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The Doom of Terethond
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by Handom Robbit
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A/n: this is my first fic, so please be gentle with reviews! I don't even pretend to own any of Tolkien's work, but Terethond is mine so please don't copy it/him. I'm only 14 so suing me will be no good. This is written in the classic Tolkien style, as near as possible.
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Chapter Two: The beginning of the Quest
Later, in Bilbo's parlour, Gandalf related to the hobbits all of the tale of Terethond, the Handamá-Méndogoth, and the creation of the Shire (see Prologue).
"I must be off fairly soon, my dear hobbits, to sort out some business with Elrond, but I will be back within two months. By then, it would be good if the Dome of Farnamal were uncovered, but please, please, do not spread the news around the Shire. Tell as few as possible!"
"Of course Gandalf, we will only tell those folk we hire to uncover it, and swear them to secrecy."
"Good! This is a discovery that could change the face of Middle-Earth altogether! I must summon a council of the Wise as soon as possible."
As the weeks went by, Bilbo and Frodo brought in stout hobbit-lads, armed with picks and spades, and under the guidance of Bilbo, they began to excavate the top of the hill which Bag End was built into. One day, about two weeks into the work, Fredegar Bolger (not Fatty then!) shouted
"Come quick Mr.Bilbo! I've found it!"
The hobbits crowded round, and it was only by the pushing and shoving of Frodo that Bilbo managed to get to the front.
"Good lad Freddy! Now we must be extra careful not to damage it. Away with the picks! Spades and trowels only from now on!"
But they had no need to worry, because the Dome of Farnamal could withstand being dropped into Orodruin, and mortal picks and spades had no more effect on the smooth surface than a grain of sand would on a solid brick wall. The work went on, more carefully now, and after another five days of excavation Frodo shouted one day
"Come quick uncle! Here's the edge!"
And indeed it was. The edge was the equator of the great globe of glass, or diamond or some otherworldly material (in fact it was glass, but with a great many Spells of Protection woven into the making, so it became harder than diamond and adamant). The edge, where it disappeared into the earth, was carved with a great many letters, in some ancient and forgotten mode of Elvish, spelling out words which none there could understand.
"I dare say Gandalf could read this, but to me it is incomprehensible," marvelled Bilbo. "I wonder who carved these runes, and what ancient Spells they read?"
Then the mood was broken by Mrs.Cotton coming round with great jugs of ale, and for a while all the hobbits made merry on the grass.
But above them on the hill the great Dome of Farnamal slumbered restlessly, as if remembering the awesome power that had flowed through it and out into the world, changing all in its path. After their hearty lunch (as it always was with hobbits), they swiftly uncovered the rest of the Dome. And lo! As the sunset struck the dome, it was bent and reflected down onto the middle slot for the Jet Sword. And it seemed to all that looked on it that there was a sensation of a great power awakening, the ultimate weapon of Good or Evil, but it was in itself neither. It was just a tool, like the forge of the blacksmith or the barrow of the gardener. But it was a tool that gave its operator power from inside. None there were unaffected, and they wished that they could be the wielder of that tool, and envisioned all the great things they would accomplish, if only the Handamá-Méndogoth were fully at its height of power.
All this time Gandalf was riding as swiftly as may be to Imladris, to hold counsel with Elrond about what might be done with this awesome power. It was plain that if they summoned seven others of the White Council, they could at last destroy the Enemy, and break down Barad-Dûr.
"I counsel you not to tell Saruman of this, for I fear he has looked into the Palantír too often, and has become corrupted by the enemy." Thus said Gandalf, and because of all that Elrond owed him, he listened to his advice, even though supposedly Saruman was the greatest of the Istari.
Then Gandalf told Elrond of the history of Farnamal, and the location of the Nandamanë and the Lemenithë. At this Elrond was stunned, that such a weapon could exist without the enemy discovering it.
"Nay," said Gandalf, "Sauron does not know it exists, great though his knowledge is. Farnamal has remained hidden throughout the time of Morgoth, through the Dark Years, right until it was discovered by the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. I myself had nearly forgotten about it, so long ago was it buried. It seems to me that we should use this weapon against Sauron. So long as the nine wielders are pure of heart and mind, this weapon will destroy Mordor, the One Ring, and all of the servants of Sauron in one swoop. Sauron will be left without a realm, without physical form or any Ring. Then we can use the Handamá-Méndogoth to banish him forever to the Halls of Mandos, there to dwell in exile for all eternity. We cannot destroy him altogether, we can only prevent his escape from the Timeless Halls of Mandos."
"That is an excellent idea, my friend, but how are we to use this weapon? We need a Company to depart for Tol Brandir, with picks and shovels and digging equipment."
"There you are wrong my friend, all we need is a company of Nine. I suggest representatives of all the Free Races. Four hobbits, which I will choose. There dwells in the North the heir to the throne of Gondor, one of the Dúnedain, Aragorn son of Arathorn. In Mirkwood there is the Silvan prince Legolas, and in the Lonely Mountain dwells Gimli son of Glóin. I say that these Nine should depart, along with me, for Tol Brandir. But, we will need a Great Ring for the unearthing of these treasures. There we come to the root of my thought: whose Ring can be spared? Not the Ring of Galadriel, for without it Lórien would fade. Círdan cannot spare his, because it alone keeps the Havens from the grasp of the Enemy. And you, Elrond, need your ring to uphold Rivendell."
"You underestimate the tenacity of Imladris, Gandalf. We will stand for a while without Vilya, though it will be hard. If your quest should succeed, we will be rid of the evil of Sauron until the end of Arda. And if it fails..."
"If it fails, then Rivendell will fall, unless I can return the Ring to you in time. And that would be a sore blow against the forces of good.
"I bid you send word to Legolas and Gimli, and summon them hither. I will return here in two months, along with the four Hobbits I have chosen."
"Very well then. Farewell Gandalf, and return with the Holbytlan you speak of."
Gandalf then tarried long in Bree, with the excellent hospitality of Barliman Butterbur. after a month he returned to the Shire to see what work had been done on the uncovering of Farnamal.
he hoped that it had been all uncovered, but he knew a lot about the long lunch-breaks of hobbits, and the probability that they would soon turn into dinner-breaks, so he was not optimistic about the progress.
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A/n: Well, that was chapter 2, I go away tomorrow so chapter 3 won't be up for 2 weeks at least. But please review, all comments accepted!
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The Doom of Terethond
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by Handom Robbit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/n: this is my first fic, so please be gentle with reviews! I don't even pretend to own any of Tolkien's work, but Terethond is mine so please don't copy it/him. I'm only 14 so suing me will be no good. This is written in the classic Tolkien style, as near as possible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Two: The beginning of the Quest
Later, in Bilbo's parlour, Gandalf related to the hobbits all of the tale of Terethond, the Handamá-Méndogoth, and the creation of the Shire (see Prologue).
"I must be off fairly soon, my dear hobbits, to sort out some business with Elrond, but I will be back within two months. By then, it would be good if the Dome of Farnamal were uncovered, but please, please, do not spread the news around the Shire. Tell as few as possible!"
"Of course Gandalf, we will only tell those folk we hire to uncover it, and swear them to secrecy."
"Good! This is a discovery that could change the face of Middle-Earth altogether! I must summon a council of the Wise as soon as possible."
As the weeks went by, Bilbo and Frodo brought in stout hobbit-lads, armed with picks and spades, and under the guidance of Bilbo, they began to excavate the top of the hill which Bag End was built into. One day, about two weeks into the work, Fredegar Bolger (not Fatty then!) shouted
"Come quick Mr.Bilbo! I've found it!"
The hobbits crowded round, and it was only by the pushing and shoving of Frodo that Bilbo managed to get to the front.
"Good lad Freddy! Now we must be extra careful not to damage it. Away with the picks! Spades and trowels only from now on!"
But they had no need to worry, because the Dome of Farnamal could withstand being dropped into Orodruin, and mortal picks and spades had no more effect on the smooth surface than a grain of sand would on a solid brick wall. The work went on, more carefully now, and after another five days of excavation Frodo shouted one day
"Come quick uncle! Here's the edge!"
And indeed it was. The edge was the equator of the great globe of glass, or diamond or some otherworldly material (in fact it was glass, but with a great many Spells of Protection woven into the making, so it became harder than diamond and adamant). The edge, where it disappeared into the earth, was carved with a great many letters, in some ancient and forgotten mode of Elvish, spelling out words which none there could understand.
"I dare say Gandalf could read this, but to me it is incomprehensible," marvelled Bilbo. "I wonder who carved these runes, and what ancient Spells they read?"
Then the mood was broken by Mrs.Cotton coming round with great jugs of ale, and for a while all the hobbits made merry on the grass.
But above them on the hill the great Dome of Farnamal slumbered restlessly, as if remembering the awesome power that had flowed through it and out into the world, changing all in its path. After their hearty lunch (as it always was with hobbits), they swiftly uncovered the rest of the Dome. And lo! As the sunset struck the dome, it was bent and reflected down onto the middle slot for the Jet Sword. And it seemed to all that looked on it that there was a sensation of a great power awakening, the ultimate weapon of Good or Evil, but it was in itself neither. It was just a tool, like the forge of the blacksmith or the barrow of the gardener. But it was a tool that gave its operator power from inside. None there were unaffected, and they wished that they could be the wielder of that tool, and envisioned all the great things they would accomplish, if only the Handamá-Méndogoth were fully at its height of power.
All this time Gandalf was riding as swiftly as may be to Imladris, to hold counsel with Elrond about what might be done with this awesome power. It was plain that if they summoned seven others of the White Council, they could at last destroy the Enemy, and break down Barad-Dûr.
"I counsel you not to tell Saruman of this, for I fear he has looked into the Palantír too often, and has become corrupted by the enemy." Thus said Gandalf, and because of all that Elrond owed him, he listened to his advice, even though supposedly Saruman was the greatest of the Istari.
Then Gandalf told Elrond of the history of Farnamal, and the location of the Nandamanë and the Lemenithë. At this Elrond was stunned, that such a weapon could exist without the enemy discovering it.
"Nay," said Gandalf, "Sauron does not know it exists, great though his knowledge is. Farnamal has remained hidden throughout the time of Morgoth, through the Dark Years, right until it was discovered by the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. I myself had nearly forgotten about it, so long ago was it buried. It seems to me that we should use this weapon against Sauron. So long as the nine wielders are pure of heart and mind, this weapon will destroy Mordor, the One Ring, and all of the servants of Sauron in one swoop. Sauron will be left without a realm, without physical form or any Ring. Then we can use the Handamá-Méndogoth to banish him forever to the Halls of Mandos, there to dwell in exile for all eternity. We cannot destroy him altogether, we can only prevent his escape from the Timeless Halls of Mandos."
"That is an excellent idea, my friend, but how are we to use this weapon? We need a Company to depart for Tol Brandir, with picks and shovels and digging equipment."
"There you are wrong my friend, all we need is a company of Nine. I suggest representatives of all the Free Races. Four hobbits, which I will choose. There dwells in the North the heir to the throne of Gondor, one of the Dúnedain, Aragorn son of Arathorn. In Mirkwood there is the Silvan prince Legolas, and in the Lonely Mountain dwells Gimli son of Glóin. I say that these Nine should depart, along with me, for Tol Brandir. But, we will need a Great Ring for the unearthing of these treasures. There we come to the root of my thought: whose Ring can be spared? Not the Ring of Galadriel, for without it Lórien would fade. Círdan cannot spare his, because it alone keeps the Havens from the grasp of the Enemy. And you, Elrond, need your ring to uphold Rivendell."
"You underestimate the tenacity of Imladris, Gandalf. We will stand for a while without Vilya, though it will be hard. If your quest should succeed, we will be rid of the evil of Sauron until the end of Arda. And if it fails..."
"If it fails, then Rivendell will fall, unless I can return the Ring to you in time. And that would be a sore blow against the forces of good.
"I bid you send word to Legolas and Gimli, and summon them hither. I will return here in two months, along with the four Hobbits I have chosen."
"Very well then. Farewell Gandalf, and return with the Holbytlan you speak of."
Gandalf then tarried long in Bree, with the excellent hospitality of Barliman Butterbur. after a month he returned to the Shire to see what work had been done on the uncovering of Farnamal.
he hoped that it had been all uncovered, but he knew a lot about the long lunch-breaks of hobbits, and the probability that they would soon turn into dinner-breaks, so he was not optimistic about the progress.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
A/n: Well, that was chapter 2, I go away tomorrow so chapter 3 won't be up for 2 weeks at least. But please review, all comments accepted!
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