(A/N: 'Mortus' is supposed to be 'Mortis' and will now be so. It means 'death' in latin.)
Darkest of Darkness
Chapter 4
Drezella looked over the blue prints of the buildings of Dorith, Celeborn and Galadriel next to her, and she carefully analyzed them. "Your blueprints are very sophisticated- I'm having trouble understanding things if I just quickly scan them over without reading carefully." She said, pointing to a buttress, "This buttress, how did you construct it? Did you mold the arch from the marble before, or just build it along with bars to hold the position?"
"I believe it was molded before it was placed." Celeborn commented, his wife thinking about it, and Drezella nodded in understanding.
"I see! The slightest miscalculation is the biggest mistake." She commented, turning the page, looking it over, her eyes dancing over the page as she mentally saved everything as numbers and equations with almost no solutions. Her photographic memory was perfect for things like this, but she made a quick sketch of the plans anyways, just to refresh herself when she took them back to her children.
"You are building something, Drezella?" Galadriel inquired, and she nodded deftly,
"I am rebuilding Gashvudal- from the ground up. It will be a daunting task, my my family and I will have some place to come home to."
"Gashvudal was destroyed…" Celeborn said, looking up, as if trying to remember something, "Around the same time you and your sisters were…fighting."
"Yes, our home was destroyed in the process. I will rebuild it with granite and diamond dust, to keep it strong. I have the granite already, but I'm inexperienced in cutting the granite." Drezella said, turning the page and writing down more, and turned another page. Galadriel looked at her notes,
"You don't draw sketches, but mathematical equations?" Galadriel asked curiously, and Drezella nodded.
"I'll draw sketches on paper later. I need measurements and mass weights first. In exchange for sharing these with me, what could I give you two?" Drezella asked, and Celeborn thought about it,
"How about a tour of your home when it's finished?" Celeborn offered, "I'd like to see how you use this information."
"That can be arranged." Drezella promised, ad Galadriel slipped a few flowers into her hair, which Galadriel has braided in a long side braid that went to her hip.
"I heard that Gashvudal held flowers that grow no where else. I'd like to see them- the flowers of Gashvudal." Galadriel said, and Drezella smiled,
"Yes. I will see if some still grow and try to cultivate them." Drezella smiled, and gently rolled up the plans, handing them back to Celeborn, "Thank you for your hospitality. It may take a while, but I will try to help the process along." She said, and bowed to them both, "You mentioned something about an alliance?"
~O~O~O~
"Welcome back, Mother." Mortis greeted, "How was your trip?"
"Beneficial." Drezella answered, Her children working, "What's going on?"
"Averic and I went to the Dwarf Realms and watched them work. We came back and told everyone else how they did it, and we were waiting for you for the measurements. Right now, some sisters and brothers are digging for Diamonds, and others are digging Catacombs for our kind. Some are collecting the rubble and seeing what they can salvage from it- even remaking columns again." Drezella awed at her children's' resourcefulness, a proud parent. "We can't find anything to hold them together, but we're using vines from the ground floor and the dark trees around us." Averic added, and she smiled, holding her notes,
"The elves designed are elegant and magnificent, but we shall alter them. I believe we may have to send a small squadron back the Black Tower. They are industrial, but we can learn from them their secrets of binding things together. Mortis, take 4 or 5 of your fastest siblings, and depart as soon as possible. Don't attack, no matter what, and stay out off sight, I don't care if you have to stay high in the skies." Mortis nodded, and barked at his brothers and sisters. For shot into the air, before he did, "MORTIS!" He looked down at his mother, "Don't get yourself tailed or followed at ANY cost! If they get within our borders- you can slaughter them freely." Mortis sneered and nodded, before the team flew off. Drezella gave the notes to Averic, "Study these- memorize them- We'll need them." She told him, "I'm going to make sure your brother doesn't get into trouble." She said, changing forms, and flew off. She rested herself low, on a mountain summit, making herself hidden. Her son and his team landed far below, and stayed low, taking the same course of action as their mother.
The darkness of the night and the dimness of the orc torched worked to their advantage. Drezella looked down, a look out tower below her, and white stones around her. She gently rubbed the thin flesh of her wings on the white stones, letting them leave chalky remnants, and while the guard wasn't looking, draped a wing over one side of the out poster's windows, and when he looked at her wing, covered the other side. A fake night sky would be better to her children's advantage, as she observed quietly. After a few hours, her Children lifted into the air- and that's when they were spotted. A catapult flung a large bolder at her children- then two more. Mortis shrieked at his siblings, who accepted his words and flew away, and Mortis caught a boulder and threw it back. Another came from his side and Drezella shot out and grabbed the boulder, launching it back and saving Mortis.
"Stop getting into trouble, Mortis!" She screeched, and swatted a boulder away with her wing, kicking her son, "What are you stalling for? GO!" Mortis wobbled, before flying off. Drezella batted away more boulders, until search lights were put on her, and she dived out of their glare and into the night.
~O~ Gashvudal ~O~
"We were silent- I don't know what went wrong!" Mortis yelled, and his mother hissed at him, making Mortis lower his head.
"Nevermind that. Were you all able to see how they worked?"
"Yes- they melted things and put it in metal pots, before pouring the melted liquid into a mold or onto something and threw water on it to cool it." Mortis reported, and she nodded.
"We'll need to steal one of their melting pots- I'll melt the rubble and we'll use it to keep things together." Drezella calculated, and Mortis bowed. "This place once held a healing spring for our kind. A sort of lake. Find it and we shall bathe in it to heal ourselves. Drezella said, grabbing a piece of granite, "Mortis, show me how the dwarves worked tomorrow. Until then, everyone in the catacombs underneath our land, we shall sleep for now."
"We have not finished them-" Averic said, and Drezella shook her head, pointing to a mountain just behind all the rubble. In the mountain, were two doors that held two large rings. On the doors, was a picture of a wyvern, curled around a shield. "The old catacombs?"
"Yes. We will sleep there for now." She answered, getting in the air and gliding over, grabbing one of the rings with her talons and tugging. She rapidly beat her wings, and tugged harder, before the door let up, and creaked open. Her children flooded in, and she slipped into the sacred ground of her home, which had been blocked by humans and they were barred from when their home was destroyed, a column having fallen upon the doors and closed them. With her children's cleaning, the column had been moved, and the air inside was rank with musk and the smell of death. Drezella slipped in herself, and Mortis closed the door, before curling up for sleep, and their mother laid in the middle of the large first chamber, her children laying around, under, and on top of her, for her warmth.
"Mama." Averic said, and she grunted, "What shall we do?"
"Rebuild this once great kingdom to its full glory, my son, so that we may have both fortress for battle and place to sleep." She responded, poking her head out of the pile up of sleeping fell beasts around her.
"I see. What about…him?" Averic questioned, and his mother shook her head,
"We will build a kingdom to keep people like him out." She remarked, and closed her eyes, Averic laying down for sleep as well.
~O~ Elsewhere, Next Morning ~O~
"She was here last night! The Spot lights catch a glimpse of her." Sauron yelled, slamming his fist down on the arm of his throne, the throne next to his, empty, "I don't care what it takes, I want her in this throne next to mine!" The Wizard frowned,
"She ran away from you, my Lord Sauron, she is a traitor. The woman has no interest in you." Saruman told his Master, who groaned and shook his head. Grima was at the balcony, looking out, "Grima, get away from there!"
"Fell Beasts are stealing from us, Master!" Grima interjected, and Sauron went over to the balcony. Indeed, There was a pack of eight of them- a red one and 7 others. The red one dove into one of the dungeons that made the orc's weapons. It shrieked, and the others dove in, before they flew out with a smelter. "They're taking- a smelter?" Grima asked, and Sauron cupped his hands over his mouth,
"Drezella! Steal from me not, but bargain with me in exchange for what you desire." He called, and the red fell beast didn't even glance his way- they just flew off. "Follow her, fools!" A few orcs got on hyena-like beasts, and chased after the Red Fell Beast and her children carrying the smelter- before a flush of other Fell Beasts fell upon the pursuers and tore them to ribbons, grabbing some of the hyena beasts and taking them with them. "Damn it!" A fell beast appeared in front of him, and grabbed Sauron, but Grima jumped on the foot that grabbed his master, in a moment of fearlessness. The Fell beast screeched, but grabbed him in his other talon, and flew off.
Eventually, they all landed in a meadow, to rest. The Hyena's the fell beasts had kidnapped, happily sat and awaited direction, strangely obedient. The fell beasts screeched among one another, and at one point, Sauron slipped from the grasp of the talons that held him, and ran towards the Red fell beast. It flickered out of view, before Sauron was blinded and so was Grima. Talons didn't attack their eyes- but pieces of cloth. Their wrists were tied together, and they were set on the backs of the hyenas. The furred beasts were nudged into motion, and the two were bound to the saddles so they wouldn't fall, and couldn't guide the monsters as they galloped after something, going somewhere.
"Master, I'm scared!" Grima yelled to Sauron, who snapped grumpily, 'shut up'.
When the blindfold was removed, Sauron was in a large, circular room, sitting on a cold floor. In front of him, Drezella sat, legs crossed, hands on her knees, eyes closed, meditating. The torches around the room provided enough light for the room, but didn't touch the darkness of the three passage ways behind her. "Drezella…"
"Don't say my name just to say it. Follow it with something. Or don't and keep coming off stupid." She said coldly, not opening her eyes, the flowers in her hair swayed gently, although there was no wind here.
"Why did you run from my home?"
"I needed to heal myself from the torture you put me through. I have responsibilities- I can't just screw around." She said, opening her eyes and standing up,
"You kidnapped me to see me?" He asked eagerly, almost happily, but she glared down at him, "…I suppose not."
"Looks like for once, you got something right."
"Come back with me- stay with me, Drezella. I can give you anything you want- anything at all."
"I wouldn't if I could!" She yelled at him angrily, "I'm a mother and you have yourself to think about- I have children to protect and provide for! If I die, they die too! Your life is one of war- ours is of survival. You have no part in our life and we have no part in yours. We are two sides of the same coin, yes, but we are both parallel lines that were never meant to intersect. You'll stay here until- well- until I come back." she said, laughed at him, before kicking him and leaving the room, shutting the heavy door behind him. Sauron sat up, hands tied behind his back with chains, and grunted.
"I want her." He chuckled, before looking around, "Hm. Ominous…" He got to his feet, and went to the door and tried to open it my slamming into it. It didn't even splinter or dent, nor did it budge. She was a fell beast, of course she had the strength to open such a heavy door. He listened closely and could hear faint sounds of scratching- maybe digging? And Shrieks. Sauron looked around and stared at the three passageways.
~O~O~O~
"When do we let the Necromancer out, Mama?" One of the children by the door asked, only two there by the doors. Drezella looked over, pausing from melting the columns in the smelter with her fire.
"You don't. The catacombs need to be cleaned- let him clean them." She responded, and blew fire back into the smelter. None of her children could breathe fire as she could. Only she. It was to help her keep her nests warm to hatch her children They had all decided on the look of their kingdom- their new home. You could only enter from the sky, they chose, but you could see it from outside, and it would look as if you could enter but by a gate.
The spring her children had unearthed, would flow through it- but if their home needed be fortress, gates would be dropped to stop the river from flowing inside, and the river would flow around their palace instead. Granite and Glass. A Palace for them, that would be the strongest of glass and the shiniest of granite. Diamonds could not be melted like sand for glass, but they would be put into the structures to support them. There was to be a granite 'canopy' over their palace- the top of which, the only entrance in aside from the river, but would be some type of heavy defense, they hand chosen, only to be pulled open by either brute force to mechanics.
They had yet to decide.
As they spoke, the buildings were being constructed as more sand was brought to be melted into glass. Some of them said dwarfs mechanics could open the sky light, from the inside of their new planned home. As long as Sauron was locked up in the catacombs, behind doors only those strong enough could open, then he could not ruin the construction of their home. Drezella refused to have anything to do with Sauron, only caring that their home be build quickly and then finalized. In secrecy, they wanted a chamber of grandness for their mother- a statue of her as well. Maybe the statue was a bit much, but windows of stained glass with stories in them would be a wanted addition.
"I deserve no such glamour- I am a Queen, but I am a Mother first. I live to protect you all." Drezella said, as she rejected their ideas. "There isn't a day that I wish for the weight of wasteful fanciness. I'd rather have a gown of the bones of our enemies, than a gown of silk or lace." Mortis frowned, and his mother rested her throat as a fire burned under the smelter. He grabbed a chunk of meat and roasted it to perfection in the flames, before going to the catacombs of Old and slipping in to Sauron.
"I've brought you food, Human." Mortis grunted, Sauron looking back, and Mortis set the foot down, slashing his bindings with a clawed finger, "Eat. I roasted it."
"You speak?"
"Our screeched get annoying, even to us sometimes. Our Mother has taught me and my brother Averic, the tongue of man. My Mom rests now, thus, I roasted meat for you from her fire under the smelter." Mortis said, "Will you eat?"
"I want to see your mother." Sauron said, and Mortis nodded,
"I know. We ALL know. She knows too, but she busies herself with- other things. We has no time for you, Human. We keep you here to keep you out of the way so that our plans will go smoothly. You are of no use to use, aside from cleaning the catacombs. Get to it then."
"I'm a Lord- I won't do such a disgraceful task. Show me your mother." Sauron snapped, and Mortis shook his head,
"I will be your battle horse to war, but until you're needed, you will not leave these catacombs. You will die here, if Mom wills it. Those doors behind us? They can only be opened by someone strong enough to open them- they were made for us in mind." Mortus said simply, "I'm leaving now, good luck."
