Chapter 29

The Necromancer studied the Forest on his map. Everyday, the part of the forest that fell under his command grew. Everyday was another day of slow retreat for the elves. He smiled. All went as he planned. Soon the elvenking would lose all hope. Soon he would fall, and Mirkwood would be his. Sauron smiled.

Ever since he had first settled himself in Dol Guldur he had searched for a weakness in the elvenking that opposed him. The Necromancer had tried attacking, laying traps, even buying his way out, but the elvenking was strong. He had not fallen for his traps. He had not shown weakness.

For nearly eight hundred years, Sauron had waited and studied, trying to come up with a plan, growing more frustrated with every passing year as the elvenking lingered. The Necromancer needed control of the entire forest so he could search unhindered, for he knew the ring was near. Isildur had died on the Irisfields, so close by, and the forest offered the ring a perfect place to hide. A perfect opportunity to return to his master, if not hindered by those elves.

Sauron smiled as he thought back to those days. For a while he had thought that his opponent could never be defeated. For a while he had thought that Thranduil, son of Oropher had no weaknesses.
Then the fool had created his own.

He remembered the joy he felt when his spies had brought him the news 55 years ago. A son. He remembered how he had smiled when the news had reached him. Was there anything more pathetic, more weak than a newborn baby?

Yet his opponent had guarded his weakness well. Sauron had to wait 35 years before an opportunity presented itself. But when it came, it came in packages. He hadn't even known the elven king had other children. He hadn't known his wife would travel with them.

He had kept them in his dungeon, three scared little elflings, and one brave pregnant elf-woman. She had been strong. Resisting to the end. Almost forcing him to kill them. His opponent had chosen his mate well, Sauron had to admit. Yet she too had had a weakness.

He had forced the elvenking to choose between his children and his kingdom and he had made sure she knew. He had made sure to tell her he had chosen land over them. He had made sure she believed her husband could have saved her, but hadn't.

It had been amusing to see them lose hope, to see them grow weaker every second, down to a point where he could kill them with a snap of his fingers. But of course he hadn't. He was not a fool.
Why would he take away his opponent's weakness? It would only make the elf a more formidable opponent, as his weakness would be replaced by vengeance.

No, Sauron was much smarter than that. He had sent the elves away, to Mordor. Because the name of the land was enough to make his adversary shiver, and because the land was far out of the elvenking's reach.
No wood elf would march to Mordor after the Battle of the Last Alliance. Not even to save the elvenking's child.
Then he had let the elvenking dangle on the thread of his uncertainty for a while. Thranduil couldn't grieve the death of his children, for he did not know they if they were actually dead or not. He could not avenge them, for he didn't know what the Necromancer could still do to his children.

Yes, Sauron had had the elvenking dangling on a thin thread for twenty years now. It was soon to break. This opponent would fall, and with him, all that was left of his kingdom.

The Necromancer stared at the northern part of the forest. It would be his soon. Very soon.

The four children of Thranduil had reached the edge of the forest, but Legolas stopped them from entering just yet, though the trees called out to them. He explained his siblings one last time why it was extremely important to stay as low as possible.

"Alright," Lanthir said. "The southern part of the forest is dangerous because of that Necromancer thingy..."
"Necromancer thingy?" Limloeth asked shivering. "You mean you don't remember him?"
Lanthir shook his head. "But that is not the point. What I mean is, if this part of the forest is so dangerous, then why not just follow the river? Why not go around it? Or why not go north?"
"We can't go north," Legolas answered. "It's too cold this time of year; Lainfea would freeze to death."
"And wargs and orcs patrol the riverbanks. It is as bad there as in the southern part of the river," Limloeth added.
"But without anywhere to hide," Legolas agreed.
Lanthir checked the map again. "But why can't we just cross the river and ask help in Lorien?" he asked.
"We can't go to Lorien," Legolas and Limloeth said at the same time.
"Why not?" Lanthir asked, raising an eyebrow.
Limloeth hesitated and looked at Legolas.
"It is a Silvan law..." their older brother said. "Ada said that as long as those Noldor refuse to help us fight the Necromancer we will not have dealings with those murdering Noldor traitors."
"How can Ada say that of other elves?" Lanthir asked.
Legolas shrugged. "The Lady Galadriel's relatives killed ada's mother when they searched Doriath for a silmaril."

"Look!" Lainfea said suddenly from the ground where she sat, waiting for her siblings to end their discussion. She had placed a hand on one of the branches of the black tree next to her. "Look! It's all green!"
Legolas, Lanthir and Limloeth stared at the branch. In the time Lainfea had touched it, the black leaves of the branch had turned green.
"You healed the tree, Lain!" Limloeth said happily and hugged her little sister proudly.
Over the heads of his sisters, Legolas gave Lanthir a concerned look.
"Was touching all you did to heal it, Lainfea?" he asked.
The little girl nodded.
Legolas groaned and Lanthir suddenly understood. He also grabbed a branch.
Within ten minutes the first leaves of the had branch started to turn green as well. "Ten minutes," he muttered. "That means we cannot stay in a tree for longer that ten minutes, or we will leave a trail. "
Legolas nodded.
"We'd better move fast," he said, and jumped into the tree. His siblings followed them as fast as they could.

An orc entered his study. "My lord?" it asked.
The Necromancer turned his gaze towards it.
"What?" he spat impatiently.
The orc shivered. "My lord, there is something happening in the forest. "
Sauron was not pleased. The last time a messenger had told him something like that, an Istar named Radagast had taken up permanent residence on its borders.
"What is it this time?" he asked, wishing he had the hands to tear the information out of the orc.

"My lord, the trees are changing," the orc said hesitantly.
Sauron shot it a glare, almost painful enough to kill. Just how stupid could a being get?
"Of course the trees are changing, you moron! It is a good thing! Or did you think I'd like green woods! It is me changing them, you fool!"
The orc shuddered once more. "But sir, that is the problem. It's the black trees, sir. Some of them have been changing to green again."
Sauron suddenly regained his calm. "What it you say?" he asked in a low, deadly voice.
The orc paled. "The trees, sir..." he whispered in fear. "They are turning green."
"It's elves," the dark lord said, more to himself than the orc. "There are elves in my part of the forest."
The thought disturbed him. He had not thought Thranduil still capable of resisting him. He hadn't thought there would be enough strength left in the elves to heal trees. What had he missed? What had gone wrong? Were they challenging him?

"Send out warg-riders," Sauron commanded. "Hunt those elves down. I want none of them left alive."

Moriarwen.. Yes oropher has gone to the halls of the waiting..

CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: Yes I believe I will have to write a sequal.. I have only finished writing for two days and I miss my elves already...

MCross: Hurry with more where? Here, or on the MC? or both?

moonshine44-grin- SORRY!

Nessa Ar-Feiniel: I'm not a great spelling/ grammar person myself.. luckely I have the best editor in the world! And yes. the loss of his children has affected Thranduil..Poor him.

kel: OK this might be a little too late after this chapter,

BUT the Necromancer is Sauron in diguise.

After the battle of the last allience he was defeated and disappeared for a while. About 1100 years later the wizards discover an evil power that set himself in Greenwood .They ythink it is one of the Nazgul. BUT.. the power starts to effect the forrest. It grows dark and scary.. and evil things start to appear. Greenwood turns into Mirkwood.

Untill , 2850 years after the last allience Gandalf discovers ythe necromancer is NOT a mere ringwraith.. but Sauron himself..

And In 2941Gandalf and Saruman kick him out.. Sauron moved to Mordor in secret, where is stength grows..

THAN he sends three nazgul to reoccupy Dol Guldur (his place in Mirkwood)

So you weren't completely wrong.. and at first the wizards thougth the same thing..

More about the Necromancer can be found in "the Hobbit," "The unfisnished tales" and "The addendix" (or whatever those are called in english.)

Karone Evertree: Cliffhanger indeed.. AND another one!