People, if your reading this can you PLEASE R&R. Pweeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaase.
you'd make me very very happy :D If i don't get reviews soon I'm gonna quit
posting this. I don't wanna waste space.
Disclaimer: Check chapter one.
P.S. If anybody else is pissed off about the way they changed Faramir's character in the Two Towers movie from the book, put that in your review :D i am really mad about that. He was sooooo honorable in the book and they made him just like Boromir in the movie. Grrr.
"What's that, Mister Frodo? It looks like a rider, but on a golden horse. It's coming right towards us!" Sam cried a day after Honora had left the camp.
"Whoever it is, let them come. I am much to weary to worry about it. I've lost all hope, Sam. I don't think I can go on much further. It's heavy, so heavy now, and I can see the eye now even in my waking hours. It's growing stronger, so much stronger." Frodo said as he sat down on the dead wastelands of Mordor.
Suddenly he began to hear a voice in his head, but it was not the evil whisper of Sauron. It was a gentle voice, it reminded him much of Galadriel's voice when they entered the forest of Lorien.
"Frodo, I am looking for you, please do not hide from me if you have not perished on these horrid wastelands. I have been sent by Lord Aragorn, the King of Gondor, and Mithrandir the White. I have seen an unheard of friendship between an Elf and a Dwarf and met a joyful hobbit named Perigrin Took. I have a pin given to me by Lord Aragorn, it was made by my friend Galadriel in the forests of Lorien. It is in the shape of a green leaf. Please hide no longer, I have been sent to help you." It called in his mind.
"She's calling for me, Sam. She says Aragorn and Gandalf sent her, that she has met Legolas, Gimli, and Pippin. She knows of Galadriel and says they are friends and that she has a pin from Aragorn that she gave him." Frodo said to Sam.
"I am riding upon a golden horse named Anarvende. If you can hear my voice please call her name. She will hear and take me to you." The voice said again.
"Who is? Frodo? Mister Frodo, are you all right? Who's calling for you?" Sam asked worried.
"The golden rider you saw. Can you still see her, Sam?" Frodo asked anxiously.
"Yes, Mister Frodo, it looks like she's looking for something. Are you sure you can trust her?" Sam asked nervously.
"We have no choice, Sam. I've lost all hope." Frodo said quietly. " Anarvende! Come to me! Anarvende!" he called in as loud a voice as he could muster. His strength was gone, he felt like he could just fall to the ground and die at any moment. They heard the neigh of a horse in the distance and then the sound of horse hoofs galloping towards them.
"I hope you know what your doing, Mister Frodo, cause she's coming now and she's coming fast. There's no chance we can get away from her now." Sam said and drew out Sting as he sat down next to his master.
The horse stopped a few paces away and the rider dismounted. She looked around for a moment and then spotted the two hobbits huddled on the ground next to each other, one in an Elven cloak and the other in a black one with a sword drawn.
"You may rest your sword, little hobbit. I mean you no harm, I was sent here by Lord Aragorn and Mithrandir." She said gently. It was then that they noticed that she was an Elf. "Here is the pin my master, King Aragorn gave to me to prove to you that I was not a foe." She said as she pulled the pin from a pocket within her own cloak.
Sam took it quickly and examined it carefully. "It is the pin Galadiel gave Aragorn, Mister Frodo." But Frodo did not answer, he merely sat and watched her with half open eyes. Indeed, the presence of the Eye had lessened at her arrival but now he was so weary from his struggle with it that he could hardly keep his eyes open.
"You have been battling with the Eye, I can tell, Master Hobbit. Is there anything I could do to ease the pain?" She asked cautiously and took a step towards him.
"You already have, just your presence has eased the pain. What is your name?" He asked sleepily.
"I am called Honora by some. To others Larana, and to others still the Lady of the Light." She replied gently and knelt beside him.
"I shall call you Honora, I like that name the best and it seems to suit you better than Larana." Frodo said so quietly that Sam could not hear. "I just need to rest a while and then I will be ready to walk again."
"You will not need to walk, Master Frodo, we can ride upon Anarvende now. But rest now, for it is still a days ride to the mountain. Rest well, Frodo." She said but he was already in a deep sleep before she finished speaking.
"Did you really see Pippin? And Legolas and Gimli?" Sam asked after a moment.
"I would not tell a lie, though, it seems only Mithrandir trusts me. I jumped the wall of Minas Tirith when they barred the gates from me and they have not quite started to trust me yet." She answered.
"Why did you climb the wall? Why did you need into the City of Gondor?" Sam asked.
"I was in the service of Lord Faramir, the son of the Steward of Gondor and I had urgent news to give him. They were going to make me wait ten whole days before letting me into the City." She answered.
"Was the rest of the fellowship all right when you last saw them. There was only seven of us I guess, seeing as Gandalf died in the mines of Moira and Boromir we hear died when we left the fellowship." Sam asked.
"They all seemed quite healthy except for the other hobbit perhaps. He was staying in the House of Healing with Faramir and it looked as if he had been injured. I do not know his name though, I'm afraid. It wasn't Peregrin though." She answered.
"The other hobbit must have been Merry, then. I hope he's okay." Sam said, feeling joy for the first time in a long while at news of his companions, knowing they had not yet perished.
Frodo woke from a peaceful slumber the next morning to find Sam sleeping beside him and Honora standing watch a few feet away. She went over to her pack a few moments later and pulled out something wrapped in a cloth . "What's that?" He asked.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Good morning, Master Frodo, I hope you rested well. As for what's in my hand, you're just going to have to wait and find out." Frodo looked and her uneasily. "There's no need to worry, it's nothing harmful, I assure you."
"Very well then, keep your secret." Frodo said as he stood up and stretched. "I do believe I haven't slept as well as I did last night since leaving Lorien."
" It's good to know my presence comes in handy for something." Honora said sarcastically as she pushed some rocks into a circle with her feet. "Now, on with the surprise." She pointed a finger and the ring of circle and they had themselves a lovely little fire in no time.
"How'd you do that?" Frodo demanded. "Put it out! The Orcs will see!"
"It's magic and no, the Orcs won't see because only you and I and Sam when he awakes will be able to see the flames and there will be no smoke."
"I didn't know you knew magic. You're sure the Orcs..or the Eye wont see the fire?" He asked again.
"I'm positive. And even if the Eye did look this way, it would not be bothered. It has seen me in these lands before, sometimes with others, sometimes without. He would take no notice, but, in any case, the Eye is fixed on Lord Aragorn and the other Captains of the West. They should be invading the Black Gates as we speak. Though, if we don't hurry, I'm afraid it will all be for naught." She said.
"Well then, let's hurry." Frodo said and kicked Sam in the side. "Come on, Sam. Wake up."
Sam jumped to his feet. "What's happened? What's going on?" He demanded and looked around suspiciously.
"Nothing, Sam, but I have a feeling Honora is going to make us that breakfast you've been wishing for since we arrived." Frodo said happily.
"Ah, so it's been a good breakfast you've been wanting. Well, how does fried eggs and bacon sound to you? With a side of fried mushrooms?" She asked as she pulled the food out of her pack.
"But you're an Elf! Don't you eat lembas like the Lady of the Wood gave to us?" Sam asked.
"No! I hate the stuff. I only eat it when I absolutely must. I guess that's what comes of living away from the Elves for so long. I've been living with Men and Wizards since I was a child. I guess I've acquired their tastes." She smiled.
"We've been living on lembas for weeks now, I've almost forgotten what real food tastes like." Sam exclaimed. "And thank goodness you came to us, too, cause we were nearly out of lembas. Probably only had two more days left."
"Well, that would never have done. What, with you escorting the ring- bearer through the Dark Lands." She said as she started to fry the bacon on a pan that she carried in her bag.
"If you don't mind, Lady Honora, would you let me cook the breakfast? You haven't rested yet and it's been so long since I've gotten to cook anything." Sam asked.
"I will get no rest until my errand is fulfilled, but cook the food if you wish. I will go check on Anarvende." She said and handed over the cooking to Sam.
She began to speak softly to the horse and stroke it's neck, the mare gave a soft whinny. "En le lelya, Mel. You need some food this morning too? Yes, I hate these lands too." Suddenly the horse's ears perked up and she gave a loud neigh. "What is it? What's he saying? I cannot return to him yet. I am in Lord Aragorn's command now. Shhh shhh, calm yourself. Go for a run."
The horse huffed and shook her mane. "Go on, Anarvende. I'll call for you in a while and then I'll give you your breakfast." She neighed and galloped away.
"You can speak with a horse?" Sam asked as he watched her from the cooking fire.
"Only the truly magnificent of beasts will speak with me." She said as she walked further away from the camp.
"Where are you going?" Frodo asked.
"To talk to some more beasts." She said as she walked out of their sight.
"I don't know Mister Frodo, sometimes she seems like your able to trust her and then she walks off and leaves you there in the middle of Mordor with a fire! How do we know she's not working for Saruman? She was brought up by him, is what she said last night." Sam said quietly.
"She has Aragorn's pin, she was sent to us." Frodo said as he sat next to Sam by the fire.
"What if she killed Strider and then took his pin?" Sam asked.
"Then how would she know where we were? Why would she come to us and help us, rather than kill us and take the ring?" Frodo countered.
"You have no need to fear me. Elves seldom lie, even one banished from Elven society like myself." Honora said as she walked back.
"Your done talking to your beasts already? When we first started out on this thing we were warned that Saruman used animals as spies. How do we know you have not called on them to spy on us?" Sam asked dangerously. He needed to make sure his master was safe.
"I have called to us, Tzarinita of the Great Wolves of old, and Lokrantara of the Great Eagles. Lokrantara will fly to Minas Tirith with a message for Lord Faramir and Tzarinita will bear me, if he will, to Mount Doom, as you and Master Frodo will be riding upon Anarvende." She said sarcastically. "Does that sound up to your standards, Master Sam?"
"Eagles and wolves? And where would they come from, Lady Honora? There are no forests for miles in which a wolf would like to live and the Eye would see any Eagle flying over the skies of Mordor." Sam replied in the same tone.
"Alas! You have no faith left in the legends of old! Or have you not heard them? I do not know what lore you have in your Shire but this is how it was told to me when I was but a lass." She said quietly.
"In the old world, before the last age came to an end, there were Elves, Dwarves, Eagles, and Wolves as the great realms of Middle-Earth. Men had not yet come from the other side of the Great Sea and I they had heard nothing of Hobbits, whether they existed or not, at that point in time, is beyond my knowledge. The Elves dwelled in the forests, as we still do now, and we lived in a great three way alliance with the Eagles and Wolves. The Dwarves stayed within their mountains and rarely emerged. When they did, they were treated with kindness but not ever entered into the great alliance. (Perhaps this is where the tension between the Elves and Dwarves started.) The Elves, Eagles, and Wolves needed this alliance to fend off the evils of Mordor, for even then if was a foul place. " She told.
" But the evils of the Dark Land were far worse than the evils it holds now. Perhaps with the exception of the Dark Lord. Elves had not yet been tortured and corrupted to darkness to become Orcs and the Goblins had not yet risen from the dark crevices of the Earth.
"In these times the Elves, Eagles, and Wolves were fighting a war against the demons of the ancient world. "
"Like the Balrog that killed Gandalf in the mines of Moria?" Frodo asked quietly.
"Mithrandir did not perish, but the demons were far worse. Balrogs were considered weak among the demons that existed there and were often banished from the Dark Lands." She answered.
"Who did not perish? And how would you know?" Sam demanded.
"Mithrandir, or Gandalf as you call him, did not perish in the mines. And I know this because it was he and Lord Aragorn that sent me to you in the horrid dark land." She replied.
"Prove that Gandalf sent you, describe him to us!" Frodo cried and stood up.
"He has changed much since I had sen him before, all in grey with the large pointed hat that Saruman despised and a staff of gnarled wood. But now he has changed. He wears white now, not grey, he is now the head of the Order of Wizards. He stands proud, but I can see he has been through a great ordeal. And his worry for you also wears down on him. He carries no staff now. He must have lost it at the bottom of the mine. Does that satisfy your curiosity, Master Frodo?" She asked.
"Then has Saruman been killed? If Gandalf is now the head of the Order." Sam asked.
"No, Saruman is still alive, but devoid of power and locked in the tower of Isengard. He is guarded by the Ents and cannot escape unless he somehow manages to create an army from dust large enough to overpower the might of the great tree lords." She answered. "Is our breakfast nearly ready, Sam? We must hurry if there is any hope of Lord Aragorn being victorious in battle at the gates."
They enjoyed their small breakfast but quickly had to pack up their camp and get ready for the trip. Honora called to Anarvende and the gave the mare a couple carrots and a head of lettuce.
"You know where you are going, Frodo?" She asked as the picked him up and set him upon the golden stallions back.
"I do, Mount Doom is easy enough to see. I'm afraid, though, that I have never ridden any beast without a saddle." He said uneasily as he clutched the mane.
"You have no need to worry, Master Frodo, Anarvende will not let you fall, but if you feel uncomfortable you can tell her to slow her pace." She said and lifted Sam up onto the horse behind Frodo. "Nornoro, Anarvende. Col Hobbits ana Morna Oron." She whispered to the horse and stepped away. "Are you not coming then, Honora?" Sam asked with a frown.
"I will catch up with you once Lokrantara and Tzarinita have arrived. I will not be long, I assure you." She replied and whispered once more for Anarvende to run to the mountain.
The stallion neighed and shook out it's mane before galloping away towards the dark mountain looming before them in the distance. Honora watched in silence as they rode off but she soon linked her mind with Sam's.
"Sam, I feel something on the road ahead. It's eager for the arrival of the One Ring. Be watchful. Be wary. Keep Frodo safe at all costs, he is the one hope left to Middle-Earth." she spoke in his mind.
"Look, Mister Frodo, over there!" Sam pointed from the back of Anarvende. Frodo looked where he was pointing and saw a great looming figure flying in lazy circles over the wastes of Mordor.
"What is it?" Frodo asked, afraid the Nazgul had finally found them. "To me it looks like a big bird. Maybe thats the big Eagle Honora was talking about." Sam said in awe as he watched the big beast circle lower and lower towards the ground. "I hope so, Sam. I don't think I could stand another battle now." Frodo said quietly as they continued towards the dark mountain looming before them.
Disclaimer: Check chapter one.
P.S. If anybody else is pissed off about the way they changed Faramir's character in the Two Towers movie from the book, put that in your review :D i am really mad about that. He was sooooo honorable in the book and they made him just like Boromir in the movie. Grrr.
"What's that, Mister Frodo? It looks like a rider, but on a golden horse. It's coming right towards us!" Sam cried a day after Honora had left the camp.
"Whoever it is, let them come. I am much to weary to worry about it. I've lost all hope, Sam. I don't think I can go on much further. It's heavy, so heavy now, and I can see the eye now even in my waking hours. It's growing stronger, so much stronger." Frodo said as he sat down on the dead wastelands of Mordor.
Suddenly he began to hear a voice in his head, but it was not the evil whisper of Sauron. It was a gentle voice, it reminded him much of Galadriel's voice when they entered the forest of Lorien.
"Frodo, I am looking for you, please do not hide from me if you have not perished on these horrid wastelands. I have been sent by Lord Aragorn, the King of Gondor, and Mithrandir the White. I have seen an unheard of friendship between an Elf and a Dwarf and met a joyful hobbit named Perigrin Took. I have a pin given to me by Lord Aragorn, it was made by my friend Galadriel in the forests of Lorien. It is in the shape of a green leaf. Please hide no longer, I have been sent to help you." It called in his mind.
"She's calling for me, Sam. She says Aragorn and Gandalf sent her, that she has met Legolas, Gimli, and Pippin. She knows of Galadriel and says they are friends and that she has a pin from Aragorn that she gave him." Frodo said to Sam.
"I am riding upon a golden horse named Anarvende. If you can hear my voice please call her name. She will hear and take me to you." The voice said again.
"Who is? Frodo? Mister Frodo, are you all right? Who's calling for you?" Sam asked worried.
"The golden rider you saw. Can you still see her, Sam?" Frodo asked anxiously.
"Yes, Mister Frodo, it looks like she's looking for something. Are you sure you can trust her?" Sam asked nervously.
"We have no choice, Sam. I've lost all hope." Frodo said quietly. " Anarvende! Come to me! Anarvende!" he called in as loud a voice as he could muster. His strength was gone, he felt like he could just fall to the ground and die at any moment. They heard the neigh of a horse in the distance and then the sound of horse hoofs galloping towards them.
"I hope you know what your doing, Mister Frodo, cause she's coming now and she's coming fast. There's no chance we can get away from her now." Sam said and drew out Sting as he sat down next to his master.
The horse stopped a few paces away and the rider dismounted. She looked around for a moment and then spotted the two hobbits huddled on the ground next to each other, one in an Elven cloak and the other in a black one with a sword drawn.
"You may rest your sword, little hobbit. I mean you no harm, I was sent here by Lord Aragorn and Mithrandir." She said gently. It was then that they noticed that she was an Elf. "Here is the pin my master, King Aragorn gave to me to prove to you that I was not a foe." She said as she pulled the pin from a pocket within her own cloak.
Sam took it quickly and examined it carefully. "It is the pin Galadiel gave Aragorn, Mister Frodo." But Frodo did not answer, he merely sat and watched her with half open eyes. Indeed, the presence of the Eye had lessened at her arrival but now he was so weary from his struggle with it that he could hardly keep his eyes open.
"You have been battling with the Eye, I can tell, Master Hobbit. Is there anything I could do to ease the pain?" She asked cautiously and took a step towards him.
"You already have, just your presence has eased the pain. What is your name?" He asked sleepily.
"I am called Honora by some. To others Larana, and to others still the Lady of the Light." She replied gently and knelt beside him.
"I shall call you Honora, I like that name the best and it seems to suit you better than Larana." Frodo said so quietly that Sam could not hear. "I just need to rest a while and then I will be ready to walk again."
"You will not need to walk, Master Frodo, we can ride upon Anarvende now. But rest now, for it is still a days ride to the mountain. Rest well, Frodo." She said but he was already in a deep sleep before she finished speaking.
"Did you really see Pippin? And Legolas and Gimli?" Sam asked after a moment.
"I would not tell a lie, though, it seems only Mithrandir trusts me. I jumped the wall of Minas Tirith when they barred the gates from me and they have not quite started to trust me yet." She answered.
"Why did you climb the wall? Why did you need into the City of Gondor?" Sam asked.
"I was in the service of Lord Faramir, the son of the Steward of Gondor and I had urgent news to give him. They were going to make me wait ten whole days before letting me into the City." She answered.
"Was the rest of the fellowship all right when you last saw them. There was only seven of us I guess, seeing as Gandalf died in the mines of Moira and Boromir we hear died when we left the fellowship." Sam asked.
"They all seemed quite healthy except for the other hobbit perhaps. He was staying in the House of Healing with Faramir and it looked as if he had been injured. I do not know his name though, I'm afraid. It wasn't Peregrin though." She answered.
"The other hobbit must have been Merry, then. I hope he's okay." Sam said, feeling joy for the first time in a long while at news of his companions, knowing they had not yet perished.
Frodo woke from a peaceful slumber the next morning to find Sam sleeping beside him and Honora standing watch a few feet away. She went over to her pack a few moments later and pulled out something wrapped in a cloth . "What's that?" He asked.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Good morning, Master Frodo, I hope you rested well. As for what's in my hand, you're just going to have to wait and find out." Frodo looked and her uneasily. "There's no need to worry, it's nothing harmful, I assure you."
"Very well then, keep your secret." Frodo said as he stood up and stretched. "I do believe I haven't slept as well as I did last night since leaving Lorien."
" It's good to know my presence comes in handy for something." Honora said sarcastically as she pushed some rocks into a circle with her feet. "Now, on with the surprise." She pointed a finger and the ring of circle and they had themselves a lovely little fire in no time.
"How'd you do that?" Frodo demanded. "Put it out! The Orcs will see!"
"It's magic and no, the Orcs won't see because only you and I and Sam when he awakes will be able to see the flames and there will be no smoke."
"I didn't know you knew magic. You're sure the Orcs..or the Eye wont see the fire?" He asked again.
"I'm positive. And even if the Eye did look this way, it would not be bothered. It has seen me in these lands before, sometimes with others, sometimes without. He would take no notice, but, in any case, the Eye is fixed on Lord Aragorn and the other Captains of the West. They should be invading the Black Gates as we speak. Though, if we don't hurry, I'm afraid it will all be for naught." She said.
"Well then, let's hurry." Frodo said and kicked Sam in the side. "Come on, Sam. Wake up."
Sam jumped to his feet. "What's happened? What's going on?" He demanded and looked around suspiciously.
"Nothing, Sam, but I have a feeling Honora is going to make us that breakfast you've been wishing for since we arrived." Frodo said happily.
"Ah, so it's been a good breakfast you've been wanting. Well, how does fried eggs and bacon sound to you? With a side of fried mushrooms?" She asked as she pulled the food out of her pack.
"But you're an Elf! Don't you eat lembas like the Lady of the Wood gave to us?" Sam asked.
"No! I hate the stuff. I only eat it when I absolutely must. I guess that's what comes of living away from the Elves for so long. I've been living with Men and Wizards since I was a child. I guess I've acquired their tastes." She smiled.
"We've been living on lembas for weeks now, I've almost forgotten what real food tastes like." Sam exclaimed. "And thank goodness you came to us, too, cause we were nearly out of lembas. Probably only had two more days left."
"Well, that would never have done. What, with you escorting the ring- bearer through the Dark Lands." She said as she started to fry the bacon on a pan that she carried in her bag.
"If you don't mind, Lady Honora, would you let me cook the breakfast? You haven't rested yet and it's been so long since I've gotten to cook anything." Sam asked.
"I will get no rest until my errand is fulfilled, but cook the food if you wish. I will go check on Anarvende." She said and handed over the cooking to Sam.
She began to speak softly to the horse and stroke it's neck, the mare gave a soft whinny. "En le lelya, Mel. You need some food this morning too? Yes, I hate these lands too." Suddenly the horse's ears perked up and she gave a loud neigh. "What is it? What's he saying? I cannot return to him yet. I am in Lord Aragorn's command now. Shhh shhh, calm yourself. Go for a run."
The horse huffed and shook her mane. "Go on, Anarvende. I'll call for you in a while and then I'll give you your breakfast." She neighed and galloped away.
"You can speak with a horse?" Sam asked as he watched her from the cooking fire.
"Only the truly magnificent of beasts will speak with me." She said as she walked further away from the camp.
"Where are you going?" Frodo asked.
"To talk to some more beasts." She said as she walked out of their sight.
"I don't know Mister Frodo, sometimes she seems like your able to trust her and then she walks off and leaves you there in the middle of Mordor with a fire! How do we know she's not working for Saruman? She was brought up by him, is what she said last night." Sam said quietly.
"She has Aragorn's pin, she was sent to us." Frodo said as he sat next to Sam by the fire.
"What if she killed Strider and then took his pin?" Sam asked.
"Then how would she know where we were? Why would she come to us and help us, rather than kill us and take the ring?" Frodo countered.
"You have no need to fear me. Elves seldom lie, even one banished from Elven society like myself." Honora said as she walked back.
"Your done talking to your beasts already? When we first started out on this thing we were warned that Saruman used animals as spies. How do we know you have not called on them to spy on us?" Sam asked dangerously. He needed to make sure his master was safe.
"I have called to us, Tzarinita of the Great Wolves of old, and Lokrantara of the Great Eagles. Lokrantara will fly to Minas Tirith with a message for Lord Faramir and Tzarinita will bear me, if he will, to Mount Doom, as you and Master Frodo will be riding upon Anarvende." She said sarcastically. "Does that sound up to your standards, Master Sam?"
"Eagles and wolves? And where would they come from, Lady Honora? There are no forests for miles in which a wolf would like to live and the Eye would see any Eagle flying over the skies of Mordor." Sam replied in the same tone.
"Alas! You have no faith left in the legends of old! Or have you not heard them? I do not know what lore you have in your Shire but this is how it was told to me when I was but a lass." She said quietly.
"In the old world, before the last age came to an end, there were Elves, Dwarves, Eagles, and Wolves as the great realms of Middle-Earth. Men had not yet come from the other side of the Great Sea and I they had heard nothing of Hobbits, whether they existed or not, at that point in time, is beyond my knowledge. The Elves dwelled in the forests, as we still do now, and we lived in a great three way alliance with the Eagles and Wolves. The Dwarves stayed within their mountains and rarely emerged. When they did, they were treated with kindness but not ever entered into the great alliance. (Perhaps this is where the tension between the Elves and Dwarves started.) The Elves, Eagles, and Wolves needed this alliance to fend off the evils of Mordor, for even then if was a foul place. " She told.
" But the evils of the Dark Land were far worse than the evils it holds now. Perhaps with the exception of the Dark Lord. Elves had not yet been tortured and corrupted to darkness to become Orcs and the Goblins had not yet risen from the dark crevices of the Earth.
"In these times the Elves, Eagles, and Wolves were fighting a war against the demons of the ancient world. "
"Like the Balrog that killed Gandalf in the mines of Moria?" Frodo asked quietly.
"Mithrandir did not perish, but the demons were far worse. Balrogs were considered weak among the demons that existed there and were often banished from the Dark Lands." She answered.
"Who did not perish? And how would you know?" Sam demanded.
"Mithrandir, or Gandalf as you call him, did not perish in the mines. And I know this because it was he and Lord Aragorn that sent me to you in the horrid dark land." She replied.
"Prove that Gandalf sent you, describe him to us!" Frodo cried and stood up.
"He has changed much since I had sen him before, all in grey with the large pointed hat that Saruman despised and a staff of gnarled wood. But now he has changed. He wears white now, not grey, he is now the head of the Order of Wizards. He stands proud, but I can see he has been through a great ordeal. And his worry for you also wears down on him. He carries no staff now. He must have lost it at the bottom of the mine. Does that satisfy your curiosity, Master Frodo?" She asked.
"Then has Saruman been killed? If Gandalf is now the head of the Order." Sam asked.
"No, Saruman is still alive, but devoid of power and locked in the tower of Isengard. He is guarded by the Ents and cannot escape unless he somehow manages to create an army from dust large enough to overpower the might of the great tree lords." She answered. "Is our breakfast nearly ready, Sam? We must hurry if there is any hope of Lord Aragorn being victorious in battle at the gates."
They enjoyed their small breakfast but quickly had to pack up their camp and get ready for the trip. Honora called to Anarvende and the gave the mare a couple carrots and a head of lettuce.
"You know where you are going, Frodo?" She asked as the picked him up and set him upon the golden stallions back.
"I do, Mount Doom is easy enough to see. I'm afraid, though, that I have never ridden any beast without a saddle." He said uneasily as he clutched the mane.
"You have no need to worry, Master Frodo, Anarvende will not let you fall, but if you feel uncomfortable you can tell her to slow her pace." She said and lifted Sam up onto the horse behind Frodo. "Nornoro, Anarvende. Col Hobbits ana Morna Oron." She whispered to the horse and stepped away. "Are you not coming then, Honora?" Sam asked with a frown.
"I will catch up with you once Lokrantara and Tzarinita have arrived. I will not be long, I assure you." She replied and whispered once more for Anarvende to run to the mountain.
The stallion neighed and shook out it's mane before galloping away towards the dark mountain looming before them in the distance. Honora watched in silence as they rode off but she soon linked her mind with Sam's.
"Sam, I feel something on the road ahead. It's eager for the arrival of the One Ring. Be watchful. Be wary. Keep Frodo safe at all costs, he is the one hope left to Middle-Earth." she spoke in his mind.
"Look, Mister Frodo, over there!" Sam pointed from the back of Anarvende. Frodo looked where he was pointing and saw a great looming figure flying in lazy circles over the wastes of Mordor.
"What is it?" Frodo asked, afraid the Nazgul had finally found them. "To me it looks like a big bird. Maybe thats the big Eagle Honora was talking about." Sam said in awe as he watched the big beast circle lower and lower towards the ground. "I hope so, Sam. I don't think I could stand another battle now." Frodo said quietly as they continued towards the dark mountain looming before them.