Chapter 5: The last of the Maiar
Tilion was the Maiar that guided the moon. He was sent up by the Valar on the last silver leaf of Telperion, the first great tree made by Yavanna and later destroyed by Melkor. He was first sent into the sky (before the sun) to light the Noldor (a race of elves that rebelled against the Valar and left their realms to return to Middle-earth, where they would have their vengeance on Melkor) and the arrival of Men. Tilion and his light scarred the servants of Melkor and they shunned before it.
Arien was the Maiar that guided the sun. She was sent up secondly in the fruit of the second great tree, called Laurelin. Her light was greater than that of Tilion, and forced Melkor and his servants to retreat into the depths of their dark fortress of Angband (Utumno was destroyed when Melkor was first captured). Here Morgoth, as he was known to the elves, produced great smog to hide his stronghold against the light of the sun and moon. Despite her power, Arien feared Morgoth and avoided going near his dark fortress.
In the depths of his dark stronghold, the last of the Maiar was sitting upon his marble throne pondering on his tactics to take over what should have been his father's long ages ago. His father was Lord Sauron himself; Gorthaur the Cruel, as he was sometimes named. And his mother was an unknown Maiar that gave birth to him in the days when Melkor was still considered a Valar. After Melkor was destroyed by the elves and early men, he hid with his father and helped him construct the wasteland of Mordor. When Sauron was destroyed with the Ring of Power, this corrupted Maiar went into a deep hibernation under the deep valleys of the world. He awoke a millennium later, when elves were considered folklore and traveled underground to live with those he believed to be his kindred. He found much change and knew that it would be hard to conquer this race now that it was so much stronger. So he retreated, living among orcs and constructing his plan; but he knew he needed much power for this prophecy to be made, for he still didn't regain all of his. So he summoned all the orcs that were loyal to him and drained all their power and energy and storing it in a small orb. Until recently he was finally ready and he unleashed this energy and that of his great kindred that he had finally regained, to make this prophecy.
To describe the actual appearance of this Maiar would be difficult. The main traits of his appearance are his bright, glaring red eyes that never close; his great mythril coat is embroiled with many emeralds and a great red ring, trough which a great green snake ran through, was also part of this design. The ring was in memory of his father and the snake was his own symbol. His stature is about thrice that of and average elf and from his waist hangs his sword that is two meters long and its hilt end in a sharp long dagger. His face was covered by a big black hood that glimmered eerily and his hands were covered in an iron armor that had sharp spikes where the knuckles would be. The tip of his armored foot ended also in a sharp spike and the foot armor itself was the head of an iron snake head. The rest of his body was wrapped in a large mythril coat, that shinned brightly even in the darkness of this lair.
The dark lord got up, as an ugly orc came running to him. "The Uruk- khai lords are here, Sire." The orc said.
The evil Maiar exhaled loudly in show of satisfaction. He walked out of the throne room and through a series of dark pathways where numerous orcs bowed down before him, though he didn't give any attention to them. He walked into a dimly lit room, a group of hooded figures awaited him standing conversing in dark whispers. The Uruk-khai had been almost whipped out after the demise of Saruman, only a few were able to survive. These hid deep into the cold mountains of the world, often to be found by some unhappy hiker. And you instantly have big foot, the abominable snow man and various such nonsense. The new dark lord summoned them to help him carry out his evil plans. This race of orc were tough and new no pain; they would fight to the very last. That is the type of servant the last Maiar needed; trolls were strong but also extremely dumb and easily seduced by pain.
"My Lord." The apparent leader said. The rest followed his lead and bowed to the Maiar's feet.
"Your numbers?" he asked impatiently.
"Five thousand, my Lord." The leader responded.
"Do they know how to use weapons?"
"Not the ones we have seen here, my Lord." The orc admitted with regret.
A low growl was heard from under the hood of the impatient Maiar. "They will learn fast?"
"Or die trying."
"Hm." The dark lord pondered. "How fast can you bring them here?"
"As soon as possible."
"Give me numbers!" he demanded.
"A day."
Another growl was let off by the Maiar. "Tell them Neregron, calls upon their haste."
"As you please, sire." The party bowed again and turned on their heel and exited through a back door with haste.
Neregron walked up a flight of stairs, where a great amount of heat rose. A large pit filled with red fire, was close to the staircase. The dark lord looked down into the pit to see his servants constructing weapons and various tools of war. Good, he thought, the Uruk-khai are large in their numbers. Neregron needed soldiers with brains and great strength and knowledge of war for his operation to be quick and successful. He turned on his heel and walked as fast as an average person running, to a great circular chamber with a marble floor and great fire burning in the form of the great symbol of Neregron. The dark lord held out his hands over the fire and concentrated. He then began to chant loudly, in his deep horse voice, and his words made the ground rumble.
"Ego advoco incresco tibi. Magister consisto flamma consisto caligo, oriundus mei sanguis quod vivere denuo. Tui potentia, tibi servio mei benevolentia, dum tibi abolesco."
"I call upon you. Master of [the] flame of darkness, come forth [from] my blood and be alive again. [To] your last power, you [will] serve my will, until you die."
When the incantation was complete, an old wound opened on the Maiar's soldier and was cast into the fire. Everything in the circular room was completely dark, except for the fire in the form of a serpent. From the great fire, a giant clawed hand arose and griped the marble floor, leaving a great burn mark. Soon an entire body arose out of the flame, giant and with a fiery mane. In its other hand it held a giant whip that was of great fire as well. Its eyes were small, white and expressed a great amount of evil. From its fiery mane dark wings, with fiery edges sprang up. The beast roared and its dark flame erupted from the entire body of this newly born barlog.
"Go and rest, my offspring." Commanded the dark lord. "Draw all your power. for we will have great use for it."
The creature obeyed immediately and went into a corner were it was devoured by sphere of fire. The incantation was repeated about fifty more times; finally the Maiar was tired and went to rest, leaving behind a room full of giant fiery spheres filled with his newly created offspring. In the throne room, he found two trolls, fully armored, protecting his throne. This armor possessed a great amount of magic so it couldn't be pierced as easily as normal iron. He rested his powerful arms on the arm rest and went into a state of slumber, yet his eyes remained open and ever watchful.
"Come in, Tom."
"Tom here. Sayeed is that you?"
"Yup. How close are you?"
"Nine hundred and sixty-seven kilometers and closing."
"Good, maintain course." The voice of General Drake Widow sounded in Tom's helmet.
"Does the moon seem less silvery to, you?" asked Tom looking at the moon inquisitively.
"Could be Tom, but that's not why were going there."
"Right. So, how come the humans haven't found out about Tilion?"
"Because he's a Maiar and he lives in the core of the moon." Answered Sayeed, making it sound extremely obvious.
"That was really obvious." Tom said.
"No kidding."
"Prepare for touchdown." Tom warned. "And counting: five, four, three, two, one and touchdown."
"Good job, commander." Congratulated Widow. "Proceed with the mission."
"Gotcha ya'!" Tom spoke into his helmet. He went to the back of his ship and levitated a drill twice his size. He fixed the machine in the moon's turf out side and got inside the drill through a small hatch at the top. Inside there were various screens and buttons all around the pilot's seat. The drill began spinning, but inside the drill everything remained still; the course of the drill was controlled by two joysticks that were in the sweaty palms of Commander Tom Black. The screen in front of the pilot showed the course taken by the drill and another smaller screen was flashing, with various numbers: five hundred, six hundred. at eight hundred kilometers, the giant drill veered straight to the right and stopped twenty kilometers later. Tom got out and found himself in a large hall, brightly lit by silver light that was coming from a giant silver leaf, in the center of the great hall. On top of the leaf a tall, strong figure with a large bow was starring down at the elf.
"Greetings, oh mighty Tilion." Tom said bowing down before the Maiar.
"Why have you come here, Eldar (name given to the elves by the Valar)?" Tilion asked in a deep, but calm voice.
"Great Tilion, we ask for your aid in this dark hour. A new dark lord rests below you and threatens to plunge the whole world into his darkness. He has also made a prophecy to make him stronger and help him carry out his deeds."
"The Valar have foreseen this." Tilion said calmly. "This dark lord is stronger than any before him. for he has something the others did not. Knowledge! He has learned from the previous lords of darkness and uses great caution about his plans. A great army of orcs, Uruk-khai, trolls, and barlogs he has assembled and more dark creatures are still to come."
Tom was shocked and his mouth lay aghast. "B-but the barlogs and Uruk- khai have been whipped out ages ago."
"Some of the Uruk-khai managed to escape and are in great numbers now. They march towards this new Angband, to aid this dark lord. The barlogs are drawn from his ancient Maiar blood, and are gathering their powers for war."
"No." Tom whispered slowly. "Please great Tilion; aid the Eldar in this dark hour." Tom pleaded, with his knees under him and his head bowed down.
"I shall aid you with fourteen gifts." The great Maiar told the elf. "Seven, great, silver orbs; place these in your guns and they shall brake through any armor and they will never run out. I shall also give you seven full body armors that can not be pierced by any weapon."
Tom starred at the gifts aligned around him. The silver orbs were filled with a shining mist and the armor was also shining with silver light. Tilion loved silver above all metals; that is why he begged to guide the moon. "Thank you." He finally said. Tilion nodded and waved his right hand; Tom was transported with all his belongings and gifts to the ship. "Wow." he whispered to himself.
"Tom come in." Sayeed's voice rang in his ears.
"Yeah?" said Tom still panting from his journey.
"Good job, we recorded the whole thing. What do you make of it?"
"I think we've got a serious problem on our hands."
Sayeed sighed deeply, sounding worried indeed. "Do you think we're gonna make it out of this?"
"Well if I know my bro' and I do, I think we're all gonna be okay in the hands of his kid." Tom answered truthfully. "By the way, how is my nephew?"
"He's at school. Your brother's gonna go see him, in about a week." Answered General Drake.
"I should go with him." Thought Tom. "Oops getting close. Engage heat shields."
"Roger that." Answered Sayeed. This made Tom scowl; like his brother he hated military terms like "roger". He continued either way towards the sun, admiring the advanced technology of his shuttle.
"Engaging sun glasses." He joked, turning the shade of his visor jet black.
Sayeed chuckled. "So those weapons look really impressive, Tom."
"Yup, sure do." Answered Tom, happily. "I hope you have a really nice gun made for my nephew when I get back."
"Oh right." Sayeed remembered. "Sorry Tom, I will and I'll have some for you, your brother and his crew."
"I'm glad, one of us remembered." Tom remarked, laughing. "Oh closing in. Engage landing gears; touchdown in five, four, three, two, one and touchdown." Finished Tom, as his shuttle's landing gear touchdown carefully on the burning surface of the sun. He then selected a special suit from a nearby rack and stepped where no man has gone before. Arien didn't need to hide her palace, because no man would even dare come near the last fruit of Laurelin. The elf quickly found her golden halls and entered slowly, to find Arien awaiting him with open arms.
"Welcome!" she said humbly. Pointing him to a marble door, with the emblem of the two great trees on it. She made him feel a lot more welcome than Tilion. "I've been expecting you, young Eldar. You come to ask for my aid and I shall give it gladly."
"Thank you ma' lady." Tom said, bowing his head. "All of us are wondering what will become of us. Will we all go to the halls of Mandos (hell), or shall we triumph such as in past ages?"
"In past ages the dark lords were weaker." Arien reminded him. "But your race is stronger now and full of friends. I tell you this, young Eldar; if you will call, men will come."
"Men, my lady?" asked Tom surprised. "Men are weak and corrupted. Even if they did help, they would surely destroy our halls right after."
"Most of men are weak and power hungry, but there are, some that can be trusted."
"But how will we find these noble men, my lady." Tom asked curiously.
"They are few in numbers and live far away from all the rest. They are great warriors and pure of heart and mind. To find them you must use your heart."
Mushy, mushy, thought Tom. "Thank you my lady."
"You're welcome. Now I shall give you the gifts that will aid you in this war. Seven cloaks to hide you from the eyes of evil, and seven great steeds raised in my halls. They are faster then anything else; they can not be slain and are tireless. They shall come when you call for them turn into shadows when not needed."
"Thank you, my lady." Said Tom, surrounded by the numerous gifts.
"You are quite welcome, young Eldar. Remember my words, heed them if ever in need and good luck."
Tom bowed and was transported magically back to his ship with all the gifts. He started his engines and zoomed back to earth, at great speed. He sighed with regret; he really wanted to go at the speed of light but was way too close to the planet. He was soon underground surrounded by a crew of elves all applauding him. He made his way back to head quarters with all the gifts and piled them in General Widow's office. Sayeed was admiring a silver bullet, holding it on the tip of his fingers.
"So who should we give these to, general?" asked Sayeed, looking at Drake.
The elf pondered for a short while and then finally spoke: "Definitely to Leon and his crew; one to Leon's son and we'll have ask Leon about the last two."
"Two things." Pointed out Tom. "First of all there're three people in Leon's crew and secondly; what about me?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Drake asked, high pathetically. "I moved you to Leon's crew."
"That's cool." Nodded Tom. "Why?"
"Because he's gonna need everyone he can get on his crew. And your one of the best, Tom." Said Sayeed.
"Ah thanks, Sayeed." Said Tom, putting on a stupid face. Sayeed chuckled and shook his head. "By the by, where is my bro'?"
"Right behind you." Sounded a voice behind Tom.
"Bro'!" exclaimed Tom. "Where've you been?"
"Sleeping." Answered Leon, giving off a yawn. "Stayed up last night."
"Girls gone wild?" asked Tom, grinning.
"Perv." Said Orias, coming behind Leon.
"So you're with us now, huh?" asked Leon.
"No one asked me about this." Orias announced.
"Ah come on, you know you love me." (I really should have made this guy Asher's character)
"You really shouldn't do that." Warned Wei Pion Yeng, coming into the office.
"Oh hey, Wei! Don't worry; I can play with the big kids."
"Kids maybe." Said Orias coldly.
Tom waited for his mind to snap up something witty, but nothing came. They all started laughing, Orias included. They didn't hate each other; they just liked making fun of people and since no one else was around.
"So what do we have here, little bro'?" asked Leon.
"Those orb things, are some sort of magical bullets that pierce through anything and never run out. Those cloaks make you invisible, that armor can't be broken and those shadows floating around are the fastest things ever and can't be killed or get tired. They turn into horses." Added Tom, when he saw the confused expressions on his crew members' face.
"That's cool." Said Wei.
"Oh, we have two set of gifts left over." Sayeed remembered. "What should we do with them?"
"Well I know a man we can give it to. And the other one."
"We give to my sister." Interrupted Orias and Leon approved.
"Wait a sec." Tom remembered suddenly. "Before Arien gave me these gifts she told me that there's a certain group of men we can call on if we ever need help."
"Good." Said Drake, at last. "We'll ask these men to help us. Oh and Leon I'm appointing Nyssa to your team also. You'll need all the help you can get and she knows all the best places to look for clues and information and things like that."
Leon nodded in approval. "Is she still in that apartment?"
The general nodded. "You better take these gifts too."
"Right. Ok team, suit up, we're going to get Nyssa."
In the locker room the team was trying out the gifts. Orias disappeared behind a cloak and Wei was fitting one of the silver bullets into his new gun. This weapon was a double barreled shot gun; the barrels were golden chrome color and the handle was made out of ivory and enchanted to make it tougher. They all had new guns; Orias had two silver long hand guns and when he tried to split one of the silver bullets in two, it magically split and was put into the two hand guns; the barrel was not cylindrical, but rectangular (with its long sides pointing towards the left and/or right of the shooter) and curved at the top. Tom had the same type of gun as his brother only it was jet black and the dots and lines glowed blue instead of white. For Orias' sister they had made a white shot gun, with silver handle. For Leon's son Sayeed made two miniature, hand gun versions of Leon's gun, which were a silver chrome color; and last for Donovan they made two black, hand guns with long barrels, which fired multiple rounds like a machine gun. All the guns had the same options as Leon's did (Chapter 2) and were enchanted to be extremely light, but they all had the silver bullets instead of the originally designed plasma projectiles.
"These armors are like the mythril ones, but their just silver." Observed Orias, putting on his armor. The helmets of the armor were lined with all the technology in the normal M.C.P.A. helmets, only the eye halls were just as big as the wearer's eyes, so the machinery had to be changed a little.
"And more stylish." Joked Tom in an arrogant fashion.
"Okay team." Said Leon, ignoring his brother. "We're gonna' split up to act faster. Orias, you'll go get your sister with Wei and Tom and I go to get Donovan. We'll all meet back here, for further instructions. Everyone get that?"
"Got it!" they all responded.
They all split up and went their separate ways on their enchanted horses. They were fast and bigger than any normal steed; their fiery manes were pulled back as soon as they started galloping, not to mention their driver. The elven commanders would have to get used to these new gifts and fast.
Back underground, in the fortress dubbed Arganan by Neregron, the dark lord had finished resting and returned to the staircase next to the great fiery pit. He traveled a small distance until he found three orcs hammering away at what appeared to be a giant iron scale (as in lizard type). The three orcs bowed in front of the dark Maiar.
"Is this the only one you have made?" asked Neregron, sounding angry.
"No, no of course not my lord." Whimpered one of the servants. "We have many more."
"How many?" asked the Maiar, impatiently.
"Many, many more." Cried another orc.
"Give me NUMBERS!" rang the voice of the impatient lord.
"'A hundred." They squeaked.
The dark lord growled, calming himself down. Farther down in the pit, distant gunshots could be heard. The evil red glare of the Maiar fell upon two orcs shooting at each other from behind two boulders. Neregron growled angrily and jumped down in the direction of the quarrel, landing safely in the midst of the battle. He held out both arms in the separate directions of the orcs and thought: Flamma Edo Edi Essum (flames devour). The weak minded creatures were devoured by two spheres of fire and destroyed, leaving nothing, not even ashes behind. All the eyes of his foolish servants were pointed in his direction.
"BACK TO WORK!" he yelled. His voice bounced of the walls of the pit and made everyone spring back to their task. Meanwhile the dark Maiar was climbing up a set of stairs to where the three orcs and the scale. He snatched two scales and went up to the chamber with the sleeping barlogs. He held up his hand and closed into a fist, saying: "Propinquo calculus." Fifty stone perches sprang from the walls of the circular room and Neregron levitated the spheres holding his creations unto them. It was time for another incantation; he threw the scales into fire and started chanting:
"Oriundus flamma, ego advoco incresco tibi, erus fervens terror. Tibi, posterus magister potissimum tui pius, quantum quam aliquis antequam tibi, in tui pius. Quin cum festinatio quod educo mei exercitus vicotria cum mei alius valde proles."
"Arise [from] flame; I call upon you, lords of fiery terror. You, future masters of all your kind, greater than anyone before you, in your kind. But come now with haste and lead my army [to] victory with my other great offspring."
Two great silvery dragons arose from the flame, as the barlogs did. They were about twice the size of the barlog, and their normal red and golden coloring was replaced by different shades of silver. These dragons were made out of iron, and were the ancestors of this new race of dragon.
"Breed now, my children, you must construct my new race of dragons that will help our cause in this Great War that is to come." Instructed the dark lord leaving the dragons to breed his army (eww! Sorry but if I had him make the normal dragons too, it would take too long and would be way too many incantations for this chapter). The dark lord laughed loudly and maniacally, his evil joy could be seen on all the horror stricken faces of his servants. His army was nearing completion; once the dragons would breed enough offspring he would simply hasten their maturity and have a fully grown, army of dragons in record time.
It seems that the elves are outnumbered and out powered. Can this dark Maiar be the cataclysmic end of this great, prosperous race? Could these men, of whom Arien spoke of really help this secret race? And what is this strange prophecy about anyway? It seems the elves are not ready for this, especially not young Roby Black, who seems to hold the future of his entire race upon his young shoulders.
Tilion was the Maiar that guided the moon. He was sent up by the Valar on the last silver leaf of Telperion, the first great tree made by Yavanna and later destroyed by Melkor. He was first sent into the sky (before the sun) to light the Noldor (a race of elves that rebelled against the Valar and left their realms to return to Middle-earth, where they would have their vengeance on Melkor) and the arrival of Men. Tilion and his light scarred the servants of Melkor and they shunned before it.
Arien was the Maiar that guided the sun. She was sent up secondly in the fruit of the second great tree, called Laurelin. Her light was greater than that of Tilion, and forced Melkor and his servants to retreat into the depths of their dark fortress of Angband (Utumno was destroyed when Melkor was first captured). Here Morgoth, as he was known to the elves, produced great smog to hide his stronghold against the light of the sun and moon. Despite her power, Arien feared Morgoth and avoided going near his dark fortress.
In the depths of his dark stronghold, the last of the Maiar was sitting upon his marble throne pondering on his tactics to take over what should have been his father's long ages ago. His father was Lord Sauron himself; Gorthaur the Cruel, as he was sometimes named. And his mother was an unknown Maiar that gave birth to him in the days when Melkor was still considered a Valar. After Melkor was destroyed by the elves and early men, he hid with his father and helped him construct the wasteland of Mordor. When Sauron was destroyed with the Ring of Power, this corrupted Maiar went into a deep hibernation under the deep valleys of the world. He awoke a millennium later, when elves were considered folklore and traveled underground to live with those he believed to be his kindred. He found much change and knew that it would be hard to conquer this race now that it was so much stronger. So he retreated, living among orcs and constructing his plan; but he knew he needed much power for this prophecy to be made, for he still didn't regain all of his. So he summoned all the orcs that were loyal to him and drained all their power and energy and storing it in a small orb. Until recently he was finally ready and he unleashed this energy and that of his great kindred that he had finally regained, to make this prophecy.
To describe the actual appearance of this Maiar would be difficult. The main traits of his appearance are his bright, glaring red eyes that never close; his great mythril coat is embroiled with many emeralds and a great red ring, trough which a great green snake ran through, was also part of this design. The ring was in memory of his father and the snake was his own symbol. His stature is about thrice that of and average elf and from his waist hangs his sword that is two meters long and its hilt end in a sharp long dagger. His face was covered by a big black hood that glimmered eerily and his hands were covered in an iron armor that had sharp spikes where the knuckles would be. The tip of his armored foot ended also in a sharp spike and the foot armor itself was the head of an iron snake head. The rest of his body was wrapped in a large mythril coat, that shinned brightly even in the darkness of this lair.
The dark lord got up, as an ugly orc came running to him. "The Uruk- khai lords are here, Sire." The orc said.
The evil Maiar exhaled loudly in show of satisfaction. He walked out of the throne room and through a series of dark pathways where numerous orcs bowed down before him, though he didn't give any attention to them. He walked into a dimly lit room, a group of hooded figures awaited him standing conversing in dark whispers. The Uruk-khai had been almost whipped out after the demise of Saruman, only a few were able to survive. These hid deep into the cold mountains of the world, often to be found by some unhappy hiker. And you instantly have big foot, the abominable snow man and various such nonsense. The new dark lord summoned them to help him carry out his evil plans. This race of orc were tough and new no pain; they would fight to the very last. That is the type of servant the last Maiar needed; trolls were strong but also extremely dumb and easily seduced by pain.
"My Lord." The apparent leader said. The rest followed his lead and bowed to the Maiar's feet.
"Your numbers?" he asked impatiently.
"Five thousand, my Lord." The leader responded.
"Do they know how to use weapons?"
"Not the ones we have seen here, my Lord." The orc admitted with regret.
A low growl was heard from under the hood of the impatient Maiar. "They will learn fast?"
"Or die trying."
"Hm." The dark lord pondered. "How fast can you bring them here?"
"As soon as possible."
"Give me numbers!" he demanded.
"A day."
Another growl was let off by the Maiar. "Tell them Neregron, calls upon their haste."
"As you please, sire." The party bowed again and turned on their heel and exited through a back door with haste.
Neregron walked up a flight of stairs, where a great amount of heat rose. A large pit filled with red fire, was close to the staircase. The dark lord looked down into the pit to see his servants constructing weapons and various tools of war. Good, he thought, the Uruk-khai are large in their numbers. Neregron needed soldiers with brains and great strength and knowledge of war for his operation to be quick and successful. He turned on his heel and walked as fast as an average person running, to a great circular chamber with a marble floor and great fire burning in the form of the great symbol of Neregron. The dark lord held out his hands over the fire and concentrated. He then began to chant loudly, in his deep horse voice, and his words made the ground rumble.
"Ego advoco incresco tibi. Magister consisto flamma consisto caligo, oriundus mei sanguis quod vivere denuo. Tui potentia, tibi servio mei benevolentia, dum tibi abolesco."
"I call upon you. Master of [the] flame of darkness, come forth [from] my blood and be alive again. [To] your last power, you [will] serve my will, until you die."
When the incantation was complete, an old wound opened on the Maiar's soldier and was cast into the fire. Everything in the circular room was completely dark, except for the fire in the form of a serpent. From the great fire, a giant clawed hand arose and griped the marble floor, leaving a great burn mark. Soon an entire body arose out of the flame, giant and with a fiery mane. In its other hand it held a giant whip that was of great fire as well. Its eyes were small, white and expressed a great amount of evil. From its fiery mane dark wings, with fiery edges sprang up. The beast roared and its dark flame erupted from the entire body of this newly born barlog.
"Go and rest, my offspring." Commanded the dark lord. "Draw all your power. for we will have great use for it."
The creature obeyed immediately and went into a corner were it was devoured by sphere of fire. The incantation was repeated about fifty more times; finally the Maiar was tired and went to rest, leaving behind a room full of giant fiery spheres filled with his newly created offspring. In the throne room, he found two trolls, fully armored, protecting his throne. This armor possessed a great amount of magic so it couldn't be pierced as easily as normal iron. He rested his powerful arms on the arm rest and went into a state of slumber, yet his eyes remained open and ever watchful.
"Come in, Tom."
"Tom here. Sayeed is that you?"
"Yup. How close are you?"
"Nine hundred and sixty-seven kilometers and closing."
"Good, maintain course." The voice of General Drake Widow sounded in Tom's helmet.
"Does the moon seem less silvery to, you?" asked Tom looking at the moon inquisitively.
"Could be Tom, but that's not why were going there."
"Right. So, how come the humans haven't found out about Tilion?"
"Because he's a Maiar and he lives in the core of the moon." Answered Sayeed, making it sound extremely obvious.
"That was really obvious." Tom said.
"No kidding."
"Prepare for touchdown." Tom warned. "And counting: five, four, three, two, one and touchdown."
"Good job, commander." Congratulated Widow. "Proceed with the mission."
"Gotcha ya'!" Tom spoke into his helmet. He went to the back of his ship and levitated a drill twice his size. He fixed the machine in the moon's turf out side and got inside the drill through a small hatch at the top. Inside there were various screens and buttons all around the pilot's seat. The drill began spinning, but inside the drill everything remained still; the course of the drill was controlled by two joysticks that were in the sweaty palms of Commander Tom Black. The screen in front of the pilot showed the course taken by the drill and another smaller screen was flashing, with various numbers: five hundred, six hundred. at eight hundred kilometers, the giant drill veered straight to the right and stopped twenty kilometers later. Tom got out and found himself in a large hall, brightly lit by silver light that was coming from a giant silver leaf, in the center of the great hall. On top of the leaf a tall, strong figure with a large bow was starring down at the elf.
"Greetings, oh mighty Tilion." Tom said bowing down before the Maiar.
"Why have you come here, Eldar (name given to the elves by the Valar)?" Tilion asked in a deep, but calm voice.
"Great Tilion, we ask for your aid in this dark hour. A new dark lord rests below you and threatens to plunge the whole world into his darkness. He has also made a prophecy to make him stronger and help him carry out his deeds."
"The Valar have foreseen this." Tilion said calmly. "This dark lord is stronger than any before him. for he has something the others did not. Knowledge! He has learned from the previous lords of darkness and uses great caution about his plans. A great army of orcs, Uruk-khai, trolls, and barlogs he has assembled and more dark creatures are still to come."
Tom was shocked and his mouth lay aghast. "B-but the barlogs and Uruk- khai have been whipped out ages ago."
"Some of the Uruk-khai managed to escape and are in great numbers now. They march towards this new Angband, to aid this dark lord. The barlogs are drawn from his ancient Maiar blood, and are gathering their powers for war."
"No." Tom whispered slowly. "Please great Tilion; aid the Eldar in this dark hour." Tom pleaded, with his knees under him and his head bowed down.
"I shall aid you with fourteen gifts." The great Maiar told the elf. "Seven, great, silver orbs; place these in your guns and they shall brake through any armor and they will never run out. I shall also give you seven full body armors that can not be pierced by any weapon."
Tom starred at the gifts aligned around him. The silver orbs were filled with a shining mist and the armor was also shining with silver light. Tilion loved silver above all metals; that is why he begged to guide the moon. "Thank you." He finally said. Tilion nodded and waved his right hand; Tom was transported with all his belongings and gifts to the ship. "Wow." he whispered to himself.
"Tom come in." Sayeed's voice rang in his ears.
"Yeah?" said Tom still panting from his journey.
"Good job, we recorded the whole thing. What do you make of it?"
"I think we've got a serious problem on our hands."
Sayeed sighed deeply, sounding worried indeed. "Do you think we're gonna make it out of this?"
"Well if I know my bro' and I do, I think we're all gonna be okay in the hands of his kid." Tom answered truthfully. "By the way, how is my nephew?"
"He's at school. Your brother's gonna go see him, in about a week." Answered General Drake.
"I should go with him." Thought Tom. "Oops getting close. Engage heat shields."
"Roger that." Answered Sayeed. This made Tom scowl; like his brother he hated military terms like "roger". He continued either way towards the sun, admiring the advanced technology of his shuttle.
"Engaging sun glasses." He joked, turning the shade of his visor jet black.
Sayeed chuckled. "So those weapons look really impressive, Tom."
"Yup, sure do." Answered Tom, happily. "I hope you have a really nice gun made for my nephew when I get back."
"Oh right." Sayeed remembered. "Sorry Tom, I will and I'll have some for you, your brother and his crew."
"I'm glad, one of us remembered." Tom remarked, laughing. "Oh closing in. Engage landing gears; touchdown in five, four, three, two, one and touchdown." Finished Tom, as his shuttle's landing gear touchdown carefully on the burning surface of the sun. He then selected a special suit from a nearby rack and stepped where no man has gone before. Arien didn't need to hide her palace, because no man would even dare come near the last fruit of Laurelin. The elf quickly found her golden halls and entered slowly, to find Arien awaiting him with open arms.
"Welcome!" she said humbly. Pointing him to a marble door, with the emblem of the two great trees on it. She made him feel a lot more welcome than Tilion. "I've been expecting you, young Eldar. You come to ask for my aid and I shall give it gladly."
"Thank you ma' lady." Tom said, bowing his head. "All of us are wondering what will become of us. Will we all go to the halls of Mandos (hell), or shall we triumph such as in past ages?"
"In past ages the dark lords were weaker." Arien reminded him. "But your race is stronger now and full of friends. I tell you this, young Eldar; if you will call, men will come."
"Men, my lady?" asked Tom surprised. "Men are weak and corrupted. Even if they did help, they would surely destroy our halls right after."
"Most of men are weak and power hungry, but there are, some that can be trusted."
"But how will we find these noble men, my lady." Tom asked curiously.
"They are few in numbers and live far away from all the rest. They are great warriors and pure of heart and mind. To find them you must use your heart."
Mushy, mushy, thought Tom. "Thank you my lady."
"You're welcome. Now I shall give you the gifts that will aid you in this war. Seven cloaks to hide you from the eyes of evil, and seven great steeds raised in my halls. They are faster then anything else; they can not be slain and are tireless. They shall come when you call for them turn into shadows when not needed."
"Thank you, my lady." Said Tom, surrounded by the numerous gifts.
"You are quite welcome, young Eldar. Remember my words, heed them if ever in need and good luck."
Tom bowed and was transported magically back to his ship with all the gifts. He started his engines and zoomed back to earth, at great speed. He sighed with regret; he really wanted to go at the speed of light but was way too close to the planet. He was soon underground surrounded by a crew of elves all applauding him. He made his way back to head quarters with all the gifts and piled them in General Widow's office. Sayeed was admiring a silver bullet, holding it on the tip of his fingers.
"So who should we give these to, general?" asked Sayeed, looking at Drake.
The elf pondered for a short while and then finally spoke: "Definitely to Leon and his crew; one to Leon's son and we'll have ask Leon about the last two."
"Two things." Pointed out Tom. "First of all there're three people in Leon's crew and secondly; what about me?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Drake asked, high pathetically. "I moved you to Leon's crew."
"That's cool." Nodded Tom. "Why?"
"Because he's gonna need everyone he can get on his crew. And your one of the best, Tom." Said Sayeed.
"Ah thanks, Sayeed." Said Tom, putting on a stupid face. Sayeed chuckled and shook his head. "By the by, where is my bro'?"
"Right behind you." Sounded a voice behind Tom.
"Bro'!" exclaimed Tom. "Where've you been?"
"Sleeping." Answered Leon, giving off a yawn. "Stayed up last night."
"Girls gone wild?" asked Tom, grinning.
"Perv." Said Orias, coming behind Leon.
"So you're with us now, huh?" asked Leon.
"No one asked me about this." Orias announced.
"Ah come on, you know you love me." (I really should have made this guy Asher's character)
"You really shouldn't do that." Warned Wei Pion Yeng, coming into the office.
"Oh hey, Wei! Don't worry; I can play with the big kids."
"Kids maybe." Said Orias coldly.
Tom waited for his mind to snap up something witty, but nothing came. They all started laughing, Orias included. They didn't hate each other; they just liked making fun of people and since no one else was around.
"So what do we have here, little bro'?" asked Leon.
"Those orb things, are some sort of magical bullets that pierce through anything and never run out. Those cloaks make you invisible, that armor can't be broken and those shadows floating around are the fastest things ever and can't be killed or get tired. They turn into horses." Added Tom, when he saw the confused expressions on his crew members' face.
"That's cool." Said Wei.
"Oh, we have two set of gifts left over." Sayeed remembered. "What should we do with them?"
"Well I know a man we can give it to. And the other one."
"We give to my sister." Interrupted Orias and Leon approved.
"Wait a sec." Tom remembered suddenly. "Before Arien gave me these gifts she told me that there's a certain group of men we can call on if we ever need help."
"Good." Said Drake, at last. "We'll ask these men to help us. Oh and Leon I'm appointing Nyssa to your team also. You'll need all the help you can get and she knows all the best places to look for clues and information and things like that."
Leon nodded in approval. "Is she still in that apartment?"
The general nodded. "You better take these gifts too."
"Right. Ok team, suit up, we're going to get Nyssa."
In the locker room the team was trying out the gifts. Orias disappeared behind a cloak and Wei was fitting one of the silver bullets into his new gun. This weapon was a double barreled shot gun; the barrels were golden chrome color and the handle was made out of ivory and enchanted to make it tougher. They all had new guns; Orias had two silver long hand guns and when he tried to split one of the silver bullets in two, it magically split and was put into the two hand guns; the barrel was not cylindrical, but rectangular (with its long sides pointing towards the left and/or right of the shooter) and curved at the top. Tom had the same type of gun as his brother only it was jet black and the dots and lines glowed blue instead of white. For Orias' sister they had made a white shot gun, with silver handle. For Leon's son Sayeed made two miniature, hand gun versions of Leon's gun, which were a silver chrome color; and last for Donovan they made two black, hand guns with long barrels, which fired multiple rounds like a machine gun. All the guns had the same options as Leon's did (Chapter 2) and were enchanted to be extremely light, but they all had the silver bullets instead of the originally designed plasma projectiles.
"These armors are like the mythril ones, but their just silver." Observed Orias, putting on his armor. The helmets of the armor were lined with all the technology in the normal M.C.P.A. helmets, only the eye halls were just as big as the wearer's eyes, so the machinery had to be changed a little.
"And more stylish." Joked Tom in an arrogant fashion.
"Okay team." Said Leon, ignoring his brother. "We're gonna' split up to act faster. Orias, you'll go get your sister with Wei and Tom and I go to get Donovan. We'll all meet back here, for further instructions. Everyone get that?"
"Got it!" they all responded.
They all split up and went their separate ways on their enchanted horses. They were fast and bigger than any normal steed; their fiery manes were pulled back as soon as they started galloping, not to mention their driver. The elven commanders would have to get used to these new gifts and fast.
Back underground, in the fortress dubbed Arganan by Neregron, the dark lord had finished resting and returned to the staircase next to the great fiery pit. He traveled a small distance until he found three orcs hammering away at what appeared to be a giant iron scale (as in lizard type). The three orcs bowed in front of the dark Maiar.
"Is this the only one you have made?" asked Neregron, sounding angry.
"No, no of course not my lord." Whimpered one of the servants. "We have many more."
"How many?" asked the Maiar, impatiently.
"Many, many more." Cried another orc.
"Give me NUMBERS!" rang the voice of the impatient lord.
"'A hundred." They squeaked.
The dark lord growled, calming himself down. Farther down in the pit, distant gunshots could be heard. The evil red glare of the Maiar fell upon two orcs shooting at each other from behind two boulders. Neregron growled angrily and jumped down in the direction of the quarrel, landing safely in the midst of the battle. He held out both arms in the separate directions of the orcs and thought: Flamma Edo Edi Essum (flames devour). The weak minded creatures were devoured by two spheres of fire and destroyed, leaving nothing, not even ashes behind. All the eyes of his foolish servants were pointed in his direction.
"BACK TO WORK!" he yelled. His voice bounced of the walls of the pit and made everyone spring back to their task. Meanwhile the dark Maiar was climbing up a set of stairs to where the three orcs and the scale. He snatched two scales and went up to the chamber with the sleeping barlogs. He held up his hand and closed into a fist, saying: "Propinquo calculus." Fifty stone perches sprang from the walls of the circular room and Neregron levitated the spheres holding his creations unto them. It was time for another incantation; he threw the scales into fire and started chanting:
"Oriundus flamma, ego advoco incresco tibi, erus fervens terror. Tibi, posterus magister potissimum tui pius, quantum quam aliquis antequam tibi, in tui pius. Quin cum festinatio quod educo mei exercitus vicotria cum mei alius valde proles."
"Arise [from] flame; I call upon you, lords of fiery terror. You, future masters of all your kind, greater than anyone before you, in your kind. But come now with haste and lead my army [to] victory with my other great offspring."
Two great silvery dragons arose from the flame, as the barlogs did. They were about twice the size of the barlog, and their normal red and golden coloring was replaced by different shades of silver. These dragons were made out of iron, and were the ancestors of this new race of dragon.
"Breed now, my children, you must construct my new race of dragons that will help our cause in this Great War that is to come." Instructed the dark lord leaving the dragons to breed his army (eww! Sorry but if I had him make the normal dragons too, it would take too long and would be way too many incantations for this chapter). The dark lord laughed loudly and maniacally, his evil joy could be seen on all the horror stricken faces of his servants. His army was nearing completion; once the dragons would breed enough offspring he would simply hasten their maturity and have a fully grown, army of dragons in record time.
It seems that the elves are outnumbered and out powered. Can this dark Maiar be the cataclysmic end of this great, prosperous race? Could these men, of whom Arien spoke of really help this secret race? And what is this strange prophecy about anyway? It seems the elves are not ready for this, especially not young Roby Black, who seems to hold the future of his entire race upon his young shoulders.
