Title: Prologue: Dark But Radiant, Morsentel
Author: Nefertili
Author's Notes: So sorry if this one took long…balancing typing and studying is harder than expected…OK, this one is actually a brief history of…some character soon to be revealed as the story unfolds. If you read well my Chapter One, you will have some *HINT* on what this character's role is. Sorry if some terms I used here seem rather hilarious or ridiculous. I'm not so 'in' on this character's race, that's why. How could I ever thank you for your help in this chapter, Saqqara? I owe you much! J
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Long before the uprising of Sauron or the War he and his powerful One Ring initiated, Moria was a prevailing mine still in the clutches of the Dwarf-Lords. Within these walls, if you probe with undying patience and skill, you may find a particular Dwarf isolated from his kindred, usually hiding behind the tall, majestic pillars of the mine, watching, spying, on his own kinfolk. Other Dwarves pass by him without noticing, or if they did, gave him not a thought, least of all concern. His short demeanor seems like a part of the dark wall he was huddled against, so why spare a consideration? He was only a customary and common Dwarf who is no different from his people, isn't he?
Customary?
Common?
Don't be fooled, like his own kith and kin who took him for granted. They didn't see the sparking up of the flame in such dark and unreadable eyes that would soon bring forth the fire of disunity and turmoil in all races of Middle-Earth, particularly the line which considered Dwarves as their bane: the Elves, the Firstborn of Middle-Earth.
This particular Dwarf was Entel, his name a word meaning 'radiant', as other Dwarves called him, but he would not linger on such a name for long. For this noteworthy one was secretly planning his own rebellion against the Dwarf-Lord which took his seat in Moria.
Entel was a power-hungry individual, thus setting up a wall between him and other Dwarves, as they didn't agree with his views and his standards, which surely, undoubtedly, was excessively warlike for them to endure. He also nursed some terrible hatred for the Elves, jealousy, and envy for the Immortal Ones, how they looked down on his own family and how the Valar Iluvatar cursed his kindred into a bucolic folk dwelling in hollows and cave just because of not seeing their worth in Middle-Earth. Entel primarily tried to convince the present Dwarf-Lord to give in to his judgment that they should begin bringing down the race of the Elves so they can take control of Middle-Earth and have their share of revenge.
However, the Dwarf-Lord didn't agree to challenge the power of the Elves (Nefertili: Ahem, making a Dwarf not as discriminatory against Elves wasn't really on my list, but anyway…). According to him, it is foolishness to drive on such an act. The Elves, for sure, would not hesitate even to defend themselves, and being skilled with the bow and arrow just as Dwarves were with the axe, if they are not careful, Dwarves would later be reduced to shame and be further cursed for testing the Firstborn. The Dwarf further said conceitedly that he cannot attain orders from anyone but himself.
Furious at being rejected, Entel soon made his prime and first purpose in life to gaining power; the more he expands his hold, the better. First he set his eyes into seizing the seat of his own mine, Khazad-dûm. With his power in his place, he will make himself unstoppable and will not allow anything to get into his way. He spied on his fellow beings, hoping to find a hint when it will be the right time to bring down the ruling Dwarf-Lord and take his seat as his own.
When one day he thought he saw the chance, Entel, with an axe at hand crept up to the Dwarf-Lord in his hold while he was alone and falling asleep after a day's heavy load. He was just about to strike and put an end to his Lord's life when he felt several other hands take hold of his and forcibly took his weapon from him. At once, the Dwarf-Lord opened his triumphant eyes as he ordered Entel to be bound and put in prison to be tried in the High Dwarvish Council (Nefertili: Oh for heaven's sake, Saqqara, can't we give a better name for the court?) the next day.
His words were, "Long have your other Dwarves seen your alarming presence in this City, and informed me about it. I have been longing to get hold of the confirmation in order to rid you once and for all so never shall you assail me with your ruthless suggestions on how we should act again. No one but I has the power here!"
It was extensively ghastly to describe what fate the Dwarf met. After spending a cold night in a filthy and damp cell, he was placed before the highest Dwarf court in the City, where he was tried and given the punishment of torture and death by burning soon afterwards. History does not record much of Entel's persecution. It is believed that other Dwarves blinded him so never will he be able to search out again, cut off his hands so he shall never get hold of an ax or any other weapon again. Whatever it may be, Entel, as he was being led to the outside of the Gate of Moria which opens near the Woods of Lothlórien to his burning, was transmuted into a horrid being, if one would want a better word, and was no better than a bloody Orc.
Other Dwarves, including the Dwarf-Lord who ordered Entel's execution, watched him scream in pain as the flames slowly, deliberately, ate up the remnants of his ragged flesh spared from the torture, reducing them to dark ashes finer than sand. They would have thought he would have cried out for mercy and be spared, but Entel clung to his purpose of living; asking for mercy is an act of wasting power. In the end, the other Dwarves watched in an uninterested manner as the last of the flames burned Entel to ash, and left the scene one by one, no one even bothering to scatter Entel's ashes.
But they never knew they made a mistake.
As soon as the last of the spectators left for their usual routines, a cold, freezing wind blew from the direction of Mordor, the Land of Shadow. Darkness began to cover the place of execution, a shadow the form of an imperious yet fearful Evil. Soon came a voice deep and full of malevolence that it made the nearby living greenery to shudder in fear and apprehension. It said to the seeming-worthless pile of blackish ashes heaped up in a shallow pile contrasting the grey rocks studding the gate of the mine,
"Arise and listen to thine master, thou, loyal servant."
It was clear who it was: Melkor, the First Dark Lord to all Middle-Earth ruling even before the reign of Sauron. Almost at once, Entel's ashes slowly began to rise in the form of smoke until none of the ash was left; only the ghost of a minion with Dark Red eyes that shone with the Fire of the Dark Side was formed directly above its place of death.
Renewed from his tormented body, the new minion prostrated before the shadow of the Dark Lord, saying, "I am at your command, Lord Melkor, the only Powerful One of Middle-Earth." His voice, too, had changed. Gone was that low drone that he uses for his speech; now it was whispery and deadened…like the voice of a dead person raised from the grave.
The evil voice of Melkor in heavily measured tones came back, saying, "Now, thou shall be called Morsentel, my very own dark minion. I have seen you crave for power when you were still so low a being, and you amused me by the way you dared to carry out thine plan. I, the One in the Dark Throne of Mordor, therefore decided that you serve me. Serve me, and I will give you all the power that that corrupted heart desires.
Dark but Radiant you shall be; you shall overpower even the Firstborn of Middle-Earth with the power I now bestow upon you. You will be able to take the form of any being you wish to take. You shall have the power to possess the souls of each and every being on these Lands. You will be unstoppable by anyone as you live.
But shall you serve me, the one who Renewed you?"
Once more, the minion lowered his eyes that seemed to bridge the gap between Middle-Earth and the Netherworld. "Whatever thou command, your servant will do.''
"I then give you the mission to destroy the silmarils and the Two Trees, the keepers of time in Middle-Earth, planted by the Valar, himself. Thou will help me gain control of even the Highest of the Elves, and thou will receive your share of revenge for the Firstborn you so hate."
But at the same time, Melkor, in evenly measured tones filled with admonition, cautioned Morsentel to take heed about his weakness.
By the Fire you were made to exist,
By the Fire, destruction, you may not resist,
One day you shall disappear into nothingness,
Just as you were during your emptiness,
One day he shall appear,
The Wielder, he to be called Mithrandir,
By his fire, thou shall be consumed,
And never shall thee, in thou glory, be resumed.
Nonetheless, Morsentel took on a carefree air about the warning and at once went with the Dark Lord to the Land of Shadow. He served Melkor faithfully until his downfall; but he was unsuccessful in his missions of obliterating the silmarils and the Two Trees, for he was not in full determination to carry out the commands of the Dark Lord. All he in actuality desired was power, and he waited patiently for the time when he might take over Middle-Earth in place of his master.
When Sauron, with his One Ring, came to power, Morsentel waited on him and the White Wizard Saruman instead. Once or twice, he tried to take one of the Rings of Power bestowed on the races of Middle-Earth, including his past relatives, the Dwarves, but he never had the chance, as the Dwarves and Men slowly gave in to the darkness and became servants of the Dark Lord themselves. As for the Elves who bore the rings, he found out he couldn't lay a hand on them; they were too impenetrable.
When it was Sauron who was defeated in his evil reign, Morsentel lost all sense of serving others. Once more, his old desires of gaining power came back to him. He strongly began to make use of his powers, possessing creatures, one way or another, soon setting his eyes on the remaining Elves of Middle-Earth who had not departed to the Undying Lands. Little did he know that the rival of one of his past masters, Saruman, was the One Melkor cautioned him about: the Wielder of the Flame that will lead him into destruction. About time too, as he set his eyes on Arwen, the Evenstar of Imladris and the daughter of Lord Elrond Peredhel, for him to possess in order to take control of her father's realm.
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Well…how was it? I'm not really an expert on writing history as Tolkien, so be nice. I even guess I won't get this all right if not I have someone to tell me a brief history of Middle-Earth…also that 'morse' means dark and 'entel' radiant. So, did the concluding sentence give you a clue? *wink*