Prologue
A woman's voice speaks in another language.
"The world has changed, for over 10,000 years." The narrator translates the words into English as the woman speaks the same language again.
"In the land of Mordor, where the shadows once lie, it was said that the race of Men made a final stand against the remaining armies of the Dark Lord Sauron in an attempt to give an unlikely hero the chance to destroy the very evil in the fires of Mount Doom that would determine the fate of all of Middle Earth forever."
Inside of a pool of lava, a small golden ring falls into the molten rock.
"And then - after decades of war - darkness gave way to light."
In the east, a tall black towered fortress, touching the clouds - where an eye at the top lit in flame - screeches in agony, echoing its dying scream across Mordor and the Black Gate that borders between the dark land and Gondor.
"Death came. Death to Sauron. Which spelled the end to his reign of terror."
The black tower of Barad-dur begins to collapse. Until there was nothing left.
As the eye of Sauron explodes in the process, resulting a huge shockwave that covered all of Mordor. It was so huge that it destroyed the Black Gate in a cataclysmic event, along with the final eruption of Mount Doom.
"The War for the Ring had finally come to an end. And with the return of the days of the king, begins a fourth age for the free people of Middle Earth. The peace should have lasted."
Inside of a forest, a campfire illuminates the night.
A young man with brown hair was sleeping next to the campfire. Meanwhile, a woman was writing in her journal.
She is beautiful young woman with a gorgeous face and blue eyes. She has long blonde hair with incredibly good looks. Well, strawberry blonde hair, to be more accurate. Making it almost orange-like. Breast size: D-cup.
The girl continues retelling the story of her past life from her journal.
"Today, my bloodline - our bloodline - has been hunted down in these last few winters. We've lost just about everyone. There's only a few of us left." The young woman continues writing. "We thought our birthplace in Rivendell would hide us when word came to our family. We were wrong. Davenas and I are all that's left of our family."
The girl stops writing for a moment as she hears loud snoring, and looks at her sleeping twin.
She gave a sad sigh, shedding a single tear.
"It's all my fault." The young half breed laments quietly. "Had I not went beyond the border..."
Suddenly, loud screeching startles her.
Her eyes widened in shock and horror as she looks beyond the forest.
"No. No, no. Not again!" The young woman exclaimed, loudly.
This caused her twin to wake up from his slumber.
"Magalyn?" He stirs in his sleep, opening his brown eyes. "Is something the matter?"
"Brother... They found us." She answers, grabbing her gear.
The screeches are heard once more, only closer this time.
"Damn it." Her brother curses. "I thought we lost them in the Northern Waste. How the hell did they find us?"
"I'm not sure. But I believe this is our last stand." Magalyn told him, readying her sword.
"No!" He snaps, getting up from his sleeping bag, and begins to gear up. "Our parents told us that we live to fight another day. And we'll continue to do so until we're ready."
She grits her teeth in annoyance, before sheathing her blade. The girl then was about to pack up her sleeping bag, but was stopped.
"Leave it!" The boy orders. "There's no time to pack everything up! We need to leave now!"
"But Davenas-!" She begins to argue. Her brother had enough and slapped his sister across the face.
"YOU'RE MORE IMPORTANT!" Davenas yells at her to get back to her senses. "Stop arguing with me and for once in your life, listen to what I tell you to do!"
Magalyn was shocked that her brother did that, as she holds her red cheek.
He then picks up a lantern his sister's been using before throwing it at a nearby pine tree, lighting it on fire.
"That should slow them down till we're out of their line of sight." He mutters as he walks away.
"By bloody setting the forest on fire?!" Magalyn exclaims in disbelief.
"Would you rather be slaughtered like an animal?" He retorts. "Wraiths are afraid of fire. It won't kill them, but they're not immune to agonizing pain. Now hurry!"
The beautiful blonde nods, as she begins to follow her brother.
Carrying what little they have, the twins continue to run on foot non stop.
"Davenas... I can't keep going." Magalyn pants as she feels her legs getting tired of running.
"Don't stop now, Magalyn!" Davenas shouts, still running. "We're just about out of the forest!"
The strawberry blonde woman nods as she continues to run the best she can.
The twins heard screeching from the distance.
Looking up in the night sky, five green mists fly above the fleeing teens.
"Is that..." The sister begins to question.
"Some of them must've avoided getting cooked alive back there." The brother quickly answers. "They're gonna try and cut us off."
"Oh no!" She panics. "We'll be cornered!"
"Guess we have no other choice but to fight our way through them." He grits his teeth. "If these new Nazgul want a fight, we'll give them one."
"But why us?" Magalyn questions. "For three years, they've been tracking us all the way from Middle Earth! We don't even have answers as to how they're back and where exactly are we outside of the land we're native from!"
"Because they're not the Ringwraiths of old, Magalyn." Davenas explains. "In the Battle of Minas Tirith, there was hardly any of the Witch King of Angmar's soul left in him when he was slain. As for the other members under his former command, they're still in the afterlife. PAnd if that's true, then who are these new mindless slaves? Sauron is dead, trapped in the Void for all eternity. The only thing that keeps wraiths from going unchecked would be the One Ring, which has been destroyed in the past ten millennium."
"Is it possible that a new ring had been forged?"
"We don't know that. And in this current age, there are other ways to control the dead than simply magic rings." He explains. "Whoever is behind these new Nine, they seem to be pretty obsessed with our line. I believe the masterminds have been holding a grudge for some time. Perhaps, even longer."
"You've been suspecting this for three whole years? Without bothering to tell me?" She further questions, anger building up.
"We can talk about this later." The boy says as he stops running. "They've kept us waiting long enough."
"What?" She questions in confusion, stopping to catch her breath before looking up at where her brother's eyes gaze at.
The wraiths were able to catch up to them. Three of the nine are blocking their way, covering each angle.
Suddenly, two appear from behind, keeping the twins from turning back.
"Shit! We're surrounded!" Magalyn curses, her heart beginning to race.
"You cannot escape us, heirs of Elessar." A Nazgul, wearing a faceless mask beneath his hood, says. "There is nowhere left for you to run.It is time for you to die."
"Tell us one thing." Davenas begins to ask. "Who is your master? Sauron's spirit is forever banished to the Void."
Silence was the response they were given.
"Well?" He questions again.
"You will die like your family." The wraith answers, ignoring the boy's question. "However... you will never see them again."
"What?!" The sister gasps.
"Now, prepare to be banished from death." The Nazgul continues, pulling out a black short sword.
The twins eyes widened in fear.
"A Morgul Blade." Davenas mutters.
The wraith raises its arm, preparing to strike.
Suddenly, something flew straight into its chest.
It was dark red, spherical, and adorns four black stars. Veins begin to spread over the wraith's body. And with a loud screech, it emits a black-red, wavy aura.
The two half breeds were speechless.
It then went limp for a moment, before raising back up.
The other four wraiths draw their swords and pointed at their brother.
"Do not fear, my brothers." It assures them in a foreign tongue. "I've been bestowed the power to achieve our victory."
"Brother, what is he saying?" The girl asks her brother, who recognizes the forgotten language of Mordor.
"He's saying that he was given the power to defeat us." Davenas translated to his sister. "Wait, let me rephrase that. My Black Speech isn't entirely accurate. He says he's been given the power to destroy us."
"What kind of power?"
"I don't know." He admits. "But I believe that thing in his chest might be the source to his power."
"So if we get rid of the source of his power, then we may have a chance?"
"We still don't stand a chance against these wraiths. And this particular one just got a major power strengthening."
"I'll deal with the boy myself." The lead Nazgul announced to his wraith brethren. "Do what you will with the girl, but leave her alive. Alive enough to watch as I pierce my blade into her brother's heart."
"Yes, brother."
"What did they say?"
"You don't wanna know."
The powered up Nazgul then throws down the Morgul Blade and pulls out his longsword before walking towards Davenas and raises his blade high to strike him down.
"Brother, look out!" Magalyn exclaims.
Davenas quickly pulls his own sword out and perfectly blocks it, gripping the hilt tightly with his two hands.
Their blades are now locked in a stalemate.
"Magalyn, go!" Her brother orders, struggling to hold the wraith back. "Get out of here!"
"I won't leave you, Davenas!" She argues.
Her brother briefly glares at his stubborn sister. This was not just an order. It was a plead.
"I'll do what I can to buy you some time." She sighs. "Just try to stay in one piece and don't become one of them, for my sake?" The girl then sprints to the north, and the other four wraiths follow her in persue.
"Anduril, the Flame of the West." The wraith leader comments as their blades continue to lock together. "Forged from the shards of Narsil. I will look forward to wielding it myself once you meet your end."
"I like to see you try, slave." Davenas spats before the two engage in a swordfight.
Meanwhile, Magalyn is currently running through the forest, attempting to buy her older twin time by luring the other Nazgul away, giving Davenas the opportunity to take away his opponent's source of newfound power.
She suddenly stops in her tracks, reaching a dead end as her boot clad feet are near the ledge of a cliff with a huge waterfall on her right. The girl turns around and sees her four persuers in the night sky land on their feet without injury. And four more wraiths then land side by side with their brothers. These must be the ones that got set ablaze by the forest fire her brother started earlier.
"I hope I know what I'm doing." She whispers to herself, as she pulls out her sword.
"Wielder of Glamdring!" One of the eight wraiths shouts. "To think the White Wizard himself has offered you one of the finest Elven blades used in the First Age."
"If you're trying to flatter me, it'll get you nowhere." She smirks, having a trick up her sleeve. "This war is not over, but you have lost this fight before it has even began."
Raising her left hand high in the air, a bright and intense light emits from a phial. All eight of her enemies screech in agony at the light.
"Perfect." Magalyn declares."You just fell for the oldest trick in the book. Say hello to the Phial of Galadriel."
"The Light of Earendil!!!" The wraiths screeched in agonizing pain.
"Oh, quit your whining!" She mockingly assures. "It won't kill you. But that doesn't mean you will forget this pain from yours truly!"
"Curse you, She-Elf!" Another wraith exclaims in pain. "Defiler!"
"THIS IS FOR MY FAMILY!" The young woman declares. "Go back to the shadows from whence you came! BEGONE!"
The light shines brighter, forcing the screaming wraiths to retreat.
"You may have stopped us! But you cannot hope that your brother will survive the onslaught of our own as well!" A third declares. "And we will see to that he will have his corpse."
The female half elf gasped, forgetting what is was supposed to be doing.
"Oh no, what have I done?!" Magalyn realized too late.
The fight between Davenas and the enhanced Nazgul continues.
Parrying each blow, it has become a stalemate. But it's still not enough for the male half breed to best his foe in combat.
"Enough!" The wraith exclaims, annoyed. He swings his blade at the boy's, and spins it around enough for Davenas to lose his grip on Anduril, knocking the sword out of his hand. "This foolishness ends now, boy."
"Then what are you waiting for, wraith?" Davenas spreads his arms out, already on one knee. "If you believe it'll satisfy you, then you should know that silencing me won't change anything. My twin is twice the human you and your fellow brothers once were, who now serve under a master you've yet to utter his name to either of us."
The Nazgul remains silent as he sheaths his longsword, and picks up his Morgul Blade. He then grabs him by the throat, choking the boy, and prepares to impale him with it.
Suddenly, above the two, something appears out of thin air as a foreign sound is heard.
The wraith looks up and sees a mysterious figure.
He had a hooded black cloak, as well as a brown masked undershirt to hide his mouth. He also wears a black belt and black boots tipped with dark gray at the front and the heel. Beneath the hood, the only facial features he possesses are black eyes.
The wraith releases his grip around Davenas's throat, freeing him as the boy coughs for breathable air, and sees the hooded figure disappears and reappears close to his face, catching him off guard. The Nazgul attempts to stab this new enemy with his black blade, but the figure catches his wrist before crushing it and pushes the wraith high in the sky. The hooded figure then reappears above the wraith with his hand close to the dark red orb in his chest, and a blueish glow emits from the former's right hand.
"Hmph." The hooded figure utters before somehow pulling the orb out, sending the Nazgul crashing back down to the ground that resulted in a huge crater. The orb floats in the air and the figure grabs it before tucking it away in his cloak.
Soon, the other eight of the Nazgul arrived in time to see their leader somehow defeated, lying the crater, unconscious. They then look up to see that it was the mystery man who bested him with ease, and is now in possession of the strange orb that granted their brother more power than they were given by their master.
Magalyn was able to catch up as well, seeing the mysterious figure holding the red orb.
As he puts the orb away inside his hooded cloak, this infuriated the Nazgul.
"That orb... It belongs to our brother."
The hooded figure simply flipped his finger up towards them.
Unfortunately, they have no idea why his middle finger is up.
"Hey, brother." The strawberry blonde sister ask her brother, walking up to him. "Why is his middle finger up like that?"
"Not sure, honestly." He shakes his head before realizing his sister still here. "Wait, why are you still here? I told you to go and save yourself."
"Now's not the time for that!" She told her brother, helping him stand up. Magalyn then recovers her brother's sword and returns it to him.
Meanwhile, one of the wraiths flies towards the new enemy and starts to slash at him, who then easily evades each strike casually. Then another one takes his chance to swing his sword. However, the figure emits a white aura around his fist and punches the other wraith's faceplate, who attempted to attack him from behind.
The faceplate then cracks and breaks into pieces.
"I-Impossible!"
Seeing an opening, the figure squats into a stance and spreads each hand out at the two and a shockwave knocks them away.
The two twin siblings were impressed from the mysterious figure helping them now.
The figure then turns around and looks down at the Nazgul, unimpressed. Even if they're not the original Nine, they still pale in comparison to what he's capable of. He then sticks out his left index finger, and taunts them to come get him.
"Brothers, perhaps he wants us to face him all at once?" One of the wraiths suggested.
Their leader stands back up, feeling a bit dazed.
"Perhaps we shall." He answers, pulling out his long sword. "We shall overwhelm him with our numbers. Surround him."
The wraiths charge towards him, who still hovers in the air.
Unexpectedly, the hooded figure emits a white aura and speeds away moving at hypersonic speeds.
Magalyn's jaw dropped, surprised. She has never seen anyone in all of Middle Earth do that before. And the worst part, this man (or woman) just straight up left with the strange orb in his possession. What if they use the object for a nefarious purpose.
"After him!" The leading wraith orders.
They all obeyed and turned their bodies into a mist before following the thief.
At the same time, the twins have already slipped away.
"Quickly!" Magalyn says carrying her brother by the shoulder. "I don't think it'll be long before the one you were fighting alone realizes we just disappeared!"
"And where are you taking us, Magalyn?" He questions. "It's not like we can magically find a water fall to jump in and make the Nazgul lose our trail!"
"That's exactly it." She grins. "Wraiths don't like water either, so he and the others won't be able to follow us."
"Me and I big mouth." Davenas groans to himself, having a bad feeling.
Suddenly, the two notice the Nazgul leader flying towards the teens as a green mist with only his head showing in the front.
"Uh oh. We best hurry." The sister says, picking up the pace till they reach the edge of the cliff. "Alright brother, in you go."
"No, no, no, hang on a MINUUUUTE!!!" Her brother shouts at the last word as the girl tosses him off the cliff, down into the largest waterfall.
Magalyn turns around at the wraith who has his sword drawn and is charging towards her. She simply smirks cockily and spreads her arms out before falling back as the wraith's blade missed by an inch.
She turns her body, and performs a diving position before splashing into the water below the cliffside.
Magalyn swam back to the surface, exhaling.
"Ha!" She exclaimed, victoriously, at the leader. Taking a page from the mysterious figure, she gave him the same expression with the finger. "I have no idea what this means, but that new person did it to you! Good luck finding us again, Nazgul scum."
"Magalyn, let's get the hell out of here!" Davenas calls out to her.
"Right." She nods at the boy in the distance, following him.
Meanwhile...
Unbeknownst to the twins, a lone figure watches them, hovering above.
"So the two half breeds survived?" He says in distaste, but is unfazed. "No matter, nothing has changed. However..."
The man sports a black tunic and a black undershirt, tied around with a blank belt. He wears black gi pants and maroon shin guards with white outlines, along with a pair of black boots with yellow tips for the foot and heel. He also wears vambraces with a similar color to his shin guards around his boots, and wears a single black glove on his right hand. His most noticable features is his spiky jet black hair that resembles a palm tree and a slightly darker peach skin tone. Lastly, he wears a strange, white mask with red cracks, and has a single visible eye that glows a pinkish red.
"And that other mortal is like a guest that nobody has ever invited and he interfered. What's worse, he stole one of the Dark Dragon Balls I've found and decided to use on those wraiths." The man told himself. "Without them, I cannot grant the wish I desire. It seems I will be continuing in using HIS help to achieve my own ends. And that interfering mortal from earlier will not alter my plans."
He looks to his right to see the sun rising as he spreads his arms out, closing his eyes beneath his mask to feel the warm sunlight.
"It won't long now before I eliminate all of mortal kind. Soon, all of existence will. Be. Mine." The masked man vanishes without a trace as the sun continues to rise from the east.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Elessar