An elf opened his eyes lying on his bed, he looked around but couldn't make out any changes in his surroundings, except that all seemed darker than normal. He stood slowly and stared out the window in the direction of the city. All seemed normal, the citizens of the city walked laughing, discussing everything and nothing, the merchants already open to offer their products. And far beyond the walls of Ost-in-Edhil he could make out the Mountains and Kazad-Dum.
'Wait what? Kazad-Dum? Ost-in-Edhil? It's impossible !'. Suddenly the city horns sounded signaling an attack. His vision changed completely as the city went from calm to chaos and destruction, he heard the cries of his people calling for help as legions of orcs entered the city.
The elf heard a noise behind him, he drew his sword turning around ready to strike but found nothing there. He heard a voice call him, he recognized it directly. "Enelaya? It's you ? Having no answer, he ran out of his room and down the familiar hallways, past the statues of his ancestors. He arrived in the throne room and what he saw made his blood run cold.
A man in a white tunic with long blond hair sat on his throne covered in blood. His wife and daughter lying on the ground, the man was staring at something in his hand without paying attention to him. The shocked elf knelt beside his wife and inert daughter.
" Only you are capable of such art" The man spoke suddenly turning his head slowly towards him.
"Celebrimbor " the echo echoed in his head as he stared at him with his fiery eyes.
Celebrimbor could only fix those eyes before his whole world ignited. He fell into a bottomless pit screaming. A fiery eye appeared in the shadows and he thought he was burning. The last thing he heard was the laughter of the man he had spent many hours with and who had destroyed his entire world. The Great Imposter.
Celebrimbor woke up screaming. He got up and got out of bed, panicked. He immediately woke up his wife, who went to calm him down.
"Calm down" She said hugging him "It was just a dream"
After a few moments, Celebrimbor calmed down and looked at her sweaty "I'm sorry you have to go through this"
She shook her head "Don't talk nonsense, let's go back to bed" she smiled at him and he found the strength to smile too.
He had many nightmares, since Sauron had accosted Aman, but never so violent. He lay back in his bed
Looking up at the Moon he could only recall the events that transpired in the Second Age as Sauron tricked him into making the Rings of Power. He was so proud of them at the time, magic rings capable of providing their wearers with various and varied powers. Given to the greatest lords and kings to enable them to protect their kingdoms from evil.
But he was naive, the Dark Lord himself had disguised himself to deceive him. The real purpose of the rings was to control the spirits that wore them so that they would submit to the One Ring, the ring that Sauron had made to bind the rings to his own.
He had to admit that this plan was genius. Conquer Middle-earth without a single battle, just by imposing your will. When he found out it was too late to stop him, he could just give the three elf rings uncorrupted by Sauron and give them to trusted elves. He waged the War of the Jewels against Sauron which he ended up losing. Sauron killed his family and destroyed his kingdom. He took everything from him and because of his stupidity, he conquered Middle-earth.
His actions were unsuccessful, eventually Sauron regaining two of the elven rings, the third having been sent to Aman by Galadriel who remained to protect his people.
The shame he felt was second to none. Luckily his wife and daughter were there to support him or he would have already asked the Valar to punish him.
He ended up going back to sleep hoping he would never have to go through that again.
" Aulë what's going on? Why all this fuss? " Manwë arrived to see Aulë giving orders to his Maiar. He turned to him with an alarmed look.
" I thought you'd be the first to know " He didn't stop to talk to him as he continued running around.
Manwë hastily followed him " Aware of what?" For the love of Eru will you tell me what's going on ? »
" The cloud is heading towards my domain as we speak. It will be there in about four weeks. I must hurry to go there. »
" He's going to attack your domain?" No waits for Aulë" He grabbed his shoulder. " Think for two seconds before you do anything. How will he attack your domain? The cloud alone cannot penetrate your halls and Sauron is in Tirion. I especially have the impression that he wants to divide us. He wants to shoot us down one after the other, he's bluffing. »
Aulë stopped suddenly and looked at him harshly " And you Manwë when are you going to wake up?" the harsh tone made the Vala recoil.
" Wasn't Eönwë's death a good example of what Mairon is capable of?! The fact that he managed to penetrate Aman or that he broke down the Silver Gates doesn't alarm you?! How long do you intend to underestimate him? Until one of us is killed?! Mairon has been planning this war for three thousand years, maybe even longer. He had plenty of time to prepare while we rested thinking he would never dare come here." He calmed down and resumed more calmly
" I don't know what Mairon has planned but I intend to find out before it is not too late. »
He started to walk away but Manwë asked a question that Aulë did not want to answer.
" Why do you keep calling him Mairon? He betrayed all his fellows and killed hundreds of thousands of lives. He hasn't deserved that name for a long time."
Aulë took some time to answer thinking about his answer " Because Melkor perhaps deserves it?" And without waiting for an answer he left.
Sauron stared silently at the ever-present magical barrier. It was not weakening, three days of constant attacks but the barrier was holding up. He was impressed he had to admit. But their luck ended today.
" We are ready my lord " Behind the Maia were eighteen figures, all kneeling.
Sauron turned to them, " You will enter the city and kill the guardian Maiar. Be discreet and only kill if necessary, we don't want a body to be found and the alarm to go off. As soon as a breach appears, chaos will follow. At that moment, go wild and destroy everyone in your path. »
" At your command, lord." They all got up and left to accomplish their mission. Leaving the Maia alone again in the fog.
" Let's see how long they can last this time" Just because they're at war doesn't mean he can't have a little fun anymore. He's been waiting for this moment for thousand of years, he wants to make the most of it while it's still possible.
Aerir watched the weary elves passing by.
Most of the soldiers had nightmares, many suspected the dark cloud was manipulating their dreams. Stupid belief if you wanted his opinion, they were having nightmares because they were terrified. And they were right to be afraid.
"It's sad" said Esstel suddenly. She and he were assigned partners four years ago. She was feisty and he was reserved according to the others. But in her words, he was boring to death.
"You'll have to be more specific" He answered in a monotonous tone. He was the best at hiding his feelings.
Esstel looked up at the sky hidden by the dome and the black cloud crackling with yellow lightning
"From what I understand, Tirion was beaten so that we could see the Trees, the sea and the stars" He said nothing trying to see where she was coming from "The Trees are dead, the sea stained by the black cloud that we saw in the distance, and now we can't even see the stars"
"We'll see them again don't worry" He was trying to be positive but it didn't seem to work
" You think ? How?" She asked.
"Waiting cloistered like rats for Sauron to falter? What are the Valar doing? What does the king do? I hear that the barrier can hold out for a month before giving way, I hear that if we die in this cloud, our fëa will be a prisoner, I hear a lot of things but I don't hear anything about the plan that will make us win. »
" Reassure yourself young elf" The two turned to see a blue-robed Maia, the same one who sounded the alarm with her partner. "Lords Oromë and Finwë do not remain inactive"
They bowed directly and Esstel apologized "Pardon my words lord! I didn't mean them! »
Pallando raised his hand to signal her to calm down. " Get up.You do not have to worry. If we were to punish all the doubting elves by being in this position, we would quickly run out of soldiers." He laughed a little. " What are you two names?" »
"I am Aerir my lord, and this is Esstel. We've been a partner for four years and three months now."
" Where are you from?"He asked conversationally. Surely he wanted to pass the time, like many.
Aerir replied "I am from Valimar my lord, my parents were blacksmiths. I came to settle here fifty four years ago now. »
He nodded and turned to Esstel " And you? " I can't guess where you come from, your features are not common to me "
"It's because I'm a dark elf my lord" She answered without much enthusiasm "In my first years I lived in Lothlorien under the protection of Lady Galadriel. After the defeat of the Last Alliance my parents sent me here on one of the last ships from the Gray Havens."
" Are you a survivor? How old are you ?»
"Three thousand fourteen years my lord"
"I see." Calm returned and the three stared at the barrier again.
A black robed figure wearing a hood obscuring his face walked along the barrier. He took his sword in one hand and ran along the point against the shield to test it. As he expected, the sword couldn't pierce the protection spell. He stopped and rested his gloved hand against the dome.
Dark green energy began to appear and burn through the magical barrier which opened a gap allowing him to enter. The green energy disappeared and the barrier immediately closed. The hooded figure wasted no time and headed silently towards the walls, walking in the shadows. He made sure to stay out of sight of the sentries.
On the wall two of the guards did their assigned routines along the ramparts.
"It's all getting monotonous, if it continues I'll end up getting used to it"
His partner looked at him like he was crazy "You're going to get used to this eventually?" he gestured at all the surroundings around him
The first laughs bitterly "Well, we have a month to live in this so I guess I'll get used to it eventually yes"
"If there's one thing I don't want to get used to, it's being locked up in your own town while the Dark Lord tries to eat us alive."
They heard a noise coming from beyond the wall
"Did you hear? " He asked as he leaned close to the wall to stare at the chasm below.
"I don't know" He also leaned down to observe "It must have just been a rock that fell off the wall, hehe" He laughed nervously. "Actually you're right, I don't want to get used to it either, if it's to be paranoid every day" He turned to look at his partner but what he saw left him speechless.
His partner was held above the ground being strangled by a black-robed being. His teammate looked at him and barely managed to speak "r.. run" And the next second his neck was snapped by the dark being's gloved hand, the being let go of him and he fell to the ground staring blankly.
Seized with terror, he began to run away from this thing. Not to sound the alarm and report an intruder but to survive, that instinct that forces you to stay alive no matter the consequences. Elves are not immune to it contrary to popular belief.
He walked ten meters before the being appeared in front of him like a ghost and plunged his sword into his chest. He looked at him in shock but to his horror he couldn't make out any faces, only nothingness was under that hood. And it was with this vision that he died falling to the ground, blood spilling.
Oromë was currently at the top of Mindon Eldaliova, the largest tower in Tirion, at its top was a silver lamp which alone lit the city, the sun no longer being able to accomplish this task. And in the courtyard of the tower was Galathilion, the sacred White Tree of the Eldar. He stood on the large balcony and looked up at the cloud. He took his magic bow and cocked a white arrow. He drew the bow and aimed at the cloud, he whispered a few words and the arrow began to glow.
He fired, the arrow whistling like the wind. She passed through the barrier and disappeared into the cloud. Nothing happened. Then a great boom was heard in the cloud and a blinding light destroyed all the darkness that was there.
When the light disappeared there was a huge hole in the cloud but apparently not big enough to reach the light from the sky, the cloud started to reconstruct the hole and soon all the damage done by the arrow disappeared.
"As long as Sauron is standing the cloud will not disappear" Finwë appeared from behind him having observed the whole scene.
" Apparently" Oromë nodded. " But I think I could create a retreat if the situation calls for it. »
"Hoping the cloud hasn't continued its advance, if it has continued to devour the lands beyond Tirion, it will be difficult for my people to reach Valimar. »
"I think if I put a lot of my power into it, I could destroy the cloud but...I dare not. I will be weakened and I'm afraid that Sauron will take the opportunity to attack me. I will only be able to destroy the cloud when last resort . »
Finwë nodded "Then it will be a last resort" He looked towards the doors where Sauron was seen. "What do you think he will do next?"
Oromë frowned "I wonder too, I don't find any logic in his actions, I thought he would have tried to break the barrier himself but he doesn't try anything. It's frankly annoying not knowing his plans. "
Finwë put a hand on his chin "I wonder, how did he join Aman? Only the elves had the right of access"
" According to Manwë's theory and I say theory, Sauron would have succeeded in corrupting the fëa of an elf and possessing her to enter here, but it's hard to believe, the fëa of the elves could never be corrupt. »
"It is indeed a serious assumption. A worried look appeared on the king's face.
" What is it?"Asked Oromë.
"If Sauron did indeed succeed in corrupting our fëa, why did he come alone? In three thousand years he could have taught his servants to possess the elves too, I am thinking in particular of the Nazgul. They could have accompanied him, but he came alone. »
Finwë heard a crack and turned to see Oromë with a piece of destroyed balcony in his hands, he had squeezed so hard he had broken it. He looked at his face to see a barely contained anger.
" No..." He started softly " He didn't come alone "
" What ?" Finwë had a very bad feeling
" He made us believe he was alone! While we were concentrating on him, his troops must have landed on the shores! He created a bridge thanks to the cloud allowing his armies to join him! That's why he didn't attack, he was waiting for news from his servants!"He ends up shouting.
"But Ulmo would have sensed if ships had tried to cross the sea" Finwë hoped that Oromë was wrong but everything made sense now.
" The cloud clouded Ulmo's senses, he couldn't sense Sauron so it doesn't surprise me that he couldn't sense warships. " Oromë thought that finally Ulmo should have triggered this tidal wave, it would have avoided all this mess.
"If that's true then an army may already be on the way. But to where? I don't think Sauron called for reinforcements for us, so where would he have sent him? »
" There are too many possibilities. But we must not slack off. The troops must prepare for a full siege this time. If an army arrives we must be ready.»
"Understood, I will immediately warn my troops." Finwë hurried down the stairs leaving Oromë staring intently at the cloud.
"I hope it's not too late"
' Maintaining the barrier is exhausting ' Rolnis thought to himself. A loyal Maia of Oromë, he had followed him without hesitation when he asked who wished to join him in fighting Sauron. He was one of those who cast the protection spell. At first it was simple, the barrier being shared between the Maiar but three days with little rest between each guard shift weighed on his body. Except he had no right to complain. The safety of the city depended on them.
Twenty minutes ago he felt like holes in the barrier but they closed almost immediately. He thought a Maia must have flinched for a moment before pulling himself together. Moments of weakness happen to everyone.
He was currently waiting for his replacement to arrive, as his shift was soon over. He couldn't wait to get back to his bed. He looked around for distractions, apparently even the guards had finished their shifts.
'It's weird... the relief should have already arrived ' And the more he looked the more he found his surroundings weird. ' The fires are out, what… ' Everything fell deathly quiet, the air turned cold, the wind could be heard blowing and Rolnis felt a presence behind him.
He was in a delicate situation, he couldn't fight and maintain the barrier at the same time. And he doubted receiving help, because everyone was probably already dead. He was going to have to abandon his post and increase the burden on his brothers but he had no choice. He released his barrier and turned to the individual who was patiently waiting for him.
When he saw the individual in the black robe with a sword in his hand, only one word came to his mind.
«Nazgul»
OK
-I try to be as consistent as possible so if there are things not understood tell me
-Celebrimbor present. Anyone who's played Shadow of Mordor/War of Opinions?
-Fouls are surely there waiting in the shadows to strike when you least expect it. So tell me their positions that I exterminated it.
-Rolnis does not exist and I will surely invent many names as I go along.
-I try to make Esstel and Aerir interesting, I don't know if it works