Estateillio

the Gathering

• Over the course of the next days, Frodo healed and Imladris received many guests, all with similar errant, and Elrond bid them wait and when ambassadors from all the corners of middle earth had arrived, he summoned them all to a council.

• There was Boromir, of Gondor, and Legolas, of Eryn Galen, and Gloin, of Erebor, and Strider, of the Dunedain, and Mithrandir, of the Istari, accompanied Frodo, of the Shire, and even the elves of the Grey Havens had sent someone, though that was more to tell the Peredhel that no, they had found no traces of Maglor on the shores. They were invited anyways, just so that they might know what happened in middle earth and perhaps have a say in the unfolding events.

•  And with these words Elrond began the council: "Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. We have gathered here, though none have called you, for evil is afoot. The darkness is gathering, the orcs are rallying and war is approaching. And you have come to us to seek aid and aid we shall give you. Boromir of Gondor, first you were to arrive and so first shall you be to speak."

• And Boromir glanced around, before answering: "Orcs are amassing in Mordor and every day they draw closer to our borders and indeed, war is approaching Gondor. But that is not why I have come, for long have we been able to hold our own against the darkness. I have come because of a dream, a dream that haunted me and my brother many nights."

• He paused shortly to let his words settle, before he continued: "In this dream I saw the Eastern sky grow dark, but in the West a pale light lingered. A voice was crying:
Seek for the Sword that was broken;
In Imladris it dwells;
There shall councils be taken;
Stronger than Morgul-spells.
There shall be shown a token
That doom is near at hand,
For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
And the Halfling forth shall stand."

• The words rang through the air, settling heavily on their minds and for a moment there was silence, before Estateillio declared: "Wise it was of you to heed this dream, son of Gondor. The shards of Narsil lie here, so the blade that was broken you have found and a council we are holding with a halfling in our midst. As for the token, Isildur's bane, we will come to that matter later, when all have spoken."

• "Many questions, I believe, will be answered then", Elrond added and then bid Legolas speak.

• "Not long ago, during late summer, Mithrandir came to us and with him the Lady Fairwen and Strider and they bid us guard a creature by the name of Gollum. We did so, but in our folly we had pity with it and we allowed it outside an hour a day, to climb a lone tree that was closely guarded, so that it may see the sun for a bit. One day, a band of orcs attacked the guards and thus Gollum escaped. We followed its tracks, but those were soon lost to the rain."

• "It is good that you came to inform us. I doubt that Gollum can do much harm, but he knew many things that would be of interest to the enemy and I know not what he already told him and what he might yet tell. But what happened has come to pass and there is naught we can do now about it", Mithrandir spoke calmly and Estateillio added: "Perhaps we could send a group of scouts to recapture Gollum, but he could be anywhere by now and it would only be a waste of time and resources."

• "And time is something we have very little of", Elrond mused, before turning to the dwarves, "What news is there from Erebor?" And Gloin recounted what had happened at the lonely mountain, the arrival of a dark rider and its offer and their refusal and the fear of Fíli, King under the Mountain, and his twin, Kíli, that they might return with an army and also their concern for Bilbo Baggins, their long-time friend, whom the rider had inquired about.

• "Bilbo Baggins is safe within these walls and no harm shall befall him here. Your fear, though, is right, for the enemy is not known for his patience. We might be able to send some reinforcements, but numerous they will not be, for with each passing year there dwell less warriors here and our own borders we need to protect as well", Elrond replied.

• "Especially now that Saruman has betrayed us", Gandalf chimed in, which lead to him having to explain what had happened fully, "I went to him, for council, and he asked me to join him at Sauron's side and when I refused, he imprisoned me on the highest pinnacle of Orthanc and I only escaped with the help of Gwaihir, Lord of the eagles of the misty mountains. But his treachery runs even deeper than allying with the enemy. By foul craft Saruman has crossed orcs with goblin men, he is breeding an army in the caverns of Isengard. An army that can move in sunlight and gather great distance at speed. It is a threat to all of us."

• "Do you know where his army will head first?", Strider asked concerned and Mithrandir replied: "I fear that he would head west first, to Imladris, for what we found and brought here."

• And Estateillio stood and said: "The Nazgûl have returned and so far from Mordor and without an army they have but one purpose. To find the source of their master's strenght again and reclaim it. It is what you dreamt of, Boromir of Gondor, Isildur's bane and it was brought here by a halfling, by Frodo Baggins of the Shire, after it was found many years ago by Gollum and then taken away from him by Bilbo Baggins on his quest to Erebor."

• And she turned around and motioned for Frodo to come and bid him: "Bring forth the One Ring, Frodo." And the hobbit stood and gently, carefully, nervously put the ring on a small stone pedestal that had been erected there for that exact purpose and the golden band gleamed in the sunlight.

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Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoyed. I'm staying a bit closer to the events of the books for the council of Elrond and perhaps veer more towards the movie version for following events, especially Helm's Deep, and after that there'll probably be a lot of canon divergence, so I'm not sure yet which version to follow there.
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