Author's Note - I realize that adding Strider into the mix might initially come off as a bit of a continuity error to some, as Aragorn would be just around ten years of age around the time of the Hobbit, but remember that Númenorians have a different system of growth than the regular men of Middle-earth, and can live up to 400 years at times, so it's hard to say how Aragorn looked at the time of his tenth year. We do know, however, that a Númenorian boy becomes a man at 25, so that changes the perspective a bit. For this reason, and for the sake of appeasement, I'm going to move hiss date of birth ten year back, to March 1st, 2921 of the Third Age. Not a man yet, but still a notable member of the Men of the North. Enjoy!
"To measure the meaning,
Will
Make
You
Delay..."
Chapter 7 – The Council
A circle was made in the courtyard outside of Beorn's hall. Unknowing banter and quiet murmuring swept the many individuals partaking in the important duties of which they were assigned. Though Bilbo couldn't seem to stop marveling at the figures whom did arrive at their location, Frodo and Sam felt they were witnessing the same event – unfortunately. The figures that would be in attendance were as follows: young Aragorn, of the Dúnedain, Thorin, Elrond of Rivendell, Legolas of Mirkwood, Saruman the Wise, and the White Lady, Galadriel, who was greeted by every single person in that courtyard, though Saruman and Lord Elrond had not arrived, yet. Although Sam and Frodo had already seen Galadriel back in Lothlórien, they still marveled at her glorious beauty, making the Shire-hobbits feel as if she would comfort them, even in the darkest of times, and she very much would. She could tell, by the look on their faces, that they had experienced so much already, and that the tides of war and darkness had cast a sort of sorrow upon them; she could tell they had used her magic. The tall, majestic Elven-queen of Lothlórien did not address it, though, as that was for the Council to focus on in due time. Bilbo marveled at the individuals he saw around him, as they were truly a new sight to him. The other two hobbits recognized some other familiar faces in the courtyard: those who had journeyed with them in their quest to destroy the Ring. One of which – Aragorn – was conversing with Thorin on the other side of the courtyard, sitting next to one another.
"Heard tell of your deeds, young man. How's your father doing these days?" the dwarf-heir asked, curiously. He had no quarrel with men, it seemed.
"Oh, fine. He's well and off on a hunting trip in Fangorn Forrest with his hunting party."
"And left his only son to deal with diplomacy? I'd be quite livid with him," Thorin assumed.
"We have our own trips every September. Quite spectacular ones, I might add. Very personal, very dangerous," explained the young man.
"Ah, now that's what hunts should be: emotional, invigorating, and filled with loyalty! Where do you hunt, my boy?"
"In a small cape west of Minhiriath. I can say no more. If so, I would surely be disowned. We are no-nonsense hunters, my father and I."
"No nonsense, indeed," the dwarf said. "Speaking of no-nonsense, the White Wizard looks to be arriving. The Council will soon begin."
And indeed, as the dwarf assumed, the wise wizard of old approached the courtyard. No sooner had Elrond followed. Gandalf stood in announcement.
"Alas! Elrond, king of Rivendell, and Saruman the Wise!" he yelled. The wizard sat down immediately afterwards as those in the courtyard added, hoping to start the council in mere moments. The elf-lord and the other wizard sat next to Gandalf. Saruman leaned over to his old friend, Gandalf.
"Is this all who came? Where is the other dwarf you requested?" asked Saruman.
"It was not I who made the request, but it was passed through myself. He should be out here soon. Ah! Here he comes now!" said Gandalf. The dwarf he spoke of had not been a part of the Company, but was known well by its members, with one in particular. When Thorin saw him, he was angered.
"Gimli?" Thorin shouted, to Frodo and Samwise's surprise, as they did not recognize him. "I made it clear. I made sure you understood that this quest was not for you. Why must you – and your father, for that matter – be so thick-headed?"
"Am I not a dwarf? Has the quest not changed?" said the young dwarf in rebuttal as he walked past him to take a seat next to Aragorn, who couldn't help but laugh. Thorin looked at him with disappointment.
"Good tidings, my friend," said the man known in the wilderness as Strider.
"Aye," grunted Gimli.
"We all are present," Beorn called out. "Let's get this over with."
Gandalf stood as he began his spiel. All looked on in acknowledgement as he spun his tale.
"As you all have been told, a dark power has been found, one that has been secluded, and thought of as legend for thousands of years. In the ancient fires of Oroduin, the Dark Lord Sauron crafted a mighty ring, one that surpassed in power all Rings of Power before it."
"In the ancient tongues of Mordor, the ring is synonymous with a single chant," Saruman added. "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul"
As the ancient being called out that old, accursed verse from Black Speech, the clouds in the sky covered the sun, and an unseen force cast a shadow on the courtyard of Beorn Skin-Changer. Some of the Council members became weary and frightened at the chant, Beorn especially.
"I warn you… never speak in that tongue at my home again! I swear, I'll… I'll throw you all out. Every single one of you! I won't have it! It's sickening," the man complained. To that, the White Lady rose up from her seat and stood higher than she has ever stood before, and scolded the man.
"If we don't reach unity, you will hear it in every corner of this world. The power of evil will take your home, take your water, and destroy all that you know and love!" shouted Galadriel, walking closer to Beorn and towering above him.
"Please, please, I'll desist! Do not hurt me!"
"Who knew an elf could make a man cry, eh Gimli?" Aragorn asked in fascination, as he leaned over to his dwarf-friend, though Legolas overheard. He came behind Aragorn and put a knife to his ear, whilst Gimli looked away in disgust.
"A word to the wise: if you so much as joke about her again, you'll be deaf on your left side as long as you walk this mortal plane."
"Legolas!" called Elrond. "Sit down and calm yourself."
"I think we have had quite enough!" declared Gandalf. "We cannot proceed if we carry on with this bickering. Elrond, you may speak."
"As you wish, Mithrandir," Elrond said as he stood. The courtyard fell silent as he circled a stone table in the middle of the area, looking at all of whom he passed.
"As you have just been informed, the Dark Lord Sauron crafted the One Ring. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. Yes, those are the ancient words that Saruman spoke of in their original form earlier, which I hope he never does again, but alas, I must digress. We all know the story, and we all know the toll it took on these lands. I was there. I know all too well of the horrors that the One Ring and its maker have produced, but what if I were to inform you that the events that have unfolded over the course of the last few days have shown that we are much less better off than what we might've thought?"
"I'd say that's a load of rubbish! We don't have any damned proof!" shouted Gimli.
"But we do. On you your left, dwarf, you'll find three hobbits: Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Underhill, and Meriadoc Peregrin Samwise. Two of them have what we need. Ring bearers, place the items on the table."
To the elven-lord's demands, Frodo and Bilbo nodded to one another, and placed their Rings on the stone table. The individuals in the courtyard became both confused and disheartened, and there was nothing afterwards, save for the loud and disrespectful arguments and quarrels the people in the courtyard were having with one another. It soon took a hearty fellow, little ol' Samwise Gamgee, to settle things down
"QUIET!" the hobbit yelled as he stood, which surprised him, for it was the loudest he had ever shouted before in his entire life. "Now I've been putting up with this madness for quite a lot of time, now, and I'll bet some of you are thinkin' the same as I, but I can tell you, by the looks on the faces of those here right now, that our lives have changed. Mr. Frodo and I have traveled too far, and too long not to notice that our lives have changed because of this, so if I were any of you sorry lot, I'd listen to whoever has the heart or the mind to explain this foul business."
The courtyard was silenced therein. It was strange that anything could be this quiet, let alone a place filled with people that had much right to hate one another, but just as the quiet felt as though it would last forever, Galadriel, The White Lady of Lothlórien itself, stood and explained that this matter could only have been carried out with the use of the Mirror of Galadriel.
"My mirror is not only a tool to view events from within the past, present and future," the White Lady explained. "If one stares into its queer waters for long enough, that poor soul will be swept away to the time they were witnessing. It is very dangerous. Even I have not the courage to gaze into that pool for long periods. The Doors of Time and Space may be sealed shut forever, but there are still reasons why we do not tinker with them."
"So you're saying that two of these hobbits have come here from a distant time?" Gimli asked.
"Not a distant time, a similar time. They obviously were dealing with the One Ring then, so it must be that they sent them here to ease their burden. No one has attempted this before, but it's not as if there was much of a choice. After all, we do not know what will occur then, and we do not want to know. It is Frodo and Sam's business, and they can keep it to themselves," explained Gandalf.
"Then what're we to do?" asked Gimli.
"The Rings must be taken to Mordor, to be destroyed in the firs from whence they came," Saruman explained. Gandalf turned to the White Wizard, his colleague for many years, and expected more out of him, but only received a grim look. Legolas then began to address the other Council members.
"Those lands are home to dark things. I have had to navigate them myself a time or two, and even without the Dark Lord's essence, the area of Udún and beyond have been scarred. We mustn't be hasty about planning the journey through those lands, as it could be just as arduous as the trek there and back."
"It is dark and dangerous, indeed, son of Thranduil," Elrond agreed. "But the adventurers will have to deal with that when they arrive at the Black Gate. We can only hope that they will come prepared."
As the elf-lord began speaking of the necessities the party would need, Bilbo leaned over to Frodo in curiosity.
"What's the Black Gate?" he whispered.
"The Black Gate is the supposed entrance to Mordor, I believe," Frodo answered back.
"Ssshh!" Samwise commanded. "You'd better listen."
Elrond then began to speak of who would be partaking in the quest.
"It is vital that we are prepared, and those with enough skill to make the journey a success must accept what we are to do. One of the better elves in my grand army is stationed jut to the west of Mirkwood as we speak, and he will join the party once they arrive at his location."
"Well, I'll be nice and settled if I do not have to deal with this journey alongside an elf!" Gimli shouted, to the anger of Legolas and the approval of Thorin. "Never trust an elf!"
The argument grew and grew, and the place of Beorn's courtyard became loud and filled with ranting among peoples. Finally, inn all of the mess, Bilbo stood up and shouted as much as he could, with as much courage in his heart as he had ever hoped.
"I will take the Ring! I will go with one of them!"
This caused Gandalf and Elrond to pause, and the others in succession. It was much quieter now.
"I'm not fond of adventuring, but if it means the betterment of the land, I will go," Bilbo said calmly, looking over to Frodo, who was now standing. "But I cannot go alone."
"I will go with you, and take them to Mordor," Frodo said as he looked back at his uncle. "I swear to it."
Samwise then stood and put a hand on Frodo's shoulder. He was about to speak when he looked over at Gandalf, who covered his mouth with his finger as he watched the hobbits. Sam then spoke to the wizard from the short length across the way.
"Mr. Gandalf, sir, I've been fixin' to tell you about why I never go lettin' Mr. Frodo here from my view," Sam explained, and Gandalf nodded. "It's partly 'cause o' you, sir. Before we set out on our journey in the years to come, you told me something that I'll not be losin' track of anytime soon.
"And what did I say that was so important?"
"'Don't you lose him Samwise G—'"
The hobbit stopped quickly. He then felt the slightest of tension in him, but refused to fully reveal himself.
"Yes?" said Gandalf, impatiently.
"You said, 'Don't you lose him, Sam', and I don't mean to."
A tear fell down his cheek, but it felt as if Galadriel's presence comforted him. He heard a soft voice in his mind: that of the White Lady's.
"Be still, Samwise Gamgee," she said. "You have been a noble friend."
Aragorn then stood and approached the three standing hobbits, and kneeled. "I do not know you, hobbits, but as a Ranger it is my duty to protect these lands. If by life or death, I will follow you."
"You have my sword," said the Ranger. Legolas then stood and came near the hobbits to kneel alongside Aragorn.
"And you have my bow," he said.
"And my axe," added Gimli as he stood. Beorn then approached the hobbits.
"My home and my animals are my life, and I would die for what their betterment, and especially the latter, but without the ground on whence we stand… without the purity and timelessness of Middle-earth, I would not have them," the skin-changer declared as he kneeled along with the rest. "The bear will partake in the quest."
"As will I, the Grey Wizard," Gandalf added.
"I do not agree with Gimli's participation," Thorin said as he stood. "And I do not wish to abandon my people in their most important quest, but if we do not destroy the Rings, and defeat the Dark Lord, there may not be an Erebor to reclaim. I will help however I can, but my company will stay, and take care of the animals here."
Gandalf and Saruman both looked at Beorn in surprise as he was not a man who might leave his flock to a handful of dwarves, and though the burly being did show a look of remorse, he addressed the issue professionally.
"Do not look so stunned, wizards. The dwarf-king and I had already arranged it before the council began," said Beorn, who stood now. Gimli, still kneeling, looked back to Thorin.
"What of my father? Will he –"
"Gloín will stay here with the rest. You're lucky to be coming along, anyway."
"Enough talk!" commanded Galadriel as she stood. She then looked at the Company that was now formed: a wizard, a young man, an elf, two dwarves, a skin-changer, and three, unlikely hobbits. "Nine. Just as there were nine fallen men who fell to the dark, nine saviors will set out to vanquish the evil that stalks the land."
Elrond stood along with the rest of the part, and gave thanks to the newly-formed company. Saruman then stood afterwards, stopping alongside Galadriel with Elrond. "You cannot make it without your strength. You must abide in the laws of nature, and take every course and road with great caution… or you will indeed fail," said Saruman.
"Nine companions… you shall be known as the Fellowship of the Rings," declared Elrond Half-elven. Frodo leaned over to Sam to cheer the ol' gardener up a bit.
"And at this point, Pippin would say," Frodo laughed, as he faded out a bit. Sam immediately came back with a large smirk on his face.
"Where are we going?" laughed he. A fine laugh, the Gamgee needed, indeed. Beorn approached Elrond slightly.
"And what of this other elf you speak of on the far end of the Mirkwood?"
"Yes, it seems I had forgotten for a moment. He's a very dear friend of mine, and a skilled, cunning warrior if there ever was one."
"Ah, yes, but what is the elf's name?" insisted Beorn.
"Glorfindel."