Summary: The 6th age is an age of war, an age of brutal bloodshed between Gargoyles, vampires, and humans. The fellowship must return to fight off a stronger Saruman now undead and deadlier. Can it be done? PG-13 for a adult reading level and mature themes
Characters: The entire fellowship with the exception of two, Elrond, Elrohir, my own characters, villains (can't tell you who)
Style: Tolkien fiction, Vampire the Masquerade, and Gargolyes (Disney version), mysticism, unconventional themes, actual (earth) history, folklore, and mythology. Everything will be explained.
Genre: action/adventure, fantasy, romance, horror, tragedy, angst, sci fi (at the end)
Setting: Middle Earth long after "The Return of the King"
A/N: Please review it!
Prologue
Something told him that it was dawn, but he saw nothing but gray mist. It cloaked him and fed him sweet, morning dew.
"Come."
Three voices called him. He remembered that he had been sleeping and it was now time.
"Elrond, Elrond of Rivendell, awake."
Elrond rose with his head bowed as if still asleep, and his white robes glowed in the mist. There was no sign of the treacherous journey that he made through Gray Havens[1]. When Elrond lifted his head, three figures emerged from the mists. Three identical maidens[2] in white robes took shape. Her hair was auburn, hers was silver, and hers was dark, but all three sisters moved as one.
"Your people are few and fading," they whispered in unison, "lead them here but know this:"
The dark haired sister drifted forward, "One living,"
"One dead," spoke the silver one,
"And One filled with hate," said the auburn one,
"Will herald the return of the elven race," they said in chorus.
Elrond shuddered as the ethereals vanished, and before him, the dying mist revealed a path. Before Elrond moved, a hand stayed him.
"My lord," a fair-haired elf addressed him. "It is I, Legolas."
"Legolas," Elrond murmured, "Legolas of Mirkwood?"
"Yes, dangers lie before us and I wish to accompany you back to Rivendell. I offer you any service that you may require."
And so the two elves set out for Rivendell. They would find that a millennium had passed since the 4th age, the passing of Lord Elrond. For a while, it had been a peaceful millennium on middle earth without the evils of a witch king or ring of power. Only then did men live in peace with races and creatures of all kinds. Gargoyles protected city walls, elves and dwarves mingled with men, and cainites[3] and men lived as one. Monks and scholars called this glorious but short-lived time, The Age of Brightness. Sadly, the Age of Brightness ended with the Schism when men quarreled with and filched from the other races.
When the Great Flood[4] came, a mysterious thing came to be. Scores of men died and were scattered without a memory of their great past. Sadly after the coming of the flood, the men of Gondor and Rohan had forgotten the valor of their kings. They had forsaken the honor that so set them apart from all of men. They were cold, hungry, and desperate. Plagued with suspicion and fear, they soon blamed all magical folk for their woes. These men became like the Men of Darkness and became ruthless barbarians who roamed the land pillaging and conquering. It was no wonder that dwarves and gargoyle alike became legend, and Cainites became myth. Elves had cast a spell over their cities so that neither flood nor men could find it.
The coming of the 5th age also marked the return of Lord Elrond. It was a secretive one only remembered by the Druids[5]. The Druids once sang a bittersweet song of Mid Year's Day. Such was day of the destruction of Mirkwood and Lórien because of a war fought between two factions of men[6]. Both claimed the lands and its riches, and could not bear to have it otherwise. Such was also the night of Lord Elrond's return. Lord Elrond, it is said, was in mourning when received at Rivendell by the survivors these last elven cities. Many elves, though sick, dying, or wounded, gathered their strength to rejoice at his return. Out of his grief, Elrond managed to find love in one tiny elven waif, the last elf child of middle earth. He raised her, called her Arraleea, and took her as his own daughter. When urged by his people to sail west to Gray Haven or beyond, Elrond only shook his head sadly. Some say that Lord Elrond stayed at the whim of his daughter. Others suspected that he carried the heavy burden of some terrible knowledge.
And now, the story begins.
Footnotes
1. Gray Havens is to newcomers a difficult journey to be made, to others a place of healing, and to all a sanctuary. Shrouded with mystery, Gray Havens bears a striking resemblance to Avalon.
2. Three sisters or the Fates, found in Greek mythology and sometimes Arthurian Legend, are god-like beings who control destiny.
3. Caine was the first son of Adam and Eve. Because he slew his brother Abel, Caine was forever condemned as a murderer. In this story, Caine was also the first vampire. Against the wishes of God, Caine sired thirteen cainites and was banished to the Land of Nod. (Above is based on Vampire the Masquerade by White Wolf) Very little is known about the actual existence of Caine or of his childer (children). Childer is a term used only by the Kindred (vampires) and Cainites is now an archaic term. Some records found from the Age of Brightness allude to thirteen respectable cainites who lived peaceably among men.
4. The Great Flood was mentioned in several ancient texts, including the Bible. The flood was usually considered an act of God to punish men for their wickedness. (God could be the Valar of old or any deity you choose since it doesn't matter in my story)
5. Druids worshipped nature, Stonehenge, and were the last men who knew of the Elves. They learned some minor Elven arts and lore with the permission of Elrohir and later Elrond, his father.
6. The Northmen had then become a widely mixed collection of the descendants of Woses, Woodmen, Drúedain, the Dale Men, and the remnants of the Dunlendings and pre-Númenóreans. Most of these lines had had assimilated into one of the three major clans: Woodmen, Dale Men, and the Éothéod. When the Éothéod and Woodmen formed a military alliance, the Dale Men took a pre-emptive strike against them and invited the Gondorian armies into their lands as a protective measure. However, Gondor soon revealed their ulterior motives of ruthless expansion. The warring camps of the Northmen huddled together in the face of a common enemy and warred against Gondor in the Gondor-North War. With new technology and disease rampant, they fought a war throughout Mirkwood and Lorien that left the land devastated.