The Untold Tales Of Middle Earth.
- The Hidden Queen -
There are many tales to be told concerning the events in Middle Earth.
Most tales are about heroic victories in great battles.
Some are of the dark creatures that inhabit these lands... like Balrog's, Wraiths and dragons.
And then there are some tales that are about simple folk taking not so
simple journeys.
All great tales in there own way, and all deserve to be told.
But this is not a tale that many who inhabit Middle Earth have had the pleasure to tell, or even hear for that matter.
For you to fully understand the accounts of this journey, We must first travel back to the dark times of Middle Earth,
in the third age, when the balance between good and evil was somewhat clouded.
Our adventure starts at Erid-Nimrias with a banished Ranger named Landriel.
Though Landriel was once a highly respected Ranger of the North, It was his trust in greatness and that it could be found in all souls that led him to his misfortune. But that is a tale of another time... This tale is about the rings of power,
THREE RINGS FOR THE ELVEN-KINGS UNDER THE SKY,
SEVEN FOR THE DWARF-LORDS IN THEIR HALLS OF STONE,
NINE FOR MORTAL MEN DOOMED TO DIE,
ONE FOR THE DARK LORD ON HIS DARK THRONE,
IN THE LAND OF MORDOR WHERE THE SHADOWS LIE,
ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL, ONE RING TO FIND THEM,
ONE RING TO BRING THEM ALL AND IN THE DARKNESS BIND THEM,
IN THE LAND OF MORDOR WHERE THE SHADOWS LIE.
But there was another ring forged... and just like the one ring this ring was also forged in secret...
THE ANGMILAR , The sister ring,The Finder !
It was in Erid-Nimrias, the whitehorn mountains where Glandriel first heard rumours of The Angmilar and of the powers the ring held.
There were few whispers between Gondor and Rohan to what the Angmilar was truly created for, But one name seemed to keep from dying in mind.
The Finder, That is what it was referred to by the few who dared speak its name. Yes... The Finder, it was said that The Angmilar was created in the shadows by Sauron for the soul purpose of finding the one ring. It was whilst residing in Dol Goldur that The Dark Lord set about the forging of the ring, and it was there he corrupted Raella Aranwion, The Elven-Princess.
You see Sauron was still quite weak and didn't have the strength alone to forge the ring so he forced Raella to do his deeds.
Raella Aranwion was once a beautiful Elven princess, known and respected by all of Middle Earth for both her beauty and her skill to craft..
But it was at The Battle of Rynith in Rohan with Landriel and Raigo that set this fate in motion. In the fields of Rohan, Raella was deceived by the Orc-lord Raigo,
and the She-Elf was stuck with a poisoned blade, doomed to die Raella gave chase alone into Fangorn Forest to claim her revenge on him.
But Raigo had been trained well by Landriel and made a worthy apponent,
Cutting foul head from his grim cowardly body the She-Elf collapsed, drained of energy and riddled with poison she slipped halfway to death. It would be Raella's last day as a pure-heart,
Though it was not her destiny to die in Fangorn Forest or even Rohan... but she was to be taken to Dol Goldur, to the Dark Lord.
Poisoned and broken she was easily corrupted and forced to forge the ring Angmilar for Sauron.
And with that our journey starts...
Calenhadin hall of Erid Nimrais, home to one of the warning beacons of Gondor, that is where the Ranger Landriel first heard the rumors.
Standing watch and waiting at the beacons was not a very honorable job for a Ranger, as it was mostly given to those being punished for some crime or betrayal of sorts and being there was lonely work.
seeing new faces was seldom come by, so when folk did came through the area for trade or work, Landriel would crave their news and stories from the north. And it is with these stories he first heard the tale of the ring. More and more he was hearing the myths of the ring. It had been many years since Landriel was first stationed on the mountain and he had long but seen a worm summers day, or even a low flat forest for that matter. But as all thing end so did the winter and with it came a very familiar face, 2 in-fact although the same face was shared. Variin and Toriin, 'Twins Of The Grey Mountains' Not that it was hard to see through there resemblance as Variin had hair and beard of white ice and Toriin that of of fire.
Toriin and Variin had fought in battles alongside Landriel on many occasions and knew him well.
It was getting late and Landriel had retired to 'The Watchers Dog' for warmth and a drink. 'The Watchers Dog' was a large brown stable converted into a Pub at the request of the guardsmen, the ale was always flat and the price was considered thievery but it was ale non the less.
Sitting at a table just yards from the large open floor fire, Landriel was startled by the drop of an axe on to the surface of his table .
"Landriel," shouted Variin, "So nice to see you old friend..."
"Ahh Variin", replied Glandriel as he rose from his stool, looking the dwarf in the face with a great smile.
"I have been expecting you and... well where is the old troll"?
"OLD TROLL"?! cried Toriin as he grabbed Landriel from behind, wrapping his large arms round him like some kind of great bear.
"You must be losing your ears in your old age my friend" said Toriin with a chirpy voice.
"Losing my ears? old age?" replied Landriel, "I could be blind and deaf and i would still know you are coming old friend".
confused, Toriin looks to his brother.. "the smell" laughs Variin in return to his brothers confused look.
To that Toriin snaps "Hey, I will have you know i crossed through three or four streams on my way to get here Old man, and that is quite enough water i would care to see for one month atleast".
"well come on take a seat.. sit down" said Landriel "I am in dire need of news. The folk round here are beginning to drive me mad with the repeated tales, day in and day out...
you know their is a man here, old shaky bloke, walks with a limp, goes by the name Gilbert.. or Golbert...
Aaghh it escapes me, but he talks of Orc's dwelling in Isengard".
Variin and Toriin gave Landriel a look to suggest truth in these words.
"It cant be, Where is saruman?" he asks the brothers with complete shock.
"well thats the thing" answers Toriin.
"It appears saruman is in alliance with the dark lord, he is using Isengard as an Orc fortress".
"And their are creatures far more fowl than Orc roaming the Orthanc tower".
"What? how has this come to be?" Shouts Landriel as he rose from his stool".
"we don't really know" whimpers Variin to Landriel, "nobody does".
"well then what of Gandalf?, does the grey wizard know of this?"
"we dont know" replies Variin, "Gandalf has not been seen in almost 4 years now".
"But you know Gandalf" says Toriin to his brother trying to make change of the mood.
"Gandalf can take care of himself, and i'm sure he is fine wherever he may be".
"That may be true brother" said Variin as he rose from his stool and took place by Landriel's side.
"I also dont think we are in the right place to be discussing the whereabouts and doings of wizards".
Landriel looked to Varrin with a sudden realization that the full conversation was shared with the entire pub.
"Yes, you are very right in thinking so my old friend. The Dark Lord has many spies".
"Come, i know a place more suitable for such dark conversations" says Landriel to the brothers as he steps away from the table.