And There Were Four
By Aldesina
Chapter 2
Disclaimer; All the characters in the Lord of the Rings books do not belong to me
Middle Earth, Mordor
The man known as Sauron hurried down the stairs of the tower that he just transported to. He straightened his robes as his legs steadily carried him down steep narrow winding stairs. He was used to going up and down these stairs. He had done it many times before. The tower was the only place that he could have full privacy from the outside world. His four masters did not allow him to have time to study magic alone. If he had time alone it meant that he could learn magic other then what they taught him. If that ever happened he could grow independent. Independence leads to disobedience. He had been disciplined before because they caught him trying to be more then he was. He reached the bottom of the stairs and waved his shielding spell into place then covered it with a tapestry of an old wizard dressed in pure white fighting off a volcanic beast.
"What makes you think you will ever be a wizard?"
Sauron was taunted by his masters. He was picked up by them as a child, stolen away from his parents in the middle of the night because his four masters had sensed his power. His power had to be controlled, they told him. Otherwise he might hurt himself, and his loved ones. His power had to be controlled, they told him, otherwise he might use it for wrong purposes. Meaning that he might actually learn to use them for himself instead of acting as a focus or a battery for his four masters. But Sauron had a plan. He had learned everything that his masters taught him; obedience, silence, patience, tolerance for pain, fear, war, all the things that they had forced him to know through their 'lessons' But they had also taught him cruelty, pain, hate, stealth, trickery, intelligence, and more magic then they ever thought he was capable of, but most importantly they taught him evil. It seemed to be the 'ideal' way to go about things. For there is no such thing as evil, truly it's merely a means to an end. The process of the strong taking over the weak; those could not tend for themselves. Those who were stolen in the night. He vowed to never be that again, he quickly changed into the simple black robes of an apprentice mage and went to great the four horsemen.
"Welcome home my masters."
Sauron stood in the main hall bowing low to the four men that walked into the giant hall. It was huge, decorated and carved out of pure volcano rock. The rock had been transported here piece by piece by the minions that his masters had. Then they were maneuvered into place by the four themselves, constructing a grand fortress guarded by demons and lava which sat in a moat that was lined with its own cooled stones, paved smooth by magic. The lava was also transported here and kept hot and boiling by magic from a nearby active volcano. It made a very impressive moat.
"Sauron, see that the horses are taken care of and then come join us in the study"
The first horseman said. He was dressed in red and rode a red horse which spit blood when it reared and screamed at its foes. The man was dressed in leather armor from head to foot. The leather covered almost his entire body and hid a layer of metal armor that magically wrapped itself around him in such a way that it did nothing to hinder his movement. Both were screaming red. He had a matching cloak that ran from his shoulders to his heels. It too was red leather covering enchanted metal.
"Yes my lord Renister" Sauron said, head still bowed low. Renister looked at Sauron and in a sudden movement too quick to follow, he backhanded Sauron across the face. It threw Sauron across the hall and he landed on his side groaning.
"What have I told you to address me as?" Sauron spit the blood from his split lip onto his hand and prostrated himself in front of the red dressed man.
"Forgive me, my Lord War, my memory is bad, though that is not an excuse I cannot help my stupidity sometimes. Forgive me I implore you please."
"Stupid fool" The man who called himself War said. "Get up and tend to our horses!"
"Yes my Lord War" Sauron quickly got up onto his feet and kept his head low as each of his other masters past him and greeted them each by their 'names'.
"Master Death, Master Famine, Master Pestilence."
He then quickly made his way to the stables, muttering under his breath as soon as he was sure they were out of hearing range. Borrowed names, borrowed power, hell they even had a borrowed castle, he smiled to himself thinking of what had transpired earlier on that day. They will soon learn their place. Sauron arrived at the stables looking at those four stupid horses in disgust. Actually there were nine different horses, five fresh ones that were already in the stables, and four tired ones that had just came back with his four masters from the ride. The horses were interchanged everyday to prevent exhaustion and sickness, it was also suppose to ease their tempers. Sauron did not think so. When he was younger and before he discovered the tower to practice magic in he had to personally stable, clean, feed and take care of those nine horses by hand. They had not treated him kindly. The horses, seem to be either dead terrified of Sauron or hated him with every pore on their bodies. Whenever he got near them they went crazy. Luckily he developed enough magic to be able to maneuver things with a wave of his hand. In a flash the horse's saddles were whipped off their backs, shined, and put on their hooks. The horses were then wiped down and dried instantly. He then waved a hand and lifted the horses themselves up and into their stalls. The horses never took to this kindly and screamed like the hounds of hell were after them. Good, Sauron thought, let them scream, he had plans for them too.
Middle Earth, Mirkwood
On the other side of Middle Earth near the deep green forests of Mirkwood an unidentified portal opened. It was a small, and translucent blending in with its surroundings. A creature stepped out of the portal. It had no shape and looked as if it was made out of a drop of water. It too was translucent like the portal like they were made out of the same material. The portal closed behind it and the creature stretched what would be the head of its body toward the sky twitching like it was sniffing the air. It seemed to be satisfied for it lowered its neck and started to stretch out its body lengthwise. One large shape separated into two, and two separated into four. The four blobs twisted and bubbled gently and started to take shape and opacity in color. The first blob formed into the blonde pixie faced girl named Fauna. She was now dressed in a green sleeveless tunic over a white shirt with slim sleeves that covered her wrists. On her legs were a pair of black trousers tucked over a pair of calf length boots the color of the grass she was standing on. Her tunic was belted with a silver chain, the buckle of the belt was in the shape of a scythe. She carried daggers on the inside of her boots, safety tucked away out of view, and a short sword at her side.
The blob next to her twisted once more and then swirled upwards until it was taller then Fauna. The blob started to evaporate starting at the head and going down to the feet to reveal Iclyn; with eyes the color of midnight. She was still dressed in black, this time it was a simple long sleeved black collared shirt and sleeveless tunic. A pair of wide legged pants that looked like a skirt when she walked grace her legs. Underneath that was a pair of knee high boots. At her waist was a metal whip cleverly concealed as a belt. Her forearms where bound with a sheath each. Concealed within its bottom was row after row of poisoned needles. At her neck was a simple chain that had a pendant in the shape of a war scythe. Her shoulder length black hair was held back by small dagger shaped clips made of black glass. She flexed he hands and silver daggers flashed into them only to disappear again without warning, she liked to keep her weapons hidden.
The other two blobs also bubbled and boiled, the one on the left swirled up high, almost as tall as Iclyn and spilt down the middle to reveal Lain, with her golden fawn coloring but with wits sharper then any predator. She was dressed in black and green. An easy fitted black vest went over a black sleeveless shirt. She too had sheathes on her forearms. They carried two matching short daggers. She wore baggy pants that were tucked into a baggy pair of knee high boots. She turned her eyes around her surroundings as she emerged from the blob, one hand reaching for the other long knife that was strapped to her back, and one to her belt laced with throwing knives. She liked her weapons out in the open where she and her opponent could see them. Her one gold earring was replaced by one silver scythe stud.
Last came Jezebel, radiant and shining, she was dressed in a dark plum red that blended in with her hair color. She wore a low cut short sleeved tunic that was tied tight at the waist and left flapping on her down to her knees. They covered black leggings and thigh high black books. She had a necklace that had seven dagger shaped pendants hanging down and a whip at her side. She also carried knives but they, like Fauna's were concealed in the top of her boots. She had earrings that looked like a crescent attached to a long stick, like a mini scythe.
"Don't you think the red is just a bit too eye catching?" Lain asked tsking at Jezabel.
"Not at all, besides it's a dark red it should blend right into the shadows"
"You do realize we're headed into a forest right?" Fauna asked raising an eyebrow.
"She should be fine with the red, it's the complementary color to green anyway and will probably just make the green leaves around her darker. It's the white that you're wearing that worries me." Iclyn said.
"Don't worry about it Iclyn," Lain said "It's actually quite a natural color in the forest, and besides the whites are muted, so it shouldn't be that eye catching." She said.
"I thought we wanted to be eye catching" Jezebel said tossing back her hair which had been braided and curled around her head into a bun. "You have to teach me how to you did that hair of yours one day"
"My secret" Lain smiled evilly. Her own hair had been twisted and tied trailing down her back.
"Can we please discuss glamour later?" Fauna asked exasperatedly.
"Certainly, let's go" Iclyn said heading into the forest.
"Now hold on there," Jezebel called, "Shouldn't we have more of a plan then just walk in and demand to know where the imposters are?" Iclyn raised her eyebrow at Jezebel.
"Didn't we already come with a plan?"
"Yes, but I still think it would be better to seduce some of those cute elves into cooperating." Jezebel said wiggling her eyebrows
"Or we could threaten them with disease" Lain put in
"Or death" Fauna smiled
Iclyn blinked at them "That disastrous plan will only put them on their guards and we will never be able to properly assess the situation in this world."
"Well we aren't exactly threatening you know, merely pushing in the right direction" Lain said.
"Yes and you know how much I love playing ambassador to The Real Four Apocalyptic Horsemen" Fauna said with a wink. The other three just glared at her.
"Let's just get this over with." Iclyn said, and turned toward the forest. The other three shrugged and followed her. The faster they found the imposters and destroyed them, the faster they could go back to their originally scheduled tasks. After all, ends of worlds don't just happen on their own.
Author's Note: Yes I realized I had sited Legolas as a character and he's a no show. Well you'll just have to read chapter 3 to see what he's up to then won't you? And besides, I bet you can guess who these women really are now.
Until next time.