Chapter 337: Journey to the Grey Elves' Kingdom

Chapter 337: Journey to the Grey Elves' Kingdom

In the central continent, behind the Elven City, a newly built castle stood tall.

This castle, constructed under Kull's guidance through the cooperation of humans and elves, was modeled after Hogwarts and served as the foundation of a new academy.

And Kull was the principal of this academy.

At this moment, inside the principal's office of the academy—

"Unfortunately, Thingol still refuses to dispatch troops or allow the Grey Elves to come here for guidance or scholarly exchange."

Crown Prince Finrod sighed toward his human friend, Kull.

Most of the recent plans had gone smoothly. The scattered humans across the land had, under the call of King Bréglass and Barahir, basically all gathered to live in the Elven City.

The central defense line blocking Angband had also been reestablished.

The two dwarven clans of Firebeard and Broadbeam from the Blue Mountains had also sent representatives to cooperate with the elves to jointly create magical equipment capable of resisting balefire.

This way, humans, elves, and dwarves would no longer be at the mercy of the Balrog army or any future reappearance of dragons.

Unfortunately, the Grey Elves—the most numerous among the elves across the continent and possessing a powerful Maia among them, specifically Thingol's branch—had refused all cooperation.

The reason was simple: they still held a grudge over the slaughter of the Sea Elves and could not forgive the incident where one of Fëanor's sons had kidnapped their daughter, Lúthien.

They would not aid the Noldor Elves in attacking Morgoth, nor help the sons of Fëanor reclaim the Silmarils.

"If the mountain will not come to me, then I shall go to the mountain."

Hearing Finrod's sigh, Kull thought for a moment and said:

"Finrod, I want to pay a visit to the Kingdom of the Grey Elves to see Thingol."

During this time, he had not been idle; he had been actively exchanging magical knowledge with the Noldor Elves and had gained deeper insight into their magical system.

The Noldor, mostly having studied under Aulë, the god of forging and earth, were not as proficient in magic as the Vanyar Elves. Instead, they excelled at infusing magical power into forged items, crafting them into enchanted artifacts.

The strength of the Noldor largely stemmed from the light of the Two Trees, whose power was absorbed into their bodies.

The Dwarves, created by Aulë, also excelled in forging, often rivaling—or even surpassing—the elves in craftsmanship. However, they were not as adept as the Noldor in seamlessly integrating magic into equipment.

Recently, Kull had been researching alchemy, and the elves' enchanted forging was greatly beneficial to him, yet he still sought a deeper understanding of this world's magic.

The three individuals in the Kingdom of the Grey Elves could greatly aid his studies and comprehension of the world's magic.

One of them was the future Elven Queen, Galadriel, who possessed Vanyar blood and had studied the Vanyar's magic in Valinor.

The second was the elf hailed as the most beautiful, Lúthien, whose sleep magic could even lull Morgoth into slumber.

And the final, and most important, was the only divine being Kull could access now that he couldn't reach Valinor: the Maia Melian.

With her own power, Melian had cast the Girdle of Melian, an alternate dimension around the kingdom, protecting it from Morgoth's invasion—a divine force second only to the Valar.

"Kull, are you really planning to visit Thingol?"

Hearing Kull's words, Crown Prince Finrod was taken aback.

In his opinion, even when his two younger brothers had gone together to visit Thingol, enlisting the help of their sister Galadriel, who resided there, they still failed to convince him. Kull going would make no difference.

Kull smiled slightly:

"Actually, I don't think the two reasons you mentioned are the true causes of Thingol's refusal."

"Oh? Do tell."

Finrod's eyes immediately lit up with interest.

Kull explained:

"You must understand, we only invited Thingol to help defend and repel the Balrog army rampaging through Beleriand. We never said we were going to counterattack Angband or help Fëanor reclaim the Silmarils.

Moreover, the seven princes of Fëanor are now scattered in the east, fleeing in all directions."

"So what you're saying is—"

A trace of realization appeared on Finrod's face.

Kull continued:

"The Kingdom of the Grey Elves has existed for nearly four thousand years.

For these four millennia, under Melian's protection, the Grey Elves have lived in peace and stability.

Now asking them to fight the Balrog army will inevitably lead to casualties, something Thingol, as their king, wishes to avoid.

Even if they do succeed in driving the Balrogs back to Angband, what benefit would that bring to the Grey Elves?

As for traveling to Dorthonion's Elven City to exchange magical knowledge, that seems even more unnecessary.

Thingol has never seen my magic. He believes that magic from us newly arrived humans can't possibly be powerful or beneficial to the Grey Elves, so naturally, he won't come."

Elves are intelligent beings. Like all sentient beings, they have emotions and desires and seek benefit while avoiding harm—even the Valar and the Maiar are no different.

As king of the Grey Elves, Thingol naturally prioritizes the safety of his people. Refusing to assist in fighting Morgoth is perfectly reasonable.

However, it was precisely because the Grey Elves stayed out of worldly affairs and over-relied on Melian's Girdle that Morgoth was able to grow stronger, eventually bringing near-extinction to the Grey Elves.

Melian's willingness to protect them was entirely because of her husband and daughter.

Later, Thingol was killed by Dwarves over a necklace inlaid with a Silmaril, his daughter perished and was reincarnated as a human, and Melian, heartbroken, returned to Valinor. The Grey Elves' kingdom was left unprotected.

Despite being the largest elven population on the continent, the complacent Grey Elves were massacred by the Dwarven army from the Blue Mountains. If not for Beren, a nearly seventy-year-old human, coming to their aid, they would have been wiped out entirely.

But in the end, they were still slaughtered nearly to extinction by the maddened Maedhros brothers, tormented by the Oath of Fëanor concerning the Silmarils.

Had Thingol taken action when Morgoth first counterattacked, protecting the defensive lines, then although the Grey Elves might have suffered heavy losses, they would at least have gained the experience of war and not have fallen so easily to the Dwarves later.

"So you intend to demonstrate your magic to Thingol?"

Now Finrod fully understood.

Kull nodded:

"Exactly. If Thingol sees the power of human magic for himself, he'll surely be intrigued.

Then I'll also have a good conversation with him. Even if he still refuses to send troops, he might at least agree to send representatives to the Elven City for magical exchange."

"Alright, I'll notify my sister right away and have her meet you at the forest edge of Doriath to escort you into the Kingdom of the Grey Elves."

Crown Prince Finrod made the decision on the spot.

The Kingdom of the Grey Elves forbade outsiders from entering, but Thingol was the maternal great-uncle of the three siblings, so bringing a few people in would be no problem.

(End of Chapter)