Part 6

Posted: October 2003
Author: Inwe Saralonde

*****

‘It's a long, long journey
So stay by my side
When I walk through the storm
You'll be my guide, be my guide'
‘I'll Never Find Another You' – The Seekers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Imladris, a few days later

Aragorn's POV

I had been standing here looking at the shards of Narsil. I had always told myself not to do this, yet every time I returned to Imladris I found my feet taking me to this spot. It's almost as if this broken sword was calling to me…

I shook my head; I was being fanciful. The soft rustle of material alerted me to the presence of another; it was Arwen.

"Aragorn, our father wishes to speak to you. Haldir o' Lórien has just arrived bearing a message from the Lady, and Ada wishes for you to join them."

She looked at me with a smile on her lips, and I could see why her beauty was praised well beyond the borders of Imladris. It was even said that she was the likeness of Lúthien Tinúviel herself.

"You have been looking at the shards of Narsil – again," she said, with a glimmer of humour in her eyes.

I smiled ruefully. "I keep telling myself not to, yet I seem to do so over and over."

"It is because of who you are Estel." I knew she used my Elvish name deliberately. "For you are the hope of Men, of Middle-earth. You know that the Elves are leaving these shores, and it would reassure them to know," here she took my hands, "that it will be in the capable hands of the one who will unite Middle-earth."

"Arwen, please. You know I have turned from that path. I do not wish to have that power, that responsibility. And you forget that the spirit of Sauron still exists, that it will only take the discovery of the One Ring and the deliverance of it to him to return him to physical form, and Middle-earth would be doomed."

"But the One Ring has not yet been found and, even if it were to be, there is the likelihood that it will be destroyed before it reaches Sauron."

I looked at her, puzzled. "I don't understand."

She had a mysterious look on her face. "‘Tis something that I have heard from my grandmother." Ah, the Lady Galadriel. Arwen had spent much time with her and in the woods of Lothlórien, especially when her mother Celebrían, and Galadriel's daughter, had left Middle-earth.

I knew she had a mirror which she used to see into the future – had she seen something about the One Ring, about Sauron, about the future of Middle-earth?

My curiosity is piqued. "What exactly has the Lady said?"

Arwen looked at me, as if deliberating whether she should tell me or not. Then she said:

‘Seek for the Sword that was broken:

In Imladris it dwells;

There shall be counsels 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.'

I was confused. ‘And the Halfling forth shall stand?' The sword that was broken and dwelling in Imladris – well, that could only be Narsil. Isildur's bane – that could only be the One Ring. But ‘the Halfling forth shall stand?' I shook my head, wondering how a Halfling, a Hobbit, could somehow influence the destruction of the One Ring should it be found.

"Do you wish for me to tell you something else I have heard?" Arwen's question interrupted my reverie, and I looked at her with some apprehension. I somehow got the feeling that I was not going to like what I was about to hear. And I was right, when Arwen said:

‘All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.'

Arwen looked at me with something akin to pity in her eyes. "Aragorn, for much of your life you have been running away; but you cannot escape your destiny. Every choice that you have made or will make, the paths that have taken in the past and will take in the future, it will all lead you inexorably to that what you do not want."

She stepped closer to me and placed her hand on my cheek. "Whether you like it or not, you *will* be king, Aragorn. My grandmother has foreseen it; and I can sense it as well." She smiled. "Come. Our father awaits."

And I could only numbly follow her as we made our way to see Elrond.

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By the time I had reached Elrond's study, I had regained some of my equilibrium. But Arwen's words were there in the back of my mind, and I knew that I would not be able to shake them off.

Straightening my shoulders, I knocked on the door and, upon hearing the word ‘Enter', I did so. Elrond was sitting behind his desk, his advisor Erestor behind him. Sitting on another chair was the messenger from Lothlórien, Haldir. I thought it rather strange that Haldir was sent to bear the message to Imladris; surely the March Warden could be better used in helping to defend the borders of Lothlórien, and that someone else could have been sent in his stead? ‘There must be reason for the Lady to send him – she would not do so idly,' I mused.

"Ah, Aragorn, thank you for joining us. Please, sit down." Elrond gestured to a chair, and I did as I was asked, acutely aware that Haldir was staring at me. I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable with Haldir's scrutiny.

"My Lord, Arwen said something about a message from the Lady," I said, trying to quell my nervousness.

"Yes, indeed." Frowning, he looked at the parchment he held in his hands. "It seems that Sauron's power is growing. We now have evidence that Barad-dûr has been re-built, and that the number of Orcs has been increasing. Something which," here Elrond looked at me, "you will be aware of." Turning to Haldir, Elrond continued. "Aragorn returned a week ago from Mirkwood; it seems that Thranduil has his hands full trying to control the spiders and increased incursions of his borders by Orcs."

"Both the Lord and Lady are aware of the situation in Mirkwood as regular messages have been sent between them and Thranduil. However, Thranduil has, at this stage, declined to accept any help from us."

Elrond snorted. "I think we are all aware how stubborn Thranduil can be. All we can do at this point in time is to let him know that help is available if and when he should need it." Elrond dropped the parchment he had been holding, and leant back in his chair.

"I agree with the Lady Galadriel that, while the One Ring has not yet been found, it will soon make its presence felt. And our greatest concern is, should it be found, that it does not fall into the hands of the Dark Lord. As it is, his power has grown to the point that he appears as an Eye – an eye in which to use to seek out the One Ring. And it also means the return of the Nazgûl."

An uneasy silence settled in the room.

The Nazgûl – nine former kings of men who fell under the sway of Sauron through the Rings of Power that were forged for them. ‘And Isildur fell to the power of the One Ring, bringing about his own death and causing the One Ring to be lost for over 2,000 years. And it is his blood, his weakness that I carry…'

I came out of my musings to hear Elrond declare that the meeting was over for the time being, and that he would compose a message for Haldir to take back with him to Lothlórien.

Leaving the room, I am startled when a hand is placed on my arm. It was Haldir.

"Aragorn, may I speak with you?" I looked at him, baffled. "But of course, Haldir," I replied. "Not here," Haldir said. "Will you meet me in the gardens in an hour from now?"

"If that is your wish, Haldir," I said, "we will meet in the gardens in one hour".

"Thank you, Aragorn." Haldir left, and I sighed with frustration as the thoughts and words from the last hour came rushing back to me.

*****

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