Tirion, the city of white towers and crystal stairways. The city was located on the hill of Tuna in Calacircya, the Pass of Light. The city was placed in such a way that not only the Elves could benefit from the Lights of the Trees now dead and observe the sea now covered with Darkness. But also, in the shadow of Tuna and the tall towers, they could enjoy the twinkling stars that illuminated the world beyond the Pelori Mountains of Valinor. The stars were now the only thing that gave the elves hope, but even they could not relieve the sense of dread that the people of Tirion felt when news of Sauron having destroyed the Silver Gates reached them. And according to the direction that the cloud of darkness took, he was marching toward them.

Far north of Tirion, in the city of Valimar, the fourteen Valar came to counsel the Mahanaxar, each one was present because the events which will follow will have to be chosen with prudence.

Manwë, Lord of the Wind and First King sat on his polished throne, clad in azure blue robes, the Sapphire Staff in his hand. Manwë's eyes were also like sapphires, but even brighter. He decided to start the session and spoke.

" It's been a long time since we all met together and I regret that it happened in such circumstances, but the situation is serious. As you all know Sauron has penetrated Aman, he is now heading towards Tirion and urgent measures must be taken to stop him . "

" How by Eru, did that Maia break down the Silver Gates!?" And how did he reach Aman to begin with!? Ulmo! Why didn't you stop him during his crossing!? » It was Tulkas the Strong who spoke, the most powerful of the Valar in strength but also the least patient of all, he was visibly upset with recent events.

In response Ulmo the Lord of the Sea only sighed softly.

" Believe me I tried Tulkas, but the cloud of darkness that accompanied it prevented me from finding him because it spread over places around . I couldn't feel his presence either, it was like he wasn't really there. In the end, I couldn't have stopped it without triggering a sufficiently large tidal wave that would have engulfed the shores of Middle-earth, possibly killing innocent souls in the process."

Tulkas was not convinced by the argument. "Well you should have. Look where we are now, he's heading straight for Tirion and about to destroy them all. Either way , there must be no souls living in Middle-earth any longer, apart from the filthy orcs. »

"Tulkas that's enough" It was his wife Nessa the Dancer who chided him " It's not Ulmo's fault that Sauron is here"

"Nessa is right" this time it was Varda the Lady of the Stars who spoke, the wife of Manwë "Ulmo could have done nothing to stop her, it is not for nothing that Sauron succeeded where Melkor failed, he is clever, and he surely learned from his failure in Numenor. It wouldn't fall with another tidal wave. »

Lorien the Master of Dreams or Irmo intervened " But how could he find Aman? Illuvatar itself has made us inaccessible to undeserving souls. How did he find the access road? »

Manwë spoke "For this I think I have a theory, but I find it hard to believe myself " All the Valar turned to him to listen to his explanation. " When Sauron was victorious against the last alliance of men and elves we allowed the surviving elves access so that they could escape but...we never closed the passage in case the elves remaining find a way to join us. »Everyone looked at him without understanding where he was coming from.

" Yes but the passage was opened only for the elves, Sauron could not have passed through" Oromë, the tamer of beasts expressed his incomprehension.

" What if he could? »Manwë continued receiving confused looks "When Sauron appeared in front of the Silver Gates, he possessed the appearance of an elf" He raised his hand and the image of a dark haired elf appeared in front of them . "What if... what if Sauron had taken possession of an elf to use the access passage?" The whole room fell silent, even Tulkas was speechless.

" You know for a fact that's impossible" Vairë the Weaver disagreed " In all the history of Eä, through all the ages, no elves have ever been possessed by darkness. There have been elves corrupted by their desires and their greed yes. Fëanor being a good example . But never Melkor or his servants could do so . One can only possess a body by corrupting its fëa, which is not possible with that of the elves. Their fëa is incorruptible. » She was the Vala who wove the events recounted in the world, but her webs have been darkened in recent millennia by Sauron hiding her vision.

" And yet I find no other explanation" Manwë replied.

Mandos the Guardian of the Dead or more commonly known as Namo spoke grimly " If Sauron did indeed succeed in corrupting an elf's fëa..."

Everyone turned to him looking at him sadly. He was the Vala in charge of receiving the fëas of fallen elves in Middle-earth and helping them to recover their health either physically or mentally. He was therefore the one who knows best what the elves killed by the Maia felt and what he saw there did not please him at all. " Then it could be that he hasn't revealed the full extent of his power to us. Only a Vala-powered being could accomplish such a feat, and yet... as Vairë said, even Melkor failed to do so. »

Everyone looked at each other with concern before Yavanna got up. " If that's the case, we mustn't skimp on the means to bring him down.Let's send our best Maiar to intercept him and take him prisoner. He may be strong, but I can't see him fighting them all, especially with Ëonwë at their head. Where is he anyway? Shouldn't he attend this meeting too? » She turned to Manwë.

He only sighed. " I'm afraid that Ëonwë can't help us anymore... " All except Varda looked at him in bewilderment, Manwë continued " When Sauron landed on the shores of Aman, Ëonwë came to ask me for help. face alone. In my stupidity I underestimated Sauron and accepted his request, believing that the damage would be less if he was stopped quickly. When I realized my mistake it was too late. »

" You mean..." Estë didn't finish her sentence, afraid of the answer.

" Alas yes. My bound with him was broken, it certainly mean that Ëonwe is dead. His unrecoverable fëa as the black cloud covered his body before he could reach the Halls of Mandos, locking him inside. »

Once again, silence reigned in the Mahanaxar.

" What could he possibly have done to become so strong as to kill Ëonwë? » Oromë after saying that stood up with a look of anger and determination. " We no longer have a choice, I will go with my best Maiar to meet him. Those who want to join me, up to you. But I will not let him destroy Tirion or any other cities of Aman. We should have dealt with him millennia ago and look where we are, fearing a maia whose primary task was never war, we were stupid"And after he finished speaking, he left the room. council hall to find his hunters.

The Valar looked at each other in concern before continuing to discuss actions to be taken.

The hunt had begun.

And on his seat, Aulë who had not uttered a word, was immersed in his thoughts thinking only of one person. 'Mairon…'

Far south of Valimar, a few days on horseback from Tirion, the Dark Lord walked across a meadow, heading north towards his chosen target and gazing at the landscape.

' The Valar have outdone themselves. Almaren had nothing to do with Aman.'

He passed a shimmering lake that stretched for several hundred yards. He approached it and saw himself in the reflection of the water.

Ëonwë's words came back to him ' Look at you Mairon! Look what you have become! You have become the shadow of the Dark Enemy!'

Her words pierced him. Had he become Morgoth? Had he unknowingly become worse than his former master?

He had joined at the time more by whim than by desire to follow the objectives of the Vala. A world of orcs? Goblins? Trolls? Just the idea repelled him. Morgoth is the cause of all this, all this destruction, this death, this suffering. He is the cause of evil.

But the most disturbing thing had been the mention of his real name which had shaken him more than ever. He had almost forgotten that Sauron was only a false name given by his enemies.

Mairon.

The name sounded weird; like it was someone else's name. It was ironic, of all the names given to him through the ages such as Gorthor the Cruel, Annatar the Master of Gifts, the Necromancer or Sauron the Great Deceiver, it was his real name that bothered him.
And thinking back to the events that unfolded after the defeat of the Last Alliance, he thought with regret that he was, in a sense, no longer truly different from Morgoth.

After all… his master's powers are his now, he possesses the power of Melkor, once one of the mightiest of the Ainur. And he will use this power to bring peace to Arda, he will succeed where Eru Illuvatar failed.

Him Sauron, the Lord of the Rings, will win the last great war of the Ainurs. What if he should fail? So he'll make sure it's the most memorable defeat of all.

OK

-I tried to make all the Valar speak but alas there are too many, at the Council of the Valars we had present: Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna, Aulë, Vana, Oromë, Nessa, Tulkas, Estë, Irmo, Namo, Vairë and Nienna

- Ëonwë is not 'dead', his Hroar (his body) has been destroyed and his fëa (his soul) is trapped in Sauron's cloud of shadow which spreads behind him in all Aman.

-Aman is the name of the continent of the Immortal Lands and Endor the Middle-earth

-Open to ideas and criticism