Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
It has long since come to pass that the Island of Numenor was swallowed beneath the sea. Long has it been since the three rings of power were hidden from evil’s grasp. Long has it been since the capture of the One Ring. And long has it been since the death of Gil-galad and Elendil at Sauron’s defeat, and the slaying of Isildur.
Thus the Third Age came upon Middle-earth. The Nazgul went into hiding and waited. Sauron watched patiently, and slowly plotted his enemy’s demise. The Istari came quietly to the land, contesting the power of Sauron. Their mission was to unite all those who had the will to resist him. But lust for power overcame the Istari Saruman, and soon his treachery would become evident.
Sauron began to gather information on the One Ring, of which would make him the source of supreme power in Middle-Earth. He also sought information regarding the heir of Isildur, who would stand in the way of his victory. Sauron knew not that Aragorn son of Arathorn, of the House of Elendil, dwelt in his foster home of Rivendell under the care of Lord Elrond; the only home Aragorn would ever know.
The One Ring’s power corrupted all who desired it, and only one had the will to resist. With the help of Aragorn and his companions, the Bearer, a Hobbit named Frodo, came to Rivendell and took refuge there. The Council of Lord Elrond came to the conclusion that the Ring must not fall into Sauron’s grasp, but no other options remained except to destroy it. This Ring of Power was forged in the fires of Mordor; only there could it be destroyed. But Frodo could not proceed to Mordor alone, the land of sheer evil itself and home to the Dark Lord, Sauron. A fellowship was derived to accompany Frodo on this worthy, but dejectable quest. Aragorn and Boromir represented the race of Men; Gimli for the Dwarves; Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin for the Hobbits; Legolas Greenleaf for the Elves; and an Istari, Gandalf, led them on their way to the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie.
Their hopes were weakened when their attempt to pass over Caradhras proved futile, and any hope left in their hearts was crushed after Gandalf perished in the Mines of Moria. With Aragorn as their leader now, they pushed onward; but their fellowship was broken with the death of Boromir, the capture of Merry and Pippin, and the departure of Frodo and Sam down the River Anduin toward Mordor. The three remaining of the fellowship pursued their captured companions, and each proved essential on their journey: Legolas with his keen eyesight and hearing; Gimli with his untiring speed; and Aragorn with his skill of tracking, being a Ranger from the North. The three of them had the will, the courage, and the spirit to do whatever was needed of them for their companions.
But soon, war came upon the land. Mordor spread its wrath throughout Middle-Earth. The Shire was overrun, there were constant attacks on Lothlorien, Minas Tirith was failing, Isengard had entirely fallen to Saruman’s control, the Rohirrim was always in battle, and everywhere in between was either completely unsafe or blockaded by enemy forces. The time had come for Isildur’s heir to come forth, and for the House of Elendil to return to Gondor. The victory at Helm’s Deep and Isengard won the battle, but had not won the war. The forces of Gondor and Rohan were not enough to prevail against the army of darkness, and Denethor could see their chances of surviving Mordor’s wrath were fading. Wishing not to witness his beloved city be mercilessly destroyed, he burned to death in a great fire of his own making, trying to kill his last living son, Faramir, with him. Faramir was saved, but thus was the passing of Denethor II of Gondor.
Seeing his people’s chances of survival slowly slip away, Aragorn knew what had to be done. Taking Legolas and Gimli with him, he journeyed to the Paths of the Dead, where he could bring those there to call. These Dead were known as the Oathbreakers; for they swore an oath to Isildur during the second age to fight against Sauron, but instead they worshipped him. They never fought on either side, so their souls lingered in the Paths of the Dead until they would fulfill their oath. Aragorn, as the heir to Isildur, had authority over them, and brought these souls to fight against Sauron’s minions of evil, and thus defeating the Corsairs of Umbar, which were bringing reinforcements for Sauron’s army by their ships north toward Minas Tirith. The return of the King was upon Middle-Earth.
All hopes were directed toward Frodo, Sam, and the Ring. The two companions had reached Mordor with the help of Gollum, who turned on them once a chance arrived to conspire a scheme to steal the Ring. Taken prisoner by the Dark Lord in the tower of Cirith Ungol, Frodo lost all confidence of the quest coming to a successful end. Sam, the bearer after Frodo’s capture, managed to rescue Frodo, and together they fought many obstacles and came at last to Mount Doom. The ultimate betrayal of Gollum caused he and the Ring to fall into the fiery abyss of the mountain, never to be seen by anyone again. With the passing of the One Ring, Sauron also perished; for he could not survive without the magic he had endowed upon the Ring. Once the Ring was destroyed, Sauron could no longer live. With the destruction of the Ring and its Master, Mount Doom could no longer control itself, and began to crumble and destroy itself from the inside.
A great celebration ensued, along with the coronation of Aragorn as King Elessar and his marriage to the Lady Arwen of Rivendell. Lord Elrond, Gandalf, and Lady Galadriel, the bearers of the three Elven Rings, eventually set sail for the Grey Havens, never to return. Frodo went as well, being a Bearer of the One Ring. Thus the Third Age of Middle-Earth came to an end. The rise of the dominion of Men came to be, and the Elves slowly faded away. With the Shire scoured of the evil that had infiltrated its innocent and humble interiors, the other three hobbits of the original fellowship lived peacefully until their ends...for the most part. As for Legolas, he finally followed the calling of his heart and sailed across the sea after Aragorn’s death, taking Gimli with him; proving that friendship can form no matter the race, no matter the past animosity, and no matter the consequences.
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