A World of Danger: Part One

[Lief Erikson]

*Well, strictly speaking you don't have to do it. Irid didn't put in a last post, for example.

You had mentioned early on some incident with his parents, and a magical rock. If you want to make him meditate on those things and decide to go out and do something about it you could.*

[Tessar]

ok just give me a few hours and I will get my school done and try to get something together.

[Irid al'Menie]

*OOC: LIEF, DID TOO!!! Didn't you read the post where flyer comes in and we share our grief? I wrote there that was my final post!*

[Tessar]

Tessar was tired, but he kept climbing, he could have used his magic powers to help, summoned the wind to boost him up, a few weeks ago he would have, but now..... it was different *I'm different* he thought.

he looked up, still always to go but he could do it, he risked a look down and wished he hadn't, it was a long way down, he shuddered at a sudden image of himself loosing his grip and falling.

his wounds had healed quickly and he's only injury from the night rider had been a few bruises *no bigger than my ego at any rate* he though to himself, smiling at his own joke.

the wall was easy for him to climb for the most part, the castle had plenty of good foot and hand holds if you knew how to use them. and being the wood elf he was, he knew just how to use them.

Dane had told him to be careful how much he walked about for a while anyhow, "we have enough on our hands for now without you killing over again" he had said.

*well climbing isn't walking so I'm ok* he thought, actually laughing this time.

he looked up, not much farther to go.

he decided not to try looking down again.

soon he reached the top and sat down on the edge of the roof, noting with disappointment that the tower on the other side was actuly taller than his, even though he had tried to pick the tallest.

but his disappointment quickly turned to awe as he took a good look around him, he could see for miles! not that there was really much to see, but it was still impressive.

*they all look like little ants scurrying around down there* he thought.

he sighed, now that he had time to actually stop worrying about getting himself killed and think of other things, the pain of loosing his parents had all come back to him.

he hummed a tune that he only half remembered as he thought about his parents.

an hour or so later he realized that he had better go down now before Dane realized he had gone.

he started the long climb down absently thinking that maybe he would ask Tal to teach him how to use a sword properly, he would need to know since he planed to adventure more, and see everything he could!


(I hope that will do, sorry if it's not very good)

[Lief Erikson]

*No, it's good. The ending particularly.

And now it's up to you, Mathron.*

[Mathron]

Light streamed over the world, and Malagar smiled. He was resting, back against a dying oak tree, and watching as the dark fortress of Angband fell beneath the fury of the Valar.

Elenia stood beside him, and asked softly, "You served alongside Melkor's minions - do you think you will not be punished as well?"

Malagar shrugged. "What could they do to me worse than what I have already suffered from? I had the power of a god, and now am barely more than mortal."

"And yet, you seem happy."

"I am alive, and my enemies will trouble me no more. I think... I think this land will not be my home for a long time now. I think I should seek somewhere else to slowly regain my strength... slowly regain myself."

Elenia looked at him for a few momeents, before saying, "If you truly repented, you would be welcome back on the Blessed Isles."

Even before the words were out of her mouth, Malagar shook his head. He laughed with a bitter echo in his voice, and said, "No... I left that place long ago. Whatever future I have left is mine to make. And I will not go there and peacefully fade away, weak and living on their charity."

"Would you truly be so unhappy there?"

He grinned, and started to respond - and then stopped, the grin fading, replaced by a sad smile. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't know if I could live with who I would become there. Perhaps one day... but for now, I merely wish to live alone for a while. I could never stay in one place for long, and the world is a large place. I have a feeling I will be wandering for a long, long time before I ever find my way home..."

Elenia looked away, her eyes gleaming in the light shining bright through the sky. A gentle smile flickered over her lips, and she said softly, almost to herself, "We have all the ages to wait... One day...."

Around the two, the fires of war blazed as the Valar drove deeper into the earth and the minions of darkness fled, scurrying into deep forgotten holes, or fleeing across the oceans of the world for a haven. The light grew stronger, and as the two watched, life returned to the land, a spreading wave of green that washed over the dark and barren hills and plains. The tree Malagar rested against grew strong and filled with life once more, and at Elenia's feet, a small flower poked its head out of the ground, and a single purple leaf bloomed into this new world.

----

Sandor sat atop a large hill far from the fighting. The light of heaven burst forth in the North, driving off the dark minions, and for a moment, Sandor dared to hope for a peaceful end to his fate.

A dark, echoing footstep behind him crushed that hope.

Slowly he stood and turned around, to gaze upon a face that would have been beautiful had it not been twisted with anger and hatred.

He reached for his sword, but an invisible force grabbed him and froze his motion. With darkly glittering eyes, Sauron approached him.

"Betrayer. Traitor. Foul mercenary." Sauron's voice, as melodious as his features were handsome, was also filled with a dark and twisted echo.

Sandor tried to respond, but could not.

"You may have helped aid our downfall, but our power will rise again. The Valar will leave, and never return. Though it may take millenia, this land will be mine!"

Sandor's muscles strained against his bonds, agony flooding through him as he pushed himself to the limit - to no avail.

"And then, at the end, when my darkness covers all of Middle Earth, you will watch on in fear and terror, knowing your futility. Death will not take you, nor shall you again no love or hope. Let those who you saved cast you out, those you cared for flee from your presence!"

A scream burst forth from Sandor's mouth, an echoing cry that slowly turned into a vicious snarl as pain tore through him. A dark fire streamed through his blood, and the bindings holding him fell away to leave him writhing on the floor as his bones snapped and changed and his skin tore and twisted.

As the body on the ground stopped convulsing, it slowly lifted its head. Feral eyes looked over Sauron, and the large grey wolf that had been Sandor leapt forward, fangs reaching for his enemy's throat. Sauron's form faded into smoke, and an echoing laughter chased the wolf as it fled into the depths of the wild, still filled with pain, and agony, and only the slightest memory of a life left behind...

------

Tal sat with his sister, chatting merrily of times gone by and of times yet to come.

"I can scarce believe this is all over," she said, and he laughed in agreement.

"Neither can I, yet it is indeed over and done with. The evil of our times has passed, and all that is left for us is the rebuilding."

She nods, and looks away, gazing over the room. Erenfor stood looking out a window, his features at peace. His own quest was over, and the goal he had sought so long was more than completed. The demons in him still lurked, but had been buried deep, and he had the courage to face the tortures and torment of his past. His life would continue on whatever path he led it.

Angar also rested alone, sitting in a corner with his wolven companion. His own path would be a harder one, for he knew not where to go or what to do with himself. The missions he had led himself upon now seemed dull and pointless, and his people still remained lost. But yet... perhaps others had escaped the enemy's wrath. If he could find them, he would. And if not - he would live for them, and let them remain in his memories until he, too, passed away.

"We know, now, where we go, brother," said El'nela, "But what of these others?"

Tal'niel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The girl, Irid, will leave soon, into the wilds. Her friends, her family - the wolves she traveled with - are all but gone, and she seems determined to not remember their sacrifices in her own way..."

He glanced over the two others in the room, Arcon and Erenfor. "Those two will find their own paths to travel. I've told them they are welcome to travel with us, but I think they have their own lives to lead. And, with all the former slaves returning with us, our village will be full enough as it is."

"And the child?"

"He will travel with us, for a while. I will train him as I can, though I think the skills he seeks may not be as needed in this changing world. And whether he stays with us, or travels onward, will be his own decision..."

He drifted off into thought, and heard the sound of a song rising up below him, from the rejoicing slaves who had congregated in the central chamber. Though they all wanted to leave the cursed place behind them, they were spending the night before they left in joy and festivy, celebrating their newfound freedom. The song was an ancient one, an elven tune of death and renewal, and the coming of the spring - something that seemed greatly fitting for this moment and this hour.

Outside, resting atop a small hill, Dain looked up at the tower, seeing Tal and El'nela through a window. A small form scurried up near the taller peaks, and Dain chuckled, recognizing Tessar.

"And they will go on," he whispered, "and live their lives, and know joy and happiness, something lost to this land for ages. And they will all find something to do with themselves, as the age passes."

He looks North, where the light remains, bright and unwavering, a sign of hope, a sign of victory, a sign of life. Another light was growing, as the sun itself rose as well, shining over and brightening the land even more.

"And...." he says, a smile growing on his face, "it will be said: They lived happily ever after."

His laughter, a deep and booming sound, echoed down the hillside and over the fields and into the woods. And the laughter, though rough and unrestrained, seemed somehow strangely fitting in the plains and forest, as the light of the dawn came and chased the shadows away.