Hello, all my loyal readers. I'm back with Chapter 3!

I hope you've been enjoying this so far. And I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 3- The Council of Elrond

Jakan slowly walks along a path lining one of the many pools in Rivendell. It's been days since he arrived here.

For the most part, Jakan has kinda kept to himself. He's spent some time getting to know some of the other elves in Rivendell, but has spent more time practicing swordplay with a sword lent to him from Rivendell's armory for that purpose. However, it's very different in shape from the Darksaber, so Jakan knows it won't be the same wielding the Darksaber. However, he's reluctant to actually use the Darksaber, so as to avoid arousing any suspicions in the Elves with him using a weapon that by appearances is a weapon that would belong to an evil power.

Things have been rather calm in Rivendell since his arrival. Save for an incident just a few days ago in which Elrond's daughter Arwen arrived with a small humanoid creature apparently called a Hobbit, who had been gravely injured and required Elrond's healing abilities to recover, it has been calm.

Jakan walks up towards the library. He's spent a considerable amount of time in the library the past couple of days, taking time to read about Middle-Earth and its history, as well as it's geography and the various species to be found on it. To his surprise, for the most part, most of the sentient species are humanoids, such as Elves, Men (or humans as he knows them), dwarves, and a hideous, evil race known as Orcs. He's also read that several species of animal are somewhat sentient, but usually not on the level of the main sentient species.

As Jakan walks up to the door of the library, he suddenly hears, "Ho! You there!"

Jakan looks up and around, confused. Then, he sees an old bearded man dressed in a gray cloak and a gray pointy hat, holding a wooden staff, standing a few yards away, and looking right at him.

Jakan looks around to make sure there's nobody else that this man could be addressing. Then, he returns his gaze to the man and asks, "Yes, sir?"

The man slowly walks up to Jakan until he's just a few feet from him. "So, you are the one called Jakan, I assume? The who claims to come from a place known as Mandalore?" he asks.

Jakan just stands there for a moment, not sure what to think of this man. After a moment, he nods and says, "Yes, that's me. Can I help you?"

"You can stand there and let me look at you for a moment," the man says matter of factly.

The man looks him up and down a few times. Jakan, starting to feel like he's missing something here, asks, "Excuse me?"

The man ignores him for a moment. Then, he nods decidedly and says, "Yes! You are not lying, nor are you crazy! And you are not a servant of Sauron!"

Jakan just stares at this man, really not sure what to think of him. Then, he says, "Umm, thanks."

"You are most welcome," the man says. Then, he utters a small "Oh," as if he just remembered something he had forgotten. Then, he smiles more broadly and says, "Where are my manners? I forgot introductions. My name is Gandalf. Gandalf the Gray. And I am a wizard."

Jakan just stares at him for a moment, a few things about this Gandalf now making a bit more sense. Then, he nods his head respectfully and says, "Pleased to meet you, Gandalf. I am Jakan Shan of Mandalore."

"Yes, I know. Lord Elrond told me. I have some questions for you about your home. Perhaps you could answer them at another time," Gandalf says.

"I could do that," Jakan replies.

Gandalf grins. Then, he asks Jakan, "So, will you be attending the Council tomorrow?"

Jakan looks at Gandalf in confusion. "What Council?" he asks.

Gandalf looks at him for a moment. Then, he says, "I see you have not been informed. Well, allow me to educate you. Far to the east, in the land of Mordor, the dark lord Sauron has risen again and is massing his armies in preparation to conquer Middle-Earth. All he needs is his great weapon. The Ring of Power. The One Ring to rule them all. That ring has been found, and brought here to Rivendell. Lord Elrond has called a council tomorrow to discuss the threat of Sauron, and what course to pursue to deal with him."

He pauses for a moment, then asks, "Will you attend the council?"

Jakan thinks for a moment, then nods. "Yes, I will come and give me input. You can count on me being there," he says.

Gandalf smiles and says, "Good. I will see you there." He then turns and walks away.

Jakan stares after Gandalf, thinking to himself, What an odd man. Then, he turns and walks into the library. The elf assigned as Keeper of the library is looking through a book as Jakan walks in. He looks up and smiles. "My Lord Jakan. A pleasure to see you here again. What can I do for you?"

"Yes. I was wondering if you had any books about the history of the Dark Lord Sauron?" Jakan asks.

(That night)

Jakan slowly walks through the corridor, hands in his pockets, thinking about the day.

The Keeper of the library helped him find some books about this Sauron's history, and in particular his rise to power for the first time, during the Second Age, and his defeat in Mordor at the end of the Second Age. The more he read about Sauron, the more worried he felt for the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth. His evil and power made the Emperor look like a naughty little boy by comparison.

As he walks along the corridor, he sees a painting up ahead of him. Taking a few steps forward, he says the painting is of a man in armor, holding a broken sword. And standing over him is massive being in pitch black armor, holding a mace in hand. And as Jakan looks closer, he sees what appears to be a ring on the being's finger. He realizes that the black-armored being can only be Sauron. A chill runs through him as he looks at Sauron.

Suddenly, Jakan gets the feeling he's being watched. Turning around, he sees a man sitting on a bench several yards away, with a slight beard. His clothing looks somewhat poor, yet he can see an elegant looking ring on his finger.

Jakan and the man look at each other for a moment before Jakan asks, "Who are you?"

"I am a friend of Gandalf the Gray," the man says.

Jakan nods, taking a few steps closer to the man, then says, "That's hardly a name."

The man smiles slightly. "If you will give me your name, I will give you mine," he says.

Jakan looks at him for a moment, then says, "My name is Jakan Shan. I come from the world of Mandalore."

The man looks intrigued. "World? There are other worlds than this one?" he asks curiously.

Jakan nods. "Yes, there are. Many. Thousands. Even millions. Yours is one I have never heard of, so I believe I am the first visitor your world has had from another world," he explains.

The man nods. Then, Jakan says, "So. You told me you would give me your name if I give you mine."

The man smiles. "My name is Aragorn. Some call me Strider. I come from the North. I brought the Hobbits here from Bree, and have remained for the Council tomorrow."

Jakan nods. "Well, then we will be seeing each other tomorrow. Aragorn," he says.

There is silence for a moment, then Jakan says, "Well, have a good evening." He then turns and walks back the way he came. As he walks away, he passes a bearded man wearing a chain mail shirt. His gaze lingers on the man for a moment before he continues on his way back to his room.

(The following morning)

Jakan crosses his legs in his seat next to Gandalf. He has decided to wear his Mandalorian armor for the Council, though leaving his helmet and jetpack in his room.

The Council has fully gathered. There are several Elves from other realms, several short men that are apparently Dwarves, several men he hasn't met, the bearded man Jakan walked past last night, and Aragorn. Finally, on Gandalf's other side is the Hobbit that Elrond's daughter Arwen brought to Rivendell days ago, named Frodo.

Jakan has been watching the bearded man. He seems to be rather impatient, but something else seems to be weighing on him. Jakan, who is pretty good at reading people, has been watching him intently, trying to discern anything from his body language, but can't quite put his finger on anything.

Then, Elrond stands to begin the Council, and Jakan directs his attention to the Elf lord.

"Strangers from distant lands. Friends of old. You've been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate. This one doom."

Elrond then turns to look at Frodo before gesturing to the stone table in front of them and saying, "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."

Frodo slowly stands and walks up to the stone table. He reaches into his pocket, pulls something out of it, then sets it on the table. As he withdraws his hand, a simple golden ring is revealed lying on the table.

There are several gasps as everyone looks at it. Jakan finds himself unable to look away. At first, he finds it somewhat entrancing. Then, he realizes how uneasy he finds himself right now. Closing his eyes, he tries to drown out the background noise.

Jakan discovered at a young age that he had slight Force-sensitivity. Not anywhere near a Jedi or Sith, but enough he could sometimes sense feelings or discern if people were lying. Now, sitting in the presence of the Ring, he feels an unearthly chill take him. He opens his eyes and looks at the ring again. Despite his low level of Force-sensitivity, he can easily sense the evil contained within the ring. More evil than he has ever sensed in his life.

Suddenly, movement draws his eye, and Jakan sees that the bearded man has stood up. The man takes a breath, then says, "In a dream, I saw the eastern sky grow dark. But in the west, a pale light lingered. A voice was crying, 'Your doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found'."

The man slowly steps closer and closer to the Ring, his gaze fixed on it. Jakan is one of several to look around at the others uneasily. Then, the bearded man reaches out his hand towards the Ring as he whispers, "Isildur's Bane."

Elrond quickly stands and says sharply, "Boromir."

Suddenly, beside Jakan, Gandalf begins to chant in a deep voice, "Ash nazg durbatuluk."

Instantly, the sky seems to grow dark, and the evil coming from the Ring intensifies. The bearded man, now identified as Boromir, stumbles back into his seat. Jakan feels somewhat sick at the terrible feeling spreading through his body as Gandalf continues to chant, "Ash nazg gimbatul. Ash nazg thrakatuluk. Agh Burzum-ishi krimpatul!"

As Gandalf chants, Jakan feels like he can suddenly hear a darker, more sinister voice overlapping Gandalf's. Then, Gandalf finishes, and the darkness that had come over the Council disperses, and the intense evil pouring off the Ring recedes.

Elrond looks slightly harshly at Gandalf as he says, "Never before has anyone uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris."

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond. For the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil!" Gandalf says, casting a scathing look at the Ring before moving to retake his seat.

"But it is a gift! A gift to the foes of Mordor!" Boromir says, redrawing attention to him. Boromir stands and continues, "Why not use this ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe!"

Jakan has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. It's obvious Boromir is trying to guilt trip the Council into giving him the Ring to take to Gondor. Though, at the same time, he has to give Boromir some leniency. Unlike him, Gandalf, and the Elves, Boromir can't sense the pure evil contained within the Ring.

Boromir turns towards Elrond and says, "Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us it against him!"

At that moment, Aragorn speaks up and says sharply, "You cannot wield it! None of us can! The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master!"

Boromir sneers slightly as he says in slight contempt, "And what would a Ranger know of this matter?"

Jakan is about to stand and chew Boromir out. But one of the Elves beats him to it. A blonde haired elf, from the Woodland Realm if Jakan is remembering right, shoots to his feet and says, "This is no mere Ranger! He is Aragorn. Son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

Jakan looks at Aragorn in confusion, then back at the Elf. Then Boromir speaks up and says, "Aragorn. This is Isildur's heir?"

Jakan feels surprised. He remembers the name Isildur from his readings. The king who cut the ring from Sauron's hand. Just as he makes the connection, the elf confirms it as he says, "And heir to the throne of Gondor."

Jakan looks in surprise at Aragorn. He had sensed a feeling on nobility about the man. But he never would've imagined he was the rightful heir to Gondor's throne.

Aragorn raises a hand and speaks in Elvish to the elf. Jakan catches the name "Legolas", and assumes that is the elf's name. Legolas slowly sits down.

Boromir looks at Legolas before saying, "Gondor has no king." He then turns his gaze to Aragorn as he walks back to his seat and says, "Gondor needs no king."

There is silence for a few moments before Gandalf says, "Aragorn is right. We cannot use it."

Elrond stands again. He looks around at everyone and says, "You have only one choice. The ring must be destroyed."

Everyone in the circle turns to look at the Ring. Out of the corner of his eye, Jakan can see Boromir looks disappointed.

Suddenly, one of the dwarves says gruffly, "What are we waiting for?" He stands, picks up his axe, then steps forward and swings it down on the Ring. A moment later, he goes flying back as his axe breaks. Jakan looks at the Ring, and sees the table around it has cracked, but the Ring doesn't even have a scratch on it.

Jakan is tempted to ask Elrond to wait a moment while he goes and grabs the Darksaber to see if that can do anything. But, before he can suggest it, Elrond speaks up and says, "The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this."

There is dead silence for several moments. Finally, Boromir speaks and says, "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great Eye is ever watchful." As he says "Eye", he makes a circle with his hand to emphasize the word. Jakan gets the feeling he's not just talking about Sauron having really sharp eyesight.

Boromir continues, "It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly!"

Legolas again shoots to his feet. "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!"

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it," Gimli says harshly.

Boromir also gets to his feet as he angrily demands, "And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

Gimli shoots his feet, glaring right at Legolas as he shouts, "I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!"

The other elves shoot to their feet, shouting angrily at Gimli. The other dwarves leap to Gimli's defense as he shouts, "Never trust an elf!"

The entire council dissolves into a series of shouting matches. Gandalf joins the argument, and Boromir starts arguing with him. The only ones still seated are Aragorn, Elrond, Frodo, and Jakan.

Jakan stares at the growing mayhem with exasperation. He can't believe they're more concerned about petty grievances between races and ill-thought desires for aid that they're ignoring the true threat. At the same time, he can feel a growing unease coming from the Ring, and fears that the Ring is silently feeding the anger and ill feelings in the group.

Suddenly, Frodo stands up and says loudly, "I will take it."

Nobody else hears Frodo, except Elrond. Jakan, however, hears him clearly, and looks in amazement at this Hobbit. He had learned a bit about Hobbits, and Frodo in particular, from Elrond before the Council began. After everything he'd gone through to get the Ring to Rivendell, he was still willing to take the Ring to Mordor. This Hobbit was truly something to behold.

"I will take it!" Frodo says a little more loudly. This time, Gandalf, hears him clearly, and the others start to quiet down, not sure what they heard.

Frodo looks firmly around at the Council and says loudly, "I will take the Ring to Mordor." Everyone in the Council looks in amazement at Frodo. Frodo looks around at the Council and says, "Though, I do not know the way."

Gandalf steps towards Frodo as he says, "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear."

Aragorn stands, looking straight at Frodo, and says, "If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will." He then walks up to Frodo and kneels in front of him. "You have my sword," he pledges.

A moment later, Legolas steps forward and pledges, "And you have my bow."

"And my axe," Gimli adds as he steps forward to join the growing group.

The group, now 5 in number, stands together as Boromir takes a step forward. "You carry the fates of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council…then Gondor will see it done," he pledges before stepping forward to join them.

"Hey!" Jakan turns around chuckles a bit as he sees another Hobbit, who he vaguely remembers Gandalf telling him about beforehand, and remembers his name as Sam.

Sam runs up beside Frodo and says, "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me."

Elrond smiles and says in an amused tone, "No, indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you two. Even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not."

"Oi! We're coming too." Two more Hobbits come racing into the courtyard. Now, Elrond looks annoyed at realizing the Council he wanted to be secret is not so secret.

"You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us," one of the Hobbits says.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing," the other Hobbit says.

Gandalf looks towards Elrond in amusement. The first of the two Hobbits to run up says, "Well that rules you out Pip."

Elrond looks at the group, now numbering 9. He is about to speak when Jakan stands. Ever since he read about Sauron, a feeling has been growing in him. Now, seeing Frodo's willingness to undertake this quest when there were possibly more capable candidates, has motivated him enough. For the first time in a while, Jakan feels a determination to set aside his mission to help others in need.

"Your selflessness is inspiring, Frodo. While the rest of my people may not be able to help, I, as their representative, say that Mandalore stands with you. So long as you bear this burden, I will fight to protect you," Jakan pledges.

Everyone in the council, save Elrond, Gandalf, and Aragorn, looks at Jakan in confusion, still not knowing who he is. But Jakan takes his place beside Gandalf and looks to Elrond, who looks over the group.

"10 companions. So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring," Elrond says.

"Right. Where are we going?" 'Pip' asks.

The rest of the Fellowship begins to chuckle and laugh. And for the first time in a while, Jakan finds himself laughing. It feels good to laugh again.

And there we go. I hope this chapter was pleasing to you.

Jakan, I feel, will be very good friends with Aragorn. He'll also forge a bit of a bond with Boromir. On that note, please, please let me know if you would like to see Boromir live. I'm trying to figure out whether or not to save him, so give me your opinion.

Next chapter will show the Fellowship starting out, and Jakan receiving a special gift. What will it be? Well, you'll have to wait and see.

Until next time!