Hi guys, sorry for a long break but I had very hard time at the end of the school year. This chapter is the longest I`ve ever made, so I hope you`ll review and tell me what you think about it. But I must say that I have several ideas for the plot, so I`m not sure if I will post any chapter during holidays. I will write them, but I think I should be a few chapters ahead before I post them here to have the plot better planed and to be able to correct any possible mistakes I made. If I handle this faster I may post something before September, but if not, then don`t worry, I won`t abandon this. :)

A fire. The smell of burning. Hungry flames crackle, licking blackened trees and abandoned houses and yet a sinister silence can be felt. I`m running down the street, gasping for air in the fumes of choking smoke. I barely dodge the falling branch of a charred tree, which shatters on the blackened stones of the road in the shower of sparks. Tears are running down my cheeks while I am sprinting and in my head flutter frantic thoughts. I must make it! It cannot end like this! It will not... I ignore the rising suspicion that maybe it`s already too late and I am running towards my own death. My lungs are burning, but I still run. I cannot breathe. I cough violently, trying to throw up the smoke. I cannot breathe. I stumble and fall to the ground. The stones are so hot, they are burning my skin. I cannot breathe. No! It cannot end like this! It... can...not...

I sat on the bed, gasping for air. I felt as if someone had punched me in the head. Terrible pain was burning my temples and I started to rub them with my fingers to ease it a little. I scanned the room, noting the door, window, closet and walls of small bedroom, in which I had spent the night. Remnants of the nightmare were still smouldering in my head like shreds of glowing ash, but they were quickly fading. I tried to grasp them, but I acquired only the vague feelings of terror, heat and despair. I shook my head. Suddenly the room seemed too cramped and walls seemed to clench, choking me. Not able to bear it any more, I got off the bed, threw a coat over my shoulders to cover my nightgown and went out to the corridor. I passed the marble walls, their surface glistening gently in the glow of azure lamps, attached by the ceiling. The flames, closed in transparent, spherical lampshades, were flickering lightly, though there was no draft. Famous Feanorian lamps. I need to know, someday, how they make them.

Finally, I reached the door, leading to the vast porch and I was happy to breathe in the fresh, night air. It was a moonless night, but the stars were shining so brightly, that I could discern the shapes of objects lying far away with ease. Cool wind moved blades of grass and the folds of my coat and cicadas were filling the twilight with their music. Instinctively, I reached my falcon with my mind and caught the fringes of his dreams. They were calm and peaceful: the lightness of feathers mixed with the feeling of an incredible freedom. I withdrew, not wanting to wake him.

The nightmare left my mind almost entirely, leaving only a vague feeling of helplessness, so I turned my thoughts to different matters, to chase it away. I had a few of them in the past and all attempts of remembering them ended up with painful head, nothing more. I started to ponder over how my life had changed since I entered this city.

I have been living in Ost-in-Edhil a few months now, and it was one of the best periods in my life. Several weeks after that memorable combat with Orcs my skills returned to me, bit by bit, and I could focus on improving them. My skills in using close-combat weapons were anything but good, especially compared to other Elves, who have had ages, millennia even, to practise, but I soon became one of the better archers. Although, I haven`t had major competition, because most of the town`s warriors preferred sword or spear over bow, I was glad I can defend myself and that I can stave off most of the suspicion about my origin. Then again, hardly anyone`s eyes surpassed mine and the name "Rovalhen" stuck to me for good. I guessed it was because my bond with Alcar, but I haven`t told anyone about it, not wanting to reveal the essence of this bond. Even among "my own", as I have come think about the inhabitants of Eregion, it was wise to have some advantage.

The bond has resulted in not only physical changes. I started to be more attentive, when among others, unconsciously noting their characteristics and small gestures that could tell me their character. The world, that overwhelmed me at first, now seemed to me a huge repository of knowledge and incredible phenomena, it charmed me with its wildness and beauty. What awed me particularly was skimming forests and rugged mountains and I have spent many hours, hunting among the wild backwoods. Once I thought reluctantly about hunting for animals, but with time I loved this specific clash of skills of hunter and its prey. I hunted mainly for old and sick animals, respecting what I caught no less than what has escaped me. I`ve never dealt unnecessary pain, remembering, with disgust cruelty of Orcs and, with sadness, a large part of humans. Of course, the Elves also repeatedly showed their dark side, but the wounds they dealt to the others, they usually previously received themselves. Amazingly, during those lonely trips I didn`t come across any Orcs or other sinister creatures. Sometimes only I would find strange footprints, single prints of shod boots or big paws, but I have never got to see their owners. Still, I worked very carefully.

However, not everything was so beautiful as it might seem. Although Cartelion, never once has showed me the open or concealed hostility since that fateful feast, I still did not feel well in his company. Sometimes I could have sworn I feel the chill emanating from him, even if at the same time he was leading with someone, or even with me, a polite conversation. Many times I tried to read something from the look on his face, talking to him or watching him from the corner of my eye, but it gave me nothing. Just as fruitless proved to be spying escapades, led by Alcar. After a while, I stopped fearing Cartelion, and though I was still observing him from time to time, I started to wonder if this whole nightmare, hidden beneath the surface of his mind, was not an ordinary hallucination, caused by some temporary weakening of my still healing fëa.

My ruminations were interrupted by a sudden sound of a door opening. Someone went outside, in the middle of the night? From my spot on the side of the house I had a perfect view on the staircase leading to the main door. I saw a tall figure dressed in a gray coat, which disguised it well in the dark, so I had to strain my eyes to trace it. The figure went quickly down the stairs and headed towards the cluster of old trees growing nearby. After a while, I recognized Cartelion`s distinctive way of moving, which I learned to recognize during the long hours of watching him. I frowned. What's he up to? My suspicions, suppressed by the fruitless investigations, have risen again and I reached for Alcar`s mind, waking him from sleep.

~ Talia... what`s the matter...? You wanted to hunt at night, again? I am glad that you approach this with such enthusiasm, but did you have to wake me up? I`m not an owl!" I heard his annoyed voice.

~ No, be quiet and listen!" I replied to him quickly. ~ Where are you?"

~ On the walls west from the house of Celebrimbor. Why do you ask?"

~Come quickly, I just saw Cartelion, walking through the main door. He looks like someone who wants to remain unnoticed."

I immediately caught his attention. ~ Do you still see him?" he asked.

~ No, he disappeared in the trees. Hurry up, maybe you will still find him!"

I felt as he jumped up to flight and rushed in my direction. I joined my mind with him, and suddenly I could see through his eyes, feel what he felt. I had a great desire to enjoy the flight and cool air under the wings, but we had more important things to do.

I led him in the direction of the band of trees, where Cartelion had disappeared and we started looking for him. It wasn`t easy - Alcar`s sight was dulled in the dark, despite the starlight, and Cartelion`s gray coat didn`t help matters either. We tried to spot him for a full ten minutes, flying around trees and out of the gate, but we still couldn`t see him. We began to lose hope when Alcar`s eyes finally traced him, standing under a big tree by one of the forges. Alcar landed quietly on a branch of one of the nearby trees, folding wings. We watched Cartelion, who was still standing under a tree. I thought he was whispering, but I couldn`t be sure because of the hood that concealed his face.

Suddenly a great raven, one of many nesting in the area, flew from the branch onto the Elf`s shoulder. It wasn`t an unusual view, because the birds trusted most of the Elves and weren`t afraid to come near them. The strange thing was what happened later. Cartelion`s eyes, hidden under the hood flashed with a cold gleam, with the same light also blazed his hand. He quickly clenched his fingers around the bird`s head, which screamed terribly, but its screams stopped instantly. The Elf let go of the bird, which shook his head and froze on his shoulder like he was carved out of stone. Cartelion pulled a scroll of the parchment from under his cloak and tied in to a raven`s unmoving leg. Then he released him, raising his hand, as falconer releases his bird to a hunt. Raven flew up in the air and to the east. Alcar wanted to go after him, but I stopped him. Cartelion would surely have seen him then, and we couldn`t let that happen.

Meanwhile, the Elf walked toward the tree, which Alcar sat on. I felt bird cringes and holds his breath. Then Cartelion paused, as if sensing something and looked around. Alcar`s heart suddenly sped up, and mine with him. Few terrible seconds passed behind. I prayed silently for the elf did not looking up, for then he would surely noticed the clear silhouette of a falcon. There was silence in the air, even the cicadas didn`t play. Alcar froze on the tree, afraid to move.

Then Cartelion shook his head and moved on. A wave of relief washed over me so strong that I broke contact with the falcon. Quickly I took a grip on himself, realizing that I should come out of the sight, because returning elf will certainly see me. I opened the door and slipped out into the corridor, which seemed much less pleasant than it was before. I went to my room and removed the cover, covering the lamp, filling the room with a mild, blue light.

I connected again with Alcar. Falcon was flying over the forest towards the mountains - he had hoped that maybe he could still catch up with the raven. However, the bird disappeared for good, his black feathers have effectively hidden it from Alcar`s eyes. The pursuit was hopeless, so we started to pondering over what we saw. The Elves that saw the Two Trees radiated with a specific brilliance, but Cartelion was not one of them. His light was too strange, cold and sharp, unlike the aura of any of the other Elves. No wonder he was hiding it. And where did this power, which allowed him to control animals, come from? To whom was addressed the message sent by a raven? Why has he done it privately, in the middle of the night if not for that no one saw? We were pondering over these questions, given what we knew about the history of Middle-earth and our recent experience, but we didn`t find the answers. In the end, frustrated, I broke contact. With the hope that the morning would bring new ideas, I laid down on the bed and let my mind wander in the lands of dreams. However, neither sleep nor the morning sun have brought me an answer.

"Rovahlen, Celeborn says it will be better to follow the trail in daylight." I heard Celebrimbor`s voice behind me. "Within several miles the forest will thin in a small clearing at the foot of the mountains. We will make our camp there."

I tore my eyes from the print of great paw I examined and nodded to him. I sipped some water from my skin, tied it again to my belt and followed Celeborn, who led our group. We sped fast amid the trunks of trees, where darkness has already started to descend. Our gray coats hung over our shoulders, hiding our figures, which blended with the shadows. Alcar was flying above us like guardian spirit, his wings were blurred in silver streak. Celeborn was right, despite our strong eyes we would not be able to follow the trail in the night, without missing some important clues. Given the nature of our prey, we had to be careful.

It's been a few days since Cartelion`s strange night trip. Since that night I havn`t had much time to reflect upon the reason, because the next morning I set off, together with a group of elves with Celeborn and Celebrimbor at the helm, on a hunt for a strange kind of wolf, whose traces I found two weeks ago. I saw immediately that this was no ordinary wolf, because his legs were twice as big as my hand and he left behind a trail of dead, half-eaten animals. It was as if he were still hungry, or killing for fun. It wasn`t normal behaviour, so I returned to the city as soon as possible and informed Celeborn about this. Lord of Eregion was disturbed by the news and he decided to lead a group of hunters who will track down the beast. Celebrimbor decided to go with us, because he heard about an interesting complex of caves, nor far away from the place where I found the trails and has long planned to examine them.

The first stars already pierced the veil of dying rays of the sun, when we reached the clearing. We went down the slope of sizeable hill to the place where the wood thinned, revealing a small glade. On its eastern edge were standing a series of rocks, passing to the steep wall of mountains, overgrown at the bottom by a forest of spares pine trees. From its slopes flowed a swift river, which, writhing among the grasses, ran into the woods and disappeared in the darkness. We lit a fire under the shadow of one of the rocks and sat with his back to it. There were ten of us in the group - me, Celeborn, Celebrimbor, seven elves, of which I only knew Liria and Finarin, plus Alcar and two horses, which carried with them the provender, needed during this long expedition. Celebrimbor wanted to take the horses for each of us, but Celeborn said it will be better to follow the trail, sticking to the ground, not on the horseback.

The evening passed very nicely. We were tired of the long march, so we didn`t set off on the hunt, we just pulled a meat and herbs from the horse`s bags and cooked a stew over the fire. After the meal Celeborn went to the horse and pulled something from a strange package, which I didn`t notice earlier. I widened my eyes when Sinda came up to us and firelight fell on the beautiful lute, made of silver and birch wood, which he held in his hands. Celeborn smiled, seeing the wonder in my eyes.

"Beautiful, it is not? I got it from Daëron, my dear friend, at a time when only the stars lit up the darkness of this world, and the powerful kingdom of Doriath lasted in happiness, ruled by King Thingol and protected by a network of Melian spells." His eyes brightened slightly as he looked at the starry sky , returning to the old days. Then he raised his instrument and began to play, and the music flowed from his fingers like water, forming in my mind images of dancing sparks of starlit heavens, intertwined with shadows and streak blue dress. I closed my eyes, letting myself be carried away by melody, listening to the half-alien, half-familiar words:

Daeron in his heart's delight

now lived and played by starlit night,

until one summer-eve befell,

as still the elven harpers tell.

There now she stepped with elven pace,

bending and swaying in her grace,

as half-reluctant; then began

to dance, to dance: in mazes ran

bewildering, and a mist of white

was wreathed about her whirling flight.

Wind-ripples on the water flashed,

and trembling leaf and flower were plashed

with diamond-dews, as ever fleet

and fleeter went her wingéd feet... *

The next day has passed similarly to the previous, when we followed the trail, meandering among the trees. Oddly enough, the wolf was no longer leaving bodies behind, as if in a hurry. Has he smelled our scent? I asked Celeborn about it, but he just shook his head, saying it was impossible, because we were going into the wind. But he was worried about something and that anxiety gave up to the rest of the group. We walked in a silence for a few hours, following the trail along the mountains, sipping from time to time the water from our skins and watching as the sun descends lower and lower, and the shadows become longer. I approached Celebrimbor.

"I was wondering what are you expecting to find in these caves. They must be truly remarkable if you decided to go on such a long and dangerous hunt."

He looked at me with a flash in his eye. "Dangerous? I know how to fight, Rovahlen, about which I think I convinced you already."

I send him a crooked smile. Over the few months since I was here, I learned to like this wise Elf with wry sense of humour. When he heard that I have "forgotten" most of the techniques of sword fighting, he decided to teach me by himself. His techniques were quite brutal – we just drew the swords, and I had to defend myself against him. It was a disaster, at least initially, because I have never really had a sword in my hand, and he was one of the best warriors in the city. After a while, I started to go better and better, and the number of my bruises significantly decreased, but I knew that the sword will never be my favourite weapon. Celebrimbor also took me to a forge a few times and showed me the basics of forging and metallurgy. He taught me how to upset, draw out and peen the steel to shape it in desired form. It was a fascinating job and I decided to ask him for more guidance as soon as we return from the hunt.

"Rovahlen?" I came back to reality when I realized that the Elf was talking to me. I looked at him apologetically.

"My apologies, I was lost in my thoughts. So, what is so wonderful about those caves?"

Celebrimbor looked to the south, where the jagged peaks of the lower mountains stretched out of sight. "I'm not sure, I've only heard rumours, when I visited Khazad-Dúm the last time. Apparently they are very beautiful and rich in various kinds of rare materials. I`m not wont to pass such an opportunity" he added with a slight smile.

"Why, then, the dwarves had not yet explored them? You'd have had a lot more than the rumours, if they were already there. "I asked, surprised.

Celebrimbor frowned, pondering the question. "I am not sure. It seems to me that they had sent a group of craftsmen there, after they discovered them, but it did not come back or has never arrived there. Normally they would examine it, but because of the increase in the number of Orcs they did not have time to think about it. Anyway, the Orcs were probably the reason of this disappearance."

"And how do we know there are no Orcs in the area?" I asked, suddenly worried. I didn`t want to repeat this close-meeting experience to soon.

"Do not worry, we had sent the scouts ahead." answered Celebrimbor reassuringly. "They found some marks, but they were very old. We should be worried, if they knew we were coming, but because they do not, we may only come across a single one, which should not be a problem for us." He wanted to say something else, but at this point Celeborn stopped the group, raising his head. Celebrimbor frowned and approached him. Together they talked in hushed voices, looking very anxious about something.

The trail led us into a small ravine, wooded on the one side, leading deeper into the mountains. Not very far away loomed a few uneven, dark holes, probably the caves we talked about. I wanted to go up to the leaders and ask what`s the matter, when I felt a brush of Alcar`s thoughts.

~ Talia, something is not right. Around there is no game, or birds, and the whole forest is strangely quiet. Watch out for each other. "

Celeborn stood for a moment, listening. Then he probably decided it will be better to get out of the ravine and he led us to the band of open land, separating us from the wall with the entrances to the caves. We followed him in silence, watching the area attentively. Indeed, the ominous silence and tension hung in the air as if a thunderbolt may strike any moment.

Then I heard a terrified scream from Alcar, which also echoed in the minds of the rest of the group members. ~ The forest - watch out!"

We turned our eyes to a number of trees and in spite of the shadow, which descended after the sun was down, we could see the black mass cramming among the trunks. For a moment I wondered what it was, but then the mass broke the tree line and there fell on us, like ants from an anthill: a screaming pack of Orcs.

Holy shit, again? - ' I only had time to think of before we rushed to the nearest wall, using the same tactics that I saw when I first met the elves. We wanted to have the wall behind us. Celeborn slapped the horses on their rumps and ordered them, screaming, to flee, before he raced after us, making long strides and pulling his spear. A swarm of crazed Orcs raced after us like a cloud of angry hornets. Luckily we had the advantage of distance. We reached the foot of a steep hill and lined up in a hasty formation. I, with two other archers pulled back to the rear, and the remaining seven, together with Celeborn and Celebrimbor stepped forward to shield us. Alcar circled low over our heads, ready to dive.

I would probably be terrified, if I had time for this, but a moment later the black cloud struck us. For a time I didn`t know what was going on, I focused only on killing as many enemies as I could and not letting them get to close to me. I watched as not far from me Finarin fell, as Celeborn with increasing difficulty pushed enemies back, as Celebrimbor lashed around him with a look of cold fury on his face, but I felt nothing. I fell into some kind of trance - there was only me and my next target. When I ran out of arrows, I pulled the sword that I chose from the forges of Gwaith-i-Mirdain and stood by the side of Celebrimbor, trying to shield him. It wasn`t easy, because the Orcs kept pressing on us more and more fiercely, and our forces were not inexhaustible. I let myself look at our group – six of us left. Then the tip of a sword pierced my arm and blood spattered my tunic. Moments later, I barely saved my fingers, when some Orc swung his blade at my other hand. However, the will of survival let me ignore the pain and keep fighting.

Suddenly the Orcs withdrew from us. They moved a few steps back and stood there, looking around anxiously and shouting something to themselves in their raspy tongue. There were still a lot of them, too many for us to defeat them. I shook my head, trying to fight off the wave of exhaustion and pain engulfing me, and trying to make sense of their strange behaviour.

Then out of the darkness came out a beast. Like a streak of fur and claws it threw itself onto one of the Orcs, dug its teeth into his neck and bit off his head with one pull, which came rolling a few feet away. The rest of Orcs scattered and sped back toward the forest or in the mountains. But I was not looking at them, only at beast which abandoned the Orc`s headless corpse and was now circling us like a wolf, getting ready to leap on defenceless flock of sheep. And indeed it resembled a wolf, the wolf measuring nearly five feet, armed with long fangs, claws like daggers, beast with madness burning in its eyes and covered with tangled, black fur. Whatever it was, it did not look like a wild Warg, which we previously took it for, when we were following its trail. Wargs rarely grow up to such proportions and certainly do not have such eyes. Also, Orcs don`t escape when they see one.

I looked back at my companions. Only four of us were still on their feet, including Celebrimbor. Two others lay in the dust, moaning in pain. One had his belly cut open, from which a continuous stream of blood trickled, and the second, in whom I recognized Celeborn, was trying to stop the bleeding from his leg, but it was clear that he needed immediate help. I glanced toward the wolf. The beast has already strained to jump on us. It was possible that we could handle it, but we would waste the precious time needed to rescue the badly wounded. I looked back at the beast with determination in my eyes, and it gave me a hungry gaze, baring its fangs. I knew that I only had a few seconds to react.

"Celebrimbor!" I cried out in a hurry. "See to the wounded, I`ll distract him!" I saw as his eyes widen in an expression of horror and he shakes his head negatively, before I raced toward some breach in the hillside. I heard the pounding of wolf`s feet as he was chasing me, the lone victim, just as I had expected and flapping of Alcar`s wings, who flew to my help. I felt sudden relief - at least he's all right.

I ran into a small ravine, narrower even than the previous one, and for a moment I thought that maybe I could get away. However, after the next bend I encountered another wall. I stopped abruptly, looking around in panic - all slopes rose steeply - I could not climb. Behind me I heard a gasping of giant wolf and I turned to the beast, raising my sword toward it in a pitiful attempt to defend myself. His eyes sparkled with murderous glee, and red tongue pushed outward, revealing a row of sharp teeth that could not wait to clasp around my neck. I knew that even if someone ran to help me, he wouldn`t make it. These were my last moments of life.

Then Alcar dove, spreading out sharp claws and screaming shrilly. The wolf howled furiously when the blood trickled from his eye, pierced by a claw. I felt a twinge of hope and rushed to help my falcon, but at the same time the beast waved his clawed paw and stroke Alcar, who came flying a few steps and slumped to the ground.

Hope turned into despair when the wolf turned to me again, his eyes blazing. This is how I have to end my life, which I have just begun to learn? In some mindless beast's claws? Despair gave way to fury when I threw the wolf a death glare and threw toward him tentacles of my mind, wanting to strangle him, to destroy him.

Touching his mind was a shock for me and for him as well. For him, because he has never felt anything like this, I could sense that. For me, just the opposite, because I've seen something similar somewhere, but my troubled mind could not remember where. Random scraps of thoughts fluttered furiously in his mind, like bees in a closed jar. His memories were filled by the sea of blood, fire and madness, and one desire only drove him: to hunt down, kill, tear to shreds. After a while I realized that this creature was once a normal animal, because I could feel the remnants of him, squealing desperately somewhere deep below the surface. Then I realized what I'm dealing with - it was not a wolf, or Warg, but a werewolf, an evil spirit locked in the body of the wolf, engulfed with madness, a survivor of the War of Wrath.

Again, I heard a weak squeaking, coming somewhere from the depths of the werewolf`s self and something inside me jerked. I pushed furiously on his mind, fighting with him in the only way that he understood, tearing him to pieces. I did not know where I draw the strength from, but I pushed forward. The werewolf tried to resist me, but his fever-consumed mind could not properly focus on me. His darting thoughts refused to obey him. From somewhere outside came the blood-freezing screams, but I ignored them, fighting not only for my own survival, but also for the freedom of this wretched being, who was too broken to even ask for help. At one point I found myself at the end of my strength and I began to fear if I would manage. I knew that if I let go now, I would be dead. The wolf could not resist me directly, but the scraps of his madness began to penetrate my mind like a parasites and I knew I could not hold out long.

Suddenly, like a ray of sunshine, Alcar came to my mind. I sensed that he was injured, but he still had enough strength to help me. He destroyed all worms that infected my mind and charged with me on the wolf, or rather on the foul spirit, which occupied his body. He pushed for his last lines of defence, that lasted for a moment, but then snapped under the pressure. I felt as if we had just broken the dam, when a wave of memories of the evil spirit smashed me. They scurried at dizzying speed before my eyes, threatening to wash away parts of my own self, before I managed to break free and withdraw.

I sank rapidly to the ground, as if someone has cut my legs. I vomited violently, clutching my head, in which flashed a terrible pain. My eyes went black and for a moment I thought I was blinded before I began to discern the soft starlight. Only after a few minutes I was able to stand on my feet. I looked around. Alcar was hopping to the huge bulk of wolf, dragging a broken wing. The beast lay on the ground, and the terrible light was gone from its eyes. I went closer when its body began to shake violently. He was still alive! I grabbed the sword, when his big eyes turned into my direction. But instead of blood lust and madness I could only see a great suffering and exhaustion in them, as if they reflected my own eyes. I stood there a moment, staring at the pitiful creature, before I realized that I can no longer help him. I walked closer and with one fast movement I thrust my sword into the chest of a wolf. The animal whimpered loudly, but then his head dropped, and all glow had faded from his eyes. Heavy eyelids drooped, and loose lip uncovered upper fangs. He was dead. I leaned my head, and tears came running down my cheeks when I was stroking tangled fur. I did not feel joy, preferably I would lie there and fall asleep to not have to think about anything anymore. Alcar pressed his head to my side in a silent gesture of support.

So Celebrimbor found me, all bloody, bent over the dead bulk of the big wolf, with tears in my eyes. He let out a loud cry, dropping the sword, then he sank to his knees beside me, shaking my shoulders and asking me about something with urgent voice. I looked at him blankly, not understanding. My brain did not register his words. Then, as if hit with a hammer, I felt all my senses coming back. I began to shake violently, and my throat tightened suddenly, when my breath turned into a quick and harsh. I felt as something lifted me up into the air. My body stopped at some point, but my mind raced towards the dark sky. After a while, darkness came over me and I knew nothing.

*The Lay of Leithian, Canto IV.