Chapter 26
Ethrin stood next to her beloved stallion, Starlight. The odor of death and decay around her was so thick she could almost see it, touch it. Starlight shivered under her hand, and she also knew that the horse could sense the fear inside of her. She dreaded the task ahead. She knew the legends, and knew herself. Slowly regaining the memories, she knew herself. Ethrin was a Konlor, the only female Konlor ever to be accepted. To everyone else, she was Olórien.
"Olórien has a destiny to fulfill," Ethrin thought. Quite suddenly she heard the pounding of hooves behind her. Weary she was and her heart had almost given up. Turning slowly, she was ready to let whatever demons take her. She knew she could only fail.
"Diamond?" Ethrin whispered, seeing that upon the young horse was the one and only Diamond with her husband, Frodo.
"Thought you could get away without me, didn't you?" Diamond asked with a grin.
"You shouldn't be here. Don't you see? All hope is lost," Ethrin said, a sigh rising from inside her and eyes closing from obvious fatigue.
"I thought elves never get tired? I guess they have their limits too," Diamond said, still grinning. Seeing Ethrin's still long face, she sighed.
"I think I know who I am now," Ethrin said slowly, unsure of the words to say.
"Well, that's good news! Can you tell me?" Diamond asked eagerly with Frodo also listening intently.
"I am a Konlor, and for some reason I am in a legend. They say that I will save Middle-Earth, but how can I? I remember now that I was born and raised in the Grey Havens, and long have been around the sea. I know I traveled a lot, and when the incident with Sauron and Frodo here with the ring of power came up, I went with many others to the South. A great battle was fought, and Legolas's older sister, Tariendina, was lost there. I tried to use my powers to my best advantage, but I cannot match the powers of Lekondor nor at least three others from the Konlor's circle. I was hit in the head and fainted, losing my memory. Later I was to be found by the village of men that the elves were defending, and an old woman took me in. To me she was my mother, and now I remember my own mother's fair face and my brother Elenquil. I remember Galadriel telling me he is the prince of the Havens, which makes me…the princess. Title is not important, though, especially for us in the Havens. It was there that I received Starlight as a gift, and I raised him. Although he is swift and strong, Legolas is wrong about him being wilder than Shadowfax, for Shadowfax is the king of all horses. I do sometimes think Starlight is close. Anyway, I lived in the human village until my "mother" died and I ended up wandering until I found my way into Mirkwood. Legolas can tell you the rest," Ethrin finished, now all painful looks gone from her face. Now, though, they were expressionless, making Diamond shift uncomfortably.
"Ethrin, you have had a sorrowful past, but now Middle-Earth needs you. I will go if you don't, and I will drag you with me!" Diamond exclaimed, making Ethrin seem to dwarf in size.
"What's there to fight for? Middle-Earth will come to ruin one day, why can't it just be this time?" Ethrin asked.
"Stop wallowing in all that self-pity! We all need you, and you need to believe that Middle-Earth is something to fight for! Think of Legolas and Laphaela! Think of Aragorn and Arwen and all those who have helped you along the way! And if none of them matter, then think of me! Please, Ethrin, hope does not stray far! Try!" Diamond pleaded, tears running slowly down her face now. Ethrin looked into Diamond's pleading eyes, and saw Frodo holding Diamond tight. She remembered the tales she had heard about Frodo, how he risked his own life, and carried the Ring of Power to its doom.
"I'm not Frodo, though, and I do not possess his strength nor his courage," Ethrin thought. Then she once again saw Diamond's tear-streaked face and Frodo's face, still weary with sorrow from his own quest. Gathering herself together shakily, she slowly got up.
"I will go, Diamond, and I will at least try. If I'm weary at least I'll fight for Diamond Baggins, my best friend that has come with me this far. Thank you," Ethrin said, and then mounted Starlight, spurring him forward. Starlight leaped into his fastest sprint.
"You cannot come with me, Diamond. I will not let you," Ethrin called to Diamond when she tried to follow.
"We are at the beginnings of the Shire! I will take my men away from you now. May the Valar bless you!" Then the company destined to go protect the hobbits turned onto a different road. Elrond only glanced at them, and then turned back to his own party of men.
"Lord Elrond! There are demons attacking the ones at the end!" a soldier cried. Elrond turned quickly, and issued out orders to start attacking the demons. The demons came in groups of thousands. When the numbers seemed to shrink suddenly more would come. Elrond and the other soldiers fought with grim faces, slowly becoming weary despite their elven strength.
"Wherever Lortil is, I hope that she will succeed soon," Elrond thought.
Legolas rode alone, faster than the group could ever go. He was soon inside the borders of Mordor, but strangely he wasn't attacked at all. Whiteshadow seemed to fly, but Legolas tried to slow him down in case they really needed to run. But Whiteshadow still sensed his master's urgency, so refused to slow.
"I never thought I would ever be coming near Mount Doom, especially after I didn't have to even traveling with the Fellowship," Legolas thought, watching as the great fortress on top of the fire mountain drew closer. Hearing, or should I say not hearing, the almost palpable silence around him, he felt uncertainty swelling in his heart. Still he rode on, determined to find the answer.
The Old Crone waited in her seat, her apprentice beside her. Gazing into the crystal ball, she watched Ethrin and company's approach.
"Uumeawen, my dear apprentice," the Old Crone said, and Uumeawen shuddered at the sound of the old Crone's "admiring" voice.
"Uumeawen is the perfect name for you dear, and perfect for the work I will teach you. The Evil Maiden you are, and the Evil Maiden you shall remain after all that I teach you. Your first task with me, you already know. Will you really shame the name of your kin and show the world that their suspicions are correct?" the Old Crone continued.
"I've never liked my kin. The world suspects the Dark Elves to be an evil race, despite the fact they are descendants of the High Elves, and many still have the favor of the Valar. Still, they are too weak for my taste, and I will live up to give proof to the world Dark Elves do posses wickedness," Uumeawen said with a grin, showing her white teeth against lips painted black.
"Good, good. You are powerful, and you are flawless. We will wait until our Ethrin's arrival and then you will prove yourself. Soon we will see. She is at the foot of my fortress."
Ethrin stood among trees devoid of neither leaves nor life. Although it wasn't winter she felt like she was in a forest that dwelled in winter's clutches. The night was dark and the moon was full and round. Beside her were Starlight, Diamond, Frodo, and the young horse. Ethrin suddenly remembered the time, in what seemed to be long ago, when she was still with the company and was leaving Lothlórien. She remembered the weight that had been on her neck. Now she put her hands up and drew a necklace from under her shirt.
The charm was looked exactly like a sword. The blade of the sword was made of the highest quality mithril that has ever been found by the dwarves. The hilt, all except the star, lines, and leaves, was made from a stone that was taken out from the middle of the brain of an oliphaunt that had perished many long centuries before. Part of the oliphaunt's brain had solidified, making this the most precious of all jewels that has ever existed. The star was made from a black stone that was found in the depths of some of the great volcanoes deep in the south. The lines crossing the star were silver, the leaves emeralds. How she knew this, Ethrin did not know, but it seemed that the information had been passed to her somehow when she had touched the charm with her hands. This was the necklace that had been given to her when she became a Konlor. All the Konlors wore a special necklace.
"Ethrin, I see two figures coming!" Diamond whispered fiercely, starting to feel shudders up her spine. Frodo put his arms around her, whispering to her reassuring words.
Ethrin watched as Uumeawen and the Old Crone stepped down the mountain and entered the forest. She felt shivers up her spine and shook heavily, her heart full of fear. But she knew what she had to do, and knew that the survival of Middle-Earth depended solely on her.
"What a burden," Ethrin whispered softly as the two figures strolled closer and closer. Around her, she felt the evil radiating from the two forms. They stopped in front of her. The shorter one, though not shorter than the other by much, whispered.
"We meet, Ethrin," the Old Crone said.