The Second Fellowship: The Creation Flower

Chapter 4: A Supreme Magic

Tirnel POV

"You all knew why the Enemy required the Stone of Might. The Ring was not fulfilling its full power as well as it should have been, and He desired to become stronger, crueller. The Stone of Might grants unimaginable strength to the user. His dark motives were easily guessed at, Sauron wanted the Stone to reinforce his grip over Middle Earth."

I nodded. We knew all of this, we had experienced it first-hand. Why did Mithrandir need to remind us of what we knew all too well?

"But there is more,"

I sat bolt upright. What does he mean? There cannot be more. Arda is doomed to a life under shadow, we can never defeat this darkness!

"Through recent...exploits of mine," the white wizard, catching Galadriel's bright eye, "I have learnt that Sauron has grown even more uneasy about his waning power. He did not seek to find simply the Stone, but instead his aim is to create a supreme magical item that would give him utter dominion, more than the Stone alone could ever do."

He paused, gazing around at each and every one of us, eyes lingering on our startled faces.

"The object of which I speak is similar to the Staffs that I and the other Istari wield and use to channel our magical art. There are many legends of it, and few know that they take root in fact. But our Enemy is old, older than the world itself, and he knows about the Staff of Power."

"But...what is it?" Bria interjected; her eyes wide. "And how could he make such a foul thing?"

Gandalf closed his eyes; as if remembering another, long ago time. "Once it was not this way. Once it was different, an emblem of light and happiness, joy and stability. But there were many times of great change, and all the light darkened. The Staff was taken apart, hidden to hide it from the darkness of Morgoth, the First Evil that Arda faced."

Silence fell. My heart pounded.

"I suspect that Morgoth told Sauron, his most loyal servant of the Staff. And that seed of an idea has festered and grown in the mind of the Enemy."

These are dark times we live in. Very dark times. "W-what are the components that were hidden so long ago?" I asked quietly, hoping no one could detect the waver in my voice.

"The staff can only be made with three things. The Stone of Might – that which you know of,"

Lower down the table Alric swallowed, staring intently at his hands. Of course we know of it – it is our fault that it is lost, we lead Ragortz right to it!

Gandalf continued, shooting Alric a sorrowful glance. My chest clenched. "The Branch of Wisdom that gives mental powers and insight that mortal men could only dream of, and the Creation Flower that can create anything beyond your wildest fantasies...or your nightmares.

"I have long suspected that the Branch of Wisdom is held by Saruman. But until recently that was not of my concern. Now we know that he has turned against us and scorned good for evil, he must have given his master the Branch. The Stone is also in the possession of Sauron's forces..."

"That leaves the Creation Flower." At the head of the table, Galadriel rose, white silk swishing around her ankles. "It has always been here, in Lothlorien. In fact, it was in this very city, under my care." Her eyes brushed over me, Thannor, Bria and Boron. "Some of you would have seen it, I believe."

I cast my mind back to a few weeks ago, when we had last been in Lothlorien.

Boron stood at the bowl, gazing into the basin. His face reflected what he saw, his eyes furious and firey one minute and then at peace the next. I gazed around me, taking in the surroundings. The hedged garden was dim, tendrils of an ethereal blue and gold mist wrapping around the trees. It made the figures of my friends waver like ghosts. Lady Galadriel stood beside Boron, her face grave as she stared down at her magical Mirror. I thought back to my turn to look upon it and shuddered, the strange visions haunting me. To distract myself I looked back at the basin of clear river water. It rested upon a stone pedestal intricately carved to look like a tree, the winding branches holding tight to the Mirror. But beneath the bowl was something else, a glowing white flower, shrouded by the gold mist. No. Creating the gold mist.

A gasp jolted me back to the present and I turned to my left, catching Thannor's eyes.

"You remember?" he said.

I nodded. "The Mirror! And the mist!"

Thannor looked back at Lady Galadriel . "My lady, you have the Creation Flower? Then all we must do is keep it safe!"

Lord Celeborn had not yet spoken much, but now he lifted his eyes. His face was grave and before he had even opened his mouth I knew what he would say.

"Last week an army of Orcs attacked Caras Galadhon. We knew what it was that they came for as soon as the warning horns were blown. A messenger bearing the Creation Flower fled for our cousins in Mirkwood. They have strong security and it was hoped that they would keep it hidden. We believe that King Thranduil will be able to protect it better than we could. So it is safe."

For now.

A/N: Yeah, as I explained in the last part I've not had the chance to write very much, so this is very short and bad. I will try to write more though now its the summer!