Rercyn couldn't pinpoint the first moment they felt it, but he did know the instant when they came to the simultaneous realization that something was wrong.

There was coldness.

There was darkness.

And there was the first stirring of a terrible, unnatural fear.

Tensing up, the Rangers rose to their feet, scanning their surroundings. It was quiet...too quiet. The gentle rustling of the leaves in the breeze, the constant chirping of the crickets, the mournful hoots of the night owls...they'd all melted into the cloying blackness of the night. Rercyn's hair prickled as he strained his senses to detect something, anything, beyond the faint warmth and light of the campfire. But there was nothing to detect.

Until the Crebain released fearful, screaming caws.

Whipping around, Rercyn saw a couple of the little birds speeding back to their campsite, crying out in warning. Their frantically fluttering wings seemed to move in tandem to the quickening beat of Rercyn's heart. Finally reaching the Rangers, they swooped and spun around them in a dizzying circle, creating a clear message that screamed out Danger! Danger!

Rercyn flicked a glance at Eorel. Eorel nodded grimly back.

They exploded into action.

Running towards the horses, Rercyn took a moment to note their widened eyes and restless stamping, and cursed himself for not seeing it sooner. Untying them from the tree, he pulled them around to face the road, intending to leave as soon as Eorel woke Raza. Hurry hurry hurry...Something in his gut told him that he shouldn't wait to stamp out the fire or fold up the tents, they needed to go now and what was taking Eorel and Raza so long? Turning his head, ready to lambast the two into moving faster, he stopped short upon Eorel's anxious cry.

"Rercyn! Raza's not waking up!"

The thick, treelike bond with its numerous little tendrils leading to each Crebain stretched out before Severus. This rescue was turning out to be more difficult to than he anticipated. So far, he thought that he'd managed to liberate a few new, young flocks, but bonds connecting the older, more enslaved Crebain to their master were barely bruised. Severus' consciousness radiated discontent at this, but as he was leery of pouring in any more of his power and risk magical exhaustion, he decided to just change the angle of his attack. Hacking away with renewed enthusiasm, he absorbed himself in the difficult task of destroying a strong bond.

Thus, he could hardly be blamed for the irritation he felt when a jarring sensation abruptly emerged in the link connecting himself to his physical body. Blasted Rangers. Did I not specify clearly enough to them to not bother me? Dismissing the disturbance, Severus focused back upon his current task, and felt a flare of satisfaction as the tightly-spun tendril grudgingly broke and dissolved. One more down. Dozens of others to go.

"Will you stop that, you idiotic birds! He needs to wake up!" The Crebain cawed and fluttered in agitation, seemingly indecisive about whether to attack or aid Eorel. Rercyn's mind worked frantically to figure out what was going on. Too ill to move? Or even worse...somehow rendered unconscious? But nothing came near him while he was sleeping...how could this happen? The panic gripping him made it harder to think, but finally, he made a decision and hissed out,

"Look, never mind waking him! Come on, come on, get him over my horse, we need to go!" The horses shied away a little as Eorel carried Raza over, but Rercyn managed to calm his steed long enough for Eorel to sling Raza over its back. Swinging themselves onto their horses, the Rangers started their escape.

They were brought up short, however, by the sound of approaching hooves.

Saruman arched his back and screamed from the sheer agony. For a long, terrible moment, he couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't even feel under the crushing weight of torture his mind was currently subject to. He could only lie there and let the thing dig into his brain, lie there and let it wrench at him, hack at him, hurt him so much, so much...

However, Saruman was not the head of the White Council for nothing. Calling up all his determination, he groped blindly for his staff. Fighting to stave off his hyperventilation, he focused his magic into blocking the pain. And in the process, he began creating something utterly unheard of before in Middle Earth – a mental shield.

Shield...to protect...shield...to repel...Slowly, laboriously, he built it up, hurting all the while. Sadistic...terrible...Gandalf...could not be so cruel...who could...I will...I will find out who...

Severus cursed as a barrier appeared before his attack, stopping it short. Blast it all. And I was so close to liberating that particular flock. Extending his senses to find a chink in the shield, Severus had completely forgotten about the Rangers' intrusion – until his physical body began jolting about so much he was nearly flung back into it. Now what's going on? Sparing some of his magic to send a quick inquiry to his familiars, he reeled to find panicfearfeardarkonesflyfly in their minds.

Good heavens, can I not leave them alone for just one night? I can't extract myself now, it'd be infinitely harder to come back a second time and fight this wizard once he's aware and prepared to face me. Stay safe, little ones, I'll be back as soon as...wai...wha...

There was no time to dither around. Digging his spurs into his steed's flank, Rercyn raced alongside Eorel down the darkened path. The horses were clearly scared witless; Rercyn had to fight not to be thrown off with Raza. Around him, the Crebain flew, a strange, frenzied escort to their panicked flight.

And behind them, the hooves thundered, slowly narrowing the distance between the predators and their prey.

Saruman cursed viciously as he sensed the attacker lingering outside the shield he'd hastily erected in his mind. He knew that it was only a matter of time before his crude little protection was torn away – it was clear that this unknown assailant was well versed in this...mind magic? Thought magic? He didn't know what it was, but White Council head or no, he was definitely outclassed. Fortunately, he had other weapons at his disposal, and now that the crushing pain had diminished, he was quite prepared to adapt those weapons to this strange new battleground.

Taking a deep breath, Saruman began to use his Voice. And slowly, subtly, he spun its power into his thoughts and cast it out at the foolish attacker.

Do Not Attack Me. The new voice was calm and authoritarian. It was a voice one would listen to, one couldn't help but obey. Severus found himself slowly easing off his shoving at the barrier, even as his mind detachedly analyzed the voice. It brought to mind Albus at his most determined, Lucius at his most aristocratic, and...and the Dark Lord at his most charismatic.

Abruptly, Severus found himself awake and aware of what he was doing. Even as he felt the compulsion to withdraw his attack, another part of himself screamed at him to stop. Dammit, no! If even the Potter whelp can resist the Imperius curse...!

His consciousness, already halfway through retreating back to his physical body, jerked up short. Unfortunately, this caused his body, confused as it was by the mixed signals his consciousness was sending it, to jerk too.

There was barely any time to react. One moment, Rercyn and Eorel were riding neck-to-neck in their attempt to escape from whatever was chasing them. The next moment, Raza's body had somehow convulsed...and half-slid off the horse. Rercyn let out a surprised cry as he frantically tried to ride and pull Raza up simultaneously. In spite of his efforts, he was forced to slow his steed for a few precious, crucial seconds.

And in those seconds...the threat they'd been fleeing from rode close enough to come into view.

Struggling to heave Raza back onto the saddle, Rercyn froze at the chilling sight before him. Two dark forms, swathed in thick, funereal robes sat astride frothing, mad-eyed black horses. The plants on both sides of the road seemed to lean away from them as they charged along the path, terrible in their implacable determination. What Rercyn found most disturbing, however, was how they seemed somehow...blurred. He could swear that the end of their robes, streaming out in the wind, was melting into the darkness itself. It was unnatural. They were unnatural. They were Fear, and they were coming towards Rercyn, dark eyes glaring intently from under their hoods, coming closer, closer...

"Rercyn! Let's go!" Eorel's voice broke through the haze of terror that had woven around Rercyn. Frantic, he tried to escape again, but it was too late. Neighing in terror, his horse had backed off the road against a tree.

The riders had cornered him.

While in the service of the Dark Lord, Severus had been constantly subject to various curses and tortures, but they had never included the Imperius Curse, thanks to his well-crafted veneer of subservience to his master's will. Severus was bitterly regretting not having more experience with this particular curse now, as it might have helped him cope with the utter helplessness he was feeling upon having his very mind turn obedient to the loathsome voice.

Do Not Attack Me. Stay. Stay. Open Your Mind. Stay. Caught between his desire to obey and his instincts for survival, Severus wavered. But oh, the voice of the Crebain's old master was so very compelling, so much more powerful than any Imperius Curse. Slowly and painfully, his strong shields began to lower, even as he screamed at himself helplessly. No no don't do it don't can't can't stop!

Saruman poured more and more of his beguiling power into his mental Voice, marveling at the strange new warfare he was engaged in. After I defeat this opponent, he promised himself, I shall have to see if I can turn this talent to my advantage.

Now that the attack had let up, he had more leeway to explore his mind – and find out what the attacker had been after. Something has been destroyed...an ability? A memory? No, that doesn't seem to be the case. What...?

Saruman was unable to explore further, as he abruptly felt a ripping pain in his scalp. Swinging around, he barely managed to duck the sharp, gleaming claws that tried to gouge out his eyes. However, he couldn't avoid the strong beaks that left deep, bleeding scratches along his back. Throwing himself behind his desk, he watched as more and more Crebain swooped in through the open window and settled around him. One held a chunk of his long white hair in its claws; a few others snapped their bloody beaks at him.

Saruman swallowed hard, and briefly closed his eyes in reluctant admiration. He was not surprised to reach out for the Crebain bond and find a large part of it missing. Turning my weapons against me now? Very clever, my enemy. Very clever indeed.

Around him, the Crebain began to circle in a growing black storm of vengeance.

Severus could have cried with relief when the voice disappeared. He didn't know why it'd left when he was so close to surrendering, he didn't know when it'd come back, but there was one thing he was certain of – he had to finish this, now. Severus couldn't conserve his power so carefully any longer; for him to have any chance of succeeding, he would have to sacrifice his Slytherinesque caution and instinctive need for self-preservation.

Gathering up all his power, he slammed himself recklessly at the very root of the bond, and burned.

Rercyn began to shake as the dark forms closed in upon him. Vainly, he tried to pull out his sword, but his fear-stiffened fingers wouldn't obey him. He couldn't move, couldn't keep hold of Raza, couldn't stop his fear-crazed horse from finally bucking up and throwing him off.

Over the rushing noise in his ears, he dimly heard Eorel's screams grow louder, then slowly fade as well, and spared a brief thought of concern for his fellow Ranger. But all that was disappearing into the hazy recesses of his mind, as his sight slowly...faded...to gray...

The last thing he saw was a sudden, strange flare of light.

Fending off the enraged Crebain, Saruman screamed. Uncaring of how the filthy birds clawed and tore at him, he fell to the ground and curled up in a fetal position around his head. The agony from the mental assault mixed with the pain from the Crebain's attack, until he couldn't tell which was which any longer.

Fighting it all the way, he sank slowly into unconsciousness. He never knew the moment when the bonds broke and the pain finally disappeared. His last sight, however, of a wrathful Crebain with gleaming eyes and outstretched claws, would stay with him for all eternity.

The bone-deep fatigue Severus felt hardly detracted the sense of accomplishment he felt upon destroying the bond. His magical reserves were almost completely depleted, thanks to his foolish stunt, but at least he'd gotten the job done.

His triumph was short-lived, though, as he'd abruptly remembered the anxiousness of his familiars the last time he'd checked in upon them. In his desperation to not succumb to the voice, he'd forgotten that the Rangers seemed to be in trouble too. But surely, Severus thought as his consciousness travelled back to his physical body, it can't be anything as bad as what I'd just faced?

The moment he fully submerged himself back into his body, however, he could tell that something was terribly wrong. Even as he struggled to open his eyes, crippling fear wrapped around him like a sticky, clingy spider web. And when he finally looked up, to see a strange Dementor-like shape bending over him...he knew he'd plunged into a nightmare.

His last thoughts, before he succumbed to the exhaustion and terror, didn't bear repeating.