What will Gwin be facing, in her memories, and how will it impact her? Unfortunately, they will not be pleasant ones. Read on to find out!

Chapter 87

I was trudging through the muddy ground in Imlad Balchorth, in the middle of Angmar. Corunir was by my side, shifting around anxiously. "Gwinthilnel, are you sure we should be here?"

"We must destroy these idols and kill the Angmarim sorcerers, or the spirits here will take over the region," I replied firmly. "We cannot afford to let them threaten the Trév Gállorg, the other Dunedain, or the dwarves who dwell in Gabilshathûr to the south." It was a risky mission set by Golodir. He did not feel strong enough to journey with us after Lorniel's death, but he insisted Imlad Balchorth needed to be cleansed. The sorcerers commanded the spirits, so if we could defeat them, the enemy forces would be put into disarray and more easily subdued.

Whether or not Corunir and I could accomplish this was the question.

Lord Glorfindel had loaned me a beryl. It was infused with his power, and could drive away spirits. I held it tightly in one hand, with one of my white-handled knives in the other. The light was comforting.

We approached the massive waterfall of Anglanthir with caution, and I almost drew back in revulsion at its poison-infested waters. "Better stay away from the river," Corunir muttered. Unfortunately, Corunir was dismayed to hear we needed to cross, and the only way was over some questionable-looking stone platforms.

"We will need to be quick," I said quietly. "If they decide to sink, we must run as speedily as we can, or we will perish." Corunir looked at me with some dismay, and I shrugged. "It is the only way."

"Or, we turn around and return to Garth Forthnir and forget about this suicide mission," he countered, panic in his eyes.

I reached out and took his hand. "Corunir, will you look at me?" He flicked his gaze to mine, and I knew I had his attention. "There will be no Garth Forthnir to return to if we do not eliminate this threat."

He sighed, but I could tell he knew my words were sound. "Lead on, mellon nin."

I squared my shoulders, "Run as fast as you can; do not stop." I counted down from three, and we took off. Sure enough, the tiles started to sink as soon as we placed our feet upon them, but we were fast enough that we reached the other side safely. I released a breath I did not know I was holding, and gave Corunir a look of relief.

That is, until we fell to the ground in agony, the beryl flying out of my hand. There was a scream so horrible that I had to cover my ears; it felt like they were bleeding. Corunir was writhing around, and I could barely breathe. Through my squinting eyes, I could see a Gaunt Lord approaching. His scream turned into a horrifying sound that might have passed as a laugh.

"Ah, travelers I see," the spirit said arrogantly. "What brings you to my humble abode?" I tried to stand but a strange force was keeping me in place on my knees. "Speechless, I see." He laughed again, and it grated horribly in my ears. "What are your names, trespassers?"

I did not answer, but somehow managed to hold up one of my knives. I could not stand, but knelt awkwardly as I raised my head to gaze upon his face. His sunken eyes made me freeze with fear.

"You refuse to answer? Such rudeness. No matter, I will introduce myself." He rose up regally, and I could see the reflection of previous royalty. "I am Ferndur the Virulent, and Imlad Balchorth is my domain. Why do you enter here?"

"To…to gaze u-upon your ma-magnificent form," I gasped. I did not know what to say, but perhaps if I played for time, we could escape somehow.

Ferndur looked surprised. "You have heard of me, child of the Eldar?" I nodded painfully. "I see. Well, now you have looked upon me. What do you think?"

I took a few shuddering breaths; the air felt like it was freezing in my lungs. "You are…are m-more grand…than I i-imagined." It was true; although he was not quite to the caliber of Gortheron, he had his own power and might. I asked myself internally how Golodir possibly thought it was a good idea for us to go here without more people; I worried whether or not I could defeat Ferndur with only Corunir by my side.

Speaking of Corunir, I chanced a glance in his direction. He was twitching, with his breathing shallow, and I feared for him.

I knew I had to find a way to get out of this. Perhaps asking would be enough. "We…we will leave…and will not r-return. Now we have s-seen your grandeur, we w-will tell all of…of your power and m-might."

He laughed harshly. "You expect me to let you live, child? You are foolish indeed. Nay, I will put you to the test. If you survive, perhaps I will kill you quickly."

My eyes widened in shock and despair. How would we escape this doom? "L-let the man recover…we can f-fight together and p-prove our…our worth," I ground out. Speaking was difficult, as it seemed like something was squeezing my chest.

Ferndur looked at me appraisingly. "Very well."

A moment later, I heard Corunir gasp for breath, and eventually breathe normally. He staggered over to me in some confusion. "Gwin…what is happening?"

I looked at him sorrowfully. "We must pass his test." I did not mention the 'I will kill you quickly' portion; I hoped to avoid such things.

Corunir looked at me quizzically, and his eyes were unfocused, "What do we do?"

I sighed, "I do not know as of yet. We must wait until Ferndur begins."

Only a minute later did the first spirits appear. We were on a peninsula of sorts, with no escape except a narrow stretch of shoreline on the north side. If we could defeat our enemies, we could run for it. Possibly.

I threw one of my knives to Corunir; they were somehow able to defeat spirits, which should not be defeatable due to being undead. However, the knives cut through them like butter and sent them screaming to the underworld once more. He nodded in thanks, and we began to fight.

For some reason, each wave of spirits was small, and at first, it took us little time to cut them down. During the fight, Ferndur stood to the side looking amused. I knew he was playing with us, but did not know what else to do but keep fighting. We faced many waves of these undead spirits, each more difficult than the last. I almost lost my arm by one of the Elite Master Ghosts before Corunir smoothly stabbed it where its heart would be. It cried out in agony before disappearing like the rest.

Both Corunir and I were stumbling around after the last wave fell, but I knew I had some reserves left. Could we defeat Ferndur? He looked strong and powerful, and clearly unconcerned.

"I see you are more talented than I anticipated, young ones," he stated with some surprise. "Perhaps I need to face you myself."

Corunir was barely standing, and I felt much weaker than I hoped to be when facing such an enemy.

The Gaunt Lord armed himself with a massive, two-handed sword, and his voice was cold as he shouted, "I will send your spirits into darkness!" With that, I rolled quickly out of the way as his weapon came down where I had just been standing. I staggered to my feet and determined I needed to keep Ferndur's attention on me; Corunir was very weak, and I doubted he would survive even one swipe of the enemy's sword against him.

"Go back to the void from whence you came!" I growled. "Corunir, run!" I did not have time to see whether or not he listened, as I was fighting for my life. I ducked as he moved the sword horizontally to cut off my head, and threw my knife up to defend myself as he brought his weapon down once more. I struggled against the strength of it, wrapping both hands around the handle and pushing forwards with all my might. My eyes widened as his sword moved closer and closer to my face; he was stronger than me, in my current state. His expression was triumphant as he realized he could overpower me, and I needed to find a way to escape the lock of our weapons. His laugh echoed and wrapped tightly around my soul, and I knew it was too late; I would not survive any wound caused by his poisonous blade. He pushed against me hard and freed his weapon, as he prepared to run me through.

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I slid off my horse with a whimper as I felt the blade move through me, and I heard Candaith shout as he dismounted quickly and stumbled in confusion. He must have felt the pain of my memory through our bond and did not understand, but he dropped to his knees and encircled me with his arms. We both were shuddering as we felt the intense pain of the invisible wound. Elladan was shouting something, but I could not make out the words. I tried to take more of Candaith's pain onto myself, but was unsure how to do this; I hoped it was working, for I did not wish for him to suffer in such a way.

The spirit, still not visible to the others, laughed at my pain. Through watering eyes, wrapped up in Candaith's embrace despite his own suffering, I glared at it. This was not how the story ended, and you know it.

No matter; the torment you would have felt still echoes in your mind. You have felt enough similar pain for me to conjure up what you would have experienced…what you should have experienced.

I growled, trying to ignore the burning in my stomach where the imaginary wound was. I will not let the story end here!

Before the spirit could say or do anything more, I closed my eyes and put the true memory forward in my mind.

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Suddenly the Gaunt Lord and I both wore mirrored expressions of shock as Ferndur went crashing to the ground. Corunir had cut the legs off, and Ferndur's torso was now flopping around on the tiled ground. Both Corunir and I jumped out of the way of the reach of his sword, as his arms were still of use. However, we needed to impale him through the heart or he would just reassemble himself. There were only a few moments to do this, so I took advantage.

As he swung his sword horizontally, I took my chance and used an arrow to pierce through his chest. The Gaunt Lord's body shook with the impact, and his eyes were wide with shock. "Darkness…it comes for me…no!" With a loud, unholy shriek which brought Corunir and I back to our knees, Ferndur disappeared into the heavy, Angmar air.

I crawled over to my friend, and we helped each other stand. "We must flee from here, and quickly," I said anxiously.

"What of the idols?" Corunir asked weakly. "Or sorcerers?"

"We must return with a larger force. If we were to face another enemy of such strength, or one more powerful, I doubt we would survive," I replied, my gaze rapidly assessing the area. "However, if we come across any idols which are poorly guarded, we will destroy them."

Corunir nodded tiredly, "Very well. I will lead the way."

Somehow, we managed to destroy six of the small, skeletal idols on our return journey, along with a few sorcerers which had guarded them. I did not have an exact number of those which remained, but I was certain the dwarves who overlooked the region would know more than I. As long as we could get to Myrkworth, we would be safe for the time being.

With this, Corunir and I reached the base of the rocks on which the outpost stood, and wearily began to climb.

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As soon as the memory ended, the pain disappeared. I jumped to my feet, and my knives were in my hands a moment later. Candaith stood by my side with his own sword drawn, supportive despite his confusion. The red outline of the spirit flared, and I resisted the instinct to shield my eyes as I moved forward. "You will not win this day!" I shouted.

"Gwin! What are you doing?" I heard Elrohir shout, fear echoing in his voice. Clearly, he could not see my target, and was alarmed at my strange behavior.

That is where you are wrong, Elichthi. I see your heart, and it is full of pain. There is much to be explored.

Despite my best efforts to clear my mind, the memory of an enemy in Dol Guldur resurfaced.

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Sammath Gûl was a terrifying place. I knew it was what Sauron used as his Throne-room, when he was under the guise of the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I, along with several Galadhrim warriors, had fought our way through the fortress and finally made it to Sammath Gûl to confront the sorcerer Gorothúl. He was a Dark Numenorian of great power, who was the current overseer of Dol Guldur, in place of the Witch King of Angmar.

As soon as we stumbled into the room, we were frozen in place by some dark powers; I could see it swirling around us in black tendrils. I managed to make eye contact with Glaessiel, one of the Galadhrim, but it was not long before Gorothúl sauntered over to her, an infuriating smirk on his face. "What do we have here? An Elleth, I see." Glaessiel's face was frozen in fear, but I could still see a spark of defiance in her eyes as she beheld the Numenorian. "And you even brought friends!" He swept an arm around the room, gesturing to the rest of us. I was trying to release myself from the spell with all my willpower, but I was exhausted from fighting. I knew I needed to engage Gorothúl in battle...although I was now unsure if I had the power to defeat him.

"Y-you will not l-leave this room a-alive," another of the Galadhrim gasped, trying to sound forceful but finding it difficult to speak, immobile as he was. I recalled his name was Beleg, and he was the captain of this small group.

Gorothúl laughed, "I won't, will I?" The next second, he conjured up a red blaze of fire and directed it right at Beleg, who was engulfed in flames and screaming in agony. I could do nothing to aid him, even as I tried desperately to free myself. Glassiel was sobbing as Beleg collapsed to the ground, clearly slain. "Now, is anyone else going to talk back to me? I assure you there is more where that came from," he said, motioning towards his staff. When none of us spoke, he smirked again.

However, he stiffened as a voice echoed in the room, perhaps even throughout the entire fortress. "Gorothúl, you have done well." I felt an icy shiver run down my back, and my eyes widened as the Eye of Sauron filled my vision. Was he here somehow, in Dol Guldur? Logically I knew he must be in Mordor, but it was as if he was in both places at once. Gorothúl bowed towards a pedestal, where the Eye blazed brightly. "My Lord Sauron, what should I do?"

I felt a pressure building around my head, as if a physical force was pressing against it. The horrible voice boomed throughout the room, filling every crevice and stealing all of my focus as he said, "Through Gorothúl's eyes, you are revealed, Gwinthilnel." I felt like I couldn't breathe; Sauron was addressing me directly. I was laid bare before him, and shut my eyes tightly. I could not let him discover what I knew! There were a few moments, which felt like an Age, where I did whatever I could to keep Sauron out of my head. Eventually, he must have grown bored, or assumed I didn't know anything of value, and said, "Even while I am not here, my servants will crush your pitiful attempts to retake Dol Guldur." There was a pause, before he ordered, "Gorothúl, destroy them, for they have dared to enter my fortress of old!"

"Yes, my lord," Gorothúl replied respectfully, bowing once more before turning to face me. Suddenly, we were all freed from the bondage of the spell as Gorothúl was surprised by the entrance of another force of Galadhrim. I whipped out my knives and engaged the now-present force of undead skeletons and spirits, which had appeared shortly after the end of Gorothúl's conversation with Sauron. I could hear the others fighting around me, but kept my eye on the sorcerer.

Apparently not close enough, for a flash of red light grazed my side as I was unable to dodge out of the way quickly enough. The heat and agony I felt, as it burned a hole right through the side of my armor, was worse than I anticipated, and I cried out in pain and nearly crumpled to the ground.

However, I knew if I did that, my life would be over, so I kept my footing and turned to face Gorothúl myself. While one of the other Galadhrim distracted him, I pulled a dagger out of my boot and threw it with all my might. It struck true, right into Gorothúl's back. He staggered forward, and I wasted no time in plunging my knives through him, and he was dead before he hit the ground.

The other enemies, seeing their leader slain, attempted to run, but the Galadhrim cut them down as I tried not to collapse from the pain of the burns.

As I was trying to do right now, in the present.

I shoved the vision away and brought myself back to where I really was. I used all of my willpower not to fall to the ground once more, but I could feel my flesh bubble and sizzle, as if it was really happening, despite there being no visible wound. It seemed even more intense, like the added darkness of the supposed 'curse' made it stronger. Candaith's hand pressed against his ribcage, but I did not have time to assess if he was well. The twins flanked me, their weapons drawn, but their uneasy looks of confusion made me even angrier at the apparition. I glared at the spirit and 'said', Why do you hide from the others, you coward?

None of them are worthy of my time, she-elf. You are the biggest threat to this land, and must be stopped. I was confused as to how this ghostly figure knew of me, but didn't have the energy to ask for more information. I needed to survive this, somehow.

I have no intention of turning back, so either stand aside or face my wrath! Although the words I used sounded confident, I was flagging. I did not know how much longer I could hold out before I lost consciousness. My vision was going grey, and there was a strange ringing in my ears.

The spirit laughed, and it echoed eerily in the strangely silent land. Your wrath? You are no threat to me, child. Would you prefer to experience more pain and suffering? I see your mind, and can easily conjure more visions and memories.

My eyes widened in fear. I needed to end this somehow, and fast. With great difficulty, I staggered closer. My knives were shaking as I trembled, but I tried my best to steady them. It is true I have felt pain, and much of it, during my long life. However, it will not defeat me. I will overcome it, as I always do.

You cannot hide from it forever. I will not be the only one to draw upon your darkest memories.

Perhaps, or perhaps not. We are done here. Using the last reserves of my energy, I took my knives and slashed them in a crisscross manner, right through the spirit, which had moved too close. It let out a piercing cry of anger and I dropped my weapons to put my hands over my sensitive ears. It was frustrating how much such sounds incapacitated me.

I realized I was crying and shivering violently when Candaith came around the front to face me. "Meleth? I do not understand." He sounded panicked as he wiped my tears, and I could not meet his eyes. I feared the pity I would find there. Despite the defeat of the spirit, I took up my knives once more, just in case.

"I do not pity you," he whispered firmly. He must have discerned my thoughts. "I only worry, and wish you to be well." He took me into his arms and I let my head rest against his shoulder as I took slow, deep breaths. My tears eventually stopped, and I was staring out into the dreary landscape but not seeing it. I tried to relax in Candaith's embrace, but it was difficult. The familiar, writhing shadows were hovering around the edges of my vision once more.

Elrohir took the knives out my hands, which I hadn't realized I had in a death grip, and interlaced our fingers. I felt warmth travel up my arms and into my spirit. "You do not need to face these troubles alone, penneth." His words were comforting and soothed my troubled soul, at least for the moment. Except…I was alone. No one else had been able to see the spirit, and Candaith suffered despite this. No one was able to aid me in this fight. I overcame it. I willed myself to focus on this positive thought.

After a time, I pulled away from Candaith and straightened up. The others were on their horses, but had distanced themselves from us to give us a measure of privacy. I could tell they all wanted to know what happened, but held back their questions for now. I wondered if they were afraid of me, and it pained me to think on it. I found myself searching for Corunir, irrationally afraid for him due to the memories still clinging to me. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding when I spotted him; he gave me an uneasy look, and I turned away, hurt by his expression.

Prestadir cautiously made his way forward. "Gwinthilnel, are you ready for us to continue? The place I wish for us to camp is not far."

I nodded and mounted up without speaking. I didn't know what to say, so I followed Prestadir silently as we rode for another hour or so.

Once we arrived, I slowly slid off of my horse. She nuzzled me, likely sensing my distress. "Hannon le," I whispered; she could always read my moods.

I let the others set up camp, and took Candaith's hand as we settled together by where Lothrandir was making a fire. "It must be small, unfortunately," the ranger said apologetically. By this, he meant it would not be very warm.

"I am thankful for any fire," I replied quietly, forcing myself to give him a small smile. He did not return it, and I could see the concern in his eyes. "Try not to worry for me, mellon nin. I will be well." Whether I believed this or not was up for debate.

Whew, that was intense. Poor Gwin, having to deal with these dark memories and experiencing the pain of them even now. Thankfully, she was able to defeat the spirit, but what after effects will there be? Thanks for reading, and leave a review!