Disclaimer: Actually I own a lot in this chapter. I think just Legolas, Mordor and Sauron are Tolkien's. I put the description of the furniture together from the cultures of the Vikings, the Forbidden City in Beijing and that of the emperor Charlemagne. The Auryn is on lend from 'The never ending story' by Michael Ende.



21 Inside or insight.

"Sûmob Slaiumlob" the echo was whispering to Legolas.

What had first been just sounds he uttered when reading the orcish runes suddenly had a meaning. He moved his hand towards the door and without any effort it slowly and ghostly soundless swayed open. With all his senses heightened and the adrenaline rushing trough his body, the first glance he caught from what was in the room made him jump. Two giant red dragons, their mouths open wide, displaying an abundance of long sharp white teeth, stared at him with black eyes. Almost in the same moment as he trusted his long knife forward, Legolas realised that the eyes were dead, and the dragons a piece of art.



A piece of art in Mordor? Curious and cautious he entered the room. The two dragons protruded forward from the foot of a bed. The footboard was formed by two mighty claws and the other foreclaws formed the legs of the bed. He walked further into the room, completely fascinated by the sight of the two mighty animals. In the light of his torch he saw the wings of the dragons that formed the sides. In one fluid curve they continued in the headboard constituted by the two enormous tails of the dragons, intertwined together. The two tails ended in triangle-points.



Dragons were considered dangerous and foul animals in Middle Earth. Which made it even more amazing that Legolas did not feel any aversion. Carefully he laid his hand on one of the tails, following its curve back to the head. It was wood, highly skilled carved and coated with red lacquer. It was beautiful! Slowly Legolas released his breath, he had not been aware of holding it. He looked around.



There was no other door then the one he had come through. There was a wooden chest, with two stained double doors. Inside it he could see some clothes. The doors of the chest were beautifully carved representing, again, dragons. The sides were decorated with inlayed dark stones in geometric forms. One wall held eight shelves, full of books. The shelves were supported by shelf brackets that once again ended in the heads of dragons.



Legolas was astonished; everything was beautiful, not like works of art from Rivendell or Minas Tirith, not elvish, but more like... like Mordorish? Was it possible that Mordor could produce anything only remotely not-ugly? Yet here was this room, filled with works of genuine art: attractive, practical and bold. No elf, man or dwarf would choose a dragon as a motif; this was unlike anything he had ever seen from this unholy land or, for that matter unlike anything he had ever seen anywhere. It was a room fit for a prince... a king... an heir...



Irritated he shook his head at that last thought and turned his attention back to the rest of the room. There was a wooden folding screen, made of three panels. It had an intriguing geometric pattern of rectangles in rectangles in rectangles in... it went on and on forever. Against it were pieces armour. Legolas recognized the strange mixture and sighed. On a sword rack against the wall next to the folding screen, he recognized her sword among an impressive collection of various others. Yes, this must be her refuge.



When he walked towards the folding screen he became aware of a light gargling sound. It reminded him of water running over a stone river bed. Moving cautious he looked behind the screen and saw a passage in the wall. After all this time of dry air his skin was suddenly aware of warm moisture emerging. The passage led to a corridor with a channel inside. A channel full of streaming water! Water in an abundance he could not comprehend in the middle of this dessert. This room kept amazing him! The stream was not wide; one could easily step over to the other side. He squatted down and let the water stream over his hand; it was warm and nice. The gargling sound was made where the flow bumped into two stone steps that lead into the water. There was a greenish liquid in a bowl on the ground near the steps. Legolas smelled: soaproot-extract. Across the channel was some laundry hanging from a double clothesline that was looped around two pullies, one on each side of the stream. The clothes felt wet. Legolas returned to the room. Everything here spoke of recent use: the soaproot-extract near the bath, the wet clothes on the line, an open book on the bed... He took a look at the book; it was left open on the first page. There was an inscription, the first two lines were in runes but to Legolas's surprise the last two were in Tengwar: Sindarin!



Sûmobslaium-izub-ûr narmok-izg

ukû tul... Sauron



An nîn melui Sûmobslaium

Uireb darthol... Sauron



[To my beloved Breath of Life

Always waiting... Sauron*]



Legolas felt like his world shatter at that very moment.



What was she? Sauron's lover? Sauron's child? With a sigh he sat down on the bed. He was done thinking, he had the feeling all his thoughts had come to a stand still. Did anything matter anymore? However, what ever the state of his mind, his ears picked up another sound above that of the gargling water. He turned his head toward its source; it came from behind a tapestry on the wall. On it was an image of Auryn: two snakes that intertwine and bit in each other's tails; each snake forming an infinity symbol. He had seen it when he went through the room, the colours of the snakes, silverish and black, obviously stood for good and evil. He had not spent too much thought on it before.



Legolas held his ear against the tapestry. He could hear a soft murmur, he pressed his ear against the fabric to hear better but the fabric gave under his pressure! There was nothing behind it! Cautious Legolas pushed the tapestry aside and, like he expected, there was a hidden corridor behind it. On entering he could see a little light at the end. The murmur was much clearer here. It was a monotone sound, like only one person was talking and it did not sound harsh like the Black Speech. Smothering his torch, he started down the corridor. This one was going steeply down again and there were no fluorescent stones on the walls. It took him only fifty feet to reach the light. Here the corridor curved lightly. With his knives ready he slowly rounded the bend.



She was sitting down on her knees, her back to him. She was wearing a white long tunic, with a wet mark on it, formed by the moist from her braid. The sight of her, not so clean, bare feet, peaking out from under it made him smile. She was speaking softly in Sindarin. It sounded like a mantra. The shadow on the wall told him that she was holding her hands up as if blowing the words into them and then reaching them out to the rocky underground, turning them most careful and placing them on the earth.



"Suilannad cae,

matho in belain erui anna enni,

adannon an cae.



Matho i nestadren gail annon an cae,

sogach o nîn celu uin gail,

o pân thûl thuion."



[Hail earth,

feel the powers that you gave to me,

how I return them to you.



Feel the healing light that is offered to you

drink from my source of light,

from every breath that I exhale.]



As if hypnotised Legolas looked at her and felt his heart being drawn to this creature of doom and hell, this alley of Sauron. How could she be what they said and utter these words? She was what her name said she was: Thûlocuil, Breath of life, she was literally breathing life back into this land... and into his heart.



For Thûlocuil this was an often performed ritual. Since she long ago took the decision to stay alive in this place, buried in the earth, she closed some kind of pact between Arda and herself. The contact with the earth kept her alive and this 'life breathing'- ritual was her way of returning that gift. This was how it had been for all those long years.

Like always she had tuned her senses toward the all-surrounding earth, trying to sense life in it. Suddenly she stirred. Could it be? This was definitely life she sensed. But it was not the earth; what was this life form? With her mind she delicately tossed this spirit around and saw woods and battles, kings and fires, the Fellowship and... herself?! Sitting just like she did now: almost radiating light. It felt like warm water engulfed her. With a shock she recognized this life form: Legolas!



"Legolas?"



*literally translated the Black Speech says:

For my Breath of life I like

eternal here... Sauron



and the Sindarin says:

For my lovely Breath of life

eternal waiting... Sauron



**literally translated:

Hail earth,

feel the divine powers first give to me,

I give back to earth.

You drink from my source of the light

Feel the healing light I give to earth,

from all breath I breathe.