The scent of fresh rain radiated from the barren ground. She thought it symbolic, like the rain was working to purge away the evils of the land. She hoped there was nothing futile with the actions they were going to do—the most dangerous thing they are to do would end this wild chase for their unknown traitor. For several years they had prolonged the tireless search but meeting no ends, obtaining no results. Not even the wisdom of Saruman was enough to make leads.

But finally the tides have turned. Guesses solidified into facts, facts led to evidences, evidences led to links. The dots had connected and all directed Habren to looked upon the Black Gate.

"You really believe this is it?" she asked her companion.

The ellon stood still gazing at the walls. His hair was not like how the others wore it; brown hair cropped short that hung unto tendrils of rain. It did well to frame his structured face, his green eyes were greatly dimmed in the dark, but a sparkle was within them. "Probably. Never know till we get inside."

"Idiot, this is Mordor!" Habren sharply retorted as she turned to him. "And what's more, we're completely exposed!"

"If you're not coming then I shall go alone." Gilras replied with raised eyebrows and a knowing look. Habren's eyes lingered till her gaze broke. "I'm only coming because I do not trust you when you are left to your own devices."

Gilras smirked. "I knew you'd never live without me."

She whacked a swift punch to his arm.

The pair marched closer to the Gate, both assessing an efficient way to get inside. But ultimately they shook their heads, "There's no way in. Maybe we can find a way around the mountains." voiced Gilras.

"What a waste. We've wasted our time and have broadcasted ourselves in front of our enemy's front door! Faster Gilras, while we still have the time!" Habren started to tug at her companion's arm, going as farther away as possible from the intimidating structure. As they started to backtrack their feet caught notice of a faint rumble.

Habren felt the air in her lungs thin. "Faster!"

Both of their legs dashed to escape with no success. The doors creaked open with a loud noise and creatures of fell origins emerged from their dark domain. Orcs, Trolls, and other wicked beasts crawled out like they were fresh from the pits of the inferno, hungry for the desecration of the upper world. The Black Gates stood before them, doors blown agape like giant palms beckoning them to death.

"Gilras!" Habren urged.

Gilras unsheathed his blade, Caransul, a flash of red in the dark. "And allow these things to siege the neighboring lands? We stand our ground!"

"We are just two people! We need reinforcements!"

The first wave of wargs washed upon them, Gilras hacking for first blood while Habren drew her blades; just in time to slice away a warg that tried to wring off her head. There was no other way out; the elves were waist-deep in a battle for their lives to try to run away now. Even with their lack in numbers the pair had plowed through every creature of malice like a sneaky snowstorm. But like how the weather subsides so did their strength. The adrenaline rush was fleeing from them and bones started to feel heavier.

But before they could break they heard an echoing incantation.

"Ruin celair, meth sen fuin!"

It was blinding, the light that came after. It surged over the army like an immaculate veil, bringing down the unfortunate souls that stood in its way. The flank crumbled down like fallen curtains, revealing to all the assailant. She wore a white dress that rippled like a wispy cloud, her hair was a fiery scarlet, her skin kissed by the sun. Her eyes reflected the afternoon sky.

Habren swung through one orc's neck before turning to the newcomer. "Nana!"

"My intuition is right as usual." Falmarien said. "I know why these monsters have come."

"They saw us eying their precious gate and became pissed." Sighed Gilras as the fighting brought them back-to-back. The intensity of battle diminished slightly, they were thankful for Falmarien's coming nonetheless. The Maia bore solemnity in her face, coupled with another emotion they couldn't completely identify. She blasted another wave of enemies away, notching an arrow with her ivory bow. "They've come for me."

Habren quickly stabbed something to her right. "Nana, what do you mean?"

"It's because I'm an asset—and I know too much."

The strength of their assault grew stronger as newfound energy came rushing in. Slowly the army before them started to grow sluggish, soon shifting unstably away from them and a great number retreating back into Mordor.

"Is it over?" Gilras hopefully asked, Caransul dangling from his grip.

But Falmarien stood her ground, her stance remained like she was still in battle. "I fear not."

Screeching was heard from beyond the Morannon, a sound so unearthly it chilled more than their bones. One by one, almost ceremoniously, hooded figures clothed in black on their tall dark horses emerged like they were exiting a rather huge funeral grounds. Their swords resonated with a dark foreboding power and the thought of it felt like poison.

I felt Gilras edge protectively closer to me, something he had been doing lately whenever there was a great danger. Falmarien's grip on her bow relaxed as she readied herself for anything. "They are here."

Her daughter's throat ran dry, the memory embedded on thick academic books of old lore stained her thoughts. "The Nazgul."

Like one wave against another the two parties clashed, swords sung high pitched hymns and arrows whistled in the damp air. The symphony of battle was dark and foreboding as favor came upon the corrupted kings of old. They decided to take their foes down one by one, starting with the youngest. The others brought them apart while two came towards Habren's front and clashed at her relentlessly. Habren was so engrossed in defending herself from the frontal assault she did not notice –the one who was their slowest sneak up behind her. In a middle of a swing she heard a sickening crack. Her hands uncoiled and her swords dropped, a sharp pain lashed at her back like unnatural wildfire. Her voice erupted into screams as she stood there, body half petrified. She felt panic rush in too easily; no matter how hard she tried, amidst the pain of it all, movement was futile.

Falmarien and Gilras rushed towards her, only to be barred passage by the rest of the army and the other Ringwraiths. The one that had stabbed her lifted his sword up, blade translucent in the night sky. Her mind shut down, there was no way she could escape this. She was going to die.

The sword swung down and she closed her eyes to a quick prayer. The metal sang and a grunt of pain was heard, but the sound did not come from her. Her eyes flew open just as she saw him grapple at her shoulders for support. Blood trickled down his own back.

"NO!"

He looked at her, his eyes were so vividly green. But Habren saw that beyond the color of a stormy sea something deeper was circulating in those sparkling pools. Gilras smiled, soft like the peaking daylight from the mountains. He gently said her name, "… gala-thalion."

Swiftly he sheathed Caransul and one of her own into her empty scabbards and placed a delicate hand behind her as if careful not to break her. Warmth closed in as he carefully laid his lips on hers.

Habren felt something light up quickly but so easily fade away as he parted from her, leaving her to her own mixed emotions. As he finally pulled away, Habren for the first time felt the cold. His face wretched in pain as she looked so confused, and the ellon picked up her fallen sword and arched it towards the nearest Nazgul. The Ringwraiths started to return to their own frenzy, loosing interest in the paralyzed elf over another who was willing to kill them. She saw him lure them back through the gates and into Mordor as he fended for himself against nine others. The match did not last long and a blade met his heart.

Her eyes had been wide awake all that time and she felt a fracture in her heart. She screamed his name as she desperately attempted again to move.

Falmarien, who had been momentarily forgotten reached for her daughter's back, muttered a few quick unintelligible words and said, "Habren, close the gates."

Habren's sensation of her lower body started to return to her as the pain remained stubborn. This did not dissuade her cries. "Gilras, you damned idiot!"

"Habren, I'm sorry! I just—" but Falmarien succumbed to her exhaustion as she depleted most of her strength and collapsed. Her daughter remained the only one standing—the one forced to stand now. Everything was coming at her too fast. Her head sharply returned to Gilras, to some blessed miracle of Eru had light yet in his eyes. Another weak smile was mustered, his eyes slowly sinking.

Habren started to feel even more broken. She looked back at her mother then back at her closest friend—was that all they could have been?

The elleth marched forward with a grim aura. Every step she took rushed feeling back at her legs; but every step streamed shadows in her heart. The shadows were overflowing and frustration sparked. The flicker grew and grew –until it couldn't contain itself. Habren brought her hands close to her, dark thoughts gliding dangerously close to her conscience. She felt a small flutter of wind on the back of her hands, heat suddenly radiating from it. The energy grew and grew and small noises were starting to be heard. In a moment's passing, before her eyes hovered a baby eagle made of ebony ash. Every beat of its wings send black puffs astray –and also a faint flicking of hidden flame.

Into this creature she poured her sadness, her confusion and her frustration. Slowly she started to spread her arms wider, the firebird's size and radiance following suit. Flames consumed the ashes of its mold, blazing bright into an figure of scarlet tongues.

Gilras urged his eyes wide one last time, mouthing words that Habren understood. A tear streamed down and she felt herself shattering.

Habren spread her arms wide and the scarlet morphed into a scorching white. A great cry of an eagle screamed throughout the mountains and shook the land. Riding on its own wind the eagle sped forward encased in a terrible radiance. All that its wings grazed, all that its talons hooked were engulfed into a burst of flame, only to remain a pile of burning ashes. The Nazgul screeched and their horses bucked as the flame seeped through –taking a few more lives as the gates slammed shut.

Habren's hands smoked from all the heat and they twitched uncontrollably. In her own slowing pace she dragged herself to where her mother lay and tried to pick her up.

"Nana…" Habren tearfully muttered. "we need to go."

"No, niel nin… you need to go. There is no hope left for me."

It was then Habren realized the arrow that pierced her mother in a vital area, her panic growing stronger. "Nana, Why didn't you—Nana, no!"

"I have done my service, Habren. They were out to get me anyway. I know who the traitor is—the one who passed through those gates. He knows I am aware, and so he has decided."

"Nana, no! Please—"

"Be watchful of him, Habren. He will toy with you…he—"

Habren felt the life leave her mother –it was like holding onto a piece of treasure for so long, only to lose it because it slipped away. She saw her life like a picture on a fragile mural, shattering into a million pieces. The mural was her world, and her world was gone.

Everything she saw started to distort. She saw her mother's face in every line of sight; she saw Gilras' kind eyes everywhere. The firebird she had created echoed incessantly inside her head, slowly converting to her own screams. It was breaking her even more, to hear screaming inside, knowing where they came from and why they had transpired. Dawn was breaking from far away—and dawn meant hope. There was no hope in this light.

How she got to the Anduin, she could not recall. But she remembered the dark thoughts that flowed in. Gazing at her reflection she felt disgusted. This was the girl who couldn't save her friend. This was the girl who left her mother's corpse to rot. This was the girl who couldn't do a thing. This was the girl—that didn't deserve to live.

The water started to look so inviting; the gentle light that carried fragments of the sun, flowing as endlessly as time. She held no other thoughts than the malicious invite of the water. She remembered the flailing, the breathlessness and the river entering her lungs the moment she foolishly decided to surrender.

Elrond and Gandalf were silent. Gandalf himself had heard the story, but she never revealed to him her act of attempted suicide—until now. Her uncle placed a comforting arm around her as she stared out of the window. "I'm different now." She admitted. "Hopefully I am smarter, that I will never do it again. I am still far from perfect though—but there never was a perfect, was there? You can't go back and rewrite the whole story, yeah?"

Elrond pulled his gaze yonder. "No, there isn't. There was never any going back."

"But that's all of the past now, right?" started Habren. "But the sacrifices they've made were for naught. We never found out about the traitor."

"Dear Habren… In my heart, undoubtedly, it is bittersweet when I can say, 'it was never all for naught,'"

The elleth sharply turned to her teacher. The scar on her back felt colder and more prominent. "Who?"

"Your mother was right when she said that they were out to get her, because she possessed a powerful potential, because she possessed information that would flip the coin of history. But the teachings that helped her master them from all her years, this knowledge that was gifted to her—were given by the same entity." As the moment drew near Habren sensed the mental distance Gandalf was creating between them. Fortune would have it that on rare occasions she would have the gift of foreseeing circumstances before they are met. The name that would coil from his long grey beard would no doubt be a name she would've wanted to hear. The thought was clawing at her side but fear had shut them numb.

If the whole time the earth was bursting in the serene soliloquy of song, then all the voices in the land perished in an instant. "One of our Istari. It was Saruman."

Elrond and Gandalf both turned to the window when the silence flooded in. Much like a heartbeat there they saw, a good distance from the clearest resolution of their eyesight but in no way unnoticeable –the waterfall had gone dry. Everything had gone still, locked in a stagnant phase that represented the mind of Habren.

Whether against his better judgment or not Gandalf proceeded. "The study of the ring has driven him to believe in the blindness of total power. He now believes in the foolishness that he could overcome the Enemy and claim his power and the Ring's for himself. Your mother knew this plan for the start, she was told of this in hopes she would share in his vision, an invitation she immediately declined. But then she knew more than she must, and he accomplished what he believed was for the best."

"Saruman." Habren mouthed. The air grew denser and a gloom came upon the room.

Realizing what she was doing Elrond came up to her. "Habren, calm down!"

"I am calm, Uncle." she said. The sky grew darker and started to pass all over the valley.

"There was no other way to tell you." Said Gandalf. "Whether calm or in a fit of anger it would present the same results."

"What else do you expect? I looked up to him, I saw him a figure of regal goodness! He was my mother's teacher!"

Gandalf started to come towards her. "Habren—"

"He betrayed her. He abandoned her. He killed her!"

Thunder boomed and the Wizard was pulled back to a journey long ago when Smaug the Terrible reigned, the sound bouncing from every crevice of mountain rock. Lightning fell like liquid white pouring swiftly into a cracked dark grey mold. The sound likened to wolves was the wind, howling and encircling through the trees and between buildings, whisking away a path of fallen leaves in its wake. Chaos was at its zenith when Habren turned away.

Lightning illuminated the room before crashing back down into darkness. Habren vanished.

She sped into the forest, a place where she would seek out solitude, somewhere far away from all the others. When she felt she was far enough she reflected and drew back some sense. The sky shattering ceased like it never was, but rain came pointedly in its place. No tears came out of Habren's eyes for her eyes could give no more. The sky wept instead.