Crest Power Combining presents…

A new story…

The world is changed…

I feel it in the water…

I feel it in the earth…

I smell it in the air…

Much that once was… is lost. For none now live… who remember it…

The Lord of the Rings

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 were above all else, desire 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 Aizen 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; the Hogyoku…

One by one, the free lands of Middle-Earth fell to the power of the Ring… but there were some who resisted…

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

A large army of Men and Elves marched in large ranks of forty against Orcs at the base of a large volcano. Arrows sung from bows, wiping out many Orcs as those Orcs charged at the army of Elves and Men.

The Elven warriors placed their shields in front of them and prepared their long, Elvish blades for attack. Elven archers, situated behind the ranks of warriors, raised their bows. An under the command of the Elf, Byakuya Kuchiki, fired and killed many more Orcs. The Orcs were then in range, and were taken out by the Elves accurate archers, and the first line of Orcs were wiped out by the skilled swordsmanship of the Elves.

The battle was fierce, however the Orcs were slowly loosing their ground from the combined archers of Men and Elves alike, and many more dying at the blades of Men and Elves.

Victory was near… but the power of the Ring… could not be undone…

Metallic footsteps could be heard as the remaining Orcs backed away. A tall figure, taller than the Elves and Men, walked right up to the first lines, in his hands was a large mace. He was covered entirely of armour, metal boots to the helmet covering his face.

Aizen.

With a simple swing, more than fifteen Men and Elves were sent flying, already dead. With each swipe, more and more Men and Elves were killed on the spot as Aizen calmly walked through the armies against Mordor.

In a desperate act, the King of the Men ran forwards, only to be swept away by the force of the mace hitting him. He collided with a rock, already dead.

It was in this moment… when all hope at faded, that Isshin, son of the King, took up his father's sword.

Aizen was standing just over Isshin, when the young man grabbed the long blade. Aizen predicted this and stepped had onto the sword, shattering it into many shards. Aizen then proceeded to grab Isshin, but Isshin desperately slashed at Aizen's hand with what remained of the sword. He sliced of Aizen's fingers, including the one with the Ring on.

Aizen recoiled from the attack, his fingers and the Ring landing on the ground. Isshin then looked up in shock as wind starting to gather into Aizen, who was glowing brightly from this.

Aizen then imploded into different pieces and a shockwave sent all of the Men, Elves and Orcs onto their backs.

Aizen, the enemy of the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated. The Ring passed to Isshin, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever… but the hearts of Men… are easily corrupted. And the Ring of Power has a will of its own…

Isshin, on horseback, and his men were patrolling the borders of his lands, when they were ambushed by Orcs. The Men were outnumbered, and Isshin knew this. He snatched the Ring from his neck and placed it on his finger… and disappeared! He then jumped into the river, but in the process, the Ring slipped off his finger. Three Orcs saw this and fired their arrows.

It betrayed Isshin… to his death. And some things, that should not of been forgotten, were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the Ring passed out of all knowledge… until… when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer.

"My… Prrrrrreciousssss~"

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

"It came to me, my own, my love, my own, my… Prrrrrreciousssss~ Gollum~"

The Ring brought 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 forest of the world. Rumour 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… but something happened then the Ring did not intend…

It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable…

"What's this?"

A Hobbit, Seinosuke Yamada of the Shire.

"A ring…"

"LOSSSST! My present is losssst!"

For the time soon come, when Hobbits will shape the fortunes of all…

"22nd day of September, and the year 1400… by Shire Reckoning, Yama End, Bagshot realm, Hobbiton, West Furthing, the Shire, Middle-Earth… the Third Age of this world…"

The Fellowship of the Hogyoku

"'There and Back Again, a Hobbit's Tale, by Seinosuke Yamada.' Now, where to begin…", Seinosuke said as he wrote in his book. He then dipped the quill in the ink bottle and paused a while.

"Ah, yes! Concerning Hobbits. Hobbits have been living and farming in the fore fatherfings of the Shire for many hundreds of years, quite content to ignore and be ignored by the world of the Big Folk. Middle-Earth being, after all, full of strange creatures beyond count, Hobbits has seen of little importance. Being neither renowned as great warriors, nor counted among as the very wise…"

A few knocks caught Seinosuke's attention, which slightly annoyed him.

"Hanataro! Someone at the door!", Seinosuke shouted. He then returned back to his book.

"In fact, it has been remarked by some, that Hobbits only and real passion is for food. A rather unfair observation, as we have also developed a keen interest in the brewing of ales and the smoking of pipe weed. But were are hearts truly lie… is in peace and quiet… and good tilled earth; for all Hobbits share a love of things that grow. And yes, no doubt to others, our ways seem quaint… but today of all days, it is brought home to me… it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

More knocking was heard, annoying the Hobbit.

"Hanataro, the door!", Seinosuke shouted again.

More knocking.

"Oh stickle bouts! Where is that boy? Hanataro!"

In another part of Hobbiton, a young Hobbit was reading when the sounds of singing could be heard. Hanataro looked up in interest, recognizing the voice immediately.

He then got up and took off running towards the source, coming to a stop of a small hill, overlooking the small road. Coming around the corner was a man riding in a small wagon pulled by a brown horse.

This man had a pointy, green and white stripped hat, wearing a old, grey robe. He had a short, grizzled grey beard, long blonde hair that showed signs of greying and a wooden staff was next to him, gnarled at the end.

"You're late.", Hanataro declared.

The man pulled his horse to a stop, looking at the young Hobbit with a mock glare.

"A wizard is never late, Hanataro Yamada… nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to!", he said.

They continued the glare at each other until the older man couldn't keep it any more and burst out laughing, Hanataro following. Hanataro then surprised the wizard by jumping onto his carriage and hugging him.

"It's wonderful to see you Kisuke!", Hanataro replied.

"You didn't think I would miss your uncle's birthday?", Kisuke Urahara asked in a fake mocking voice .

"So how is the old rascal? I hear its going to be a party of special magnificence~!"

"You know Seinosuke; he's got the whole place in an uproar…"

"Well, that should please him~", Kisuke chuckled

"Half the Shire has been invited, and the rest of them are turning up anyway~", Hanataro finished with a smile

With that, Kisuke and Hanataro went into another laughing fit.

"And so life in the Shire goes on, very much it has in this past age. For all of its old comings and goings, the change coming slowly… if it comes at all~", continued, writing in his book.

"But things are made to endure in the Shire. Passing from one generation to the next, there's always been a Yamada living here, under the Hill, in Yama End…"

Seinosuke looked up with a sad and thoughtful look on his face

"There will always will be…", he said in a saddened tone.

"To tell you the truth, Seinosuke's been a bit odd lately; I mean more than usual.", Hanataro said in concerned voice.

Kisuke was looking at Hanataro with interest.

"He has taking to locking himself in his study.", Hanataro added

"He spends hours and hours pouring over old maps when he thinks I'm not looking."

Seinosuke was standing in his study as Hanataro and Kisuke were talking. He then begun to pat his pants pocket before searching frantically in his study for something.

"Where's it gone?"

His hand then came to his jacket's pocket before he felt a small object. He then sighed in relief as he pulled out a small golden ring. He made on odd noise from the back of his throat before placing it by his mouth.

"He is up too something…", Hanataro said, looking a little more concerned.

"Hmm…", Kisuke was smoking his pipe while looking at Hanataro.

Said person then cast a suspicious look at Kisuke, when the wizard looked away a little too quickly.

"Alright then, keep your secrets~", Hanataro said with a slight smirk.

"Huh?"

"I know you have something to do with it~.", Hanataro said again.

"Good gracious me!", Kisuke was besides himself as he gave the younger Hobbit a surprised look.

"Before you came along, we Yamadas have been very well thought of.", Hanataro said with a hint of pride

"Indeed…"

"We never had any adventures or did anything unexpected."

"If you are referring to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved", Kisuke said in his defence.

"All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door."

"Whatever you did, you've been officially labelled a disturber of the peace.", Hanataro declared.

"Oh really…", Kisuke had a very odd look on his face. He looked around the farms with a slight worry when he noticed a few adult Hobbits giving him a disgusted look.

"Kisuke! It's Kisuke!"

A handful of kids were running down the fields to greet the two, mostly Kisuke, and were coming to a stop behind his wagon.

The children were excited to see him and were going on about fireworks. Hanataro was looking at Kisuke, watching him very carefully. Kisuke looked like he was fighting something.

Suddenly, a few small fireworks went off at the back of the wagon, making the children jump up and down with excitement.

Hanataro then gave the older wizard a very smug look whilst the wizard was chuckling guilty.

They carried on riding for a few more minutes before Hanataro stood up.

"Kisuke…", Hanataro said warmly, "I'm glad you're back."

Kisuke gave the Hobbit a genuine smile

"So am I, dear boy!", Kisuke said.

"So am I…"

Crest Power Combing:

Well, that's the first chapter, even though it is the prologue. As you have noticed, it follows directly from the movie. I will try to post two chapters per month, but it depends on my time at school, I will be in matrix, hopefully, next year. So, I will see you near January. A merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you all!

This is Crest Power Combining, over and out!