But when Kael discovered that besides humans, there were also elves in Dorwinion, he became even more surprised.
In the west, whether in Rivendell, Lothlórien, or the Woodland Realm, elves maintained a reclusive lifestyle. Though they had contact with the outside world, especially humans, they kept their distance and didn't interfere with each other.
But here in distant Dorwinion, humans and elves lived in a mixed community.
Flying along his route, Kael saw both humans and elves working in the vineyards.
Though the two peoples lived together, they each had their own living areas.
Kael flew to the largest elven residential area.
Here lay endless vineyards where every grapevine was ancient, with thick roots like coiling dragons. A single vine covered thousands of square meters, standing over ten meters tall with sturdy, winding grape vines using thick trunks as supports.
Additionally, delicate little houses naturally woven from vines hung on the grapevines like bird nests, connected to the ground by vine ladders for access.
These nest-like houses were unique architecture of Dorwinion's elves.
Of course, not all elves lived in these "nest" houses. Some built elegant, natural dwellings on the ground or in tree root cellars.
Kael's attention was drawn to one massive grapevine.
It stood atop a small hill, having lived for untold ages. Its thick trunk required several people to embrace it, with rough bark cracked like dragon scales.
The entire tree occupied the whole hill, covering over ten thousand square meters like a giant umbrella spread over the hilltop.
At the tree's base lay rolling green grassland hills, with an elven manor standing prominently there.
When Kael arrived, the manor's owner keenly sensed his gaze and immediately became alert, looking sharply skyward. "Who's there?"
Surrounding elven guards quickly drew weapons, aiming toward Kael's direction.
Seeing he'd been detected, Kael stopped hiding, waving to cancel his Disillusionment Charm and gently descending by pressing his broom downward.
Watching Kael materialize from thin air and slowly descend, the elven manor owner became even more vigilant. "Who are you?"
Kael landed and performed an elven greeting, saying in Sindarin. "Elven friends of Dorwinion, please don't be alarmed. I am Wizard Kael, coming from the west with friendship."
"A wizard? You come from the west?" Hearing Kael's fluent Elvish and proper etiquette, the elven manor owner relaxed his brow slightly but remained cautious.
"Yes, I come from Eriador, west of the Misty Mountains," Kael nodded. "And I am friends with the elves of Rivendell, Lothlórien, and the Woodland Realm."
Hearing Kael's words, the manor owner was even more surprised. Even living in the east, he'd naturally heard of these three elven settlements.
Especially the Woodland Realm, which had wine trade relations with Dorwinion.
Economically, elves and humans also cooperated closely. Elves were responsible for brewing wine, while humans handled transportation, shipping wine along the River Running to Lake-town, then transferring it to the Woodland Realm, Dale, the Kingdom under the Mountain, and other regions.
This cooperative relationship made Dorwinion a safe, co-governed, and enlightened region, the only place in Middle-earth's far east untouched by darkness.
During the feast, Caranmir was curious about Kael's purpose in coming to the Far East.
"Wizard Kael, Dorwinion is thousands of miles from the west. What important matter brings you so far?"
Knowing Caranmir and other elves had lived here for generations, Kael didn't hide his purpose, asking. "Owner Caranmir, having long dwelt in the east, do you know of Hildórien?"
"Hildórien? You seek the awakening place of Men?" Caranmir said with surprise.
Kael nodded with some anticipation. "Do you know its location?"
Caranmir looked apologetic and shook his head.
"Sorry, I know little about it. I've only heard Hildórien lies east of the Sea of Rhûn, farther east than even our elven awakening place of Cuiviénen, bordering the Eastern Sea. A place even we elves have never set foot in."
Kael had prepared mentally, so not getting an answer didn't disappoint him too much.
But since he couldn't learn about Hildórien from the elves, he could only seek other avenues.
So he asked again. "Owner Caranmir, do you know the Blue Wizards Morinehtar and Rómestámo?"
"Morinehtar and Rómestámo? Of course I know them," Caranmir nodded with admiration and praise. "Dorwinion's current peace and tranquility owe much to their efforts!"
"When Easterling and Charioteer forces swept through and eastern lands fell into darkness, Dorwinion was also in peril. The two Blue Wizards traveled everywhere, inspiring and organizing humans and elves in alliance, countless times repelling enemy invasions, and keeping this green land from dark corruption."
Hearing news of the Blue Wizards, Kael's eyes immediately lit up.
"Do you know where they are now? I'd like to visit them."
Caranmir shook his head. "I'm not certain of their location. Their movements are unpredictable and secretive. They appear everywhere, even penetrating deep into Easterling heartlands to guide and help humans who haven't fallen to darkness, resisting the Dark Lord's rule and creating chaos. This prevents dark forces from focusing on Dorwinion, indirectly protecting our peace here."
"But if you want to find them, you could go to the Easterling city south of the Sea of Rhûn. There's been constant unrest there recently with frequent uprisings; very likely the Blue Wizards are inciting resistance activities."
Hearing this news, Kael finally had some gain.
[Hogwarts Check-in System: Located at Dorwinion, check in?]
The system suddenly prompted.
Seeing this, Kael was delighted and immediately thought. "Check in."
[Check-in successful. Congratulations on obtaining Occlumency!]
Occlumency was a magical technique that could resist external mental penetration. It was like forming a mental barrier in the brain, able not only to block Legilimency's memory probing but also, if mastered deeply enough, to even resist the Imperius Curse's effects.
But Kael saw more applications and possibilities for Occlumency.
Occlumency essentially formed a solid mental shield in the brain to combat mental magic invasion and influence.
Sauron's most powerful ability was mental corruption, corrupting hearts and making people his servants, like the Nazgûl.
If he successfully mastered Occlumency, perhaps facing Sauron wouldn't require such caution. Even if he could master Occlumency to perfection, perhaps even the One Ring could be handled as easily as Bilbo had.
Having obtained Occlumency, Kael wasn't in a hurry to find the Blue Wizards.
At elven manor owner Caranmir's invitation to stay, Kael simply remained for some time to master Occlumency before departing.
Practicing Occlumency's first step was clearing thoughts and emotions from the mind, keeping the brain blank and calm.
This required practitioners to have strong self-control, able to exclude various distracting thoughts and emotional interference.
But this wasn't difficult for Kael. He had meditation foundations, and meditation also required clearing various distractions to enter a thoughtless state.
Plus, he had the Crown of Wisdom's enhancement, making his mind race while maintaining rationality.
So within days he successfully mastered basic Occlumency.
Then Kael's progress accelerated rapidly. He attempted constructing shield-like mental barriers in his mind, isolating his thoughts and emotions from the outside world, like building a wall in his brain to prevent Legilimency from entering.
Kael was delighted to discover that as he mastered basic Occlumency, his Legilimency ability became completely controllable.
It was like installing switches in his brain. Whenever he wished, he could freely decide whether to hear others' thoughts instead of involuntarily receiving all the chaotic mental voices around him.
Benefiting from constant meditation, Kael's mental power was now far stronger than before. He quickly constructed a solid mental shield in his mind using mental power to resist ordinary mind-reading techniques.
But Kael thought of Professor Snape's Occlumency, which not only could resist Voldemort's Legilimency attacks but could even construct false memories, successfully deceiving Voldemort into always believing Snape was loyal to him.
Given this, Kael wondered if he could also use mental power to construct a giant fortress in his mind, like Hogwarts castle, for instance.
This way, he could hide his soul and memories in the deepest depths, preventing external spying and even avoiding mental erosion and heart corruption from beings like Sauron.