Disclaimer: I do not own The Patriot or Lord of the Rings.

This was from the book version of 'The Patriot', and the script version (or movie version) of LOTR.

1. Root of the Sins

"I have long feared..."

A tomahawk was placed atop a neatly folded scarlet coat, nestled inside a wooden trunk.

"...that my sins would return to visit me..."

A little leather sack was placed next to the tomahawk, a delicate silver chain spilled partially out of the opening of the sack onto the scarlet material, but whatever it was connected to stayed securely within the sack.

"...and the cost is more than I can bear..."

The lid of the trunk was securely closed.

"The world is changed:

I amar presten aen:

I feel it in the water,

han mathon ne nen,

I feel it in the earth,

han mathon ne chae ... a han noston ned

wilith.

I smell it in the air ...

Much that once was

is lost,

for none now live

who remember it."

Against the flickering firelight, in the Noldorin Forge in Eregion, molten gold poured out of the lip of an iron ladle.

"It began with the forging of the Great Rings..."

Three beautiful rings, each set with a singe glimmering gem, were received with great reverence by the High Elves; Galandriel, Gil-Galad, and Cirdan.

"Three were given to the Elves; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings..."

The seven rings given to the Dwarf Lords were held up together in triumph.

"Seven to the Dwarf Lords: great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls..."

Nine rulers of Men clutched tightly onto their rings, as if they were guarding a precious secret.

"And Nine ... nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern each race...

..But they were all of them deceived...for another Ring was made."

Sauron, in his heavy and frightening armor, stood within the Chambers of Sammath Naur, holding out his arm over the fires below him.

"In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a Master Ring to control all others."

As the fiery lava reflected off of the One Ring, writing emerged on the plain band of gold.

"...and into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life.

One Ring to rule them all.

One by one the Free lands of Middle earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some ... who resisted."

Isildur, the son of the of the King of Gondor, marched his army across the Plains of Dagorlad into battle.

"A last alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor. On the slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth."

Lord Elrond shouted his commands to his army of Elven Archers. Arrows flew swiftly through the air. Orcs retreated before the Army of the Last Alliance, as Elendil, who was the king of Gondor, held up his great sword known as the Narsil, killing every orc that came his way.

"Victory was near!"

Then...Sauron appeared on the battlefield, towering over all who was there, his very presence was petrifying to his enemies. On his finger was the One Ring.

"But the power of the Ring could not be undone."

With one fatal swing of his Black Mace, Sauron wiped out dozens of soldiers of the Last Alliance with one blow, and many more soldiers with several more blows. With desperate courage, Elendil sought to attack this undefeatable enemy, but Sauron struck him down.

Shocked, Isildur dashed over to his father, but Sauron's shadow fell over him...

"It was in this moment ... when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the King, took up his father's sword..."

Isildur reached for his father's sword, when Sauron stepped upon the blade, crushing it to pieces. He reached down to kill Isildur, but the new King of Gondor swung what was left of the Narsil at Sauron, removing the fingers off his hand – including the finger that wore the One Ring.

Sauron let out a great cry, pulling away from Isildur. He began to implode and vaporize. An explosion radiated throughout the battleground from the defeated Dark Lord as he continued to disintegrate...

"Sauron, the enemy of the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated."

Sauron's armor fell to the ground, along with his helmet. He was gone. But Isildur noticed something else. He reached over, and picked up the finger of Sauron – the finger that held the ring. It crumbled to flakes, leaving the glistening and glowing ring behind in Isildur's hand. Isildur was transfixed by the ring...

"The Ring passed to Isildur ... who had this one chance to destroy evil forever..."

Later, with the ring on a little chain around his neck, Isildur lead his small column of soldiers through the darkening woods in the Gladden Field...

"But the hearts of Men are easily corrupted. And the Ring of Power has a will of its own..."

Suddenly – arrows flew from within the woods at them. Orcs leapt out of nowhere, and Isildur was thrown from his horse at the moment of attack.

"...It betrayed Isildur to his death..."

The dead body of Isildur floated along the river in a wake of blood, arrows protruding from his back...the One Ring fell down to the bottom of the river...

"...And some things that should not have been forgotten ... were lost. Thus a Third Age of Middle-Earth

began. History became legend ...legend became myth...and for two and a half thousand years, the Ring passed out of all knowledge..."

A hand reached down to where the ring had fallen, and scooped up the ring along with a fistful of sand.

"Until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer."

A different hand opened, a hand that was thin and sickly white, revealing the ring – now just a plain band of gold. The voice of the owner of the hand, and the bearer of the ring, spoke in complete awe...

"My Precious..."

"The Ring came to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains, and there it consumed him."

Gollum squatted beside a body of water, deep inside a dark cave in the Misty Mountains, as he clutched tightly to the ring, muttering to himself in his raspy voice.

"It came to me! My own...my love... My preciousness."

"The Ring gave to Gollum unnatural long life. For five hundred years it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Gollum's cave...It waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a Shadow in the East ... whispers of a nameless fear. And the Ring of Power perceived ... its time had now come...

..It abandoned Gollum."

The ring fell down, down, down through the cliffs of the mountains, clanking with each hit...

"...But something happened then the Ring did not intend..."

The ring fell from the edge of the cliff, down into a strange patch of clouds far below.

"The Ring fell from the cliff of the Misty Mountains into an unknown and unseen place that no one has ever ventured before..."

Out of a canopy of dark mist, the ring fell down...onto the floor of a forest.

"...the realm of the Otherworld..."

The hand of a man reached down and picked up the ring, and held it up to his face to examine it more closely. He was mesmerized by the ring, just as Isildur was when he first picked it up. But this man was no King, or any sort of ruler...this man was a simple colonial soldier...

Benjamin Martin.

Just then – the voice of Gollum was heard from the other side of the unknown portal... "Lost! My Precious is lost!"

Startled, Ben pocketed the ring in his scarlet coat, and pulled out his tomahawk, listening to the strange voice. He looked up slowly...and saw the peculiar misty canopy dissolving away, along with Gollum's calls echoing from the cave of the Misty Mountains into the area near Fort Wilderness.

Just then, one of Ben's comrades called from behind him in a hushed voice. "Martin! Hurry! We've caught up with them Frenchies!"

With another look around to make sure if he had really heard that voice, Ben quickly turned and hurried in the other direction after his men.

"...For the time will soon come when the Otherworld will shape the fortunes of all..."

Well, peoples? How do you like it? I know, it probably sounds stupid, but I'm just testing this out to see if will get praised or flamed. I'll post more ASAP! I'm so excited right now, now that I've posted the first chapter to a really cool story!!