The Nuuruhuine
Chapter 8; The Council
Harry was met a few miles from Dras Arget by a large contingent of mounted soldiers consisting of thirty humans, thirty Vampires and thirty Lamia including all the members of the Nuru Noste. Harry formed them up in lines in front and behind in three lines with one of each 'race' in each row to show the equality that he believed in so strongly. The Nuru Noste had pride of place around him to show his gratitude for their courageous actions.
They marched slowly through the a city full of life and noise. The populace had transformed in his five day absence from their miserable situation to a happy life. The crowds cheered and waved as they marched up the market street towards the looming Shadow Citadel. It lay on the Northern side of the raised Upper city where light never reached due to the high latitude of Dras Arget. Since the Upper city was off limits to any but the Lamia and impossible to reach for anybody without wings the main government of Dras Arget gathered in the Shadow Citadel. The time when he had ordered the Lamia Guards to take Nuru Noste up was to protect them from any retribution from those that lost power in his awakening.
He was met by most of the members of the Nuuruhuine as well as any Vampire or Lamia that held power in the City. He was surprised at how large the crowd was that crammed into the huge courtyard that sat between the arms of the horseshoe shaped six floor buildings. The buildings grounds took up most of the area that was constantly under shadow since not many wished to live in such a place. No plants or trees could grow there so instead the area was dotted with statues built entirely in Mythril and crystal ornaments that with the aid of mirrors in the upper city cast a decorative sunlit glow over parts of the area.
He'd already called for a full council meeting and whilst he wasn't going to tell them of the Ring of Power he was going to put some major plans into order. As he dismounted with the Nuru Noste still acting as his personal guard, though it was unnecessary, he thought back to why they went to sleep in the first place. The Nuuruhuine had ruled without break for one thousand five hundred years and it had become tiring after so long. It had been decided that control would pass to a Council of all three 'races' in Dras Arget so that others could lead.
They could've just lived their lives, travelled, or hundred of other things but it was decided that they would sleep. Nobody really complained about it. After seventeen centuries of life, five more of sleep wasn't much of a concern for any of them.
He was beginning to regret it though. The troubles his people and his allies had gone through because of their inability to act but what was done was done. Now he had to assist his allies and prepare for a war.
He entered the Shadow Citadel and straight into the huge conference hall. If they were going to act they had to do it soon. He had gotten Archie to call the meeting and whilst the Nuru Noste filed into the first few rows he walked into the centre where his Nuuruhuine stood waiting.
"Welcome." He said as the room went quiet. "I our absence the world has become troubled. Powers have awoken whilst we slept that pose a threat against not only our allies but our own lives also. Not only that but our old enemies have been allowed to thrive whilst we went stagnant."
A roar of anger went up from the humans and Vampires in the room at the mention of their oppression. He allowed it to permeate the air for a while before he raised a hand to silence them.
They ignored him for a while so he let his powers spread out like an invisible fog, all those it touched went quiet as they felt it crackle across their skin. He waited for them to settle and even then he paused for a few seconds. Most of those here had never known him, it saddened him that barely a tenth of the group were over five hundred.
"The blame has been cast," Harry continued quietly, though his voice reached every ear easily. "Justice has been served, those you see here now are those that have no guilt on their conscience. We must now look to our future and that of Middle-Earth."
He saw nods around him so began to detail his ideas. "Nobody can know how our enemies will move against us. What we can be certain of is that they wont dare move against this fortress until either the world around us fall under their control or they have nothing left to lose." There was another hum of muttering that fell silent with a simple raise of his hand. "We must move our own forces to defend our allies, those that they would dare to move against."
He paused again and turned to look at all of his Nuuruhuine stood in the centre. "We must build up the forces already in Mirkwood, Rivendell and Rohan. Six hundred will march East through the pass and to Mirkwood, four hundred will march south to Rivendell with myself."
A small cheer of agreement rose from the seating. "The situation with the Rohirrim is tense, Saruman has turned to ally with Sauron so any large presence there will threaten the Horsemasters. The Nuru Noste will ride south through Bree to Rohan. They will take the farce of traders and watch the situation, aid if they can. They have been picked for this because Saruman will always be able to pick out the Lamia whether we hide or not. He will be blind to the presence of humans and Vampires."
He saw the Nuru Noste perk up at this task and he met Annette's eyes nodding to her briefly before continuing. "There is another avenue that must be closed. Sauron will most probably strike at the human world first but even if he doesn't we must have a large force in readiness in the southern lands."
"The Gondorian's will never allow a force within their lands." One of the older Vampires called out. A murmur of agreement ran through the crowd.
"That is only a minor problem for us." Harry said after he had allowed them to calm on his own. "Ready the ships and sail down the coast, build the army on the headland on Ered Nimrais and await the call. From there we can launch an attack into either Rohan or Gondor with ease."
There was more of a pause this time as he let them talk amongst themselves. Eventually they turned to him to wait for his next words. "We are those of the Blood Plains, those of Middle-Earth have always feared us for our skills, our cunning and our way of life. War is approaching and we will prove to them that their fear for us is justified." Harry paused for emphasis. "When this war is done, no being in Middle-Earth will ever approach Dras Arget with anything other than good intentions!"
It was simple but it did the job, cheers echoed through the room and Harry turned and walk out of the room followed by the rest of his Nuuruhuine. The paused in a side chamber as Harry decided who would go where.
"Separate your selves out logically. I will ride to Rivendell with the army that rides out in the morning. Archie, I want you in Rivendell as soon as you can get there as a central point of contact. Four of you must go East to Mirkwood and I'd like Vesser and Micha to be two of them; your command over the Earth will be useful in the forests and mountains there." Harry paused to think. "Jesu and Narima should go with the ships, your powers over water will give you defence against pirates. I want Gabi, Mila and Phillip to split. Two of you go with the fleet and the other to Rivendell. Use your illusions to keep the enemy in the dark as much as possible."
There were nods from the eight of them before he continued. "As for the rest of you, split between the forces as necessary but I want at least five of you to remain here to keep the peace."
The rest agreed and as he and Alexander left for some alone time they were finishing splitting themselves apart.
XOXOXOXOX
Most of the Lamia population lived within the walls of Dras Arget, the capital city of Morchaint or The Blood Plains as the humans had called their region after their need for blood. A few of the Lamia lived in the countryside either in small estates or within the towns that dotted the countryside. There were five large towns in Morchaint not including Dras Arget and then about two score worth of small villages that had sprung up at waypoints, crossroads and farm lands. Adurna lay on the opposite shore of Ice Bay and handled the vast majority of Morchaint's fishing quota. South of Ice Bay and further inland in a region of Morchaint that the Elves used to call Forochel was Serke Andon, named by the humans of the land to the south, in Elvish it meant the Great gates of blood.
A third town lay in the north settled comfortably under the Northern mountains and had been named Miril, an Elvish word meaning Shining Jewel, after the mining operations in the mountain that supplied the Mythril and other metals needed by those in Morchaint. The last two, Domia and Edoc'sil, - Dominance and Unconquerable - were the only two towns or more cities in their case that were fortified other than Dras Arget. They guarded the Eastern Passes and the Southern trade routes.
They had passed through Edoc'sil on the way through Morchaint on their way to Rivendell and had spent the night there in the vast military barracks there. Harry along with Archie, Phillip, Patia, Lex and Nicole sat with the cities leaders at the head table during a large feast in their honour though none of the six of them ate the human food. They had given up human food many centuries ago since the power in their bodies reacted badly to the sustenance. When Harry left the army in Rivendell they would be left with the five others, Archie and Patia would remain in Rivendell if the army moved on; Archie so that communication across the region was possible and Patia, with her powerful shields to protect her. Lex, Nicole and Phillip would command the army. Lex because he was a brilliant tactician and Nicole because of her assassination techniques.
It was a five day march from Dras Arget to Rivendell but with a days pause in Edoc'sil and then another day setting up a camp within the grounds of Trollshaw forest on the Elvin side of the bordering river. In all it was almost twelve days since he had left the Halfling in Rivendell before he strolled back through the gates of the Elvin City with Archie at his side.
Both had their wings hidden from sight as they were escorted up through the city's twisting labyrinth of pathways and corridors. They both knew how to navigate their way to the council chambers but the guards seemed not to trust them though they obviously knew what they were regardless of their invisible wings.
They had in fact arrived in the morning of the day that the council would be seated. Representatives from Gondor, the Dwarves and the Elves of Mirkwood and Rivendell had already arrived. As Harry walked in with Archie at his side he was pleased to see that the small Hobbit, Frodo, was looking healthy if not slightly small in comparison to the chair he was sitting in and the group of tall adults around them. The only members of the council that did not tower over him were the three Dwarves.
Seated beside Frodo was Gandalf the Grey with his wooden staff leaving against his inner leg as he sat back and listened to the idle chatter between the races. Beside him sat five Elves, three wore the green garb common among the Elves of Mirkwood though he didn't recognise any of them and by Harry's best guess they were all rather young, not more than eight hundred years old. The other two were far older and wore the formal clothing of the Rivendell Lords.
Then sat three humans in the black and silver uniform of the Gondorian military, of course he didn't recognise any of them since they were only a fraction as old as himself. One however wore the emblem of the Stewards of Gondor, a government established not long before his Nuuruhuine had slept. Next sat three Dwarves, though again, because of the Dwarven life span of just over four hundred years, he didn't recognise any of them. He could only tell that they were from the Northern mountains by their stouter forms and clothing.
The last around the circle was the lone Dunedain that had introduced himself as Strider. He sat silently as Gandalf did as he listened to the chatting of the other races. Harry spied the two empty seats next to the Hobbit and moved across the room towards them, he didn't plan on seating himself next to unpredictable humans, elves and dwarves that he didn't know. The room went silent as he and Archie came into sight and the only ones that didn't go for weapons were Gandalf, the Ranger, the two Rivendell Lords that seemed to recognise him from somewhere and of course the Hobbit that was clueless to what he was.
He barely altered his stride as he crossed the circle and nodded to Gandalf as he stood gesturing to the others to relax and he returned the nod and grasped Harry's forearm in greeting. The others muttered between themselves but relinquished their weapons in respect to the aged Wizard.
"Harry, I am glad that you were able to return in time, your advice would be greatly welcome." Gandalf said though his tone was stressed. He turned slightly to the seated Hobbit. "This is Frodo, I am sure you remember him from when you brought him here, though I doubt he remembers much of you."
"Frodo," Harry nodded at the halfling. "I am glad to see you recovered so quickly, you are truly a remarkable race."
"I remember you, I think. From when I was on the horse running from the Ringwraiths." The halfling told him. "Thank you for your help."
Harry was prevented from commenting as Lord Elrond stepped into the room and moved towards the single seat at the front of the room. The occupants of the room took their seats rapidly and Harry sat beside Frodo with Archie to his side.
"This private council is now in session." Elrond told them formally. Harry heard Archie snort slightly and sent him a curious thought in question. He felt Archie connect with his mind.
'Closed session my arse.' Archie laughed. 'There are two hobbits hiding in the corridor and another one just behind us in the plant pots.'
Harry had to laugh and he leant to the side as Gandalf leaned in to find what was funny. "The other halflings don't seem to know the meaning of private." He whispered too low for anybody else to hear.
"I welcome our guests from Gondor, Mirkwood, the Lonely Mountain and Morchaint." There was a certain mutter at this last announcement but Elrond interrupted it. "We are here to discuss a matter of great importance."
"Why are they included in this matter?" Snarled the Gondorian human with the stewards emblem as he stood and gestured furiously at Harry and Archie. "For that matter, why are they even allowed to step inside these walls."
Harry didn't even flinch at the abuse and placed his hand on Archie's clenched fist to stop him from speaking. It was Gandalf that spoke up. "They are here because they can help us."
"They have done nothing but plunder our towns and murder our citizens." The human snarled again.
"These were not involved in those activities," Elrond spoke up, "I would not have allowed them within my city if that was the case. This is Lord Corvil, leader of the Nuuruhuine." This definitely got a reaction, everyone there apart from Frodo had heard tales of him and the only ones that were bad were those spoken in Gondor.
The human began to speak up again but this time Harry spoke up. "This is not why we are here. We have much more pressing matters to deal with."
Elrond nodded his gratitude and gestured for the human to take his seat. "Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate--this one doom." He paused to step backwards toward his chair as he looked to Frodo. "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."
Frodo jumped up from his seat and strolled quickly to a raised pedestal in the middle of the circle. He pulled a plain gold ring from his pocket and placed it in the centre of the rock table. There was a lot of whispering in the group as Frodo returned to his seat.
"So it is true." The human said. Gandalf leant to the side again over the Hobbits' head to inform Harry that he was Boromir, heir to the steward of Gondor.
"The doom of Men." Whispered another human in fear.
Boromir stood and began to pace. "It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring?" Harry sighed and shook his head slightly. "Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!"
"You cannot wield it! None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master." Strider snapped from his seat.
"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?" Boromir countered.
One of the Mirkwood Elves jumped to his feet in defence of the Ranger. "This is no mere ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance!"
Boromir's head snapped back to face Aragorn. "Aragorn, this is Isildur's heir?"
"And heir to the throne of Gondor." The Elf continued. Harry frowned at the Dunedain and realised that it did make sense. The man had a resemblance to the old kings of men. He saw Frodo tense up to his side. Obviously on their travels to Rivendell Aragorn had never mentioned this.
"Sit down, Legolas." Aragorn said calmingly giving Harry the identity of the Elf. He remembered a Legolas from a visit that the royal family of Mirkwood had paid to Dras Arget.
"Gondor has no king." Boromir spoke simply. "Gondor needs no king."
"Aragorn is right." Gandalf spoke up as Boromir sat down. "We can not use this ring."
"You have only one choice." Elrond spoke up from his seat. "The Ring must be destroyed."
Harry and Archie were probably the only ones that could have made it to the pedestal in time but they didn't bother as one of the Dwarves leapt to his feet. "What are we waiting for?" He growled before dashing forwards and swinging his axe down onto the Ring with expert precision. Harry flinched his right hand off of his arm rest as a shard of the axe smacked violently into where his hand had just been. He looked down at it and then at Archie with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. They turned back to look at the Dwarf and found that he had been propelled backwards into his own chair with enough force to daze him. Harry heard Frodo wince beside him and both he and Gandalf looked at him in concern.
He felt somebody grasp his right arm and he spun to see Archie gripping his head. He sent telepathic waves towards his friend to boost his own defences enough to evict whatever he was feeling. After a few seconds, time that it took the dwarf to stand, Archie turned to Harry with a grateful smile.
'It's speaking but I cant understand it.' Archie told him.
"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin by any craft that we here possess." Elrond spoke up, "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came."
Harry yanked the axe shard out of the arm of his chair and sent it skittering across the circle in contempt but waited in silence for Elrond to continue. "One of you must do this."
Harry swore that the others had ceased even breathing. He waited patiently and wasn't the least surprised that it was Boromir that spoke up. "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland. Riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume." He snapped. "Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly!"
Legolas stood to argue, "Have you heard nothing that Lord Elrond has said. The Ring must be destroyed!"
Gimli, who had only just regained his seat jumped up again to round on the Elf. "And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?"
"And if we fail, what then?! What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?!" Boromir argued as he too joined those standing.
"I'll be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli spun on Legolas in fury. The four other Elves leapt to their feet in response to the insult and Gimli's two companions did the same. As the argument continued others stood. Aragorn tried to stop the argument but only managed to get himself angry. Even Gandalf became irritated by the arguing.
'The Ring is feeding their anger.' Archie told him.
Harry knew it was true, he could feel the Ring's power spreading like a plague between the members of the council. He noticed that even Frodo was getting slightly agitated. He rose slowly and Archie followed him up. "Settle down!" His magic fuelled his words but they ignored him as their own tempers were fuelled by the Ring even as it rejoiced in their tempers.
'They'll come to blows soon.' Harry thought to Archie before repeating his order even louder. This time Gandalf looked at him as well as Elrond but the others didn't even seem to hear him. Frodo seemed to want to say something but Harry placed his hand on the Halflings shoulder to keep him silent. He felt his Thunderbird sizzling beneath his own mind, enraged at the group for ignoring him. The sky darkened in an instant as storm clouds covered the sun as thunder rolled through the city upsetting birds and Elves alike.
"Silence!" He roared out and the group seemed to be hit with a wave of air as thunder boomed out again. The group staggered backwards and a few fell into their chairs, only the Elves managed to do this without losing their dignity. Harry lowered his voice but still kept some of the thunderbird's power behind it. "We will get nowhere by succumbing to the Ring's power and killing each other."
"How can you tell us what to do?" Boromir stood again and took a step towards Harry and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Sit down!" His voice rung clearly with power again and thunder rumbled again though this time quietly. Boromir sat himself down before he realised that his body was moving by itself.
"I'd rather see Elves take possession of the ring before I see it in the hands of a the Undead!" Gimli snarled rising again. Archie leapt to his feet with a growl his canines in plain sight and his eyes glowing with power. Gimli shrunk back but the motion only spurred others to rise. The argument began again and this time Harry was too busy calming his friend to bother to stop them.
When Frodo jumped to his feet and shouted something that only he heard he subdued the Thunderbird and disbanded the cloud cover. Frodo sucked in his breath and yelled out again to be heard by the others.
"I will take it!" Frodo yelled out and everybody fell silent and stared at him. Harry and Archie moved back to nearer Elrond's chair and they both felt the tension in the air crumble apart as the Ring withdrew it's power from them all. "I will take the Ring to Mordor." Frodo asserted confidently before growing slightly quieter. "Though I do not know the way."
Gandalf looked suddenly very tired as he moved to stand behind the Halfling and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I will help you bare this burden, Frodo Baggins. As long as it is yours to bare."
Aragorn was the next to step up to the Hobbit. "If by my life or death I can protect you I will. You have my sword."
"And you have my bow." The Elf, Legolas, asserted as he joined the three.
"And my axe!" Gimli grunted out and he stepped boldly up next to Frodo. Harry found it ironic that his axe currently littered the stone flooring of the balcony.
Harry frowned as Boromir also strode forwards, "You carry the fate of us all little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, Gondor will see it done."
Harry half turned to Archie and Archie instantly knew what he wanted. Archie closed his eyes and concentrated. After only a second his eyes opened again. 'Watch out for him but he has Middle-Earth's well-being at heart even if Gondor's realms take up most of that heart.' He paused and a smile spread across his face. 'Our uninvited guests are about to join us.'
Harry nodded to himself with a grin as another Hobbit ran from the bush that Frodo had sat in front of. "Hey!" He cried as he barged through the group to stand shoulder to shoulder with Frodo. "Mr. Frodo is not going anywhere without me!"
Elrond smiled ever so slightly, "No indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."
"Wait we're coming too!" Another Hobbit cried out as he and a forth darted passed Harry to reach the others of their kind without the normal fear of Harry and Archie. "You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!"
"Anyway you need people with intelligence on this sort of mission, quest, thing." The last of them said. Harry's eyebrows shot up as the other Hobbits looked at him with confusion.
"Well that rules you out, Pip." The third said.
Harry noticed in that instant that both Gandalf and Elrond were looking at him expectantly. He sighed, he hadn't even considered allowing the Ring far out of his sight until it was burning deep in the lava flows of Mount Doom but he didn't like being coerced into anything. He took a step forward and kneeled before Frodo and met his eyes. "If I can aid you again in this task then you have my word that I will do so." He said and waited for the Halflings nod before he stood and turned his back on the group to go back to Archie.
"Ten is hardly more useful than nine!" Boromir snapped.
Harry whirled and bared his teeth. "Perhaps you should stay behind then." The man roiled at the insult. "Sauron will know we travel with the Ring. It will not only be Saruman's spells and Sauron's orcs that we must fight against."
"Who else would want the Ring?" Frodo got up the courage to ask.
"Beings that we shall not speak of here." Elrond interrupted before Harry could answer him. Nacraemeus had almost destroyed Rivendell before and Elrond did not like them spoke of in his lands. "Ten companions." He continued when he had everybody's attention again. "So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!"
Harry met Gandalf's eyes. "We leave at dawn." He said and received a nod before he spun and started to leave the room.
"Great!" He heard the one called Pip say happily. "Where are we going?"
XOXOXOXOX
End Chapter
