Chapter One: Is This A One Way Ticket?
It was like falling asleep after a long day of work. Kaiser opened his eyes, letting out a small groan as the bright light hit his eyes, and he blinked as he observed his surroundings. 'How did I get here' Kaiser thought, looking around the room that reminded him of an extremely lavish study. The last thing he remembered was fighting against the Death Eaters.
The room itself was lined by torches spaced evenly along the white walls, which appeared to be made out of some kind of stone; Kaiser had never seen anything like it in his life. There were vines carved above the door that had been crafted from a soft grey wood he also couldn't identify. The room had sparse furnishings; a warm fire, a couple of chairs, and two tables. In the corner there was a shiny basin with water inside that was raised up on a low platform. Everything in the room appeared to emanate a soft glow and the smell of the ocean was prevalent in the air, the fresh air providing a cool breeze throughout the relatively open room. Kaiser could hear waves crashing against rocks outside and he could practically taste the salt on his tongue. On the opposite side of the door there was a balcony, completely open without any obstruction to block the stunning view of the night sky that was on display. There were millions of stars twinkling against a backdrop of midnight, the most incredible Kaiser has ever seen the sky look in his life - not even when he gazed at them from the Astronomy tower at Hogwarts was he awarded this spectacular of a view.
When he finally was able to pry his eyes away from the captivating vision presented by the heavens, Kaiser's attention was directed to the wooden staff propped up against the stone wall of the room, the rowan wood the staff was made from was a stark contrast from the walls. Kaiser walked across the room cautiously, remaining vigilant and wary despite the apparent lack of any other living thing within the room, and he slowly picked the staff up in his hands - having already checked to make sure the suspicious placement of his staff was not some form of a trap. Kaiser let out a slightly pained sigh, as he almost always did when his calloused hands touched smooth wood, and the man felt his heart tighten at the thought of his wand.
The wand had been almost completely destroyed, Kaiser only having been able to find one fourth of his revered tool. The rest of it had been blown into smithereens by a particularly nasty curse by Bellatrix, who had managed to hit his wand instead of his arm as she most likely intended. The woman had caught him off guard while he was in a fierce duel with Dolohov, another 'faithful' servant of Voldemort. After that particular battle, he had put the few pieces that he had been able to find inside the very staff that he now held in his grip.
He was a shadow of his former strength with it, considering it just did not channel his magic as well as a completely whole wand could, but he had been required to adjust since Ollivander was kidnapped and could no longer make any wands - it was his decrease in power that led to him using the thick rowan staff as a blunt weapon nearly as often as he used it to preform magic. Not very many of the opponents Kaiser faced were expecting a physical attack, especially considering nearly all of them were Purebloods who frowned upon the 'mudblood' way of fighting. Luckily, Kaiser was still capable of quite a few defensive charms and a decent myriad of curses, hexes, and jinxes that - when combined with the physical fighting and his sometimes out of the box methods - he put up a damn good fight.
With the familiar weight of his staff in his hands and having thoroughly examined his current surrounding, the wizard began attempting to figure out how in Merlin's name he came to be in this place. Kaiser vaguely remembered getting hit with a curse before everything had gone black. Despite not having very much information to go on, he still has a bad feeling about what was going on. Most Death Eaters would have hit him with something deadly, after all, and considering it was the final stand off between the two sides of the war they would not have taken him captive. Could they have possibly forced his mind to experience some kind of hallucination? It would be a incapacitating spell but it seems like it would be far too much effort. Besides, even if that were true and they had compelled him to experience this disorienting mirage, how the bloody hell was he going to free himself from it?
"You are awake." said a voice imbued with a combination of grief, pity, and strength in equal measures. The voice that seemingly came from both nowhere and everywhere simultaneously alarmed the overly vigilant wizard and Kaiser instantly had his back to one of the walls with his staff raised in preparation while he systematically scanned the room, the full body binding curse prepared to be cast at the first sign of need.
Kaiser watched silently as a woman wearing a gray dress paired with a gray hood, the same woman who had presumably just spoken, approached from the balcony. Kaiser felt foolish for not having gone to investigate the balcony more closely - it was obvious the veranda extended further than he originally assumed and it was a mistake that could still prove to be fatal.
Something about the woman felt strange to him, it was as if there were some foreign or alien aspect to her mien that felt esoteric; the way Kaiser felt seemed much like how a person may feel when they are unable to recall an important task despite having been thinking of completeing it a moment prior to forgetting or when a person with memory loss is incapable of remembering the person in front of them even though they feel as though they should be able to recognize them.
"I am not confident whether I am awake or not, actually." Kaiser corrected her in a steady voice, his knuckles turning white because of the increasingly taut grip around his staff the closer the grey clothed woman came. Even though he was not as powerful as he was prior to the destruction of his wand, Kaiser knew damn well that because of his stubborness and unpredictability he was not easy to defeat in battle - be it a magical one or otherwise.
"You have naught to fear from me, young one." the woman said reassuringly as her hands gracefully moved from her sides in order to pull her hood away from her head, revealing shocking silver locks, a beautiful shade of hair Kaiser had never seen that bore a strong resemblance to the moon because of its luminous colour. She had delicate features and a small, mysterious smile which seemingly brightened her face favourably while also giving off an aura that seemed to suggest the woman was privy to a secret that only she will ever know. "You may call me Nienna."
"Why am I here?" Kaiser asked, deciding to be as direct as possible in the hope that he would be able to either rejoin the ongoing battle or return to his home, if the battle had already been resolved. If it was over, Kaiser could at least discover whether they won or lost as well as find out what the cost of victory or defeat - whichever outcome had came about after he lost conciousness - was for their side. "And where am I?"
"I know you to be a clever mortal." Nienna responded, taking a seat in one of the chairs next to where Kaiser was standing and she placing both of her hands primly in her lap, her back straight. The chair was created from the same material that was used in order to create the door and on the chair were the most intricate designs Kaiser had ever seen. The workmanship was incredible and the detail perfectly done, down to every minute detail. "Have you any guesses?"
Kaiser sat back and sized her up. This felt real, which didn't necessarily mean that it was; Kaiser knew there were numerous spells in existence that were capable of forcing a person to experience any artifice constructed by the caster while making every component appear as though it were real. Usually those kind of spells would either place the victim somewhere within their past or somewhere that would elicit an overwhelmingly horrified reaction; If the person casting the spell was sinister enough to torture someone that way, they would actually probably attempt to submerge the victim into an atrocious memory so they might break them more quickly.
The problem is that it honestly would not make much sense to administer someone into a hallucination that held no meaning unless the caster was attempting to decieve the victim into divulging information. That wouldn't make sense though in Kaiser's own situation, however, because the last memory he had was fighting in the final battle at Hogwarts; Since all of the members of The Order of the Phoenix were present, and because aside from member identities and locations there weren't any secrets, there was not any reason for information extraction - especially an information extraction that was done in a long and round about manner. Both sides knew that this battle - it was total victory or total annihilation. Either we bought Harry enough time to do whatever it is he needs to do before Voldemort can be defeated or we all die fighting trying to stall as long as possible.
It was at the very moment that those thoughts came across Kaiser's mind that he realized exactly what happened to him during the battle at Hogwarts. It was through this understanding of what occured during his last moments that gave him a clue as to where he was currently.
"I've died." Kaiser said softly, taking a seat next to the woman as it sunk in. He would never discuss Ancient Runes with Hermione Granger again, he wouldn't get to watch Remus's son, Teddy Lupin, grow up and attend Hogwarts; Kaiser would never be able to fufill Sirius' last request - the promise that had kept him going for so long after he lost the man he loved more than anything.
"Yes." Nienna replied simply
"Did we win?" I asked anxiously, standing right back up to begin pacing back and forth as I dragged the fingers on my right hand through my hair. "Did Harry kill Voldemort? Did Harry survive? What about Hermione, is she okay?"
"I do not know." Nienna stated calmly
"Are you a ghost? An angel? A useless apparition put here to speak in riddles, watching as you slowly turn me into a barmy git for eternity?" Kaiser asked angrily, his fist coming down hard onto the side table next to the chair he had occupied for a very brief moment and causing a book to fall off of it. 'Is this God?' I asked sardonically, praying it wasn't because she said she knew nothing.
"I am of the Valar." said Nienna "We are looked upon by the elves similarly to how some look to God in your realm."
Kaiser looked up sharply, wondering if the woman could read his mind. This was going to be difficult to process. Does everyone wake up to her? Was she similar to the man who ferries you to the Underworld, or the angel of death? Kaiser decided to keep things simple.
"House elves worship gods?" He asked, curiosity lining his voice and wondering how he had never heard of it with Harry's friend going on about them at meals in the earlier years. Then his mind, which was frantically attempting to process everything at once, latched on to a word Nienna had said after calling herself a Valar or whatever. "Did you say to how some look to God in your realm? You mean the realm of the living, right?"
"These elves are much different than the ones you are familiar with. They have similarities to men." Nienna said, her lips curving down into a sympathetic frown that did nothing to ease the fast rising panic threatening to overtake Kaiser. "There are many different realms. Your Earth is but one of the many; we currently occupy another realm."
"Why am I here?" The Wizard asked as his breaths began to be sucked into his lungs at a much faster rate. "Where even is here? Where is Sirius? If I'm dead, I'm supposed to see Sirius."
"Calm yourself, Kaiser. Drink this tea." Nienna commanded, her voice barely shifting in volume but resonating with such power that I did not dare refuse.
Kaiser sipped it to begin with, finding it perfectly cooled enough to drink but still warm, and the two figures sat in silence while he drank the tea. Once the cup was empty and was placed back on the table, Kaiser apologized to Nienna for his outburst and offered his thanks as well because his breathing was already returned to normal. "I am sorry, Lady Nienna. It's just… I had expectations for when I died - people I wanted to see on the other side more than I wanted to live, most days."
"I understand your pain, young one." Nienna said, her eyes filled with unshed tears that refused to fall. "There is a reason for everything that happens and I have been chosen to speak for all of us - to represent the Valar as we ask you to help save our world. Listen to what I have to say and then I will give you a choice."
"Arda, the land which we are beseeching you to aid, has experienced a drastic shift in the natural balance of things recently. Something has unknown to us has occured, in the darkest parts of the world where even we cannot see clearly anymore, and someone from your realm has crossed over to hide within the shroud caused by Sauron. Eru Iluvatar must help keep the balance and it was why, at your death, he has brought you to Arda so that you may assist with defending the free people from this foreign threat." explained Nienna, her voice a steady rhythm as she spoke."The land, more commonly known as Middle-Earth, is in a delicate struggle, and even the smallest of edges could give victory to the wrong side."
"Don't I deserve to rest?" Kaiser asked as he raised from his seat, a growing sense of fury and frustration descending upon him. He finally could be with his loved ones again; why did he have to keep fighting? Had he not given enough? Had he not sacrificed enough?
"You who have lost everything and continued to fight. You, more than most, deserve peace." Nienna agreed, smiling comfortingly at him with overflowing pity. "You are a survivor, a strong man. You have a choice in this matter, as is your right."
"I can move on?" Kaiser asked, and was disgusted with how hopeful his voice sounded at the prospect of finally being able to give up and die. When had he become this person? Where was the boy who had been filled with life he had once been?
"Yes." Nienna said "However, I ask you to listen to my story. For your presence may prove vital to the coming struggle. If after there is no desire to aid those I speak of, you may go with no other delays on my part."
Nienna spoke for a long time after that. She spoke of the Eldar, of the Dwarves, of Halflings and Men. She spoke of vile creatures and darkness as well as creation, life and joy. She explained the struggle with Morgoth, the First War, and of Sauron, the Deceiver. Nienna told Kaiser of 'gifts' in the form of Rings of power which we granted to all of the races and then spoke of how Sauron betrayed them all. The First War of The Ring, where the Free People of Middle-Earth came together to defeat Sauron and then succeded. She spoke briefly on the peace after Sauron had been defeated. She spoke of the darkness that was once again brewing, how the ring was kept by Isilidur that day instead of destroyed, and spoke of many other things. Kaiser does not know how long he sat before the Vala listening to the history of a land in danger.
The land of Arda was similar to how it was throughout the middle ages back in Kaiser's realm. Horses were used as the main source of transportation, wars were fought with swords, and there were Lords and Ladies as rulers throughout the land. Kaiser was amazed at some of what he heard; such as the strange and wild magic which was in the very land itself, though the magic was slowly fading in Middle-Earth and the Elves were even leaving as well. Images were sometimes brought to his mind, brought forth from Nienna herself so that he may get an accurate idea of the things she spoke of. As she continued to talk, Kaiser was slowly becoming at a loss of what to do. Finally, Nienna spoke about the coming peril faced by all free people of Middle Earth and Kaiser was allowed time to absorb the information and think.
Truthfully, while Kaiser hated to think of a whole land being enslaved, he was just so damn tired. He had been fighting for so long and even Nienna admitted that he deserved to rest! Despite his desire, and the repetitive chant to go back to his world that he had kept up during the entire conversation with Nienna, Kaiser couldn't help but feel selfish at the thoughts penetrating his mind. How could he sit here and complain about how tired he was when children's parents were robbed of life and an entire land faced the enslavement from a mad man?
He thought for hours and hours, going around in circles while attempting to make a decision. Kaiser stared down at his left hand finger at the place where beautiful celtic knots formed an intricate ring around his finger. His promise to Sirius. The promise they both made to one another that no matter what happens they would continue to fight, to love, and to struggle until the last breath. If one of them were to die, the other would keep on fighting no matter what and continue to protect their friends, their family, and… try to find love again.
"Where would I go?" Kaiser asked abruptly, looking up from his hand and peering into Nienna's eyes.
"You must seek out Olorin." Nienna said, a triumphant smile threatening to show on her face "He his a former pupil and a friend; he is one of the Istari, and will guide you along your journey."
"Will he trust me?" asked Kaiser hesitatingly, thinking about how he would react if a random person claiming to be sent by a god was trying to tag along with him.
"I will give you a token to give him." Nienna responded "He will know it's meaning. You will awaken next in the land of Rohan and it is there you shall wait for Gandalf the Grey - the name Olorin is most well-known by among mankind.
'I am a psychotic masochist." Kaiser thought grimly, as he gripped his staff to comfort himself. 'No looking back now.'
"I accept this task." Kaiser said firmly, any trace of hesitation or doubt having been tossed out of the window or shoved deep down inside himself the moment the decision was made. There was never any sense in doubting a decision once it was made; either it will be determined it was a mistake that can be learned from or it will be discovered the choice was the right one, allowing for a feeling of success.
Author Notes: Hello! This was one of the first stories I wrote on here and I wanted to go back and rewrite the first chapter that I posted because I'm working on the second chapter! I hope you all enjoy!
Sidenote: I am currently under a lot of stress. I bought a house last year and it's falling apart, right now my my plumbing is broken, my electricity in my bedroom doesn't work, my car has no HEAT or AC, my fridge is broken, and I'm pretty much by myself with this stuff.
Obviously, with how the way things are going, it's hard for me to write and I am in no way encouraging or attempting to force anyone to do this, but I have an account: Just put it all together below
www. go fund me chriscainouterdrivehome
If anyone has 50 cents or a dollar to spare that they wouldn't mind donating to help me fix my plumbing, I would be forever grateful. I absolutely hate begging and I feel like it's what I'm doing… I've donated plasma, let go of my internet (Hence why I post at weird hours whenever I can use someone's WIFI or get to somewhere with public WIFI), I sold all my books, my TV, my game systems, and tried to get people to let me do yard work but with all that I have to pay for; it's just not enough.
I'll update the next chapter as soon as I can!