Duath uin Taur
"Darkness of the Forest"
By G. D. Gauss
Summary: The greatest tragedy that Legolas and Aragorn could ever imagine has occurred in Mirkwood which is quickly falling deeper into the dark shadow. In order to save his people, Legolas must make a deadly decision.
This fic is AU, and though it goes along with the finding and destroying of the ring, etc. it changes the ending of Return of the King quite a bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of Tolkien's characters, names, plot, etc... This story was written not to earn profit but for the purpose of entertaining fanfiction-deprived fans only. I am not earning any profit from it whatsoever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes: I had the idea for this plot in my head a lot time ago, I just very recently got down to writing it. I'm very pleased with the way it's been turning out so far. Though, I regret to announce that it is a very dark and depressing fic. I even got a little creeped out while writing it! Seriously! You know when after you've watched a scary movie and you're afraid to go into your own hallway to go to bed or something cause you're afraid something's going to jump out at you? That's exactly how I felt while writing certain parts of it! Enjoy! ^^
Also, my story may make referrences that only those who have read Cassia's series "The Mellon Chronicles" will recognize and understand. (If you love fics about Legolas and Aragorn, read them, they're EXCELLENT!!!) Don't worry, Cassia, I didn't use any of your characters or ideas. I just had the characters make a few humorous comments about caves and such...
Another note is: This fic is now finished!! I'm posting it for real this time. And one little thing I'd like to note is that before, when I posted my preview, I wrote Legolas' sister's name down as Naniel. Well, it's actually Nanien and I recently went through and fixed it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, when I posted before I said I would make a list of songs to go with the fic and indicate where to listen to them throughout the story, kinda like a soundtrack. Well, I'm not going to after all. I've read fics like that and they all turned out to have songs that I didn't like. The songs I was going to put in were mostly Enya and other ambience stuff like "May It Be". Though, if you guys would like me to put a soundtrack into it with Enya music, just review and say so. If I get enough requests I'll do it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WARNING: Character death! Though, it's not a major character. I assure you, the two prime characters make it to the end alive. Another warning is BLOOD and GORE. It's not too descriptive but it's still kinda icky. If you have a weak stomach, read with caution at the end of chapter 4 and chapters 10-11.
Yeesh! I truly didn't know that I had such a sick mind! :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1 Escape
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the morning broke upon the earth the gates of the Mirkwood palace opened as was routine. Several light beings dressed in earthen colors strode briskly out, two each had hold on a chain. Both chains connected to a collar that hung around the neck of a grotesque little creature. It shielded its eyes in vain as it was led out into the blazing morning sun. The elves around him ignored his screeches and complaints.
"Sun!! Gollum! That nasssty sun hurtses our eyes, it does! Gollum!" The elves had grown quite used to his usual protest about being outside, and they knew he usually enjoyed the fresh air once they found some shade to satisfy his "hurting eyes". For all the nasty creature complained, he was really treated very well in Mirkwood and was allowed a daily outing with a host of the king's guards. He was watched very closely as he climbed trees and ate grubs out of the hollows.
When the elves reached a grove of beech trees, they removed the collar and let Sméagol up into one of the many dense trees. He climbed up and disappeared into the foliage as usual. The elves kept their ears listening to the sounds of the creature rustling along the branches. Three elves stood or sat under the tree and the two others wandered away down a path to explore while their companions guarded their ungrateful prisoner.
"Gollum! We don't likes those nasssty elveses. Time to makes an escape. find Precious! Gollum!! We wants it!" Gollum's bulbous lamp-like eyes bobbed through the leaves, staring down at his guards as he murmured to himself. He had had plenty of his imprisonment. He had grown restless and sleepless, always searching for an opportunity to free himself. to find his Precious. It had been taken from him and his tortured little heart yearned only for it, yet he feared it with his very soul.
The elves below him shifted and talked quietly amongst themselves. Gollum crept further down the trunk of the tree, branch after branch. His jaw hung open, his panting breath coming ragged and slow. His yellow eyes blazed with a fiery hatred as he neared the beings below him. He leaped lightly onto a low branch and stared down hard at the guards. "Can't escape by ourselves, Precious! Those nasssty elveses was mean to us last time. locked us up for daysss! Gollum!"
Gollum's jabber was only a whisper to himself, but the elves' keen hearing picked it up and they all quickly glanced above. It was just enough to slightly hinder their responses to what came next. Gollum saw it before they did and began scrambling up the tree.
Out of every direction, a foul orc leapt out of the shadows. They wielded scimitars and axes and raced at the guards. The elves easily finished off the first dozen but more kept coming. It seemed an endless battle and they soon grew tired, but the orcs never ceased their attack.
Suddenly, the youngest elf missed a hit from behind and as he spun around his throat was slashed. The two others fell to the ground soon after, both with several arrows in their backs.
From up in his tree, Sméagol watched the orcs move past underneath, mumbling to himself with glee. As the clearing became silent again, he remembered the other two guards just down the path a- ways and made quickly for the forest floor, scurrying away beneath the shadows of the underbrush.
Within seconds, the other two elves came swiftly into the clearing, both their hearts skipping a beat at the sight before them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An elven prince clasped his hand over the ice cold hand of Isélith. The elf's body lay on a white bed, motionless and lifeless. The prince watched the pale face with glassy eyes, a tear streaming down his cheek and dropping to the sheets. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, golden hair falling over Isélith's chest.
He hardly noticed the door opening. Méndel, a servant of the king stepped into the room and bowed low.
"My Lord, the king requests your presence in his chambers."
Legolas let his head rise slowly but did not turn to the younger elf. "Thank you, Méndel. Tell my father I won't be long."
The servant nodded and left the room, wishing for as quiet an exit as possible. He was quite aware of how the recent deaths affected the prince. One of the three guards who were killed by the orcs was Isélith, an old and dear friend of Legolas'. He lay now in eternal rest upon a bed until a proper funeral.
Legolas lowered his head once more and let it rest upon his friend's chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The king frowned when he saw his youngest son enter the room. He had been expecting to see Legolas this way but it still broke his heart. What was even worse was what caused these unnecessary deaths. Gollum had escaped. he was now wandering into the clutches of the Dark Lord and would soon become a prisoner again but without the comfort and freedom of before. If the forces of Morder captured him, they would torture out of him whatever information they could get which could only spell danger.
This matter needed the help of a much wiser source. Thranduil waited until his five children all stood quietly and expectantly before him. Legolas' gaze remained to the floor and the streaks on his face were hardly noticeable.
"My children, you are all aware of the recent events which were both grievous and highly unfortunate for the peoples of Middle-Earth. This may turn out to be a more deadly matter than suspected before. We may have given the enemy a means of getting information and it must be concealed. We have not the power to do this. That is why I am sending you, my sons, to Imladris to ask for the counsel of Lord Elrond."
Legandir, the closest child age-wise to Legolas nodded to his sister. "And what of Nanien?"
The king caught his daughter's gaze, "She will remain here."
Nanien nodded, slightly disappointed but understanding all the same. She was a princess and the youngest of the five siblings. She was often left out of her brothers' expeditions.
"Tadrielas, Ryldor, Legandir, Legolas, I will prepare a party to escort you from Mirkwood, then you must ride to Rivendell as swiftly as you may. This is a matter of most import." The king stood and grasped the shoulder of his eldest son and heir to the throne, Tadrielas. "Most importantly, be cautious my sons. In these days our home is drawing more into the hands of the enemy and may prove more treacherous than even you remember. The fact that orcs were able to take our guards by surprise is unsettling and only reminds us that these woods are falling deeper into shadow. Be careful."
The four princes nodded and bowed to their father. Nanien curtsied.
As the king's children began to leave, Ryldor paused and returned his gaze to Thranduil. "Father, what did you mean, our home is drawing into the hands of the enemy? Surely we are not under his control, or will ever be."
The king sighed deeply. "Mirkwood is swiftly changing and has been for many years. The evil moves closer to our own dwelling and I fear we are not safe for much longer. We are certainly not under the control of the Dark Lord, but our forest becomes ever darker. evil is alive and flourishing in our midst and we lack the power to stop it. It is unknown what kind of ill future it will bring us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas gazed into the dark forest under the light of the moon. He lay in his bed, staring into the gardens beyond his bedroom. It brought him great pain to fully realize what lay just beyond the borders of his father's kingdom. Mirkwood was doomed and his people could do nothing to help it. No one could.
His mind was filled with thoughts of the following morning. He was to leave with his brothers to Rivendell. At least Middle-Earth still had a chance. He would do whatever he could to bring peace where it was needed, but Mirkwood was dying and naught could be done to establish peace there. Legolas would do what he could for now. He closed his eyes, wishing to see no more of the forest that was only now a constant reminder of what shadows were to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mirkwood and her king bid the elvish host farewell and they escorted the princes through the dark depths that was no longer a part of them. Their journey proved to be unpleasant as each elf was silent and tense. Each one loathed the darkness that engulfed them, but could not be avoided. The sun couldn't find even the tiniest hole to peek through the dense canopy and the forest held a constant shadow over the company.
Over a course of several days they reached the border of the woods, to the relief of all. The princes bid their party farewell and rode off on their way to Imladris.
By G. D. Gauss
Summary: The greatest tragedy that Legolas and Aragorn could ever imagine has occurred in Mirkwood which is quickly falling deeper into the dark shadow. In order to save his people, Legolas must make a deadly decision.
This fic is AU, and though it goes along with the finding and destroying of the ring, etc. it changes the ending of Return of the King quite a bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of Tolkien's characters, names, plot, etc... This story was written not to earn profit but for the purpose of entertaining fanfiction-deprived fans only. I am not earning any profit from it whatsoever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes: I had the idea for this plot in my head a lot time ago, I just very recently got down to writing it. I'm very pleased with the way it's been turning out so far. Though, I regret to announce that it is a very dark and depressing fic. I even got a little creeped out while writing it! Seriously! You know when after you've watched a scary movie and you're afraid to go into your own hallway to go to bed or something cause you're afraid something's going to jump out at you? That's exactly how I felt while writing certain parts of it! Enjoy! ^^
Also, my story may make referrences that only those who have read Cassia's series "The Mellon Chronicles" will recognize and understand. (If you love fics about Legolas and Aragorn, read them, they're EXCELLENT!!!) Don't worry, Cassia, I didn't use any of your characters or ideas. I just had the characters make a few humorous comments about caves and such...
Another note is: This fic is now finished!! I'm posting it for real this time. And one little thing I'd like to note is that before, when I posted my preview, I wrote Legolas' sister's name down as Naniel. Well, it's actually Nanien and I recently went through and fixed it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, when I posted before I said I would make a list of songs to go with the fic and indicate where to listen to them throughout the story, kinda like a soundtrack. Well, I'm not going to after all. I've read fics like that and they all turned out to have songs that I didn't like. The songs I was going to put in were mostly Enya and other ambience stuff like "May It Be". Though, if you guys would like me to put a soundtrack into it with Enya music, just review and say so. If I get enough requests I'll do it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WARNING: Character death! Though, it's not a major character. I assure you, the two prime characters make it to the end alive. Another warning is BLOOD and GORE. It's not too descriptive but it's still kinda icky. If you have a weak stomach, read with caution at the end of chapter 4 and chapters 10-11.
Yeesh! I truly didn't know that I had such a sick mind! :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1 Escape
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the morning broke upon the earth the gates of the Mirkwood palace opened as was routine. Several light beings dressed in earthen colors strode briskly out, two each had hold on a chain. Both chains connected to a collar that hung around the neck of a grotesque little creature. It shielded its eyes in vain as it was led out into the blazing morning sun. The elves around him ignored his screeches and complaints.
"Sun!! Gollum! That nasssty sun hurtses our eyes, it does! Gollum!" The elves had grown quite used to his usual protest about being outside, and they knew he usually enjoyed the fresh air once they found some shade to satisfy his "hurting eyes". For all the nasty creature complained, he was really treated very well in Mirkwood and was allowed a daily outing with a host of the king's guards. He was watched very closely as he climbed trees and ate grubs out of the hollows.
When the elves reached a grove of beech trees, they removed the collar and let Sméagol up into one of the many dense trees. He climbed up and disappeared into the foliage as usual. The elves kept their ears listening to the sounds of the creature rustling along the branches. Three elves stood or sat under the tree and the two others wandered away down a path to explore while their companions guarded their ungrateful prisoner.
"Gollum! We don't likes those nasssty elveses. Time to makes an escape. find Precious! Gollum!! We wants it!" Gollum's bulbous lamp-like eyes bobbed through the leaves, staring down at his guards as he murmured to himself. He had had plenty of his imprisonment. He had grown restless and sleepless, always searching for an opportunity to free himself. to find his Precious. It had been taken from him and his tortured little heart yearned only for it, yet he feared it with his very soul.
The elves below him shifted and talked quietly amongst themselves. Gollum crept further down the trunk of the tree, branch after branch. His jaw hung open, his panting breath coming ragged and slow. His yellow eyes blazed with a fiery hatred as he neared the beings below him. He leaped lightly onto a low branch and stared down hard at the guards. "Can't escape by ourselves, Precious! Those nasssty elveses was mean to us last time. locked us up for daysss! Gollum!"
Gollum's jabber was only a whisper to himself, but the elves' keen hearing picked it up and they all quickly glanced above. It was just enough to slightly hinder their responses to what came next. Gollum saw it before they did and began scrambling up the tree.
Out of every direction, a foul orc leapt out of the shadows. They wielded scimitars and axes and raced at the guards. The elves easily finished off the first dozen but more kept coming. It seemed an endless battle and they soon grew tired, but the orcs never ceased their attack.
Suddenly, the youngest elf missed a hit from behind and as he spun around his throat was slashed. The two others fell to the ground soon after, both with several arrows in their backs.
From up in his tree, Sméagol watched the orcs move past underneath, mumbling to himself with glee. As the clearing became silent again, he remembered the other two guards just down the path a- ways and made quickly for the forest floor, scurrying away beneath the shadows of the underbrush.
Within seconds, the other two elves came swiftly into the clearing, both their hearts skipping a beat at the sight before them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An elven prince clasped his hand over the ice cold hand of Isélith. The elf's body lay on a white bed, motionless and lifeless. The prince watched the pale face with glassy eyes, a tear streaming down his cheek and dropping to the sheets. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, golden hair falling over Isélith's chest.
He hardly noticed the door opening. Méndel, a servant of the king stepped into the room and bowed low.
"My Lord, the king requests your presence in his chambers."
Legolas let his head rise slowly but did not turn to the younger elf. "Thank you, Méndel. Tell my father I won't be long."
The servant nodded and left the room, wishing for as quiet an exit as possible. He was quite aware of how the recent deaths affected the prince. One of the three guards who were killed by the orcs was Isélith, an old and dear friend of Legolas'. He lay now in eternal rest upon a bed until a proper funeral.
Legolas lowered his head once more and let it rest upon his friend's chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The king frowned when he saw his youngest son enter the room. He had been expecting to see Legolas this way but it still broke his heart. What was even worse was what caused these unnecessary deaths. Gollum had escaped. he was now wandering into the clutches of the Dark Lord and would soon become a prisoner again but without the comfort and freedom of before. If the forces of Morder captured him, they would torture out of him whatever information they could get which could only spell danger.
This matter needed the help of a much wiser source. Thranduil waited until his five children all stood quietly and expectantly before him. Legolas' gaze remained to the floor and the streaks on his face were hardly noticeable.
"My children, you are all aware of the recent events which were both grievous and highly unfortunate for the peoples of Middle-Earth. This may turn out to be a more deadly matter than suspected before. We may have given the enemy a means of getting information and it must be concealed. We have not the power to do this. That is why I am sending you, my sons, to Imladris to ask for the counsel of Lord Elrond."
Legandir, the closest child age-wise to Legolas nodded to his sister. "And what of Nanien?"
The king caught his daughter's gaze, "She will remain here."
Nanien nodded, slightly disappointed but understanding all the same. She was a princess and the youngest of the five siblings. She was often left out of her brothers' expeditions.
"Tadrielas, Ryldor, Legandir, Legolas, I will prepare a party to escort you from Mirkwood, then you must ride to Rivendell as swiftly as you may. This is a matter of most import." The king stood and grasped the shoulder of his eldest son and heir to the throne, Tadrielas. "Most importantly, be cautious my sons. In these days our home is drawing more into the hands of the enemy and may prove more treacherous than even you remember. The fact that orcs were able to take our guards by surprise is unsettling and only reminds us that these woods are falling deeper into shadow. Be careful."
The four princes nodded and bowed to their father. Nanien curtsied.
As the king's children began to leave, Ryldor paused and returned his gaze to Thranduil. "Father, what did you mean, our home is drawing into the hands of the enemy? Surely we are not under his control, or will ever be."
The king sighed deeply. "Mirkwood is swiftly changing and has been for many years. The evil moves closer to our own dwelling and I fear we are not safe for much longer. We are certainly not under the control of the Dark Lord, but our forest becomes ever darker. evil is alive and flourishing in our midst and we lack the power to stop it. It is unknown what kind of ill future it will bring us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legolas gazed into the dark forest under the light of the moon. He lay in his bed, staring into the gardens beyond his bedroom. It brought him great pain to fully realize what lay just beyond the borders of his father's kingdom. Mirkwood was doomed and his people could do nothing to help it. No one could.
His mind was filled with thoughts of the following morning. He was to leave with his brothers to Rivendell. At least Middle-Earth still had a chance. He would do whatever he could to bring peace where it was needed, but Mirkwood was dying and naught could be done to establish peace there. Legolas would do what he could for now. He closed his eyes, wishing to see no more of the forest that was only now a constant reminder of what shadows were to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mirkwood and her king bid the elvish host farewell and they escorted the princes through the dark depths that was no longer a part of them. Their journey proved to be unpleasant as each elf was silent and tense. Each one loathed the darkness that engulfed them, but could not be avoided. The sun couldn't find even the tiniest hole to peek through the dense canopy and the forest held a constant shadow over the company.
Over a course of several days they reached the border of the woods, to the relief of all. The princes bid their party farewell and rode off on their way to Imladris.