CHAPTER EIGHT --- 2618 --- Summer (Aug) --- A Mithril Light ---
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A raging Storm and a foul wind blew torrents of heavy rain through Rivendell...falling trees and threatening to knock down anything that would go out in it. It was unlike any other storm, and all great the elvin lords were involved in a council meeting for they knew something was trying to attack Rivendell with a magic that they had yet to encounter. So Lomendil was not at home to make certain the affairs of his household were kept in order.
Screams flooded the halls of his house, Torialas…and she was taking everyone's attention enough that eyes strayed from the precious little one for only a few minutes, but those few minutes made all the difference in the world. Gail had been cowering in her crib because of the storm...feeling more in the shadows that were surrounding the valley than anyone else. She glanced a couple of times at the storm…and thought she might have seen a shadow creeping towards the window…a misshapen form…and that was all it took…for she was afraid, and she wanted her father.
Gail climbed up and over the edge of her crib…and made her way to the open doorway where her father always came through. "Adar…" she sang to herself in order to be brave. In her arms she clutched a stuffed toy, a little unicorn with pink hoofs and long braided hair. She wore a beige dress decorated with purple ribbons and blue lace, and her hair now was a bit longer, though still quite curly and her eyes as bright as ever.
She squeezed through the huge door as it was adjar slightly, and padded down the large hallway. Echoing down the hall that was illuminated by torches.were the agonized screams of her mother, and the crashing of the storm against the windows…or was that the creature trying to get in…she shivered at the huge size of her home. She had never been in this hall alone, its great high domed ceiling painted with a spectacular mural of the Valley. The carpet was weaved by hand and she curled the red fibers under her toes as she hugged the edge of the hallway slowly walking down and ducking out of site whenever she saw someone who was not her father.
"Its okay, Perdie" she assured her unicorn in a tiny little voice, but as she looked up…it was not okay…the formless shadow creature was just in front of her on the other side of the huge stained glass windows. She could see it darkening each color as it moved and banged into the glass trying to shatter it. She closed her eyes fiercely and curled down into a little ball, wishing it away, holding onto the light and warmth that her little hands could generate. But when she opened her eyes…the creature had broken through the window. The sound of a thousand pieces of glass breaking shattered through the hallway and flung in every direction, one slicing her arm, causing a red streak of blood to spill forth. A large shadowy claw lay on the window sill and wind and rain poured inside.
As its eyes came forward and it pulled itself upwards and almost through the window...every torch in the hallway went out….and the next thing she knew, time slid forward…and the world around her moved so quickly she felt like she was spinning out of control, and she cried out in terror. But that cry fell on the ears of no-one whilst the hands of time took control. She curled up once again, shivering and crying, clutching her little toy unicorn desperately.
And then...everything changed. She still felt the darkness…she still felt the fear in her heart…but she was somewhere else…and the hall was smaller, small enough that she knew her father would not be able to stand up in it. He could not possibly be here…and her tears began to flow again. It was lit…but dimly so, and seemed to go every which way…endless halls…she finally gave up trying to find a way out and fell back against a wall in between two small round doors, sobbing. in misery and terror.
And he woke…sweat trickling down his forehead, and he swung his hand up to wipe it away reassuring himself that he was indeed awake once again. In Brandy hall…it was difficult to tell what time of day it was as not all the rooms had windows. Frodo's was one that didn't, though he had begged for one. He had dreamed of something clawing at the walls, trying to get through…its huge claws scraping against the dirt and stone as they were made of cloth, and he felt it trying to pull him towards the wall. He had not been able to get off of his bed for the room was filling with water…pouring in from the cracks in the stone. He had been clutching the bars of his bed and it had almost broken through when he heard the sound of a child crying. The sound had broken through the crunching sounds of the claws of the mysterious creature.
Shivering, he turned towards the door of his room, taking deep shuddering breaths. Something was out in the hall…one of his cousins playing tricks with him? Had he cried out when he woke up? Were they coming to see what was going on….he wasn't sure. Whatever the case, he lit the candle by his bed and pulled the covers back. Drawing on his robe he walked tentatively towards the door, smoothing back tousled curls.
His throat was very dry as he approached the door handle and turned it, fingers trembling. He screwed up the last of his courage and wrenched open the door, peering cautiously outside, his candle lighting first the left end of the dim hallway then the right. That's when he saw her cowering behind a side-table, curled up into a little ball. A small bright light in the darkness of the shadowy hallway. His breath came in a sharp gasp as he approached her, and then knelt down. She was rocking back and forth, sobbing pitifully. He reached out…and touched her shoulder…and she nearly jumped out of her skin with a little shriek that died on her lips when she saw him.
What he was about to say fell away when he saw who it was. He swallowed nervously at the delicate creature. Her eyes were streaked with tears and she whimpered pathetically in elvish. He saw the blood on her dress and the scratch on her arm…and he paled. "Its you…" he managed to whisper hoarsely. At the sound of his voice she leapt up and threw her arms around his neck, clutching, trembling with fear. Surprise flooded his features and he mustered his valor. "Can't…no one should see you here…" he lifted her up in his arms, small elleth that she was, and she clung to him tightly.
She didn't speak, burying her head In his shoulder. It felt…warm somehow. She was warm, not like as though she had a fever…but like holding a hot water bottle. He took her back into his room and set her down on the bed, he did not have much in the way of furniture in the small room. "Lets look at your arm…Its all right…" Frodo assured the little elleth girl as she blinked at him in confusion. He still had a glass of half-full water from the night before, and he opened a drawer, and rummaged around in it while she watched him, silently. He drew out one of his older shirts and looked at it…"Well….." he pulled a little a the seams, and tore off one of the arms, then used a knife to cut out a strip of material. "I don't…know why you're here again…this doesn't -feel- like a dream…"
He pulled up her sleeve, blinking a little at the severity of the wound…seemed to be some kind of claw mark… and dipped some water on the bandage. He happened to have a little box of vials of herbs and medicine that his mother had left behind…so after he washed the skin with water he used that to dress the wound carefully and then tie the strip of cloth around her arm snugly. "There…" he smiled at her.
She was too scared right now…even in the comfort of Frodo's room…the darkness was not gone…and they were less protected here. She turned her gaze towards the wall and then looked back at the hobbit her eyes wide with fear. She threw her arms around him and cowered. Water was coming into the room once again, and the shadows were stretching forward. Frodo cried out when he felt it on his feet, and held her as he climbed up on the bed. The shadow was back…the candle light flickered and its claws scraped against the stone threatening to tear It at any moment.
She managed to look up and then at her friend…and he to her…though young…she understood…they would have to fight it. To send the darkness back. They would have to combine their strength…what they had. Everything. He nodded in response to the unspoken direction and a determined look set in his intense blue eyes as he turned to face the creature, Gail clutching him. Wind was picking up in the room, swirling around them both.
"Precious…" the words came in the darkness, and came with every drop of water as it poured into the room, and caused them both to be drenched as though in a strong summer rain. "We know you…Know you…know you…" And the chorus continued to whisper a jumble of ancient words from a thousand voices.
They were less protected here than in Rivendell….and the one who watched knew that. The planetir was serving her well, she could see them, and the visions that brought them together. She was chipping away at the cords, all she had to do was be patient, add a little here…and a little there…. And…she had all the time in the world. She would not rest until she got her vengeance, until she destroyed the Ringbearer, and made him pay a thousand fold for what he had done. Soon…Gail could be used…and she would contact Sauron.
Frodo held tightly to Gailethil and they both closed their eyes, using each other's strength to banish the shadows back to where they belong. It seemed almost hopeless….but then…something small appeared to glow around Gail's neck. The necklace that her father gave her...the Mithril fire-spring. Its glow surged around them…
Bright light was nothing new to the forces of evil, but this particular one held all the glow of a brilliant shield that wrapped around Frodo and Gailethil, and even when the water filled the room entirely and the shadow clawed through the wall in a terrifying rumble…nothing could break through….nothing could penetrate the barrier.
They never knew how long they stayed that way, but when Frodo woke in the morning…he felt something in his arms. The tiny elleth was curled up beside him, not really sleeping, but resting. Her sweet face basking in the sunlight. She was still there…no….she was fading away…
"Don't go!" Frodo cried out…"Don't leave me…."
But there is only so long that you can remain in dreams and though she held out her arms, and their fingers barely touched for but a moment…a blinding white light caused him to shade his eyes…and she was gone…and he began to cry. Lying there in his little room in Brandy Hall, delirious from fever, the stone seemed to close in on him…and his Aunt helplessly tried to administer the mornings medication.
When she left, she picked up a torn shirt and took It with her, leaving him in quiet slumber. She wondered why he had ripped up his own shirt. She would have to have a serious talk with Bilbo, Frodo was not getting any easier to deal with…and where had that toy come from? She glanced suspiciously at the unicorn doll as she walked out.
And back In Rivendell….the storm was gone at last and finally Gail was found. She had been missing for six hours, and everyone had been out of their minds with worry…When asked where she had been, or how she had got hurt…she only said one word…
"Here." a helpless sound from a very confused child...who only knew that she had lost her favorite doll.
They never found out what she did with the toy….or where she had been….and who had dressed her wound…
And from then on Frodo often slept with the toy in his bed, it seemed to be a comfort, though he did not remember where it came from. It helped him.
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Author's note
1.) Okay, have you guessed it yet? Who the Villain is? No? Okay…good. You're not meant to. Hah!
2.) The person who wants Vengeance is adding a little to visions that have already happened, but weren't remembered very well. There did not used to be quite so many between the Ringbearer and his appointed Guardian. The Villain is playing around with time. Take a course on Quantum Physics and maybe someday you'll get it…maybe.
3.) Gail in the far future is appointed by Elrond to accompany Frodo to Valinor. She is the Ringbearer's elleth nurse/guardian far into the future. But someone…is not very happy with that and seeks to change the past.J You'll find out more as the story unfolds and the years fall forward. This is just a bit of explanation as to their connection and a steady progression towards their first 'real' meeting. Okay…I admit It, I'm keeping you all in suspense. I'm evil incarnate…etc. I'm sorry! And I'm just having too much fun writing this stuff.
4.) Oh yea…I made all this up, nope, there never was a Gail in the books.J
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A raging Storm and a foul wind blew torrents of heavy rain through Rivendell...falling trees and threatening to knock down anything that would go out in it. It was unlike any other storm, and all great the elvin lords were involved in a council meeting for they knew something was trying to attack Rivendell with a magic that they had yet to encounter. So Lomendil was not at home to make certain the affairs of his household were kept in order.
Screams flooded the halls of his house, Torialas…and she was taking everyone's attention enough that eyes strayed from the precious little one for only a few minutes, but those few minutes made all the difference in the world. Gail had been cowering in her crib because of the storm...feeling more in the shadows that were surrounding the valley than anyone else. She glanced a couple of times at the storm…and thought she might have seen a shadow creeping towards the window…a misshapen form…and that was all it took…for she was afraid, and she wanted her father.
Gail climbed up and over the edge of her crib…and made her way to the open doorway where her father always came through. "Adar…" she sang to herself in order to be brave. In her arms she clutched a stuffed toy, a little unicorn with pink hoofs and long braided hair. She wore a beige dress decorated with purple ribbons and blue lace, and her hair now was a bit longer, though still quite curly and her eyes as bright as ever.
She squeezed through the huge door as it was adjar slightly, and padded down the large hallway. Echoing down the hall that was illuminated by torches.were the agonized screams of her mother, and the crashing of the storm against the windows…or was that the creature trying to get in…she shivered at the huge size of her home. She had never been in this hall alone, its great high domed ceiling painted with a spectacular mural of the Valley. The carpet was weaved by hand and she curled the red fibers under her toes as she hugged the edge of the hallway slowly walking down and ducking out of site whenever she saw someone who was not her father.
"Its okay, Perdie" she assured her unicorn in a tiny little voice, but as she looked up…it was not okay…the formless shadow creature was just in front of her on the other side of the huge stained glass windows. She could see it darkening each color as it moved and banged into the glass trying to shatter it. She closed her eyes fiercely and curled down into a little ball, wishing it away, holding onto the light and warmth that her little hands could generate. But when she opened her eyes…the creature had broken through the window. The sound of a thousand pieces of glass breaking shattered through the hallway and flung in every direction, one slicing her arm, causing a red streak of blood to spill forth. A large shadowy claw lay on the window sill and wind and rain poured inside.
As its eyes came forward and it pulled itself upwards and almost through the window...every torch in the hallway went out….and the next thing she knew, time slid forward…and the world around her moved so quickly she felt like she was spinning out of control, and she cried out in terror. But that cry fell on the ears of no-one whilst the hands of time took control. She curled up once again, shivering and crying, clutching her little toy unicorn desperately.
And then...everything changed. She still felt the darkness…she still felt the fear in her heart…but she was somewhere else…and the hall was smaller, small enough that she knew her father would not be able to stand up in it. He could not possibly be here…and her tears began to flow again. It was lit…but dimly so, and seemed to go every which way…endless halls…she finally gave up trying to find a way out and fell back against a wall in between two small round doors, sobbing. in misery and terror.
And he woke…sweat trickling down his forehead, and he swung his hand up to wipe it away reassuring himself that he was indeed awake once again. In Brandy hall…it was difficult to tell what time of day it was as not all the rooms had windows. Frodo's was one that didn't, though he had begged for one. He had dreamed of something clawing at the walls, trying to get through…its huge claws scraping against the dirt and stone as they were made of cloth, and he felt it trying to pull him towards the wall. He had not been able to get off of his bed for the room was filling with water…pouring in from the cracks in the stone. He had been clutching the bars of his bed and it had almost broken through when he heard the sound of a child crying. The sound had broken through the crunching sounds of the claws of the mysterious creature.
Shivering, he turned towards the door of his room, taking deep shuddering breaths. Something was out in the hall…one of his cousins playing tricks with him? Had he cried out when he woke up? Were they coming to see what was going on….he wasn't sure. Whatever the case, he lit the candle by his bed and pulled the covers back. Drawing on his robe he walked tentatively towards the door, smoothing back tousled curls.
His throat was very dry as he approached the door handle and turned it, fingers trembling. He screwed up the last of his courage and wrenched open the door, peering cautiously outside, his candle lighting first the left end of the dim hallway then the right. That's when he saw her cowering behind a side-table, curled up into a little ball. A small bright light in the darkness of the shadowy hallway. His breath came in a sharp gasp as he approached her, and then knelt down. She was rocking back and forth, sobbing pitifully. He reached out…and touched her shoulder…and she nearly jumped out of her skin with a little shriek that died on her lips when she saw him.
What he was about to say fell away when he saw who it was. He swallowed nervously at the delicate creature. Her eyes were streaked with tears and she whimpered pathetically in elvish. He saw the blood on her dress and the scratch on her arm…and he paled. "Its you…" he managed to whisper hoarsely. At the sound of his voice she leapt up and threw her arms around his neck, clutching, trembling with fear. Surprise flooded his features and he mustered his valor. "Can't…no one should see you here…" he lifted her up in his arms, small elleth that she was, and she clung to him tightly.
She didn't speak, burying her head In his shoulder. It felt…warm somehow. She was warm, not like as though she had a fever…but like holding a hot water bottle. He took her back into his room and set her down on the bed, he did not have much in the way of furniture in the small room. "Lets look at your arm…Its all right…" Frodo assured the little elleth girl as she blinked at him in confusion. He still had a glass of half-full water from the night before, and he opened a drawer, and rummaged around in it while she watched him, silently. He drew out one of his older shirts and looked at it…"Well….." he pulled a little a the seams, and tore off one of the arms, then used a knife to cut out a strip of material. "I don't…know why you're here again…this doesn't -feel- like a dream…"
He pulled up her sleeve, blinking a little at the severity of the wound…seemed to be some kind of claw mark… and dipped some water on the bandage. He happened to have a little box of vials of herbs and medicine that his mother had left behind…so after he washed the skin with water he used that to dress the wound carefully and then tie the strip of cloth around her arm snugly. "There…" he smiled at her.
She was too scared right now…even in the comfort of Frodo's room…the darkness was not gone…and they were less protected here. She turned her gaze towards the wall and then looked back at the hobbit her eyes wide with fear. She threw her arms around him and cowered. Water was coming into the room once again, and the shadows were stretching forward. Frodo cried out when he felt it on his feet, and held her as he climbed up on the bed. The shadow was back…the candle light flickered and its claws scraped against the stone threatening to tear It at any moment.
She managed to look up and then at her friend…and he to her…though young…she understood…they would have to fight it. To send the darkness back. They would have to combine their strength…what they had. Everything. He nodded in response to the unspoken direction and a determined look set in his intense blue eyes as he turned to face the creature, Gail clutching him. Wind was picking up in the room, swirling around them both.
"Precious…" the words came in the darkness, and came with every drop of water as it poured into the room, and caused them both to be drenched as though in a strong summer rain. "We know you…Know you…know you…" And the chorus continued to whisper a jumble of ancient words from a thousand voices.
They were less protected here than in Rivendell….and the one who watched knew that. The planetir was serving her well, she could see them, and the visions that brought them together. She was chipping away at the cords, all she had to do was be patient, add a little here…and a little there…. And…she had all the time in the world. She would not rest until she got her vengeance, until she destroyed the Ringbearer, and made him pay a thousand fold for what he had done. Soon…Gail could be used…and she would contact Sauron.
Frodo held tightly to Gailethil and they both closed their eyes, using each other's strength to banish the shadows back to where they belong. It seemed almost hopeless….but then…something small appeared to glow around Gail's neck. The necklace that her father gave her...the Mithril fire-spring. Its glow surged around them…
Bright light was nothing new to the forces of evil, but this particular one held all the glow of a brilliant shield that wrapped around Frodo and Gailethil, and even when the water filled the room entirely and the shadow clawed through the wall in a terrifying rumble…nothing could break through….nothing could penetrate the barrier.
They never knew how long they stayed that way, but when Frodo woke in the morning…he felt something in his arms. The tiny elleth was curled up beside him, not really sleeping, but resting. Her sweet face basking in the sunlight. She was still there…no….she was fading away…
"Don't go!" Frodo cried out…"Don't leave me…."
But there is only so long that you can remain in dreams and though she held out her arms, and their fingers barely touched for but a moment…a blinding white light caused him to shade his eyes…and she was gone…and he began to cry. Lying there in his little room in Brandy Hall, delirious from fever, the stone seemed to close in on him…and his Aunt helplessly tried to administer the mornings medication.
When she left, she picked up a torn shirt and took It with her, leaving him in quiet slumber. She wondered why he had ripped up his own shirt. She would have to have a serious talk with Bilbo, Frodo was not getting any easier to deal with…and where had that toy come from? She glanced suspiciously at the unicorn doll as she walked out.
And back In Rivendell….the storm was gone at last and finally Gail was found. She had been missing for six hours, and everyone had been out of their minds with worry…When asked where she had been, or how she had got hurt…she only said one word…
"Here." a helpless sound from a very confused child...who only knew that she had lost her favorite doll.
They never found out what she did with the toy….or where she had been….and who had dressed her wound…
And from then on Frodo often slept with the toy in his bed, it seemed to be a comfort, though he did not remember where it came from. It helped him.
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Author's note
1.) Okay, have you guessed it yet? Who the Villain is? No? Okay…good. You're not meant to. Hah!
2.) The person who wants Vengeance is adding a little to visions that have already happened, but weren't remembered very well. There did not used to be quite so many between the Ringbearer and his appointed Guardian. The Villain is playing around with time. Take a course on Quantum Physics and maybe someday you'll get it…maybe.
3.) Gail in the far future is appointed by Elrond to accompany Frodo to Valinor. She is the Ringbearer's elleth nurse/guardian far into the future. But someone…is not very happy with that and seeks to change the past.J You'll find out more as the story unfolds and the years fall forward. This is just a bit of explanation as to their connection and a steady progression towards their first 'real' meeting. Okay…I admit It, I'm keeping you all in suspense. I'm evil incarnate…etc. I'm sorry! And I'm just having too much fun writing this stuff.
4.) Oh yea…I made all this up, nope, there never was a Gail in the books.J