as well. "You are right - and who knows how that will entangle, should he agree to contest inside the Stone." While he doubts Kíli would even know what such contest is, the dwarf standing there - Askíl knows quite well. His eyes stray again across the hall, seeking, searching, for the root of the evil still in These halls.
Kíli
"The Arkenstone is ours, it is the King's Jewel, the seven armies...." Thorin's voice is strained, anger and greed struggling against his hesitation to fight his own nephew.
"The Armies will remember Durin's Blood, once enthroned." Kíli replies. "Are you so blind Thorin? Greed - Greed brought this evil to us, greed brought our people to it's lowest, to their foulest, vilest deeds during the Elder Days, and Greed will lead us to far worse still. We do not need a jewel, a crown, or whatever bejeweled scepter lies inside this hoard, to prove that we are the true blood of Durin."
Thorin hesitates again, anger struggling against control. "Who... what are you, to make such claims? How dare you tell me, what to do with the treasure my fathers?"
Kizár
"Since this quest started, Kíli has had dreams. Dreams of other lives, other lives *he* has lived." Kizár speaks up in a serious tone. "I have been there, with him, all through, helping him work the dreams out. Who else would dream of mounting an attack on Angband to rescue Frérin Dragonsbane but Prince Askíl? Who would dream of working alongside the smith Celebrimbor but Thoraine? Or of facing the armies of Mordor in the Last Alliance, as Tiórvi?"
She sets the Arkenstone on the floor and raises her blade, glancing Lossanárë and Maferath's way, hearing them through her renewed sibling bond. "If you wish to have the Arkenstone, then I can easily sheer off the the shell that is around my sister and you can keep that. Lossanárë however, she is NO ONE'S. Not yours, not any Sindar Elf's, only her own!" Her temper, slowly brewing comes to a head and she bring down the sword, channeling her power through it to crack the Arkenstone.
Kíli
"Noo..." Thorin shouts as the sword comes down at the stone, he draws his blade to rush at Kizár, but Kíli blocks him off swiftly, disarming him with one fluent move, faster and swifter than any Thorin has come to expect of him.
"Is that all you care for?" Kíli snaps, his voice hard. "is that what you want? To care for gold, for dead stones, for gems... to care for them more than for the living?" He can feel Kizár's presence with him, close and warm, her words in his defense grounding him, reminding him where he is, who he is... and knowing her here is the greatest gift he can imagine. "Let me tell you, Thorin... no treasure, no gold, no stones, can heal you, when you have lost those souls that were closest to you." he knows, he's been there. "If you cannot see that, then you are no different from your grandfather."
"I am NOT my grandfather!" Thorin's voice has sunken to a low growl, as he reaches for his head, "I am not my grandfather... I am not..." Suddenly he collapses on the stairs, like a furious rage was yanked from him.
Kizár
Kizár kneels and brushes aside the pieces of diamond shell, picking out and brushing off the Light that had been at it's centre. Her sister, the Silmaril everyone believes flies the night skies.
"Then do not let his madness hold you, fight it, fight for your family, as I have fought for mine."
Lossanárë
For a moment Lossanárë's eyes are closed, as Kizár clears her stoneform she in turn pushes away the shell, impregnated as it was with the ancient brutality of the Deep Fire. She had let that shield her for a long time, but she thinks now she may have done wrong, feeling the threads of darkness between it and Thorin, between the anger she masked herself in and the curse the displaced king struggles with.
Kíli
From the corner of his eyes, Kíli sees Fíli brush past the others, to reach them on the stairs, squatting down beside Thorin. There is a glance they exchange, and suddenly he can feel a distance between them. Whatever will come of this... things will never be quite the same, and he can see that Fíli is not happy with him.
"Thorin," the blond dwarf says in a low voice. When Kíli wants to take step towards them, hoping that Thorin will hear him now, he is stopped by Fíli raising a hand. "do not come closer... you did quite enough." the older dwarf brother says firmly.
Thorin has still been looking down at his hands, shaking, when he hears Fíli's voice he looks up, shortly squeezing the younger dwarf's shoulder before his haunted eyes find Kizár. "Take the shell," he says hoarsely. "crush it, throw it into the darkest pit you can find... I..." his voice almost breaks. "I give it up to you."
Kizár
Kizár looks at Thorin for a long moment before nodding and moving to pick up the fragments. She looks closely at Fíli and wonders if she has destroyed more than the Arkenstone in her move to defend her sister's right to freedom. As she stands she looks at Kíli, reaching out on a mental level to offer her support.
Kíli
Feeling Kizár's warm echo helps to balance Kíli in this moment, the memories still burn but he can push them back, remember who he is now, no longer speaking with Askíl's voice. He feels the cool glance from Fíli and turns away, walking towards his sister... and her sister. Shortly embracing them. "Come," he says softly. "let's get these shards away from here." They will need to find a way, so Kizár may always carry Lossanárë... or until they can take solid form. And suddenly that does not seem so absolutely unlikely any more.
Kizár
Kizár nods, checking that she has not missed any fragments before turning to follow Kíli. She can sense Maferath withdrawing and his ghost-image vanishing, though Lossanárë stays, and a flash of red tells Kizár she has returned to her Ñoldor self-image.
From Kíli she senses... a kind of confidence? A hope and expectation? "What are you thinking, Fire-Brother?"
Kíli
They walk out of the hall, and into the quiet tunnels of Erebor, in spite of it all Kíli smiles. "I think, Stone-Sister, that finding a way for you to take corporeal form is not so unlikely any more." he replies, his dark eyes sparkling at her. "it might also discourage people from looking for the two most wonderful stones in this world." And that they are, not for the light inside them or whatever precious beauty people perceive in those jewels, but because of their souls, because they are his sister and her sister in turn.
Kizár
Kizár find a smile flitting across her lips as he says that. The only thing that prevents her from hugging him is that her hands are currently full of crystal fragments, but it does not stop her mental hug. She also passes on the quiet gratitude Lossanárë silently feels about Kíli's words on giving her a way to have a corporeal form as well.
Kíli
Kíli returns the mental embrace, as they approach the gates. "Once all this has settled, we can find a forge and get to work on that. Until then we need to guard Andraste... I mean Lossanárë carefully, for her form will be in grave danger. No one believes you to be more than my good-luck stone... but her... we'll need to protect her well."
Lossanárë
"Thank you, Kíli." Lossanárë speaks up. "I greatly appreciate your support and friendship, brother of my sister, and honoured Warden."