Chapter 27
An Echo in the Bone
Author's Note: Rejoice, my readers, for this author has been blessed with the last few weeks of slow work! How long that will last, I can't say. Depends on how quickly madness descends upon us mere mortals at the workplace. Until then, please enjoy the fact that I actually kept to my monthly updates schedule and produced a halfway passable chapter. I'm not completely happy with it, but after much thought and careful crafting I decided that this would be the best route to take. I wish I had more time in my day to study Aragorn's character more closely for the past several fellowship scenes, but when one has other projects to work on fanfiction research often gets put on the back burner.
With that being said, I've had several reviews lately letting me know about certain issues with the story. As an example, a few have pointed out that Brianna and Aragorn have two scenes where she reveals her age. I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who reviews letting me know of any oversights I may have or, better yet, reminding me that I fucked up the continuity. Please, by all means, keep it up!
Likewise, I've had one review from the last chapter that was anonymous (which isn't a bad thing) letting me know that they can't continue the story because they aren't sure what's going on. I don't mind reviews like this. I don't mind anonymous reviews like this, but please for the love of Arda let me know where I lost you! I can't grow as a writer and story-crafter if I don't know where the plot ran away from a particular reader.
Anyway, with that out of the way, please enjoy this chapter. If you don't enjoy it, let me know!
January 10th - Lothlorien - Night - Cerin Amoth
Brianna, Artemis, and the Professor gathered on the hill parsing through their current dilemma. Which song, or songs, were they going to use to heal the breeches. It was a difficult choice. Between the three of them they knew enough songs to rapidly evolve the entirety of Arda's future. Not only was there a question of song choice, but there was also the issue at how they were going to direct the magic. Artemis figured they could use wind-based magic. The professor reasoned that runes would better serve their needs. Brianna wasn't sure which one would work and knew that deliberating too long would allow their enemies to continue weakening the expanse to a point of no return.
Crisp cool wind danced around them as winter battled for dominance with the spring created by Lady Galadriel's dominion over Lothlorien. It played with the trees causing grey shadows to flicker about them. Night birds sang their evening songs attempting to drown out the loud chirps of happy crickets, grasshoppers and cicadas. In the sky, a half moon cast its silver gaze upon them.
Brianna paced the length of the hill wringing her hands nervously trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Her audience watched her silently with identical looks of incredulity.
"When you're finished worrying yourself to death feel free to let us know," the professor quipped.
"Oh hush!" Brianna snapped. "I'd like to freak out in peace, thanks!"
Artemis looked up from where she sat cross-legged on the ground cleaning one of her long knives. Her storm-grey eyes glinted in amusement and a smirk played on her lips.
"Pretend you're hunting with your voice. You've done it before," she said.
Brianna glared at her, "I'd rather not, if you don't mind."
"Is that any way to speak to your superior officer?" Artemis drawled.
Brianna snorted, "I am your superior!"
"Children, do try to focus. We have a great feat of magic to perform and a good deal of preparation to make before we begin," Professor Moruni said.
Brianna threw up her hands and snapped, "That's what I'm doing!"
"No, you're procrastinating. Figure out what you want to sing before we begin."
Silence descended between them as Brianna ceased pacing and moved to sit opposite of Artemis on the soft grass. Wind danced and the songs of bird and bug alike rose in happy chorus.
"You have an instinct for this sort of thing," Artemis said softly, "you always have."
Brianna sighed and said, "I wing it most of the time. This is something more complicated than anything I've ever done before."
"That's why we're here," Professor Moruni said, "Any gaps in knowledge you have, we can fill."
"Now, which do we use? Wind or runes?" Artemis asked.
Brianna rolled her eyes, but didn't respond. Wind and runes. Wind to carry and runes to direct and pierce the expanse. If they could create an opening into the expanse and move their song through it with wind, then that could spread the magic about without needing to use enith gilthaes.
"Professor, what's the exact equation for passing through the Great Expanse?" She asked absently as the shadow of an idea began to form inn her mind.
"I'll need to write it down," the professor replied. "What do you have in mind?"
Brianna smiled and used fire to sketch out the general foundations of her plan.
January 14th - The Mines of Moria - Night
Entering Moria had proved as much of a disaster as the path of Caradhras. The major difference was their inability to escape the Mines once whatever beast living in the glassy pool guarding the entrance destroyed the doors. They'd walked for far too long before arriving at an impasse. Gandalf didn't remember the path he'd taken long ago and needed to take a good long while to ponder the course going forward. This left time for the company; especially the hobbits, to rest their eyes, minds and bodies from their arduous journey.
Aragorn slept fitfully on the rocky floor of the mines. No tender thought of love possible could comfort him that night. Thoughts of past friends, family, and peace calmed the storm of fear within. His previous memories of passing through Moria plagued him. The horrors he'd witnessed and fought in turn. The death, the evil, and the darkness. Always, there lingered the feeling of something more foul and evil than he'd ever faced before. Upon entering the mines this time around, Aragorn felt the same evil only keener than before. It troubled his mind and left him wishing they could turn around and leave.
The more I think of it, the more I believe Boromir was right. We should have chanced the Gap of Rohan and whatever Saruman inflicts on us, he thought.
Neither had the wisdom of Gandalf; however, and he knew the wizard always had a purpose for everything. If Gandalf believed it better to pass through the mines, then there was a reason for it. Aragorn only wished Gandalf wouldn't keep it to himself.
Occasionally, he opened his eyes and looked to where Gandalf sat hunched over on a bit of rock smoking his long pipe. It struck him that, had the situation been less dire, Aragorn would have found the wizard's need for his pipe amusing. Sadly, the way was dark and some concern surrounded them in the mines that place Aragorn on edge. After several attempts to sleep, Aragorn rose from his resting place and joined Gandalf in his vigil.
The wizard glanced at him before returning his gaze to the darkness puffing his pipe contemplatively. Aragorn followed his gaze and sat in silence. He closed his eyes and shuddered at the cold stale air of the mine.
"Moria unsettles you," Gandalf remarked.
"It has always unsettled me," Aragorn replied. "However, I trust your wisdom, my friend, and will follow you."
The wizard smiled and blew out a thin wisp of smoke. Silence followed their brief exchange broken only by the occasional stirs of their companions. Even Legolas, in a rare display of weariness, slept with his back against a tall boulder.
"There's an evil hidden deep within these caverns," Aragorn said, breaking that silence. "I can feel it in the air. It chokes my senses and fills my heart with dread. I know not what it is, nor do I understand what it means."
Gandalf grunted, took a moment to breathe in and out his pipe, and said, "I suspect it's the general feel of the air. Try to sleep, Aragorn, I know it will be difficult for you, but do try. We will need your strength."
Aragorn's brows knitted together at the dismissal. For a moment, he considered questioning his friend further but the stress of the past several days weighed on his mind. In the end, he stood from his seat and settled back on the small pallet he'd made from his pack and cloak. Sleep didn't come quickly, but when it did his mind descended into an easy oblivion.
Gandalf woke him hours later with his decision on which way to go in mind. Aragorn caught the expressions of the rest of the company and knew that they held the same opinion as he. Moria was a wretched place and Gandalf barely knew where he was going. Even so, it was better to move than to stay in one place.
They walked for many hours through the dark, close path. No light, but the light of Gandalf's staff, led the way. Aragorn chose to fall to the back of the company with Legolas. Should some fell thing ambush them from where they came, his friend wouldn't face it alone. It was many hour before they noticed that the path they chose widened into something like a road and the air became warmer, but brighter. Their pace quickened their pace and hearts lightened. Aragorn tempered his hope, knowing that the way of Moria was deceitful and would give hope where there was none.
Suddenly, they stepped into a wide cavern of darkness and the warm air caught in the pocket of road they'd discovered was pushed behind them. Fresh, cold, air met their faces and Gandalf briefly chanced a flash of greater light.
"I chose the right way," said the wizard, pleased. "We've come to the habitable parts of Moria and are not far now from the eastern side."
Or so we hope, thought Aragorn, but kept his misgivings to himself.
He didn't trust the peace of Moria, nor did he trust the clean air. Something still felt foul, dark, and evil. Even when he'd journeyed through the mines all those years ago, the feeling had been there. He read it fainter than he at present, but the general tint of the evil was the same. Aragorn chanced a look at Gandalf and noticed the grim expression on his face.
"We will go no further tonight," Gandalf said. "I think it best we rest here until the morrow. There are windows that let light in from above. In the morning, I'll be able to tell exactly where we are."
Aragorn would have gladly chanced missing a good night's sleep to hasten their progress out of the mines, but at a glance to the hobbits he knew that such a feat wasn't possible. Even Boromir looked weary. Grudgingly, Aragorn set out his pack and spread his cloak on the ground with the rest of the company. The pitter-patter of soft feet from the path behind him echoed in his ears.
There would be no chance of sleep for him this night.
January 14th - Lorien - Night - Cerin Amroth
They'd camped at the foot of the hill for four days as they conducted the needed preparations. Brianna went through pages of parchment and several wells of ink packed with them for their journey. From time to time, Arwen or Glorfindel or Elrohir and Elladen came to visit with food and drink. Brianna paid very little mind to either as her mind had long given way to the study of runes and the particular song she needed to sing to weave it all together. She'd spent days trying to decipher a good song to use. When she wasn't immersed into the final calculations of her runic equation, Brianna was attempting to find a song, or series of songs, that would maintain the momentum of the runic and magic she'd already combined. So far, she'd settled on one. It was a good song, but it couldn't carry the magic for the amount of time she needed it to. More would need to be added and the trick was making sure they flowed well.
In time, after careful thought and numerous consultations, Brianna managed to perfect the marriage of ardanian and earthen magic. The process had wearied her more than she initially thought it would. On the evening of the third day, Brianna passed out where she lay on the warm ground and slept the night away under the watchful eyes of her aunt and mentor. When she woke late in the afternoon on the next day, Artemis had food ready for her.
"Thank you, aunt," Brianna said as she accepted a plate full of cheese, apples and freshly cooked fish.
"No problem. You haven't eaten much in the past few days and you didn't sleep at all. We figured you could use the sleep," Artemis said.
Brianna smiled as she placed a slice of cheese on top of an apple slice and bit into it. Her aunt watched silently as she ate. Her gray eyes held an expression that Brianna couldn't identify. After a while Artemis began sifting through Brianna's notes detailing her thoughts on what would go into the runic equation and why. Some of those notes and additives were written by Artemis and the Professor, though her aunt had very little to contribute on the runic side of things. Artemis had never needed to learn to use runes the way Brianna had and; consequently, knew less than the professor and Brianna combined. She did; however, know a great deal about how the wind element worked and made helpful contributions on that aspect of the magic.
"I know you, Bri," Artemis said after a while once Brianna finished her meal, "I know what is expected of you. I know what it is the enemy has planned for you and I know how you can effectively stop their plans from coming to fruition."
Brianna grimaced. Lady Galadriel had much to say on the matter and had made certain that Brianna knew the gravity of the situation. It still didn't calm her initial set of fears that plagued her heart and mind.
"I also know you and what you've been through and how much that effects your willingness to accept the good presented to you," Artemis continued. "If you ask me what my advice would be - as someone who's seen you at your worst - it's this: should you see him again, and I suspect that you will, accept him. I know it's hard for you to bring yourself to that point where you can, but you will regret it for the rest of your existence if you don't."
Stunned, too stunned to say anything in response, Brianna stared at Artemis as the older elf fixed her with the saddest expression she'd ever beheld on her. The absurdity of the moment struck her. Artemis, the unmarried, virgin, princess of the elves and leader of the hunters, was giving her what effectively amounted to dating advice.
"What could I give him that he can't find anywhere else in Arda?" she asked. "I'll have to leave one day, aunt. In any case, he's human. He'll be dead in a few decades and I'll be left alone in this world to linger on. I can't live in such a world. What if it's better for everyone that I remain unwed and return home after all of this is over and done with?"
Artemis sat in silence for a long time. She stared down at a particular page of notes she held in her hands with unseeing eyes. Brianna looked away from her and began gathering the rest of her notes into a pile.
"He is your mate, isn't he?" Artemis asked.
Brianna tensed as, once again, the urge to flee from the conversation overcame her. Such an urge was ridiculous. Discussing the possibility of him being her mate was just as important as figuring out how they would mend the decaying expanse between earth and Arda.
"I've… considered the possibility," Brianna admitted.
From the corner of her eye, she watched Artemis roll her eyes.
"And I'm sure you know the answer. You just don't want to admit it!"
Brianna sighed and said, "You're right. I don't."
They didn't speak again for a long while. Brianna couldn't bring herself to say more on the subject. Thoughts of Aragorn and what he was to her caused too much pain. Every night she thought of him and the possibility of what he could mean. To be bound to a human as a mate in marriage would mark the exact day of the death of her ability to feel joy. Upon his death, her soul would be shattered and there would be no repairing the pieces. She would linger on as queen of her people ruling with no joy, hope or purpose. It would be as if she were already dead.
Yet, when she closed her eyes at night, she saw his face and felt his calloused hands on hers. She remembered his rare smiles and laughter. Every song and story, every move and gesture, and every soft gaze would flash through her memory.
"I get it, Bri, I understand more than you know," Artemis said softly, interrupting Brianna's thoughts.
She looked to the older elf who stared at her with undisguized pain. Confused, Brianna opened her mouth to inquire further, but Artemis held up her hand and shook her head.
"It isn't… it isn't what you think. I merely chose duty over love and have been forced to watch as my mate copulates with various human women over the years. At this point, I can't bring myself to forsake my vows because I know he's been with others and has fathered many children before me. It shouldn't trouble me, considering what I initially chose, but the reality is difficult for me to stomach so I choose to ignore it. You won't have that luxury, not if Aries gets what he wants. Trust me when I say this, I've seen this sort of binding curse in action once before. Once they cast it, once they claim your heart, mind and soul, you will be subject to Aries and only Aries. If he instructs you to kill your mate you will do it and you will feel nothing. What little left of you won't have any say in the matter," Artemis said.
Brianna sat in silence as she considered everything that her aunt told her. Mates were always a tricky business with the elves. It was rare for one to find their destined mate. It was rarer still for an elf to marry them. For many in the royal family, one often met their mate when they were already married to another. In many cases, it went unrecognized.
"If I do marry him, then there's a high chance that I would stay in Arda for a long time," Brianna said softly.
Artemis smiled, "And you'll still be queen of the elves no matter where you are."
Brianna looked to the cloudy sky above and noted the snow flurries descending on Lorien. It would turn into rain as it entered Lorien's atmosphere thanks to Galadriel's tightly woven magic. Footsteps startled her out of her reverie and Brianna looked over her shoulder at Professor Moruni's approaching figure. The older elf woman looked from Brianna to Artemis and raised a thin, scarlet brow.
"You two seem pensive," she remarked.
"We had much to discuss," Artemis replied primly.
"Evidently," the professor looked to Brianna and nodded at the neat pile of notes next to her, "Are you ready?"
Brianna nodded and stood, "I'm ready."
"Then let's begin."
They climbed to the top of the hill and stood facing each other before Artemis and the professor stepped away from the center of the hill to give Brianna some space. Brianna lifted her arms to where they were level with her shoulders. The equation presented itself fully in her mind and she made it appear into the ground. Line by line. Numeral by numeral. Letter by letter. The world around her changed and, instead of entering into enith gilthaes she allowed the element of wind to embrace her, consume her, and pass through her into the opening she created.
The world became wind and rune. For one, brief moment she saw The Great Expanse through the wind and the runes. It was vast, empty, and beautiful. There were gasses that made up nebulas. She witnessed the birth and death of stars. She saw the ongoing creation of life on other planets. In every brief moment, Brianna witnessed the hand of the Triune reaching out and shaping the universe into the image of his mind. With that expanse in mind she focused her attention on the decay created by the sorcery of her enemies.
Enemies of life.
Enemies of light.
Enemies of the Triune.
With that, she entered the entirety of the expanse and sang.
"Se mo laoch mo ghile mear
Bonnie boy, ghile maer
You will be my gallant star
Oh heys to me mo ghile mear
In this land, this land unfree
Ooh who will fein to unchain me
My children keyed in vain for thee
To break my chains for liberty
Se mo laoch mo ghile mear
Bonnie boy, ghile mear
You will be my gallant star
Oh heys to me mo ghile mear
Mountains high, and valleys low
The cuckoo sings of Saxon for
'Tis you must strike the mortal blow
Mo ghile mear, mo buachaill beo
Se mo laoch mo ghile mear
Bonnie boy, ghile mear
You will be my gallant star
Oh heys to me mo ghile mear
So come my love to battle come
To this fair land so weary sung
Let harp and song the valleys hum
And sound the sound of freedom's drum
Se mo laoch mo ghile mear
Bonnie boy, ghile mear
You will be my gallant star
Oh heys to me mo ghile mear
You will be my gallant star
Oh heys to me mo ghile mear."
(Mo Ghile Mear by Celtic Women *The "Voices of Angels" version)
As she hit the high note a resounding movement echoed through the Great Expanse. Artemis and Professor Moruni joined in to add extra harmony. Their voices joined and the music consumed her every being as she changed the key into the next song.
"The deepest solace lies in understanding
This ancient unseen stream
A shudder before the beautiful
Awake ocean born
Behold this force
Bring the outside in
Explore the self to epiphany
The very core of life
Is soaring higher of truth and light
The music of this awe
Deep silence between the notes
Deafens me with endless love
This vagrant island Earth
A pilgrim shining bright
We are shuddering
Before the beautiful
Before the plentiful
We're the voyagers
Tales from the seas
Cathedral of greed
The very core of life
Is soaring higher of truth and light
The music of this awe
Deep silence between the notes
Deafens me with endless love
This vagrant island Earth
A pilgrim shining bright
We are shuddering
Before the beautiful
Before the plentiful
We're the voyagers
The unknown
The grand show
The choir of the stars
Interstellar
Theater play
The nebula curtain falls
Imagination
Evolution
A species from the veil
As we wander
In search of
The source of the tale
The music of this awe
Deep silence between the notes
Deafens me with endless love
This vagrant island Earth
A pilgrim shining bright
We are shuddering
Before the beautiful
Before the plentiful
We're the voyagers
The music of this awe
Deep silence between the notes
Deafens me with endless love
This vagrant island Earth
A pilgrim shining bright
We are shuddering
Before the beautiful
Before the plentiful
We're the voyagers
The music of this awe
Deep silence between the notes
Deafens me with endless love
This vagrant island Earth
A pilgrim shining bright
We are shuddering
Before the beautiful
Before the plentiful
We're the voyagers"
("Shudder Before the Beautiful" by Nightwish from "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" Album)
The foundations of the Expanse shook around her. The decay convulsed and writhed against the power she inflicted upon them. Brianna allowed the music she knew to accompany the lyrics to pour from her mind and into the wind. The wind echoed the music and made it real. As she sang, the music matched her, grew louder, greater, and became something more than Arda had ever produced.
"I've got my will, I've got my heart
Even though I can't tell her right now
I could not stand if I failed
I could not stand if I lost her somehow
I found the book of silence
So keen what it would show
I read the book of silence
How was I supposed to know
My voice would fall asleep and
Rest until this curse is banned and gone
You hear my call
Wide and tall
Yes, i can be heard
My Voice is strong
Builds a wall
Around every single Word
I'm hunting high
Hunting low
I am everywhere
My voice is there
Fills the air
My voice can be heard
I try to open my mind
He doesn't talk, still I'm blind
I try to free all the meanings unknown
I want her to look inside
I cannot see in darkest nights
Until my soul's freed and secrets unfold
I found the book of silence
So keen what it would show
I read the book of silence
How was I supposed to know
My voice would fall asleep and
Never wake again
To surrender is not
What I learned
I'll fight 'gainst this curse 'til it's gone
You hear my call
Wide an tall
Yes, I can be heard
My voice is strong
Builds a wall around
Every single word
I'm hunting high
Hunting low
I am everywhere
My voice is there
Fills the air
My voice can be heard
I'm riding
Still I'm flying
Everywhere that I can be
I'm trying, believing
My voice will speak again for me
I don't want to speak
I don't want to talk
On every other day
There are million miles to walk
I've got nothing to tell
I've got nothing to say
Alone I fade away
You hear my call
Wide an tall
Yes, I can be heard
My voice is strong
Builds a wall around
Every single word
I'm hunting high
Hunting low
I am everywhere
My voice is there
Fills the air
My voice can be heard
Yes, I will be heard
My voice is there
Fills the air
My voice can be heard
I'm riding
Still I'm flying
Everywhere that I can be
I'm trying, believing
My voice will speak again for me"
("My Voice" by Van Canto from their "Tribe of Force" album)
She grabbed them by their roots with her song. Her voice echoed throughout the Expanse and caused the atoms to tremble. They knew her, understood her presence, recognized her voice and what it meant. Brianna pushed through the darkness that clung to the devolving atoms. She directed her power, her grief, her rage at it's core and it began, ever so slowly, to break apart. Others joined in her song. She swore she heard Maf and Matt and Loki join her voice and sing with her. Karen, Artemis and the professor's voices joined her. They created body where body was needed. Brianna balled her hands into fists and launched into the final song she had planned for the completion of her quest.
"Now there is no end
The wheel will turn, my friend
I'm in flames
'Cause I have touched the light
It pulls me so
We shall be one forevermore
That's all I want, it's all I need
Everything is fixed
There's no chance
There's no choice
It's calling me saidin
So precious and sweet
My mind keeps fading away
It's scratching deeper
My sole reliever
How can I find you now?
Passing through the flames
I see how terror will rise
It soon will be over
O father of lies
Like foul winds at twilight
It's coming over me
What was and what will be?
What is? I don't know
Driving me insane
Just feel the heat
Madness creeps in
I'll tear it down
There's no end
Wheel of time
It keeps on spinning
There's no beginning
Turn the wheel of time
There's no beginning
Just keep on spinning
Light, it binds me
Light, it blinds me
Light, it finds me
Light denies me now
I creep along
So desperate and tired
Let me ask you why?
I am what I am
Prophecies, I am the chosen
Ta'veren, the flame will grow
Feel the heat, I'll keep on breathing
After all there's no tomorrow
Wheel of time
Save my soul, find a way
And if I fail, will it all be over?
Oh, wheel of time
The vision, so fleeting and vague
Once again I will bring down the mountain
One last glimpse
It is constantly slipping away
The young man said
"I will never give up"
The inner war
I can hold against it
My mind, my mind
My mind's in darkness
The young man says
"I will never give in"
The prophecy
Behold it's true
I conquer the flame
To release the insane
I'm crying, I cannot erase
I'm the dragon reborn
And in madness
I soon shall prevail
Twice I'll be marked
And twice I shall live
The heron sets my path
And name me true
Twice, I'll be marked
And twice I shall die
My memory's gone
But twice I pay the price
Wheel of time
Save my soul, find a way
May it be as the pattern has chosen
Oh, wheel of time
Turn the wheel of time
It keeps on spinning
There's no beginning
There's no end, wheel of time
There's no beginning
Just keep on spinning
Shine on
Embrace and deny me
Turn on, wheel of time
Shine on
You've burnt me, now guide me
Wave on, wheel of time"
("The Wheel of Time" by Blind Guardian from their "At the Edge of Time" Album)
Euphoria enveloped her. Power embraced her. The darkness eroded and dispersed from the tears. Her voice repaired the tears and chased away the darkness until one, steadfast, bastion of evil remained. Brianna attacked it without mercy. It wouldn't budge. She raged and sang and caused her makeshift choir and instrumentals to bash against it. Still, the darkness wouldn't budge.
Finally, as every method failed her, Brianna allowed the song to die and her power receded from the Great Expanse. Exhaustion crippled her and bore her on all fours. Professor Moruni and Artemis ran up to her and grasped her arms. Brianna's head fell forward in defeat.
"I'm not finished," she muttered and knew no more.
January 14th - Night - The Mines of Moria
Aragorn woke from her fitful slumber unable to divine what it was, exactly, that had rattled him so for several long moments. Then the vision which had passed through him returned and he remembered the vast expanse before him and the song that filled the very foundations of Arda. His skin felt feverish with sweat and shuddered with every quick, deep breath.
Gingerly, he sat up and buried his head in a shaking hand as he went over the fragments of whatever dream that plagued him. There was nothing but a sense of timelessness and song. After taking several moments to think on the matter, Aragorn realized that it was Brianna's song he'd heard and was effected by. She had been doing something with that song and it hadn't gone according to plan. The problem was that he couldn't divine what it was, exactly, that he'd witnessed.
A groan escaped his lips and Aragorn shifted in his pallet.
I witnessed something. I felt something and it all involves her. Why? He wondered.
"How are you fairing, my boy?"
Startled from his line of thinking, Aragorn glanced at Gandalf who sat at the edge of camp a few mere feet away. He rubbed his eyes and shifted his body towards the wizard.
"I… I can't say, Mithrandir," he said softly. "I feel as if I had a good dream and a nightmare. I've never felt anything quite like it," Aragorn said.
Gandalf nodded, "Yes, I suspect I know what it is you felt. I felt it's echo in my bones."
Aragorn blinked rapidly in an effort to dispel sleep from his mind, "Good or bad?"
Gandalf shook his head, "I cannot say. Possibly both. I will be able to read the situation better once we leave these wretched mines behind us."
Aragorn smiled ruefully at the thought. Oh he could not wait for that sweet moment when fresh, clean air met his nostrils! But, Aragorn didn't make this desire known. The only thing that mattered was getting Frodo, the ring-bearer, out of Moria and safely into fresh air once again so he could complete his quest. Such was their charge and purpose.
Even so…
"I heard her, Gandalf. Why?" he asked.
Gandalf shrugged, "I couldn't begin to say, though I fear what hearing her song will mean. There are many who will endeavor to strike out against her to challenge it. I've heard her singing on several occasions and have pondered the many reasons why but have yet to arrive at a conclusive answer."
Troubled, Aragorn remained upright and deep in thought until morning finally arrived. What did the songs mean? More importantly, why could he hear them in the first place?