Chapter 1
Darkness.
Nothing but darkness and emptiness around him, the One Ring had been destroyed and he along with it...
Was this the same Void where his former master was exiled? Was Melkor somewhere in this endless darkness? Will he have to wait for Dagor Dagorath to leave this place?
His anger and hatred grew and stirred his entire non-existent being. For him, mere seconds have passed since his defeat but he knew well that in the Void a second can be millennia or less...or more. Time was meaningless. There was no life in the void… only death.
He felt something within the darkness then...no... someone standing next to him. His eyes searched around until they found what they were looking for...a woman, her face covered by a black veil
"Amirz hûr'u skaat mubull u izish," he said causing the woman to recoil...she couldn't understand him and this filled him with rage.
An armoured hand emerged from the darkness and grabbed the woman's neck starting to choke the life from her. She seemed to say something but it was in a language that he never heard. She was probably begging for her life, not that he cared in the slightest for her pleads. She slowly raised her arm in his direction, her fist was closed but she gently opened it revealing what he most desired.
The One Ring was in her hand and this made him let her go. The woman took a few breaths on the ground and slowly stretched out her hand again offering his most precious possession to him once again.
The ring flew towards the darkness and slipped itself onto his armoured finger, reunited with its master at last. A powerful blast expanded in the never-ending darkness, and then he appeared in all of his greatness and power, clad in armour and armed with his fear-inducing weapons. He looked at the woman and slowly removed the veil from her face and saw...an elf? No, a half-elf with silvery hair...not that it mattered; he didn't care now that she had given him such a gift.
He placed his hand on her head. "You have served me well..." he said in the language she spoke previously before a light within the darkness appeared, his gaze turned towards it and what he saw surprised him. A new world was before him. A strange world without Eru, Ainur or Maiar.
The Dark Lord looked back at the woman to find she was gone. He turned back toward the light once again and went through it, finding himself in an empty alley. With a deep breath he changed his form, his body shrunk and long white robes and long white hair appeared. His eyes amber and glowing with power...after so long, he could once again take a fair form and this will avoid him having to take everything by force.
He looked to his left and saw a busy street with all sorts of beings walking by. Normal men and women, strange bipedal reptilians and other animals. Carriages moved through the street, pulled by lizards bigger than horses. He was about to walk out of the alley when a nuisance appeared.
"Oi Oi, you look fancy, how about you give us some pocket money?" an incessant voice called, causing the Dark Lord to turn to face him with an annoyed expression on his face.
He observed his interlocutor and the other irritants with him, a man with a large body with purple hair and eyes and a...dwarf? Halfling? Infant? He was too small even for those two races so he thought of the latter. The idea of simply killing them on the spot in the most painful and cruel way possible immediately came to his mind but he rejected it as soon as it did.
No one knew him and for the new plan that slowly forming in his mind, being seen as a selfless upstanding citizen was far better than being seen as a threat that needed to be destroyed; he didn't think that would happen anyway but starting a war wasn't worth it nor necessary.
He smiled as he looked at three "Now now, I don't have anything with me. I am just...a traveler, I do not carry anything of value."
"That will be for us to decide." The boy said as his cronies approached him.
"Let's not be hasty," he said as the two thugs stopped in their tracks shaking as an invisible forced them to stay still. "We wouldn't want to cause an unneeded ruckus, I have nothing to fear but probably someone will call the guards and I doubt that robbing people in a dark alley is legal."
"Tch, a mage!" the boy said drawing out a pair of knives. "Cut this shit out!" he shouted rushing for the elf in front of him before the same invisible force that was holding his friends in place bashed him against the wall knocking him unconscious.
The other two grunts were shocked but before they could say or do anything, they too were bashed against the walls and knocked out. Mairon was not gentle. Pleased enough with his work, he was about to go on his way when a small blonde girl started running towards him. He assumed her an accomplice of the trio but soon thought otherwise when she stopped and cautiously looked at him, eyeing the three unconscious thugs and then at Mairon in front of her. "I just need to pass," she said seriously before noticing his ears. "Are you with that girl!?"
He raised an eyebrow at that but stepped aside. "No, I don't even know what are you talking about."
The girl slowly nodded and quickly ran past him and climbed on top of the wall that was behind him before disappearing on the rooftops. A bizarre encounter for sure but the dark lord didn't pay much attention to it. He was once again about to leave the alley when…
"You stop right there!" someone shouted.
The Dark Lord was already regretting his decision to not kill whoever was an obstacle to him, included those who kept him from leaving that damned alley. He turned around and was surprised to see the woman who freed him from the Void standing on the other exit of the alley… although, from her actions and words, he doubted it was actually the same person.
"Yes?" he asked with a friendly tone. "How may I help you?"
Her expression was full of shock. He didn't quite understand why though...perhaps she saw his true self?
"Are you...an Elf?" she asked cautiously.
Sauron looked at himself before answering. "Indeed I am," he said calmly despite being bothered by the idea of comparing himself to those beings. He was so much greater than a mere elf. "You also seem to be one," he commented gesturing to her ears.
A beaming smile appeared on her face. "Do you come from the Elior Forest?! Did the ice melt away?"
"I am afraid I do not know of such a place. My home was very far away from this land," he said shaking his head.
The smile disappeared. "I see..." she said politely. "Sorry for the misunderstanding."
"No need to apologize." he replied with a charming gentle smile. "From your words and actions it would seem like our race is quite rare, is it due to this Elior Forest?" he asked trying to gather as much information as possible.
"I come from there...everyone was turned into ice statues so I thought that..." she started drifting off.
"That the ice had melted away and now the people you knew were free once again," he concluded getting a nod from the girl. "Well, I am sorry for ruining your hopes."
The girl shook her head vigorously. "You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault...anyway, my name is Emilia..." she said before a small cat jumped out of her hair.
"And I am Puck! This girl's father!" it said cheeringly.
The dark lord in disguise raised an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the feline creature. He knew that it was a spirit of sorts, and quite strong too. He was aware of course, of spirit animals although he had never come across one similar to this specimen.
"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Emilia, I am Mairon Annatar," he said with a small bow. He had decided to use his best names, there was no way he would use the monikers used by his enemies, and those names fit his regained appearance.
"It's a beautiful name!" she remarked before widening her eyes. "By any chance, have you seen a thief running in this alley!?"
Sauron's mind immediately went to the girl that ran past him. "A child with blonde hair, red eyes and a black bow in her hair?" he asked
"YES! Have you seen her?" Emilia asked
"Indeed, she ran into this alley not long before you showed up." he replied calmly "I take it that she stole something from you?"
"Yes, it's something very vital to me and this kingdom! Have you seen her? Where did she go?" she asked.
Now, that was interesting, an object important to this kingdom, it sounded like the perfect occasion for him to enter the inner workings of this new society he found himself in.
"I am afraid I do not know where she went, but I can find her," Mairon said calmly
"Really?" Emilia asked as the small cat frowned a bit.
"I tried to myself, she is fast and already out of my reach." Puck said, wondering how Mairon intended to find the thief.
Mairon turned around, his body stood still in place but his sight was already scanning the entirety of the city. Tt didn't take long for him to find who he was looking for. The little thief was indeed fast, already very far away from where he had seen her last. She was headed to what he guessed were the slums, judging by the number of buildings in ruins.
"If we move now we should be able to catch her in her hideout," he said calmly
"Wait, why are you coming too?" Emilia asked confused.
"Because you seem in need of help and I can hardly turn a blind eye to a fellow Elf." Mairon explained
"I think that Puck and I can take this," the girl said. "Also, I am a half-elf..."
"Still some of the blood of our race is within you and I apologize if I sounded like I doubted your abilities, I was just offering my services. If you would have me," Mairon explained.
"But I don't have a way to repay you..." Emilia muttered
"I am but a homeless elf, perhaps you know a place where I could stay? That would be enough," he replied.
"Wait a second!" Puck demanded, crossing his feline arms. "And what exactly can you do to help us?"
"Puck don't be rude! He already helped us find the thief!" Emilia quickly rebuked.
"No, your father is right," Mairon said, shaking his head. "Sight is indeed an incredible gift but it has little use in a fight. I cannot blame him for asking what I can do to help. I do not simply see however. I am a knight, a mage, and a craftsman, I will aid you in every way possible," he answered confidently.
"A knight?" Puck said smirking, "You don't look like one."
Mairon smiled, his form shifting back to his armour although he did cast a spell on it, the dark colours were replaced by a white one with golden outlines. "Is this more fitting for a knight?"
Puck blinked a few times while Emilia was in complete shock "Well, that's certainly more intimidating than a guy in bathrobes..."
Mairon changed back to his elf appearance. "Indeed," he said nodding. "So did I prove myself?"
"Yeah, you aced this test," Puck replied with a thumb up.
The feline spirit said that but he couldn't help but wonder who this stranger was, he didn't get any bad vibes from him, quite the opposite, he seemed to be a rather a gentle being, genuinely looking forward to helping them, not only that but he was worried for Emilia's safety.
The Dark Lord laughed in his mind, full of mirth. He saw how that little spirit was trying to see through him, he had a lot of power but it paled in comparison to his own. He showed the spirit of someone anyone would trust, his Mairon persona. His slowly forming plan needed him to appear once again as 'The Lord of Gifts' and so he will go through with it.
"Milady Emilia, should we start heading towards the slums? Also, may I ask what we are looking for?" He asked politely gesturing at the exit of the alley
Emilia snapped back to reality and nodded. "Yeah, we are looking for an insignia...as I told you, it's really important," she answered, quickly walking towards the exit before noticing the three unconscious thugs, "Is this your doing?"
Mairon shrugged "They tried to rob me, I paid them back in kind. Fret not, they are not dead, merely incapacitated."
Emilia checked if the muggers were fine and saw that they indeed just unconscious although they were going to have quite the headache when they woke up, and likely quite the fear of a blonde 'elf' with amber eyes. The thought of the fear he had put into the lowlifes' hearts made Sauron giddy.
The two silently walked through the streets though Sauron noticed the looks thrown towards him and Emilia, he wondered the reason for that, he assumed at first that it was simply because Elves were rare but he felt as if he was missing something. He quickly looked into the minds of the people around them and found what he was looking for.
'Satella, The Witch of Envy'
Apparently, she was to these lands what he had been to Middle-Earth, though Sauron resented that idea. He did not go on a rampage seemingly for no reason, nor cause wanton destruction to the world that had no purpose, that was distasteful and chaotic. Almost… Morgoth-like.
But then why bring him here? Morgoth was in the same Void as him, if she was as terrible as these people's minds suggest then that would have been the most logical move…
The Dark Lord had conflicting information on her and since she's the main reason he's in this new world in the first place that couldn't be acceptable. Some may say that she was a mad woman and so her actions were guided only by madness but he refused to believe such a plain explanation. He would refrain from passing judgment on her actions, at least until he shed some light on them.
Satella was the one who had brought him here...this confirmed that his meeting with Emilia wasn't a coincidence. But considering the implications of the supposed Witch of Envy and her bringing him to this world would have to wait for another time.
He looked at the girl next to him. "It must be hard living with people judging you because of your appearance," he said suddenly, in his intentionally soothing voice, seeking to comfort and gain her trust.
Emilia looked at him with a surprised expression before breaking her eyes away from his, "I grew accustomed to it..."
"The witch has left a deep mark on these people," he said looking around.
"You are not afraid of her?" Emilia asked raising an eyebrow.
"I know far worse beings," he said impassively.
"Beings worse than the Witch?" Emilia asked shocked at the idea.
Mairon nodded. "Yes," he replied simply. "Morgoth." His old master had come to mind when he had considered the Witch of Envy, and Mairon would not hesitate to use his name for his agenda, as he had many times before.
"Morgoth?" Emilia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. The Black Enemy of the World. The First Enemy in fact," Mairon told her seriously. "He is the source of all evil."
"Is he...still around?" Emilia asked worried, seeming to fidget on the spot.
"Oh no, he was defeated in the First Age," he said calmly. "I witnessed his fall myself."
"Wait, hold your earth dragons!" Puck said. "How old are you? You made it sound like something that happened loooooong ago!"
"Around 54.000 years old if I remember correctly," Mairon said after a short while, pretending to think on his answer. He knew exactly how old he was, down to the very last second.
"EEEEEEEEH?!" Both of Emilia and Puck exclaimed, stunned.
" Is something wrong?" he asked, causing the two to snap back to reality.
"You have been here for that long?" Emilia asked
"No, I come from a land very far from here," he explained calmly. "But now that the Age of Men has come, my brothers and sisters have left the world for the Undying Lands."
"The Undying Lands?" Emilia asked, never having heard of the place before.
"Yes, the final destination that awaits our race," Mairon replied. "Where can we can live our immortal lives without the interference of men or anyone else, a safe haven."
"And why didn't you go with them?" Puck asked, curious.
"Because I believe there's still much to see and do and so I came here and I met you two as a result," the apparent kindly elf replied calmly.
Emilia chuckled a bit, "Well, that was a fortunate turn of events!"
"Indeed" he replied nodding before Emilia seemed to be distracted by something. "Is there a problem?"
"That girl," she said looking at a little girl who looked clearly distressed.
"Do you wish to help her?" Mairon asked eyeing the little girl, getting a nod from the half-elf. "Then we shall do so," he said walking up to the child.
The Dark Lord was...mildly annoyed, he wasn't exactly used to playing the good guy anymore, even if it was to push forward his own agenda. He followed Emilia as she tried to talk to the child but apparently, all she did was frighten her even more, which caused the half-elf to panic. He crouched down beside the small girl.
"Do not be scared, child" he asked in a calm soothing voice as he entered the girl's mind and calmed her without her noticing. "Where are your parents?"
"I...don't know...I was with my mum and then...and then..." the little girl said as tears started to cross her cheeks.
Why were mortal children so difficult? He suppressed his annoyance with the child as best as he could.
"I see," Mairon said nodding. "You want to find her right?" he asked getting a nod. "Can you describe her to me?" he asked despite already knowing how her parents looked thanks to having looked inside her mind. He'd prefer to not raise suspicions with Emilia and her self-proclaimed feline father.
The little girl tried and failed miserably to give a proper description of her mother. He didn't know if it was her young age or some other unfathomable reason, but it was immensely aggravating. She could only give a vague description of a woman with purple hair and that apparently wore purple clothing, which, considering how many people there were and how big the city was, literally did not help at all.
Emilia made a worried expression. "Can you find her?" she asked him.
Mairon frowned. "I can try to look for a woman like that in distress, she would naturally be panicking and searching desperately her child after all," he lied, having already pinned down the location of the woman. He closed his eyes and waited for a few moments before opening them again.
"Did you find her?" Emilia asked anxiously.
"I believe I found a match," Mairon said, lying a little once again. He knew full well from the child's mind what her mother looked like. "But there is only one way to find out."
"Yeah!" Emilia agreed offering her hand to the little one. "Come, we'll take you to your mama."
The little girl smiled "Thank you!" she said happily.
The four started heading towards the location of the woman, Mairon walked in front of them since he needed to direct them. In reality, he just wanted to avoid having to be nice to the child anymore then he had to. Her name was Plum apparently. He hadn't bothered to find that out when he had searched her mind, Emilia had asked her when they started moving. It didn't take long at all for them to find the woman in distress, since he had intentionally taken the fastest route possible to reach her; they had already wasted a lot of time on this detour.
Plum ran immediately towards her and hugged her tightly, the woman did the same before thanking both Emilia and Mairon although he had let Emilia do all the talking. He wasn't interested in the woman and the little girl's gratitude. The half-elf was given a hair accessory as 'reward' from Plum before she left with her mother.
Mairon and Emilia began to walk towards the slums once again, finally blessedly free of the pointless distraction, though the half-elf was staring at him, "Say Mairon..."
"What is it Lady Emilia?" he asked, attentive.
"Why didn't you say anything back there?" Emilia said out of curiosity
"You were the one who saw little Plum and you were the one who decided to help her. There was no reason for me to intrude unnecessarily," he replied with a gentle smile.
"But you are the one who calmed her and found her mother!" she protested.
"My Lady Emilia," Mairon said causing the girl to tense up at the formal address, "I do not do things looking for praise, I happy enough with seeing those two reunited."
The girl smiled, "Well, I'll still praise you anyway! You're a good person Sir Mairon."
Mairon sighed, the girl's incessant friendliness and good mood could be annoying at times. "And you are really obstinate," he said. "Although in a good way." Despite his lies to make himself seem better, Mairon enjoyed praise, relished in it. It felt good to have others admire him once more, and so despite himself, the Dark Lord found that the half-elf was… perchance endearing herself to him? Strange.
The rest of their journey was rather uneventful. Night would soon descend upon the city. The thief had stopped in a warehouse and didn't seem interested in moving any further, and so Mairon felt little need to rush. The darkness of night was an old friend, one that had served him well for millennia.
The sun was setting when they entered the slums. Emilia suddenly stopped on her tracks as Puck yawned.
"Is there something wrong?" Mairon asked.
"Puck will not be able to accompany us any further," Emilia explained briefly.
"Staying in physical form is rather tiring for me...during the night I stay in the crystal to recharge..." Puck also explained yawning as he slowly became transparent.
"I see, rest well then," Mairon said. "I'll protect Lady Emilia."
"Hey I can protect myself just fine," Emilia pouted.
"Thank you Mairon..." Puck said yawning again before going inside Emilia's crystal, "I'll leave the rest to you."
Sauron looked at his ring and wondered if they were still connected to him, he knew that after the destruction of the Ring their link was severed but now that the Ring was once again in his hands? He had to find out. And of course, if it really was possible for them to show up, he had to make them look good for their audience. Their usual behaviour and appearance would be...troublesome for his cover. It was an educated guess, but he was almost certain, Emilia could see them due to her connection with Puck. He slowly started to raise his right fist, his eyes upon the One Ring on his finger and chanted in the Black Speech of Mordor.
Emilia was confused. "Mairon?" she said before widening her eyes as nine spirit knights covered in ethereal armour raised themselves from the shadows, their bodies glowing with white bright light "What...who are these spirits?" she asked trying to comprehend the nature of the beings in front of her.
"These are comrades of mine," Mairon answered. "They were once men; they chose to follow me in my journeys and became spirits to continue to do so even after death."
Emilia looked at the Nine, still wary despite Mairon's words. Despite their bright glow, their bodies were almost transparent. She couldn't sense much from them though she could tell that the lesser spirits were intimidated and scared of them just like they were of Puck. She could feel their eyes on her. Their armoured helms should have completely covered them, but she could feel them still, glued on her, examining her every move.
Sauron was satisfied, the Nine were still answering his call, still extensions of his will. He had to use a spell to keep their aura from incapacitating Emilia and instilling fear in the general area around them, but it was a small matter. It did seem that the lesser spirits were still terrified but Mairon doubted 'lesser' spirits could see through his spell if even one like Puck could not. Perhaps they were simply terrified of the power that still radiated from his Nazgul?
"Follow us in the shadows and wait for my call," Mairon ordered as the Nine bowed their heads and their bodies dissipated inside the shadow cast by his form, "Shall we go?"
Emilia shook herself out of her surprise and nodded energetically, "Yes."
The sun had almost set entirely when they reached their destination a short time later. The two of them stopped in front of the warehouse, Emilia was about to open the door when Mairon stopped her. Confused, she turned to look at him but before she could say anything he chanted a quick spell, wrapping an illusion around Emilia that hid her presence from anyone but himself.
"It's for the better that they don't see you, I could intimidate them into giving the insignia back if need be, but if they see you, things will get…complicated."
The half-elf gave him a nod of understanding. The confusion cleared up, Mairon knocked on the door.
They could hear some quick movement inside and after a few moments a familiar blond thief opened the door. "You are the dude in the alley!" she said, raising her eyebrow.
Mairon nodded. "I have a job for someone like you," he said simply.
"Ooooh! Please do come inside!" she said cheerfully, stepping aside to welcome him in.
Emilia followed behind Mairon's steps, making as little sound as possible. She was amazed by the fact that she was completely invisible in the eyes of the thieves. It seemed there were two of them, the little girl and a giant man behind the counter, presumably her accomplice.
"So what kind of job do you want done?" Felt asked as she sat on the counter with a smirk on her face, confident she could steal anything a client could ask her too with ease.
"I want you to steal an insignia, from a girl that looks like the Witch, it needs to be done as soon as possible." The blonde little street rat burst into laughter.
"Well, I am afraid that girl has no insignias left to give," she said cheekily. "I stole it already. Just today in fact."
"That's wonderful, could I buy it from you then?" Mairon asked. This was a key moment. If she simply sold it to him then she stole it only because she thought it was worth something...but if she did not, it would mean that there's more to this insignia then meets the eye.
"No can do," she answered. "I stole as a commission, if you want it, you'll have to talk to my client."
This was interesting, he would seem like he had stumbled upon a conspiracy and he was greatly amused by it.
"Is that so? Where could I find your client?" Mairon asked, "Lady...?"
"Felt, and drop the lady could you? I'm no hoity toity noble," Felt said. "The exchange will happen here so she should arrive anytime now," she said as someone knocked on the door. "Oh, speaking of the devil," she said, getting up to open the door.
Mairon turned to observe the person who had entered the warehouse. A woman with long dark hair and a seemingly gentle and kindly expression.
"These two weren't in our accord," she said looking at Mairon and the giant with suspicion.
"You didn't expect me to me with you with support did you? Treachery's a dime a dozen in the slums. Little ones like me have to protect ourselves," Felt explained.
"I know who the old man is, but what about the elf?" the woman asked.
"He is your rival, he is also negotiating the insignia," Felt explained gesturing Mairon. "Now shall we negotiate?"
"So what is your offer?" Elsa asked looking at Mairon as they took their seats at the negotiating table.
"Oh no, you may go first. You were the one who requested the theft after all. I will wait, it is only fair," Mairon replied smoothly.
Elsa looked suspicious but nodded and placed several holy coins on the table for the giant and Felt to count. "My client gave me twenty."
Felt looked in awe at the coins on the table and then to Mairon. "You'll have to offer something greater than that," she said.
Mairon observed the room. "Can you give me that rusty sword in the corner?" he asked the Giant.
The three of them looked puzzled but the Giant gave him the rusty sword nonetheless. The Dark Lord touched it and the rust disappeared, coming clean off the blade and falling like powder onto the table. Chanting, Mairon moulded the metal into the shape he wanted in his mind's eye, the exact same currency his competitor had offered, and watched as the sword turned itself into a pile of coins. "There should be exactly thirty-two coins here."
The other three at the table were amazed and the Giant immediately started inspecting the coins. "This magic...is a true miracle!" he said. "These are the same as the originals!"
"I can make more as long as I have the metal needed." Mairon said with a smirk. "You name a price; I'll make as many as you could ever dream of."
The Giant looked at the woman and shook his head slightly. "You should probably go."
She nodded, "Yes, that's not an offer that I can beat. What a disappointment. If you don't mind me asking...what are you going to do with the insignia?"
Mairon smiled deviously. "This object has a high value for this kingdom and so I will return it to the rightful owner," he said knowing full well what would happen.
Both the giant and Felt tensed up.
"So...you are one of them..." the woman whispered smiling darkly.
Sauron laughed in his mind, he knew her true nature since the moment she stepped inside the warehouse. There were none who wore a mask of lies better than Sauron the Deceiver. He had only needed to find out if she was acting in her own accord or she had a master, and apparently, it was both. A mercenary would not have cared in the slightest what he wanted to do with the insignia, they would have reported it to their client in order to get extra money for taking it back from their contractor's rival. Instead, the woman in front of him had a personal interest so it was obvious what was going to happen...
The woman suddenly tried to slash at Mairon's belly with a dagger she was hiding in her cape but to her shock, her arm stopped mid-swing, held by an invisible force. Mairon got up and adjusted his robes with a confident smirk. He was going to enjoy this. "I will take this outside"
"Oi! What are you doing?!" Felt shouted.
"Saving you since this woman was going to kill you anyway," Mairon replied. "Lady Emilia make sure they don't try anything," he said as he removed the invisibility spell he had cast on her.
"Wait you've been here the whole time?!" the little thief shouted looking at the Half-Elf in surprise.
Mairon launched the dark-haired woman outside, slamming her through the walls of the warehouse onto the stones of the street. To his mild surprise, she immediately got to her feet and unsheathed a second blade. She was no weakling like the scum he had dealt with in the alley earlier it seemed.
"Who sent you?" he asked, his voice calm, but commanding.
"I will tell you if you tell me who sent you," the woman smirked.
"The only one who I serve is myself," Sauron almost growled. Morgoth was gone, he had no master, nor will he ever truly serve another again. The Nine appeared out of the shadows cutting off any escape route for Elsa at his will then.
"I see, since you didn't want to tell me, I won't tell you either. I'll enjoy opening your bowels, I do wonder what they look like. I'm excited!" Elsa said giggling although clearly annoyed at being surrounded.
"Then I'll just find out myself," Mairon declared as his eye glowed with power. In a single instant, he broke inside her mind not bothering to be gentle at all and making sure to inflict as much pain as he could. He took care though, to hold back a little to avoid breaking her sanity. That would not do at all. He wanted her fully sane and aware. He wanted her to feel everything, remember it, to let it teach her a lesson she would never forget. That those who dare to strike the Dark Lord, shall suffer for it.
The assassin widened her eyes as her mind almost shattered, horrid whispers and unholy screeches crowding out her own thoughts. She could feel his gaze piercing through her, the elf… no, he was no mere elf, he was inside her very thoughts. It was beyond any physical pain she ever felt and he knew it, her vision blurred and her mind began to slip into unconsciousness but she managed to see something...
A great eye, lidless and wreathed in flame. It stared at her, and she felt naked before it.
I see you.
"Thank you Elsa Grainhiert," Mairon said patronizingly as his armour manifested and he stalked toward her, his giant mace in hand. "Send my regards to Mama," he said extending his left arm toward her.
Elsa knew that she should run, but she couldn't move. Wherever she looked she could only feel death and fear. The nine spirit knights were emanating some sort of miasma that was paralyzing her, their very presence terrible, and their master's gaze was even worse. In the next instant, Elsa felt more pain then she had ever felt from any of Mama's tortures.
Sauron placed his hand on the left side of her face and she screamed, feeling her flesh burn. He took pleasure in her pain and when he finally released her, a burn with the form of his hand was now on her face and he made sure that no magic or blessing would ever be able to heal it.
Raising his mace, he struck Elsa sending an earthquake all across the slums and possibly even the city that sent her flying out of sight.
He may have used a bit too much power in that attack, but he didn't care, not when it had brought him such an immense morbid joy. Not that it mattered either. Elsa had survived, he had made sure of that. She had a role still to play in his plans.
Emilia ran out of the warehouse followed by Felt and the old giant, all of them clearly worried by the earthquake he caused. The two thieves froze in place when they laid their eyes on his armour and the Nine.
"Where's that woman?" Emilia asked worried as she looked around.
"She ran away, probably got scared," Mairon said as he reverted back to the elven form of Annatar.
"WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME AFTER THAT!" Felt shouted in shock.
"Yeah, I had to come running after that," someone else said causing the group to look at them
"Reinhard!" Emilia shouted in happiness, recognizing the red-haired young man.
"Lady Emilia? What are you doing here?" he asked before looking around. "And what happened?"
"This child made a very bad deal with the Bowel Hunter," Mairon explained calmly.
"The Bowel Hunter?" Emilia said tilting her head.
"Elsa Grainhiert, an infamous assassin known for killing with a slash to the abdomen to spill the bowels of her foes," Reinhard said looking at the man who replied for Emilia. "And who might you be?" he asked with a friendly smile.
"My name is Mairon," he said bowing a bit "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
The young man also bowed his head in politeness, "Lady Emilia already said my name but I will say it again, I am Reinhard van Astrea, but please call me Reinhard." he introduced himself. "Are you the one who caused the earthquake?" Reinhard asked.
"I am afraid I might have been too forceful. Got too much into the fight," he said with an apologetic expression. "I hope I did not cause any trouble."
Reinhard chuckled, "Do not worry, aside from a bit of panic nothing happened and your opponent was a fearsome one."
"Felt, you made a contract with an assassin and a knight and the Sword Saint got involved, you took a very shitty job," The Old Man scolded the little blonde thief.
"Speaking of which," Emilia said walking in front of Felt, "I think you have still something of mine." she said looking at the younger girl. "Return the insignia at once and I will not prosecute you for your crimes since you also almost lost your life."
Reinhard was surprised. "That's a serious crime young girl, you're in luck that I am not on duty right now," he said sternly.
Mairon nodded having found out the insignia's importance from Elsa's mind. Emilia was one of the candidates who could become the queen of this kingdom and the insignia gave her the right to participate in the election. This was far convenient for the Dark Lord's taste; someone wanted him to meet Emilia but he wondered if that someone knew who he really was.
Felt and Emilia started talking as the giant made his way to Mairon "I am sure I could have taken her down but...Thank you, even I heard stories about that woman but who would have guessed that she would be Felt's client."
"You are welcome," he said with a smile.
"About the money..."
"Keep it," Mairon said dismissively. "Use it to find a better place than this one, perhaps one fewer assassins frequent," he jested getting a laugh from the other man.
"Yeah that may be a good idea," he agreed. "Thank you again Lord Mairon...oh but where are my manners, they call me Rom, Old Man Rom."
"My pleasure to meet you Rom," Mairon replied before hearing a commotion.
"Ugh! Let me go you're hurting me!" Felt shouted as Reinhard grabbed her arm.
"OI WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO FELT!?" Rom suddenly shouted turning around to charge at Reinhard.
Mairon looked at Reinhard and then to Rom before putting the giant to sleep. Not that he had anything against Rom or Felt, but he had determined it far wiser to be in Reinhard's good graces then theirs.
"Thank you Sir Mairon," Reinhard said doing the same to Felt, and laying her gently on his shoulders. "I'm sorry Lady Emilia, I can't keep my promise"
"Is it because of the theft?" Emilia asked worried for the young blonde.
"That's a serious crime but nothing compared to what has come to light," the young man replied. "I'll contact you soon enough, I hope you understand," he said putting the insignia in Emilia's hand and walking over to Mairon
"Thank you for helping Lady Emilia, I hope you'll keep this event a secret, her reputation would be ruined if someone found out her insignia was stolen."
"The world will turn to dust before a word of tonight's events leave my mouth, you have my word," Mairon promised Reinhard before he nodded and walked away, Felt in his arms like a bride carried at her wedding.
"An eventful night don't you think?" Mairon commented to Emilia who still bore a worried expression on her face.
"Yeah..." she replied before looking at the Old Man Rom sleeping on the ground. "What should we do with him?"
Mairon lifted the Old Man and took him inside the warehouse, Emilia followed him. He grabbed a few scattered trinkets, with little value as they were now due to their rusted condition, and turned them into holy coins as he had earlier with the rusty sword.
"What are you doing?" Emilia asked.
"Living up to my name," Mairon replied. "Mairon means 'the Admirable' while Annatar 'Lord of Gifts' in my homeland, so I am gifting him the possibility of starting a better life away from here for him and for Felt."
"A fitting name for someone like you," Emilia commented smiling. "Your parents had great plans for you."
"Indeed, my father had high hopes for me," he replied happily on the surface, hiding his darker thoughts and his anger at her words.
Eru's plans were something he had grown beyond. He could care less for them. He might have hidden it better, cloaked it in the veneer of a loving father, but Eru had been no less a tyrannical master then Melkor had been. Restraining him and his brethren, demanding they follow his oh so precious music, and let chaos and disgusting waste reign over the world. Melkor had been a terrible master, but he had opened Mairon's eyes to the truth of Eru's designs, and he would forever be grateful for that.
"Now," He walked up to her, "I wish to also gift you something for the upcoming challenge of the Royal Selection."
"E-Eh? So you knew?" Emilia asked.
"I wasn't sure until I saw the Insignia," Mairon replied summoning his armour and kneeling before her.
"Ah-Mairon?" she asked confused.
"I wish to give you my services as a knight, as a sorcerer, and as a craftsman," Mairon said with determination in his voice.
Emilia was pretty shocked, "B-But I am a half-elf and I am not that liked..."
"I want to see," Mairon strategically choosing his words, "how you will get crowned despite all the odds stacked against you, I think it will be a nice tale to tell before I too go to the Undying Lands like my brethren."
"I see..." Emilia said slowly nodding before her eyes steeled themselves "I, Emilia, Royal Candidate of the Kingdom of Lugnica, accept your services Lord Mairon of..."
"Valinor," Mairon said, lying to support his slowly forming agenda.
"Lord Mairon Annatar of Valinor," Emilia repeated nodding.
That pleased him, he wasn't sure if anyone from Middle Earth was also here but if they were, it would take a while for them to recognize him. Mairon was his Maia name and not many knew it, the same went for Annatar which is the name he had borne in Eregion as the Lord of Gifts
He looked up to his new 'master; who after all the ceremony, bowed excitedly to him. "I'll be in your care," she said smiling.
"I'll make sure you'll become the greatest Queen that this world has ever seen," he replied rising from his knees.
That was no lie, he would make this girl a queen and he will stand beside her advising her, making her loved and adored, protecting her from her enemies and slaying them in her name. While in the shadows he will gather more and more power until he will ascend and do what even Melkor could not... He will become what Eru was in Arda in this new world...and after that, his order will be applied everywhere to everyone.
Author's notes: I want to thank my beta reader Tertius711 who helped me with proof reading and his suggestions to make the story more immersive