Chapter 17
Darkness of the Mind
'I can't run anymore,
I fall before you,
Here I am,
I have nothing left,
Though I've tried to forget,
You're all that I am,
Take me home,
I'm through fighting it,
Broken,
Lifeless,
I give up,'
-October - EVANESCENCE
Elrond rose immediately from sitting at his desk as heard hoof beats coming up the cobblestone path. He rushed outside to hear the news from Elrohir and the elves that had been with him. He was slightly surprised; however, to see only one elf returning. By the look on the elf's face, he knew the news was not good.
The elf dismounted from his horse and bowed slightly. "My lord."
Elrond stared at him for a moment, already knowing what the elf was going to tell him.
"We looked everywhere for Linriel, but she simply can't be found. I am sorry, my lord."
Elrond sighed. "My son?" He questioned, though he already knew the answer to that as well.
"He refused to give up searching before she was found. We all refused to leave his side, though I was sent back to let you know they are safe."
Elrond nodded. "Thank you, Sathlien. Go get some rest."
The elf bowed again, before leading his horse to the stables.
Elrond turned to go back into his house, but changed his mind and headed towards the garden. Linriel had been gone for four days now. She left a note, explaining that she could feel Legolas was in trouble and she had to go to him. Why she had left that night and had not waited until morning so someone could accompany her was beyond him. Perhaps it was because she knew he would not let her go.
Elrond sighed silently to himself. She would be right in assuming that. He would not have wanted her to go for many reasons. He cared for her like his own daughter. He would not be able to bear it if something happened to her.
Now here she was, all alone in the woods, heading towards Mirkwood. The thought more than worried Elrond. Legolas had not wanted her to know the danger Mirkwood was fighting, and now she was headed straight into it without even knowing.
Elrond sighed, massaging his temples gently with his fingers. He sat down on a nearby bench and wearily rested his head on his hands. He had not been sleeping well lately. First, Linriel, and Elladan were seriously injured and he could not rest while he worried. Then the messenger from Mirkwood who told of the danger of the kingdom and the sickness of the king troubled his mind. Then Legolas and Aragorn left, leaving him worried for their safety. Now, Linriel had left and was putting herself in unnecessary danger. And to add on to that, Elrond had been having horrible visions as of late.
He did not understand them fully for they were full of darkness. It was not just darkness of not being able to see, it felt more like darkness of the mind. It was as if someone had taken every thought, every emotion, and every memory from him and had left him standing. There, void of life, in total darkness, he found himself. It did not make sense and he did not understand it. Instead of getting clear pictures or images of the future, he only felt emotions and feelings. Most of the feelings were of pain and great anger. It confused the elf lord for usually he saw pictures and flashes of a future event in his mind. Never before had it been just feelings and powerful ones at that. It made his heart uneasy and he wished he could know what it all meant.
"Ada?"
Elrond lifted his head slightly at hearing his son. He forged a smile, not wanting the twin to worry. "Good to see you outside in the gardens, Elladan. I was beginning to think you would never come outside again."
Elladan smiled slightly at his father's words, but then began serious. "What news of Elrohir and Linriel?"
Elladan sighed slightly, but did his best to maintain the smile on his face. "Sathlien returned today. They still haven't found her, and Elrohir refused to come home without her."
Elladan sat down by his father. "I don't think I blame him. If our places were switched I would do the same."
Elrond nodded, but said nothing.
"Do you think he will find her?" The oldest twin questioned after a moment of silence.
"I hope so." Elrond said rather gloomily. Quickly noticing his fear that was behind his words, he added humor to try to cover it and reassure his son. "You know how stubborn Linriel can be sometimes. She is Legolas' sister after all."
Elladan smiled. "She is indeed." He looked at his father and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Worry not, ada. She will be fine. You'll see."
Elrond smiled. "I know, ion in." He said, hoping with all his heart that his eldest was right.
Elrohir kept his horse at a steady pace as he kept searching for any signs of Linriel. He had been searching for four days without any luck. He had not even found a trail left by her. He knew it was because she did not wish to be found, but Elrohir was slightly angered by her actions. She was only trying to help her brother, but here he was wasting time looking for her. He and the elves that were with him could have been preparing to aid Legolas and King Thranduil in the war they were fighting. Instead, he was searching for her to protect her from danger. He could not help but be angered.
Still lost in his own thoughts, Elrohir barely heard the sound of approaching hoof beats. He ignored it for a while, but the sound got closer. He raised his head slightly, listening closely. He pulled his horse to a stop, signaling the others to stop as well.
He could hear a horse fast approaching. The hoof beats were heavy as if the horse was injured, but frightened and determined.
"I don't like the sound of that." Glorfindel stated from beside Elrohir.
"Nor do I. It is only one horse without a rider. Perhaps something happened to a ranger or traveler and the horse got spooked." Elrohir said.
"It's worth checking out." Glorfindel said.
Elrohir nodded and spurred his horse to a gentle trot towards the sound. In a matter of seconds, they saw a horse at full speed running towards them. Elrohir squinted his eyes, looking at the horse. Suddenly he gasped in shock and fear.
He dismounted from his horse and walked towards the creature. "Sidh, Amthar." He called to the horse. (Peace, Amthar.)
The horse stopped a few feet from Elrohir, but he reared in fright as Elrohir approached him. Elrohir extended a hand towards him. "Hodo." He commanded gently. "Nach edra si." (Be still. You are safe now). The horse calmed under his gentle touch and his calming words. Gently Elrohir stroked him, while holding him under control.
"Man le trasta? Man cenich?" (What troubles you? What did you see?) He asked, wishing the horse could answer him.
With a sigh, Elrohir began to check the horse over. He did not like what he saw.
"Legolas took Amthar from the stables when he left." Glorfindel said, stating what Elrohir already knew.
Elrohir looked up at the elven lord with a sigh. "I know and I fear what has befallen Legolas. Look at this." Elrohir pointed to a wound on the front leg of the horse.
Glorfindel looked at it as fear rose in his heart. "That's no ordinary wound."
Elrohir shook his head, confirming what Glorfindel was thinking. "It's a spider bite."
Glorfindel closed his eyes. "Eru! What has befallen them?"
Elrohir cursed under his breath. "Gwador is still out there somewhere. Perhaps he was able to bring Legolas and Estel to safety." He said after a moment of silence.
"Let us hope." Glorfindel agreed.
Elrohir swallowed hard. He allowed the elves a short rest as Glorfindel did what he could to relieve the horse's pain from the spider bite. He put some creamy paste on the wound that would negate most of the poison.
"He can find his way home." Glorfindel said as he finished. "Elrond will know that we have found him and sent him home. We do not need to send another elf back to Rivendell just yet."
Elrohir nodded. Subconsciously he stroked the horse's mane. He thought of his little brother and fearfully wondered what had happened. He closed his eyes tightly as many horrible thoughts raced through his mind. He pushed them away, but it left him wondering if he would ever see Estel again.
Aragorn clutched his fist and tightly closed his eyes against the pain that was reeling through his body.
"Give up, ranger! Tell me your secrets." The voice hissed in his mind, burning like fire.
Aragorn could barely find the strength to hold on any longer. The words of weakness and failure that the Nazgul had burned into his mind, came back even stronger. The Wraith was piercing into the inner most depths of Aragorn's mind and no matter how much he tried to resist, he simply could not. When they had first been captured, Aragorn surmised it was only a matter of time before his weak human mind broke under the power of the Wraith. Now it was a matter of minutes. It was inevitable. There was no longer anything the ranger could do to prevent it.
Slowly Aragorn opened his eyes, letting them fall on his only strength he had. Legolas' eyes met his. Despite the comfort and strength that were in those blue eyes, Aragorn could no longer feel the strength of his friend. The Nazgul was shattering his defenses and Aragorn was just too weak to hold on any longer.
Legolas could read the desperate expression in his friend's eyes. He could see the sorrow and the silent plea for forgiveness. It tore Legolas' heart.
"Garo dan nan galad" (hold on to the light)
He whispered the silent plea to his friend, his eyes filling with tears. Legolas could see, however, that his words would bring no help. It broke his heart to see the Nazgul break his friend this way. If the Nazgul shattered Aragorn's mind, Legolas did not know if his friend could ever recover. Aragorn would be gone forever.
The young prince, however, was determined to not let that happen. He would not loose his best friend to the curse of the Nazgul. Though the Nazgul might try to destroy his friend's mind, he could never take Aragorn's spirit and soul from him. Legolas vowed to find a way to help Aragorn. He would hold both of their secrets deep within his heart. He would bring his friend through this and restore to him all the things he held dear in life. Somehow, he would find a way.
Yet with that vow made, he could only watch as his friend's blue-gray eyes suddenly grew dark. Aragorn's eyes became unfocused, staring off into the trees. He gasped for breath and let out a scream of pain.
Aragorn could feel the dark presence enter his mind. Evil began to fill his very being. The Nazgul immediately began searching through his every thought. He began tearing, raping through his mind. He searched through ever corner, every secret, every hidden memory. He learned of Aragorn's childhood, growing up among the elves as a son of Lord Elrond. He learned of his friendship with Elrond's twin sons and his meeting of the woodland elf. Aragorn tried desperately to hold on to his most cherished memories, clutching tightly to the thoughts of his family and his friends. The Nazgul; however, tore those memories away as well. He tossed ever memory aside, disposing of them as if they were nothing more than pieces of trash. Aragorn tried to hold them, but he could no longer fight the darkness that was in his mind.
The Nazgul had seen and taken everything, but what he did not see was the two main secrets that the ranger had left in the care of his friend; the secret of their true identity was locked up and blocked away. Only Legolas held the key to reveal those dangerous secrets.
The Nazgul growled in anger. He had found out nothing useful about his two captives. All this time, all the secret he thought they held, turned out to be nothing more than cherished memories. The man was a mere ranger, who had been raised by elves because of the death of his parents. The elf was just a friend, a civilian of Mirkwood and of no use to him. All he had done was waste precious time that he could have been using to take control of Mirkwood.
The Nazgul flung the ranger to the ground in disgust. Aragorn fell limply to the forest floor. He was only semi-conscious and his eyes were void of life. All his thoughts and memories had been torn from his mind. He didn't know who he was, where he came from, or anything about his past. All he knew was the one thing the Nazgul had burned into every corner of his mind. He was a slave and the Nazgul was his master!
