Caburnat leaned back in his chair, his thin hands clasped together upon the desk. He gazed out the window, at the stars, the bright stars that never ceased to irritate him. Night was made for darkness, deep and black, without shining stars all over the place. He gritted his teeth and consoled himself with the thought that soon he would be able to sweep the stars from the sky and lock them away. Soon, his power would be complete.
He rose to his feet and made his way to the window, gazing down at the tower opposite of his, where the girl slept. The girl was the key to his destiny, one of them anyway. The one ring would give him complete power, but he knew it would destroy him to try and wield it in this pitiful body.
It hadn't always been such a weak body. He remembered, two years ago, when the ring had awaken, quietly and gradually, and he had found the strength to take form by stealing the bodies of mortals. He had gone from human body to elvish body, even sunk so lowly as to take the body of a goblin. His power diminished with each transfer until he had only enough power for one last body-switch. He'd fully expected to make the last switch, wait around for the body to die, as they always did while his spirit sucked the resources dry, then he would retire to nothingness, for a while anyway.
He remembered his darkest hour. He'd been stuck in a human body, the body of a strong knight that his presence had shriveled into an old man, with the strength for one last transfer. He'd entered a tavern, the place he usually found a new body, and been immediately knocked off his feet by a drunkard. Just when he thought he didn't have the strength to rise, a tall man with silver hair and black eyes offered his hand. He'd never been so tickled as he was when he looked up into the face of a MoonElf. What luck to run into such a creature, a creature that could withstand evil forces due to immunity built up over centuries, so far from its homeland.
The man in whose body he was now had given him money and offered to let him stay the night at his home. What a kind man…a foolish man.
They'd gone four blocks from the tavern when Sauron had taken over the MoonElf's body and fled from the town. Since he shared the man's mind, he gradually learned about the man's life, through his memories, and the existence of his daughter. When he realized that this current body would shrivel before he could get possession of the ring, he considered the daughter.
It was perfect…so perfect it made him laugh. The MoonElf and his daughter loved each other so purely that their souls were entwined. To switch from his body to hers would be nearly effortless and he would retain almost all of his power and have the strength to wield the ring properly.
So he'd used his limited power to call to her, make her long to go to Mordor, though she herself did not realize the longing. He was confident that when the opportunity arose, she would take it and make the journey to Mordor, which would save him a lot of time and trouble.
Fate was clearly on his side. A group of mortals going to Mordor had happened by the tavern where she worked and she had been swept up into their quest.
He frowned and stared out into the night, wondering who was in that group and why they were traveling to Mordor. He'd heard tales from his spies and armies that they were a human, an elf, and a dwarf, but their quest was unknown. He hadn't worried about it, if they came to serve him, fine, if they came to destroy him, fat chance. The important thing was that they would surely get the daughter to Mordor safely and quickly.
But then he grew impatient, his body was weakening, he could feel it. So he sent out his troops to destroy the group and capture his daughter unharmed. Unfortunately, they had only succeeded in killing her.
His frown deepened and he clutched the windowsill tightly, remembering the vivid account given to him by one of his aerial spies about the girl's death. She'd been stabbed in the stomach and bled to death. He wondered how it was that she stood before him now. He shrugged, he would know soon enough, the girl clearly thought that he was her father and would cooperate.
Leaning far out the window, he stared down at the tower in which she slept, wondering if she had any idea her body would soon house the greatest power in the world. Undoubtedly she'd be honored.
Smiling, he paced leisurely around his office, day dreaming about the ceremony that would commence as soon as the one ring was found.
There would be sacrifices, many of them. They weren't necessary for him to switch bodies or complete his power, but he did enjoy them.
Yawning and cursing his mortal body, he sank down in his chair and smiled, "as soon as that ring is found."