War of the Ring

by K2JC

Titus Valerius Felix died and that was it. His soul goes to Elysium as it should have yet it didn't. He was given another chance. However, this didn't come without a certain price. Another chance in life at the cost of fighting in another war. But here's the thing. This is war and Titus is a Centurion. And like all Centurions, when it comes to war... they revel in it.

3. War of the Ring Ch 3

"Boromir!"

The Captain of Gondor turned away from the banner of his people that he planted on the building and turned to see Titus pushing past the soldiers in his way. From what he could see, the Centurion had a pack slung on his back while Girithon, Titus' second, led a brown steed as he followed after said Centurion. Titus finally reached him and looked Boromir in the eye.

"You're leaving." He stated more than asked.

"I must. I know my place is here, with my men. Not Rivendell. But Father was adamant." Boromir replied with a solemn tone.

"He can be as adamant as his wrinkly ass wants but if you're going there, it's best you not go alone."

"Faramir can't hold the city on his own." Boromir argued and ignored the insult to his father's... backside.

"He's not on his own. He has more than fifteen hundred good Men of Gondor to help him hold this city. What do you have? A sword and a shield can only get you so far. It's better you have a friend in your journey than none. Girithon."

The Centurion called out and the soldier handed the reigns to Titus who then proceeds to mount the steed's saddle. Once he was settled, the Centurion faced Boromir again with a resolute look.

"I promised your brother that I would look after you and I will. It's what friends are for, Boromir." Titus finished and held out his hand. Boromir stared at the offered appendage in silent contemplation. After their pyrrhic victory at the bridge, he and Faramir had come to see the Centurion as a friend. He even fought side-by-side with them when they routed out the Orcs that managed to enter West Osgiliath before the bridge was destroyed. In a span of two weeks, they have come to call Titus friend. Boromir shook his head with a small laugh then grasped Titus' forearm before the two shook hands.

"Then I am glad to call you my friend, Titus Valerius."

"Likewise." Titus replied with a nod.

"My Lord."

Titus turned his head and looked down on Girithon as the soldier handed him a weapon he had asked to be forged. A Spatha with the hilt fashioned in the shape of an Eagle's head. The Centurion nodded at his second.

"Thank you, my friend. You remember what I asked of you?"

"Protect Lord Faramir at all cost. Take good care of our men and kill as many Orcs as we can in your stead."

"Good man. I leave the command of our centuria to you, Girithon."

"I will not fail you."

"See to it that you don't." Titus turned away from his lieutenant and faced Boromir "Shall we?"

~Line Break~

Unfortunately for the two, neither of them knew where Rivendell was so they went through the archives of the White City to look for maps that would lead them to the Elven City. For some reason, there were no records of the Last Homely House East of the Sea nor it's location. At Titus' suggestion, they spent hours looking through old records in hopes to find clues to where Imladris was but found none. But one particular parchment, however, caught Titus' attention. A small voice in his head whispered for him to take it and so he did l. The Centurion then began reading the parchment in his hands out loud.

"The year 3434 of the Second Age. Here follows the account of Isildur, the High King of Gondor, at the finding of the Ring of Power. "It has come to me, the One Ring. It shall be an heirloom of my Kingdom. All those who follow in my bloodline shall be bound to its fate, for I shall risk no hurt to the Ring. It is precious to me, though I buy it with a great pain."

Titus stopped as he observed the separate writing that followed. It was not the same as the rest and he had no idea what language it was so he went back to reading the continuation. Unaware that Boromir had stopped searching and was now listening to him intently.

"The markings upon the band begin to fade. The writing, which at first was as clear as red flame, has all but disappeared - a secret now that only fire can tell."

The Centurion lowered the parchment and pondered why did the voice in his head wanted him to read it but no answer came. He sighed and got off the chair before facing Boromir while rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Well, that was a waste of time. That didn't give us shit on where Rivendell is. What about you? Did you find anything?"

"I'm afraid not." Boromir sighed "There is the riddle

"It's the only lead we got." The Centurion sighed once more before making his way to the exit of the room "It's better than nothing. I'll be making my way back to the horses. See you at the city gate. Hopefully, the journey won't take too long."

~Line Break~

But the journey was long and hard. It took them two replacement horses and a hundred and ten days of wandering like idiots to finally find the Elven City of Rivendell. By the time they reached said city, it was already autumn. Bright-orange and yellow leaves fell on Boromir's shoulder as he stared in awe at the masterfully crafted structures around them. It was beautiful.

"We're here. We're finally here."

"And it took us three and a half months to get here. You think it would've been easier if we followed the river Greyflood from the start?"

"Perhaps but that doesn't matter. We're here now."

"Good point."

Boromir and Titus got off their horses just as two Elves arrived to take their mounts away. The Centurion watched them go before turning to face his companion.

"I never really thought I'd see a man be almost as beautiful as a woman."

"That's because they are Elves, Centurion."

Titus quickly turned around and saw the speaker leaning on one of the pillars of a building with her arms crossed. It didn't take long for him to see that this woman was one of the Samurai. Her clothes and weapons were a dead giveaway as well as the tattoo on her left arm. Judging by the straw hat shadowing her eyes and the set of swords on her waist, he'd say this woman was an Aramusha. A mercenary though this was the first time he saw an Aramusha that was a woman. From behind his mask, his eyes searched the area for any other Samurai but saw no one else other than the passing Elf.

"I'm not here to fight you, Centurion. So you can lower your hand away from that sword of yours."

"And why should I trust the word of a mercenary under the employ of one of the Iron Legion's enemies?"

"Because this is a place of learning and knowledge, yadda, yadda, yadda. Anyway. Lord Elrond wishes to speak with you so if you don't wanna insult the Lord of Rivendell by declining, you can follow me."

The two watched as the woman turned to leave before Titus turned to Boromir and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Being led away by a woman. Story of my life." He chuckled and patted the Son of Denethor before following after the mercenary. He caught up to her a few moments later before matching her pace. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Titus decided to break the ice.

"So tell me, how does a pretty mercenary of the Dawn Empire end up in Middle-Earth?"

The Aramusha stopped and looked up at the Centurion before removing her straw hat, giving Titus a glare with her lone eye.

"Am I still pretty to you?"

"You tell me. It's just an eye. Besides, you're surrounded by pretty people. Even the boys are pretty but at least they aren't prettier than you. If they were, well... "

The woman chuckled as she placed her hat over her head once more.

"You call them boy but they are definitely older than you."

"Yet we're all definitely taller than you."

It was here that he regretted not wearing his muscle cuirass and leaving it with his things on the horse's saddle. The Aramusha quickly turned and gave a solid punch to his gut with enough strength to force him to keel over and fall to his knees.

"Fuck! You hit like a damn bull."

"Good. That just means I hadn't lost my touch." She gave him a gentle kick "Get up and stop embarrassing yourself in front of the Elves. They already think less of Men. Don't add fuel to that fire."

"I wouldn't." Titus grunted as he rose to his feet and glared down at the woman "Be on the ground if you hadn't punched me. Can't take a fucking joke?"

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to punch you again?" The woman asked as she looked over her shoulder.

"Women." Titus muttered before shaking his head and following after her once more.

"You still didn't answer my question. How did you get here?" The Centurion asked once he caught up.

"Probably the same way you did. I died then black then woke up here. Spent the last few months training and getting to know this world. You?"

"Fighting. A few minutes after waking up and I'm already back in the fight. Ever fought an Orc before, uh... " He stopped as he looked down at her with a raised brow.

"Rin. And you?"

"Titus Valerius Felix. Anyway. Ever fought an Orc, Rin?"

The two resumed their trek to the Lord of Rivendell.

"I've read about them and asked Lord Elrond about what they look like and how they fight. Apparently, they don't like the sunlight. Weapons are ugly as well as their armor but they make up for it with numbers."

"Don't forget the Nazgûl."

"The Ringwraiths?"

"Black robes and riding giant lizards with wings. Fellbeasts, the men called them. The Nazgûl's shrieks are enough to force a hardened soldier to their knees as if they were physically struck by a sword. Nasty fuckers. And no one has ever killed one. We tried shooting them down but that didn't work for shit. Now I'm beginning to realize the mistake of not making a ballista or a polybolos."

They made it to the library just as Lord Elrond finished speaking with an elderly man in gray robes. Titus had no idea who the old man was but Rin seems to and bowed in greeting which the old man returned with a bow of his head. He then turned his attention to Titus before facing the brown haired Elf.

"It seems your guest has arrived, Master Elrond. I shall take my leave for now."

"Of course, Gandalf."

And with that, the old man, Gandalf, left. Titus watched him go before looking at the Elf, Elrond, with uncertainty. The Elf's gaze made him feel like a boy again. Whenever Marcus saw him doing something stupid that he didn't approve of. It always ended with him getting a bump in the head and Lucia laughing like the little babe that she was.

"Uh... hi."

It was the only thing he could say. It dawned to him that he even mirrored his actions as a child whenever he got caught. Hand raised as he gave a small wave. This earned him an elbow to the gut and a glare from the woman next to him.

"Show some respect, fool. You speak to the Lord of Rivendell."

"You didn't have to hit so fuc- " Titus stopped himself as he once more felt the Lord of Rivendell's stare "Forgive me, Lord Elrond. I meant no disrespect."

"Peace, friend." Lord Elrond replied with a small smile "I had Miss Rin summon you here to discuss something that involves the three of you."

"Three?"

"Four but I'm afraid he is not here nor will he be coming."

"I'm guessing this involves why we're here and not, you know, dead?"

"Indeed."

Titus sighed. He could already feel a headache coming.

"Alright, where to start?"

~Line Break~

"So let me see if I got this right."

Titus rubbed his temple with two fingers as he sat on a chair then looked up at Lord Elrond.

"In our world, we all died but our Gods decided to give us another chance in life."

The Lord of Rivendell nodded.

"So that we could fight a war in a different world against forces of a Dark Lord that is hellbent on finding this One Ring which is bound to his will and will try to return to it's master by tempting anyone who wishes to use it with power."

"Yup." Rin replied from her own chair while chewing on a piece of straw.

"Now said Ring is found and is in this city where it cannot stay because this place is not built to withstand two armies attacking at once. Today, you would hold a council on what must be done with the Ring but it is absolute that it will not stay here. Our mission, meanwhile, is to help win this war so we could go home in return as per the Gods agreement. Did I miss anything?"

"We also have one chance to do this. No more second chances. You die, you die forever." The mercenary answered.

"Great." Titus sighed before looking back up at Lord Elrond "When does this council start?"

"Lord Elrond."

The three turned to the door to see Mei Lin bow low before facing the Lord of Rivendell.

"They are awaiting for your arrival, my Lord."

"Ah. Thank you, Miss Mei Lin." Elrond thanked the former Tiandi before turning back to Titus "Since this council involves the three of you, you are required to attend. Shall we?"

"Not like we have a choice." Titus muttered before standing up "Lead the way, my Lord."

~Line Break~

Titus soon found himself on a chair next to Rin and Mei Lin who were on his left while Borimir and some old people sat on his right. There were also a group of Dwarves and Elves, as well as a dark haired man in black. Gandalf and a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins. Looking around, he couldn't help but think he was back in a Senate meeting complete with old people.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old." Lord Elrond began "You've been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands in the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall."

This grabbed everyone's attention.

"Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom." Elrond then turned to the Hobbit "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."

While everyone watched the Hobbit walk over to the pedestal, Titus was leaning back on his chair with his cheek resting on his fist while silently contemplating if he should've asked for wine before the council started. The Hobbit placed the Ring on the pedestal and everyone around him stared intently at said ring. He looked at the Ring without care until he started hearing whispers of an unknown tongue in his ears. Titus narrowed his eyes and his posture straightened, not even noticing that Boromir had risen to his feet and was speaking to the rest of the council. The Centurion only managed to catch up at the middle of his rant.

"Isildur's Bane is found."

Titus turned his gaze away from the Ring to his friend and saw Boromir walking towards the Ring. Reaching out with his hand as if in a trance.

"Isildur's Bane."

"Boromir!" Titus and Lord Elrond shouted as they shot to their feet only to for the sky to darken as a deep and powerful voice uttered words he know not. The sound echoing through his ears as if a whole Legion was speaking and the Centurion felt his knees weaken. He saw Boromir back away from the Ring and fall back into his chair. Titus didn't even notice he too had fallen back to his seat. He looked for the speaker and saw Gandalf's mouth moving but he noticed something else. Another voice overshadowing the old man's. The only word he could describe said voice was... evil. The voice was so loud it was as if the very earth itself was shaking. When the old man finished, he could hear the voice finish as well but also laugh at the end. Then everything around them was alight once more. The darkness faded and the cold feeling that gripped his heart faded. Titus turned his gaze away from Gandalf and turned to the Lord of Rivendell as Lord Elrond spoke to the old man with an edge in his tone.

"Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris."

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond." Gandalf replied but his voice sounded as if speaking the words in that language had tire him "For the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West."

The old man then turned his gaze towards Boromir who was still looking at the Ring despite what just happened.

"The Ring is altogether evil!"

"It is a gift." Boromir muttered.

'What!?'

Titus could only stare in disbelief as his friend ranted about using the Ring against the forces of Mordor.

"Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him."

Surprisingly, it was the former Tiandi who jumped to her feet.

"Do not be a fool, Man of Gondor. The Ring is evil. You cannot control it. No one but the Dark Lord can."

"And what does a woman like you know of the enemy's weapon?"

"She is right."

Titus turned his eyes to the speaker. The dark haired man in black.

"You cannot wield it. None of us can."

Boromir turned around to face the man who continued.

"The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?" Boromir questioned.

"That is no mere Ranger." The golden haired Elf spoke as he stood up to the man's defense.

"He is Aragorn, Son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

"Aragorn?" Boromir sized up said man "This is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." The Elf stated.

Aragorn said something in what Titus presumed to be Elvish to the Elf, now named Legolas, and gestured for him to sit down. Meanwhile, Boromir turned his head to look at the Elf.

"Gondor has no King." He muttered before turning back to Aragorn "Gondor needs no king."

And with that, Boromir returned to his seat to brood as did the Tiandi who was glaring at the Captain of Gondor.

"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it." Gandalf spoke as the atmosphere settled down for a bit.

Then Lord Elrond stood up.

"You have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed."

Silence fell as the council took in what the Lord of Rivendell said, however, one particular Dwarf was not going to sit around doing nothing like the rest of the council.

"Then what are we waiting for?" He stood up and grabbed an axe.

"He's right. Just destroy the bloody thing." Titus added as he watched the red-haired Dwarf raise his axe in bring it down on the Ring. Titus certainly did not expect what happened next. The axe head shattered as soon as it touched the Ring and the Dwarf was blown to his back on the ground. His fellow Dwarves were quick to run to his side. Everyone stared at the Ring as they heard the malevolent voice whisper once more.

"Nevermind." The Centurion muttered before the Lord of Rivendell spoke once more.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, Son of Glóin, by any craft we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this." Lord Elrond finished as he looked every single one of them in the eye.

"One does not simply walk into Mordor." Boromir muttered as he rubbed his temple with two fingers before looking at the council "It's Black Gates are guarded more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland filled fire, ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. This is folly."

Titus snorted "Thanks for the words of encouragement, you prick."

"Have you heard nothing of what Lord Elrond just said?" Legolas asked as he stood from his chair and addressed the council "The Ring must be destroyed."

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it!?" The Dwarf from before, Gimli, challenged.

"If we fail, what then?" Boromir stood up "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

"Don't even think about trying to sway us to use the Ring!" Mei Lin jumped to her feet "If we do, then it is certain that the Ring will return to Sauron. It will always try to find a way back to it's master!"

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli stated as he got off his chair.

Then everything devolved into chaos. Everyone shouted at each other, even the Grey Wizard was out of his chair and arguing with the others. Beside him, Titus could see that Rin didn't move and simply observe what was happening with a shake of her head. Titus himself sighed and rubbed his temple.

"Never trust an Elf!"

'Am I back in the Senate?' He mentally questioned himself 'Fuck. It feels like it.'

He didn't like the Senate meetings back in the Great Empire. It was always old men bickering about this and that and him getting bored out of his mind. He was a soldier, not a politician. The Empire and the Iron Legion needed soldiers. There was no time for politics. The battles around them is fought with swords, not words. It's what he was good at.

"I will take it!"

His eyes snapped to the Hobbit, Frodo, as he stood up but no one else seemed to have heard him. He can changed that. Rising to his feet, Titus took a deep breath and-

"ENOUGH!!"

Silence fell as the Centurion's voice cut through the others like knife through butter. Everyone turned their gazes at Titus before the Centurion looked them all in the eye, hand resting on the pommel of his gladius. He then turned his head and nodded to the Hobbit who mouthed his thanks before facing the council.

"I will take the Ring to Mordor." Frodo stated before lowering his voice "Though I do not know the way."

Gandalf was the first to answer.

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins." The Grey Wizard patted the Hobbit's shoulder "As long as it's yours to bear."

Then was followed by Aragorn who rose from his seat.

"If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will." He walked over and knelt down in front of the Hobbit "You have my sword."

"And you have my bow."

Titus turned to look at Legolas as he walked over to stand beside the Hobbit.

"And my axe."

The Centurion chuckled as the Dwarf approached only to roll his eyes when he realized he had to stand next to Legolas. Then Boromir spoke up as he slowly approached them.

"You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor shall see to it done."

Titus looked at the rather strange group and chuckled before looking down at Frodo.

"Since my friend here has announced his intent to help you on your quest and I made a promise to look after this crazy fool." The Centurion patted Boromir on the back. Titus then placed his closed fist over his chest before bowing his head slightly "Then you can count on a Centurion of the Iron Legion to watch your back as well."

"Hey."

Everyone's attention turned to Rin as she made her way over and stood next to Titus, arms crossed as she looked down at the Hobbit.

"Like this man said." She motioned her head to Boromir "You carry the fate of us all and I actually like living so I'll help you and offer my services as a mercenary to you. Free of charge."

Titus rose a brow in amusement.

"Doesn't that beat the purpose of a mercenary?"

"Shut up, fool. I'm talking to him."

"I shall join you as well." Mei Lin spoke up as she moved to stand next to Rin "The Ring must be destroyed so Middle-Earth can be free from Sauron once and for all. I will do all I can to succeed even if it meand costing me my life."

"Well would you look at that." Titus began "Another companion for the company? Anybody else wants to join? Anyone? Come on, don't be shy."

"Wait!"

Titus' eyes widened when he saw a rather heavy set and fair haired Hobbit come out from behind some bushes and stood beside Frodo with his arms crossed.

"Mr. Frodo is not going anywhere without me."

"Huh. I wasn't expecting that." Titus muttered and those next to him, Boromir, Rin and Mei Lin, chuckled.

"No indeed." Lord Elrond replied with slight amusement "It is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."

The Hobbit looked abashed while everyone else was amused.

"Wait! We're coming too!"

Even Lord Elrond was surprised at the sudden entrance of two more Hobbits who was now standing by Frodo's side.

"You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!" The more fair haired of the two stated as he crossed his arms with the other mirroring his actions.

"Anyway you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission, quest… thing."

Behind them, Gandalf rolled his eyes but anyone could see the mirth behind them.

"Well that rules you out, Pip."

The others chuckled while Elrond eyed the group with a raised brow.

"Twelve companions." The Lord of Rivendell said "So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

"Great!" Pippin exclaimed "Where are we going?"

This answer made the Centurion let out a hearty laugh, one that the Captain of Gondor and mercenary on either side of him shared. Their quest is dangerous and some of them might not come back alive or maybe they will but for now, it was best to let them have a little bit of happiness, yes?

~Line Break~

Night fell and the newly named Fellowship of the Ring were currently having dinner with the Lord of Rivendell. At least those from Middle-Earth and Mei Lin were, Titus and Rin were over by a pillar and watching the others. Both of them were leaning on the pillar with one smoking a pipe the Hobbits introduced to him while the other simply chewed on the straw between her teeth.

"This is nice, eh?" Titus began "Everyone is laughing and enjoying the night well except those two."

Rin knew who he was talking about. Her eye found themselves looking at the Elf and Dwarf who sat across each other and were having a glaring competition. The Aramusha chuckled under her breath as put a stray lock behind her ear. Her kasa was over by her seat at the table while Titus had his helmet back with his pack in his room.

"What do you think our chances are?" Titus asked.

"Fifty-fifty." Rin shrugged "Everything in life is fifty-fifty. There's a fifty-fifty chance that we all live or we all die or one of us dies or whatever. Same thing happened back home. We just got the short end of the straw then we die. Hell, I'm pretty sure we still had a lot to do before we died but that doesn't matter in the end. We'll all die anyway."

"Bah. You don't have to be so fucking grim, you know." He blew a puff of smoke "It's like they say. Sometimes you have to grab life by the balls and tell 'em to suck it then do the same to the hairy bastard you're trying to kill before you slit his throat."

"That doesn't even make any sense." Rin replied with a chuckle.

"I know but it got you to laugh and rid you of that scowl, yeah?"

"Guess you're right." The mercenary muttered before looking over at the Centurion to see him smiling at the Fellowship "You think we'll get to fight Orcs out there?"

"Probably. Nasty little bastards. I even saw one of them fuckers sink it's bloody teeth into a man's neck while fighting him. Disgusting fuckers."

"Ugh."

Titus chuckled before looking at the Aramusha then shook his head.

"Never thought I'd be talking to a Samurai and not fighting for my life at the same time."

"I'm no Samurai." Rin shook her head "I'm a Rōnin."

"I have no idea what that is."

"Then let's keep it that way."

"Suit yourself." Titus shrugged before catching the apple Boromir threw at him and nodded his thanks before taking a bite. Soon they will depart for their perilous journey but for now, where everyone is enjoying themselves, life is good.