Aragorn nearly cowered in despair, as did anyone else who saw the sight. It was the end, for all of Middle-earth. Morgoth was rising, rising...

Then nothing.

There was nothing after that moment. In the blink of an eye, Middle-earth disappeared, replaced by a silent, still sea. So few knew of how it happened, just that it was there one moment, and in the next it had disappeared, along with every being and creature in it. But it was the evils Sauron had brought upon this land that caused its destruction. The combined evil of Sauron and Morgoth was too much, and so the land destroyed itself so that the rest of Arda would be safe.

And so it came to pass that Middle-earth was no more, and although Sauron and Morgoth were defeated, many great warriors had fell with them. It came with the end of Aragorn son of Arathorn, Legolas Greenleaf, Gimli son of Glóin, Gandalf the White, Frodo, Sam Merry and Pippin of the Shire, Éomer and Éowyn of Rohan, Arwen daughter of Elrond, Celeborn Lord of Lóthlorien, Glorfindel of Rivendell, and Haldir marchwarden of Lóthlorien.

*****

Far across the sea, in the land of Valinor itself, a great host gathered on one of the country's ports. They were all elves, who lived there, and they held lamps in silent weeping.

At the front of the host were two elves standing out from the rest. A male and a female; they were Elrond and Galadriel, great elven rulers of Middle-earth. They had been affected by the loss most, for they lost all their kindred. But there was another beside them, and he fell on his knees in great sorrow.

Bilbo Baggins wept at the loss of Middle-earth. It meant a lot to him. It was the loss of the Shire, the land he knew and loved, and the loss of Frodo, his last relation. As his thoughts diverted towards his adopted nephew the sorrow increased, and he wept even more.

And throughout the night songs rang out in that ancient land, lamenting the loss of Middle-earth.

After a while night fell, and the stars and moon shone on their sad faces. But the gleam suddenly left the host. Looking up, they saw a black streak in the sky passing over them. They feared it for a reason they didn't understand, and knew it was evil. It passed over them, flying away into the distance, and the star's gleam returned to their faces. But that was soon replaced by a greater gleam that blinded them. Another streak flew up ahead, and it shone with a brilliant white light. It made them all forget about the black streak that came before it. It soon passed over them in the direction of the black streak, as if it was chasing it. They returned to their weeping, but some of the sorrleft.

There was still hope.

Well, the end. The ride is over. It is the end of my tale. But don't worry! I am planning on writing more LoTR stories, and if they're sequels, they will be separate story lines from this one. I also may write another sequel to this one, The Essence of Morgoth (as you probably guessed) but it's very unlikely. So keep an eye out for any other stories I write, and if it's a category you like, please read and review.

Now, on to the competition. I love all the reviews I'm getting, and I thank all of you who gave them. But there were two people who gave awesome reviews, and it was hard to decide the best ones, so there have been two winners!

Now, the winners are...(really, really long drum-roll) daisymall13 and TharanduilsHeartAndSoul!

Congratulations you two! I look forward to writing and, um, working with you (I guess) in my next story!

And now, goodbye, mellyrn nin. May the stars watch over you all.

ServantofSauron