In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Book 1; The Fellowship of the Ring, Sam Gamgee said, "...[T]here's Elves and Elves. They're all elvish enough, but they're not all the same." These, dear reader, are mine.
CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SOUL QUEST SERIES OF STORIES.
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In this Alternate Universe, elves exist in the Cascade Mountain Range -- more specifically, in the higher elevations of Mount Rainier, the largest volcano in the Cascades. They have no magical powers of which they are aware and are mortal, living to approximately 150 to 200 years of age. In stature, they are only slightly shorter than humans, averaging approximately five feet, seven inches in height. They generally live in a communal fashion in the forest, with each elf or mated pair having a small sleeping hut to provide privacy and protection from sudden inclement weather. The Tribe wintered in a series of caves, until Jim/J'anin urged the building of a long house for their comfort. As of "Broken Ties," three long houses and two cabins exist for the elves of the Ten Tribes.
Many generations ago, the elves had a precious Gift of heightened senses. Having all five senses heightened was rare, and those born with this Gift were deemed "Sentries" of the Tribe. The Sentry became the watcher, the protector, the spotter of game for the hunt and a tracker of weather. The Gift was lost to the Ten Tribes when the last of the Sentries left the Tribes under forgotten circumstances and went to live among men. He fell in love with a human woman and the Gift passed to humankind.
The elves are hermaphrodites. Outwardly, they resemble males in all physical ways. The only way you'd distinguish them from a human male would be by their gracefully pointed ears. Their systems are geared one hundred percent toward reproduction. Because the elves have no manner to eliminate waste from their bodies, they eat sparingly, and their bodies are geared toward using all that they consume. They do eat meat, hunting rabbits, deer and bear to supplement their mainstay vegetarian diet.
Their male sexual organs function in the same manner as humans', except that they have no bladder, so the penis is used only for the ejaculation of semen. Also, what appears to be their anus is actually the entrance to their birth canal (vagina). They have a uterus, and except for the apparent "anal" penetration, get pregnant and birth babies in much the same fashion as human females.
Elves mate for life, generally having only one "soulmate." They reach physical maturity in their early twenties, and are considered full adults when they reach twenty-five Turns-of-Seasons (years). However, reproductive maturity does not occur until an elf nears his fiftieth birthday. When they reach sexual maturity they go out on a Soul Quest to find their mate. Not all elves find suitable soulmates. The mating process involves a mental bonding that is deep and permanent. Only soulmated pairs can impregnate each other. Generally, pairs take turns being Bearer and Sire. In the elven world, the Sires have the status and power, while the Bearers are little more than second-class citizens, despite their great gift to the Tribe. This caste system was also eliminated when Jim arrived. He valued B'layr highly and resented that because he, himself, could not Bear, his soulmate was always relegated to the lower class.
Elves are sexually promiscuous and comfortable with casual nudity. Because only soulmated pairs get pregnant, and because no sexually transmitted diseases exist among their people, the elves indulge their needs with any willing and available partner. Soulmated pairs tend to be less promiscuous, but are still not considered strictly monogamous.
When an elf becomes pregnant, he submits himself to a ritual Blessing of his womb. This Blessing consists of having public, ritual intercourse with every member of the Tribe, including his own soulmate and any offspring old enough to participate. This is not considered rape or incest among the elven people. The elves raise their young as a tribe. Individual parents do not have sole responsibility for their children. Elflings are usually fostered out to other tribe members when they reach approximately three months of age. The Blessing ritual is a way of ensuring that every elf has a part in the symbolic creation/raising of the new life.
After the Blessing, the pregnant elf cleanses himself in a sacred pool within a day's walk of the camp. The pool is large and deep with a waterfall at one end. The water is sparkling clear and filled with many minerals.
Pregnancies last a full year, and are counted in "quarters" instead of "trimesters." The baby is born in the same season in which it was conceived. The birth is a public affair, performed on a fur-covered platform in the center of the camp. Once the elfling is birthed, it is passed around to the members of the Tribe before being returned to its Bearer. An elf can get pregnant when his cycles begin again, usually approximately three months after a birth. However, soulmated pairs generally switch off, so that one or the other of the pair is always pregnant. Elflings are rare and valued in a Tribe, so soulmated pairs are expected to produce as many as possible.
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B'layr (Blair; alternately beh-LAIR)
Spirit Guide: Wolf
When he reached his sexual maturity at the age of fifty-one, B'layr went on a Soul Quest to find his lifemate. Wounded by a hunter, he was rescued by Jim Ellison, a human. As they made their way back to Ellison's camp, B'layr discovered the man was a Sentry. He also realized the soulbond connecting him to his savior. The soulmates consummated their bonding, although Jim was ignorant of the pregnancy until nine months later, when B'layr showed up in Cascade to be near his mate during the final months before birth. While in the city, searching for suitable fresh food, the elf discovered a delicacy that he dubbed "red fruit": tomatoes. The red fruits have since become a favorite treat -- rare because they do not grow well in the high altitudes and cold climate of the mountain.
Among the elves, B'layr is known as the Bearer of Sentries and has a place of high respect and honor within the hierarchy. This level of respect is extremely unusual when bestowed upon a Bearer, but B'layr has given birth to three Sentries, including one set of twins that includes an incredibly rare female elf. His rank is assured among the Ten Tribes because of these blessings. Unfortunately, B'layr also suffered two miscarriages. The first was a son; the second was another set of twins, both female. The second miscarriage resulted in the need for an emergency hysterectomy, which left the elf unable to bear any more offspring.
B'layr gained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Anthropology from Rainier University through their on-line class program. With the birth of his grandchildren, he was freed to examine the origins of the elves by following clues on the Garden Stone.
While exploring the migration of his Tribe to the New World, B'layr eventually finds the original elf Tribe -- The Ancients. The Healer of that Tribe still retained the Old Magic; he healed B'layr of his inability to Bear young. In doing so, he also passed along the Old Magic, which B'layr discovered once he returned home. Unbeknownst to Jim and B'layr, a lovemaking session after the healing results in a new pregnancy for B'layr.
Once home, B'layr began the fateful journey that led, eventually, to him renouncing his dissertation.
L'anin (leh-AHN-in)
Spirit Guide: Stag
L'anin is taller than the average elf, closer in height to his human Sire. Otherwise, he looks like his Bearer: long, curling auburn hair; pointed ears; lanky build. However, instead of deep blue, his eyes are a startling blue-green. He was the only Sentry of the Wolf Tribe until his Sire came to live with them.
Soulmated to A'mara; Bearer of A'mere.
T'erin (teh-AIR-in)
K'tiri (keh-TEER-ee)
Twin sister of T'erin, she was born to B'layr and Jim twenty-six years after the birth of L'anin. K'tiri is an oddity among the Tribes, which had no females until her birth. Although elven in most respects (being half human), she needs no soulmate to become pregnant and can become pregnant repeatedly with different mates. She is also unusual in the fact that she reached her reproductive maturity at approximately the same time as her passage into adulthood at twenty-five. She was crowned the Bearer of Tribes and, upon her passage to adulthood, became Chieftess of the Ten Tribes.
T'lan (teh-LAHN)
B'layr's firstborn after his "healing" that allowed him to become pregnant again. He was born over 26 years after the twins, T'erin and K'tiri.
K'sali (keh-SAW-lee)
The female child of Jim's only pregnancy, K'sali's Sire is B'layr. Born about eleven months after T'lan. Her name means "forest spirit" in Romanian.
A'mere (ah-MEER)
Born the son of L'anin (Bearer) and A'mara (Sire), he is a new Sentry of the Tribe. A'mere is approximately 15 months old at the time of "Broken Ties."
K'lyn (keh-LINN)
Born the daughter of K'tiri and S'kur, she is a Sentry of the Tribe.
L'tem and L'tec (leh-TEM, leh-TECK)
Male twins born of K'tiri and S'kur in "Healing Ties."
M'aris (MARE-is)
Formerly Chieftain of the Wolf Tribe, M'aris passed over his mantle of leadership to Jim (J'anin) when the twins were born.
M'aris was once soulmated, but lost his pregnant mate to a hunter's bullet in the autumn just prior to Jim's joining the Wolf Tribe.
M'arik (MARE-ik)
M'arik is the son of M'aris's brother, nephew of the former Chieftain. He resents the coming of Jim to the Tribes and the dilution of the elven blood. He feels a full-blood elf should lead the Tribes, and not one of the half-breed "whelps." After the murder of Naomi, he flees with his followers to the Ancients where he is eventually found and tried by the Shaman of the Tribe, who exacts the full penalty for murder against the elf -- castration and banishment.
K'tan (keh-TAHN)
Spirit Guide: Spotted Owl
K'tan was an Elder of the Wolf Tribe, and its Healer and Shaman until his death after B'layr's and Jim's return from The Ancients. He turned over the mantle of Shaman to B'layr, who guided him into the afterlife.
A'mara (ah-MARA)
Spirit Guide: Snowshoe Rabbit
Formerly soulmated, A'mara lost his mate to the Great Sickness three winters prior to Jim joining the Wolf Tribe. He never gave birth. As B'layr's closest elven friend, A'mara became foster parent to the twins when B'layr became pregnant again and could not properly care for the elflings by himself. Against all odds, he became the soulmate of L'anin and Sire to their son, A'mere.
When A'mara gets pregnant, his Bearing does not go well. Eventually, the child dies in utero, and A'mara follows him into the afterlife.
In "Broken Ties" we find that many years earlier when both A'mara and B'layr had yet to come into their sexual maturity, they were monogamous lovers who expected to become soulmates when they matured. This did not happen, as A'mara matured first, and found his mate; then B'layr found Jim. The two remained close friends.
S'kur (seh-KOOR)
S'kur is a member of the former Bear Tribe -- the first mate of K'tiri, Sire of K'lyn.
H'tim (heh-TIM)
H'tim became tanner to the Tribes when B'layr stepped down to take on the duties of Shaman and Healer.
S'kim (seh-KIM)
A follower of M'arik. S'kim requested to be a part of the spirit walk that would prove or disprove M'arik's involvement with the death of Naomi. Upon finding he had followed a murderer, he suggested to the others in his band of elves that they return home to reunite with the Ten Tribes.
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The Reindeer Tribe (Siberia)
T'yoma (teh-YO-mah)
Chieftain of the Reindeer Tribe.
R'slan (roo-SLAHN)
Healer of the Reindeer Tribe.
K'rill (keh-RILL)
Scout and Sentry of the Reindeer Tribe.
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The Ancients (Romania):
D'oru (doh-ROO)
Chieftain of the Tribe (Ancients or Old Ones).
N'elu (NAY-loo)
Shaman/Healer for the Tribe.
F'lorin (feh-LORIN)
Senior Sentry among the Old Ones.
G'hita (geh-HEET-a)
A relatively young elven Sentry for the Tribe.
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James Ellison; aka Jim, J'anin (jeh-AHN-in)
Jim was a detective in the Cascade, Washington, police department's Major Crime unit before his retirement at age sixty-five.
Soulmate of B'layr, Jim (known as J'anin among the elves) became the Senior Sentry of the Tribes, eventually taking over the mantle of Chieftain when the twins were born.
Looking through an old genealogy book, Jim and B'layr discover an elf several generations back in Jim's ancestry. The discovery explains why Jim has the heightened senses. He gives the Gift back to the Tribe through his offspring. While Jim was aging normally for a human, a swim in the sacred pool activated a dormant elven gene in his body, reversing the aging process, so that he eventually returned to looking like a man in his late thirties. He now ages at the rate of his soulmate, so the two will live long lives together.
Approximately a year after his trip to Romania with B'layr, Jim is injured on a hunting expedition. He is near death when he is brought to B'layr for healing. Still not in full command of the Old Magic, B'layr's healing goes deeper than he expected, and during their next lovemaking, Jim is the one who becomes pregnant. Sentry senses wreak havoc on the man who Bears his first elfling for the Tribe.
Steven Ellison
Spirit Guide: Cougar
Steven is the younger brother of Jim; married, with two sons and a daughter. He manages Jim's estate, making payouts to his brother as requested. He also cares for the loft, which was left intact in case Jim ever found need to return to Cascade for any length of time.
Steven passes away of old age, bringing Jim and B'layr back to Cascade. His son, Steven, Jr., takes over the Ellison estate.
Kallie Ellison
Wife of Steven; married for fifteen years at the start of the Soul Quest saga. Can't boil water without burning it, but loves her family and is happy whenever Jim comes to visit. Kallie survives her husband, along with her three children. Jim sees to it that she wants for nothing.
Steven Ellison, Jr. (Stevie)
Stevie is the eldest son of Steven and Kallie Ellison. As his father aged and he grew up, Stevie took over the running of Jim's estate.
William Ellison II (Billy)
Billy is the second son of Steven and Kallie Ellison.
Grace Ellison (Gracie)
Gracie is the youngest child of Steven and Kallie Ellison.
Simon Banks
Simon was the Captain of the Major Crime unit of the Cascade PD until his eventual promotion to Police Commissioner. He was a close friend to Jim Ellison until his death.
Daryl Banks
Daryl is the son of Simon Banks. He survives his father to reminisce with Jim after Steven's funeral. Married to Annie.
Annie Banks
Wife of Daryl Banks.
Joel Taggert, Rafe, Henri Brown, Megan Connor
Detectives in the Major Crime unit of the Cascade PD, they are also friends of Jim Ellison. Jim eventually confides to this group about his partnering with the elf, B'layr, and their subsequent children.
In later years, Rafe and Megan marry. As old age takes the couple, Megan begins to suffer from Alzheimer's and is confined to a nursing home.
Naomi Sandburg
In this AU, Naomi is written as an original character, although she looks much like the canon Naomi, only younger. She is in her late 20s, returning to college to finish her degree in anthropology after a few years off to "find herself." As in the canon story, she is responsible for releasing B'layr's dissertation to the media. In this AU, she and L'anin fall in love -- an ill-fated union. Naomi is murdered by M'arik, who despises the coming of humans to the elf Tribe.
Vaida Stefan
Vaida Stefan is the Romany Gypsy chieftain who befriended Jim and B'layr on their first trip to visit the Ancients. He calls the elves "veshengo" -- men of the forest. He is familiar with the People and has had dealings with them in the past. He lives with his wife, Ana, in the village of Pestera, near the Transylvanian Alps.
Ana
Vaida Stefan's wife; she refers to the elves as "kesali" -- forest spirits. She aided B'layr in finding the Ancient Ones by assisting him on a spirit walk.
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The Garden Stone
This carved stone was literally stumbled upon by B'layr in his garden. Approximately twelve inches square and over an inch thick, the face was carved with a scene depicting elves in captivity. Jim remarked that the art looked Mayan in origin, thus spurring B'layr's initial interest in the subject. Twenty-five years later, after the birth of their grandchildren, B'layr and Jim were finally free to leave the Tribe and explore the Garden Stone's origins -- and the origins of the elves.
The Crossing
A time in the distant past when the elves of the Cascade Mountains crossed the Wide Water from their original homeland to the New World.
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Deaths during SQ7 -- Broken Ties:
Steven (of old age)
A'mara (during pregnancy)
Naomi (murdered by M'arik)
Character ages as of SQ9 -- Healing Ties:
B'layr 107
Jim 96
L'anin 55
K'tiri 29
K'lyn 4 (daughter of K'tiri and S'kur)
T'erin 29
A'mere 4 1/2 (Jim and B'layr's grandson)
Daryl 70
Rafe deceased
Megan deceased
Simon deceased
Joel deceased
Henri deceased
Deaths during SQ9 -- Healing Ties:
Vaida Stefan (died of a massive stroke three months before B'layr's visit)
Rafe (died between stories -- in his upper 80s at his death)
Megan (died between stories -- in her upper 80s at her death)
sarmale
Sarmale is a famous Romanian dish. It is meatballs generally made from minced pork mixed with rice, salt, pepper, chopped dill, and parsley, as well as chopped onion. Small portions of this mixture are then rolled in sauerkraut or vine leaves and boiled. Frequently served with polenta.
polenta ("mamaliga" in Romanian)
Maize flour boiled in salted water until it thickens into a thick paste. When it is ready, it is turned out onto a wooden plate and served hot with cheese and sour cream. A side dish served with almost anything and everything.