This is Book II of my LOTR series Faded Light.
The story mostly takes place about a hundred years of so before the War of the Ring. There are two main settings in Books I and II, Mirkwood and Far Harad, where Legolas has been living as a slave courtesan for many years. Everyone in Mirkwood believes he was killed years ago when as a young warrior his patrol was ambushed and massacred by Men. He was taken south as a slave and sold to a cruel whoremaster. In Book I, he is mute as a result of everything he has gone through and becomes known to the Haradrim as Dafi, which means mute one. After a war in Harad, he and the daughter he has while a slave are bought by Javad, the King of Far Harad.
Meanwhile, in Mirkwood, Thranduil has been slowly fading out of grief over losing his son, but Elrond has managed to keep him alive.
And Legolas’ cousin, Leralonde, who is now Thranduil’s heir, has been having a secret affair with Saelbeth, one of the court advisors. He and Saelbeth have kept the relationship secret for years because they know Leralonde’s father, Ruthlagor, would react really (really) badly to knowing his son is in love with a male Elf.
Saelbeth gets pregnant much to his and Leralonde’s surprise. They know that if it is a boy, the child would be in line to the throne of Mirkwood, so they won’t be able to keep their secret much longer. But while traveling to Rivendell, Saelbeth’s escort falls into an Orc ambush. He survives, barely, and Leralonde rushes to Rivendell to be with him and their unborn child. (End of Book I.)
Book II picks up several years later, Legolas and his daughter, Mel, have been living under the protection of the Haradrim King, and Legolas has become the King’s favorite courtesan and been drawn into the intrigues of Menah, chief priest of Sauron’s temple in Far Harad.
Also, Legolas' adopted older brother, Feredir, who was mentioned several times in Book I is finally introduced here. He has been away from Mirkwood for years, looking for any trace of Legolas, which he has so far not found.
Those are the main points so far, so if you want to jump into the story from here, be my guest...
Meanwhile, in Mirkwood, Thranduil has been slowly fading out of grief over losing his son, but Elrond has managed to keep him alive.
And Legolas’ cousin, Leralonde, who is now Thranduil’s heir, has been having a secret affair with Saelbeth, one of the court advisors. He and Saelbeth have kept the relationship secret for years because they know Leralonde’s father, Ruthlagor, would react really (really) badly to knowing his son is in love with a male Elf.
Saelbeth gets pregnant much to his and Leralonde’s surprise. They know that if it is a boy, the child would be in line to the throne of Mirkwood, so they won’t be able to keep their secret much longer. But while traveling to Rivendell, Saelbeth’s escort falls into an Orc ambush. He survives, barely, and Leralonde rushes to Rivendell to be with him and their unborn child. (End of Book I.)
Book II picks up several years later, Legolas and his daughter, Mel, have been living under the protection of the Haradrim King, and Legolas has become the King’s favorite courtesan and been drawn into the intrigues of Menah, chief priest of Sauron’s temple in Far Harad.
Also, Legolas' adopted older brother, Feredir, who was mentioned several times in Book I is finally introduced here. He has been away from Mirkwood for years, looking for any trace of Legolas, which he has so far not found.
Those are the main points so far, so if you want to jump into the story from here, be my guest...