Second War of the Ring

The Age of Men had begun, and the Noldor, their work done, left Endor and sailed for Valinor. With them went the Three Elven Rings, and two of the three remaining Ring Bearer’s in Middle Earth. But the Great Ring had not been destroyed. Instead, it was pulled into another dimension by the Shadow King, who found Sauron and struck a bargain with him. Each ultimately planned to betray the other, but for now an alliance was formed. Knowing the Three Rings had left Endor and his reach, Sauron devised a way to exert more influence over them. The Dark Lord captured a unicorn and merged its essence with the Great Ring, giving it more direct control over the forces of nature and the power of Endor itself.
The wearers of the Three; Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond, learned what Sauron had done and returned to Endor to fight him. They were unaware of Sauron’s new ally, however, and were unable to defeat him. Elrond was slain, and the Three lost to Sauron. As Elrond’s body was being prepared for burial, however, the Dark Lord’s finger was discovered in his mouth, wearing a plain band of gold. In his final act, he had bitten the Ring from Sauron’s hand. Galadriel, mourning the loss of her kinsman, left Endor. Gandalf took the Great Ring to the Unicorn in Lorien, hoping the power of the ancient forest could keep it safe for a while, at least.
By twisting the soul of a unicorn to his own ends and using it to further corrupt the Ring, Sauron had made a powerful enemy. The unicorns were unwilling to release the Ring with its new power to any other race, for fear it would be used against them. The wizards and few remaining Eldar argued that a humanoid guardian was needed, one who could be inconspicuous in the world of men. Yavanna, outraged at Sauron’s desecration of her creatures, heard their strife and offered a solution. Through her servant, Radagast, she sent the Istari a sword, forged by her mate, which would allow a chosen unicorn to take human shape.
The line of Keepers of the Ring was begun. The corrupting influence of the Ring proved too strong for even the unicorns, however, and the first three fell to its power. Each had the Ring stripped forcibly from them and were then destroyed due to the threat they posed. For the fourth, it was decided that the ring must be sent out of the realm… away from its source of power and from the magic of Endor which fed it. The next keeper would be born on a world whose magical force had grown weak, and she would be born of a human woman and raised as a human child. In doing this, a hybrid would be created, a creature as much human as unicorn. She would age, sicken, and die as any mortal, for a unicorn’s immortality was to be the price paid to guard against corruption and the loss of her sanity.
In this way, a human child was born on the desert world of Athas, with a blue birth mark on her forehead unlike any ever seen. The day of her birth, her father found a plain gold band lying in the dust at their camp site and gave it to her as a birthday present. He kissed the strange mark on her head, held the band to her cheek, and told his precious to keep it always as a symbol of his love.
But the desert band into which the child was born viewed her birthmark as a witch’s mark, and they cast the infant out to die under the burning sun. a druid from the Ringing Mountains found the child, the ring on a chain around her neck. Sensing something unusual about this babe, and a strong force of nature in her, he took the child and raised it, teaching her to respect nature and the balance of the Earth’s forces.
Twelve years went by, and the unicorns sensed the time was near. The council was again called, this time to reverse the spell and bring the keeper home. She was bonded with the sword for the first time, and felt what it was to be unicorn. Twelve more years were spent in training… battle, rune lore, languages, and the history of her race. She traveled with Radagast of the Istari to the sites of ancient battles and places of refuge, to the lands that had been havens and to the lands where she could still feel ancient evils. She learned the ways of city dwelling men and tree dwelling elves. At times, she would journey to the towns alone, for she would yearn for the company of mortals who shared her thoughts and feelings that the immortal unicorns could not understand. It would not be long, however, before the unicorn in her would feel trapped in towns, and the people would not accept her and whisper she was fey. She was trapped between two worlds and races which were never meant to merge. Also, she felt the weight of the Ring, and she was burdened by Fate to fulfill a destiny where three others before had failed. She knew the importance of her task, and feared the power of the Ring which even true unicorns had not been able to resist. She was created for one purpose, and beyond that she saw no future.
With the loss of the Ring, Sauron’s power had faded, but rumors were starting that the shadow in the East was rising again.
Sauron had tried to use the Elven Rings, and Yavanna sensed this. She instructed Radagast to consult with the seer at Tofalas. There, Radagast was told to travel West, to the Shire. There he would find descendants of those who had fought in the War of the Ring; a Halfling whose ancestor was one of the Ring Bearers, and a Dunedain Ranger, whose ancestor fulfilled prophecies and brought legends to life.
Radagast and the Keeper, Talia, headed West. In the Shire, they found orcs, also searching for someone. They found the hobbit and ranger, and journeyed east, back to Lorien. There, a council was held of the free peoples, and the Vala Elesson was present. Elesson bade the party to journey to Mordor, to determine if an army was forming and to judge its force. It was believed Sauron was receiving help from an outside influence, and this needed to be confirmed. To prevent Sauron from sensing the Ring, the party journeyed to the Lonely Mountain seeking dwarven masters of metal-lore who could fashion a Mithril gauntlet. The party was also given flying mounts to take them to their destination with the speed of Manwe’s breath.
Along the western edge of Mirkwood, their mounts became agitated and would go no further. The group was forced to abandon their mounts and journey on foot through the dark and ancient forest. In their path were two fell beasts, dark and twisted creatures wreathed in the stench of carrion. The beasts were fighting over the carcasses of a horse and rider. The party drove them away and found the body to be that of a dwarven messenger, en route to Gondor bearing a plea for aid. The party took the fallen dwarf with them as they continued on.
At the base of the Lonely Mountain, they found the camp of a dwarven army. The dwarves had been driven from their mountain by a dragon, but one unlike any they had seen. Whispers of the vengeance of Smaug were mumbled into their thick beards, as the dwarves told of a breath weapon that caused rot and decay. With the coming of dusk, two large glowing red eyes could be seen from the entrance leading to the dwarven kingdom under the mountain.
The next morning, the party entered the mountain along with the dwarves. The accursed beast was encountered, and through the combined efforts of the party, was slain. The creature had indeed been Smaug, come back to reclaim his lair and to seek vengeance on the dwarves who had played a part in his death before. However, this was no resurrected beast, but a rotting decaying corpse of the dragon he had been. This was yet another manifestation of the dark forces at work now that Sauron’s shadow had risen.
To show their gratitude, the dwarves gave Talia a Mithril gauntlet rumored to have been worn by Aule himself. To the hobbit Shad, they gave a girdle, and named him Dwarf Friend. The dwarves offered to travel back through the forest with the group, and build a raft at the River to take them south. They were not alone in traveling through the Forest, for a large Orc party headed East on the road, and the Nazgul circled over head. The party tricked the orcs into going past them, but when they reached the edge of the forest, it was discovered that the orcs had found their mounts. Only one remained alive, the mount possessed by the spirit of Radagast’s falcon familiar.
The raft was built and the party continued down river. Again they met dark forces, as great fell turtles worked to push them back, away form Mordor. The Nazgul seen before appeared, and the party’s flying mount unleashed a fierce breath weapon, killing the fell beast upon which the Ringwraith rode. Without the Nazgul’s influence, the turtles ceased their attach, and the party continued to Emyn Muil. There they traveled on foot to Mordor and found Barad Dur had been rebuilt, the stronghold now spanning over four miles. A huge army of undead was gathered, at least 200,000 strong.
The party was discovered during their retreat, and followed by Nazgul. The Ranger, Silencia, was strapped underneath the mount while Bramble, Shad, and Talia rode astride. The Nazgul chased them back to Fangorn and attached, causing the riding mount to crash. Upon its death, the wizard’s familiar reappeared in its falcon form. The Nazgul escaped, and the party headed back to Lorien.
A council was again called and when the strength and nature of Sauron’s new army was discovered, it was decided that the party would attempt to recover the Holy Sentinel. This weapon was created in the First Age and used against Morgoth, preventing him from using undead. The weapon was lost in the final battle. It was taken by Scatha, the Vile Worm, but the dragon was mortally wounded in the battle and died after hiding the Sentinel in its horde. For its lair, the dragon had taken the burial caves for the kings of the North in the mountains of Carn Dum. The weapon had the appearance of a plain chalice, and when blood from a Valar was placed within it, it created an aura which would destroy all undead within 200 miles.
Radagast joined the party and they were teleported to the ancient burial caves. Inside, they found the horde, as well as a new inhabitant of the caves. This fearsome beast, the Render, possessed regenerative powers so great that when it was finally defeated in battle and its skull split, a second beast began to form. The chalice was found, and another prize… Andruil, the Flame of the West. The weapon was given to Silencia, and its hilt fit well in her hand. The party returned to Lorien with their prize, to heal before setting forth for Mordor.
During the night, Talia and Silencia discovered a meeting between Yavanna, Gandalf, Radagast, and an unknown being in incorporeal form. Radagast seemed to be in a heated argument with the being, and it was discovered that this ghostly form was Radagast’s brother. This Maiar’s physical form had been destroyed and Radagast had given him the body of a falcon for when he wished to take physical form. The argument between the Brown wizard and his brother, Nosta, seemed to center on Silencia and certain liberties he had taken during their flight from Mordor. Nosta had impregnated Silencia, fulfilling a pact with a goddess from another realm to bring a new species to Endor. The Ranger was carrying two eggs which would need to gestate for a time in Mt. Doom. During that party’s stay in Lorien, it was also discovered that the witch king had made a deal with the steward of Southern Gondor, Andruil in exchange for an undead army to march on Minas Tirith.
In planning the assault on Sauron’s undead army, it was decided to use the Renders as a distraction. Radagast teleported the party back to Carn Dum, and the creatures were put into a state of Temporal Stasis and teleported to Mordor.
The beasts were released on the orcs while Talia and Silencia armed with the Sentinel and the crystallized blood of Elesson, traveled to the Dark Fortress. The chalice was activated, sending a shockwave through Mordor and back which destroyed the army, the chalice, and cracked the very foundation of Barad Dur. The force was so great that earth quakes were felt as far as Gondor.
The party went back to the Forest to plan their next step. Sauron, spurned to action by this assault on his realm, remassed an army of orcs and trolls larger than before. It was also learned through spies that Sauron was attempting to recall the remaining dwarven rings and the lost Nazgul Ring. It was decided to attempt to counteract the spell and divert the bearers of these rings from Mordor to Lorien. In the time the party waited for Sauron to summon the Rings, Silencia’s eggs were birthed and taken by Nosta to Mt. Doom to incubate.
The time came for Sauron to cast his spell, and the party in Lorien prepared accordingly. As the clouds overhead drew together and Sauron unleashed his power, Talia called forth the power of the Ring. Naming the lost rings, she summoned those who wore them to Lorien. Sauron, sensing what had happened, sent his forces to Lorien. Eight Nazgul and the army of orcs and trolls attacked. But the beings which had been summoned possessed incredible power, and they defeated six of the Nazgul. The strongest of these, Elric of Melnibone, took the ring of the Witch King of Angmar, and Talia was forced to use the ring once again to break the Nazgul Ring’s hold on him. Providence appeared, and it was revealed that she had been the seer in Tofalas. She told the party that in Moria they would find a Nexxus between worlds, and through this they could summon champions to aid them in the battle against Sauron.
As the group rested in the forest, an elven messenger appeared. An army of orcs was marching to Northern Gondor ten to fifteen thousand strong. The group journeyed to the Gondorian stronghold of Pelargir. There, they found the orcs had joined forces with an army from Southern Gondor. The steward of Gondor was there, wearing a Nazgul Ring. Silencia drew Andruil and fought the steward, destroying him. In doing so, she revealed herself as the true heir to the throne of Gondor and won the fealty of the divided nation. They learned the true heir had died as a babe, and a child of common birth was put on the throne in his place to avert anarchy. The true prince had been assassinated at birth. The false prince, after Silencia had defeated the steward, was killed by one of his advisors. This man wore also a Nazgul Ring. In this way, it was made known how Sauron had infiltrated both sides, to ensure the division and weakening of Gondor. A feast was held in honor of the Return of the Queen and Anmar, a corsair from the Southern Gondorian army, was left in charge during Silencia’s absence. Anmar would also attempt to ally with Rohan while the Queen fulfilled her quest.
The group headed to a village north of the stronghold to get horses. There they found a dwarven smith, later revealed to be Aule, who honored Shad’s daring exploits by imbuing Sting with spell casting abilities. The party got their horses, and prepared to travel to Moria.
When the party attempted to cross Rohan, they were stopped and barred from crossing. It seemed Rohan had been subject to raids by Gondor, and they were allowing no passage from the Southern border. Elric massacred the majority of the Rohirrim army, and the party continued. In Moria, the Balrog was defeated and its spirit fed to Elric’s sword. Talia cast her gauntlet into the Nexxus, and three more champions appeared. The group was then transported to Mordor. Talia again used the ring to try and thwart Sauron’s power, but the strain proved too much and she fell under its influence. Goddess, protector of the Unicorns, took Talia’s soul into her sword. The ring was cut from her hand and taken by Tenari. Talia’s body was resurrected, and her soul returned after the Shadow King was driven from her body. Sauron who had pursued Tenari to recover the Ring, was destroyed and his soul eaten by her abyssal falcon. Elric, Goddess, and Talia then destroyed the Shadow King’s Nexxus, breaking his tie to Middle Earth. The rings, however, still remained.
Elesson believed he had found a way to destroy the rings. The location of one of the two lost Silmaril was known (the other lost jewel having been thrown into the sea). Morgoth had made a deal with Tanoch, having her supply dragons to help him conquer Endor. Morgoth failed to follow through, however, and the last remaining dragons took eggs from each species and hid them in a secret hatchery. Tanoch knew the location of one of the Silmaril, and she promised to reveal it in exchange for Elesson’s oath that the dragons would be kept safe. Tanoch put the eggs into Temporal Stasis, but in retribution against the Valar, she used the Silmaril to do it, so that removing it would release the dragons. Elesson believed the power of the Silmaril could destroy the evil in the rings.
The party traveled north to Ered Mithreid, the Mountain range containing the hatchery. Once inside, they found Lungorthin, the most powerful of Balrogs, Silencia’s arrow struck true, the shaft driving through the fire demon’s eye socket. His soul then fed Talia’s blade. With the Balrog’s death, the Silmaril suspended from the ceiling began to pulse with light. Its radiance was as looking into the cone of the sun, and those bathed in its glow were healed of injuries and given a peaceful countenance. The remains of the Balrog’s body disintegrated as the light from the jewel fell upon it. In attempts to retrieve the jewel, it was also discovered that the jewel dispelled magic that came near it. An Earth dragon, who had been hatched accidentally, lifted Talia to the jewel and she absorbed its power into her sword.
Back in Lorien, the Rings had been laid out on a stone altar. Talia smote the altar with her blade, releasing the power of the Silmaril. The Nine rings disappeared, and the Seven were purified (the Three never having been corrupted by Sauron’s touch). The Great Ring, also was spared, and the unicorn essence inside purified the evil which had kept it in torment. The inscription on the ring had changed, and it was now a think of light rather than evil. The light of the Silmaril had judged the Rings and kept that which was good.

Talia’s Song

In a Forest where moon light lies,
Lives a unicorn with Human eyes.
Eyes of torment,
Eyes of pain,
To show the human
Whose life was changed.
A birth present of Gold
In a land far away
Would mark her head
And rule her day.
When Darkness’ shadow fell on the Earth
And blind-eyes Gods whose backs did turn.
I called her from her Desert place,
To champion her dying race.
“Suicide!” The Elf lords called,
“A half-breed girl to defend us all?”
From that day forth I pledged my life.
A tattered wizard with tattered pride.

I taught this girl my powers wide,
To fight with honor, She healed my pride. From that day on this love I’ve felt.
I’d die for her and no one else.
I gave my self to the Blinding light. So she trained and strong she grew,
And in the course I learned skill, too. Then news came, as Dark as night.
This Shadow’s Ring to Sauron’s plight.
With an army of Death to dark our night,
To rend our dead and end our life.

And so we Quest to Western lands
Four would-be heroes with Gold touched clans.
First who came to stand our side,
A fairy Beast with an Archer’s eye.
Second who came to aid our hand,
A doom-fearing hobbit with a Ring touched clan.
Third who came to see the light,
A true born Queen living a Ranger’s life

From here we trekked to a Mountain lone,
To find hand shield from the demon’s horde.
We saved the Dwarves from the Dragon’s Bones,
And restored to them their sacred home.
And for our risk of life and heart,
They gave to us a sacred Art. A Mithril glove, a God touched gift,
To shield the Gold in the Demon’s rift.
Little to me, did my mind know,
This champion’s gauntlet that fate would show.
Into the heart of the Demon we drove,
To view this scourge from land unknown.
An army like the sea, whose stench did rise,
Did raise our gorge and burn our eyes.
So into the forest we did retreat,
To meet with The Balance and rest our feet.
With The Balance we shared our plight,
And learned of a weapon of God-forged might.
A chalice forged of metal well,
With God’s blood would banish this undead Hell.
The Balance’s blade, he wielded well,
And with a flick of his wrist his blood, it fell.
To the North we took his precious gift,
To a dragon’s den in a jagged cliff.
But the Dragon’s Bones, it brought not strife,
‘Twas the Render’s jaws that quelled my life,
And in the shadow of this fight,
My teaching was what saved my life.
The Render broken, in two it lay,
We gathered our prize and were on our way.
The beast healed quick, no two more were live,
And in my mind a plan devised.
We used the beasts to start a fight.
To mask us on our dangerous flight.
With weapon armed the army fell,
And sent those bastards back to Hell.
Three months came and three months went.
Our victory was not ill spent.
We learned the Demon’s plan to call
Five Hell forged rings and control them all.
But with her Gold we called them first.
We saved ourselves and our Earth.
The wielders were a fearsome sight,
Even in the face of the power Ring’s might.
A Dragon Queen with fire red hair,
A Hell Spawned bird and a Tiger were,
A Gold Forged man with a childish glee,
And a Gold Fisted Demon, it could not be!

But worst of all these terrible fright,
Was the Ghost white wolf with the fire light eyes.
From whence they came they knew not how,
But we made our offer and did not cow.
The White Wolf made the first reply,
Drawing a hell-forged blade from upon his thigh.
“Who made this ring is who I seek.
Is whose head I’ll cleave and whose soul I’ll reap!”
If not for the attack of the Nazgul’s flight,
He’d have marched into Mordor to end Sauron’s life.
These new warriors attacks did light the sky
And the Nazgul died in droves like flies.
When the White Wolf claimed the Witch King’s hand,
Sauron’s rage could be felt through the land.
A child came to face our line,
A haunting goddess from the end of time,
She told us of a time-forged gate,
And helped us to control our fate,
“The Mithril gauntlet on her right,
Can summon champions of the purest light.”
We saved the South from blood and war,
And of their King there was no more.
Now trueborn Queen sits on their throne,
And has a land that she calls her own.
Still joining us on our sacred Quest,
She left a man who was her best.

Again we drove into the North,
To face again a devil’s court.
A hell born beast of fiery haze,
Trapped within a hidden maze.
We bested the maze and slew the night,
But almost lost the Wolf of White.

At last we found this time-forged gate,
And with her hand she set our fate.
It burst out with a blinding light
And called forth champions of god like might.

The white wolf was once more sent,
And of this choice he shows resent.
A unicorn of Holy Light
With a pure forged blade of Godly might.
A rouge Elf Ring, a mighty lord,
Who armed himself with a Dwarvish Horde,
And of a last a warrior King,
Who took an oath to slay these rings.
His armored might did shake the earth
And inspired words to show our worth.
We turned to Lorien to plan our fight,
But faced The Balance’ rage and blight.
“Your method is a mad wrought spell,
to summon demons straight from hell!”
With words like steel the warrior spoke
And cowed The Balance, who’s courage broke.

Without a word he led us South,
And marched head high into Hell’s mouth.
The carnage wrought was swift and clean.
Not Orc nor beast lived in between.
And with this war the Darkness died,
Cleansed by the fire in the warrior’s eyes.
The shadow lifted from the land,
And twenty rings were held in hand.
With champions gone we were on our own,
And marched us north to a Dragon’s Horde.
We sought a stone of truth’s white light,
To end the Earth of Sauron’s blight.
Within this light nine rings fell
And sent the Nazgul straight to Hell.
Ten were purged within the light
But strangely spared the Ring of Might,
The tortured soul the Ring did hold,
Did purify this band of Gold.
And in the fight we’d won at last,
My blonde haired Queen, she chose her path.
She donned this ring that cursed her life,
And gave me mine to do what’s right.

So now we walk hand in hand,
And fight together for this hard won land,
And for her I would gladly die,
This Unicorn with the Human eyes.