The Lord of the Rings: The Age of Fear Begins

PROLOGUE One Ring to Rule Them All

The world has 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...
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 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. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mt. Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret, a master Ring. 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. A Last Alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the slopes of Mt. Doom, the fought for the freedom of Middle Earth. Victory was near, but the power of the Ring could not be undone...
It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the King, took up his father's sword, and with one strike, he cut down the Dark Lord. Sauron, the enemy of the free peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated.
The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted, and the Ring of Power, has a mind of it's own. It betrayed Isildur to his death, and some things that should not have 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...
The Ring came to the creature, Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains, and there, it consumed him. 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 forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived, for its time had now come. It abandoned Gollum, but something happened then that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, who took the Ring, and used it to outsmart his enemies, and fulfill a quest which brought hope to a race of dwarves to find their way home...
Bilbo kept the Ring, where he too was gifted with long life. But as his life went on, he began to realize that he too, was starting to grow troubled by the Ring. He passed the Ring to Frodo Baggins, his nephew, and vanished from the Shire at the age of one hundred and eleven.
It was during this time, when Gandalf Greyhame discovered the true identity of the Ring, and a council in the presence of Elrond, determined the fate of the Ring. A fellowship was formed to journey into the enemy land, and cast the Ring into the fires of Mt. Doom, for only there could the Ring truely be destroyed, and only then would Sauron, be truly defeated.
The fellowship consisted of nine members. Frodo Baggins, who volunteered first to take the ring to Mt. Doom, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck, and Peregin "Pippin" Took of the Shire, Gandalf Greyhame, Aragorn II, son of Arathorn and heir of Isildur, Legolas, son of Thranduil of the Woodland Elves, Gimli, son of Glóin of the dwarves, and Boromir, son of Denethor II, steward of Gondor.
Together, they traveled the lands of Middle-Earth, but once more, the heart of man fell to the will of the Ring. Boromir made attempt to steal the Ring with intention of using it against a growing enemy. His mind lacked the understanding that the Ring would answer no one, but its creator, and his misunderstanding, would be his downfall. The enemy tracked the Fellowship to Parth Galen, and there, it ambushed them.
The Hobbits of the Shire were found, and captured, taken by the Uruk-hai forces of Saruman the White. And with them, the One Ring was reclaimed by the enemy. The Fellowship had failed...
And now, it is merely a matter of time when the enemy of all Middle-Earth will rise again. The Kingdoms of Man will burn. Its swords will shatter, and its shields will splinter. The world will be overrun by a force so great, no army on Middle-Earth will dare to confront it...
The Elves will leave for the Grey Havens. Man will be lost...and Sauron will rise to power, for he knows there is no more hope for those who dwell in Middle Earth.
The Age of Fear has begun...