The Journey to Angband: A Silmarillion Fanfic
Beren looked out into the east, waiting for Luthien and Huan. He wondered where they were, since they had been gone so long. Sighing, he walked around the forest, stretching his legs. It had been only a few hours since he had escaped from Sauron, who was fighting Huan, the dog who had killed the werewolf Draugluin. He sat down on a rock, waiting for them to show. Before he left, Luthien told Beren that they needed to get something, and that they would catch up with him.
He heard a sound and looked up. Two creatures were approaching. He couldn't see what they were, but as they got nearer he saw that they were a bat and a wolf. He backed away as they came nearer. The wolf growled, exposing its teeth as the bat flew above it.
"Stay back, foul beasts!" He yelled, but the wolf and bat came closer. Beren backed away in fear. "Who are you?"
The bat stopped flying and landed on the ground. Beren watched in awe as it started to transform. The bat grew larger as the fur receded into the skin. The wings became arms and hands. The feet of the bat broke apart, forming five toes instead of three. The muzzle receded, causing the face to sink in, ears and eyes growing round. When the transformation stopped, Beren saw Luthien standing in the bat's place. He ran up to her.
"Luthien! I didn't know that was you; you had me frightened!"
Luthien kissed him as she threw off the bat skin, which landed on the ground. "I'm sorry we were gone so long, my love."
Beren looked at the wolf, which was turning back into Huan. Luthien smiled and took the wolf skin off him. Beren looked at Luthien. "How did you..."
Luthien touched a finger to his lips. "Now is not the time to explain; we have work to do."
"What sort of work?"
Huan walked up to Beren. "I have a plan for you to steal a Silmaril. You and Luthien shall travel to Angband, taking the forms of the werewolf Draugluin and the vampire bat Thuringwethil. I have their skins here, which will allow you to transform."
"Will you come with us?"
"Nay; I cannot. Whoever heard of a dog traveling by a werewolf's side?"
Beren sighed. "How long will I be in this cursed form of Draugluin?"
"As long as you wear his skin, you shall become him. I highly recommend that you keep the skins and not lose them; you may need them later on in your travels. You have heard my council; I bid you farewell." He turned and ran into the forest.
Beren looked at Luthien. "I will do it, if you're going."
Luthien smiled and picked up the wolf skin. "When I wrap this wolf skin around you, you shall transform into Draugluin, gaining all his memories, instincts and nature. If you stay in the form too long or the instincts and nature of the wolf overtake your mind, body and soul, you might forget yourself and become Draugluin permanently. The same goes for me when I put on the bat skin of Thuringwethil."
"I understand."
Luthien wrapped the wolf skin around Beren. For a minute, nothing happened and then Beren fell to the ground, crying out in pain. His eyes changed color to a sickly golden-yellow. Thick black fur spread all over his body as his knees snapped back, reversing themselves and growing muscular. His feet changed, becoming paws as his toes merged together, becoming three. Sharp, black claws burst from his toenails and fingernails. The same thing happened to his hands, forcing him onto all fours. Bones in his spine popped and rearranged themselves, which pushed out into a long tail. His face began to change, ears moving to the top of his head, becoming pointed and triangular. The face pushed out to become a muzzle, his mouth elongating to become powerful jaws, teeth lengthening and sharpened into fangs. His nose at the end of his muzzle turned black and his sense of taste, sound and smell heightened greatly. With that, the transformation stopped and a large black wolf stood in Beren's place.
Luthien looked at Beren, who had finished transforming. She put the bat skin over her and started to transform also. Brown fur bust from her skin, spreading all over her body. She started to shrink as her arms and hands started to spread apart, becoming webbed wings. Her feet and toes merged together, becoming three. She fell forward on her belly, her legs shrinking as they drew up behind her, resting at the end of her wings. Her face pushed outward, forming into a bat-like muzzle, ears moving to the side of her head, growing large and pointed.
Beren looked at Luthien, her transformation finished, and now a small bat lay on the ground. It flapped its wings and flew into the air. Beren raised his fur-covered face to the full moon, howled, and leaped down the cliff, running on four legs. The bat followed, flying above him. They ran across plains, mountains and fields, traveling towards Angband. During the daytime, the bat that was Luthien slept on Beren's back while he walked. Finally Beren grew exhausted and found a place to sleep. He lay down next to a tree in the valley as the bat slept upside-down on a branch, curling its wings around its body.
As Beren slept, memories of Draugluin filled his mind, memories that he would not forget. He growled in his sleep, plagued my Draugluin's memories. He saw Draugluin fighting against Huan, who wounded him as he ran back to Sauron. More memories of Draugluin's life came to him, one faster than the next. His eyes snapped open and he howled loudly, which echoed across the plain.
That night, the bat and wolf continued their journey to Angband. Beren ran for miles, feet padding the ground softly. Luthien flew above him as he slowed to a stop and looked across the plains to some rocky mountains. A few miles ahead was the great fortress of Angband, where the Dark Lord Melkor was. Luthien flew to Angband as Beren followed her to the gate, but stopped and saw another wolf guarding it. The wolf, Carcharoth, looked at Beren in astonishment. He growled at Beren, who understood what he was saying.
Is it really you, Draugluin? I heard rumors that you died while fighting Huan.
Beren growled back. That rumor is not true, Carcharoth. As you can see, I am very much alive.
Luthien reverted to her human form and chanted. In a few minutes, Carcharoth was asleep. She walked into Angband and saw Melkor. Beren followed her and slunk beneath Melkor's chair. Melkor looked at Luthien.
"Who dares to come here, to Angband?"
"My Lord, I am Luthien, an elf. I have come here to give you a gift."
"What gift do you bring, elf?"
Luthien started singing and in a few minutes Melkor was asleep. She grabbed the Silmaril out of Melkor's hand and ran out of Angband, Beren following her. They ran until they were out of sight. Luthien sat down next to a tree, holding the Silmaril in her hands. She scratched Beren on the head and smiled.
"Our quest is over, Beren. We have the Silmaril."
Beren nodded, panting. He lay down, put his head on his paws and fell asleep. As he slept, more memories of Draugluin filled his mind. An instinct filled him and he snapped his eyes open, glowing in the dark. He wanted to run, to hunt. Howling under the full moon, he sprang down the hill. He looked around for food but didn't see anything. Sniffing, he caught the scent of a deer not too far away.
Following the scent of the deer, he ran until he saw it. The deer was drinking from a stream, not protected by anything. Beren hid in the bushes surrounding the stream, waiting for the perfect opportunity. The deer lifted its head and turned, but then stopped, listening intently. The wolf sprang out of the bushes just as the deer started to run. He bore down on the deer, causing it to fall. The deer struggled against the wolf, but was too weak. Beren sank his teeth into the deer's chest, ripping it apart as blood flew in the air. As soon as Beren tasted the blood, the instincts and nature of Draugluin overcame him and his mind slipped away, the wolf taking control. He tried to transform back into a human, but he found that he couldn't. The ravenous nature of Draugluin consumed Beren, and he dug his fangs deeper into the body of the deer, chewing away its flesh until it was stripped of meat. More memories of Draugluin filled his mind, but them time Beren accepted them, completely lost in the instinctual ravenous nature of the wolf. He was no longer Beren, but Draugluin the werewolf! After Draugluin had finished eating the deer, he raised his head to the moon and howled, which echoed across the valley.
Draugluin turned his head and sniffed the air, catching more scents of animals. He wanted more; his bloodlust was not yet satisfied. Running, he caught sight of three sheep grazing a few feet away. Crouching, he pounced on the sheep, tearing them to pieces. Blood covered his muzzle as he ate hungrily. After eating the sheep, he continued to hunt.
Luthien woke the next day, still a little tired. She looked at the place where Beren slept last night, but didn't see him. Getting to her feet, she looked around.
"Beren?" she called.
There was no answer, so she called again.
"Beren? Where are you?"
A howl pierced the air and Luthien jumped. She strained her ears for another howl, but none came.
Luthien sighed. Beren was nowhere to be seen. She covered her head in her hands and then dropped them. When she did, something caught her eye. She looked at the ground closely and saw paw prints leading away from the tree. She sighed and followed them. The paw prints led to a stream, and when she got there, she gasped. Right by the stream, a dead deer lay on the ground, its skin ripped off. Blood on the ground flowed into the stream.
"Oh Beren, what have you done?"
Turning away from the gruesome scene, she followed the paw prints more. She walked for miles until she saw the paw prints stop ahead of her. She reached the edge of a cliff and screamed. The ground was covered in blood, dead animals littering the ground. A large black wolf was eating her dog, Huan, in front of her. The wolf turned around and growled, showing its fangs.
"Beren?" she said softly. "Is that you?"
The wolf came towards her, saliva dripping from its mouth. She backed away in fright.
"Beren, please, if you're in there, remember. It's me, Luthien."
The wolf that was Beren flattened its ears against its head and growled again. Luthien turned and ran but the wolf pounced on her. She screamed as Draugluin dug his fangs into her chest, ripping away at her flesh. A few minutes later, Luthien lay dead on the ground, blood pouring from the wound.
His bloodlust now satisfied, Draugluin raised his head and howled. Beren was no more; he was now the werewolf Draugluin, cursed in this form permanently, forever. Turning to face the east, Draugluin raced across the plains. His master Sauron was waiting for him.