Description: Sequel to Son of a Warg - 5000 years have passed on Middle-Earth and the humans took over every corner of it. Hyano did all she could, but they are slowly forgetting the teachings of the past. At such times of frustration, her own past wells up from the depths of darkness itself.


Hello, and welcome to the first chapter to the sequel of Son of a Warg.

This is a continuation of the story, which will guide you to our own current times, where technology took over all aspects of our lives, making it not simple but complicated. Well, complicated for someone from Middle-Earth.

So, this idea of this part of the roleplay came to us when we began talking about the theory I am sure you also met already. That Tolkien in the end tied the history of Middle-Earth to our own. This means, that all that happened in his books was in our past, so people developed from those you saw/read about, where the world began to lose magic.

We decided to build on it.


Cub: Mwahahahaha! In other words, folks! We're baaaaaaaaaaack! Mwahahahaha!

Ren: Why is she doing that?

Hyano: Oh, Halloween is coming up in America.

Ren: Halloween… Halloween… Wait isn't that the day where kids come around and give me their bags of candy?! *Takes off to go get ready.*

Hyano: Wait. What?! No that isn't how it works, Ren! *Runs after him.*

Avp: Oh, here we go again… Enjoy the show, folks.


Please note - You are going to notice modern words within Hyano's speech, but we decided to not remove them, due to this one taking place in our time anyway. They are no more out of place.

Enjoy.

CA Productions


Disclaimer: We don't own LotR, but we own the plot of this story, and all that was created outside what Tolkien included in his books. Cublove owns Hyano, the Orange Wizard, Avpke owns Ren the Nazgul. All OCs and custom races appearing in this story are our creations. Please don't steal anything.


Chapter 1 - Every End has a New Beginning

Mother Nature did everything in her power to maintain Middle-Earth on her own for the next thousands of years.

She managed to survive and help the human species evolve further. They discovered new lands, took over the world that they know, built and invented new items, artifacts and modern machines. Their intelligence knew no bounds as their civilization bloomed without disturbances. Their numbers were so great in the end, however, that they started to take matters into their own hands.

To maintain their numbers, they started to betray nature and shaped the world to their own needs. Forests were destroyed, swamps were dried, houses were built where they shouldn't be, and they pressed many other species to extinction, making their world less colorful.

No matter how Mother Nature tried, she couldn't push them back.

They learned to counter the diseases that she tried to plague them with and even cheated death all too many times. Mother Nature simply keeps losing the fight. The humans got all too powerful and continued shaping their world.

And with their constant changing, they also destroyed many memories and monuments of the old days, the long lost past when many honorable warriors rode to battle against an ancient evil, when Middle-Earth could barely be saved, when a single artifact could decide the fate of Men. When a far greater darkness than disease spread on the lands. When elves walked the land along with talking trees, when wraiths looked for prey in the moonless nights and when old istari sat in the forests, smoking from their long and slim pipes.

All this was nothing more but fairy tale.

Changed many times through the years, taken away from it and added to it, they shaped even these stories to their own liking. And slowly but surely, they developed into simple legends, stories the parents tell to their children to help them fall asleep.

The happenings of old became lost.

Forever.

At some places these legends lived more prominent than at others. Some towns still had that little magical feeling to them, especially when there are proofs hidden and found through the ages.

One such town was Nomina, which -unknown to the people- laid on the remains of Mordor.

The town sat upon an excavation site, where long lost objects, statues, weapons, books and buildings are re-discovered day by day. Some of them seemed coming right from tales... Buried under the town were many treasures, which are slowly brought back to the surface for everyone to see. Here, with these strange items found, the legends of old lived far more intensely. The people were more open-minded for changes and new ideas. It was a rather happy little town, almost purely keeping itself up by the excavations, the items they find and the tourism that it attracts. The houses were also more shaped like those they found under the earth, making it a completely different little world on its own.

In this town was a smaller tower in its very center. Though, not as tall as it used to be before its destruction but it was a monument of the past, still occupied by a single owner for many thousand years.


Hyano stepped out of her home.

An old building, almost tower-like if it had been taller.

She used a large old key to lock the large wooden door, before putting it around her neck, then put her hand on the doorknob one last time, using a spell no one could see to lock the home in another way. Her own personal security system if you will. Adults could not enter, however she allowed children to go right ahead. She did live in a 'haunted' house after all. She giggled at the very thought as she stepped off of her porch.

As the times changed, she in person did not, but her choice in clothing did. While old wizard robes were quite comfortable, even in this town they would have made her stick out like a scratch on a record. She had now replaced the orange robe and cap with an orange sleeveless hoodie which had pockets full of various little items. Some magical, some just odd but useful. She also wore a long sleeved brown shirt, black jeans and a simple pair of sandals. The hippie age had been wonderful for this invention among other things.

She walked off her lawn and down the street.

This was her town.

Ever since Gandalf left she took her time to perfect the spell she planned on using to make sure that the mistakes of the past cannot be repeated. She used every ounce of her magic to morph an illusion and caused Mordor to vanish from the sight of Man. This enabled the world to recover, to rebuild, and only after the magic shifted to the worst did she release her hold on it, making it reappear and letting this very first town to build on the remains of evil. While she keeps a good eye on the people here, this doesn't mean she also spent the last thousands of years in this town.

While the orange wizard traveled quite a bit, leaving her house unoccupied for sometimes years at a time, she would always come back to this place. It was the closest thing she had to her old world. Her old life. Besides, the people here were just far too funny.

She smiled as a child ran past, looking at the woman who still sported flowers in her hair with awe for a moment before continuing to run. Any adult would assume they were fake or dead but children had more open eyes, probably this is why she liked them so much. She smiled to herself as she reached into her pocket with a gloved hand and pulled out a ticket.

The new museum would be opening up today.

Well it wasn't exactly a new museum; however one of the ways they attracted visitors was by closing it down for a little, then reopening it when they found something new. Considering what they tended to find in this town, she made a point of going to every new opening, especially now when they began shipping in finds from other museums and excavation sites. Who knows what they could find in this town and if they ever found anything dangerous somewhere else... Well it wouldn't be there long that was for sure.

The still young-looking woman pocketed the ticket again before going to the local food market. She got herself something to eat for the day, thinking she would probably be in the museum for a while. She ignored most everyone, only giving out smiles but never really talking to anyone unless it was needed. She was the odd one in an odd town, it left her rather lonely sometimes but she had gotten used to it.

She then made her way to the museum. While most would drive a car, Hyano had found no need for the gas guzzling thing at the moment. While she had one herself, she used it very rarely on long trips. Otherwise anywhere she wanted to go she walked. With how many crashes happened in this small town alone, she thought she was better off.


Seems like she wasn't the only one who wanted to see what the archaeologists found.

The museum wasn't yet open but a nice large crowd was already waiting by its doors. The museum itself looked fairly new, while the building itself was as old as the town itself. Simply the owners and experts kept it at a good shape, making sure it looked welcoming from the inside and outside. It was mostly white in color with golden markings swirling around at the edges of the building and all around the large stone pillars. There were nicely carved shapes clearly visible around the whole museum. Not too much but enough to make it look appealing and also to stand out in this small town. It was clear that this museum held much value and was one of the only sources of income for this town; so much money was put into it to make sure it looked this way every year and every day.

It also didn't lack security either.

Because of the valuable finds inside, there were security guards left and right, guarding outside with Doberman and German shepherd dogs, while in the inside there were cameras filming the displays and each section, recording it all the time, there would be no corner where one wouldn't stumble upon a security employee.

Only after ten more minutes, exactly on time did they open the large double-door of the museum, letting the crowd arrive at the lounge where they can relax a little, buy mineral water and turn in their tickets to proceed to the truly important part of the building.

The exhibition itself.

For everyone these were new, unknown and so old, ancient, invaluable for the museum to possess such artifacts. At this part of the world, there were many nearly unreadable books displayed, along with various armors, including elven, rohirrin and gondorian, strangely even orcish armors were quite frequently found but only a few were in the right shape to be displayed. The archaeologists were for example very much baffled to find huge helmets, which -unknown to them- were used by trolls, along with enormous maces. There were jewels plenty and statues lined the display cases. It was clear from the exhibition itself that this area must have been the border if not inside Mordor, judging from the orcish items, spears, swords, shields and the statues of Sauron himself, the armor of the men and elves stayed back from the many wars they fought on these dark lands.

However there were luckily no palantirs or magical items found... yet.

Hyano stepped in and turned in her ticket, not bothering with buying anything. If there was anything she wanted, it would not be in the gift shop. She walked around slowly, with her hands in her pockets. Every now and again she would pull out a berry or nut and pop it in her mouth. She let her eyes wander the artifacts, smiling as she saw the various weapons. Great warriors had used these at one point, until Mordor had gone from a stronghold to a prison that is. She looked around for a moment, before coming to the statues.

Well, these were new.

She knew Sauron and his men were full of themselves but she hadn't thought they were the kind to have statues of themselves made. She walked among the statues quietly. Lucky for her, everyone else seemed more interested in the weaponry than the more artistic parts of the museum, so this left her mostly alone.

The wizard walked with her hands in her pockets, naming off each statue in her head by what she knew from back then. She may be old but her memory was still fresh. She however stopped as she came to a statue she did not know. No matter how hard she tried she could not recall anything having to do with this one. This had never happened to her before. She knew every text back to front but for the life of her she had no idea who or what this statue was supposed to be.

The statue seemed to be of a man or woman, who was clad in long robes, only the hands and legs peeked out.

Nothing more.

He or she was kneeling and leaned slightly to the side as if exhausted and weakly supporting its bodyweight against something but just barely. It was clear in its features that it spoke of will, determination in wanting to keep moving as there was a sign of a movement that would have sent the person forward again, before the gruesome fate met it. But it also clearly represented desperation and fatigue in the way it held itself, almost collapsing. Strangely enough, unlike the other statues, it did not have any pedestal or remains of the material it was made of. It seemed alive, yet dead at the same time. There was also another difference it had from the others.

It seemed... almost inviting.

As if drawing the person who stood before it closer, almost begging, alluring and whispering words within their head. Calm, almost melodic, relaxing, and all so sweet. However, unknown to Hyano the closer she went, the more it will not let her go from its spell and slowly but surely her magic started to flow into the statue, making the whispers louder and more clear...

The words were of no light... but were in Black Speech.

At this time the security employees noticed how the screens started to flicker, as if the cameras were struggling to keep up the pictures.

Hyano felt it.

She heard it.

Words she knew but for the life of her she couldn't place.

Her green eyes stared into the empty hood of the creature, looking for a face that wasn't there. She didn't even notice as she stepped over the ropes that were supposed to keep anyone from actually touching the museum works. She stepped up to him, her... it. She had no idea. The istar kept hearing words in her head. Calls. A voice that was so... so familiar. Finally, a word came into her head...

No, a name.

"Ren?..." She whispered right before her hand met his stone one.

As soon as she said the name, the statue seemed to respond. But not the nice way as one would...

But in a rather aggressive manner.

Like a parasite the blood of its host, so did it start to suck away her magic, the flow itself visible by small sparks as it surged from her entire body to the statue. The whispers stopped at that moment as well, and were replaced by a gruesome shriek that lasted as long as the exchange of magic, echoing in her mind.

At the same time the cameras stopped working, the lights went out in the entire museum, sometimes flickering back only to go off in the next moment.

Hyano gasped, her body feeling stiff. She had noticed over the years as the magic grew less, her body grew heavier, the lack of magic causing her body to be pained and to groan as if it was getting older yet not showing it. She gritted her teeth, the feeling hitting her like a ton of bricks, while her ears felt like they might explode from the shriek in her ears.

Getting away from its firm grip wasn't an option for Hyano. The magic itself bound them together at that time, like chains, not letting her move anywhere until its thirst was satisfied.

It seemed to last hours but only after a minute the hold on the wizard was gone, letting her get away. At the same moment the stone statue collapsed, almost exploding, sending pieces of it flying everywhere, while a shadowy figure appeared where the statue stood only for a moment, then fell backwards, down from the pedestal with an almost tired sounding hiss.

Then... everything went silent.

There were some shouts coming from the other guests and the calming words of the security. The cameras however didn't work still and the whole museum would have gone into panic, was it not for the well-trained guards.

When her connection to the statue finally broke, the young-looking woman fell back on the ground, panting.

"What... in Valar's name just happened?" She said to herself as she pushed herself up. In all her years, nothing like that had ever happened to her and she had not read any stories or texts that told of such a thing. She looked around. The museum was dark except for the occasional flicker of light here and there. It made it so the dark creature was almost missed, considering he blended rather well. Her eyes widened when she did see him, though.

The statue now turned... living?

She wasn't even sure if that is what one could call whatever this thing was. He was not a normal creature, even by darkness's standards. She pushed herself to her feet, her body feeling so heavy thanks to the sap in magical energy. A day or two and she would be back to normal. Hopefully. She slowly stepped up to him, before kneeling in front of him.

It was almost like a reflection of the day they met. Only many years had passed since then.

"What are you?" She asked the thing.


The whole ordeal wasn't only stressing for her but the one who actually caused it was shocked just the same way, the pain of having light magic being converted within his dark body wasn't the most comfortable feeling in this world. He felt the pain yet again for the first time in many years and felt his spectral body shiver, making him exhale with a hiss.

His silver armored hands soon moved, gripping the air as he gathered strength and finally was able to register more of this world. He didn't know where he was and what he was doing here. This was his first thought.

The last thing he knew was that he was desperately trying to crawl away from his prison, having managed to finally loosen the chains enough to get away from there. He remembered himself losing much energy over the years he spent chained up. First, he struggled each moment he could, pulling, jerking the metallic binds but it was to no avail. Each long year that went by, he never gave up trying but did notice his strength waning and the lack of recovering of his power made him even more desperate. Every day he was shrieking madly there in his chains, mostly calling for his mate, asking for her help, calling her to his aid as he expected her to come for him.

But she never came.

He never gave up hope however and even when he was crawling along the wastelands of Mordor, his first and last thought was to go search for her then restart their plans once more... to conquer the world in his master's name.

Then...

He didn't know what happened. His mind must have shut itself down from the lack of energy... only to find himself here...

But... where is 'here'?

The wraith stopped his hissing and tried to get his bearings, pulling both of his arms under his body and started to raise his chest from the floor, ending up -after much struggle and almost collapsing once- finally sitting, almost relieved to have taken up this more profitable position. The aftermath of the magical surge still hurt him, making him flex his arms and legs sometimes in pain but this wasn't anything compared to what he saw.

His mate.

He watched her for a few seconds, not saying anything, not moving but trying to realize if his mind is playing tricks on him or if what he saw was real. She did smell the same way... he remembered her face as well and the aroma of her soul. This must be her then. So, she did come for him after all! However her question was rather confusing. What does she mean by it? He could barely remember the language of men, as they mostly talked in Black Speech but he could piece the question together from his past knowledge. The problem was the confusion.

"Hyano?" He asked, tilting his head to the side sharply, watching her as much as she watched him, and not understanding why she asked.

Said wizard blinked as the creature spoke. A male voice for the most part. That answered one question. Now, how in the Void did he know her name? She didn't get the chance to ask, though, as she heard people starting to move. She cursed under her breath. There was no way she could just leave him here but getting him out of here was a problem, especially seeing how weak he was. She quickly stepped up to him. She no longer had the magical force to stop time even for just a moment but she did have enough to fool man's eyes.

"Need to leave. Now." She told him and touched his robe. The moment she did, she created an illusion. He could not walk out of here as he was but using an illusion spell to make him look like a human, even if it would only work for a few minutes, could do the task just fine.

Ren wasn't less confused than she was.

Still lacking the skill to read emotions was making his work even more difficult and couldn't tell if she was just playing with him or she truly forgot him somehow. He didn't even know how much time he spent locked away from her, so couldn't tell if it was caused by that or something else. He watched as she moved away from him slightly and felt the magic curse around him, making him wince. He always hated when she casted light magic. Why can't she cast dark magic as she used to?

"No! Not this! Dark magic!" He spoke a little annoyed in Black Speech before trying to crawl away from the offending effects, feeling as it tried to penetrate his skin and damage him further. His weakened state didn't help his cause much, making his progress slower than hoped. He finally bumped into the wall and hissed as best as he could, as if wanting to scare away some enemy. But this enemy was invisible. He didn't answer her question, mostly because he was occupied with trying to relieve his pain and simply because she spoke too fast for his taste and he simply didn't understand her.

Hyano yelped as he jumped back from her, then heard him yell at her and the words rang in her head.

"Black magic? What?" She shook her head, finding it all too strange how she could understand a language she never heard of before... "No time to discuss! Run!" She told him. How did she know him? That voice... How did she know it so well? "Trust me!" She pleaded him quickly, getting in front of him. She couldn't debate over this right now because security was on its way and if they didn't move quickly they were going to have a lot to explain to a lot of people, who would never understand, no matter how many hoops she jumped through.

Trusting her was not the problem. She was his mate. Why in the Dark Lord would she harm him anyway? But how could she cast light magic at him when she knows he can't take it? She must have forgotten that as well... But how could she? What calmed Ren slightly was the fact that at least she still understood Black Speech, just made him wonder why she didn't talk back to him the same way. Flexing his muscles, he stood once more and decided to somehow follow after her, even if he didn't know who they are running from or why they needed to hurry. His shocked and still confused mind didn't yet register his current location or that he wasn't exactly in the empty and abandoned Mordor where he was before his mind shut down.

Hyano reached out and took his metal-covered hand in her own.

"Don't let go." She instructed him before taking off. She had to keep the illusion up and tried to keep it around Ren so it wouldn't affect him but was still enough to keep the eyes of the humans around them from seeing just what was running out the door. She gripped his gauntlet, not wanting to lose him in the crowds of people or on the street.

The grip she had on him felt so... so familiar. It was in a way nice. How? She didn't like not knowing why she knew this man.

His legs felt so wobbly, so weak and could barely feel them. The wraith needed to recover if he truly wanted to move about again. He didn't know what she did but the light magic still irritated him and could barely follow her. Even now he had trouble to see where he was. Finally, he actually started to look around, finding interest in the blurry images. It was too colorful for his simple senses but his curiosity made him look anyway. It was strange and made him forget about all the pain and his fatigue. His sight wasn't the best yet so couldn't make out any farther objects; however he could sense one thing.

He didn't know where they were.

It most certainly wasn't the wastelands of Mordor. It is some kind of building. From the size of it, he could say they might be in a fortress. But he wasn't sure. He slowed their escape somewhat by looking around and pulling her back slightly but otherwise he let them advance towards the exit.

Hyano was almost home free but sadly the security guards were not going to make it that easy.

"I am deeply sorry ma'am but until we are sure the building is secure, no one may come or go from here." A rather large bulky man wearing the shirt of the museum's security and the badge said as he stepped in front of the two.

The wizard cursed under her breath, thinking quickly before giving the guard a calm smile.

"I understand. Thank you." She said kindly and stepped back, pushing Ren back before pulling him in a different direction. She walked until she came up to a door marked as 'Employees only' and walked into it. She dropped the spell she had been using on Ren and leaned back against the wall panting. Even using that much magic had been hard on the wizard. At least here she could get a quick break and make up some kind of plan.

The Nazgul was never so relieved of a failed attempt like now. As soon as they stopped in a dark room, he leaned against the wall and slowly slid down along it, heaving a sigh. All he could do was staring at the floor, gathering as much energy as he could. After a few minutes the wraith finally raised his gaze to meet her thoughtful face. The way she moved and held herself, he could tell she was almost as fatigued as him. But she wasn't held prisoner anywhere for countless years, was she? She surely possessed more power than that. Thinking back to what happened, he couldn't help but ask her something.

"Who was that? Why didn't you just kill him?" He inquired, tilting his head to the side, staring up at her with curiosity despite their current state. He taught her well while they spent their time in Moria to build up an army and trained her to kill, defying her istar nature. "Where are we?" He finally asked after a short pause, averting his gaze from her and looking from left to right, not at all recognizing this place.

Hyano closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts, then shifted her gaze to look at him.

"That was the security for this building and if I killed him they would have been all over us. Besides, I don't kill." She told him bluntly, then raised a brow at his question. "You are in a land that was once a part of Mordor. It is a village called Nomina." She replied to his second question, then sighed, rubbing her temples, feeling her mind was still racing.

Ren lost interest quite quickly when she talked. He felt slightly annoyed that she yet again didn't talk in Black Speech but babbled in the tongue of men, which he mostly forgot about and simply didn't understand it if she talked this fast. Averting his attention, he finally took the time to look around more closely. The place looked like it was made of one single stone... There was no separation for another block... Just... how did the people find such a big one? Or is it a cave-like room? Maybe. He reached out with a slightly shaking hand and poked the rather colorful wall, watching as his 'claw' on the tip of his finger left a tiny hole, indicating it had more layers. He pulled the hand back and tilted his head to the side, looking at her again once she answered his other question. That much he understood that they are apparently still in Mordor... and that she talked about a village.

But... he couldn't remember a village being built in Mordor. All they had were strongholds.

Did the humans start building their filthy settlements into this great land as well?

"The pests!" He spat in black speech, feeling anger well up within him. How dare this human scum disgrace the great land of the Dark Lord, Sauron? How dare they claim it as their own! This land isn't theirs! It never was and never will be!

Hyano noted that he didn't seem to understand much of what she was saying. She knew enough to know he was not speaking the tongue of man himself... It was... familiar, though. She understood him rather well but she wasn't sure why. A question still stuck out in her head, though.

"How do I know you?" She asked him finally, calming down enough to focus on this one question.

The Nazgul stopped every thought when she asked her own question after a while. This made him tilt his head to the side and watch her for a few seconds before addressing her.

"What do you mean?" He asked right back, sitting down and turning towards her with a single move.

The young-looking wizard sat in front of him when he asked what she meant by her question and stopped to think of how she should reply. Should she try and speak like him? She understood him well enough so... So she should be able to speak his language. Logic made sense but then again nothing in this situation made a lick of sense at all, so logic might need to be thrown out the window. She searched her memory, trying to think of the right words to use then sighed giving up. She would have to figure it out later.

"I know your name... but I have no idea who you are... but... I feel like I've met you before." She told him her confusion evident in her eyes.

All Ren could do was staring at her. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking as he didn't have a face. But not like it was hard to guess. He didn't feel emotions. At least not all of them. What he most felt was confusion and simply tilted his head to the other side, watching her all the while, not exactly knowing what to think of the situation.

"Of course you met me before!" He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, feeling also slightly offended that she would ask this. What did she mean by not knowing him? She was his mate for Lord's sake. How can one forget someone so important? He is her Lord! Her mate! One doesn't just go and forget it, no matter how much time they spent separated. This made him ask in himself how long was he imprisoned. How much time passed? Was it so extremely long that she truly forgot? But istari never forget! "You forgot me?" he asked, leaning a little closer, this time his tone clearly showed his anger and how offended he felt by her lack of memory of him.

Hyano heard his tone, his words and she started to feel bad. The way he spoke meant that he had been important, right? But if he had been, why wouldn't she remember him? She looked down, then did the only thing she could do. She nodded.

"I must have... Because I don't know who you are." She told him honestly as she looked back up at him. Her green eyes searched his hood. She was looking for anything. Any spark of memory but all she got was a feeling like she knew him but no real memories to work off of. However, she was starting to find that the more she tried the more her head started to hurt. She cringed and held her head, looking away from him. Why was her head pounding so hard now? She didn't usually get headaches. Istari rarely got sick period, so this was a little new to her despite her rather old age.

She forgot him indeed. And she said the truth as well. This wasn't a prank like Ren thought it would be, hence why he was very careful to assume but this was very much real. His mate forgot him... He didn't think that was possible to happen. Even if they were separated, their thoughts should have been of the same thing and should have tried every day to reach each other and continue their plotting against the world.

Did she even try to get to him? Or did she give up? She simply gave up and simply forgot about him?

Now this was angering and felt not only offended but devastated by disrespect. Her loyalty... all of what he worked for, for long years he even degraded himself to a mere friend to a living... Just to change her... All that is gone? Simply so? Was it truly so easy? His disbelief made him ignore her further, not noticing her pain at all.

"How many years passed since the War of the Ring?" He asked, this being the only way to determine how much time they spent separated, which might explain everything.

Hyano shook her head. As she stopped trying to remember him, the headache softened if only slightly. She thought a moment on his question, then looked back to him.

"A little over five thousand years, I believe. You have been in stone for quite some time now I would guess." She told him. He seemed annoyed. She probably would be too. Were they good friends maybe? She still didn't fully understand what was going on. She decided not to think on it for the moment, it only caused her too much pain. One step at a time. She would ask him some questions later when she got him home, seeing they couldn't exactly stay here. Who knows when the lights and cameras would come back on?

Five thousand years? This meant... two Ages... or... one and a half... It depends how many years were in one. But still... Ren didn't think so many years could make them forget each other. He for one never did, even if he was 'asleep' for a while. Because he never gave up on trying to be reunited with her and always hoped she will come to him and free him from his prison. But she never came... Now he knew what happened. She didn't even try but gave up on him rather fast and simply carried on with her life. The honor of being the mate of a Nazgul didn't matter to her as it seems and simply forgot about him this way. He somehow felt pathetic for waiting for her rescue... Is this how it feels like when one finally realizes they made a mistake? Suddenly he felt like wanting to go violent... He wanted to kill her instinctively. Every time the mate of a Nazgul becomes useless or there was a trace of treachery, they are killed without a second thought. This was etched into their mind, so was it etched into his. He wanted to be rid of her so she doesn't become a threat to his person and his plans. She still must know everything else and simply this is a lesson taught by their kind. Work hard to please the wraith or kill yourself right away. Or die a horrible death by their blade. Subconsciously his spectral body searched for his weapon, not reaching for it with his hands so she doesn't get the idea of what he was planning, simply feeling the belt that held the blade under his cloak with his senses. However, there was one tiny little problem now... If he kills her now... Then how will he get out of here? He felt his weakness and lack of energy, so he won't stand a chance to fight anyone here on his own... He could maybe use her to get him out... then when he gains his strength back... he will end her life like he was supposed to... Seems like he will have to try and go on with his plans alone...

This kind of felt familiar from the time when they first met. When he was contemplating to kill her to not be a danger to his being while he recovered, but ended up sparing her life just so he can use her later. This time, however, there was a difference. He will not show mercy and will not need her.

Hyano looked at him, then sighed and stood up. Things should have calmed down a little by now, enough to allow them to get out the back at least. She held a hand out to him.

"Follow me. You can rest at my place until we figure this out." She told him calmly. She would bombard him with questions later, ask him the 'whos', 'whats' and the 'whens'. But for now they didn't have the time. She pointed in the direction they needed to go, assuming that was easier than hoping he could understand everything she says. It seemed he was having trouble with that while she seemed to be able to understand him perfectly. That was a little strange. However, again, logic has been thrown out the window by this point.

The Nazgul hesitated for a moment, not knowing if he should trust her in these circumstances or if he should just lay low here and hide, try to survive. It surely won't take him long to get back to his full power and try another attack on mankind. However, he was simply too uncertain about this place. Anything could have happened in these 5000 years... He didn't know the world as it was and didn't know what state it was in, how many new kingdoms must have been created and others died out... Where should he also begin with the take-over? He will need information about all this. And the only one who can provide it to him, was Hyano. It felt all too familiar. He had to play the 'nice' Nazgul once. He can do that another time... So, after making up his mind, Ren stood up with the help of the wall, digging the 'claws' of his gauntlets into it and started after her, following her wherever she went. So, she has a place to stay at? Nice. He wondered if it was the same tree house she made after the shack burned down...

Hyano led him through the building, making sure to keep quiet until they finally were able to get out the backdoor. Lucky for Ren, the day was cloudy.

It was a leftover effect of this once being the lands of Mordor. It may not be horribly dark like it once had been but this area did have a habit of having a lot of rainfall and cloud coverage.

The wizard looked around, making sure they were in the clear, before waving for him to follow her. Those that did see them gave the odd man strange looks of course but the majority of the town was at the museum still so they didn't earn too much attention. Thankfully.

While they were moving, the Nazgul's curiosity didn't deplete, despite his lack of energy and the daylight outside. When the door was opened and they stepped outside into the village, he stopped in his tracks right then and there because of color-overdose. Even if the village was simple, the colors themselves were far more vibrant than to what he was used to. After the initial shock, he moved once more and followed tightly behind his guide, sometimes almost tripping and falling because of his low energy and simply because he wasn't truly paying attention where he was stepping. Mostly his gaze was glued to the village's buildings, which were far different to what he was used to and the whole setting was unusual. Items and equipment, strange clothing, small animals... These were all rather interesting to the wraith.

Eventually -either to his relief or disappointment- they arrived at the wizard's home.

It was not the house made of trees like he remembered. It looked more like a tower or what had once been a tower. She pulled out her key and undid the spell she put on the home, before opening it up and stepping to the side so he could walk in first.

The inside showed the centuries of change that Hyano had been through. Different items from different time periods decorated the walls.

This was the second time Ren stopped in his tracks and started to take in whatever was all stashed into her home. It was indeed not the tree house he knew but it did hold resemblance to the buildings of Middle-Earth. Items he recognized and didn't see yet before were scattered around, attracting his attention one by one. He couldn't help but go closer and inspect them. He already chose his favorites. Once he gains back more strength, he will start taking some for himself. As usual.

Because now... from this moment on... this place was his territory.

Hyano shut the door behind him and locked it. She let her senses open, checking for any children who might have snuck in today. Seems like they were in the clear for now, then looked around, debating on her first move for a moment before making up her mind.

"Now that we are safe, I guess it is okay to start asking questions." She said mostly to herself, then walked up to him, looking straight up into his hood. "Who are you to me?" She asked him bluntly. She really wanted to know. Because for the life of her she couldn't figure it out, yet she knew in her mind that he was important... but she couldn't place why.

By the time she turned to him he was already sitting on the ground, resting a little from this entire ordeal. He finally noticed just how little energy he had left and really needed to recover. But recovery -unknown to him- won't come so easily. For neither of them. He was not yet aware of the lack of excess magic in this world, so assumed he can still get back to his former power. Her question did not come unexpected of course, but it still made him tilt his head and stare at her for a few seconds wordlessly. What made him hesitate with the answer was the fact that he himself wasn't sure of it.

"I do not know where to place you anymore... But you were once my mate." He replied and reached out to take an ornament from the low table next to him that caught his attention, inspecting it closely, turning it in his metallic grip. "Forgetting me and your place is a great crime. So, I don't know if I can consider you that anymore..." He explained, then simply put the item down into his lap, only to take another from the shelf next to him. He recognized this one... A necklace made of blue jay feathers or so he thought. He cast that one aside, finding it too natural for his taste before taking another strange item. He seemed more like a child in a candy shop than anything.

The orange wizard tilted her head.

"Mate?" She whispered to herself. She thought for a while, then gritted her teeth and held her head as it started to throb again. This just pushed her to think that something was seriously wrong. Something was being hidden from her... Her eyes widened as she realized what must have happened. "Damn it all, Gandalf!" She yelled as she realized that the old istar must have had something to do with it. If she truly just forgot, then her head would not be throbbing like this. No, her memories were blocked and the White wizard was the cause.

The wraith's attention was finally turned back to her when he lost interest to the strange items in his lap, instead felt his gaze attract to her once she talked about that wizard. She said it in a rather accusing manner. So... is she now blaming him for forgetting him? Is this just an excuse? He couldn't tell. All he could do was stare at her silently with his head tilted, waiting for her to explain. Well, for a while... Quickly losing interest however, he started to look around, searching for a specific object.

Her staff.

Hyano mumbled something under her breath, then looked towards the -now distracted- wraith. What in Middle-Earth was he doing? He looked like he was looking for something. What could she have that he might want? She tilted her head for a moment, then something hit her like a flash. She blinked a few times before giggling.

"I haven't used a staff since we parted ways, Ren..." She said rather simply. Everything was coming in random sparks, which she assumed was induced by the darkness that the creature emitted. Little pieces of a really big puzzle. It was true, though. She had not even thought to use a staff since they parted ways. She didn't know why but the idea had made her a little sad... Well, she didn't know why until now. It had something to do with this wraith.

Ren slowly looked at her, tilting his head to the side at her words, slightly confused at the comment. No staff? How can that be?

"Why?" He asked, confused about this revelation. She was so persistent to make new ones when he claimed one, making it a little game between the two of them. No matter where she hid the wooden object, he always found it and took it as his own. It was really still a payback for how she handled him when they first met. Does this mean that their game ends here? There surely must be something else she makes and holds dear... right? But this comment also revealed something else to the wraith. "So you do remember." He accused her, crossing his arms over his chest, watching her. She also said it in such a natural way that he was rightfully questioning her. So this whole scene was only a distraction? What did she want to prove with this? Did she want to mask her lack of rescue with this? He really didn't know what to think.

Hyano seemed to get annoyed by this.

"No... I don't remember... Not yet anyway..." She replied and sighed, then walked into her living room and plopped onto the couch. "... There is a spell. One that can remove memories of a specific thing... or in this case you. I don't know when it happened or why but Gandalf must have thought I was better off without my memories of you." She told him, though, she doubted he fully understood. "The fact anything is coming back means a lot, considering the spell is known to wipe out any chance of that." She added more to herself than to him. There should be no chance she could even remember his name, let alone this much.

Ren needed a few seconds to process her words and gather what little knowledge he still had of the tongue of Man. He didn't even know that one can wipe memories with a spell...If he understood her right, that is. If he knew that one... or she could use it... then some of their problems would go away quickly. He was still a little skeptic about this possibility but shrugged and simply followed her after struggling a little to stand. He shuffled into the room where she was, before sitting down again next to a shelf and looked at each item with curiosity, starting to pick them off one by one, inspecting them. It was clear he had no sense of keeping order around him, so what he didn't find interesting simply were thrown aside, what he did find worth his attention were placed in his lap for later use. Of course, his thoughts still wandered and listened to her words.

"Maybe I can help you remember?" He asked in a half whisper, picking at a strangely formed and colored glass, turning it in his grip. "Maybe you forgot but I didn't." Well, most of it. His mind wasn't made to store so much information, because his Lord always took away what they did not need. And he assumed if she started to remember -in case it was truly true that her mind was wiped by a spell- then he can maybe trigger more by telling her what they did together. This is what his brethren used when they needed the other to remember something.

"Maybe... Just meeting you seems to have helped..." Hyano admitted, her eyes following him as he walked around her house. She would have to make a note to clean up once he had finished going through her things. Anyone else would have been hit over the head for acting this way but on him... it kind of felt natural for him to act this way. Expected, really. "So you're the reason I collect all these things..." She said. She had honestly gotten annoyed with herself more than once over all the things she would collect. She could never figure out why in Valar's name she really cared but she just continued collecting. "To answer you earlier question, I never used a staff again because they always depressed me... Had little need for one after a while anyway. Would have looked weird walking around in this age with a staff." She said, shaking her head at the very thought.

He didn't comment on anything she said but kept looking through her things, mainly because he didn't understand much of it and she began using words that he didn't find familiar at all... He felt satisfied that she actually kept all this for him, so when he returns he can sort through them and take what he liked. Which again made him confused about their current situation. She either forgot him or not... There was no middle-road for him and couldn't grasp how for example amnesia worked. One either remembers or doesn't. There is no such thing in his mind as recalling something from the past that he forgot. By the time he was done with one shelf, most of the items were scattered in the room, while some -which he found interesting- were all neatly put in a corner. Those were his. End of story. It was also clear that once he was finished with this room, the whole house will look like a tornado went through it... He stopped what he was doing suddenly and looked around, as if once more searching for something before turning to her briefly.

"Where is the shipmunk?" He asked, turning back to the shelf to continue his work. He didn't really understand the living, so it was no surprise he didn't understand just how short the lifespan of a chipmunk can be.

Hyano blinked at the question and it took her a moment but when she realized who he was talking about, she cringed then sighed.

"Ship died a very long time ago, Ren. Chipmunks only live a max of about fifteen years at most. His kin also died but that was caused by humans and their need to chop down the forests." She replied a little sadly. It was why she didn't live in the forests anymore. As much as she loved nature, she was forced to move out of it when the humans started their forestation. The forests were no longer thick enough to provide a proper home, they hardly supported the life that was supposed to be there. Besides, she ended up doing more good to the humans by actually living among them. One cannot influence a culture like theirs by hiding away in the forest.

Died? His toy is gone?

"Marvelous..." Now Ren had to look for another squeaking animal like him. Just like his kind, he felt no emotions, so no sorrow as well at the loss of his toy, instead was more disappointed that he was gone and had to look for another entertainment. Which will be hard, seeing he could not sense any small animals around them anymore. Which was kind of strange... She was always surrounded by these critters. They gave him enough amusement by running from him and showing fear. He did not comment on the lack of forests either. If the world was his, he would easily let the orcs burn it down without a second thought. There is no need for nature. Not in his mind.

Ren shrugged and went back to do what he was doing before and that basically destroying her room with all the scattered items. One wrong move and one stepped on something.

"What about the wizard? Is he here too?" He asked, turning to her briefly so she acknowledges him before going back to grab another item, inspecting it. He wondered if the White wizard was still lurking around here. He wasn't alert at the moment though. He couldn't sense him and the way Hyano was relaxed; it must mean he isn't exactly here. That didn't mean he wasn't around and will not show up after a while.

The orange wizard shook her head, staying on the couch for now. She was not in the mood to be tripping over herself. When he asked about the White wizard, she thought a moment about her answer.

"No. He left Middle-Earth a long time ago. I will be too, soon." She replied, without her realizing it, she had dropped into Black Speech. She didn't even know it had happened yet. It just happened. Hyano reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Instead of using her thumb trick and wasting magic, she had started using a lighter a while back. If there was one thing humans were good at, it was inventing small things that were very useful. She pulled out a death stick and lit it before taking a drag of it. These weren't normal cigarettes. She still had very little fondness for normal tobacco. Instead she used some she made herself that had the taste of various sweet things. These were white chocolate.

The Nazgul stopped at what he was doing and looked at her when she spoke up in his language but for now he decided to keep it to himself, noting this suspicious action for the future. He didn't want to push their past subject for now. When she said that the White wizard has left, he tilted his head to the side. This was good news actually... It means no one can truly stand between him and conquering this world... Or is there? No... There isn't. He hissed in approval at this news, liking it very much. The best thing he heard since he was woken up again. He couldn't help but be skeptic about this for a few seconds but eventually settled to believing it. Why not? Hyano didn't lie to him so far, did she? He hoped so. But the mention of her leaving too attracted his attention to her once more and tilted his head to the side.

"You too?" He asked. "Why?" However his gaze was soon shifted to the rather colorful item in her hands. What was that small thing? It spit fire as well... He never saw such a thing, so with such a speed and agility one wouldn't think he had, the wraith basically jumped up and grasped the lighter from her hands, inspecting it.

Hyano blinked as the lighter was snatched out of her hand. She had been in the middle of taking a drag when the object had been snatched. For a split second she wondered if the Nazgul possessed teleportation but she seriously doubted it. Even if he did, he wouldn't have the magic to use it anyway. She blew out some smoke that looked like a rabbit that ran around the room before dissipating.

"There isn't enough magic in Middle-Earth to support me much longer. I have a few years. Three tops. Any more than that and this place will start to kill me. It will turn you to stone again long before that, though." She replied. She was not almost pure magic like he was. He needed a lot more to stay in the form he was in. This land would surely turn him to stone again in about a year. Maybe two if he was lucky.

The lighter was rather amusing. Ren flipped it about in his hands, turning it this way, then that, tilting his head to the side, watching as the liquid within it bounced about according to where he flipped it. Like a cat playing with a toy, his concentration was only and solely on the item he held, watching it intently. He soon stopped and proceeded poking the hard surface, watching how the liquid reacted. Then started flipping it about again, probing it, testing how he can make it spit fire as well. However, despite his attention being on the lighter, he clearly heard her explanation on the matter of magic. He looked up and at her, watching as she puffed out an interesting form in the smoke.

"Stone? I was turned to stone and not just resting?" He asked, not sure what to think of this. He didn't feel any different either... Well... maybe he feels a little weaker than usual... slower... less alert... heavier... But the thought of magic leaving this world was confusing for him. It was always there... Why would it leave? And where is it going? He didn't know that and unlike the many times he would say 'he didn't even want to know', this time he knew he had to ask. He was aware of it that he was dependent on magic. With it vanishing, he cannot live in this world anymore... "Where will you be going?" He asked, wanting to know if she had any plans. She surely does, she did express it before but she did not disclose any details with him...

Hyano blew out another puff that started out as a rose bud, then bloomed before disappearing.

"Across the waters, to where Gandalf and the elves have gone. I am not exactly sure what to expect when I get there but considering how many elves will be there, it is probably going to be interesting to look at." She replied to his question, then reached up snatching the lighter and flicked her thumb over the metal switch. She was showing him how to use it since he took such an interest in it. They were easy to get so she had no problem with him having the little fire starter.

Ren watched as she took the lighter, almost reaching out to get it back, feeling robbed but eventually calmed down as he realized that she just wanted to show him how it works. Of course he was a wraith, so was afraid of fire, seeing it not only burned his cloak but also was so light it hurt his senses and made him blind. But this tiny fire? It was more alluring. Like a moth that was attracted to the moon and the light sources, so did he seek the little fire in the lighter. Once he got it back, he fumbled with it a little more, trying to get it going, failing miserably until he accidentally held his finger right and the tiny flame appeared. He hissed in triumph and watched the fire as it kept going as long as he held it right. Once he shifted his finger, it was gone. Feeling disappointed, he tried again.

"I will go too..." He simply stated. It wasn't an offer. It was a strict statement. He was sure she wouldn't let him become nothing more but a stone statue and wanted to carry on with his plans. The new world also presents a new opportunity to start anew. A new base... new army... new strength... No one will even suspect he was around until it was too late. The creatures of light have created their dream world, seeing the humans succeeded in surviving this long... It is time the dark side has its own created land.

Hyano thought on what she knew of the wraith so far and could easily figure out exactly why he wanted to go. To survive... and take over. She shrugged.

"Then what?" She asked him bluntly. If he hadn't noticed, there weren't exactly any other magical creatures on his side. Let alone any at all besides her. Did he really think that once he got across the waters, that was going to change so easily? Or did he actually have some kind of plan in mind?

"Then?" He asked back, turning to her, his new 'toy' forgotten for a few seconds. "Surprise will be on my side. They don't count on me coming..." He started, deciding that sharing with her what he planned can't harm him. She saved him once more from these humans who would have made short work of him in his weakened state. This also showed him that maybe she forgot him; she was still ready to help him. He just needed to play 'nice' again and win her over. So, he will be yet again more tolerant. "I will hide first, gather energy... With you... I will build an army and a base. Before they realize what is happening the new world is mine." He told her as if the plan was perfect but of course he was aware that he needed a more detailed plan. He will have the time to think of it, though.

The orange wizard blew out her last puff before taking what was left of the stick and putting it out in an ash tray.

"The only way over there is on an elven boat. So unless you have any ideas on how to trick them into thinking you are an elf, you might not have as much of an advantage as you think." She pointed out to him. Though, she was not against bringing him along because she had a feeling that while this part of the world was in chaos being taken over to a high extent by the humans, the other side was in total peace. Mother Nature could not have that. Maybe that is why the Valar allowed this creature out of all of them to live. Because he was to bring back balance. Things were not as they should be and she was sure in the new world Gandalf was likely feeling the same way. Her thoughts turned to what he said about rebuilding an army. She thought about it and her mind flashed through various memories. Many of which weren't so pleasant. She hissed and held her head in one hand before turning a glare on him. "If you think I'm stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice you got another thing coming, Ren." She snapped.

"Trick?" The Nazgul asked, not sure what she meant. While it was true that he had a hand in her change of behavior, she was all too eager to go with it as well. Half the time there was no trick. Like when she started to learn dark magic. He didn't tell her to do so. She started on her own. He just made sure she kept up with it. Every way possible. "There was no trick. Think again. You started on your own." He tried reminding her. He really needed to somehow trigger her memories, which made her bond to him so greatly. He needed that bond again.

Hyano leaned back, crossing her arms. Did he not consider him acting like he actually cared about her when they both know he didn't a trick? She shook her head, deciding not to push it.

"I'm done thinking about it for now. Every time I think about it, my head starts hurting and it only comes back in pieces anyway." She told him before standing up. "Besides, I need to go get you some new clothes anyway. If you ever plan on going out, you are not going to be able to do it looking like that." She said, looking him over a moment. He shouldn't be that hard to get clothes for, just had to make sure she got all black. He could keep the shoes he already wore. Those should be fine. They could easily pass off for steel toed boots anyway.

"New clothes?" He asked, putting down the lighter a little. "I don't need new clothes. I am fine the way I am." He said stubbornly, refusing to even part himself with his current attire. It gave him the form he wanted and didn't tell too much about his abilities. He will keep to these robes which were given to him by his master. There is no way will he ever swap it for others. No way. He continued grumbling in himself, taking the lighter again from the floor and inched away, going right into the next room, away from her, continuing to talk to himself silently, clearly not pleased with the current settings.

"Maybe in the old world you were fine, Ren, but in this one, not so much. Besides, clothes today are more..." She stopped, trying to think of the right word for clothes in this age. This is when she finally noticed how she was speaking. Or rather in what language. She blinked a few times, then shook her head. Well, that was a new trick... or rather an old trick she forgot. She walked after him into the kitchen. "Trust me. You will like the clothes. They are a lot like what you are wearing now, only you won't stick out as much. I'm pretty sure if Sauron still existed, even he would have updated his choice of clothing by now." She pointed out. Sauron might not have been able to feel but the fact was he had been very much about the advance of technology. Mostly in warfare but advancement none the less. If he had taken over, she was sure all the advancements that the humans had made up to this point would have still happened and probably been surpassed by this point.

"No!" He said firmly and stubbornly, keeping to his choice. "My cloak stays." He said firmly before shuffling slowly up to the center of the kitchen, then sniffed, sensing something... strange... His gaze was soon attracted to the source of the strange scent, which was -unknown to him- the salt and pepper holder. Tilting his head to the side at the strange items, he went right up to them and leaned slightly closer, sniffing at them audibly, before stopping and leaning back a little. Up close they didn't smell as good at all, which made him back down and suddenly he let out a short hiss, which was more forced, equivalent to a wraith sneezing, which was meant to push the air that overloaded his nose away from his senses. He shook his head and stepped back from them before shuffling up to one of the cupboards, opening a cabinet, he started rummaging through them, interested in their contents.

Hyano jumped onto a counter stool, watching as he looked around like a child. He acted a lot like a big kid.

"You either change your clothes or you don't get to leave the house. Period." She said bluntly. Unlike when she was a younger she wasn't so willing to let him always have his way, especially considering he was dressed like a certain statue that technically just blew up in the museum they just left.

"I rarely left the tree house too..." Ren shot right back, not at all minding that he needed to stay inside. Well, not yet... This of course made the wizard giggle and wonder how he will be able to keep to this. Not until there is so much to explore in this new house of his. He didn't think that much forward anyway. Well, if he ever wished to go outside, he could always just go at night, in the darkness when no one sees him. He however didn't have as much understanding to just how strong the lights of the streets were. He will have to find that out on his own.

"No new clothes!" He demanded, looking up at her as if daring her to speak up again against him, then simply resumed pulling out everything from the cupboard, finding some strange items here and there, which were then neatly put into the corner. He will gather them when he felt like it and put it into the place which he will consider his own little corner. Or hide them somewhere. His own little treasures.

"What do you use all these for?" He asked, tilting his head to the side and picked out a larger filter, watching as the light of the room seeped through the tiny holes in it.

At his question Hyano looked at the item in his hand.

"Cooking mostly. Sometimes they come in handy for potion making, however many potions have lost their effect by now." She replied. She had a habit of just picking up food at the nature's market as she got hungry but every now and again she would take the time to actually cook a meal for herself or a guest she got every once in a blue moon.

The wraith didn't know what this 'cooking' meant but he guessed it must be rather tiresome, seeing the many items. He actually thought she needed each one of them for 'cooking' at once. Finishing with that cupboard, he turned to the next and resumed his little exploration, making the whole kitchen a battle scene, before moving on to yet another room. The lighter however was hidden within his cloak, refusing to give it back to her. That is his now. Now, instead of staffs, he will get her lighters.

As Hyano watched the Ringwraith sort through her items, she thought back to her old home, the tree house where he most certainly must have done the same thing. She even remembered the shack that turned into a tree house, and until now she couldn't figure out why it had happened but she didn't think to question. She thought for a moment, then a flash of fire passed in front of her eyes. She shook her head then looked at Ren. So that was why.

"... I thought you died once... when the fire happened." She said mostly to herself. It had scared her more than anything that day. She had been on her way home but the villagers had beat her to it and set it aflame. She honestly believed for a moment she had lost her rather odd friend.

The wraith then proceeded across the room, finding the bathroom where he stopped, looking around at the extreme cleanness of this chamber. It basically shined and seemed almost so reflecting like the one they had in Moria... That... how did she call it? Mirror was it? He couldn't quite remember that one. He reached out and touched the surface, watching as it reflected his movement. Her question only briefly tore him from his new activity as he turned around to look at her before continuing what he was doing, then started rummaging through her things... Personal... not exactly public things.

"Yes... The coward humans. Instead of facing me, they set the fire. But not even fire could kill me." He simply replied. "But everything turned out right and you made that tree house. But all my possessions were gone..." He wasn't sad about that, after all he was not able to feel anything like that and many small things he was able to dig out of the ruins. The other things are gone. And what is gone is no more. No need to feel disappointed about that.

Hyano giggled.

"You and collecting stuff… You would put most humans to shame with that habit of yours." She said, then got off the stool. "Come on. You can have the basement. There are no windows so it should help you feel better and you can keep your stuff down there." She said as she walked through the house to the basement door, then opened it. It used to be a dungeon at one point so it was rather large with stone walls. However, like the rest of her home, it had been modernized to a point with various items from through the ages. It looked more like a din now where one could watch TV or just relax with a couch, coffee table and shelves that had various items on it.

The wraith however had little interest in what she said and instead kept looking through her things. Even those that would be for ladies only. He picked through everything, until he came to a few oils that more than likely are for bathing. He struggled a little to open the bottle that was in his grasp but eventually realized that it needed to be twisted in order to get to the content. Once done, he held it closer and sniffed it a little. It was a coconut scented lotion of some sort and he rather liked the scent of it. He also noticed just how slow the liquid seemed to move compared to water and started letting some drip away onto the floor, watching the strange slow flow. Of course, this also let him smell more of the content, which he yet again liked. Instead following her about, the wraith proceeded looking through the lotions, wash materials and all that was there, making a rather large and difficult mess of scents and colors.

Once Hyano realized that Ren did not follow her, she sighed and turned around to leave the room, and left the door open for him if he decided to wander inside. She was sure he would find the basement and probably claim it as his own anyway. She blinked as she came back up and was assaulted by the heavy amounts of smells. She walked to the bathroom and blinked at the mess he made.

"Question. Are you always this... messy or is that a new thing?" She inquired curiously with her hands in her hoody pockets. How could a creature who was obviously so old be so childish? Then again, she had very little room to talk. She was well known for pulling pranks on the town's children, especially around the more spooky holidays.

Like nothing happened at all, the wraith simply walked out of the room, almost slipping on the lotions he spilled out from the bottles, having hidden the coconut scented one in his cloak. That one is his and she will not have it.

"I don't make a mess. Why do people hold everything in a bottle?" He asked, thinking his question was rather valid. If they weren't so much hidden and protected by those bottles, he wouldn't need to spill them to see what is inside. He was of course covered by all sorts of liquids but he didn't seem to care about that. These lotions had mild scents, so did not disturb his sense of smell. They weren't as intensive, thank Lord, not like those herbs she used to keep in the tree house. He very much hoped she doesn't make that strange substance anymore, that smelly thing... He hissed at the thoughts before proceeding to yet another door, opening it, landing in her bedroom. Here he stopped and already felt curiosity grasp at his mind for what he might find. People usually hide a lot of treasures at their sleeping quarters. He stepped inside to do the same thorough job he did everywhere else.

Here, Hyano had to stop him. She walked up behind him and caught his gauntleted hand. The room was simple, really. It had a bed, her closet, a book shelf, her dresser and of course a nightstand with a lamp and the current book she was reading. Nothing visibly interesting, however she did not want him wrecking her book shelf and she had certain... items in the nightstand drawer that she did not want Ren getting into...

What? She may look like she is only in her twenties but she has been on this planet long enough, that having certain items for her alone-time were required. She really did not want to explain that to Ren, though.

"Sorry, Ren, but hell no." She said firmly and pulled him right back out.

Ren could do nothing more for the moment than just stand there shocked as his mate denied him entrance to this room. He didn't know what was so special about it. It surely must be her sleeping quarters, seeing the bed. She always sleeps in a bed after all. But why doesn't she want him to get in there now? She didn't oppose his approach in any room. But now... she doesn't let him in there? He was supposed to meditate there as well, wasn't he...? They share chambers. This was a basic rule of being mates. In addition, this territory is his now. He will say where he goes in his own home.

"Why?" He asked first, not wanting to use his authority yet but stared at her, wanting to hear the reason. A good one at that.

Hyano stood there, turning a deep shade of red. She groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Okay fine... Just... put the books back when you are done with them and... could you stay out of the table by the bed? There are... ugh... I doubt you will even know what the items are when you see them... um." She grumbled, trying to figure out how to explain this without completely destroying her dignity. Then she just sighed. "You know what... just... just look but don't touch the items in there if you are going to look. Trust me on this... You don't want to touch them." She told him and stepped to the side for him.

Her babbling about and words actually made the wraith more curious than the other way around. When he stepped into the room, the first thing his sight caught was that nightstand next to the bed. He eyed it for a good few seconds if not a minute and simply went to the side, for now ignoring the container. He sorted through the books first but he found nothing of interest, seeing they were all in the language of man. Not soon after he landed in front of a shelf, not minding at all that the books were all laying on the floor. Now those were interesting items and started to sort through them as well, making a mess in this room as well, and of course keeping an eye on the nightstand she so fiercely defended. He was the Lord of this territory anyway, wasn't he? Of course he can do whatever he wished. He owned this place now. Once he set the last item to the side there was nothing else... but the nightstand. His turned towards it slowly and then started walking towards it like nothing too special is happening.

Hyano groaned but allowed it to happen, sure he would find nothing of interest... But, of course, he wanted to see what was in there. Well... she warned him. A part of her wanted to see his reaction. She leaned against the doorframe, getting ready to laugh. There is no way this would end well, considering she was supposed to be his mate she wondered just how he would react to knowing she had handled herself all these years?

Well, let's say that his reaction wasn't that of shock or being offended... It was... confusion. He had absolutely no idea what those things are. But they did look... interesting. Being a wraith, he couldn't associate them to anything he could remember... All he could do is seek knowledge from his mate, so directed his gaze to her, and then gestured for her to tell him what they are. He wasn't mortal of course and wasn't familiar with such things.

Hyano giggled and shook her head.

"Well... my mate... those are um... items that allow me fulfill certain needs... You know..." She tried to explain then sighed. "They are used to replace sex, alright!" She finally yelled, her face as red as a tomato. She wasn't even sure if the creature in front of her could do such things, let alone knew what it was. Why in the world couldn't he just listen and keep his hands in his pockets? ... Does he have pockets in that outfit of his? She shook her head. She really needed to stop thinking so hard. The thought trains she would get on were rather random.

The foreign word did ring a bell. He could faintly remember they discussed this word before... But his memory wasn't exactly the best and couldn't remember such tiny details. So, the wraith set to do what he knew best. He tilted his head to the side and stared at her, clearly having problems in understanding what she was talking about. He was a wraith and lacked the vocabulary that mostly described activities, emotions or thoughts that he has no use of. One such a word is what she used.

Hyano proceeded to start hitting her head repeatedly against the doorframe. The wraith couldn't make this easy on her at all, could he? She sighed, leaning her forehead against the doorframe for a moment.

"The thing you have to do to make babies. Mating. Whatever else you want to call it. What happens when a guy and girl mix their privet bits? How many more ways is there to say it?!" She yelled the last part before hitting her head again.

"Oh... Say it that way." Ren simply said, finally recognizing what she was talking about when she mentioned 'mating', almost scolding her with his tone. Why do mortals always have to find new names to some actions? Like this. He wondered if it had other names as well... However, he was stuck at a part of the sentence. Make babies? He heard the word 'baby' a few times from mortals when they talked about their spawn. How can one 'make babies' with mating? He knew for one that his brother, Hoarmurath was mating with human females but they never 'made babies'. There was no offspring. He didn't understand the concept of breeding of course, not even how children can exist, let alone understanding how biology worked..."Babies?" He asked, thinking this might be enough to indicate he didn't understand that bit.

Hyano's shoulders slumped and she let out a heavy sigh.

"When you do mating, sometimes that will create babies. It is because you mix with the other person." She tried to explain, then sighed again. "Can we stop talking about this now? Unless we ever did that or you plan on doing that anytime soon, I really don't think you should care." She pointed out, crossing her arms. She wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible, though by the looks of things, she wasn't likely to get her wish. He always had question. Which by istari culture was a good thing but he was a hard person to explain things to so in reality it was just annoying.

So... it is a 'sometimes' thing? This must be why his brother never had any offspring... The Nazgul kept his gaze on her before it returned to the items he found.

"So... you make babies with this?" He asked, not sure what to think. She did say mating can cause babies, so basically if she is mating with these items, she can have babies too? But if she is his mate... then she should also stay loyal to him and not use these... items as her partners. He is supposed to be her only partner. Even in mating or 'making babies' which he may or may not be capable of doing. Not only did she forget about him but she was also not loyal to him in this case... Now this is an even more serious crime than the last. This also might mean that he can't trust her in any way if she became so independent from him...

"Noooo that is... a fake! It provides the same feels while lacking the actual mate... Natural instinct requires I um... perform this in order to relax... However, I never found anyone to my liking so I use those instead." The wizard explained. "It is hard to explain to someone who doesn't feel these urges. It is just a way to relax the body and mind I guess." She said, rubbing the back of her head. She was explaining the science behind it because it was true. "If you had been here, I might not have had need for them but... I guess that couldn't be." She said with a sigh.

"Mating is something strictly limited to partners." The Nazgul pointed out, keeping to the old ways as they were. He never thought about changing it in any way. Even if he was the only one of his kind left and could easily make changes without consequences, he still kept to everything the way they were. "If your mind and body told you it wanted to mate... then you should have put a little more effort in finding and freeing me than using these... disgusting things to ease your mind." He told her, shutting the container for now but planned to steal those things and destroy them. He felt rather offended at her seeking relaxation from items than from him. This only showed his bad choice and the urge to kill her this instant. The treachery!

Hyano gripped her fists. A part of her mind woke up when he challenged how hard she had tried to get to him. She remembered how hard she had tried. How much Ren had been on her mind... Until he wasn't in there anymore.

"How exactly do I save someone when I can't remember where they are, let alone their name?" She pointed out with her arms crossed. "It's not like my memories left easily. It took some time, however even when I had them I couldn't leave. My powers had been taken away and the only way to get them back was Gandalf." She told him, shaking her head. "You're acting like I didn't try at all... It's bloody insulting."

"Because I didn't see you try." Ren replied back. Of course he had no idea about said magic that was used on her and so did not exactly believe her. Especially not when she suddenly sometimes says things that indicate she knows him very well. So, it was just valid from him to question this and kept to it firmly. He was the one who felt insulted by her choices and questioned his own when he announced her new status. The Nazgul then proceeded to stand and walked out of the room, back to the kitchen, where he kept going through the stuff he already saw. The truth was that he simply needed time to think of his next move and if he truly should believe her. His pride was bruised as well by her choosing items over him. He cannot trust her anymore...

Hyano sighed and walked into her room and started putting the things away.

"Not like much would have changed even if I had saved you." She mumbled. Time still would have tried to turn the wraith into stone even if he hadn't been in Mordor. It didn't take her long to put the books away and the few random items he had tossed. She was lucky she honestly didn't have much in this room. When she did finish, she stepped out leaving the door open. She had never needed to keep him out of any room before... maybe he would feel better if he was not restricted now. She noticed he was still in the kitchen so she left him alone, not in the mood to deal with him at the moment. She then plopped onto the living room's couch and picked up the remote and turned on the TV. Of course, the first thing to come on was the news talking about the events at the museum. She cursed under her breath. Things would be iffy in this town for a while because of that.

The sound of someone else talking within the house jerked the Nazgul from his thoughts and made him jump up in defense, making many items he was sitting among clatter loudly and pushed himself against the nearest wall on accident by tripping on the various dishes he scattered around. He stayed that way for a few seconds if not for a minute, listening on what is being said, understanding very little. However, the lack of response from Hyano might indicate that either this person isn't a threat... or she was just killed... But then... where is the scent of blood or the feeling of death? Curious, yet cautious, the wraith inched forward and peeked out of the kitchen, right towards the sound of the voices. No one was there... All he saw was Hyano, sitting on her furniture and was watching a... black box. It also seemed to shine with some kind of light. Now, with his curiosity greatly spiked, the Ringwraith proceeded to inch closer, interested in this... item... He wondered what it is for or if it is safe... He noticed the people within it, which made him back down a little... they might spot him if he went too close... How can Hyano let in strangers into her room to climb into this box and... talk... Or maybe she knows them?

The orange wizard saw him out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but giggle lightly. If she hadn't watched this item come into being, she might have been freaked out as well. However, she did know and understood it rather well. She stood up and walked over to him, taking his hand again and tugged him over to the couch.

"There is no one else actually here. This box is called a television or TV. It receives recorded pictures. These people are across town at the building where I found you." She explained to him calmly as she sat back down. "You have no idea just how much has changed in the past five thousand years."

Strange... Ren calmed slightly as she explained to him but jerked his hand away soon after, still angry with her. He couldn't help but still stay cautious... His lack of trust towards her made him trust this box less. He for one didn't understand how it worked... How can the people be in two different places...? Is this magic? But then what kind? He didn't feel any other magic than what was flowing within the both of them... He tilted his head to the side as the person within the box kept talking rather fast, making it hard for the wraith to understand. But the place they showed was slightly familiar… like... he was there before.

"What is he talking about?" He asked, pointing towards the man who was still talking even if the box showed the place again.

Hyano raised a brow at the question.

"The building you were at is called a museum. It is where they keep objects from long ago, so people today can see parts of their history. They thought you were a statue. When you were released the stone exploded and took out the lights in the building, scaring people a little and leaving a lot of them questioning what happened. The local police are investigating but I doubt they are finding much." She explained then realized he probably doesn't know what police are. So when one popped up on the screen she pointed. "That is a police or cop. They are a lot like royal guard only they have no relation to royalty normally and they patrol the whole town." She explained to him and watched as the cop answered to the questions of the reporter, although he indeed did not have anything of value to say.

Curiosity was still a great power within Ren. The Nazgul wanted to know how this thing worked. If it isn't magic... then they have to be here in this room... There is no way they can be elsewhere. The wraith then inched backwards, to the back of the black box and poked it, watching as it didn't budge. Are the people inside there? This was when he noticed the long cable and his gaze followed it. He proceeded to see where it led. Once arriving at the wall, he noticed that it was attached to it now. Strange... Deciding to leave it as it is now; he went back to the box and watched as the pictures soon changed to something else. He didn't say anything to her or commented on her explanation, just watched what is going on, sitting not far on the ground. Soft things were still not liked by him, so simply chose the ground over the couch.

Hyano watched him for a moment and giggled as he seemed to take an interest in what was going on. She thought a moment, then got up and handed him the remote.

"This button turns it on and off. That one changes the channel." She explained to him, thinking she would let him have fun with it for now. At least she wouldn't have to worry about keeping his mind entertained, unless he actually ran out of things to watch, though considering how much he knew of this world… he would stay well occupied for a while. "I will be back in a little while. I doubt anyone will come by but if they do just ignore it. It is probably just the neighbor kids." She said wanting to go out and do some quick shopping before the day was over. She still wanted to get him those clothes.

The Nazgul slowly took the remote from her and looked at it. It had way more little things on it which could be pushed no doubt, so surely she isn't telling him everything. But dismissing it, he actually wondered what the 'channels' are... Tilting his head to the side, the wraith poked that button with an index finger and watched as the box went black for a moment, only to come back and this time instead of that human talking, it showed him some kind of forest and the creatures in it. Still not exactly sure, he poked it again, only to have it show him this time... humans singing. Hissing, finding the noise irritating, he pushed the button again to see this time a scene of a warzone and humans killing each other in a movie.

Now... this was more interesting.

Hyano watched him change until he got to the more violent channel. Maybe she should set him up with WWE tonight before bed. She was sure he would get a kick out of that. She smiled, then stepped back from him.

"Be back soon." She called as she walked out, locked the door and put a spell on it like she normally did. Mostly out of habit really. Then she left, going straight to the clothing store. As much as Ren hated the idea, if he ever planned on getting out of that house without gaining too much attention, he would have to change his look at least slightly.

As everyone would know who knew the wraith, Ren's attention span was extremely short. Only ten more minutes of watching this show and he got bored of it so simply focused his gaze on the remote now, tossing it around with a finger, watching as it slid around. But even this seemed to not give him the entertainment he wished for. So, for the rest of the time he was alone, he decided to continue his exploration. He finally found the basement where he skimmed over all the items quickly, before deciding to sort through them as well. Not five minutes into it, the Nazgul's thoughts shifted to Hyano and the argument they had. The way she behaved was offending and he knew she didn't forget about him. She simply wanted to hide it by this. But no one can play with Ren if he isn't the one setting the rules! Thinking back to all that she said in anger, he decided to go on with his plan. He will not let her go about everything like nothing else is different. No matter how she disliked it, he will make her sleeping quarters his base as well and will not let her use those 'items' in any way. But because she offended him, he will not offer mating either until she worked for his trust again. He started to rummage through the rooms once more, leaving another battlefield behind, also took her 'items' and hid them very well away where she won't look or won't bother looking. He also proceeded to look thoroughly through her quarters again, before settling down in front of the black box, feeling slightly tired out. Most of the mess was made because he wanted to make her work, not because of his curiosity. She will pay for her mistakes with many more messes.

Hyano was gone for maybe a half hour.

Not long at all. When she came back the house was quiet and for a moment she honestly thought he had left. This worried her but she quickly relaxed when she saw him in front of the TV resting. She smiled a little before going about putting the things she had gotten him on the couch next to him. She didn't say anything, just left the clothing bag beside him, expecting him to ignore it, then went to her room to get changed and was welcomed with yet another mess. She groaned in annoyance and started cleaning, not noticing her 'items' were missing just yet. Once the room was back in order she got changed, putting on a tang top and short shorts, both simple and perfect for sleeping. It wasn't until she was right by the bed that she finally noticed the nightstand was slightly ajar. The young woman blinked, then looked inside and twitched.

She stormed out of her room then grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and beamed him in the head with it.

As she expected, he ignored the bag altogether. While he was actually curious what might be in it, he was stubbornly forcing himself to not look. He thought she placed it there so he would look, to spike his interest. But no such thing will happen! However, he did not expect what happened after that. He heard her approach and did not think much of it... until he felt the force on his head, which caused him to lean away, almost falling to his side but instead managed to slide away, successfully scratching the floor with his sharp gauntlets. He quickly used his chance to look in the direction where the blow came from and hissed sharply, angrily, noticing her with her 'weapon'.

Hyano glared right back at him, seemingly lacking any fear from him.

"You can be as pissed off as you want, Ren. I don't even care. I have gone through more than enough in my time that putting up with an overgrown child doesn't bother me. But if you plan on acting like a child, then guess what? I'm going to beat you like a child!" She snapped at him. She was furious. She wanted nothing more than to toss him outside when the sun was high and lock the door on him but she wouldn't... A part of her couldn't. A part of her was happy he was back even if she didn't know why. However, the way he was acting... it made her hurt too.

What exactly made her go off, Ren didn't know, but perhaps he just found the best degree of 'mess' where she will go at him like a rabid warg. However, because of his nature, he didn't feel intimidated but hissed once more when she shouted at him and decided to counter any attack she might do. He of course still felt weak but he won't let her reduce him to a subordinate! He was maybe her mate -which he is questioning very heavily now- but he was still superior!

The orange wizard gripped her fists. He seemed to expect her to attack him and part of her really wanted to. Since she brought him home he had been nothing short of a royal pain. However, she didn't, instead she shook her head and tossed the pillow back on the couch.

"You know what... You aren't worth it. So far in the few memories I've gotten I haven't had one good one. You keep giving me hell because 'I didn't come for you' or apparently the fact I used toys in the past five thousand years bothers you... I…Don't... Care!" She hissed then turned to go back to her room.

Ren wanted to go after her... he really did. Give her a good memory of his power before he ends her life once the sun went down completely. But he held himself back, thinking the same. She wasn't worth his time anymore. He can easily sort everything out on his own once she was forced to fall asleep. He will have plenty of time to think about everything and execute the right actions. His senses automatically felt for his sword beneath his cloak.

She was wrong on one thing about her comments.

He easily dismissed the trouble and the thought of her using 'items' for certain mortal needs... that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he did not believe her when she said she was made to forget him. If one forgets something -in his mind- then it is gone for good. However she seemed to remember. It was clear in many of her comments that she knew who she is talking to which made him question her loyalty to him, her trust and his choice. If she truly remembered him, then she should have tried to get to him or at least show some signs of having tried. But all he got so far was the idea that she all too easily replaced him with whatever she found and simply didn't think of him as her mate anymore, giving up on him. So, he huffed and simply went back to the black box, resuming watching it.

Hyano sighed as she got to her room, leaving the door open yet again. She didn't feel the need to shut the door. It was her house after all. She sighed and rubbed her temples. If this is what she had to deal with before, then no wonder she didn't try to go back for him. Even if she had remembered him he wasn't much of someone she would really want to get back. She sighed then plopped onto the bed, picking up the book she had been reading the past few nights. She found reading helped her sleep. Most of the time she read history books of one kind or another, reminding herself of things she had gone through and also making her laugh at things Man got wrong. This also helped her relax, taking her mind off of the black creature in her living room and allowing her to think of other things. Eventually, she did fall asleep the book resting on her chest.

While Ren's dark hood was turned towards the black box, his mind was hard at work to sum up everything that happened and can happen in any situation that he creates. In all the laws that surrounds his kind, she earned a very painful death by abandoning him and by not staying loyal and attempting to forget about him. If he killed her now, not only would he do as it is necessary, seeing he had no more use for her with her current behavior but she also knows too much about him and his plans. Who knows how many would know about him in just a few weeks. The whole territory would belong to him and he could do as he wished. However, if he truly killed her, she cannot show him to that new world she wanted to go to... and he surely would be discovered. But... would he rather die here and become a 'statue' as she put it or does he want to put up with her attitude and her betrayal? For many it would be an easy choice but for him, his pride was his everything...

He truly was at a loss on what to do.

The Nazgul could fulfill his Lord's will in the new world... but would he even go that far even with her? No. He probably wouldn't. Not how things look like and he was damn tired of having to lower himself to behave the way she wants it. He was done with that when he lived with her in the tree house and enjoyed lordship in Moria. He didn't think he needed to repeat that again. And he wasn't willing to. For now, he will postpone his decision; see how things go in the next few days between them.

With this, Ren pushed the other button on the remote she showed him and retreated into the basement. Right now, he was so angry at her that he just didn't want to be in one room with her.


Well, not the best first day for the two of them, is it. But we wonder… What do you think Ren will decide?

We will come back in two weeks with a brand new chapter!

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