~*~ Disaster in the Making ~*~
Elvea's Note: Hello everyone! Let me introduce myself shortly. I'm Elvea Aure aka amanfalathiel, one of the many authors here on FanFiction.net. A little while ago I got the idea of writing a joined fic with the other LotR fanfic authors, and spread the idea around. By now quite a nice group has joined in the project, and all of us are both enthusiastic and curious about the story; where will it lead to? None of us knows, to tell you the truth. The idea, in short, is this: every author writes a chapter and ends with a cliffhanger concerning an important decision. The next author takes off from here and makes the decision as for what will happen next. Basically anything.
A more detailed description is given on the bio page of this account, as well as a link to our Yahoo!-group where you can join discussions on the fic. The Files section of the Yahoo!-group is open to everybody including non-members, so if you're interested in the few rules we have, check them out! You can still participate in the project. I hope that this project will bear good fruit, so that maybe we can do it again in other fandoms as well. *insert evil laughter* As for this chapter: I have no idea where the story will be going, but this is the start with character, setting and time as we decided. Enjoy!
Love, peace and a paperclip,
-xxx- Elvea
Disclaimer: None of the participating authors in this project claims to have come up with any of the locations, characters and other such things mentioned in the story. They belong to Tolkien Enterprises, and some might belong to New Line. We are not gaining profit in any way other than reviews on this story and are writing purely for our own amusement and that of the readers.
Claimer: I own Tinwë, Legolas's younger brother. I came up with him, so don't steal him. You will burn in Angband if you do. Or worse, I will lock you up in my attic with the Elijah-clones who will force you to watch Flipper over and over again. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Uh, yeah... never mind that...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
Chapter One - Legolas's Assignment
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
'You wish to see me, father?' the prince asked as he entered the study.
'Yes, I have an errand for you'
'But father, we have servants'
'I don't think you understand, my son. Secrecy is needed, and fast traveling. I can't leave Mirkwood and I need someone to represent me. This is more important than sending a message to the border guards'
'I see... what should I do then?'
'Step a little closer. Nobody must hear'
'Father, this is our own palace. The gates are guarded by magic. Nobody goes in or out without your permission!'
'There was one incident...'
'Bilbo Baggins and the Company of Dwarves... you are right, father... there is a possibility to spies...'
'Even among our own household'
'Traitors? In Mirkwood?'
'The Dark Lord has many spies, many hearts he has corrupted. The shadow has long been over Mirkwood... but step closer, haste is needed...' Hesitatingly the golden-haired prince stepped closer to his father, with hair of equal color. Blue, curious eyes met with green ones, wizened by many long years. 'Isildur's Bane has been found...' the king whispered. The blue eyes grew big.
'ISILDUR'S BANE?!!!'
'Hush! What did I tell you?! The walls may have ears!'
'I'm sorry father.'
'And well you should be. There is a council in Rivendell this autumn, and I want you to go there to represent Mirkwood. It could very well be that the fate of Middle-earth lies in the hands of those present at the council. Remember, Lord Elrond knows where Isildur's Bane is kept. The Enemy must not find out that he knows. Once again, secrecy is needed. I have made some arrangements. You will travel alone and will leave tonight, after nightfall. Nobody knows that you will leave, not even your brother. I have my story ready for those who ask. You travel to Rivendell by horse, as fast as you can. Do not allow delay of any kind. You will take the Pass of Imladris, and if all goes well, Lord Glorfindel will be awaiting you at the west side of the mountains to guide you to the Last Homely House. There you will go to the council, and report everything that has happened here in Mirkwood that is relevant to the council. Even about Gollum. Do you understand?'
The prince swallowed nervously. 'Gollum too? Do I have to? Can't Tinwë go instead?'
'Tinwë? You know better than that, Legolas. He is not serious nor responsible enough for such a task. Surely you wouldn't want to put the fate of Middle-earth in his hands...'
'But father, a journey like that, bearing such a great secret... the journey to Rivendell will face much peril...'
'I thought you were the one fighting by my side at the Battle of Five Armies... but I must be mistaking you for someone brave, I guess...'
'I'll go'
'I knew you would'
~*~
The sun was sinking behind the mountains as the eldest prince of Mirkwood reached the western eaves of the forest. Beautiful he was indeed, being of the Fair Folk, immortal and wise. The last rays of the sun made his hair seem like a waterfall of gold and made the fire within him visible in his clear blue eyes. His steed was built for long journeys, and like its owner, for its race it was fair to look on. Only one thing stopped the picture from being perfect.
The prince looked as if he had just swallowed a lemon. How in the name of the Valar had his father managed to convince him to go on this journey? He knew of the prince's arachnophobia! The Battle of Five Armies, fine. No spiders. But traveling on your own through a forest crowded with the monstrous eight-legged creatures... no thank you, he'd rather face a Balrog. Stupid Morgoth and his stupid creatures. Why oh why did that stupid über-Dark Lord have to hang out with Ungoliant, the foremother of all the ugly spiders that now inhabited Mirkwood? It was all Morgoth's fault anyway. He turned Sauron evil, or at least got him on the side of evil. Which, as known, eventually led to the forging of the One Ring, and that led to the mess he was in now. What was it with those Dark Lords and wanting to rule the world anyway?
He let out a sigh. Why couldn't he just stay home? Father had his loyal counsellor, surely he could go instead... but no, Legolas had to go. He needed an excuse. That council-meeting thing was sure to take all day, knowing Lord Elrond. And knowing Lord Elrond, it was sure to be boring as hell. He could already see himself sitting there, sitting lazily in one of those Rivendell-chairs with his legs spread, staring at that tacky ring and pretending to be listening. Maybe his father was punishing him for something. Or the Valar wanted him dead. Either way, he was stuck with this stupid errand and he needed an excuse to go home.
As the days went by and Mirkwood withdrew further into the distance, Legolas felt his hope fading. He was doomed. Condemned to be at that stupid secret Council of Elrond. What was the Elf Lord planning anyway? A new alliance between Elves and Men? Forget it! That would mean an alliance with rangers, and they don't even properly bathe. For a prince it was just unacceptable to fight at the side of some unwashed greaseballs. And then they wondered why the world of Men was failing.
More days passed and the plains made place for hills, then slowly for mountains. Legolas was now drawing close to the Pass and was, frankly, getting bored with the whole errand. Any excuse would do for him to turn back and skip the council meeting. A high-pitched scream pierced his sensitive ears. As he hurried on along the path he could hear sounds of a skirmish. Not much later he could see a band of orcs fighting a lonely rider like himself. A female rider. DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!!!
His inborn hero nature urged him to rescue this girl. Anyone could see from miles away that she was beautiful. He let out a fierce cry and attacked... except that there weren't any orcs left to attack. The girl had slain them all. Amazing. Carefully he approached.
'Are you alright?' he asked politely.
'Of course I'm not alright!' the girl snapped as if suffering from a bad case of PMS. 'I was attacked by a band of orcs! How do you think I'm doing?!'
'I'm sorry...' Legolas sighed. 'Legolas Greenleaf, prince of Mirkwood' he stuck out his hand to the girl. Her violet eyes met his blue ones and she licked her lips.
'Prince? What joy I take in meeting you... my name is Marinarwenithien...' she batted her eyelashes. Legolas suppressed the urge to shout out in frustration. This female was gorgeous, but highly annoying. So bloody perfect! Almost as perfect as he was... it should not be allowed. And she could rescue herself from a band of orcs. If you can't rescue the women in epic adventure stories, of what other use are they then, apart from hanging on the sideline being pretty? None. They would only get married to the hero in the end anyway.
On second thought... an engagement just might be a good excuse to turn back... but that did mean traveling all the way to eastern Mirkwood with Blahblah What's-Her-Face. Tough choice. She was pretty, but annoyingly perfect, and threatened his chances of being elected prettiest and most perfect creature in the world. He should shove her into the abyss for that.
Coming down to it, he had five options. One, he took her with him to the council and made sure she would annoy every one in Rivendell as well. Especially Arwen, because she was called incarnation of Lúthien and thus the prettiest female ever. Two, he left her behind and went to the council. She could manage on her own. Three, he took her home as his fiancé and annoy all of Mirkwood (including the spiders), but wouldn't have to go to the boring council. Four, he murdered her brutally to get rid of his frustration or the almost similar fifth option; he shoved her into the chasm, went to the council and got probably into more dangerous situations involving spiders of various sizes and other such creatures.
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. But what's a man gotta do?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
Elvea's Note the Second (also known as the Plea for Reviews): that's it for the first chapter of the project. Ril-gania will be the next author to submit a chapter to this obvious case of PWP, although the rating will not go up because of smut. I hope I've managed to entertain you with this chapter, I'd like to hear your opinion on both the project idea and the story itself. Actually, all the participating authors would like to know. So... well, you know the drill. This is where I go down on my knees and beg. Except for the going down on the knees and begging part, I'm kind of lazy. And if you still want to join in the project: email me at theauthorproject@hotmail.com. Thanks!
Elvea's Note: Hello everyone! Let me introduce myself shortly. I'm Elvea Aure aka amanfalathiel, one of the many authors here on FanFiction.net. A little while ago I got the idea of writing a joined fic with the other LotR fanfic authors, and spread the idea around. By now quite a nice group has joined in the project, and all of us are both enthusiastic and curious about the story; where will it lead to? None of us knows, to tell you the truth. The idea, in short, is this: every author writes a chapter and ends with a cliffhanger concerning an important decision. The next author takes off from here and makes the decision as for what will happen next. Basically anything.
A more detailed description is given on the bio page of this account, as well as a link to our Yahoo!-group where you can join discussions on the fic. The Files section of the Yahoo!-group is open to everybody including non-members, so if you're interested in the few rules we have, check them out! You can still participate in the project. I hope that this project will bear good fruit, so that maybe we can do it again in other fandoms as well. *insert evil laughter* As for this chapter: I have no idea where the story will be going, but this is the start with character, setting and time as we decided. Enjoy!
Love, peace and a paperclip,
-xxx- Elvea
Disclaimer: None of the participating authors in this project claims to have come up with any of the locations, characters and other such things mentioned in the story. They belong to Tolkien Enterprises, and some might belong to New Line. We are not gaining profit in any way other than reviews on this story and are writing purely for our own amusement and that of the readers.
Claimer: I own Tinwë, Legolas's younger brother. I came up with him, so don't steal him. You will burn in Angband if you do. Or worse, I will lock you up in my attic with the Elijah-clones who will force you to watch Flipper over and over again. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Uh, yeah... never mind that...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
Chapter One - Legolas's Assignment
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
'You wish to see me, father?' the prince asked as he entered the study.
'Yes, I have an errand for you'
'But father, we have servants'
'I don't think you understand, my son. Secrecy is needed, and fast traveling. I can't leave Mirkwood and I need someone to represent me. This is more important than sending a message to the border guards'
'I see... what should I do then?'
'Step a little closer. Nobody must hear'
'Father, this is our own palace. The gates are guarded by magic. Nobody goes in or out without your permission!'
'There was one incident...'
'Bilbo Baggins and the Company of Dwarves... you are right, father... there is a possibility to spies...'
'Even among our own household'
'Traitors? In Mirkwood?'
'The Dark Lord has many spies, many hearts he has corrupted. The shadow has long been over Mirkwood... but step closer, haste is needed...' Hesitatingly the golden-haired prince stepped closer to his father, with hair of equal color. Blue, curious eyes met with green ones, wizened by many long years. 'Isildur's Bane has been found...' the king whispered. The blue eyes grew big.
'ISILDUR'S BANE?!!!'
'Hush! What did I tell you?! The walls may have ears!'
'I'm sorry father.'
'And well you should be. There is a council in Rivendell this autumn, and I want you to go there to represent Mirkwood. It could very well be that the fate of Middle-earth lies in the hands of those present at the council. Remember, Lord Elrond knows where Isildur's Bane is kept. The Enemy must not find out that he knows. Once again, secrecy is needed. I have made some arrangements. You will travel alone and will leave tonight, after nightfall. Nobody knows that you will leave, not even your brother. I have my story ready for those who ask. You travel to Rivendell by horse, as fast as you can. Do not allow delay of any kind. You will take the Pass of Imladris, and if all goes well, Lord Glorfindel will be awaiting you at the west side of the mountains to guide you to the Last Homely House. There you will go to the council, and report everything that has happened here in Mirkwood that is relevant to the council. Even about Gollum. Do you understand?'
The prince swallowed nervously. 'Gollum too? Do I have to? Can't Tinwë go instead?'
'Tinwë? You know better than that, Legolas. He is not serious nor responsible enough for such a task. Surely you wouldn't want to put the fate of Middle-earth in his hands...'
'But father, a journey like that, bearing such a great secret... the journey to Rivendell will face much peril...'
'I thought you were the one fighting by my side at the Battle of Five Armies... but I must be mistaking you for someone brave, I guess...'
'I'll go'
'I knew you would'
~*~
The sun was sinking behind the mountains as the eldest prince of Mirkwood reached the western eaves of the forest. Beautiful he was indeed, being of the Fair Folk, immortal and wise. The last rays of the sun made his hair seem like a waterfall of gold and made the fire within him visible in his clear blue eyes. His steed was built for long journeys, and like its owner, for its race it was fair to look on. Only one thing stopped the picture from being perfect.
The prince looked as if he had just swallowed a lemon. How in the name of the Valar had his father managed to convince him to go on this journey? He knew of the prince's arachnophobia! The Battle of Five Armies, fine. No spiders. But traveling on your own through a forest crowded with the monstrous eight-legged creatures... no thank you, he'd rather face a Balrog. Stupid Morgoth and his stupid creatures. Why oh why did that stupid über-Dark Lord have to hang out with Ungoliant, the foremother of all the ugly spiders that now inhabited Mirkwood? It was all Morgoth's fault anyway. He turned Sauron evil, or at least got him on the side of evil. Which, as known, eventually led to the forging of the One Ring, and that led to the mess he was in now. What was it with those Dark Lords and wanting to rule the world anyway?
He let out a sigh. Why couldn't he just stay home? Father had his loyal counsellor, surely he could go instead... but no, Legolas had to go. He needed an excuse. That council-meeting thing was sure to take all day, knowing Lord Elrond. And knowing Lord Elrond, it was sure to be boring as hell. He could already see himself sitting there, sitting lazily in one of those Rivendell-chairs with his legs spread, staring at that tacky ring and pretending to be listening. Maybe his father was punishing him for something. Or the Valar wanted him dead. Either way, he was stuck with this stupid errand and he needed an excuse to go home.
As the days went by and Mirkwood withdrew further into the distance, Legolas felt his hope fading. He was doomed. Condemned to be at that stupid secret Council of Elrond. What was the Elf Lord planning anyway? A new alliance between Elves and Men? Forget it! That would mean an alliance with rangers, and they don't even properly bathe. For a prince it was just unacceptable to fight at the side of some unwashed greaseballs. And then they wondered why the world of Men was failing.
More days passed and the plains made place for hills, then slowly for mountains. Legolas was now drawing close to the Pass and was, frankly, getting bored with the whole errand. Any excuse would do for him to turn back and skip the council meeting. A high-pitched scream pierced his sensitive ears. As he hurried on along the path he could hear sounds of a skirmish. Not much later he could see a band of orcs fighting a lonely rider like himself. A female rider. DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!!!
His inborn hero nature urged him to rescue this girl. Anyone could see from miles away that she was beautiful. He let out a fierce cry and attacked... except that there weren't any orcs left to attack. The girl had slain them all. Amazing. Carefully he approached.
'Are you alright?' he asked politely.
'Of course I'm not alright!' the girl snapped as if suffering from a bad case of PMS. 'I was attacked by a band of orcs! How do you think I'm doing?!'
'I'm sorry...' Legolas sighed. 'Legolas Greenleaf, prince of Mirkwood' he stuck out his hand to the girl. Her violet eyes met his blue ones and she licked her lips.
'Prince? What joy I take in meeting you... my name is Marinarwenithien...' she batted her eyelashes. Legolas suppressed the urge to shout out in frustration. This female was gorgeous, but highly annoying. So bloody perfect! Almost as perfect as he was... it should not be allowed. And she could rescue herself from a band of orcs. If you can't rescue the women in epic adventure stories, of what other use are they then, apart from hanging on the sideline being pretty? None. They would only get married to the hero in the end anyway.
On second thought... an engagement just might be a good excuse to turn back... but that did mean traveling all the way to eastern Mirkwood with Blahblah What's-Her-Face. Tough choice. She was pretty, but annoyingly perfect, and threatened his chances of being elected prettiest and most perfect creature in the world. He should shove her into the abyss for that.
Coming down to it, he had five options. One, he took her with him to the council and made sure she would annoy every one in Rivendell as well. Especially Arwen, because she was called incarnation of Lúthien and thus the prettiest female ever. Two, he left her behind and went to the council. She could manage on her own. Three, he took her home as his fiancé and annoy all of Mirkwood (including the spiders), but wouldn't have to go to the boring council. Four, he murdered her brutally to get rid of his frustration or the almost similar fifth option; he shoved her into the chasm, went to the council and got probably into more dangerous situations involving spiders of various sizes and other such creatures.
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. But what's a man gotta do?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
Elvea's Note the Second (also known as the Plea for Reviews): that's it for the first chapter of the project. Ril-gania will be the next author to submit a chapter to this obvious case of PWP, although the rating will not go up because of smut. I hope I've managed to entertain you with this chapter, I'd like to hear your opinion on both the project idea and the story itself. Actually, all the participating authors would like to know. So... well, you know the drill. This is where I go down on my knees and beg. Except for the going down on the knees and begging part, I'm kind of lazy. And if you still want to join in the project: email me at theauthorproject@hotmail.com. Thanks!