Circle of Fire

by Venus Rouge

"Such darkness could never bloom light anew" spoke Gandalf who sat puffing his pipe while looking up at the stars. From where I stood I looked Eastward, and placed my hand over my heart. In my mind I could still feel the warmth of his chest from that fateful day. "What was born of light can return to the light, there must always be hope" I replied, my voice full of conviction.

This little story came to me as I was listening to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy soundtrack while watching New Moon play on the TV in mute. It's an unusual crossover, I know, I mean what could LOTR possibly have in common with Twilight of all things? But I felt that one could make any crossover work with a sound and solid plotline with mature characters who aren't silly or unrealistic (At least I hope mine is sound and solid and not utter nonsense). So I present to you Circle of Fire.

Constructive criticism welcomed – Flames? Not so much. Please review and let me know how you feel about the story.

This story is for mature readers so no underage please! (As if you're going to listen, but I had to put this out there)

I have taken some liberties with regards to lore in both Twilight and the LOTR.

For the first chapter (prologue) I was inspired by the song 'Long Ways To Go Yet' from the LOTR soundtrack as the lyrics really fit with one of the main protagonists/antagonists and the events in the prologue.

A/N: The name Lomiphel is Adunaic meaning 'Twilight Daughter'

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Prologue: When Wrongs Are Righted

xx

Where once was light

Now darkness falls

Where once was love

Love is no more

.

Don't say goodbye

Don't say I didn't try

.

These tears we cry

Are falling rain

For all the lies you told us

The hurt, the blame

.

And we will weep to be so alone

We are lost

We can never go home

.

So in the end

I'll be what I will be

No loyal friend

Was ever there for me

.

Now we say goodbye

We say you didn't try

.

These tears you cry

Have come too late

Take back the lies

The hurt, the blame

.

And you will weep

When you face the end alone

You are lost

You can never go home

You are lost

You can never go home

xx

Lomiphel's Point of View

I clutched my swollen belly firmly as I peered down on the oblivious peoples of Armenelos. Warm and stinging tears escaped from my deep brown eyes and slithered down my pale cheeks.

That I would bring a child into such a world filled with treachery and deceit.

From the castle tower where I stood, I gazed shamefully onto the blackened hill of the city where the temple of Melkor sat in all its abominable glory – the darkened blemish radiating with malice amongst a city fair and once pure.

So many deceived.

So many ensnared by the beautiful snake who is my lover and father to my unborn child.

And yet I cannot bear even the thought to forsake him, to flee from him, to oust him and spill forth the truth of his lies to the peoples of Numenor and king Ar-Pharazon. My love for the man who exists beneath the layer of foulness far too strong, too concrete - forever bound.

Though the conviction in my support for Mairon's goals was crumbling, battered and weathered by my conscious. For too long I had stood by Mairon, supported him, agreed with him and watched with a numb mind the devastation he reaped across Middle-Earth. But now, to vilify the Valar and Eru himself to the Men of Numenor – it is too much. He has gone too far. I fear he crossed a line from which there is no return.

And I feel powerless to stop him. He is doomed either way. The noose hangs above his head if he defies Melkor and the blade floats beside his throat when the Valar or Eru himself intervenes.

I looked across to the dark, ominous clouds ahead and shivered with dread. A wholly unpleasant sensation took hold of my gut, as though a mass of black snakes writhed and squirmed within my belly. Lightning struck off into the distance, the storm drew ever nearer and I feared that today was the day I knew would come eventually.

I hurried down the winding stairs of the highest tower in king Ar-Pharazon's castle and swiftly made my way towards the throne room where I knew Mairon would be.

"Mairon!?" I called with worry. My voice echoed off the large walls, the castle void of life.

A tremor shook the earth and rattled the windows and furniture.

I hung on to a nearby bench as the ground continued to thunder and tremble. I screamed as the large iron chandelier broke loose from the ceiling above me in the antechamber of the throne room.

Before harm could come to me a large and pale hand grabbed my upper arm and pulled me off to the side and away from the site of impact. Mairon.

His beautiful face was twisted in worry and anger, though I could see that the anger was not directed towards me.

"Lomiphel—" he began but was cut off by another large tremor.

The both of us stumbled forwards just before large cracks began to form in the walls on either side of us.

"Come! Quickly now!" Mairon took me by the hand and we both ran for the nearest exit of the castle.

The city was alive and loud with terror filled screams and thundering booms of the sundering earth.

The once mighty and proud towers of Armenelos stood no chance against the power of the tremors and collapsed and crumbled, falling to the ground and on any person who had the misfortune of being under their shadow.

Mairon's fair face twisted in panic as he looked upon my own face and then to my belly. His breathing was laboured and grunts of alarm and dismay left his lips as though no words he was about to utter could possibly counter what was happening around us, and so each word died on his tongue.

Determination and desperate hope suddenly crawled across his features as he looked north to the black hill, to the temple of Melkor.

Turning his head back to me he held his hands on either side of my face and looked deeply into my eyes; his own violet-blue ones searching mine, pleading. "Lomiphel, run east, run and do not stop, do not stop for anything or anyone! Concern yourself only with you and our child!"

My eyes widened and I faltered for a moment. "What of you!? I cannot leave without you! If ill had to befall you I surely would not survive it Mairon, what—"

"No, run now, please! I must beseech Melkor, only he could halt the earth's wrath. Flee my Lomiphel, run!" He placed my hand over his heart and placed a gentle kiss atop my forehead before he took off running north towards the temple.

The tears once again escaped and spilled down my cheeks as I gazed in agony upon Mairon's retreating back. "Hold on little one" I whispered to my stomach before I turned on my heel and ran eastward.

The skies rumbled with thunder and had darkened considerably. Massive arcs of lighting hit the earth around us - the fleeing, and scorched the soil and grass as black as the desolate lands of Mordor.

It felt as though I had been running for an eternity, my feet ached and my chest burned with the exertion of my escape. I faltered at hearing the screams of the people intensify, and to my great misfortune I turned my head and looked behind me. I dearly wished that I had not.

A wave so large that it blocked out the darkened skies came barrelling towards us. So fierce and mighty was the wave that I believed Ulmo's spirit to be within the force of liquid judgment.

For I knew this was punishment.

It was punishment towards the Numenoreans who had doubted Eru and cast aside the Valar for the first dark lord Melkor. And Punishment towards Mairon for being the cause of the treachery, and towards me, for enabling it.

My child.

I collapsed to the ground with a hard thud as the tears continued to stream down my cheeks. I held my stomach tightly and wept and wailed knowing that the wave had long since swept away the inner city – swept away the temple. Escaping the wrath of Eru was futile.

I cried for the all the people who had been deceived by Mairon and myself, all the sacrificed, all the slaughtered.

And I wept bitterly and torturously at Mairon's death and the soon to be death of my child and myself.

On my knees, I looked up the mighty wave, at my death. I blocked out all of the anguish filled screams of the Numenoreans and thought only of my life since I was a babe right up to this point, a young woman who had found blind and soul-binding love, a mother who would never be able to hold her child in her arms and a murderer.

"Eru forgive me" I whispered the last words I would ever speak as the wrathful wave brought its murderous body down towards me.

And then I was no more.

xx

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Third Person Point of View

September 13 1987, Forks, Washington

A child was born into the world of Earth on this day, wailing and screaming angrily into its new, sterile and brighter world.

An onlooker from far beyond watched on as the mother embraced the babe and looked down upon it with glistening eyes and a jubilant upturned mouth.

The peering intruder sat back and closed off their sight in to the Otherworld, all the while hoping that they had made the right decision.