CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Breathing Black Breath
As Mira, Smaug, Khamul, Dwar, Indur, Akhorahil, Adunaphel, Ren, Uvatha, Hoarmurath, Delenn, Delenn II, Delenn III, Delenn David Mir, and Senna wait at the Iron Teeth, the sound of the gates rattling...opening. As Mira and the others watch as a rider comes out, he is the leader of the Black Numenorian's. As he comes alone out of the Black Gates he looks at Mira and then the others. He is an severely altered being, who has spoken too much Dark Speech, his mouth has become enlarged, his sight blinded, but not his ability to judge his surroundings...he sees all of them, better then they see themselves. He does not fear them, he does not even fear Smaug. As he stops he looks at them, his mouth open bearing his rotten teeth, as he looks around he smiles and opens his gigantic mouth, he speaks in a deep voice with a metallic sound. "My master, Asron the great, bids thee welcome. Is there any in this rout with authority to treat with me? Says the Mouth of Asron.
Akhorahil responds, "We do not come to deal with the like of you...go back to your master you Gulshu, go back to a more decent place for the likes of yourself!"
The gigantic mouth opens wider, blood drools out. "We're not in decent places" Says the Mouth of Asron in a deep laugh. The gigantic mouth waits and cocks his head. "Is there no one here to treat with me?" Says the gigantic mouth with a low wheezy laughter.
Mira looks at him, he knows who he is...the Mouth of Sauron, or should he say the Mouth of Asron, as Mira looks at him he pushes Smaug to the ground to get off. As Mira steps off he stands straight up. As he looks at the Mouth of Asron Mira speaks to him in the language of Angmar. "Ristais duath!"
The Mouth of Asron looks quickly at Mira. "Ah, who is this?" The Mouth of Asron looks at Mira, "The Witch-King of Angmar, you come to deal with my and your master?"
Mira looks at the Mouth of Asron. "I would not deal with your Lord to save my life! He is guilty for the death of all creation!"
The Mouth of Asron snickers, but Khamul takes his sword out and throws it at the Mouth of Asron, it enters the Mouth of Asron and he jolts back to snow pain, as he lowers his head, he then looks up and the blade blows up and the wound heals, the Morgul blade does not even hurt him. As he laughs he looks at Khamul. "You foolish Easterling, I myself sent my army to murder your children, slaughter your men, and rape your women and then mutilating them. You actually think you can kill an Black Numenorian?"
Mira turns around and gets back onto Smaug, he is tired of this sorcery. As Mira looks at the Mouth of Asron he sees the power source. As Mira looks slowly at the Mouth of Asron, Mira speaks slowly and deeply to the Mouth of Asron. "You fool this is my hour!" Mira un-sheaves the Sword of Angmar and as he holds it in the air the Mouth of Asron looks up at the sword, it becomes on fire! As Mira looks at the Mouth of Asron, Mira speaks again. "Ristais duath, nerchennin o chvil. Coll am na waewath-goeyl. Tellin i Neder, gurth renia. Medithe han phan...Meditha ardhon!" As the Mouth of Asron hears the speech he hears the Witch-King say: Shreds of shadow, torn from life. Bone aloft by fell winds. The Nine have come. Death has taken wing. He will eat it all...eat all the world! At first the Black Numenorian has no clue why the Witch-King would say this, but Mira knows exactly why. As the phrase is over the Mouth of Asron has a new problem, he actually feels a wind against him, he hears a sound, a horrible sound. As Mira sits on Smaug he feels the sword becoming hot. As Mira looks at the Black Numenorian, frustration fills Mira, but fear trembles him. As Delenn, and Akhorahil watch the sword, a miniature storm is swirling above his sword. As the energy is hot enough there is a cracking sound and as Mira watches the Mouth of Asron who sits apond his steed his helmet blows up decapitating his head. As the body falls over the gates open the spell was broken, Black Breath has been defeated. But as the gates open the Nazgul and Prophecy see an army of orc's coming at them, they once looked like Black Numenorian's, now they look like a mutated creature with a black fog lingering over them. As the fog spreads to the Prophecy and Nazgul, the horses stay away from the fog, but there is no where to go. As the fog lingers around them the horses begin bucking around and the Prophecy and Nazgul fall off, as the horses move around, the flesh creeps around and spikes protrude out of their body. Their mouths open up and then more mouths open up expelling a black gas--Black Breath. As their heads turn into sharks heads, the Nazgul and Prophecy now have to deal with their mutated horses, the orc horses are evil. As one of the horses attack Smaug it bites his front left leg, the teeth of the horse shatter, Smaug's scales are as hard as diamond. As Smaug raises his left leg he stomps it on the horse completely killing it. As three of the evil horses see this they go against Smaug, as the Black Breath surrounds those three horses their teeth become diamond, their tails become spears of diamonds. As one of the horses flings one of these spears at Smaug it stabs him, as Smaug feels this he throws Mira off his back, as Mira lays there with the wind knocked out of him, Smaug spreads his wings and takes to the air, but the horses launch their spears into the air, but they only puncture the scales wounding him slightly. As Mira looks at those three horses, the horses look at Smaug in the air. As the Black Breath surrounds the three horses once again, wings burst out of their backs, they take flight. Now Smaug has a problem. As Mira is struck from the back, he has a slight problem, the Sword of Angmar is thrown out of his hand, the horse charges Mira, Mira sticks out his hand, the hand with the triluminary in it. As the horse comes closer, the horse hits a invisible wall and is sliced right in half. As Mira looks at the dead horse, Mira lowers his hand and goes to his sword and picks it up, it has burned the ground. As the Nazgul get an open hand, Smaug too is successful, all the horses have been defeated. As the fog circles around, it begins to leave them and go back to the orc's. As Smaug lands, Mira looks back to the orc's; he takes his sword and climbs back on Smaug. As Smaug looks at the orc's, Mira tell Smaug to take to the air. As Smaug lifts into the air he looks around the battle plain. Mira looks at the tower. "Lets go to the tower, I have an idea." Smaug does not even think he just goes. As they fly to Barad'dur, Delenn, and Ren watch Mira and Smaug fly away towards Barad'dur. As the orc's battle, the battle hardens, but as the Prophecy fights, their mutation becomes harder to control. The Prophecy is using their mutation to give them an advantage. The battle is quite bloody indeed!
As Mira looks at the tower, Smaug does not see anyway in. But Mira does not want to go into the tower. Something does not seem right. As Mira thinks he begins to conclude something, like the Black Breath, it would not touch him, the feeling of being watched! But what alarms Mira the most is what he remembers. While on Minbar, he remembers the Witch-King saying that he could not leave Minbar, if he could he would. So how did he get to K'ha'dum, the only way to defeat a curse is to find a cure or if you are its creator. Thus the Reign of Rulers has to be the Witch-King of Angmar. He was more powerful then Sauron, so he could cast his shadow into something un-organic, like a ring...the Lord of the Rings. As Mira looks at Mount Cerfire, he knows what he must do, he must cast the ring into the fire of Mount Cerfire, he knows what he must do, he must cast the ring into the fire of Mount Cerfire. As Smaug keeps his approach to Barad'dur, Mira speaks to Smaug. "Smaug turn to Mount Cerfire...now!"
Smaug looks at Mount Cerfire and goes towards the volcano. "What is at Cerfire my Lord?" Says Smaug in a low deep rumble, almost drowned out by the sound of volcanism in the distance.
As Mira looks at Mount Cerfire he sees a door, the entrance to the volcano. As Smaug lands on a rock, Mira gets off, and then looks at Smaug. "Smaug, this is where we must part, take to the air, head back to the Iron Teeth, if you stay here you will die!"
Smaug disagrees with Mira, "How will you get off the volcano?"
Mira looks at Smaug and he takes off his helmet. "I don't think I will be alive!" Smaug is almost ready to speak, but Mira stops him. "Go now! Leave, if you honor me you will go!" Smaug looks at Mira and nods. As Smaug takes to the air Mira watches Smaug go back to the Iron Teeth. As Mira looks at the door he enters and goes to the fire. As he takes off the ring he looks at it. As Mira holds it over the fire he hears a voice, it is the Witch-King.
As the Witch-King looks at Mira, the Witch-King speaks in a low deep demanding voice. "Amman harthach?"
As Mira turns he sees Er Murazor. "I have nothing else!" Mira looks at the ring and at the Magma.
The Witch-King steps forward to the smooth cement, he is hiding something? "Le tug nach."
Mira looks harshly at the Witch-King. Mira takes off his helmet, he is not a male, but has changed back into his female form, but this alteration does not alarm Mira, she understands everything why this is happening. Mira looks at the Witch-King, Mira knows that she holds her owners DNA, Bri, that is why Mira acts strange from now and then, the Cursed Swamp has split Bri Delenn's personality, one into Bri the other is someone else, possibly Bri Delenn or maybe Mira, Bri at the time did not know, he has been in dormancy since the fall at the Cursed Swamp. "I will not leave him."
The Witch-King walks up to Mira and smiles as the false cloak melts away to expose a much uglier creature, this must be Asron. "U-moe le anno nad!"
This creature's mouth is as wide as the Black Numenorian. Mira looks harshly at him. "I gave him my word!" Remembering her promise she made to Bri at the Cursed Swamp to help him by protecting his body and soul.
The creature slide his long finger across his neck. "Gurth han ristatha."
Mira smiles and shakes her head slowly. "Then let death break it." The creature fires a blade into Mira's chest and Mira falls to the ground. Mira holds the ring tightly, she knows her life is fading away, but she knows she won't die, she has one last trick! "He has the last of my heart...I will go with him to the end!" Mira lets the ring roll out of her hand, the creature watches in horror as it rolls to the edge of the pit. As it rolls, Mira lets go and alouds herself to bind with Bri to aloud him to survive. As the ring rolls closer the creature screams and runs to the ring to get it, but as the ring of Angmar falls into the pit of fire, so does the creature. As the creature screams in the fire, the ring sits on the magma, heating up. As the binding is complete, Bri feels himself breathing once again, released from the prison of the ring and Cursed Swamp. He has been hybridized. He knows that he is not what he use to be, but he really does not care right now, all that matters is that the room he is in is extremely hot! As he gets up, the armor of the Witch-King is missing replaced with white robes. As Bri runs out of the cave, the lava is causing the volcano to shake an collapse. As Bri runs down the slope, it is more like falling. As he makes it to the base, he gets up and keeps running, the ground keeps shaking, as he is about one mile away, fatigue sets in due to his respiratory condition, but as he catches his breath he hears a loud pitch scream, it is the Barad'dur, the eye is screaming. Mount Cerfire is rumbling. As Bri watches, he wonders how he got here, the last thing he remembers is being in the Cursed Swamp. But with all the noise, something has to go!
Back at the Iron Teeth, the battle is not looking good for the Prophecy or the Nazgul. As they keep battling, the war stops due to the sound of screaming, it's unnatural. As they look at the Barad'dur, they see it shaking, it is falling. As the tower collapses the explosion of rocks shoot up into the air, the eye is falling to the ground. As they watch the fall, lava near the base of the Barad'dur splashes around, the tower is about 100 feet tall and decreasing in size quickly. About 50 feet the eye explodes and the tower shatters into billions of pieces and the wave of the eye spreads all over Khazad'dum, first to be hit is Bri, as Bri sees it coming the wave throws him to the ground, but does not hurt him. As the wave hits the volcano it explodes, and the lava turns to ash and the whole top blows up throwing rocks all over for about one mile. As ash, rock, and lava fall around Bri, Bri gets up and runs towards the Iron Teeth. As the wave of Asron hits the Iron Teeth it vaporized three-forth of the orc's, only a few run to Morgul, but as Delenn looks sadly at Mount Cerfire she sees a gigantic crack swallowing the enemy. As it approaches the Prophecy and the Nazgul it swallows the Iron Teeth, and Minas Morgul. As Smaug sees the Prophecy and Nazgul on a small island of land, he goes down, alouds five on his back, three in his toes and takes one through his mouth, but no one wanted to go in there, with eleven in then air Smaug takes them to the cross roads where the Tsiegret'lopian army waits for them, Smaug then goes back to get the other two.
As Bri, tired looks back at Mount Cerfire, he decides to stop running at two miles. If he is going to die, he better face it and not run. As Bri, glad to be back to his old self, feels his hand hunting, a big cut has caused his flesh colored hand to become red, but the hand he sees is not his own, it belongs to that of his other self, Bri Delenn who considered herself as Mira is part of him, this must be how he survived! But the thought of being different does not bother him as much as it use to do. He will call himself officially Mira Bri Delenn Sheridan, but will drop Delenn and be called Mira Bri Sheridan. As Mira looks at Mount Cerfire, fatigue finally takes him and he passes out.
As Smaug flies around Khazad'dum, he is stunned at the gapping hole of Khazad'dum, Smaug feels sorrow that Mira could have not survived this. As he arrives near Mount Cerfire then land is covered with volcanic debris and rock from Barad'dur. As Smaug keeps looking his search ends up in vein, he does not find any semblances of Mira. As Smaug decides to go back to the Iron Teeth he is heart broken, why would he let him stay behind? As he grows closer to Mount Cerfire he sees something shinning dimly in the sunlight. As Smaug comes to the shinny object he notices that it is a jewel, something that attracts him like all dragons. As he draws near to it, it is attached to a body...the body is that of an alien. As Smaug takes the body up and takes it away, he does not want the corpus, but the jewel he wants. When he saw it, it was like no jewel he has seen before, it is a rock, but it flows, fluid moves inside of the rock. This to him was rare, he must have it, but first he must give this body to its other kind, it is the same as the others, flesh type, not like orc's. As Smaug sees the others he takes the body to Delenn, Delenn fears the worse. As Smaug lands, Delenn goes to Smaug, Smaug has a pitiful look on his face. "My son!" Delenn goes to the robbed body, it contains a Minbari jewel of that of a high caste member of the Children of Valen, of the family of Delenn, this is her son, as Delenn cries she embraces the cold body of Mira, crying, thinking he is dead, but as she holds him, she feels a light breath on him, as she gets some water she pours it over his face to wash him. As Mira awakens he looks at Delenn.
Bri feels more strength in him then their was when he was in the Cursed Swamp. "Delenn, where am I?"
Delenn holds him, "You are safe my son, we've defeated Lord Asron, you did it!" Says Delenn, choking over cries.
Mira looks confused, "I don't remember doing anything, all I remember is being in the Cursed Swamp and then I was in a volcano." Mira looks at Smaug, fear fills in him as he embraces Delenn tighter, would have strangled her if he was older then twelve, but being only six years old his embrace is very weak.
As Delenn looks at Bri she smiles and strokes the back of his neck, a way of calming Minbari children down, "This is Smaug, the dragon you brought forth out of the Lonely Mountain."
Smaug gets down on his knees. "My Lord!" Says Smaug.
Mira looks at Delenn, his mind is young and seems to not comprehend the title as it once did. As Mira stands up, he falls down, so he try's again, but falls down. As Delenn looks in horror, Mira just lies there tired with fatigue. As Mira tries one more time, he hits the ground again. Delenn looks at Mira, and her worries are about to become reality. "Mira stop." Mira stops and he looks at Delenn, frustration fill him. As Delenn spreads Mira's dirty robes she looks at his legs, nothing looks wrong, but as she feels the muscles and tissue, the muscles seem to discontinue at the knee caps, and the muscles below are thin. As Delenn looks at Senna, Delenn picks up Mira, and hold him. Mira does not like it. As Delenn looks at the others she tries to sport a smile. "Lets go home." Delenn looks at her daughter. "Senna show the way!" Senna picks up the materials and they begin on the road, the road to Tsiegret'lop.
The road is very dangerous, for it will take them into the Morgul Veil, but with Minas Morgul gone, the road is safe--so far.
END OF CHAPTER 22, CHAPTER 23 NEXT