A Promise

A/N: Here, Talion returns briefly to Barad-dur, where he finds more than he expects and finally admits what he was too afraid to say before (sort of). And, you know, we'll just ignore Eltariel's DLC because it just made me EVEN MORE MAD, as if I didn't already dislike her character. AHEM. Anyway, enjoy! Have a brief bit of Shelob narration to start. :)

In this moment, the future foreseen was forever changed. It is unclear whether Talion would now join the ranks of the Nazgul, but it was vastly clear that the fate of Middle-Earth now rested on more than just a Halfling and his fellowship. He would battle the darkness within, his fate his own as he once said. The One Ring, Rivendell, the Doors of Moria…

Leaving the city was almost like a breath of fresh air. Though his powers and appearance remained unchanged, Talion felt his mind clear as he got farther and farther away from Minas Morgul. Mordor blurred before him as his drake carried him past Mount Doom, which bubbled menacingly below and behind him. The Dark Tower was in his sights; it wouldn't be long now. With a grunt he leapt off the drake, landing lightly on his feet before the tower's gates. It was strange to him that no new orcs approached, that none swarmed him in an attempt to protect their master. He had a bad feeling about this. With a determined look in his eyes Talion pushed opened the tower's doors and marched in, drawing Urfael.

Surveying his surroundings, and finding no one else, Talion continued on, carefully navigating the tower, frowning at its seemingly secretive and deceiving interior. It looked as any other tower of similar structure would, except perhaps for a few decorative designs, and that was what set him on edge. Sauron's tower would surely be more than it appeared, would surely not be just any old tower, yet everything he saw said otherwise. Climbing the winding stairs, he quietly made his way up the tower, a clear picture in his mind of what might have happened here that day. Celebrimbor and Eltariel staring down Sauron on top of the tower, a violent battle of magic and swords, a failed attempt at domination. He shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind. It would not bode well to be caught, distracted with speculations of events past. Soon enough he found himself at the doors to the tower's outside, and he steeled himself for what he might find. Pushing the doors open with a bit of effort, he emerged at the top of the tower, a grim view of Mordor below and a figure in chains lying in a heap not far from the tower's edge.

Rushing over to her, Talion turned Eltariel towards him, taking in her pale, weak form, damaged armor, and, alarmingly, eight fingers. Her left hand held three fingers and two bandaged stumps, and as he grasped it gently she shifted ever so slightly, tired eyes slowly cracking open. Her vision swam until she could focus on the figure above her, a strikingly familiar man. Her eyes widened with recognition and what Talion thought was regret as she looked at him.

"T-Tal… ion? But… how?" she asked hoarsely. "Y-You w-were—

"You have a bit of a habit of killing me to save me, don't you?" he asked in response, holding up the hand that held Isildur's Ring. Her face fell then, and she turned away in what seemed to be despair. Gathering her strength, she spoke as steadily as she could.

"Then y-you are a Nazgul now. Have you come to c-condemn me? T-To say your farewells?"

"No," he told her adamantly. "My will is my own. My fate is my own. I would no sooner serve Sauron than I would slaughter you here and now. I've come to rescue you. I need your help." She laughed weakly, perhaps in pity, perhaps in mirth, as she looked back to him.

"After all that I've done you would free me? After leaving you to die and losing the ring to Sauron?"

"I admit that leaving you here to suffer is a bit tempting, but I am not so far gone that I would do so. Galadriel sent you to hunt the Nazgul, and I'd like to give you another chance to do that. Another Ring of Power has surfaced and they have already begun going after its bearer. I am powerful with my own, but I cannot defeat them alone."

"So you need me, to use to your ends and hunt down the very thing you are becoming," she replied, a half smile on her face at how Talion bristled at her words.

"I am offering you a chance at freedom to hunt down an enemy we have in common, to keep other places of Middle-Earth from suffering the same fate as Minas Ithil!" With a powerful strike the lock holding her chains clattered to the ground in pieces, and Eltariel sluggishly pulled herself free of them, gingerly sitting up with a wince. "You can either leave with or without me."

"Oh, going so soon?" a new voice asked, sending chills racing down their spines. Talion and Eltariel looked around, Eltariel in alarm and Talion with dangerous intent.

"Show yourself!" he demanded, as he took a few steps forward, Eltariel's warnings falling on deaf ears.

"No, Talion! Don't—

"Ah, but why ruin the fun, Blade of Galadriel?" the voice told her. Bright energy emerged from the entrance to the tower, settling until the form of a breathtaking elf in strangely plain robes took its place. He smiled predatorily, and Talion saw the flames in his eyes, felt the dark energy that encompassed his entire being. Urfael held tightly in his grasp, he and the elf circled each other, never once taking their eyes off the other. "Hello, Talion," he greeted him.

"Sauron," Talion spat, "You will not stand in our way."

"And why is that, Gravewalker?" he asked, mocking the title Talion had earned. "What reason have I to stop you from leaving?" Sauron had stopped across from him, gesturing to the entrance back into the tower.

"I—W-What?" Talion lowered his sword and stopped, back at Eltariel's side, gazing at Sauron with narrowed eyes. "What game are you playing?"

"No game. Call it… Amusement. Call it intrigue. So far you have fought against the corruption of your ring. I'm impressed that you've managed to retain a part of yourself for this long. But sooner or later you will fall; you will become mine. When that time comes, I shall be waiting for you." In an instant he was barely an inch from Talion, a hand on his shoulder, speaking softly into his ear. "Let us see how long the Ranger of the Black Gate can fight the darkness within." As he went to pull away, something in Talion made him grab the hand on his shoulder, securing it there for the time being. There was an energy within Sauron that felt… Familiar… An unmistakable presence.

Daring to hope, daring to reach out, Talion whispered desperately, "Celebrimbor?" Sauron's eyes widened, and as he pulled back and clutched his head with his free hand his form flickered, until taken over by the wraith Talion had spent the last several decades fighting alongside, who he knew better than he knew himself. Celebrimbor, exhausted, in pain, and despairing, met Talion's relieved eyes.

"Talion," he whispered in disbelief, not caring about the Nazgul like attire his former companion now donned nor the dark energy and magic surrounding him. All he could see was Talion. "You came back."

"I dared to hope… I wasn't going to lose you, not again." Celebrimbor groaned as Sauron fought back viciously for control.

"After all that I have said… After what I did—

"The ring corrupted you, changed you. You were not yourself," Talion reasoned. "You didn't see what you were becoming…" He shook his head. "I am angry, and I am hurt, but I will not abandon you. I will never abandon you." Celebrimbor gazed at him with awe, with guilt, and, as he felt his control slipping, asked the question burning him from the inside out.

"But why?" Talion took his other hand then, the hand that would've held the New Ring, gently in his.

"You know why. You have always known, and when the time is right I shall have the strength to say it. I will free Middle-Earth from Sauron's influence and I will return for you, I promise!" Celebrimbor let out a harsh breath, out of shock and realization, and it was then, as his form flickered back to that of a temporarily stunned Sauron, that Talion scrambled away, scooping something up from the ground and sweeping Eltariel up in his arms as he called forth his drake. Sauron recovered just in time to see the two disappear over the tower's edge before the drake flew past in a blur, letting out a mighty roar as it took them away from his fortress. He got slowly to his feet, his pained grimace soon giving way to a dark chuckle. What excitement! Celebrimbor still had strength after all, and so too did Talion it seemed.

"Let it be war upon you both!" he shouted with ecstatic energy, his voice echoing across all of Mordor, his chuckle carried upon the wind as his form faded into the shadows once more.

XxX

Eltariel awoke as a chilly breeze blew, contrasted by the warm rays of sunlight shining above her. Sitting up, she looked around to find herself surrounded by orcs, some working, some training, some feasting. There was hustle and bustle in what looked to her to be a very well fortified stronghold. Metal walls protected the exterior, while siege beasts, caragors, varying orc troops, warchiefs, and traps were scattered about the interior, a drake roaming overhead.

"You're awake," Talion piped up from across the rooftop of the stronghold. "I was beginning to think you were lost."

"It will take more than chains and lost fingers to end me," she stated matter of factly. Looking now out and away from the fortress, Eltariel observed lush green land bordered by bright blue seas and a pink sunrise sky. "Where are we?" she asked in wonder.

"The stronghold in Nurnen," he responded. "When the darkness seems to close in on me, when I feel as if I'm losing myself, my thoughts turn here. Where there is endless life and light there is hope." Eltariel did not expect the wistful tone of Talion's voice, but as she observed him she found his eyes still as blue as they ever were, the black veins on his face now nowhere to be found. He looked like the man she'd first encountered all those years ago, and yet she knew that the face would change with time. Black veins, glowing red-orange eyes, and, eventually a helm that would forever take his identity from him would appear. He seemed to know what she was thinking as he turned back to her with a grim look on his face. "There may come a day when you will need to strike me down. That day, however, is not today. Today is the day we make preparations to leave."

"Leave? To leave Mordor?" She got to her feet, an irked look on her face. "Our mission is not yet done!" He was upon her in an instant, eyes briefly glowing their unnatural flame-like color.

"Let us be clear. Your mission and my mission are not the same. My mission is to free Mordor of Sauron's influence so that Middle-Earth has a chance of survival should their last line of defense against darkness fall. Your mission is to hunt down the Nazgul, as far as I'm aware, nothing more and nothing less. My work in Mordor is not yet done, but my mission leads me far from here, as does the Nazgul's." His eyes flashed back to their signature blue as he put space between them, Eltariel eyeing him cautiously. "So yes, we are leaving Mordor. There is a land called the Shire where the One Ring's possessor is said to live. The Nazgul will have received word before us, so if we don't leave soon it will be impossible to overtake them." Eltariel shook her head, slowly getting to her feet.

"You are changed, Talion," she told him, "In more ways than I expected." He scoffed at the statement.

"You think I do not know? The image of my guardian armor burns as clear as day in my mind. Instead, what I wear resembles more of a servant of Sauron's armor. The cloak my wife once made for me has morphed into a dark tattered cloth. Archan has reshaped itself into a true dagger, losing its original shape. Azkar is lost, Urfael has become imbued with a dark magic, and the ring…" He stopped his tirade to stare at the corrupted ring upon his finger. "The ring warps my thoughts, draws in darkness and pushes away light, tempts me with promises of power and visions of myself at the world's helm. I am changed, yes, but I am still Talion. I am not a Nazgul!" The last statement seemed to be more of an assurance for himself than for her. She did not expect his observantness of his current state. She was so used to the faceless creatures with distorted voices and dark intentions, who either didn't remember or didn't care to remember who they used to be.

"No," she agreed, "Not yet. But how long will you be able to fight it?"

"As long as I need to," Talion told her determinedly.

"And how much of yourself are you willing to lose in the process?"

"As much as it takes. If the destruction of my one insignificant soul will save the rest of Middle-Earth, then so be it." Eltariel could hear no falseness in his voice, see no deception in his eyes, and it struck her then just how selfless this man was, how much he had gone through and how much more he was willing to go through to save innocent lives. And if what he had said was true, then some of the Nazgul would be where they intended to go… As much as she disliked the idea of relying on Talion in any way, she couldn't possibly fend for herself and complete her mission, not in her current state. For now, her safest option was to accompany Talion. She sighed resignedly.

"When will we leave?" she finally asked, and she saw Talion almost smile.

"Gather any provisions you may need and meet me back here before midday. There are a few things I need to take care of." With a nod she watched him go, mingling with the orcs as he went. Looking out over Nurnen once more, she leapt carefully down from the fortress' walls and set about finding a decent meal before their departure.

Meanwhile, Talion made his way into the hall of the stronghold, where his overlords awaited him. Prior to leaving Minas Morgul, he had sent a messenger to each of them, calling a meeting in Nurnen. Amug, Skak, Ur-Edin, and Bruz, who'd recovered some of his peace of mind in recent months, stood by the stronghold's throne. Amug and Shak knelt at his presence, Amug out of fear and Shak out of quite literal undying loyalty. Ur-Edin nodded respectfully and Bruz grinned hesitantly.

"It's been a while, boss. Need any head-smashing done, or is this a business call?" Bruz asked a bit cheerfully.

"Business, I'm afraid." He gestured for the other two to rise. "I've called this meeting to alert you all that I will be leaving Mordor for a time, and I need you to ensure that our strongholds endure until my return."

"What calls you out of Mordor, if I may ask, my lord? Surely nothing too dangerous?" Skak asked, his dire caragor curled up asleep behind him. Talion let a small smile grace his lips at his most trusted overlord's respect and concern.

"The Nazgul are on the move, and they've discovered the location of another Ring of Power: the One Ring."

"Is your ring not enough? Is it more power you seek?" Ur-Edin questioned.

"Oh, hush up!" Amug told the Olog overlord. "When has he ever done anything for power? Of course that's not it!"

"If Sauron is to be defeated, the One Ring must be destroyed, and Mordor must be held," Talion replied, choosing to ignore the bickering. Those two had never gotten along. "Nurnen is the heaviest fortified of the strongholds and Cirith Ungol is under Shelob's watch. I worry most over Seregost, where Uruk and Olog resistance is the strongest, and Gorgoroth, where the Dark Tower looms too close for comfort."

"We'll bolster our defenses," Ur-Edin assured. "Our enemies will burn if they even come near us."

"And keep watch to the north. Maybe our graugs wouldn't mind a little hunting party alongside the caragors," Bruz commented. "Of course, assuming anyone would care to lead them and not just let them run loose. As fun as seeing all that destruction would be, we would lose part of our attack force. And that's assuming Mount Doom doesn't burn us all alive…" Talion rolled his eyes at Bruz's statements, though he couldn't help but be glad that the Bruz he'd first met was slowly but surely returning. At least he wasn't hearing any more cries of, "I don't want the fort! I never wanted the fort!"

"Then we are clear on what needs to be done?"

"We shall not fail you," Skak replied adamantly. His words were joined by three agreeing warcries. Talion grinned as he left the fortress hall, calling his drake and riding off towards Cirith Ungol with magic enhanced speed. There was one more person he needed to visit before he left, and he was sure she had the answers he needed.

XxX

Shelob awoke, sensing the presence of another within her tunnels. Sitting up after rather restless sleep, she laid eyes on Talion, who approached slowly, hood down, weapons sheathed, questions burning in his eyes. "So you have come. Do you know what you've done, Talion?" she asked, getting to her feet and making her way over to him.

"Other than rescue an untrustworthy assassin and find out what happened to Celebrimbor? No, I do not." She didn't smirk at his words like she wished to. Instead her face was serious, concerned even.

"Your future is changed. The future of Middle-Earth is changed. This quest you insist on completing will make you responsible for more lives than just orcs or the people of Mordor." Her eyes fell to Isildur's Ring on his finger with a frown. "And you will be burdened beyond anything you've ever imagined." She met his determined eyes.

"I know what I'm getting myself into, Shelob. But I need to know… Will I succeed? Will I remain myself before this nightmare is ended, and after?"

"I do not know. Your fate is uncertain now, and I have not yet seen how your rewritten story ends."

"Show me what you know then," Talion pleaded. "Show me what is to come." With a sigh she did as asked, a gentle hand on his forehead. Talion gasped as his vision warped.

A company of four small beings, neither man nor dwarf or elf, hide in terror from a Nazgul on their way to a nearby town. Two are terrified and one looks in concern to the other, who stares at a peculiar feeling ring, contemplating it with shaky hands. The One Ring.

A group of Nazgul block the company, now consisting of a man as well, from moving forward. As they seem about to overwhelm them, a great fireball blasts them back, and two figure—one cloaked in darkness and the other in light—go on the offensive, beating them back before the waters surrounding them washes the Nazgul away. The mysterious figures turn toward the company. The figure of light is Eltariel, who greets the company. The other figure had to be himself, and as he sheaths his sword, face hidden by a hood, his eyes glow a fiery red-orange.

Elves, a dwarf, men, and the small beings are gathered together for a great discussion. The small being who earlier held the ring presented it to the room, eliciting shock, awe, and fear. Eltariel was seated beside another elf, staring at the One Ring with purpose. In the corner, away from the others, Talion stood, eyes fixed on the ring hanging around his neck rather than the one they wore on his finger.

The company, now larger than before, with an elf, dwarf, two more men, Talion, and Eltariel, approached a large, intricate door on a dark path. A man, old yet wise, approached it, reading the elven inscription upon it. Eltariel and the man went about explaining the inscription while Talion ran his hand reverently over the door, familiar with the work, and the ring around his neck glowed fiercely at the figure's proximity. "Celebrimbor," he spoke softly.

Talion found himself waking up on the ground, head spinning at the new information obtained from the vision. He now knew who the ring bearer was and where they were headed. He also knew that he and Eltariel managed to co-exist at least for a little while, fighting the Nazgul as they joined the bearer of the One Ring on his journey. Silently thanking Shelob for the vision and receiving a whispered, "Go safely, Talion," he returned to Nurnen hours later, the sun steadily rising, not quite at its height yet. Walking in through the gates he was met by Eltariel, who looked a bit more rested than when he'd left her, color returned to her skin, a pack slung over her back.

"I was starting to think you'd left without me," she joked. "Midday is almost upon us."

"As I said, there were things that needed to be taken care of," he replied, nodding at her improved appearance. "You look well."

"It amazes me that orcs can be… disturbingly polite," she told him with a grimace. "A few brought food while others insisted that, as an ally of the Bright Lord I should get some rest. It was… Jarring to say the least."

"They are humble and loyal allies for the most part, and people in their own right. I would expect nothing less from them," Talion responded quite proudly. "Are you ready to go?" She nodded, and they fell into step as they left the stronghold, a passing orc patrol nodding to them as they did so.

"How are we to travel? On your drake, perhaps?"

"For a time, yes, but she, like any other creature, will require rest and sustenance." Calling forth his drake, the two climbed on as it took off, gliding through the air at an unnatural speed. Really looking at it, Eltariel noticed the drake's blue tipped and speckled wings, not just grey and red like others she'd seen. It also surprised her that when she looked the creature in the eyes before they took flight there was no sign of domination or forced control. As the sun began its decline in the sky, Eltariel cast her eyes down to look at the landscape below, blurred green, grey, red, brown, and blue as it passed swiftly behind them. Talion became lost in his thoughts, Shelob's vision weighing on his mind. All the while, he held onto the New Ring, which he'd recovered during his rescue of Eltariel back at Barad-dur, hanging on a chain around his neck, hidden from sight by his armor. It comforted him, reminded him that there would always be a bit of light with him no matter how much the darkness tried to consume him. There was a part of his soul in the ring, and a part of Celebrimbor's, and that alone was enough to give him hope.

'I will return for you, Celebrimbor. I promise.'

Closing A/N: First real chapter and I can't wait for their journey to officially get underway! Feel free to leave any thoughts, questions, or suggestions you might have. Also, having a part of Talion's soul also in the New Ring is something I did for a later part of the plot. Next chapter, we're following Talion and Eltariel as they attempt to coexist on their first long journey together. And maybe there'll be an appearance from some more LotR characters too? Maybe.