Chapter 119: The Fruit of the White Tree

The three companions arrived at the outskirts of Mirkwood, where Elves from the Woodland Realm were already waiting to receive them with ceremonial precision. Seeing who had come to personally greet them, Kael felt genuinely surprised. "Prince Legolas, why did you come personally to meet us?" "When you arrived near Lake-town, our patrolling guards spotted the dragon from a considerable distance. Father knew it must be you and specifically sent me to welcome you properly," Legolas replied with a warm, genuinely pleased smile. His keen gaze then inevitably fell upon the massive dragon positioned behind the three travelers. Though he had witnessed Smaug before on the Lonely Mountain battlefield, seeing the legendary creature again at such close range still caused him to catch his breath involuntarily. "Please follow me, everyone. Father has prepared an elaborate feast awaiting your arrival." To avoid Smaug's imposing presence causing unease among the forest Elves, Kael directed the dragon to wait patiently outside the woodland borders, and the three companions followed Legolas into the Woodland Realm once again. Thranduil sat regally upon his elevated throne, dressed in magnificent robes and wearing an intricate crown woven from fiery red maple leaves and deep blue berries. His bearing radiated nobility, dignity, and timeless elegance. He truly embodied the perfect image of an Elven king ruling over endless ancient forests. Unlike their previous tense meeting, this time Thranduil actively descended from his throne, his attitude remaining reserved but genuinely friendly. "Welcome, welcome to all three of you for honoring us with your presence once again! I have prepared the finest wine and most exquisite delicacies our realm can offer. Please grace us by accepting our hospitality!" As the natural diplomat among the three, Gandalf leaned elegantly on his staff and bowed slightly in respectful greeting, smiling with obvious pleasure. "We are deeply honored to have the privilege of attending Your Majesty's generous feast!" Thranduil turned his attention to Kael with obvious curiosity. "Where is Smaug the dragon currently?" "Smaug's body is simply too massive and would damage the precious trees in your forest, so I could only direct him to wait respectfully outside the woodland borders," Kael explained with appropriate consideration. Thranduil nodded with obvious approval of this thoughtfulness. "While that decision shows wisdom, we cannot neglect our draconic guest entirely. I'll have my people arrange a separate feast for him outside the forest boundaries." Kael hadn't expected Thranduil to show such gracious consideration and expressed his gratitude warmly. "Then I thank Your Majesty for such thoughtful hospitality!" Led personally by Thranduil and accompanied by the attentive Legolas, everyone entered the magnificent banquet hall for the elaborate feast. Unlike the Elves of Rivendell, who preferred light vegetarian cuisine, the Wood-elves of Mirkwood enjoyed both meat and vegetables in their diet. Perhaps because of their geographical proximity to the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain, the Wood-elves also appreciated fine wine and could drink with impressive capacity. While maintaining their natural grace in movement, they displayed a more open and bold character. During the banquet, melodious music filled the air as Elven maidens sang ancient epics in their native tongue, while elegant servants moved through the feast with fluid precision, personally pouring wine for each honored guest. Thranduil and Gandalf engaged in deep discussion about the current political situation throughout Middle-earth. Kael and Bilbo listened with fascination as Legolas provided translation for the beautiful Elven epics being performed by the maidens. During their pleasant conversation, they inevitably mentioned Tauriel, the Wood-elf who had chosen to be with the dwarf Kili despite all social expectations. Legolas appeared somewhat melancholy, clearly saddened by the impending loss of such a dear friend. Though he couldn't fully understand Tauriel's choice to sacrifice eternal life for mortal love, knowing that in just a few centuries she would die of heartbreak when her beloved passed away from natural causes. But ultimately he had chosen to offer his sincere blessing for their happiness. The banquet atmosphere remained pleasant when Thranduil looked directly at Kael and announced something that surprised everyone present. Thranduil was preparing to send Legolas away from the Woodland Realm for valuable experience in the outside world. He was formally requesting that Kael take Legolas with them when they departed the forest. Legolas was visibly startled by this sudden announcement, as his father clearly hadn't discussed this momentous decision with him beforehand. Kael felt surprised by Thranduil's request but not entirely unprepared for such a possibility. When planning for one's children, wise parents must always think far ahead. Thranduil wanted Legolas to venture out and see the wider world, to grow quickly and become capable of handling complex situations independently. If Kael hadn't appeared in their lives, before long Thranduil would have sent Legolas out for experience anyway, even arranging for him to join future quests as the only Elf in mixed companies. But with Kael's presence this time, having personally witnessed the wizard's incredible abilities, Thranduil had obviously formed the idea of having his son gain valuable experience even earlier. "Prince Legolas is an exceptional archer and skilled Elven warrior. It would be our genuine honor to have him accompany us on our journeys." Kael naturally wouldn't refuse Thranduil's reasonable request. He held a genuinely positive impression of Legolas and didn't mind having such a capable companion. Hearing Kael readily agree to his proposal, Thranduil felt obvious satisfaction. At his subtle signal, an Elf approached carrying a golden tray and placed it ceremoniously before Kael. Kael examined the small ornate box on the tray, inlaid with various precious jewels and jade, his expression showing puzzled curiosity. He looked questioningly at Thranduil. "Your Majesty, what does this gesture signify?" "This represents a token of my deepest gratitude." Thranduil spoke with complete sincerity. "Gratitude for preventing the Elves from being annihilated in the Battle of Five Armies!" "Of course, there's also an additional request contained within this gift." "What request might that be?" "I would like you to craft a wand specifically for Legolas that truly belongs to him alone." Hearing this request, Kael wasn't particularly surprised by the proposal. He still owed custom wands to the three siblings Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen. With the practical mindset that one more commission wouldn't significantly increase his workload, he agreed to Thranduil's condition. However, this acceptance made him intensely curious about what precious treasure lay within the ornate box. The container itself was clearly valuable enough to house something extraordinary. What treasure could be so precious that Thranduil would store it with such elaborate care inside? He carefully opened the treasure box and felt completely stunned by what he discovered. Inside the box, cushioned protectively with the finest silk, lay a silvery-white fruit that seemed to glow with inner light. Being stored with such obvious reverence, Kael naturally understood this wasn't any ordinary fruit. "This is...?" "It's the fruit of the White Tree!" Gandalf's surprised voice rang out with immediate recognition. "Your Majesty Thranduil, where did you obtain such a precious fruit of the White Tree?" Seeing that Gandalf recognized the artifact immediately, Thranduil's lips curved in a slight smile as he explained with casual matter-of-factness. "This is actually a seed from Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor itself. In the Second Age, I once visited that great island kingdom, when Nimloth had not yet been cut down by corruption. I plucked a single fruit from her branches and brought it back to my realm." "I once attempted to plant it here, but unfortunately Mirkwood's environment wasn't suitable for her growth requirements, and it never took root or sprouted despite my efforts." Hearing it was actually a seed from Nimloth, the legendary White Tree of Númenor, Gandalf felt even greater amazement. Even Kael was genuinely shocked, gazing at the fruit in the box and suddenly feeling the enormous historical weight it carried. According to Kael's extensive knowledge, after the Two Trees of Valinor were destroyed by the evil Ungoliant and Morgoth working together, Yavanna, one of the Valar and goddess of all plants, created the White Tree Galathilion for the Vanyar and Noldor Elves in the image of the Silver Tree Telperion. This White Tree was similar to Telperion, one of the original Two Trees, except it didn't emit supernatural light. Later, Elves planted a descendant of Galathilion on Tol Eressëa, naming it Celeborn. The Elves of Tol Eressëa maintained friendly relations with the Númenóreans, so they generously gave seeds of Celeborn to the island kingdom. The Númenóreans planted the precious seed in the royal court of Númenor, where it grew into a magnificent White Tree named Nimloth. The White Tree thus became the sacred symbol of the Númenórean people. Later, Sauron seduced and corrupted the king along with many Númenórean nobles, ordering the White Tree Nimloth to be cut down and burned in sacrifice. Only Isildur of the Faithful, risking his very life, secretly rescued a single fruit the night before Nimloth was to be felled. After Númenor sank beneath the waves, Isildur planted it in Minas Ithil in Gondor, where it became Gondor's first White Tree. But the White Tree's fate seemed destined to suffer repeated hardships. Later, this White Tree of Gondor was burned by Sauron when he captured Minas Ithil during his rise to power. Before Minas Ithil fell completely, Isildur rescued another precious seed and planted it in Minas Anor, where it became Gondor's second White Tree. But this tree died during the Great Plague of T.A. 1636. In T.A. 1640, King Tarondor of Gondor planted a new sapling in Minas Tirith. But in T.A. 2872, with the end of Gondor's royal bloodline, this White Tree gradually withered, and no new White Tree had appeared until now. The White Tree fruit that Thranduil was offering represented a seed from Nimloth, the third-generation White Tree. It could be considered a fourth-generation White Tree, the same generation as Gondor's original White Tree. If the Dúnedain or people of Gondor knew of this seed's existence, they would probably stop at nothing to obtain such a precious artifact. "Your Majesty Thranduil, this gift is truly far too precious!" Kael felt genuinely reluctant to accept something of such immense value. Thranduil shook his head with firm resolve. "You needn't refuse my gift, Kael. Though this fruit possesses tremendous historical value, its planting requirements are extraordinarily harsh. If I couldn't still sense vital life force emanating from it, I would assume it was merely a withered fruit." "So don't harbor excessive hopes for success. I even suspect that except for holy places like Valinor itself, there's no longer an environment in Middle-earth that could make it breakthrough and properly sprout." Seeing Thranduil's absolutely firm attitude, Kael felt compelled to accept this incredibly precious fruit. He silently decided to craft the finest possible wand for Legolas. Otherwise, he would feel deeply uneasy accepting such an extraordinary gift. While Kael's banquet atmosphere remained pleasant and refined, things were proving equally lively on Smaug's side of the arrangements. The Wood-elves fearfully pushed cart after cart of elaborate delicacies and arranged them before Smaug to properly entertain their massive guest. There were whole roasted sheep and pigs, plus barrel after barrel of their finest wine. Smaug enjoyed the Elves' nervous service like an absolute lord, consuming one roasted sheep per bite and one barrel of wine per gulp, his ancient eyes squinting in obvious blissful contentment. In his heart, he reflected that this was true luxury and enjoyment! Why hadn't he thought to capture some servants to serve him properly before this experience? With Smaug's legendary appetite, he devoured dozens of pigs and sheep in rapid succession and consumed over ten barrels of wine before finally releasing a satisfied fiery burp. This spectacular display made the Elves serving him feel internally exasperated beyond measure. Especially the Elven chefs responsible for roasting meat found their preparation speed couldn't possibly keep up with the dragon's consumption rate, exhausting them to the point of wanting to abandon their posts. They no longer felt intimidated by the dragon's presence. They simply wanted to send this glutton away as quickly as possible. If he continued eating at this pace, their Woodland Realm would face genuine famine! (TL NOTE: Unfortunately, my LOTR: Playing Minecraft in Middle-earth book was mistakenly flagged as spam on Webnovel and removed. I'll re-upload it under a different title by tomorrow at the latest. Thank you for your patience!)