Alright, time for the next chapter, hope you all are having a great time. I know I am! Also a quick note, to avoid confusion and not have to call him Griff, any time I refer to young Griff, I'll just call him by the fandom name of fAegon to avoid the confusion. Some people may call him Griff but others might call him Aegon so to keep things simple Aegon is Sauron, while fAegon is young Griff.
This is gonna be a shorter chapter as I just want to get us completely over the Westeros hump and into Mordor. From here on out we'll be following along with the Shadow of War plot, this chapter will explain the events surrounding Shadow of Mordor, I just hope I space it out enough to make it believable. Anyway, let me know what you think, I already know one of my biggest weaknesses as a writer is transitional chapters, getting from one arc to the next, and this one was definitely a pain but now that I'm through it, we can start on the next arc completely.
Darkness Reborn:
Chapter 32: A Growing nuisance
-King's Landing-
Aegon wiped the sweat from his brow as his gaze lingered on the burning metal in his hand. He eyed it with a clinical precision before delivering several more hammer blows and returning it to the flame.
It had been several long months since his wedding to Sansa Stark, and the official founding of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Westeros.
First off, his marriage to Sansa went off without a hitch. It was a celebrated even, and Aegon and Lilith spent three weeks in Winterfell enjoying their time with Sansa and helping her begin to settle into her new role as the Northern Queen. They worked on getting the various lords of the Northern Kingdom to come and swear fealty to Sansa and her line as their direct rulers, tying them to the new royal line. It was all complex, yet very quickly and efficiently streamlined.
Sansa was overjoyed to finally be married to Aegon and after a few days of just the two of them spending time with one another, they were joined by Lilith who got to partake in her new sister-wife just as often as Aegon did.
With the aid and support of the Starks now secure and the Northern Kingdom being established, Aegon split his time between the two kingdoms, using the ever growing Floo network to travel instantly between the two locations. While he worked on that project, Lilith traveled across the continent building and establishing the floo network and teaching the local lords how to use it. It didn't take long for even the most conservative and weary lords and ladies to fall in love with the magical transport system.
As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, the Floo network grew, and Westeros became ever more interconnected.
A few weeks after Aegon return from Winterfell, the Tyrells returned from Highgarden as they concluded their time of mourning. Aegon wasted no time in continuing to build his relationship with Margaery who held herself with the same cool confidence as she always did, though one could tell that the death of her brother and cousin had deeply affected her. She was no longer as eager to go down into the streets of King's Landing, and any goodwill she had towards the Faith of the Seven had vanished completely, though that was almost universally shared by her family nowadays.
Another few weeks passed before the next royal wedding occurred. Again, it was a festive and celebrated occasion. King's Landing was alight with festivities as people celebrated the King's third marriage.
As he had with Sansa, Aegon spent a few days alone with Margaery. After their wedding the two consummated it, and it became readily apparent that Margaery had little intention of waiting to give him an heir and establish the Southern Line.
After a few days, Aegon invited Lilith to their bed, and while cautious at first, Margaery allowed for the addition without complaint and soon became a staple in Aegon's and Lilith's bedroom shenanigans.
Margaery did her best to navigate their lustful desires only to eventually fall prey to Lilith's manipulations. The Dark Lady may not have been as well known for her manipulations as Sauron was, but her skill in the twisting of minds was still beyond the measure. Just because she preferred destruction, devastation, and conquest as her tools of the trade did not mean she was incapable of manipulating others. Far from it in fact, as she had begun her campaign in both of her lives as a manipulator.
With an unmatched cleverness, Lilith ingrained herself into the mind and fantasies of their new southern queen and used it to secure her loyalty to their cause.
As time went on, Aegon furthered his bond with her Targaryen family, further ingraining himself with Daenerys, Rhaenys and fAegon. It was learned quite quickly that despite being a Blackfyre descendant, fAegon still had enough dragon blood in his veins to possibly become a dragon rider, and Aegon could ensure he was one by teaching him Parseltongue. The combination of Dragon blood and Parseltongue would allow the members of the Targaryen household to bond with and command their dragons with incredible ease. It would also ensure that the bond was far stronger than those formed by past Targaryens.
Deciding to keep the boy alive, Aegon worked his charm on Daenerys, Aemon, and the Martells, speaking with each of them, and convincing them that so long as fAegon remained loyal, he believed it would be in their best interest to accept him as Rhaenys brother. He may not be the true Aegon, but Rhaenys saw him as such and loved him as her brother. She had practically raised him as well, so Aegon convinced each of them in turn that to attempt to break her of that belief was to destroy whatever bonds they had formed with her.
In his mind it was better to accept a lie, so that Rhaenys could remain happy, than to break her of it for no reason other than the fact that it was a lie. So long as fAegon chose to remain loyal, and follow Aegon, he saw no reason to pursue the truth.
After some debate and back and forth, it slowly came to be accepted by them all. Eventually they accepted that if nothing else, fAegon was Rhaenys' brother. He may not have been Elia's son, but he was Rhaenys' sibling, so that would have to be good enough for them. In the interest of peace within their respective families, no one chose to fight it.
While Lilith built the Floo network, and Aegon worked on teaching Sansa and Margaery how to rule the Northern and Southern kingdoms, things progressed with their other plans throughout Westeros. Day by day, more work was done on Lilith's new southern fortress, as well as the construction of a magical academy built over the ruins of the old Dragon Pit.
Westeros was slowly reshaped into a realm of power, one that would one day sit at the heart of their new empire over the world. Word eventually reached them that Euron had finished sailing around Westeros and had begun raiding the western coast of Essos testing out Aegon's new warships.
Early reports were quite promising as these titanic vessels overwhelmed and outran anything they got their sights on. Merchant ships began to fall, and it quickly became apparent that the Free Cities were starting to sweat.
As time passed Aegon's guard expanded with several knights and skilled warriors being accepted to join under Ser Arthur's guidance. After consideration, Garlan Tyrell agreed to take a position on his sister's new Roseguard, which also began to expand. Word also soon reached them that new members of the Wolfguard had begun to join that organization as well. It allowed for them to begin discussions on when they would hold official meetings and who would lead each individual part of order.
If things progressed at this rate than all three orders would reach seven members within a year's time. While the Wolfguard and Roseguard had decided to wait until they had gathered all of their members before officially choosing a lord-commander, the Dragonguard had no need for such things. As the most experienced member and arguably the most skilled knight in the world, Ser Arthur was quickly chosen by his fellows who unanimously agreed that he should lead the order. Considering there was only four total members now, that meant he had half of the votes, and if he agreed to take the position that was four of the seven that had chosen him, meaning he already won by default no matter what the three remaining members might say when they joined. So, after a long discussion with Aegon Ser Arthur agreed to accept the position, becoming the first Lord-Commander of the Order of the White Cloak.
Aside from accepting the position, Arthur took a few days to himself to escort his sister back home to Starfall and meet with their other sister there. At Starfall it was once again decided that Arthur was worthy to carry Dawn, which was returned to him, which he accepted graciously, almost as if meeting up with an old friend after a long separation. He swiftly returned to Aegon's side no long after that.
Aegon continued his 'training' in blacksmithing allowing his skills to organically develop.
Aegon and Lilith worked to further their connections with the other members of House Targaryen, as well as Sansa and Margaery, and things were progressing nicely.
It was also decided on what they would do with the mind-controlled Jaime Lannister. After some consideration, Aegon and Lilith decided that they might as well turn Jaime into a vampire to join his father in undeath. Hell, they might even do the same with all the Lannisters, securing their loyalty by tying them completely to the dark. It was definitely something the two favored, but it still required a bit of thought.
Ultimately, they would leave the choice in Orpheus' hands. They would approach the Vampire Lord with an offer, he could have his family back, and his son freed from mind-control, but the at a cost. All living Lannisters would have to be turned into vampires, and just like Orpheus, they would essentially cast off their past selves. While not as literal as Orpheus, they'd basically be relinquishing their humanity.
They'd leave it up to him, whether or not he would accept was up in the air. So, the two mulled on the idea for a bit longer before approaching the vampire with the offer.
In the Black Cells beneath the Red Keep, Lilith and Gothmog worked tirelessly to break the will of Rómestámo. After only a matter of weeks, the Blue Wizard had finally broken...
His resilience ended, not with a powerful cry but with one last whimper.
With his will broken, Lilith set out to dominate him. For three days she sat in the cell with him, pouring her evil energies into him, corrupting his mind body and spirit, while she did this, her agents at Tantibus Arcis tracked down something important, something she would need going forward.
At the end of the three days, word arrived that they had found what they were looking for.
-Northern Shivering Sea-
Sauron stood upon a frozen patch of ice holding the broken form of Rómestámo upright upon. By his side stood Khulvar and Gothmog.
Lilith stood a dozen or so meters before them, her gaze piercing into the blizzard that raged around them.
They had come to this place at Lilith's request. Her sorcerers at Tantibus Arcis had managed to scry the location of something valuable in this remote frozen corner of the world.
Lilith had yet to reveal her intentions though Sauron and the Balrogs all gathered that whatever it was, had to do with the final end of the blue wizard.
Rómestámo himself was little more than a broken husk muttering incoherently to himself. His eyes were filled with a fiery orange light and his veins ran black almost like tar flowed within them, to say he was in a sorry state would be a massive understatement.
The winds continued to roar around them as the storm seemed to grow in intensity. Suddenly a silence fell upon them, and Aegon fell himself smile. Through the darkness of the blizzard his eyes caught sight of a massive shadow that filled the sky.
A growl filled the air with a bone-rattling rumble. This creature, whatever it was, was absolutely enormous.
Lilith began to speak, parseltongue dancing off of her lips as the air filled with a dim blue glow.
Out of the storm, eyes began to take shape. Twin orbs of piercing blue light that would fill the mind and body of any normal person with unspeakable dread.
Both Balrogs tensed and readied themselves, though they quickly settled as Lilith raised her hand to halt them.
Out of the storm a head emerged.
Draconic in shape yet forged of great ice sheets. White and blue, almost like a living glacier.
A towering dragon lowered itself to the ground before them. Its size dwarfed even the beasts of Tantibus Arcis by at least half. This creature by Sauron's approximation was the largest dragon this world had even known. In fact, the only dragon he knew of larger than this one, was the freak of nature Ancalagon the Black.
Immediately Sauron knew what this creature was. Hell he, as Jon Snow, had grown up hearing stories about such creatures. This was one of the fabled Ice Dragons, a creature that, until this moment, he didn't even know was real. The creature was huge in size. It's head alone was proportional to a Valyrian dragon, though its snout was shorter, and its head was more squared. From atop it's head, and along it's lower jaw and neck, layers of icicle-like spikes could be seen, some nearly two or three times longer than a full-grown man.
The dragon's teeth were clear, like ice, and absolutely massive. Its largest teeth were wide enough the sheer clean through a bull if it bit into one.
The dragon's body was stouter, with a shorter neck than a typical Valyrian dragon, it also had four limbs, with a pair of front and back legs. Its twin icy wings were absolutely huge, spreading beyond normal sight into the storm, and it carried an equally long tail.
All of its body looked to be made of ice. In some places it was clear, in others is a deep or ocean blue. It did not at all look like a living animal but rather some construct of magic giving life to a glacier. From its mouth billowed a constant fog of freezing mist that would easily chill a man to the bone in a matter of seconds, and if stories were to be believed this beast did not breathe fire but rather ice, being able to unleash a torrent of frost and ice that could shatter ships, and snap freeze the sea.
In only a moment he could sense Lilith's dark power within the mighty beast.
"Someone's been keeping things from me." Sauron spoke into Lilith's mind, causing her to glance back at him and smirk devilishly.
"I wanted it to be a surprise. After hearing stories of these incredible creatures, I just had to find one for myself. Once I did, I tracked down another, and dominated them both. I forced them to breed and once I had a few unborn Ice Dragons to work with I experimented on them until I created this beast. It was born nearly two hundred years ago and has spent all of that time devouring whales, and ships that wander into the Shivering Sea." Lilith explained to him.
"So… what do you intend to do with it. It's obviously not a familiar, but a creature of that staggering size deserves a greater role than just another dragon." Sauron inquired.
"You are absolutely right my beloved. It had always been my intention to use this monstrous creature as a homunculus to fill with an absurd amount of power and deploy it against our enemies. You see, its unique crystalline body allows it to store limitless amounts of raw power, meaning we could use it as a weapon of unparalleled might. However, a thought occurred to me while I was working on Rómestámo. Such a magnificent creature such as this, such a powerful weapon of ours deserves more life than this. It deserves a true soul. So, here and now, I will place Rómestámo's soul into the dragon's body, allowing this terrifying beast to truly come alive." Lilith explained her plan to him.
A cruel smile remained plastered on Sauron's face as the process was carried out. Lilith took a few minutes to soothe the Ice Dragon and then put it to sleep. Once it was under, she came over to Rómestámo. Drawing upon her full power she ripped that Maiar's spirit out of his body, causing the body itself to collapse to the ground and then rapidly degrade, turning to ash in a matter of seconds.
What remained was a spiritual form that appeared as a blinding white and blue light that was vaguely humanoid in appearance.
The broken Maiar offered no resistance as it was dragged over to the Ice Dragon and its soul was fed into the colossal body. Then, for nearly an hour, Lilith and Sauron worked together to fuse the soul with the body, binding the two together so that they could never be unbroken or separated.
At the end of the process the Dragon awoke. Its awakening was heralded by a reemergence of the blizzard that nearly plunged Lilith, Sauron, and the Balrog into white-out conditions.
Magic and power coursed through the newly reborn beast as Lilith and Sauron stepped back beside the Balrog.
With Rómestámo's spirit now bonded to the mountainous dragon, the strength, intellect, and overall power of the beast would increase significantly.
"Will wonders never cease…" Sauron hummed with a smirk.
"Our power will be unrivaled." Lilith responded her eyes alight with glee.
The dragon's eyes locked onto them; twin blue lights that now blazed even brighter than before. Slowly, it lowered it's head in submission to the two. Despite it's newly reborn state, the creature still retained enough cognizance to recognize who they were. Lilith primarily, as she was the one who created this creature and the one who broke Rómestámo. In time the spirit of the Maiar would remember itself and the creature would truly come alive as something greater than just a beast.
What few knew was how Morgoth had gone about creating her Great Dragons. The secret lay in their spirits. In order to create the Great Dragons Lilith first had to collect some actual dragons which she had done with Sauron's help. He had actually gone back to their original world and captured some still living dragons to return to her.
Once she had them, she bred them, and then in these newborn dragons she began experimenting. Once she had a design she liked, it was time to make them into Great Dragons which involved placing a powerful spirit within them. In the early days it was the souls of various Maiar that he joined her in rebellion against Eru and the Valar that she placed in these monstrous bodies. Ancalagon for example had several Maiar spirits all fused into his body granting him his colossal size and power.
With her newer creations Lilith again acquired some wild dragons in the form of Valyrian dragons and bred them, then she modified the infant dragons and experimented on them until she had created a form that she desired, once that was done, she fed the dragons wild spirits from the void. Instead of placing Maiar inside of the dragon bodies, she allowed the dragons to feed on spirits, drawing in that energy and causing their own spirits to evolve into something far greater. This process is what separated dragons from Great Dragons. Or more so, what separated beasts from monsters.
This was no longer just an Ice Dragon; this was a Great Ice Dragon. Eventually Rómestámo's spirit would settle completely in its body, but after so much time lost in the beast's body, when his spirit did fully reemerge, it would be colored entirely by a new existence. This creature would no longer be Pallando, nor would it be the animal that it was before. In a few years this entity would become a fully realized Great dragon, like Smaug, or Glaurung.
Once that happened, he would be ready to be unleashed upon the world, but not this one, oh no. This world was not the one that would feel this creature's wrath. No, it was Middle-Earth that would face this colossal nightmare.
With the first Blue Wizard dealt with once and for all, now there only remained three of the Istari to stand against them. Speaking of which, several days after they had dealt with Rómestámo word reached them that Saruman had returned to the foundation of Barad-Dur.
He then traveled through the portal to Westeros where Sauron and Lilith met with him to discuss his activities in Núrn.
The White Wizard regaled them with his tale. Telling them of his acts of treachery and corruption. He explained how he had used the lesson they had taught him to manipulate and maneuver the various mannish tribes into war with each other. This was something that had been noted by their forces as they invaded and conquered Núrn that the various tribes were already engaged with one another in brutal conflicts.
His greatest act though was the corruption of Lady Marwen, the most powerful leader in Núrn, known to her followers as the Queen of the Shore. When she had heard of the White Wizard traveling the lands of Núrn she sought him out in the hopes of gaining his aid. She soon fell under his control which he enforced with the use of an enchanted staff that he gave to her. She had now returned to her people, and with each passing day fell further and further into Saruman's thralldom. He left her with a single command, to so chaos and devastation amongst the peoples of Núrn.
Lilith and Sauron were most impressed with his success, after only a few short months the White Wizard had shown a propensity for manipulation and subterfuge.
The two applauded his efforts and welcomed him back to their side. He'd remain there for a short while longer before being sent back to Isengard. The plan being to utilize the Palantír to communicate discreetly. One was located at Isengard, and soon they'd have another when they captured Minas Ithil.
An invasion that would have taken years was carried out in only a matter of months as the armies of the Dark Lords swarmed out of portal at Barad-Dur and out of the east crossing into western Mordor. Already most of Gondor's forces had been routed with all forts and fortresses being recaptured. All that remained was a few holdouts here and there. Then there were the men of Núrn who offered no real resistance to their conquest. Already the last major obstacle to their complete dominion over Mordor was coming into view.
Minas Ithil, was a fortress built in a valley just outside of Mordor. It guarded the pass of Cirith Ungol, which was one of the only ways into Mordor besides the Black Gate. By taking Minas Ithil they'd ensure that Mordor was completely secure from invaders. Already an army was being marched across Mordor in preparation for a siege.
They had taken Gondor unaware and thrown them out of Mordor, now they would seal it completely and take one of Gondor's prized jems from them. Minas Ithil wasn't just a fort; it was a fort built by Isildur and held great importance to the people of Gondor. Taking it was as much a symbolic victory as it was a strategic one. Sauron intended to send all nine of the Nazgûl to oversee the siege once it was underway to ensure that it and the small city that surrounded it were taken swiftly.
Things were quickly falling into place and the Dark twins couldn't be happier.
With things in Westeros coming along without many complaints, the two could focus on the odd project here or there. A small issue would arise from time to time, but otherwise things were mostly pleasant.
The biggest issue that now plagued the twins did not come from Westeros, or even this planet, it came from the Mordor and the stories that spread about the Gravewalker.
Every few days, Aegon reported to Lilith that another orc captain had been killed. This was frustrating, but things really grew maddening when word reached them that one of the overlords had been killed, leading to a restructuring in the region as the orcs fought for power. The movements and actions of the Gravewalker were disrupting things within Mordor, and while it had been an annoyance at first, it was now growing into an absolute headache.
These murders disrupted supply lines and caused instability within Mordor which was still only freshly conquered so there was a lot of chaos still to tame, and with a large force of nearly ten thousand orcs marching on Minas Ithil they could hardly afford such chaos.
When these troubles began, Aegon had sent his avatar back to Middle-Earth to monitor the situation and order the Black Captains to find the Gravewalker and deal with him while they pieced together where Celebrimbor's spirit had gone too.
The answer finally came when word reached Aegon's Avatar about the death of one of the Black Captains.
The Hammer had gone to investigate an incident in the region where a project to construct a massive monument to Sauron's glory, was suddenly brought to an end in a violent explosion.
The Hammer and his orcs went there to figure out what had happened and were confronted by the Gravewalker, and surviving orcs who saw the battle were able to describe the Gravewalker to the other Black Captains who confirmed that this Gravewalker was a Gondorian Ranger who they had sacrificed at the Black Gate in order to draw Celebrimbor's spirit back to the mortal plane.
This ranger was supposed to be dead, as he and his family were all used as sacrifices. The fact that he was still running around causing problems, led Sauron the Lilith to conclude that this could only be the work of Celebrimbor.
This then led them to the idea that the wraith had chosen to bond with the human ranger. The original idea had been to use a sacrificial ritual to draw Celebrimbor's spirit back to the physical plain and draw it into the body of the Black Hand. The Black Hand himself contained a fragment of Sauron's essence, just enough that Celebrimbor may seek to attack him out of a sense of vengeance. Whatever the cause may be, it would drive the wraith to directly interact with the Black Hand, allowing for the second stage of the ritual which would forcefully bond Celebrimbor's spirit with the Black Hand, keeping him trapped inside of his body, unable to escape. The Black Hand could then bring Celebrimbor back to Westeros where Aegon and Lilith could remove his spirit and spend their time breaking his will and forcing him to serve them.
This didn't happen for some reason. Instead, it seems that Celebrimbor had bonded to this ranger instead. A ranger named Talion.
Sauron used his Avatar to issue commands to the remaining Black Captains, they were to find this Gravewalker and bring him to Sauron. Days turned to weeks, weeks into months, and more orcs died.
Conquests in Núrn were swift, and word reached Sauron that his forces had begun the siege of Minas Ithil, so Sauron prepared to send off the Nazgûl to oversee the siege, though they'd be joined by the Iron Titan as well.
Not long after the Nine and the Titan departed word reached Sauron's Avatar of chaos spreading throughout Núrn. Lands that had just been captured were now falling into disarray as orcs began to rebel. One by one the war-chiefs of the region stopped reporting in, or if they did it was with jeering taunts that they served a new master.
This… this did not sit well with the Dark twins. Before they could just write off the Gravewalker's actions as an annoyance and a hindrance, but this was actual rebellion. With the number of war-chiefs in open rebellion, this ranger would soon have an army of over two thousand orcs at his back.
Lilith, Sauron, Gothmog, Khulvar, and Saruman, sat in debate for hours trying to piece together just what the hell was causing this rebellion. Orcs weren't the most trustworthy or loyal servants in the world, except when they were following Lilith, their creator. They saw Sauron as her successor, so they accepted him as their leader for a time, and now with his marriage to Lilith he truly was their King, just as she was their Queen. Having both of them together, plus the Nazgûl, plus the Balrog basically assured the orcs loyalty, as even the most untrustworthy of the orcs still followed the strongest.
So why in the hell were all of these war-chiefs turning against them?
The answer came when news reached them that the Gravewalker had been spotted moving about Núrn.
This was Celebrimbor's doing. The only explanation that made sense was that Celebrimbor was using his powers as a wraith to try and dominate the minds of the orc war-chiefs, and then their followers would simply follow them, granting Talion and Celebrimbor an army without much work.
Now that was something they absolutely could not allow to happen.
Núrn had barely even been captured yet, with human holdouts and tribes still scattered across the land, allowing a full-blown rebellion to erupt there was absolutely out of the question.
Word was quickly sent to the Black Hand, who gathered a force of a few thousand orcs as well as a small horde of wights sent from Tantibus Arcis to march on Núrn execute the traitors and drag this undead ranger kicking and screaming back to Westeros.
By the time the Black Hand arrived in Núrn, the Gravewalker had already taken a large force of his corrupted orcs with him across the sea of Núrn. This left the region largely undefended, save for the tribes of men still there. For the next few weeks, the Black Hand butchered his way across Núrn slaughtering every turn coat he could find. Every living human was also either murdered or enslaved.
A few weeks passed by when word came from across the sea of Núrn that Talion had led his army of mind-controlled orcs in an attack against the fortress controlled by the Tower at Ered Glamhoth.
The Tower, the second of the Black Captains was reported to have died there, though at the cost of Talion's army of orcs.
Not long after the report of the Tower's death, the Black Hand returned from Núrn with news he had received from Lady Marwen. According to the Black Hand he had found Marwen now free from Saruman's control. She was without the staff that was being used to manipulate and control her, so it was likely that Talion and or Celebrimbor had destroyed it in order to free her.
While at first reluctant to tell the Hand anything, after bringing forth her daughter who he had also captured and torturing her half to death, she spilled the truth. Talion and Celebrimbor were on a quest of revenge. They were specifically hunting the Black Captains, and it was Marwen's suggestion that Celebrimbor use his power to dominate the minds of the orcs. She had been commanded by Saruman to sow chaos and discord amongst the residents of Núrn, that included the orcs who had conquered it.
Sauron found that annoying though Lilith got a snort of amusement out of it, how their own manipulations had inadvertently given their enemies an idea of how to better fight against them.
It was annoying but who could have foreseen that? Marwen was supposed to be dead by now. The orcs were under no orders to spare her, so there was nothing in Saruman's command that could have really worked against them barring her running into Celebrimbor and Talion.
Still, now that they knew what the two were after, it was time to call them out. The Black Hand executed the Lady Marwen and her daughter putting an end to any sort of organized human resistance in Núrn. He then made for the Black Gate. Meanwhile, Sauron's Avatar went to Mount Doom.
The time had come to reawaken the mountain and fill Mordor with darkness, and it would serve as a perfect signal to push Celebrimbor and his human puppet to finish their quest for revenge and confront the Black Hand.
The day came quickly. Channeling his power through his Avatar, Sauron roused the volcano from its slumber. For the first time in thousands of years, Mountain of Fire let loose a roar of rage and hatred, signaling to all denizens of Mordor that the time of Darkness had come again. Sauron's rule over Mordor was complete and none could challenge him.
This declaration was accepted.
Sauron waited patiently, keeping much of his focus on his Avatar as he awaited to feel through the fragment of his power in the Black Hand, Celebrimbor's soul. The Black Hand would once complete the ritual as it was intended and draw Celebrimbor into his body, when he did, Sauron would channel some of his power into his soul fragment in the Black Hand to trap Celebrimbor there and contain him.
He would have his prize; this had gone on long enough.
-King's Landing-
It came quickly, in the dead of night.
Sauron awoke from his slumber as he felt in, and quickly left his bedroom in the Red Keep to find a quiet place away from everyone where he could focus.
He was quickly joined by Lilith who stood over him and waited to hear of his success.
Everything seemed to go as plan. Sauron felt the echoes of the old elf lord's soul, a feeling he hadn't felt in thousands of years, yet he remembered it, almost fondly.
He began passing his power into the soul shard within the Black Hand, aiding him in insulating and overwhelming Celebrimbor. This process came easily to him, after so much practice with his Avatar. It was more difficult though as the soul fragment within the Black Hand was barely more than a sliver of his essence, just enough to bond the two together.
Still, when he felt Celebrimbor's presence he reached out with his mind, projecting his thoughts towards the elf through these thin connections.
"The time has come, my old friend…" Sauron spoke.
"N-No!" He heard a voice snarl back defiantly.
"Yes. Come to me, Celebrimbor. Your place is here now. Cease your struggles, come to me." Sauron commanded.
"I will not bow to you!" He heard the voice of his onetime friend spit at him.
"It's over, Celebrimbor. Give in. Give in and join me." Sauron spoke, his malice beginning to appear.
"You will not break me!" Celebrimbor roared.
"You are mine!" Sauron declared with a growl only for the connection to suddenly snap.
Lilith saw him blink once, and then twice, as if confused.
"What happened?" She asked, kneeling in front of him.
"The Black Hand is dead…" Sauron answered, knowing that was the only possible reason that his connection to him could be broken so suddenly.
"How? The ranger?" Lilith questioned.
"The ranger shouldn't have been an issue. Without Celebrimbor to sustain him, he should go where he belongs, to death." Sauron spoke in reply his eyes lifting to hers with confusion.
Silence surrounded the two for a good five minutes before Sauron rose to his feet.
"I guess I have to handle this personally." He spoke.
"Somehow… I was starting to get the feeling that we were destined to walk that road." Lilith noted with a grimace.
"Give me a few days, I'll recall my Avatar and have it take my place here in Westeros. I'll gather a few of our servants and I'll go track down Celebrimbor myself. This has gone on long enough!" Sauron said to her, his frustration evident.
"Allow me to recall my Homunculus from Meereen, and I'll send it with you to Middle-Earth. It's time I saw what was going on there with my own two eyes." Lilith offered earning a small smirk from Sauron.
"Who shall we take with us?" Lilith inquired.
"We should travel light. You and myself, Saruman. Anyone else you can think of?" Sauron asked in response.
"We'll take Tauriel with us." Lilith said.
"Tauriel? Why?" Sauron asked with a curious look.
"Two reasons. Firstly, she's an elven huntress and one who's good a tracking. It's time to see how good. Our query is a ranger after all. And secondly, it's time I put her loyalty to the test. It's time I let her off the chain and see what happens. I'll place a curse on her while she sleeps that will cause her heart to stop if she attempts to reveal my existence or our plans to anyone. It's time I see if all the work we've put into her has paid off." Lilith explained her reasoning.
Sauron offered a shrug and nod. Her reasoning was sound, and she was Lilith's pet. If she wanted to test her then so be it.
At that moment they began their preparations.
The two recalled their respective puppets act began gathering what they'd need for the journey. Lilith couldn't go herself as her presence in Middle-Earth would vibrate the very foundations of the Earth in such a familiar way that the Valar would no doubt be alerted the instant she showed up there. Her Homunculus was far less powerful and far more innocuous so it could travel with Sauron and aid him in this hunt for the ranger and the wraith.
They'd pull a quiet switch and Sauron would head off to hunt down the old elf lord and this troublesome ranger.
Two days later, and everything was set. Aegon got his first look at Lilith's homunculus and got to see it and experience it for himself. She had kept it in Meereen these last few months for the sole purpose of practicing her control over it from extreme distances.
With a bit of practice, she was sure she could keep it under her direct control while it was in Mordor, though even if she couldn't her Homunculus was designed to act autonomously without her direct input, unlike Sauron's Avatar which simply sat inert if it wasn't being directly controlled.
With everyone gathered, they made the switch. No one would notice that the real Aegon had departed, leaving his Avatar behind to carry out his duties in his stead, and of course Lilith would be there to actually run things and keep everything in order.
The first thing they did was apparate to Dragonstone and then take Umbra and fly him to Tantibus Arcis.
It added a few days to their journey but having the dragon with them while in Mordor would be most helpful, and if time permitted and the siege of Minas Ithil required it, Aegon could take his dragon there and aid in the siege.
The time had come to turn their attention to Mordor and finish things there. Once Mordor was secure, they could return their attention to this world, and the campaign to conquer Essos.
-Middle-Earth-
Lily Potter pressed her walking stick into the soft dirt and pushed herself to the top of the hill she'd been climbing. There her eyes settled on a foreboding sight.
The Ephel Dúath, the Mountains of Shadow.
"There it is." James Potter spoke as he stepped up beside her, followed by Sirius and Remus.
"Yes, there it is. Mordor. Our daughter may be beyond those mountains." Lily responded.
James gave her a look and placed an arm around her. It had been a long road getting here, and their journey hadn't even really begun yet. Armed with the gift of the common tongue, maps and plenty of supplies they had been delivered to the shores of Middle-Earth some time ago and had traveled cross-country to get here.
Now they were in sight of their destination, though still with a ways to travel to reach their ultimate goal.
Beyond the Mountains of Shadow lay Mordor, and somewhere within that dreaded land, Sofia Potter was hiding. They had no guarantees she was there, or that she had even escaped her prison and returned to this world, but the four were determined to find out. They were determined to find her and set her free from the madness and evil that had plagued her since she was a child.
"Come on, still a ways left until we even reach the mountains, then we have to get over them somehow, and then the hard part begins. We've still got some daylight to burn." Sirius spoke up, earning a nod from the Potters as the quartet resumed their march.
Distant eyes were watching them, from nearly a world away, yet those eyes could only see so far as the edge of the shadow. Once they crossed into it, these four would truly be alone, and they would have to face whatever they found alone.
Only time would tell what that would be.
-To Be Continued-
Alright, there we go. Like I said it's a shorter chapter, just to transition us fully into the next arc. Some stuff happened but I hope it wasn't too rush. Let me know and I'll see you guys in the next one.
"DracoKing30: Thanks, I appreciate it.
KingZeroRoPL: Here it is, hope this was up to par.
Christopher12314: Here it is, hope you enjoy.
Charlesincharge3: Happy to hear!
AvidReader2425: I appreciate that, thanks, and I hope you're excited for the next chapter.
Deathchill: You're welcome, hope you enjoy!
Epictram: Yeah, don't worry, we'll get to see a lot more of Lilith in future chapter, especially going into the new arc as while it'll mostly be through the eyes of her homunculus it'll still be her.
Naruto: Thanks, always happy to see you here.
Kamori I'm The Infinity: Time to enjoy a bit of Shadow of War, and get the chance to clash with the 'Bright Lord' definitely be good times, that's for sure. Can't wait to see Sauron and Lilith take him down.
ShadeslayerX: Very true, that's why in this case, it was basically just a buffed up Black Hand, who's a powerful sorcerer. He had Sauron's help, but it wasn't the full Avatar of the Dark Lord bit that we saw in the game. Still gotta get there somehow, so downplayed it a bit.
Lesskarr Wolf: Hope you're ready for the next chapter, I know I'm excited to finally get to this arc.