Of Beauty & Beasts.
Chapter One: The Valar Intervene.
"It is such a shame."
Nienna murmured as she watched the events unfold after the One Ring had been discarded into the fires of Mount Doom. Surrounded by the other Valar, she couldn't help but voice her empathy over the Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and Wargs who were being slaughtered just because their Master had done the most impressive job of enslaving and brainwashing them. After all, what choice did they have? Orcs and Uruk-Hai were judged on their hideous appearance and what the White Wizard had made everyone see them as. None of the Uruk-Hai knew anything other then what the White Wizard told them. They did not know right or wrong, and most of the Orcs who were bred within Isenguard were the same. The Wargs didn't have things any better especially since they could understand the voices of those who were deemed their Masters.
Malkor's gaze wandered to Nienna as he put a large, rough hand on her bare shoulder.
"What is a shame?"
He asked, his voice as rough and wild as a roaring ocean.
"All those lives lost. The Uruk-Hai knew no better. The Wizard taught them nothing but what he had told them. They did not know right from wrong. The Wargs had little choice either. Just like the Uruk-Hai no race of Man, Elf, or Dwarf would give the Warg a second look if they met one before the war. They would be deemed evil. It is not their fault they only understand the Black Speech of Mordor and the language of Orcs. It was how they were created. Other languages aren't primal enough for the Wargs to understand and all animals know is the instinct to survive. The Orcs... The few original that lived outside Isengard before the Wizard forced their compliance... I'm sure they'd be happy to return to their old lives. Why should they be killed off as if they are nothing more than evil beasts?"
Nienna exclaimed, her voice filled with passion and fire as she beseeched not only Malkor but the rest of the Valor for their agreement and help.
"Eru would not appreciate us intruding on the lives of Adar. He would not approve it either Nienna. You know this."
Manwë warned, his voice although filled with power and authority as was right of the King of the Valar but not as powerful as Malkor who was indeed the most powerful of all of them. His concern was for Nienna, who as the Queen of Mercy, often had her compassion for everything they had created overwhelmed her. This was one of the issues that she felt most passionate about. It wasn't the first time Nienna had brought it up either. Although the Valar had all the time in the world being immortal as they were a deadline was coming up soon. Each event could be foretold, seen before it happened, and there was always a certain amount of time in which the event could be altered. For the Valar, they had seen the War of the Ring ended more than a million times but it was within the next Ardar month that the deadline for which the event could be altered would arise.
Nienna's eyes flashed with fury as she looked towards Manwë.
"So just because your King of the Valar, you're Eru's whipping boy? We must do something! You have seen what the age of Man shall do to Adar. If we help save these three races it could bring about a better future for not only them but the other races. Should everything but Man fall into myth and legend, their history and truth forgotten? Should innocent lives be slaughtered because they knew no better? It is not right! Eru may not be willing to interfere and stick to this code but we have not made such a vow. All we need is the right soul."
She snapped, her passion for her beliefs beginning to touch those of the other Valar. There was silence for a long while before eventually Malkor spoke up.
"Say we do this, how will we find this soul?"
Nienna grinned happily, her expression that of a delighted child thoroughly prepared. With a flick of her wrist the scenes of the War of the Ring disappeared from the water filled basin, and in its place showed a young woman who clearly was so deep into the future that what ancestors of hers may live today would be so far back that it wouldn't be seen on a pedigree table.
The young woman was a dark brunette but in the right light you could see strands of red and blonde in her long, very slightly wavy, shoulder length hair. She had piercing cobalt blue eyes, and a very classic English Rose looking face with rounded cheeks that held a light blush and full lips that could be described as a cupid's bow. Her eyebrows were unfortunately thick and unruly, especially since it seemed the young woman was not the best plucker in the world but did indeed try her best. She stood at five feet nine inches in height at least, with a nice pair of legs and size six and a half feet that were not either too big or too small. She was quite rounded on her stomach, something she fiercely labelled as 'Puppy Fat' and nothing more, with a small 36A bust and a well-rounded, large bottom that must have been a family trait. All in all she wasn't hideous but she wasn't exactly a mouth-watering supermodel either. She was clearly someone who was looked over for most if not all of her life.
Malkor raised an eyebrow as he looked from the image of the woman to Nienna.
"Her? What is so special about her?"
He asked, which was pretty much the main question every one of the Valar had on their mind.
"Look again."
Nienna spoke, and when they did indeed look again it was not her outer appearance everyone saw - it was that elusive soul and heart.
The purity of both, the strength of character, the passionate fire it held, was all so overwhelmingly strong and beautiful that most found it hard to look away. All except for Malkor, who was also known as the Dark Power, found it hard to look at. He instead looked to Nienna who looked thoroughly pleased with herself.
"She may not look like much but when backed into a corner she will fight and fight with passion. She has love and compassion for all creatures but will not stand for any kind of prejudice or any kind of bullying. She will be able to unify all races, and whats best of all she probably won't even realise what a huge thing she is doing. To her she will feel like she is only doing what is right. She sees and feels more than the average Man. If we took the time I am sure we would be able to trace her back to various races that live in Middle Earth."
Nienna spoke, almost like narration, as the other Valar watched the young woman not only suffer her own bullying throughout her life but speak up for those who have also suffered. Mostly it was for those she never saw and only to the few family she had left, and even those people barely listened to her. It was clear she did not belong in that modern world, and that in the right place she'd only grow into the soul and heart that so far was being held back due the opression of her current era.
It seemed like Nienna waited on baited-breath before finally each one of the Valar nodded their agreement on this course of action.
"At which point in time shall we send her?"
This of course was one of the most vital points - although they did not want to change which side won the War, it would have to be sometime during the War to make enough of a difference on the views of the three races the White Wizard had enslaved.
"I suppose it depends on what smaller events we can afford to change."
Manwë said wisely, causing all the others to nod. One such smaller event they could not change was Gandalf falling with the Balrog.
"Perhaps she should be there from the beginning? The hobbits were rather sheltered before they left their homes. They'd be more likely to welcome her into the fold at that point."
Varda mentioned, her own wisdom making it clear why she was the spouse of Manwë and thus the Queen of the Valar.
"We should also make note of the rules of this sort of transfer, and thus decide on what this woman shall be merged with in this world."
The queen added, causing a murmur of agreement to go through the Valar.
"We could go a few ways with this. We either merge her with that of an Elf, use the standing that race has to give her the voice and power needed for others to listen, or we merge her with that of one of the other races, perhaps Warg, and she can make a stand in that form to show it's what is beyond the surface that counts."
Mandos, judge of the dead, spoke up with an unwavering tone. At this various others spoke at once voicing their opinions for their choice of the two until a shrill whistle from Malkor silenced them. Clearly what she should merge with was going to be the toughest decision.
After all you couldn't just move one thing from one place in time and place it in another. It would rip so many fabrics of time and reality that everything would end up collapsing in on itself. First, if the thing was living permission must be obtained from the creature itself to be moved from its place in time because once moved it would be impossible to go back. Second, the creature's current body must die upon transference. The body itself was just the form of the soul's appearance visible. It was the soul and heart of the person that was transferred, everything that made the person who it was, through time to where it was needed. Third, there must an available body to house in the time wanted that the soul & heart could reside in. Therefore a body must be found. A body that although its soul & heart had died could live on with a new person merged with it and a little kick from the Valar itself. There had to be a place for the soul & heart to go. That was the most crucial.
Malkor rose his hand to gain everyone's attention before speaking up.
"I do not think an Elf would be a wise choice. From what I have gathered of seeing the woman's life, although she may initally enjoy the ethereal beauty of the Elf in the long-term she would come to detest it. She would feel like she is not herself, and any attachments made in this new life would be false due to what she is. Perhaps being a Warg would be the better choice. She has shown great love for animals, especially that of the wolves in her time. They are just descendants of our current Warg, and I feel she would be best suited there. To aid her we can always give the Warg chosen a little tweak once she is in it and have her able to take her own human form on the night of the full moon until such a time she has managed to take the darker races off the slaughter list. After that she could perhaps change between the two forms at will so she may then make this new life of hers properly her own."
It didn't take long for the others to see the wisdom in these words. With the form decided upon, they then went about deciding just where in the timeline of the War of the Ring to put her. There was talk amongst themselves before eventually Nienna took control of the conversation once more.
"I do not think there are Wargs near the Shire at the beginning of the War of the Ring. The Fellowship first encounter wolves on the day they reach Moria, so perhaps we should have her placed there? Not only could she protect the Fellowship herself by fighting off the wolves, but also help them with what lives in the lake and inside the tunnels of Moria. With the darkness inside Moria, should she wish to do this unseen for the most part by the Fellowship themselves then she can do. Since the War of the Ring has also been classified as fiction in her time, she should know all that will occur and should know which events must take place for things to work out right. We can make sure of this, of course, when we talk to her to get her permission for this transfer. What do you think?"
It didn't take long for all of the Valar to agree, and it was further agreeded that Malrok would be the one to do the actual transfer. After all he held the most power and thus it would give the whole mission more of a chance to succeed with him behind it all. Of course everyone else would lend their abilities if or when they were needed as they all wanted this to succeed.
Author's Note: I have read a lot of LOTR fanfictions, and of course watched all the Movies - some a few times. I love them. Note however, I have not read any of the books, and so this for the most part will be Movieverse but with some Book elements provided in the LOTR Wikia I have found. Some also have my own twist, such as the Valar in this chapter and slight edits on the Warg's appearance in the future chapters. The rules of transferance through time are all mine, and just seem to make logical sense to me. I own nothing but the few things I have mentioned previous - the rest belong to the author & the movie people. The information used on the LOTR Wikia is credited to those who found the info and of course the author who wrote the illustrious books. If any wish to help with this story, such as provide information I may have missed or you think may prove useful in the future, feel free to send me a message! I'd appreciate it.