Important before reading:
This is the first chapter of my french fanfic, you can read the original if you click my name, i will post the chapters in english but all my focus goes to the french version.
Good reading.
The silence.
That's all we heard. On any other day, the sounds of nature could have been heard. But that day, the birds stopped singing, the winds stopped blowing. Even the sound of the waves had disappeared. You could have heard your own heart beating. And a great clap of thunder was heard. However it was a cloudless day, it was not a natural event that caused this thunder. It was dark black magic.
It was a shadow from an ancient age, which today has entered the Undying Lands.
A titanic black cloud extending over places skirted the coast where one could usually distinguish the island of Tol Eressëa. The elves who inhabited the island there had already fled west through the Bay of Eldamar, the only point of access to the Pelori Mountains from the continent of Aman and the kingdom of Valinor. That's where that cloud was. It was opaque and black as night and storm sounds were heard inside. This cloud announced a great misfortune, but for some unknown reason it stopped before touching the land, waiting on the water as if waiting to be told to move on.
From this cloud of shadow covering the whole sea began to advance a piece of black smoke which settled on the beach. The cloud withdrew immediately and left there a woman's form, she had two pointed ears designating her as an elf, wore a black tunic, had long raven hair and very pale skin. So pale that the veins could be seen in her face. She had her head down and her eyes closed.
" Even in the heart of Valinor...the Ainur can know fear... " a soft yet deep voice spoke causing a faint echo in the air.
The woman slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes. Her eyes were engulfed in flame with slit pupils like those of a reptile. If her face was devoid of emotion, those eyes on the contrary will give you the impression that your very soul was burning. She looked ahead towards the mountains that served as impenetrable defenses and her gaze rested on the great Silver Gates leading to the Pass of Light and the city of Tirion. The Black Gate of Mordor paled in comparison to this work by Aulë. She began to walk away from the massive black cloud and the bay of Eldamad towards the great walls.
No guards were posted on the walls, no beasts wandered in nature, even the sun seemed to have stopped to observe this moment, only the footsteps of the elf woman and the thunder of the dark cloud came to break this silence.
Arrived at a hundred meters from the door as big as the tower of Orthanc, a white lightning struck the silver top thus stopping the woman. Shortly after a second went shattered in front of her in the grass. From this flash appeared a man, squatting and his head lowered. He stood up slowly, long silver hair, armor shining like diamonds and a blank expression revealing no emotion.
" My old enemy, you cannot hide from me. No matter what form you choose to ware. " he said in a loud but clear voice while pointing a large Mithril-encrusted sword at the woman wearing an expression of amusement for some unknown reason.
"Let your true form be reveal !" Suddenly, lightning came out of the tip of the sword which fell on the woman who blocked with one hand a gold ring with burning inscriptions on it. " Sauron! »
All trace of humor disappeared from the face of the woman who raised her head and stared intensely into the warrior's eyes before suddenly falling forward, one hand on the ground and the other still holding the lightning from the sword.
" AAAARRRRGGGGHHH !" the warrior shouted, intensifying his attack which engulfed the woman on the ground causing a pool of flames and smoke to surround her. He halted his attack and watched apprehensively at the result.
For a few moments nothing happened, only the charred area could be seen, then a cloud of flame began to rise and swirl like a tornado. The warrior stepped back to avoid burns from that fire and stood on guard already knowing he was who would follow. A dark and disturbing voice came from this inferno, making the hairs on the back of the warrior's neck stand on end.
" Our long war ends today, Eönwë!" The fire took the form of a large fiery eye hovering above the grass and from the pupil a figure in black armor emerged from it and walked towards the Eönwë warrior. He was massive and twice as tall as his opponent. He wore a helmet hiding his face with spikes on top forming a kind of gloomy crown. Pieces of heavy armor all more disturbing than each other, a large black sword with the edges shining with a pale blue glow and this same golden ring on his right hand making a contrast with the rest of his body.
Despite this spectacle, Eönwë did not allow himself to be distracted and, twirling his sword, he charged, shouting at the Dark Lord Sauron.
Sauron raised his sword running and brought it down on the form of Eönwë who on impact vanished in a flash of light to reappear on Sauron's right flank. He swung his sword sideways at his face and Sauron jerked his head back in a hurry receiving only a clean cut on his helmet. He quickly retaliated and a tendril of black smoke similar to the cloud still motionless in the distance erupted from his back. The spin hit hard Eönwë who was sent waltzing for several meters. After a few rolls, Eönwë rose to his feet and hurriedly blocked the incoming sword strike that was aimed at his head as Sauron had closed the distance between them in record time.
" If you think this fight will end the same as the one we had in the War of Wrath, you are seriously mistaken. Sauron declared eagerly, the pressure of his blow increasing and threatening to go through his opponent's guard.
Grinning, Eönwë vanished once more in a burst of light, Sauron's sword slamming into the ground creating a mini crater there.
Eönwë reappeared about ten meters in front of the stairs of the Silver Doors calmly recovering his breath. Sauron turned to him not in the least tired from the exchange of blows. " I notice that you are my only opponent. Am I not worthy enough for the Valar to deign to fight me themselves? Or on the contrary the idea of confronting me frightens them so much that they send you to do the dirty work? »
" Do not insult the Valar Sauron! I personally asked to face you alone. No one else needs to be endangered here. You won't escape this time. You will be defeated and the Valar will judge you for all your crimes against Eru! »
Sauron just stared at him without saying anything. This silence seemed to disturb Eönwë who spoke again.
" What ? No more respondents?No more sarcasm like you used to do so well?Look at you Mairon!"Sauron flinched at the mention of that name. "Look what you have become!What Morgoth did to you!You have become the shadow of the Dark enemy!And because of your atrocious acts in Middle-earth, you are now a threat ten times worse than him!"He paused long enough to regain his composure before ending softly, almost pleadingly. " I beg you Mairon. Let's all stop this. Let's stop this madness. Come with me." He stretched out his hand and looked at him affectionately .
Sauron looked at the outstretched hand and seemed to be deep in thought. Eönwë had hope that he was considering accepting his offer but that hope was shattered when Sauron finally spoke.
" Do you really expect me to join you?" He asked contemptuously " And what if I did ? Will I go back with you to live in Valimar? Will I become the Maia of Aulë the blacksmith again and everyone will live happily until the reforge of the world ?" He clenched his fist and looked at his ring." No.In the best case, I will be thrown directly into the void to join Morgoth.And as you said, my actions have brought me here, if I agreed to join you, they would have been done in vain and that I cannot accept.I will finish what I started and I will destroy anyone who gets in my way." Sauron pulled his sword out of the ground.
"Don't do that..." Eönwë begged.
" Enough talking, you will face me or you will perish."And to prove his point, a dozen tendrils of shadow appeared and swooped down on Eönwë who resigned himself to blocking, understanding that there was no going back and that it would be a fight to the death. But at the moment of impact the tendrils suddenly bypassed him and went to impale his back. In an emergency, Eönwë jumped forward to avoid injuries that would surely paralyze him. The tendrils chased him and seemed to multiply every second. He continued to dodge for some time, frequently having to resort to his teleport spell to avoid getting hit.
The moment he had too many to escape, he thrust his sword into the ground and a white barrier appeared around him repelling tendrils now in their hundreds. Although the tendrils could not reach him, Sauron did not give up and putting more of his power into it, he engulfed the dome of light with a black cloud and began to press the barrier trying to crush Eönwë.
Eönwë continued to push away the cloud that was now blocking his view. He knew that maintaining this barrier would only play against him by draining him of his energy without being able to retaliate. He had to end the fight quickly or he would surely lose. So he concentrated, trying to locate Sauron behind that cloud of darkness while holding down the barrier, and when he finally found him, he disappeared from the dome and reappeared behind the Dark Lord ready to deliver the killing blow.
' It 's over' he thought sadly. He swung his sword and the sound of a blade penetrating a body was heard. Except that Eönwë's blade never reached its target. With lightning speed Sauron had turned and stabbed him with his own sword.
" H..how?" he asked shocked. How could he know where he was going to appear and react with such speed? He couldn't do anything to counter it. Only a Valar could do that.
Sauron withdrew his sword causing him to spit blood and lifted him by the collar of his armor. The black tendrils slowly retracted behind his back and he brought his face closer to his opponent's. He spoke in a terrifying voice that echoed through the valley.
" Take one last look at your glorious Undying Lands Eönwë! For soon, nothing of it shall remain ! But my laughter! »
At these words, Eönwë felt an emotion he hadn't felt for a long time. At these words, Eönwë knew he was afraid. Not for his life, but for all who lived in the Undying Lands, for all that the Valar and Maiar worked so hard for and the fear of a world ruled by darkness.
Gathering his strength, Eönwë teleported out of the grasp of the dark Maia and fell to his knees before the great Silver Gates, one hand on the ground and the other holding his bleeding wound which would be fatal to any other being that was not a Maia.
Sauron turned towards the doors and approached slowly. He stopped and the grass began to burn under his feet. A strong wind came out of him causing the surrounding trees to shake and rocks to fall from the mountains. You could feel the power building up inside him as if he was a Vala who could bend the elements to his will. Eönwë found that there was something familiar with this energy but could not find its origin.
After a few seconds that each felt like an eternity, Sauron stopped and released that energy with a shrill cry that sent shock waves all around him. Eönwë was brutally slammed against the Silver Gates which began to shake under the pressure of the scream. He tried to free himself but failed miserably, he couldn't get away from this cry worthy of the most frightening of nightmares which pierced his eardrums.
Eönwë heard a creak and thought he was hallucinating seeing what looked like a crack against the doors. Shortly after other breaches were created all along the wall which all went towards the top.
Eönwë could do nothing but painfully watch Sauron destroy the great defense of the Valar as if it were child's play.
' How can he be so strong? Morgoth could not have given him such strength.' And suddenly realization struck like the hammer Grond. ' This energy... could it? Oh no… what have you done Mairon?'
And inevitably, unable to bear the pressure any longer, the doors creaked. The walls and the great guard towers began to crumble in on themselves like sand and Eönwë looked one last time at the dark Maia.
' Forgive me Arien, I failed. ' The debris of the doors crashed to the ground and Eönwë was engulfed in the rubble.
Sauron halted the cry and, unperturbed, resumed his slow march as the Silver Gates fell before him laying bare the Undying Lands. He looked at the destruction caused and stopped when he saw Eönwë's sword planted in front of him. He approached it and took the sword of Mithril in his right hand bearing the golden ring. Raising it to the sky, he focused and managed to summon lightning from it. He allowed himself a laugh. Although the sound was unrecognizable with the helmet he was wearing.
He looked around for Eönwë's body to make sure he was dead but couldn't find it. He continued for a few moments before giving up, having more urgent things to do.
' Farewell Eönwe. I regret that you can't witness this new era ' he thought before continuing on his way. The Maia swept through the ruins of the gates, carrying with it the blade of its fallen opponent and a new objective in mind.
" Get ready Ainurs, I'm coming for you... " he said darkly. The cloud of darkness also began to penetrate Aman and followed him from afar, engulfing the ruins and all the once lush nature.
Elsewhere, from their great halls, the Valar prepared for war.
For Sauron has arrived, and the Undying Lands will bow down to him.
OK ! So a few things to clarify
- From chapter 4 the chapters become longer and longer (between 500 and 1000 words more approximately)
-I was inspired by the fight of Imperius and Diablo from Diablo V Reaper of Soul for this confrontation. Available on Youtube, lasts 2min and is very well animated.
-The Silver Gates do not exist in the canon.
- There are surely a flurry of spelling mistakes, so no one hesitates to tell me.