Vengeance at the End of Time

Far off in the depths of Eä, the stars continued to burn brightly, their pinpoint lights as of countless jewels spread upon an endlessly black canopy. But their minuscule size belied their immense scales, for each one stood many times greater than the whole of Arda, as indeed Varda had intended them to be. And their very surfaces blazed with numerous tongues of incandescent fire, hotter even than the core of Arda, as each one sought to escape into the empty space beyond.

But now, at the very edge of Eä, where the stars are all but sparse and widely scattered, their light seemed to dim into a faint flicker, as indeed the light they emitted is steadily being sapped. For now, coming upon this region of the Void, where its absolute nothingness merged with the last stretch of space within Eä, Melkor had finally come, and before his great shadow their light seemed to falter and fail. With eyes that could pierce through the vast stretches of space, he looked through the Door of Night, its towering columns framing its opened portal. But looking farther out he beheld the white ship of Vingilot, upon which stood Eärendil the Mariner; and he was both fair and beautiful and grave, as the last remaining Silmaril shone in white radiance upon his brow. And at the sight of him, Melkor's ancient hatred was rekindled, for by Eärendil's journey to Aman was his downfall sealed. But lust there was also, for the sight of the Silmarils was a desire he could never wholly quench, they having been the very tokens with which he had laid claim his lordship over Arda.

Yet now, he was at the threshold of Eä and the Void, where the former ends and the latter begins. And here, both space and time seemed to defy their very laws, for the mingling of the vacuum of the Void and the material space of Eä created relentless distortions in the fabric of reality, to which none but the spirit of the Ainur could endure. And though this region remained vast beyond comprehension, still, it was only a narrow swath compared to the full expanse of the Void, to which none had yet completely measured or traversed.

But now, as Melkor looked out into the realm he had once lorded over, Ungoliant slowly came behind him, so that their shadows blended; and together they appeared as of a darkness of utter impenetrability, where even the Void itself pales in comparison. But farther out behind them shone the numerous embers of red-orange light, and they were wrapped in shadow; for verily, marshalled behind them was the whole host of Balrogs, those demons of fire whose spirits have survived beyond their deaths in the War of Wrath, cast into the Void like their corruptor, and remaining still in that allegiance, down into their Lord's final moment of vengeance. But standing mighty before them was the Shadow of his greatest servant, Sauron, whom he had resurrected from defeat. And he was terrible to behold, for like his master he lacked physical form; as a single slit of fire he now assumed for himself, whose power draws from its very hatred of the Men of Númenor of old.

In silence, this vast host now massed at the borders of Eä, where the Valar, ever confident in the impenetrability of the Walls of Night, held little vigilance; and by the Unlight of Ungoliant their presence was cloaked. To another's eyes, it would indeed appear as though Ungoliant had done Melkor's bidding. And yet no servant was she of Melkor; for, like of old, ever was she her own master, driven to follow one's subtle goading if only to assuage her insatiable hunger for Light.

And together now, these two great spirits of the Dark looked out into the depths of the Void, towards the Door of Night, and from its opening they saw a glimpse of the stars of Varda, bright and burning, twinkling like innumerable gems within the vast spaces of Eä. And at their sight, Ungoliant was filled with great lust.

"Is that what you are offering me, Blackheart?" she asked hungrily.

"That, and much more," Melkor replied. "So, do you believe me now? Do you still think you can consume them as swiftly as you had done with the Trees, and still be unsated?"

"I cannot tell," replied Ungoliant uncertainly, though the lust continued to gnaw at her heart. "For in all the ages past, never have I been able to sate my hunger."

"Perhaps now you will find out," Melkor retorted, his white-hot eyes narrowing in malice. Indeed, hardly had he spoken these words did Ungoliant's dark periphery, like tentacles born from the void, began to creep towards the light of the stars, whose light filtered into the Door of Night, out into the Void.

But now, as he returned his gaze once more to the Door of Night, he beheld the great yellow sphere of the Sun, its radiant blaze casting golden rays into the empty spaces of Eä, out towards a bluish-white orb: Arda. And verily, it was now Melkor's turn to be consumed with lust.

"What is that hateful brightness?" Ungoliant asked as she looked upon the yellow orb.

And Melkor laughed aloud. "The Sun. Unbeknownst to you, as you had busily fled into the south of Arda, the Valar have managed to create two more fruits from the dying Trees, ere they finally expired. One of them you are looking at. The other is far behind Arda: the Moon."

"I want them!" Ungoliant hissed, her voice like a thousand echoes bellowing from her empty depths.

"Then consume them!" he said scornfully. "And when you are done with them, consume the stars! Let Varda see the works of her hands fall into your abysmal hunger."

"Indeed, I shall," Ungoliant answered lustily.

Then Melkor turned very grave. "But first, we must come upon them at unawares, for he who strikes first will have the upper hand. We shall enter the Door of Night in force."

At this, Ungoliant became fearful. "You must be mad! Or are you blind to the one that stands guard over its ramparts?"

And once more, Melkor laughed mightily. "Yet he is only one. He cannot halt the full advance of my host, or have you not noticed our numbers? Too preoccupied will he be with my host ere he could achieve anything of significance."

"And where will you be?" Ungoliant asked, as if doubting his intent.

But Melkor did not answer. With eyes piercing beyond the fabric of Eä, he beheld the land of Aman, home of the hated Valar and Eldar. And he saw the silver spires of Valmar shimmering as of jewels in the distant air. But towering above them was Taniquetil, the Holy Mountain, highest of all peaks within and without Arda, where his brother Manwë sat in power as the Elder King. "To Aman," he said at last.

And, turning upon her and his dark host, he said: "So it begins."

And so began the Dagor Dagorath, the beginning of The End, to which all Arda and Eä will be overturned, out towards a great resurrection ... and into the Second Music.