Passing Duty
By: Azra
I had no intention of actually continuing this. I only wrote it because of a writing challenge from this fan club I'm in. But, cause some people wanted me to continue it, I suppose I will.
~What came Before~
The council was small, just seven of the Eldar had been told of it. Six of them were there now, sitting around a table. They were currently awaiting the arrival of the seventh and final Elf, the Lord Elrond of Imladris. His journey to the meeting place in Lothlorien was the most dangerous, as he was carrying the items of great importance.
Galadriel had suggested that they meet, and the Golden Woods had seemed the best place to do so. Sauron's evil had not yet reached this forest, and the magic of the Elves here kept his Eye from piercing into their meeting.
Beside her sat Cirdan, the Telerin Elf-lord who was the Keeper of the Grey Havens in the Gulf of Lhun. His eyes were half shut with fatigue, as he'd had the longest journey to make and had only just arrived.
Next to him was the only non-elf there. It was one of the Istari, called Mithrandir by the Elves and Gandalf by Men. The other two Istari had not been invited. Curunir, also called Saruman, was not in good favor with Galadriel. Of the third Wizard, Radagast, none knew anything of his whereabouts.
On the opposite side of the table sat Gil-galad. He was the last of the High Kings of the Noldor Elves, and a great warrior. His alliances with the mortal King Elendil were invaluable. He and Elendil had been speaking together of a plan to strike at Sauron before his power grew stronger.
Looking out of place sitting with all of the others was a plain looking Elf in green and grey. Her name was Alca, and she was a Noldorin Elf, one of the eldest of that line. She was the wife of Thranduil, the Lord of the Greenwood the Great, or Mirkwood as it was beginning to be called. Her heritage traced back, mother to daughter, to Miriel, wife of Finwe- the first of the Noldor Elves in Middle-earth.
Last, sitting next to Alca, was one of the most important of all invited, the smith Celebrimbor. He was the creator of the three Rings of Power belonging to the Elves, which were the cause of this council.
Now that news of Sauron's betrayal had been heard, the three Rings were in great danger of being seized. Already the nine Rings of Men had been taken and their owners, great kings of Men, had been changed into evil beings called Nazgul. The number of the Dwarfs' Rings that had been captured was unknown, but reports had it at three. Where the other four were, no one knew.
But the Elves' Rings were untouched, and they all knew the Dark Lord wanted them. Before, Elrond had been given charge of them, and he had kept them in Imladris to ensure their safety. But, now that the Dark Forces were growing, they had to be hidden once more.
All present jumped as the door opened and closed suddenly, disturbing the silence. Six sets of eyes turned to look at the newcomer, then all visibly relaxed as they realized who it was. Elrond Halfelven stood there, carrying under his arm a small box of polished wood.
This he set in the center of the table before taking the last empty seat beside Galadriel. Then the meeting started.
~
"And if we separate them, and spread them throughout Middle-earth, then they will be safe." Celebrimbor concluded. They had been in council for almost two hours now, and had yet reached a decision.
Alca stood, speaking for the first time. "I agree." She said. "Sauron will have more difficulty finding the Rings if they are not kept together." As she spoke, her gaze fell to the wooden box before her. The lid of it had been opened, revealing three rings resting on black velvet.
The first was Narya, the Ring of Fire. A red stone sat in the middle of it, sparkling in the dim lights of the lamps in the room. Next was Nenya, the Ring of Water. It appeared plain at first, as it was solid white. But this Ring was wrought of mithril and had a single white stone on it. Last was Vilya, the Ring of Air. It was the most powerful of the three, and was made of gold with a blue sapphire in it.
Gandalf rose to speak. "If we are to divide the Rings, then the question that remains is to whom each one will go. Where will they be safest? And to where would Sauron not think of looking?" He sat back down, having said what he needed to.
For a moment no one spoke, the Galadriel rose. "I will bear one of these Rings." She said. "It will be safe here in the woods of Lorien."
No one else made any movement to speak for a while, the consequences of being a bearer of a Ring weighing on their minds. Then Cirdan spoke up. "I will take one as well." He said at last.
Alca sighed and rose. "Though I know it is dangerous, I will take the third with me." She said. "Yet, if something happens to me- or to any of the Ring-bearers- we should know who is to take them next."
It was an easy decision that should any harm befall the bearers of the Three, the other members of the Council would be prepared to take them. And so it was that Alca found herself returning to home to her husband and her son, Legolas, with the Ring Vilya on her finger. Gil-galad had been named the next bearer should any harm befall her.
So she returned, and kept Vilya safe until her death.
~*~*~*~
Completed on February 18, 2002
People and Places I mentioned: I had to do quite a bit of research to write this, and I ended up using some names and places that aren't too familiar. So, to explain... (All definitions/explanations come from the index in `The Silmarillion' by JRR Tolkien)
* Eldar- Refers to the Elves of the Three Kindreds (Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri). More or less the oldest of the Elves in Middle-earth, or so I've come to believe.
* Imladris- Rivendell
* Cirdan- pretty explanatory. He's only mentioned in the end of `The Return of the King' as the Elf who is in charge of the ship from the Havens.
* Radagast- Out of all the research I did, I could only find the names of three of the Istari (wizards). This is one of them; mention only three times in `The Silmarillion'. He's the one who actually provided Saruman with the crows that he used as spies (like in the movie).
* Elendil- Isildur's father
* Miriel and Finwe- sort of easy to figure out. Finwe was this really old Elf and Miriel was his wife. Simple enough...
I don't know if I'm going to type another chapter in this little series. Someone wanted to know how Legolas' mother (who I've named Alca, since she doesn't really have a name in the books) got one of the Rings.
If I do, in fact, end up continuing this series, then the next chapter will probably be around how Elrond came to have the Ring. Unless, that is, if someone wants to know something else.
Please review!!! Thanks!
~Azra~
By: Azra
I had no intention of actually continuing this. I only wrote it because of a writing challenge from this fan club I'm in. But, cause some people wanted me to continue it, I suppose I will.
~What came Before~
The council was small, just seven of the Eldar had been told of it. Six of them were there now, sitting around a table. They were currently awaiting the arrival of the seventh and final Elf, the Lord Elrond of Imladris. His journey to the meeting place in Lothlorien was the most dangerous, as he was carrying the items of great importance.
Galadriel had suggested that they meet, and the Golden Woods had seemed the best place to do so. Sauron's evil had not yet reached this forest, and the magic of the Elves here kept his Eye from piercing into their meeting.
Beside her sat Cirdan, the Telerin Elf-lord who was the Keeper of the Grey Havens in the Gulf of Lhun. His eyes were half shut with fatigue, as he'd had the longest journey to make and had only just arrived.
Next to him was the only non-elf there. It was one of the Istari, called Mithrandir by the Elves and Gandalf by Men. The other two Istari had not been invited. Curunir, also called Saruman, was not in good favor with Galadriel. Of the third Wizard, Radagast, none knew anything of his whereabouts.
On the opposite side of the table sat Gil-galad. He was the last of the High Kings of the Noldor Elves, and a great warrior. His alliances with the mortal King Elendil were invaluable. He and Elendil had been speaking together of a plan to strike at Sauron before his power grew stronger.
Looking out of place sitting with all of the others was a plain looking Elf in green and grey. Her name was Alca, and she was a Noldorin Elf, one of the eldest of that line. She was the wife of Thranduil, the Lord of the Greenwood the Great, or Mirkwood as it was beginning to be called. Her heritage traced back, mother to daughter, to Miriel, wife of Finwe- the first of the Noldor Elves in Middle-earth.
Last, sitting next to Alca, was one of the most important of all invited, the smith Celebrimbor. He was the creator of the three Rings of Power belonging to the Elves, which were the cause of this council.
Now that news of Sauron's betrayal had been heard, the three Rings were in great danger of being seized. Already the nine Rings of Men had been taken and their owners, great kings of Men, had been changed into evil beings called Nazgul. The number of the Dwarfs' Rings that had been captured was unknown, but reports had it at three. Where the other four were, no one knew.
But the Elves' Rings were untouched, and they all knew the Dark Lord wanted them. Before, Elrond had been given charge of them, and he had kept them in Imladris to ensure their safety. But, now that the Dark Forces were growing, they had to be hidden once more.
All present jumped as the door opened and closed suddenly, disturbing the silence. Six sets of eyes turned to look at the newcomer, then all visibly relaxed as they realized who it was. Elrond Halfelven stood there, carrying under his arm a small box of polished wood.
This he set in the center of the table before taking the last empty seat beside Galadriel. Then the meeting started.
~
"And if we separate them, and spread them throughout Middle-earth, then they will be safe." Celebrimbor concluded. They had been in council for almost two hours now, and had yet reached a decision.
Alca stood, speaking for the first time. "I agree." She said. "Sauron will have more difficulty finding the Rings if they are not kept together." As she spoke, her gaze fell to the wooden box before her. The lid of it had been opened, revealing three rings resting on black velvet.
The first was Narya, the Ring of Fire. A red stone sat in the middle of it, sparkling in the dim lights of the lamps in the room. Next was Nenya, the Ring of Water. It appeared plain at first, as it was solid white. But this Ring was wrought of mithril and had a single white stone on it. Last was Vilya, the Ring of Air. It was the most powerful of the three, and was made of gold with a blue sapphire in it.
Gandalf rose to speak. "If we are to divide the Rings, then the question that remains is to whom each one will go. Where will they be safest? And to where would Sauron not think of looking?" He sat back down, having said what he needed to.
For a moment no one spoke, the Galadriel rose. "I will bear one of these Rings." She said. "It will be safe here in the woods of Lorien."
No one else made any movement to speak for a while, the consequences of being a bearer of a Ring weighing on their minds. Then Cirdan spoke up. "I will take one as well." He said at last.
Alca sighed and rose. "Though I know it is dangerous, I will take the third with me." She said. "Yet, if something happens to me- or to any of the Ring-bearers- we should know who is to take them next."
It was an easy decision that should any harm befall the bearers of the Three, the other members of the Council would be prepared to take them. And so it was that Alca found herself returning to home to her husband and her son, Legolas, with the Ring Vilya on her finger. Gil-galad had been named the next bearer should any harm befall her.
So she returned, and kept Vilya safe until her death.
~*~*~*~
Completed on February 18, 2002
People and Places I mentioned: I had to do quite a bit of research to write this, and I ended up using some names and places that aren't too familiar. So, to explain... (All definitions/explanations come from the index in `The Silmarillion' by JRR Tolkien)
* Eldar- Refers to the Elves of the Three Kindreds (Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri). More or less the oldest of the Elves in Middle-earth, or so I've come to believe.
* Imladris- Rivendell
* Cirdan- pretty explanatory. He's only mentioned in the end of `The Return of the King' as the Elf who is in charge of the ship from the Havens.
* Radagast- Out of all the research I did, I could only find the names of three of the Istari (wizards). This is one of them; mention only three times in `The Silmarillion'. He's the one who actually provided Saruman with the crows that he used as spies (like in the movie).
* Elendil- Isildur's father
* Miriel and Finwe- sort of easy to figure out. Finwe was this really old Elf and Miriel was his wife. Simple enough...
I don't know if I'm going to type another chapter in this little series. Someone wanted to know how Legolas' mother (who I've named Alca, since she doesn't really have a name in the books) got one of the Rings.
If I do, in fact, end up continuing this series, then the next chapter will probably be around how Elrond came to have the Ring. Unless, that is, if someone wants to know something else.
Please review!!! Thanks!
~Azra~