Over the Mountains, Into the Fire
~~~Hey! I’m
taking a new step in fanfiction
and writing a LotR fic. I’ve written before, but never one such as this.
This is not a Mary –Sue. I
don’t think. If you’ve read my works before, you’ll know
they’re ALL very original. All the same, Reviews would be an excellent means of moral
support…
~Rated: R (to be on
the safer side) adult situations, violence, and possible innuendo
~I DO NOT BELIEVE IN DISCLAIMERS
~~~There is a rather long lead-in I’m afraid I got
carried away… dear me. NM. Here’s the fic, read on and enjoy! ~~~
Chapter One: Invasion of Mists
*The
cold gray morning dawned upon the forest. The woods were entangled in an unholy
mist that wove its way through the numerous lush trees and other vegetation. No
birds sang, no crickets chirped. This forest was not one of the three major
ones known to man, no. It was a forest long since lost and dead from all memory
of humans and dwarves, the Forest of Haze. Only the elves still told tales of
such a place, and though they had once been based upon truth, the truth had
been lost through the ages to the embellishment of fanciful fairytales.
Such
fairytales were composed of stories of a dying city of elves. The elves that
had once been rumored to have lived in the woods had become mere legends, myths
that children imagined and oral traditionalists described in vague detail.
Still, with all of the fictional tales that circulated, the elves of the forest
itself had no knowledge that they had dropped out of being with the rest of
Middle-Earth.
Every
morning, from dawn until dusk was the same for each and every elf that resided
in the lost forest. They woke with the crisp dawn. They worked through the
mid-day, never stopping for a meal until after the sun had dropped off the
cliff of the endless expanse of the horizon. After a meager supper, the elves
would put out their tiny fires, wish each other a good night, and sleep through
the darkness of the night until they had to rise the next morning. It was a
lifestyle of pitiful existence. A race and city on the verge of complete
isolation, destruction, and downfall. They scavenged for their food, never
having the time to truly rediscover their culture of arts, crafts, and musics.
And still the people remained blissfully ignorant of their suffering, having
never remembering a time when they had not lived the same.
And
it was upon this scene day after day that the King of the Forest of Haze
smirked and relaxed. He was a well-defined man, definitely an intimidating
figure when he wished to be so. Silky black hair fell over his eyes. Bright
green eyes that always hinted annoyance or anger, and his build was strong for
that of an elf. He had never been fluid or graceful, but when needed, his
strength could make up for that flaw.
As
he strode through the halls of his magnificent palace, he admired the finery
that he had. He always did. It made him feel important. But now he did not
think of all tat he owned. His mind had traveled to the business errand he was
running. Yes, an actual business errand. He chuckled at the thought. He had to
do everything in this forsaken city, what with all of the incompetent fools
that tried to help and usually screwed up. Entering the darkened room, he
hissed.
He hated the dark. All elves hated
the dark, of course. He just happened to be more sensitive than most. It was a
family trait, he assumed. His dear, sweet, and innocent twin sister had much
the same affliction. His smirk returned at that thought. Moving to the iron
barred door, he peeked through. A beautiful woman sat perched on a thin bed.
Long golden hair spun in waves down her shoulders to her waist. Bright blue
eyes with tiny golden flecks animated her ghostly pale face, and a thin and
tiny frame suggested lack of proper nutrition. Still, defiance burned in her
eyes.
“Come now, sweet sister. Why
scowl at me, your dear twin brother?” He sneered.
“Nero.” A flat and even
voice echoed through the empty dungeon.
“It can’t be quite so bad
in there. And besides, I could never really let you out, you do understand, do
you not?”
“You can’t can
you?” The woman in the cell played along. She knew this game well- it
seemed she had gone through this routinely.
“Of course not!” Nero
looked horrified. “If I did, imagine my people’s shock to find out
that their long lost Queen, my dearly loved twin sister had returned. They
would not be able to handle the truth I fear.” Nero explained as if he
spoke to a babe who would not understand the full implications of the
situation.
“Dear twin brother. What they
would not be able to handle would be the knowledge that you are holding them
down, oppressing them. There is more out in this world than our forest of haze
and mist. You and I know that. Why not share that with them?”
“Outsiders are not welcome in
the city. But then, you knew that already, didn’t you, Serein.”
“What I know is that you are
injuring our already damaged home farther. We are the oldest and wisest elves
in the entire forest. Why not work to together, use our knowledge to rebuild
what the evilness of Sauron and his orcs destroyed?”
“Because then I would not
have has much fun as I do now, tormenting you.”
“Nero! You bring shame to our
forest, our regime, our lifestyle, and our race!”
“Hold your tongue before I
have one of my guards cut it from your mouth. Traitorous little wench. You
conspired against me before, and I had to throw you into prison. I will not
make the same mistake twice… nor will I tolerate your mouth.” Nero,
in a loud rage, turned on his heel. How dare that brat of his sister speak to
him with such insubordination! Well. He would break her eventually. Apparently
nearly three thousand years in that prison cell had done her no good. Just then
an elf, one of his incompetent servants, ran up to him.
“Yes?” He snapped. His
sister had put him in a horrible mood.
“My Lord Nero, I bring news
from the master huntsman. It seems there were sightings of strange creatures
never seen in the forest.”
“Do I can of strange
creatures in the forest? It is a forest, probably nothing more than shadows
haunt it.” Nero laughed heartily.
“Sir, the master huntsman is
convinced what he saw was one of legendary orcs.” The messenger elf
gulped quietly after he relayed his message. Just the mere mention of the
creatures was enough to through any elves into a slight panic. Orcs were the
epitome of evil in the elfish mind; and if the orcs had returned to the Forest
of Haze, it could mean nothing well for their city. Or their future.
“Orcs?” Nero spoke more
thoughtfully this time. A side smile appeared and the messenger elf knew no
good would come from the next words spoken. “Orcs. And how would our
master huntsman know what an orc looks like? He was not around for the first
invasion of Sauron. Only my lost sister and I were alive for that. Therefore,
return the message to the huntsman that he is indeed mad in the head. Now
leave. You try my patience.”
“As
you wish My Lord.” The messenger disappeared.
“Orcs.
Honestly. I wasn’t born yesterday…” Nero sniveled as he once
again continued his path to the throne room.
Night
drew near, and as the last of the drops of sunlight dripped through the throne
room, Nero stood, read for a grand feast. He paused to stare out at the sunset
for a brief moment. Something felt out of place… A loud scream cut
through the thick mist that permanently covered the forest. The scream was
followed by another, then another. Shouts all around the forest went out.
Torches were lit. Nero continued to gaze out his windows. A face shot up in front
of his. Screaming and sliding back, he stumbled and tripped over his long
robes.
“What?
No! It can’t be!” He cried out in terror. Standing not ten feet in
front of him was an orc. An ugly, muddy, orc that radiated darkness and evil.
The orc closed in slowly on the elf that had been standing so grandly not but a
moment before. Just as the orc slashed downward with his sword, Nero drew his
own sword and blocked the blow. Metal clashed, and soon as the battle of wills
raged, the smell of dirt, blood, and sweat permeated the thick air. With one
final blow, Nero bested the orc and the beast fell to his feet. But
Nero’s victory could no be savored for long. More orcs poured through the
doors and windows. Nero heavily breathed, then charged into battle. He had not
survived the first invasion of orcs for no reason.
Slowly
the orcs were driven away. There had not been enough of them to make a large
enough dent in the elves. That, along with the elfin natural ability to strike
at their enemies without being seen was enough to finally drive the orcs away.
But the damage had been done.
Nero
stood in the middle of his throne room, barking orders. “You, yes, you
there! Gather five or six elves and clear out these bodies. Take care not to
let their blood drip into the river or any drinking water. No you fools!
Don’t drag them away, lift and carry them! To think you would have
stained my beautiful floor with orc blood. Incompetent fools!” Though the
elves grumbled slightly, them did as commanded and began clearing the orc
bodies.
“I
am going to inspect the royal treasury room. Keep up your work.” Nero
waved to them carelessly as he strode through the door. But as soon as he
reached the door and was out of sight, he picked up the pace and ran to the
treasury room. Finding the lock broken, he cried out in alarm.
“No!
No, no, no! It can’t be!” He cried.
“My
Lord, what is wrong?” An elf had snuck up from behind him. Nero jumped.
“They’ve
taken it!” Nero cried in both physical and mental agony.
“Taken
what My Lord? Not one gem is out of place.” The elf asked confused.
“They’ve
stole the Gemstone of Haze!” He continued to cry out in pain as he looked
at the giant and muddy footsteps of an orc that led to an empty pedestal in the
center of the room.
“The
what sir?”
“You
are not worthy of the knowledge I have provided so far. Leave, and tell no one
of this interlude!” Nero yelled as he stood and collected himself. The
other elf simply nodded and faded out of sight. Nero stood for a moment, then
continued his walk, back towards the dungeons he had only just visited that
morning. Entering the destroyed door, he looked through the cell that had once
held his sister. Now it held the body of a dead orc. Not a trace of his sister
lay in his wake.
“Damn!
Both Serein and the Gemstone in one foul swoop.” He sat beside the body
of the orc, a tired and beaten elf. Perhaps this was a sign. Perhaps…
From
the darkened corner of the room, two bright blue eyes with golden flecks stared
at the broken King of the Forest of Haze.
“The
Gemstone of Haze is gone?” The shrouded figure whispered. “But it
is the heart of our city, the very thing that keeps us hidden in the mist.
Without it, we are completely defenseless! Then I will retrieve it. I must. I
will not see my city, my race and home, been torn apart while I can do
something to help.” Slipping out of the dungeons, she picked up her pace
quickly. Racing to what had once been her room, she shut the door behind her.
Looking around, she felt light
hearted, despite the heavy burden she was about to undertake. She was free. Not
stopping to wash or change, she grabbed her old stained leather traveling bag
and began stuffing it with items. Extra shoes, a blanket, what little money she
had left. Then she opened a closet and smiled. Her old weapons sparkled in the
pale moonlight. She slung the sword hilt around her waist gracefully, then
sheathed her silver polished sword. She threw her set of knives into her bag,
but strapped one to her waist, for immediate usage. Throwing on a heavy dark blue
cloak, she slung her quiver of arrows over her shoulder and grabbed the bow.
Hooding herself so as not to be seen, the small figure picked up the light
traveling pack and slipped out through the window. Her quest had begun.
>>>)(<<<
“Frodo
and Sam have gone on their own. Pippin and Merry have been kidnapped. Which do
we follow?” A short, stalky dwarf questioned his two comrades as they sat
around a small, dying fire.
“We
leave Frodo and Sam alone. Frodo needs to go on his own from now on.” A
human man stood and stretched slightly.
“Then
we track Merry and Pippin!” An elf stood. The unusual trio nodded at each
other.
“Take
only what you can carry, from here on out we will travel light.” The
dwarf stood and put out the fire. Taking their weapons and traveling packs,
they went off immediately. For their friends had been kidnapped by orcs. And
all be damned if Aragon the human, Gimli the Dwarf, and Legolas the elf would
just sit and let their friends rot with the evil creatures of the dark lord.*
~~~Well now. How was that? I really am hoping for a lot of
reviews. I notice very few LotR fics get lots of reviews, but I’m
striving to be one that does! Help me achieve my goal! –Vixen~~~