Gaia opened her eyes hoping to see the friendly stars that had always surrounded her. Instead, she saw a dirty workroom filled with strange wooden bowls. She heard something behind her and whirled around. She saw a man in dirty robes staring at her fixedly. She backed away from him.
"Who are you?" she asked horrified.
"I am William Tasbane, The Dark Wizard of the Shadows." He said grandly, then he paused, "Well I will be, with you at my side." He took a step towards her. "You are the key, you are my only hope!" Gaia backed up until she ran into one of the tables. The man had a maniac look in his eye.
"What are you talking about? I am not a key to anything!" Gaia said.
"You must be. The spell I wove called for one who would bring about the destruction of the Light." He said, sounding supremely delighted with himself. "It was a rather difficult spell, but here you are." He smiled at her.
"And what do you intend to do with me?" Gaia asked somewhat fearfully, this man was clearly out of his mind. He was talking about spells and magic. Suddenly he laughed.
"Why my little pet, you're presence alone is all that should be needed, but I will be taking certain precautions." He added slyly. He whispered several words and a yellow glow surrounded Gaia an instant before dissipating. Gaia opened her mouth to speak but found she couldn't. Panic rose up inside her. She fought to run but found her legs wouldn't cooperate. Talsbane smiled cruelly. She fought with all her strength to gain the freedom of movement. He waved his hand almost carelessly. Gaia's entire body seemed to go aflame with pain. Every muscle cramped up. He brain pleaded with the powers that be to let it stop. She would do anything to make it stop. Suddenly it did stop.
"Anything my pet, you would do anything?" he asked, his smile widening. Yes, her brain screamed yes, anything! "Good, now listen up. You will infiltrate the Fellowship of the Ring. One among them is the bearer of a ring. You will know it when you see it; it will call out to you. Your job is to steal the ring and kill the one who bears it. Then you will journey to Mordor and present it to Sauron. Do you understand?" he asked with a lazy wave of his hand. Gaia suddenly found herself in control of her own body again; she nodded tears streaming down her cheeks. He reached down into the pocket of one of his mage robes, from the depths he drew forth a small, blood red stone that dangled on a thin gold chain. He fastened it around Gaia's neck.
"This will allow me to keep watch over you my pet." He crooned in her ear. Gaia recoiled away from him. She tripped over a stool in her haste and fell. She curled up into a ball, trying to keep from crying. She didn't know where she was, this had to be some type of dream. Yes, that's it. It was a dream, a nightmare and soon she would wake up. But for now, she had to go with it. She had learned long ago that nightmares only get worse when you try to fight them.