To The End Of Her Days - A Fanfiction Sequel to The Lord of the Rings

Chapter 18 - The Beginning of All Else

Arwen grasped for air and opened her eyes, startled that she even could. As she caught her breath, she looked at the ceiling over her head, but she did not recognize where she was. When she sat up, she noticed all the casts of the kings of Gondor's past and realized she had to be in the Hall of Kings. She felt her body to be sure it was her living body and not just her spirit. She could even feel the hole in her side from the blade of Ashtakh as she sat up.

As she went to stand, her legs and feet tingled, as if something had just happened to them, and it took her a moment to regain balance on her feet. As soon as she did, she ran to a mirror at the end of the hall. She came to see the most astonishing sight: she had grown two feet taller, with long hair that reached pass her waist, and the hair that had always been on her feet was no more. She was no longer a hobbit, but a woman! She also realized that she now had full healing in her ankles, and that she no longer walked with any limp for the first time since she was a child. She was clothed in a fine dress worthy of royalty, but it was shining white like the snow, not black like most burial garments. She touched her face and her dress as she gazed at her reflection, in awe of that the woman she saw in the mirror was actually her.

Then she noticed the gem of blue was glowing brilliantly on her hand. She was astounded and did not know what to do. She did not know what this meant in terms of the prophecy, but she decided she needed to find out. She went off into the city, down to the royal library. It took a while because it was still dark, and she wanted to remain out of sight. When she arrived, she found the scroll she needed on the table, as if someone had left them out. As she read, she finally discovered the truth about her long-foretold identity as ruler of Middle-earth. She read through until she came to the lines of the prophecy that sings her greatest praise:

A Female Halfling will rule them all,
The child of the one who makes the Dark Lord fall.
Young and beautiful, but wise and just she shall be,
She shall bring the Age of Peace when she reigns from over Sea.
And this Maiden Fair shall reign as we sing,
That she will forever be the Lord of the Ring.

"What?" she said aloud, "I'm Heru en e Korma? How can this be?"

She thought this was some sort of mistake, but she realized that it is not every day someone comes back to life. Those that do are chosen because they have a task to complete. She knew it would not be easy, but in the same way she had learned to accept her fate, she would also learn how to accept the destiny that was laid out before her. She read the part of the prophecy about Bilbo's and Frodo's adventures, and she was amazed to discover that it accurately foretold what occurred within. She hoped this would also be true of her story.

If I follow this prophecy to the letter, she thought to herself, peace and unity shall come to all Middle-earth, and that has always been one of my heart's most earnest desires.

Then, she discovered the first thing Heru en e Korma was supposed to do – destroy the ancient land of Mordor with Korma en Heru. She was shocked that she was called to do this task and was fearful to do so, but knew it needed to be done. She didn't even know how she would accomplish this task, but knew she needed to try. She decided to try to do it that very hour before the sun would rise. As she set out to do this task, she remained unaware of a portion of the prophecy that was still to be revealed.

She went out to the cleft in the highest point of the city wall, the place where Ashtakh had just three days before determined her fate. She took a deep breath, and stretched her left arm out toward the Mordor in the distance. Then, almost without thinking or understanding, she uttered,

"Men imya ramen', calenar ar' Mordor!"

Suddenly, there was a sudden earthquake and flash of light that knocked Arwen off her feet. As suddenly as it happened, it was done. Arwen sat up and saw a shocking sight - a beautiful flowery meadow surrounded by majestic mountains. The land of Mordor, and everything within it, was gone! It simply vanished, never to be seen again. She did not move for a moment, in awe of what she had done with her own hands. Then she stood up and fled to the garden of the outer wall, in fear of being seen.