25th October TA 3018

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor." Lord Elrond's voice was stern as he addressed the council.

Just this morning, Lindir, Elrond's right-hand Elf, had knocked on Eluin's door to remind her of her attendance at the secret council. Eluin had put on a light lavender gown with long flowy cape sleeves, hugging the elleth at the bodice before flaring out under the waist and further cinched with a silver belt. She had let her hair loose and let it cascade down her back naturally, and as she was adorning an intricate silver circlet of carved leaves and a four-pointed star in the centre, there was another knock on her door. Arwen had come to get her to walk together through the House of Elrond to the courtyard where the council would occur.

Upon arriving at the meeting place, Arwen immediately left her sister's side to go and sit next to Aragorn. Eluin smirked and rolled her eyes before approaching an empty chair beside her brother, Elladan. While Arwen sat beside her betrothed, she also sat beside the other brother, Elrohir. Between the twin brothers' seats was their father, Lord Elrond.

"Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall," Elrond continued. Occasional dried leaves from the great tree behind the family of Elrond that shaded the Council fell from its branches and onto the stone of the garden floor. Thin beams of sunlight burst through the canopy of leaves above.

The Council of Elrond consisted of different races, who had all been here for various reasons and errands. By fate, they were all in Rivendell, and Eluin knew her father had called upon them to seize the opportunity of gathering these different races together for the same cause.

All these guests... here in Rivendell are here for errands, each different from the rest but still tied to one thing. All I know... is that fate may have brought everyone here for a reason. I believe they may be able to help us when the time comes.

Aragorn's words from the night before echoed in Eluin's head; his belief in fate causing this seemed to be true. As Lord Elrond spoke, Eluin's eyes strayed over the people sitting around the courtyard. First, she exchanged glances with Aragorn, and then Eluin somehow locked eyes with Legolas, who already had his eyes fixed upon her. They soon looked away, turning towards Elrond as the Lord continued his speech.

"Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. We shall start with the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain. Glóin, son of Gróin, what brought you here?" The Council's attention turned towards Glóin as Elrond called upon him. The aged Dwarf began to speak, "Well, about 30 years ago, Balin took a group of Dwarves from Erebor to reclaim the Mines of Moria under the Misty Mountains. Though we initially received news from them that they had been successful, we have not heard from them since, as their messages ceased. Another thing that might be of interest is that a year ago, Erebor had received a messenger from Mordor."

At the mention of this, murmurs began to travel through the air between the attendees. Lord Elrond raised his hand, which willed the whispers to quiet down. Glóin resumed, "This messenger informed us that Mordor wished to ally with the Dwarves and began asking us strange questions... about Hobbits." Frodo raised his eyebrows in surprise; being the only Hobbit present at the council, the other members started to look at him. Gandalf cleared his throat loudly, drawing the curious eyes away from the flustered young Halfling, who shifted in his large seat uncomfortably and mumbled a quiet 'thank you' to the Wizard.

"In return for information, the messenger promised us three of the seven lost Dwarven Rings of Power, as well as a guarantee that we would reign over Moria forever. We did not appeal, which angered the messenger as he left. He returned twice throughout the year. We heard from the Men of Dale that King Brand had also received similar messages from Mordor. The Dwarves and Men feared Sauron would attack us, so King Dáin sent us here to warn our friend Bilbo and seek your counsel about this issue, Master Elrond."

"I see," Elrond acknowledged. "The Dwarves and the Men of the North do not stand alone in this matter, for this trouble belongs to all of Middle Earth. As for Moria, I am afraid I have no news. Now, the Elves of the Woodland Realm. Prince Legolas, son of Thranduil, you mentioned a message from your father, the Elven King of Mirkwood." As Elrond called upon the Prince, Legolas straightened his posture and confirmed, "Yes, King Thranduil of the Woodland Realm sent me as a messenger to report the news that Gollum had escaped our prison." As soon as those words were spoken, Gandalf and Aragorn tensed up. "How did this happen, Legolas?" the Wizard inquired, worry etched on his aged face.

Earlier this year, around February and March, Aragorn captured Gollum in the Dead Marshes at Gandalf's request. For a month, he dragged the creature for 900 miles and left him in the custody of the Wood Elves of Mirkwood. Eluin recalled Aragorn saying he was relieved that Gollum was off his hands, for he had been irritating and even more dramatic, yet more cunning and capable than shown. Gandalf had visited Mirkwood to interrogate the creature at length, then after five days, the Wizard and Ranger left, entrusting him with the Wood Elves.

"When Mithrandir had told us about Gollum's past and heard his hopes that the creature could still be cured, we took pity on him and moved him out of the dungeons."

"Where was that tender mercy when we were there?" Glóin grumbled under his breath, but however quiet it was, Elvish ears picked up on it, causing Leoglas to look towards the Dwarves in annoyance. Gandalf interjected to avoid an argument concerning the past of the Elves of Mirkwood and the Dwarves of Erebor, allowing Legolas to continue.

"On June 28th, the Wood Elves took him on one of his weekly walks and allowed him to climb his favourite tree. But he refused to come down, so the Elves kept watch under the tree till after nightfall. But it was that very night of summer, yet moonless and starless, that Orcs came on us at unawares. We drove them off after some time; though fierce and great in number, they came from over the mountains and were unused to the woods. When the battle was over, Gollum had gone, and his guards were either slain or taken by the Orcs. We tried to recapture him and tracked him down for months, but our pursuit took us too close to Dol Guldor, and we lost his scent."

The Council was silent as they listened to Legolas recounting the tale; somehow, Gollum must have known that the Orcs were coming into the woods. Wanting to avoid the Orcs in fear of his recapture back to Mordor, he would have escaped during the battle. "We are not certain how Gollum would have known about the Orcs, though we suspect it might have been through Sauron's spies. My father, King Thranduil, and the Elves of Mirkwood sincerely apologise for letting him escape our captivity," Legolas resumed, bowing as he apologised, especially towards Gandalf and Aragorn, who had gone to great lengths to capture Gollum.

"Why is this creature of importance?" one of the Council members questioned. At this, Gandalf looked at Elrond before speaking, "Because Gollum is someone who possessed the One Ring," Gandalf revealed; a series of gasps and surprised whispers ushered through the air. "This creature held the Ring for centuries, as its power brought to him an unnaturally long life. But now, it is no longer in his possession, for it had been taken from him by someone unlikely - Bilbo Baggins."

"And he said he was no burglar," Glóin recounted in shock. The Dwarves had no idea that when Bilbo had been travelling with them through the caves of the Misty Mountains years ago, the Hobbit had stolen a ring of unknown great power from Gollum after facing him.

"Bring forth the Ring, Frodo." The young Hobbit looked towards Elrond as the Elven Lord gestured for him to come forward. He hesitantly got up from his chair before stepping towards a plinth in the centre of the Council, which the council had been sitting around. He slowly fished something from his coat pocket and placed it on the pedestal- the One Ring.

"So it is true," Boromir whispered, which caused Aragorn to look at him with distrust. Frodo returned to his seat next to Gandalf, relieved that the Ring was no longer on his body. The Council's attention turned towards the plain gold band in the middle of the stone plinth. The attendees stiffened as the seemingly harmless piece of jewellery seemed to bring whispers in their ears, each hearing differently from the rest.

Boromir stood. "In a dream, I saw the Eastern sky grow dark. But in the West, a pale light lingered. A voice was crying, 'Your doom is near at hand.'" As he spoke, Boromir slowly approached the pedestal. "Isildur's Bane is found." As Boromir's fingers reached towards the One Ring, Eluin noticed Gandalf and Elrond exchanging worried glances. "Isildur's Bane..."

"Boromir!" Elrond abruptly stood. Suddenly, Gandalf began to chant in the Black Speech, to everyone's horror. "Ash Nazg durbatulûk, (One Ring to rule them all,)" The Wizard got up to his feet and continued to chant in the dark language, the Ring echoing the words. The sky over the valley darkened as thunder crackled in the distance. A Dwarf, Glóin's son, jumped back and yelped in fear, instantly clutching his axe as he looked around.

"Ash Nazg gimbatul, Ash Nazg thrakatulûk, (One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all,)" Elrond brought a hand to his head as he felt light-headed hearing the evil speech. The Rivendell Elves twitched in discomfort as Gandalf spoke those words. Eluin shut her eyes and clasped her fingers on her lap tighter; she barely noticed her siblings turning away as if they were pained. Legolas and the Wood Elves also drew in gasps and closed their eyes. To Elves, hearing the Black Speech was discordant, like a deafening screech of a foul beast. "agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. (and in the Darkness bind them.)" The moment Gandalf finished his speech, the sky above them began to lighten again, and the booming thunder subsided.

Boromir had stumbled back towards his seat as the Council looked around in terror. Eluin opened her eyes, seeing everyone visibly stunned by the events, especially the Elves. She glanced at her family in worry, calming after seeing Aragorn by Arwen's side, helping her breathe easier again. While Elrohir stood up to hold Elrond steady and help his father back into his chair, Elladan turned towards Eluin. "Are you all right, Nethel?" he asked. Eluin nodded with a faint smile, letting her brother know she was okay. Her eyes then unconsciously shifted to Legolas, who was gripping his chair's armrests. They locked eyes, and a silent affirmation that they were all right passed through the two Elves' minds.

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Elleth – Elf-woman

Nethel – Sister