Áronyeh, the Mighty One. So begins the record of Arah’s beginning. For Arah indeed had a beginning, and one day it shall have an end. Áronyeh, the Mighty One. In the first tongue he revealed this, his name; it means “He Is.” For he indeed is; he alone has no beginning, and he shall never have an end. This is the story of the beginning, and it must begin with him who never began. Before the beginning, there was no time – and then Áronyeh spoke, and Arah began. Are not these things still known to man? For they are all written in Áronyeh’s Book, in The Generations of Arah. There it tells of how Áronyeh formed Arah, and called light into being to shine upon his creation. There it tells of how he set Arah’s foundations, and how he stretched out the heavens above it. There it tells of how he made the sun and the moon, and set them rolling in their courses – the stars too. There it tells of how he grew the trees and the herbs and the flowers, and covered the earth with living green. There it tells of how he created the animals: every beast, every flying bird, everything that swims in the oceans, every thing that crawls on the ground, and that flies over land and sea; each creature unique, and rejoicing in its Creator. In those days, Áronyeh set the earth to dancing with a beauty that has never since been equaled. And finally, it tells of how he made Rayôn, to rule over the earth, to tame it, to cultivate it, to care for it. Áronyeh told these things to Rayôn, and he wrote them down in Áronyeh’s Book, in The Generations of Arah. That’s how we know these things are true, for Áronyeh’s Book has been copied down to this day, and we can still read it for ourselves. I, Érenyel, lived in the early days, when Arah was still young. I remember many things that have been forgotten by most. I am now old, far older than any man, although I don’t look it. Even as I write these things, I appear to most to be in the prime of my youth. I have roamed the lands for nigh three thousand years, and my bones are not brittle, nor have my arms lost their strength; on my head there’s not even as much as one white hair. Yet I know my time on Arah will soon end; I will depart from my earthly shell, strong though it be, and my weary soul will find rest with the Creator. I am like all my kindred, the children of Ványeðel, the mysterious folk whom most men remember as elves in their stories. We are a largely forgotten race. The children of Rayôn and the children of Ványeðel are now estranged from each other, and nigh every man has forgotten that the elf exists. Most now would not believe me if I disclosed the length of my life. To my knowledge, I alone of my kindred am not estranged from man. I have lived in the world of men most of my life, and I have seen their deeds and written them down. A man soon forgets the deeds of his fathers, but an elf does not. A man who does not remember from whence he comes, knows not where he is going. But man must know where he is going; if not, he will stray heedlessly into ruin, and all of Arah shall perish. Naught the elves might do should save it then. Yet Arah shall not perish before the end of days, when our broken world shall be renewed. Áronyeh will not let man forget. And so it is to this end, as a servant of Áronyeh, that I write this account – that man might remember his own story, for it is Áronyeh’s story. I write these things so that man will remember his Creator.
1. The Beginning
2. Rayôn
3. The Vale
{Note: Internet Explorer doesn't display special characters in the title; it takes out the "É", so instead of "The Érenyel", it shows
"The renyel". Try viewing it with Mozilla Firefox or another web browser.}
An Explanation
Posting this work is a bit frightening for me. First of all, it is the first work of fiction I have posted on Apricotpie. But more importantly, it is not even close to being complete; I have not finished the second part, nor have I adequately thought out its contents. As for the rest of the book, I know only the general course I wish it to take. The languages, the histories, the tribal migrations, the cultures ... all of these exist currently as vague ideas. It is a world with only fragments developed. Yet here it is, for you to see. If you have questions about it, I may answer them -- or I may not, depending on the question.
This book is a history of the first age of Arah, written by Érenyel, who lived through most of it. I will say no more, but will allow Érenyel to introduce himself to you.
Comments
Great beginning!! I love
Great beginning!! I love it!
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"Sing as if no one is listening;
Dance like no one is watching;
Live as if you will die tomorrow;
Love like it will never hurt."
-Old Irish Saying
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"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." -Bilbo Baggins [The Lord of the Rings]
Amazing!
That's just about all I can say...;) Write more soon!!!
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"It's King Edmund, actually. Just King though. Peter's the High King. I know, it's confusing."--Edmund Pevensie
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"To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it." -- Herman Melville
I like this a lot. It almost
I like this a lot. It almost sounds like a poem, but not quite. Post more soon.
"As first things always come first, I will start with the first thing" Kendra
It awoke with a shrill shreak that can be trnaslated "How dare you leave me in this bed, when I am asleep and helpless?" My sister
You have to finish this!
You have my interest! One thing, though. You are using sort of 'higher' speech, if you know what I mean, so using things like "aren'nt" instead of "are not" does not sound quite right. Otherwise, it sounds like Tolkien. Keep up the good work!
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The best stories are those that are focused, unassuming, and self-confident enough to trust the reader to figure things out. --
http://lauraeandrews.blogspot.com/2014/05/dont-tell-me-hes-smart.html
I love the Tolkienesque
I love the Tolkienesque language.
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The Word is alive/and it cuts like a sword through the darkness
With a message of life to the hopeless/and afraid...
~"The Word is Alive' by Casting Crowns
May my words be a light that guides others to the True Light and Word.
Formerly Kestrel
I'm so excited! :) This
I'm so excited! :)
This first bit was sooo good, I can't wait for more! I love all of the names, too.
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“The venerable dead are waiting in my library to entertain me and relieve me from the nonsense of surviving mortals.”
- Samuel Davies
Thank you all, for your interest!
I'm still working on the second part -- I'm having some difficulty with it, because it's about the creation of man, and I don't want it to just be a mimic of Adam and Eve with the names changed, and am a bit afraid that it may come across that way. The two stories (the real one and my fictional one) will unavoidably have more similarities than differences, whatever the case.
Anna -- I knew you liked Elves, but I underestimated the degree of your obsession with them.
Clare Marie: Thanks! I'm glad you like love it.
Old Fashioned Girl: I shall endeavor to do so.
Alecia: Thanks! Érenyel does tend to use lofty language in his introductions, if that's what you noticed.
Laura Elizabeth: Thanks for the insight. I've done some editing on it and hammered out the aren't and the doesn't. Érenyel, the fictional author of this book, does sometimes "use" aren't and doesn't when he writes, but here in the introduction of his work he's writing in an older, grander style. To be precise, he wasn't even writing in English, but rather in the common tongue of the time -- theoretically (but not really), I have merely translated it into English. When he starts writing in the pure narrative genre, he tends to bring the language level down a notch, in which case I might translate his words with a less lofty English style.
Kyleigh: I'm glad you like the names! They all have meanings, too, at least in the fictional languages. Áronyeh, of course, means He Is, as Érenyel explained, just like the Hebrew name Yahweh. I spent months before settling on the verb "to be" in the original tongue of Arah, because the name of the Lord is no light matter. Essentially, Áronyeh is Yahweh in the fictional setting of Arah. I feel like I'm treading on dangerous ground doing this; thus, I would not alter the meaning of the Lord's name, but only the language in which it is spoken.
I am not yet sure of the meaning of Rayôn, the first man.
The meaning of the other two names, Ványeðel and Érenyel, will be revealed later on in the narrative.
Thank you all again for your interest and encouragement; I hope to post more soon.
<><~~~~~~~~~~~~><>
"The idea that we should approach science without a philosophy is itself a philosophy... and a bad one, because it is self-refuting." -- Dr. Jason Lisle
:)
Most people do underestimate my obsessions, so don't feel bad you've joined the crowd.
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I've gone to look for myself. If I should return before I get back, please tell me to wait.
I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. --The Book Thief
Bravo!
I like it. You know, frankly, I didn't think I would, but I did. I think it sounds a lot like the Bible in the way it's phrased in some places. I think it's very good. You have my approval *clapping proudly*.
"It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you." from Batman Begins
*loves it and wants
*loves it and wants more*
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Seen on a billboard advertising
a Septic Tank Company:
"We're #1
in the #2 business."
"Sometimes even to live is courage."
-Seneca
Wow. Wow wow wow! Elves.
Wow.
Wow wow wow!
Elves. Must read about Elves. Must read about Érenyel.
Which means you must write! Write write write and don't give up becasue it's not finished! (That would be a stupid reason to stop writing, anyway!)
You have no idea how excited I am!! XD
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Chaos.
Panic.
Disorder.
My work here is done.
I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. --The Book Thief