BOOK 1

Teardrops of Ebony

Prologue

'We all know the poem of the Lord of the Rings. You know, the one about the One Ring? "…in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie…" and all of that? Good, you do. Okay, so we also know what happens in the end of the story when Frodo destroys the ring and then after four years he has to leave, yada yada… but what happens after Arigorn becomes king and ol' Frodo leaves? I'm here to tell ya. C'mere, little ones! Come hear my story,' Luna cooed to her three children.

The children gathered around their Naneth with wide eyes. Well, all but one. 'But Mum,' Dani, Luna's oldest child, cried, 'we've heard your story from Ada a million times! I want to hear a different story!' Luna glared at the young ellyn.

'But Ada doesn't tell it right! Now, sit your posterior down and listen to Mum's story!' hissed Gal, Luna's only daughter. Luna chuckled under her breath.

'Now, now, Gal. Be nice to your brother.'

The children turned around to see their father walking in with a buck tied to his back.

'Thanks for catching dinner, Sweetheart,' Luna said, smiling. The ellyn walked over and sat next to Luna.

'Seems like I arrived in time for a story session,' he said.

'It all started about 19 years ago, in Middle-earth…' Luna began.

-1-

TAKEN

She lay in a forest clearing, gazing at the stars. Her ash blonde hair pooled around her head, and her hands lay absentmindedly on her bow and sword. Next to her lay a white stag, dozing in the deepening night. The elleth sat up and woke the deer. It stood and waited. Young Luna hopped onto the stag and they rode into the forest.

Suddenly, a huge explosion shook the ground and the pair halted. Luna looked to the South East, towards her home… Minas Tirith. She turned the stag and they rode out of Druadan Forest. For twenty miles, the elleth rode. When she reached the White City, she almost choked.

Dragons had swarmed the city and everything she saw was engulfed in flame. Holding back tears, she rode into the city, but was surprised to see the streets and homes deserted.

I should have known Ada would evacuate the city before anyone became injured, she thought. The people were safe, but the tree… the whole city would burn without the tree. Luna rode to the peak of the city.

On the far side of the tree, a dragon with an elven rider stood poised to scorch the tree. Luna yelled a battle cry and charged the dragon. The dragon turned towards Luna and let out a screech. Thrusting out her sword, Luna urged the stag to go faster. Right before impact, the dragon swatted her away. Luna was tossed aside and knocked out. The stag, acknowledging danger, skittered out of the city, leaving Luna defenseless.

The dragon bowed its head and its rider slid off. He walked over to Luna and picked her up. 'What have we got 'ere? A lil' princess? Well, let's see what King Elessar does when he finds 'er missing,' he said with a misceveous grin. He mounted his dragon and called out for his partners to leave. He and his dragon took off, carrying Luna away.