Day was waning, and Legelion perched waiting in an oak beside the entrance to the forest path, watchful for movement along its dim passage; for this was the path upon which erelong his father would return from his errand.  For at the behest of Legolas, Gellin and his brother Gladhron, together with a small band of Silvan scouts, had set forth at dawn yesterday to visit the Enchanted River, and there to inspect the bridge of wood that lay across its black waters; for oft did its timbers rot in the drear dank gloom, or it was ruined by beasts or creatures or shades unknown, and its broken wreckage was thence swept away by the strong stream down to the Forest River. But he was not afeared, for it was thirty leagues there and back again, and thus they had not been gone overlong.
   Nay, it was not fear that kept him waiting there but puzzlement, for in a deep dream the night before he had visited a shadowed forest glade, and there amidst the dreary green glimmer of the darkwood he had seen a gleaming white stag which stood silently gazing at him. And in his heart he knew it forebode no evil tidings.

*         *         *

   Day was waning when the messenger came into his chamber, bidding Teithoron Tegilbor to hurry to the great stone doors of Thranduil's Halls. For strange tidings he brought: a band of scouts had found a lone Man wandering witless and outworn in the greenwood nigh the Enchanted River, whither they had gone to inspect the bridge on the forest path. Whence he came no one could say, for the Tawarwaith spoke not the Mannish tongue, but the king was abroad hunting with his Sindar kin, and they alone amongst the Elves of Mirkwood spoke the Common Speech; thus was the scribe availed to aid the rescuers as a Lammengollon. What might be the purpose of a Man wandering the perilous northern forest he could not guess, for their nearest settlements were nigh seventy leagues from the borders of the Woodland Realm. And in his heart he deemed that it forbode ill tidings.

   Coming to the Door he found a small crowd gathered there: the scouts and guards of the Halls and other Wood-elves who had followed in the wake of the rescuers; and Legelion was there, for Gellin his father and Gladhron his father's brother had led the party, and as he hastened closer he heard Gellin tell his son, 'Run swiftly and bring your mother hither, we have great need of her leechcraft!'
   And sure enough, the Man who lay on a makeshift litter upon the ground at the cavern's mouth was grievously wounded, but he bore not the marks of fell beasts or the creatures of darkness that had crept slowly through the wood from the South; his hurts were made by cruel whips and crude blades...

   'The first guest-chamber within the doors is free,' Teithoron told the guards, 'Bear him thither forthwith.' The other Elves watched as they laid down their shields and long spears and bore him inside; the great stone doors swung shut and they departed homewards. There would be little song in the greenwood that night, but much rumour would be shared amongst the chattering Wood-elves.

*         *         *

   While Amdirren his wife remained in the Elvenking's Halls tending to the Man's wounds, Gellin sat within the entrance of their home-tree while Legelion hastened to bring him wine and honey cakes, and he watched his son with keen eyes while he waited. Fourteen times had the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood since his birth, yet the boy still stood only as high as his belt. Indeed, in these past few years his only growth that could be seen was that of his long dark hair which now hung down to his narrow waist. Nay, that was not all... his true growth could be measured in his eyes, a wisdom that had deepened in the years since Methlegel -- or Legelion, as he preferred -- had befriended Teithoron and begun his studies with the old Sinda. His body remained close to the ground, but his mind was ever reaching new heights.
   And then his affection for Legelion surged through him like a great wave on the Forest River, and when the child placed the refreshments upon the mat beside his father, Gellin knelt and drew his son into a loving embrace. To think that once he thought to gainsay Amdirren when she had told him that she sought to give life to another son! Legelion clasped his wiry arms tightly about his father's neck and brought his forehead to rest against his father's, and in that tender moment a thought passed from the mind of each one into the other: 'Gi melin.' With great joy they gazed at each other in wonderment and delight, for never before had they communed with naught but their minds!

*         *         *

   In the early night-hours Teithoron came into the glade of the Laegrim and called up to the home-tree of Gellin's kin. When Gellin emerged with his son, they saw the scribe standing with Amdirren in the pale light of the waning moon, and Echeleb was with them. Beckoning them to follow, he led them  to where the night's campfire lay gently smouldering, and onto the embers he threw faggots of deadwood that lay piled nearby. As the fire rekindled, he bade them to sit.
   'Is this about the Man my father found?' asked Legelion.
   'It is,' the scribe said, 'Hearken and I will tell you all that I have learned. But heed you well, this is to remain secret until the return of the king who is yet afield, for he must choose what is to be said and done hereafter.' They all three agreed, but Echeleb remained silent, his face grim.
   'Is he an Easterling?' asked Gellin. 'For I have heard tell that the craven Wild Men gather again under the Shadow of Dol Guldur.'
   'Nay,' answered the scribe, 'He is of the Woodmen of old who dwell in Taur-nu-Fuin south of Men-i-Naugrim, taken with others in a raid by Orcs as thralls, but he alone escaped.'
   'I knew not that Men dwell in Mirkwood!' exclaimed Legelion. 'I know only of the Men of the Long Lake.'
   'Indeed, when our folk dwelt in the western glens of the Emyn Duir, we counted the Woodmen as our friends.'
   'The "Dark Mountains"? Had the Shadow already befallen the greenwood while the Tarwarwaith yet dwelled in the South?'
   'Nay, they were so named afore for the dark forests of fir that grew upon the mountain slopes. When Darkness spread, Emyn-nu-Fuin they became.'
   Echeleb frowned askance at his son's son for this interruption. 'Now is not the time for curiosity, Legelion!' The boy looked humbly away. 'Whither were they taking him?' he asked Teithoron, 'For lest there is something amiss with his tale, they were going northwards by his account.'
   'My guess is the Goblin-gate in the Hithaeglir, which points to there being a new Great Goblin on the throne of Goblin-town. Or mayhaps far north to Gundabad.'
   'If Orcs have returned to Hithaeglir, that is ill news indeed,' said Amdirren "We shall all rue it bitterly, I fear!'
  'But how did he make his escape? And how did he come so far along the path though it be fraught with peril?' asked Gellin.
   'Timely it was, but the Orcs took to fighting amongst themselves, as is their wont, and thus he fled. He said that nigh the forest eaves he went astray in his flight from his pursuers, but he saw a white light shimmering which led him to the forest gate. At first he was afeared it was a wraith, but then he saw that it was a white stag, and it led him along the forest path up to the bridge ere he was stricken with darkness and he fell there into a swoon. Indeed, he thought it was his doom to perish there even after following such an auspicious guide to that place.'
   Legelion gasped, his eyes wide, but he was unheard over the crackling flames. 'The white stag of my dream!' he whispered.

*         *         *

   'I wish to learn the Common Speech of Men,' Legelion announced to Teithoron the next day, 'Please would you teach me?'
   'Annúnaid? Wherefore?' he asked.
   'You yourself have said that these are the fading years of the Eldar Kindred, and that Middle-earth will one day be under the Dominion of Men. And if they are to be its stewards hereafter, we in our stead should be their guides and teachers, for how else will they learn to love the earth as we do?
   'Besides, I am not yet weary of the world, nor do I desire to remove to  the Blessed Realm. Not yet. For I love Middle-earth and I am yet young and there is much still for me to delight in!'
   'Very well, I am thus persuaded,' laughed the scribe, 'Where shall we begin?'
   'How do you say "white stag" in Westron?'

*         *         *

It should be noted that this tale is set in the 2979th year of the Third Age, when Legelion was but fourteen years of age; also that these anecdotes are not in strict chronological order.

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