Mornie Alantië
By: Koi
M2320400177@hotmail.com
Thanks so much for all the reviews. I had a few people ask me questions, so I'm gonna answer them really quickly before I start.
1- Once again, the title means 'Darkness has Fallen'. I got it from the song "May it Be" (by Enya) on the LotR soundtrack.
2- I got the Elvish words from a variety of places. My main source was the novel 'The Silmarillion' By JRR Tolkien. It's the prequel to the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, set from the first age to the beginning of the third age (in other words, the beginning of Middle-earth to the finding of the Ring by Bilbo). There's a word index in the back of that book. I also copied down Elvish words and phrases as I read the LotR books. If you want more detail then that, email me.
3- This is going to be an Usagi/ Legolas pairing. The reason: Legolas is an elf. Usagi is an elf. It just makes sense. Plus, Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is the ABSOLUTELY HOTTEST guy in the entire movie.
To Girl-chama: If you continue to read this fic, I wish you the best on your own fic. It really is good. I hope there's no hatred between us. I really do apologize for my error.
Chapter One:
The Fellowship set off at sunrise the next morning. Gandalf led the way, followed by Legolas and the others. Usagi walked at the end. As Rivendell disappeared behind them, Usagi began to get a strange feeling. Every so often, she could spot something out of the corner of her eye. But when she turned around, there was nothing there.
Aragorn noticed her watching behind them and fell back to talk to her. "What's wrong?" He asked.
The elf shrugged. "I keep seeing something out of the corner of my eye, but when I look there's nothing there." She fell silent, peering off into the distance. They were surrounded by large rocks, trees, and shrubs. Even with her Elvish vision, Usagi would have trouble spotting anyone out there. "I think we're being followed." She finally said.
With a gesture, Aragorn signaled the others to pause for a moment. His eyes narrowed, searching the area for anything unusual. Then, without warning, he took off for a group of bushes just behind them.
Only minutes passed before he returned to site. This time, he was followed by another, shorter figure. Frodo was the first to recognize the newcomer.
"Pippin!" He exclaimed. "It's Pippin. He followed up."
Sure enough, it was the fourth hobbit. He grinned sheepishly at the look he was receiving from his fellow hobbits, Gandalf, and Aragorn.
The wizard finally shook his head. "He'll have to come with us." He finally said. "Though I believe that was his intention from the beginning. We have no time to go back to Rivendell. So now, the Fellowship will be ten."
The youngest hobbit now grinned. "You would have had to tie me up in a sack to get me to stay in Rivendell." He said. "Besides, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing."
"Well, I guess that rules you out." Merry said under his breath.
*~/*\~*
Usagi stared up at the rising moon, only dimly aware of the presence beside her. She had volunteered for the first watch, and he had chosen to watch with her. Of course, neither of them had any need of sleep. That was part of being an elf. While she did periodically put herself in a trans-like state, she didn't sleep.
Without moving her head, she looked over at the other person. Legolas was sitting leaned against a tree, looking out at the empty field surrounding them. His pale blond hair had fallen over his face, causing it to be hidden in shadows.
Breaking her gaze, Usagi looked behind her at the sleeping figures. Three big ones and one smaller one were wrapped in blankets on the farthest edge of the camp. The other four were sleeping closer to the dying fire, seeking what little warmth they could get from the glowing embers.
She rose without making a sound and moved lightly through the camp to the fire. Grabbing a few small pieces of wood, she tossed them on the fire and waited until they'd started to burn before moving away. She glanced over to where Legolas was sitting, her bright blue eyes glowing in the light of the fire.
Legolas was watching her silently. She caught his gaze and made her way over to him.
"Remmirath shines brightly tonight." She said softly as she sat down next to him. Her eyes rose to the constellation she'd named.
He nodded, following her gaze. "Evil is approaching." His voice was slightly tinged with worry. "Danger awaits us." He looked away from the sparkling stars.
Usagi pulled her cloak tighter around her body. The air was colder then she was used to, and even though she didn't feel it as much as Men, she was still cold. The weak moonlight shined down on the camp and helped to light up the land around them. In the distance, she could see the outlines of mountains.
"We will reach the Misty Mountains by sun set tomorrow, if we have no disturbances during the day." She said. "If all goes well, we will be at the Redhorn Gate by supper time."
Both of them fell silent and wrapped their cloaks around them in a futile attempt to stay warm. The fire was burning behind them, but they were too far from it to receive much heat.
Usagi drifted into her memories as she sat. It was only two days since she'd left Earth to return home. So much had happened in that small period of time. 'I wonder how the others are.' She thought. She reached into her cloak's pocket and felt the two items she'd stuck in there before they'd set off. The first was a pink watch. It no longer worked here, in this world. The second was more important. It was a heart-shaped brooch. But, inside the brooch was one of her most treasured possessions. It was just a small, shiny crystal that shown like the sun when filled with power. The Ginzuishou.
When she'd arrived in Japan and met her friends, she hadn't realized that magic existed there, too. It had been almost fun to play innocent and act immature. It had been just her luck to be selected to be one of the magic girls, the Sailor Senshi.
But all that was behind her now. She didn't even know if the Ginzuishou would work in this world. Besides, she wasn't going back to Tokyo; to Earth. That chapter of her life was over.
She brought herself back to the real world and glanced once more around the campsite. Everything was quiet.
Hours passed and the moon passed across the sky until it was behind them. Already, the sky was turning gray as the sun began to rise. The other members of the Fellowship were beginning to stir.
Gandalf was the first to awake, and he rose up and brushed the dirt off of his cloak and grabbed his staff, which he'd propped against a tree. At his command, Usagi and Legolas began to move around the camp and wake up the others.
*/\*
The sun had reached its zenith and was begging its slow descent downwards to the horizon when the group stopped for rest. They had pressed on all morning, not even stopping to eat or rest once. Right now, they had stopped at one of the old stone ruins.
Food was being cooked over a fire above where they were sitting. The man, Boromir, was teaching two of the hobbits- Pippin and Merry- to use their swords as best they could in the limited time he had to teach them.
Gimli the Dwarf had jumped up to one of the higher rocks that jutted out of the ground to look at the surrounding countryside.
"If anyone's asking me," He said. "And I note they're not, I'd say we're taking the long way around. Why don't we go through the caves of Moria? My cousin, Balin, would give us a warm welcome."
Gandalf said something to him that the others couldn't hear, but from the looks of it he was very against going into Moria.
Legolas jumped up lightly onto a rock beside the Dwarf and looked out into the distance, shading his eyes to see better. "What is that, on the horizon?" He asked.
"Just a wisp of cloud." Gimli said, waving off the Elf's concern.
Usagi's eyes narrowed and she rose to get a better look. "It's getting closer and moving fast against the wind." She pointed out.
Gandalf's eyes narrowed from beneath his pointed hat. "Crebain!" He yelled suddenly. "Everyone, hide!" With that, he himself moved to duck under one of the stone ledges.
Frodo rushed to stamp out the fire before throwing himself underneath another stone ledge with his fellow hobbits. Usagi glanced around before jumping down from the rocks and dashing into some overgrown brambles. Her gray clothing helped her to blend into her surroundings perfectly.
Only seconds after she'd gotten covered and positioned herself to look upwards, hundreds upon thousands of black crows swarmed over them. These were the crebain, black crows from forests far from there. They flew past the site, heading south.
As soon as the last crow had vanished into the distance, all nine travelers crawled out of their hiding places and reassembled on the rocks. Gandalf looked towards the south.
"Those birds are not natives in these parts." He said as everyone reappeared. "They were sent by Saruman to spy out this area. The Redhorn gate to the south of us will be watched. We'll have to take another route." He turned his gaze to the tall mountain in front of him.
Boromir spoke up, the first to realize what the old wizard was intending. "You mean for us to take the Pass of Caradhras." He stated. The mountain Caradhras glowed in front of them, the sun reflecting off its snowy peak. "It will be bitter cold, at best, when we get up there."
The wizard shook his head. "We have no time to prepare." He said. "We must go now, without any delay. If we're lucky, we'll be out of Saruman's reach before his spies report back to him.
Usagi stepped lightly on top of the huge snow banks. Behind her, the others were trudging up to their waists- in the case of the hobbits and the dwarf, their necks- in the stuff. None of them possessed the lightness of and elf.
The snow was swirling around them, and they'd long ago given up trying to warm themselves. Through the whiteness, Usagi could see the form of Legolas in front of her. He'd paused to wait for them to catch up. Looking behind her, Usagi could see that the shorter one's in their group were having trouble.
With a few easy steps, she brought herself to where the Ringbearer was trying to push himself forward against the strong winds. He was already tired from their long and tough journey this far up the mountain.
"Frodo." She said softly. Despite the wind, her voice could still be heard clearly. When she was sure she'd gotten his attention, she pulled out a flask from inside her cloak and popped of the top. "Here, drink this."
The Hobbit took the flask, though his hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold it, and took a deep drink. Almost instantly, he felt warmth flood his body and his energy return. "What is this?" He asked.
She smiled. "It's miruvor." She said. "I brought it with me from Rivendell. Drink only a little, for this is all I have."
He handed the flask back with a gracious smile. Usagi smiled in return before moving to the next of the hobbits, Sam. She was heading to help Merry when a sudden movement caught her attention.
At the head of the line, Legolas had run forward and then stopped suddenly. His head was tilted to the side as though he was listening to something. Closing her eyes, Usagi concentrated, trying to hear what he was hearing.
"There's a foul voice upon the air." He said. The wind carried his voice back so everyone could hear it clearly.
A rumble was heard, then a shower of rocks poured down over them. They were narrowly missed by the boulders and falling snow.
Gandalf's eyes widened. "It's Saruman!" He shouted. As he spoke, a giant bolt of lightning came flashing down and struck the cliff above them. Everyone instinctively pushed themselves away from the edge to the stone wall as snow and rocks came showering down on them.
As soon as the rumbling stopped, the nine dug themselves out of the snow that covered them.
"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" Aragorn shouted. "We must turn back."
The Grey wizard shook his head. "No, It's too dangerous." He continued to argue for a minute before sighing and looking at Frodo. "Let the Ring-bearer decided." He finally said.
Frodo looked up at the wizard, then to his shivering friends. "We will take the mines." He finally said.
The old wizard looked unhappy but nodded.
/~o0O~O0o~\
That's all for this chapter. Please review. There wasn't really much action in this one, and I'm sorry about that. If you've seen the movie, you know that there's a lot of action coming up soon.
And Jan: Five times I missed that dang car!!! Five times!!!
By: Koi
M2320400177@hotmail.com
Thanks so much for all the reviews. I had a few people ask me questions, so I'm gonna answer them really quickly before I start.
1- Once again, the title means 'Darkness has Fallen'. I got it from the song "May it Be" (by Enya) on the LotR soundtrack.
2- I got the Elvish words from a variety of places. My main source was the novel 'The Silmarillion' By JRR Tolkien. It's the prequel to the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, set from the first age to the beginning of the third age (in other words, the beginning of Middle-earth to the finding of the Ring by Bilbo). There's a word index in the back of that book. I also copied down Elvish words and phrases as I read the LotR books. If you want more detail then that, email me.
3- This is going to be an Usagi/ Legolas pairing. The reason: Legolas is an elf. Usagi is an elf. It just makes sense. Plus, Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is the ABSOLUTELY HOTTEST guy in the entire movie.
To Girl-chama: If you continue to read this fic, I wish you the best on your own fic. It really is good. I hope there's no hatred between us. I really do apologize for my error.
Chapter One:
The Fellowship set off at sunrise the next morning. Gandalf led the way, followed by Legolas and the others. Usagi walked at the end. As Rivendell disappeared behind them, Usagi began to get a strange feeling. Every so often, she could spot something out of the corner of her eye. But when she turned around, there was nothing there.
Aragorn noticed her watching behind them and fell back to talk to her. "What's wrong?" He asked.
The elf shrugged. "I keep seeing something out of the corner of my eye, but when I look there's nothing there." She fell silent, peering off into the distance. They were surrounded by large rocks, trees, and shrubs. Even with her Elvish vision, Usagi would have trouble spotting anyone out there. "I think we're being followed." She finally said.
With a gesture, Aragorn signaled the others to pause for a moment. His eyes narrowed, searching the area for anything unusual. Then, without warning, he took off for a group of bushes just behind them.
Only minutes passed before he returned to site. This time, he was followed by another, shorter figure. Frodo was the first to recognize the newcomer.
"Pippin!" He exclaimed. "It's Pippin. He followed up."
Sure enough, it was the fourth hobbit. He grinned sheepishly at the look he was receiving from his fellow hobbits, Gandalf, and Aragorn.
The wizard finally shook his head. "He'll have to come with us." He finally said. "Though I believe that was his intention from the beginning. We have no time to go back to Rivendell. So now, the Fellowship will be ten."
The youngest hobbit now grinned. "You would have had to tie me up in a sack to get me to stay in Rivendell." He said. "Besides, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing."
"Well, I guess that rules you out." Merry said under his breath.
*~/*\~*
Usagi stared up at the rising moon, only dimly aware of the presence beside her. She had volunteered for the first watch, and he had chosen to watch with her. Of course, neither of them had any need of sleep. That was part of being an elf. While she did periodically put herself in a trans-like state, she didn't sleep.
Without moving her head, she looked over at the other person. Legolas was sitting leaned against a tree, looking out at the empty field surrounding them. His pale blond hair had fallen over his face, causing it to be hidden in shadows.
Breaking her gaze, Usagi looked behind her at the sleeping figures. Three big ones and one smaller one were wrapped in blankets on the farthest edge of the camp. The other four were sleeping closer to the dying fire, seeking what little warmth they could get from the glowing embers.
She rose without making a sound and moved lightly through the camp to the fire. Grabbing a few small pieces of wood, she tossed them on the fire and waited until they'd started to burn before moving away. She glanced over to where Legolas was sitting, her bright blue eyes glowing in the light of the fire.
Legolas was watching her silently. She caught his gaze and made her way over to him.
"Remmirath shines brightly tonight." She said softly as she sat down next to him. Her eyes rose to the constellation she'd named.
He nodded, following her gaze. "Evil is approaching." His voice was slightly tinged with worry. "Danger awaits us." He looked away from the sparkling stars.
Usagi pulled her cloak tighter around her body. The air was colder then she was used to, and even though she didn't feel it as much as Men, she was still cold. The weak moonlight shined down on the camp and helped to light up the land around them. In the distance, she could see the outlines of mountains.
"We will reach the Misty Mountains by sun set tomorrow, if we have no disturbances during the day." She said. "If all goes well, we will be at the Redhorn Gate by supper time."
Both of them fell silent and wrapped their cloaks around them in a futile attempt to stay warm. The fire was burning behind them, but they were too far from it to receive much heat.
Usagi drifted into her memories as she sat. It was only two days since she'd left Earth to return home. So much had happened in that small period of time. 'I wonder how the others are.' She thought. She reached into her cloak's pocket and felt the two items she'd stuck in there before they'd set off. The first was a pink watch. It no longer worked here, in this world. The second was more important. It was a heart-shaped brooch. But, inside the brooch was one of her most treasured possessions. It was just a small, shiny crystal that shown like the sun when filled with power. The Ginzuishou.
When she'd arrived in Japan and met her friends, she hadn't realized that magic existed there, too. It had been almost fun to play innocent and act immature. It had been just her luck to be selected to be one of the magic girls, the Sailor Senshi.
But all that was behind her now. She didn't even know if the Ginzuishou would work in this world. Besides, she wasn't going back to Tokyo; to Earth. That chapter of her life was over.
She brought herself back to the real world and glanced once more around the campsite. Everything was quiet.
Hours passed and the moon passed across the sky until it was behind them. Already, the sky was turning gray as the sun began to rise. The other members of the Fellowship were beginning to stir.
Gandalf was the first to awake, and he rose up and brushed the dirt off of his cloak and grabbed his staff, which he'd propped against a tree. At his command, Usagi and Legolas began to move around the camp and wake up the others.
*/\*
The sun had reached its zenith and was begging its slow descent downwards to the horizon when the group stopped for rest. They had pressed on all morning, not even stopping to eat or rest once. Right now, they had stopped at one of the old stone ruins.
Food was being cooked over a fire above where they were sitting. The man, Boromir, was teaching two of the hobbits- Pippin and Merry- to use their swords as best they could in the limited time he had to teach them.
Gimli the Dwarf had jumped up to one of the higher rocks that jutted out of the ground to look at the surrounding countryside.
"If anyone's asking me," He said. "And I note they're not, I'd say we're taking the long way around. Why don't we go through the caves of Moria? My cousin, Balin, would give us a warm welcome."
Gandalf said something to him that the others couldn't hear, but from the looks of it he was very against going into Moria.
Legolas jumped up lightly onto a rock beside the Dwarf and looked out into the distance, shading his eyes to see better. "What is that, on the horizon?" He asked.
"Just a wisp of cloud." Gimli said, waving off the Elf's concern.
Usagi's eyes narrowed and she rose to get a better look. "It's getting closer and moving fast against the wind." She pointed out.
Gandalf's eyes narrowed from beneath his pointed hat. "Crebain!" He yelled suddenly. "Everyone, hide!" With that, he himself moved to duck under one of the stone ledges.
Frodo rushed to stamp out the fire before throwing himself underneath another stone ledge with his fellow hobbits. Usagi glanced around before jumping down from the rocks and dashing into some overgrown brambles. Her gray clothing helped her to blend into her surroundings perfectly.
Only seconds after she'd gotten covered and positioned herself to look upwards, hundreds upon thousands of black crows swarmed over them. These were the crebain, black crows from forests far from there. They flew past the site, heading south.
As soon as the last crow had vanished into the distance, all nine travelers crawled out of their hiding places and reassembled on the rocks. Gandalf looked towards the south.
"Those birds are not natives in these parts." He said as everyone reappeared. "They were sent by Saruman to spy out this area. The Redhorn gate to the south of us will be watched. We'll have to take another route." He turned his gaze to the tall mountain in front of him.
Boromir spoke up, the first to realize what the old wizard was intending. "You mean for us to take the Pass of Caradhras." He stated. The mountain Caradhras glowed in front of them, the sun reflecting off its snowy peak. "It will be bitter cold, at best, when we get up there."
The wizard shook his head. "We have no time to prepare." He said. "We must go now, without any delay. If we're lucky, we'll be out of Saruman's reach before his spies report back to him.
Usagi stepped lightly on top of the huge snow banks. Behind her, the others were trudging up to their waists- in the case of the hobbits and the dwarf, their necks- in the stuff. None of them possessed the lightness of and elf.
The snow was swirling around them, and they'd long ago given up trying to warm themselves. Through the whiteness, Usagi could see the form of Legolas in front of her. He'd paused to wait for them to catch up. Looking behind her, Usagi could see that the shorter one's in their group were having trouble.
With a few easy steps, she brought herself to where the Ringbearer was trying to push himself forward against the strong winds. He was already tired from their long and tough journey this far up the mountain.
"Frodo." She said softly. Despite the wind, her voice could still be heard clearly. When she was sure she'd gotten his attention, she pulled out a flask from inside her cloak and popped of the top. "Here, drink this."
The Hobbit took the flask, though his hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold it, and took a deep drink. Almost instantly, he felt warmth flood his body and his energy return. "What is this?" He asked.
She smiled. "It's miruvor." She said. "I brought it with me from Rivendell. Drink only a little, for this is all I have."
He handed the flask back with a gracious smile. Usagi smiled in return before moving to the next of the hobbits, Sam. She was heading to help Merry when a sudden movement caught her attention.
At the head of the line, Legolas had run forward and then stopped suddenly. His head was tilted to the side as though he was listening to something. Closing her eyes, Usagi concentrated, trying to hear what he was hearing.
"There's a foul voice upon the air." He said. The wind carried his voice back so everyone could hear it clearly.
A rumble was heard, then a shower of rocks poured down over them. They were narrowly missed by the boulders and falling snow.
Gandalf's eyes widened. "It's Saruman!" He shouted. As he spoke, a giant bolt of lightning came flashing down and struck the cliff above them. Everyone instinctively pushed themselves away from the edge to the stone wall as snow and rocks came showering down on them.
As soon as the rumbling stopped, the nine dug themselves out of the snow that covered them.
"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" Aragorn shouted. "We must turn back."
The Grey wizard shook his head. "No, It's too dangerous." He continued to argue for a minute before sighing and looking at Frodo. "Let the Ring-bearer decided." He finally said.
Frodo looked up at the wizard, then to his shivering friends. "We will take the mines." He finally said.
The old wizard looked unhappy but nodded.
/~o0O~O0o~\
That's all for this chapter. Please review. There wasn't really much action in this one, and I'm sorry about that. If you've seen the movie, you know that there's a lot of action coming up soon.
And Jan: Five times I missed that dang car!!! Five times!!!
