Thanks for the reviews, everyone! To answer one question: Daercu Feredir, the half-Vala Sue was the daughter of Luthien and Mandos. The accented u may have messed up Luthien's name.

Another modern Earth Sue, with a little surprise at the end.

The Game of the Gods, 9

"I have a challenge for you," said Morgoth.

Varda, who had been glaring at the Sue that Morgoth put forward, looked up. "Really?"

"Really," said Morgoth smugly. "Now, this is a Sue that comes from modern Earth-"

"They all do, in some way."

"You shall not distract me with your misguided attempts at cleverness," said Morgoth.

Varda laughed. Morgoth flinched from the light as she said, "Morgoth, how could you recognize cleverness? The most intelligent thing you ever did was make the Orcs, because there at least you leaned on Eru's cleverness rather than your own."

A Vala's teeth grinding make a very odd sound. Morgoth was making it now, but he managed to calm himself enough to say, "This Sue comes from Earth, and I want you not to stop her when she goes through."

"Why not?" Varda asked calmly. Morgoth let out a breath of relief. At least she was listening.

"Because," he said, "I don't think that the reality in Middle-earth can defeat this one. And it's not much of a challenge, if you just stop the Sue in her own world. Don't you want to see what will happen if a modern Earth Sue is loosed to run in Arda?"

Silence. Morgoth could see that Varda was tempted. He was very good at seeing when people were tempted.

"You're trying to make me lose the game, of course, but I know that's what you're doing, and it's far too pathetic to get angry about," said Varda at last. "All right, play."

Morgoth kept his opinion to himself, and sent the Sue into motion.

-----

Raven checked her weapons one more time. She was going into Middle-earth, by all accounts a dangerous place, so she had a hunting rifle, several knives, a sword, and her magical amulet that was supposed to defeat Orcs with her. Raven had made that amulet herself, using several carefully adapted Wiccan rituals. She knew that there was no mention of a Goddess in Middle-earth, of course, but the Goddess was everywhere. She would therefore be with Raven when she went to Middle-earth.

Raven adjusted the hang of her sword at her hip, and smiled grimly. She was going to be dangerous there. She would stride into Thranduil's palace, gun a-blazing, and rescue Prince Legolas from his enforced marriage. She didn't know yet if they were going to fall in love, but she thought there was a good chance.

She spoke the Elvish words with loud confidence. "Quendi na'raman valarie!"

The air brightened in front of her, spun around in a circle, and then froze into the perfect pattern of a five-pointed star. Raven stepped through, her long dark hair glowing in the golden light of the symbol for a moment before it faded.

And Raven faded with it, going to Middle-earth.

-----

She opened her eyes to find herself in the intense darkness of Mirkwood. Raven smiled a little. Thanks to being part-Elvish, she could see well in the dark. She turned in the most likely direction of the palace and began walking.

She was aware of small sounds in the leaf-night all around her, but she found it easy to ignore them. The amulet would protect her from Orcs, and anything else wasn't a danger. The spiders were evil, of course, but Raven was sure that she had landed far away from their territory. The Goddess had reassured her that it would be so. Meanwhile, Raven reveled in breathing the air of Middle-earth, far cleaner than the air of her own world, close and heavy though it was.

Then something glimmering white darted in front of her, and Raven pulled out her rifle and shot immediately. She had good reflexes. She was part-Elvish herself, she thought, sent away to Earth for her own protection.

The white deer fell in front of her, and Raven smiled. "Venison tonight!" she muttered, even as she said the proper prayer for the animal's spirit. Hunting was wrong, of course, but as long as she was sorry for it and used the whole deer, it was all right.

*******

It was while she was cooking the deer that Raven first became aware of the voices. They were muttering and chattering just behind her. Raven pretended she hadn't heard them while she finished her cooking and reached slowly across the fire to grasp her gun. They were Orcs, almost certainly, and she was looking forward to killing them.

She stood and whirled around, shooting into the trees.

There came a cry of pain, and Raven smiled in grim satisfaction. "Come out, Orcs!" she called in what sounded like English to her ears but which she knew would come out as Westron, since she'd planned it that way. "Come out slowly, and I won't hurt you."

The trees swayed, but no one came out. Raven sighed. They were going to play dumb, then?

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she murmured, turning in a little circle.

A particularly loud rustle came in the bushes in front of her, and Raven shot again. There was no cry of pain this time, but that could be because she'd killed the Orc. She smiled in satisfaction, and then looked up as something moved in the branches. Another shot, another wildly swaying tree, and then more silence.

Then there were sounds everywhere around her, and Raven shot again, and again. This happened several times, and she was smiling at the thought of all the Orc corpses she'd pile up around her when she realized the gun was empty.

She stooped to put it on the ground, and a slender figure leaped out of the trees and landed in front of her.

Raven snatched up one of her knives, and then froze. She could see well enough in the light of the fire to note the gleam of gray eyes, and the fair, delicate features. This was an Elf, she realized. Surely no other than Prince Legolas!

"Prince Legolas," she said, and bowed. "I am honored to meet you."

Legolas paid no attention to her, instead staring hard at the empty gun on the ground. "What Orc-thing is this?" he asked, kicking the gun, and jumping when it slithered across the leaves.

"No Orc-thing," said Raven. "Just my gun. I come from another world, and I come to rescue you."

Legolas turned around and stared at her. Then he said, "You have shot one of my kin this night."

Raven blinked, then shrugged. "I thought you were Orcs. Anyway, he'll recover, right?"

"You could mistake an Orc and an Elf," said Legolas. "You carry a thing of dead steel, though as alive as a snake in your hands. You have violated the borders of Mirkwood and slain without pausing. You have wounded one of my kin. I sentence you to death." He looked up into the trees and nodded.

Raven dived for her gun. Let her only load it, and then no silly Elf would be able to-

The arrow that dived through her back probably wasn't as quick as a bullet, but it killed her all the same.

------

"You were saying?" Varda asked lowly.

Morgoth sighed. "She really did think they were Orcs," he said, aware even as he spoke of how pathetic a defense that was.

"No," said Varda. "They aren't. They are Elves who distrust mechanical things." She shook her head sorrowfully. "No one, not even a Sue, should shoot first and ask questions later."

Morgoth smiled brightly. "Well, the next one has a sword that should protect her from anything- where are you going?" he added, as Varda stood up from the table.

"I need a break," said Varda. "All that idiocy would contaminate me if I didn't step away from the table sometimes. But don't worry, it's only for one round, and I've brought someone else to play with you."

"Manwë?" Morgoth grinned hopefully and viciously, something impossible for anyone but a Vala. He could take Manwë, no trouble.

"Oh, no," said Varda, sweetly. "Someone who can match you." She stepped away, and let the figure who had been waiting impatiently behind her move forward.

Morgoth blanched. "You can't- how could you let him out?" he cried, cowering in his chair.

"Now, Morgoth," Varda murmured, grinning like a Balrog. "If we can let you out of the Void to have some fun with Sues, surely we can let Fëanor out of Mandos for a while."

"One round?" Morgoth asked, his eyes nervously on Fëanor, who appeared to be looking at his throat.

"One round," Varda promised, and glided away, trying to keep from laughing.

Morgoth moved his Sue forward, cleared his throat, and smiled weakly at Fëanor. "Your move."



I never thought Elves would just merrily accept some Sue weapons...