Chapter VII

The Loftiest Ambitions

When Elrond entered Barad-dûr under a flag of truce, the Uruk-Hai had mostly cleared the fortress of orcs. He went into the main tower and navigated the winding flights of stairs and lofty bridges to Sauron's innermost chamber. As he approached the doors, he could hear the sound of the rending of flesh, and the voice of a fearfully angered Saruman engaged in some violent act.

"Unclean waste! Bloody fool! Pathetic! As you deserved!"

He opened the doors to the Dark Lord's throne room and beheld a sight that turned his innards. The throne and the surrounding area were covered with pieces of broken armor, piles of deformed black flesh, and pools of blood that gave off a rotten stench. Standing amidst the horrid mess was Saruman. His previously glistening white robes were covered in blood, and the crown of his staff was covered in shredded black flesh. The wizard spread his arms and looked upwards, as if calling to the heavens.

"Sister, look!" shouted Saruman. "I've done it, I've done it! I smashed, and pounded, and grounded this rotten creature into a pile of bloody flesh! There, you filthy monstrosity! What good is your Ainur immortality now? Try continuing your evil in that sorry state! All mangled and twisted, with every inside on the outside for all the world to see!"

Elrond approached, dumbfounded at Saruman's unhinged state as the White Wizard laughed uncontrollably. Hearing the elf's approached, Saruman turned to greet him.

"Oh, you, is it?" Saruman said more calmly. "Look at this. Thanks to you, I've done it. Well, isn't it wonderful? Now my sister can take her place as the true queen of this world. Ha ha ha ha ha! I've done it, I have! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"What do you mean?" Elrond asked, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"Sauron was truly delusional if he thought that he had the right to claim kingship over the world. You see, there was never any ruler greater than Melian, Queen of Doriath. Her only true equal was Thingol, her husband and king. Now, with this awful creature out of the way, the glory of the true queen may be restored."

Elrond tightened his grip upon his sword. "Your mind has been twisted. It is the Ring. It must be destroyed. If you take it back to the Hobbit so that he may complete the quest, you can avert further catastrophes."

"Never! With this power, I can do much good that would be impossible otherwise. Leave, if you would. What can you hope to accomplish here? The mightiest fortress in Middle-earth has fallen to my forces. If you attempt to stand against my strength and take the Ring by force, you will surely die."

Knowing that Saruman was right, Elrond took his hand off of his sword. He turned and exited the throne room, leaving Saruman to his madness. The Uruk-Hai stood aside as he left the fortress to rejoin his soldiers. He mounted his horse and called forth his lieutenant.

"Glorfindel," Elrond said, "we must go back and strengthen Rivendell's defenses. Saruman has fallen to lunacy, thanks to the Ring. I do not know what he intends to do, but it will certainly involve more violence. If he does intend to attack somewhere, we must be ready. It is clear that his mind has become very unstable."

"So, Saruman will not destroy the Ring?" asked Glorfindel.

"I cannot see him doing so," said Elrond. "If he does not, the Ring will certainly destroy him."

They rode back across the ashen plains of Mordor. When they left through the Black Gate, they were relieved to be free of the horrid fumes permeated by Mount Doom. When they went through Gondor, they found that soldiers were being recalled to Minas Tirith in anticipation of an attack by Mordor, even though Elrond knew that the true threat was now Isengard.

The long and tiresome journey ended when they reached Rivendell. Elrond, desiring rest, retired to his private hall. There, he found four people occupying the armchairs near the fire. Three were his children, but the fourth was a stranger to him.

"What is going to happen, Father?" asked Arwen when she heard him approach.

"We shall find out eventually," said Elrond. "For now, the more pressing question is: Who is this?" He took a seat in one of the armchairs.

"This is our great-great-great grandmother," said Elrohir. "She's been wanting to meet you."

The unfamiliar woman stood up and politely bowed before Elrond. "It is an honor, my lord," she said. "I am Melian, and I come to Middle-earth to aid you."

"No, no, no," Elrond said as Melian took her seat. "It is an honor to meet you. And the great Queen of Doriath should not be bowing to me. My power is but a shadow of the glory of the elves gone before."

"Do not say such things," said Melian. "You are my great-great grandson, and it pains me to hear you speak so little of yourself. You assailed Mordor alongside the Elven King Gil-galad and oversaw a historic victory for the people of the West. With enough help, you could do it again."

"Is that what you're here for?"

"That's part of it. Saruman of Isengard is my brother. If he continues with his plans, he will bring an awful fate upon himself. I wish to save him, and bring him home to Valinor."

"Well," said Elrond. "Absolute catastrophe can be stopped, but it may be too late to save Saruman. I helped him in his attack on Mordor, and Barad-dûr has now fallen. He confronted Sauron himself. Although the Dark Lord is a Maia and cannot truly die, Saruman used the power of the One Ring to bind Sauron's soul to his flesh, thus preventing him from escaping and creating a new body. Trapped within his corpse, his soul will wither away until it is no more. In effect, Sauron is dead. After Saruman killed Sauron, he succumbed to the Ring. He has gone insane. He believes that getting rid of Sauron has cleared the way for the world's ultimate master, whom he believes to be you."

Melian felt a sickening feeling within her heart. She didn't want to believe that Saruman's once sharp mind had descended to such a state.

"It's not too late," she declared. "Tomorrow, you will assemble your troops, and take me to him. If anyone can get him out of this mess, it's me."

Author's note: Sorry about the wait. This took longer than I thought it would. I've been really terrible about updating my fanfics lately. One of them hasn't been updated since February. I really need to get with the program.

If any of you are fans of Bloodborne, you might notice that Saruman's insane speech after he kills Sauron is inspired by Alfred's rant after he kills Annalise. I thought it would be fitting.