It began with the forging of the great rings. Three were given to the elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of men, who above all else desired power. For within these rings was bound the strength and will to govern each race.

But they were all of them deceived for another ring was made. 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 and into this ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all.

-oOo-

Feet marched in chains, fire burned, screams and ash filled the air so that no light could penetrate the thick cloud. Everything stunk of rotting, burning and sulfur. Orcs whipped tiny servants forward, people dropped dead, forgotten in the mud with their chains still clinking together.

And above them all a great, fiery eye looked down upon them, the fire slowly roasting them alive...

"Bilbo!"

"Wake up!"

Bilbo sat straight up as if he'd been hit with a white hot poker, panting, with his nightshirt sticking to his skin with sweat. The morning sun was shining through his balcony curtains and he could make out the sound of birds flitting about outside, probably looking for worms in his pot plants.

"Only you would sleep late on your birthday!" Kili grinned.

"It's way past sunrise, usually it's you jumping on our beds to wake us up in the morning! not the other way around." Fili added, "It's time to start getting ready for the party tonight!"

Bilbo laughed shakily, thankful for his elder brothers enthusiasm.

"Was it the dream again?" Kili asked turning serious, "You've been having it almost every night now for months."

"Maybe you should see Oin about it." Fili offered, "Sometimes we can hear you screaming from our rooms."

"It's just a dream." Bilbo rebuffed, "Let's not talk about it. There are enough problems in the world without adding this to it"

"But-"

"No buts!" Bilbo grinned, "It's my birthday I get to choose what we talk about."

He was right when he said the world knew enough troubles. There had been stories over the last few months, of smoke coming over the Shadow Mountains and of orcs and trolls venturing further and further from their usual homes. What had caused this small uproar nobody knew but so far, Erebor seemed safe.

"Since when are you so high and mighty?" Fili grinned, jumping off the bed and chucking a set of clothes to Bilbo to change into.

"Oh don't worry about that Fili, let him get changed." Kili replied, "Hurry up Bilbo, you don't want to miss the preparations, you should see the cake Bombur's made for you! Well, what's left of it, we had a piece or two, just to make sure it was fit for our baby brother of course."

"I'm not a baby." Bilbo sighed, throwing on his clothes, "I'm thirty six!"

"That's still a baby to us!" Fili grinned, dragging Kili out the door.

Bilbo laughed, the dream now forgotten, his brothers would never grow up.

-oOo-

"Thorin, surely you're still not working on that gift!" Balin scolded, "The party is starting within the hour!"

"It is not my fault that leather is harder to work with than I anticipated." Thorin grumbled, finishing the last of the decorative stitching.

"Mahal knows Thorin, you could give Bilbo a rock and he'd be content." Balin rolled his eyes, "You should have seen him a moment ago when he saw the decorations. He said they were too much! Really, they are just gems hanging from twine!"

Thorin chuckled.

Fili and Kili had taken quite well to being treated and revered as the royalty they were, unlike Bilbo who thought the attention too much. He always ended up flustered when people bowed to him and insisted he could get his own meals, even though the servants always beat him to it. At his last birthday in Erebor, he'd given half his gifts away to those who needed them more.

"Really, why would I need another ruby candlestick holder?" He'd asked, "Ori likes it much better than I do, though of course it is lovely. I just don't feel right with such a grand thing."

"It's finished now." Thorin insisted, picking up his gift and heading toward the party, which unlike most, was being held outside the mountain, on the plains by the small forest. The whole area was alive with lanterns and decorations, which despite being lavish Thorin was sure Bilbo secretly loved.

"Uncle!" Kili greeted, "Gandalf still hasn't arrived, you don't suppose something has happened do you? He'd never miss Bilbo's birthday."

"I'm sure he's fine Kili." Thorin insisted, "It takes quite a lot to get that old wizard down. Stubborn old goat that he is."

"Who are you calling an old goat Thorin Oakenshield?"

Thorin must have jumped a foot in the air, how did the wizard manage to do that every time?

Indeed, Gandalf was standing not too far from them in the tree's having obviously just come from the east on his little cart. As usual, he looked quite smug.

"You're late." Thorin remarked, crossing his arms.

"A wizard is never late." Gandalf replied smartly, "He arrives exactly when he means to."

"Did you bring them?" Fili asked the wizard hurriedly, running up to him and trying to look inside the cart, "You promised you would!"

"All in good time young Durin, these are best enjoyed under cover of darkness!" The wizard replied with a smile.

-oOo-

Naturally the party was a grand affair, after all, it was a princes birthday. Of course, being held outside under the starts was quite odd, but the Dwarfs of Erebor had learnt that despite his odd ways, the youngest Durin was worthy of their respect.

Half of the city had been invited and the other half had shown up anyway. Not that it mattered, Bilbo never bothered with formal invitations for his birthday, he just said anybody who wanted to come was welcome.

"Fili it's incredible!" Bilbo exclaimed, holding up the rabbit carved from stone. The details were incredible, were it not so cold Bilbo could almost believe it was just a very still living creature.

"I figured Beorn would approve." Fili replied smugly, "He does enjoy visiting the 'little bunny'"

Bilbo scowled but there was no real malice in his look, instead the two brothers just ended up laughing.

"Come on my turn!" Kili cut in, "My gift next Bilbo!"

Bilbo didn't have much of a choice seeings as the gift was thrust under his nose by his impatient brother. It was a small crystal ball filled with water and diamond dust and in the middle, stood a tiny model of Erebor, every crack and boulder was there. As he moved the ball to the side, the diamond dust swirled around inside, making it look like it was snowing.

"Oh, Kili..." Bilbo breathed, "How did you even make this? It's beautiful..."

"It's wasn't easy I'll tell you that." He sighed contently, biting into another chicken leg, "That crystal is hard as diamond, you could throw it at the mountain and it wouldn't break. It took me months to get it all right."

"I love it." Bilbo smiled.

"Quit showing me up Kili." Fili growled with mock anger.

"Make me!"

Bilbo lifted his goblet up just in time to save it from being knocked over by his two brothers falling over the table and onto the ground.

"Can we ever have a party that doesn't include you two rough housing like a bunch of Dwarflings?" Thorin sighed.

Nobody seemed to care, in fact, most of the Dwarfs were now cheering the two on, Dwalin was even taking bets. Bilbo laughed and alternated cheering for both of them, it had been a long time since he'd had such fun.

It was almost impossible to believe that it had been years since their quest to retake Erebor.

"It's hard to believe that you are the youngest." Thorin remarked dryly, nodding to where Kili had Fili in a head lock.

"I wouldn't have them any other way." Bilbo sighed happily.

Thorin smiled, handing Bilbo a package wrapped in soft cloth. Eagerly, Bilbo unwrapped it feeling his eyes widen when his fingers brushed against leather. It was a sheath for his sword, Sting, made of dark brown leather engraved with silver patterning around the side and gold thread holding it all together. It had always been hard for him to find a proper holder for his sword, seeings as it was smaller than most.

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you, father." Bilbo smiled, "It's brilliant!"

A cheer went up from the small crowd gathered around Fili and Kili as the eldest of the two finally pinned the younger.

"Do you yield?" He dared.

"Never." Kili grinned rolling over and pinning Fili.

It looked like it was going to go on for a while but the tousle was interrupted by the sound of an explosion, followed by a bright spray of red across the sky.

"Gandalf's fireworks!" Fili exclaimed, "He's lighting them!"

Bilbo rushed to his feet, chasing after his brothers as they bounded across the grass to where Gandalf was setting off the various rockets. Fili loved fireworks more than anybody Bilbo had ever known, he was always grinning for days after Gandalf's displays.

"Wow, look at this one!" Fili whispered, picking up a rocket as tall as Bilbo was in the shape of a dragon, "Kili, pass me a lantern!"

Bilbo braced himself for disaster.

Quickly Fili took the candle from inside the lantern and lit the dragon firework and stabbing it into the ground.

"Uh, Fili, are you sure we should be-"

WHOOSH!

The rocket was off, leaving Fili, Kili and Bilbo with a face full of ash, the three coughed and turned to one another with a grin.

"Brilliant!"

Thorin and Gandalf were less pleased with them, as it turns out the rocket turned into the shape of a dragon that breathed sparks. An unsettling image to the Dwarfs of Erebor to say the least, though they did enjoy watching it burst into flames and disappear.

"Can't leave you alone for five minute can we?" Gandalf sighed.

"Nope." Bilbo laughed, "I guess not!"

-oOo-

As with most Dwarf parties it had gone on long into the night, leaving most of the members drunk and the other half passed out. Giggling like children the three brothers finally made it back to their respective rooms where Bilbo was very ready to fall into bed for a week.

"It is good to see you so content."

Bilbo cursed in Khuzdul.

"Gandalf! You nearly scared me out of my skin!"

The wizard chuckled fondly, stoking the fire into life.

"After all you have done, I think it would take a great deal more than my face to frighten you Bilbo Thorinson."

Bilbo rolled his eyes, he wasn't in the mood for Gandalf's riddles today.

"I have come about a certain ring you wrote to me about." Gandalf continued and suddenly Bilbo was very much awake.

"The ring?" He muttered, patting his pocket where the ring was kept almost all the time now.

He'd written to Gandalf some months ago when the ring had begun to weigh more and more on his mind. He found himself hiding it from sight for some reason, like it was some precious secret he couldn't even let his family see and he didn't know why.

"You think you know what it is?" Bilbo asked.

"I do." Gandalf nodded, "Have you worn it recently?"

"No. Not since the battle years ago." Bilbo admitted, "I have this strange feeling that, if I do, something bad will happen. I don't know why."

"You'd best listen to your instincts." The wizard nodded gratefully, "Take the ring and throw it in the fire."

Throw it in the fire? Was he mad?

"It will melt!" Bilbo argued.

"No, I don't think it will and if it does, be grateful." Gandalf muttered, taking his fire poker and gently picking up the ring with it and dropping it in the flames. He let it burn in the cinders for a few moments before lifting it out again.

"Hold out your hand." The wizard ordered, "Ignore the glow, it's quite cool."

Bilbo did so.

"What do you see?" Gandalf asked with a worried tone.

"I see...writing..." Bilbo muttered.

Thin gold letters written around the simple band that seemed to glow, yet there was no heat. Bilbo looked upon it in wonder.

"Elvish." He continued, "It's written in Elvish but I can't read it, it doesn't look like the Elvish I've seen..."

"There are few who can." Gandalf whispered gravely, "That is the language of Mordor."

Bilbo knew of Mordor of course, of the legend of Isildur and and Sauron, the forging of the rings and the One Ring to rule them all. But, this ring, surely this thing he'd found in a cave living in the pocket of a creature that fed on dead goblin meat, surely this couldn't be that One Ring...

"This is, the One Ring." Gandalf explained carefully, "It was forged by Sauron many years ago in the fires of Mount Doom and now, dark things are stirring in Mordor once more, the ring will want to return to it's master."

"But, Sauron was destroyed!" Bilbo argued panicky.

"No, his spirit endured, within the ring and he will return." The wizard whispered, "As he grows stronger, so will the ring, it will call and corrupt, unless we stop it now."

"I don't want it." Bilbo exclaimed, "Gandalf you take it, you're a wizard you can-"

"No!" The wizard took a few steps back, "No, this ring is beyond my power but you, it has not corrupted you. It must stay with you, away from those who will use it for evil."

"But, what if they come for it?" Bilbo asked meekly, "Sauron's soldiers, if he really is back then he's going to come looking for the Ring. Looking for me."

"I will go and speak with the leader of my order, Saruman." Gandalf told him, "I have already spoken with many leaders of Middle Earth on this matter. There will be a council, at Thranduil's home in Mirkwood. You must make you way there as well."

"Other leader?" Bilbo questioned as Gandalf began to leave, "Thorin?"

"I am yet to inform Thorin but I will do so before I leave." Gandalf replied hurriedly, "Keep the ring safe, I will see you in Mirkwood soon."

-oOo-

That night Bilbo slept soundly, despite the worrying news. He had no idea that at that very moment Gollum, the creature who he'd stolen the ring from was being tortured in the heart of Mordor. And he had no idea that his name had been given up and that wraiths were on their way.

Okay, I know this is a TAD rushed but I'm assuming you guys have read the books/watched the films so I figured I could be a little quick with this and get on to the more interesting things. It's pretty long but I couldn't find a good stopping point, next chapter probably wont be this long.

I finish the term in two weeks so updates will be faster once I start holidays, until then they should be every 4-5 days.