Attack on Dol Guldur
Author's Note: It's been a long time since I wrote anything, and it will probably be a long time before I write anything again :( This plot bunny has been with me for several years now, and it finally couldn't wait anymore as I was rewatched the White Council scenes, which were the only parts of the Hobbit movies I could really stand to watch. It struck me how powerful they portrayed Galadriel, but nothing much is shown for Saruman and especially Elrond, who possessed the most powerful of the three elven rings. As such, I wrote this little piece, which I thought would explain how he was portrayed in those scenes. Reviews and comments are, as usual, welcomed.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, except my own ideas
Attack on Dol Guldur
We are too late, was the first thought that came to Elrond's mind. The scene before him was horrifying and yet familiar: the Nine, taking their time and encircling their prey as if sure that there was no escape for them. He had seen it too many times – the carnage during the Second Age was fresh in his mind. He could see Mithrandir in Galadriel's arms – the wizard's energy is spent, and while he had full respect for Galadriel, he knew that it would be difficult for Galadriel to fight Dol Guldur alone, especially with Sauron and his scions likely nearby.
And the Nine knew it as well.
"My Lord Saruman! Here, hurry!"
Not this time, he thought, as he hastened his footsteps towards the lingering but diminishing light in the darkness, not on my watch.
A fire kindled within him, and Vilya hummed in low agreement.
But not this time, my friend, he promised silently, at least not yet. He could feel Vilya's power coursing through him as it fought against his wishes, and it took almost all his strength to suppress it and keep it hidden. He could not forget his promise to his former liege and mentor Gil-galad to not use it frequently, and Galadriel herself had very much warned him against the power of the ring once she realised that Gil-galad had passed the ring to him. Yet none weighed as much as the words which Galadriel had spoken to him when they were alone, right before they left for Dol Guldur:
"Keep it hidden. Sauron must never know of your possession of the ring. He suspects me, and Mithrandir's capture may mean that he knows about his ring, or maybe not. But he does not know about you."
No matter what happens, he cannot expose Vilya. Vilya was the final wildcard which Sauron had no knowledge of.
"I am not alone."
The four words which the White Council lived by, ensuring the peace and security of the West. They were old friends now, watching each other's backs in countless battles against the evil in the East. As he drew Hadhafang* against the Nine, his heart leapt with the familiarity of his blade singing in the wind. It was as if this was the Last Alliance again, and he was still herald to the King, fighting against the mightiest of Sauron's forces with his friends by his side.
But they were no more.
And it was then that he remembered everything about that day – the hope, the anguish, the despair – and anger rose in him.
At that moment, he wasn't Lord Elrond of Rivendell – he was Elrond, herald to the High King.
And he was ready for battle.
"You should have stayed dead!"
He never expected an easy fight, of course. They came into battle outnumbered (nine to three), and he knew they were in for a challenge. The Nine, though not in full strength, had fought hard against him and Saruman, but eventually they had won. He had gone to check on Galadriel and had braced himself to face the Necromancer, whom he had believed was a scion of Sauron's.
What he had not counted on was Sauron himself being the Necromancer.
"It has begun… the East will fall." The nameless shadow spoke and he shuddered inwardly, raising his sword in defence. "So shall the Kingdom of Angmar rise. The time of the Elves is over. The Age of the Orc has come."
The Age of the Orc…
His grip on his sword tightened, yet before he could do anything, Galadriel rose.
She had wielded Nenya.
Nenya, the preserver. Nenya, the protector.
This time, Galadriel was the one protecting them.
He could only stare in awe.
"You have no power here, servant of Morgoth!" she commanded, the light of Earendil shining brighter than usual, kindled by the power of Nenya. Elrond could have sworn he saw Sauron flinched in fear, and he should be. If Sauron thought the pupil of Yvanna and Aule who had lived in Valinor even before the First Age was easy to deal with, he was certainly wrong.
"You are nameless, faceless, formless," the Lady of Light continued, power intensifying, and he knew Saruman felt the same as the White Wizard raised his hand to shield himself, "Go back to the void from whence you came!"
He felt a final burst of power, and heard a sudden high pitch screech that followed almost immediately.
And Sauron was gone.
The power of the Three.
Elrond caught Galadriel almost instinctively as she collapsed, wane and spent. His healer instincts kicked in as he recognized the classic symptoms of exhaustion, yet the reveal that the Necromancer was Sauron himself meant that there were more important things to do.
"We were deceived," he said, supporting the weakened elf. He could feel her reliance on him increasing with every passing moment as she sought to recover from the ring's influence.
"He has been banished."
If Mithrandir was here, Elrond was sure that he would have given him one of his signature side glances. Indeed, he did not understand how Saruman could remain nonchalant when the threat of Sauron had appeared right in front of their eyes.
"Gondor should be warned," he offered immediately, "set a watch on the walls of Mordor."
If Sauron fled East as Galadriel suggested, the likeliest place he would flee to would be Mordor, making Gondor their first defence against the dark forces. It was only logical.
Yet Saruman disagreed.
"No, look after my lady Galadriel. She has spent much of her power. Her strength is failing. Take her to Lothlorien."
His suggestion had been disregarded, ignored by Saruman without any discussion. Frustration welled within him as remembered the all-too-familiar scene where his advice went unheeded against Annatar, who later turned out to be Sauron.
History was repeating itself.
"My Lord Saruman," Elrond tried again, keeping his anger in check against the head of the White Council, "he must be hunted down and destroyed once and for all."
Yet Saruman was adamant.
"Without the ring of power, Sauron can never regain the whole dominion of Middle Earth. Go now," he said, in a tone that left Elrond no question that he was being dismissed, "leave Sauron to me."
Elrond looked helplessly at Galadriel, who was now almost unconscious from the whole ordeal, and back at Saruman. An ominous feeling sprang within him as he watched the White Wizard mount his horse and ride to the East, darkness gradually enveloping the white robes billowing in the wind.
It was at that moment that Elrond had a strange feeling that Sauron had gained the upperhand in this battle.
-End-
Reviews and comments are welcomed!
*Hadhafang: name of Elrond's sword in the movies