Title: The Dying of the Light
By: Elvensong
Rated: G
Feedback:  europa494@yahoo.com I love feedback, let me know what you thought of the 
story.  
Scenario: I wrote fanfic long ago, and now this kick ass world had me back into it.  Talk 
about inspiration and enough possible stories to keep one occupied! Anyway, in my story 
(which is very much in the formation stage) Sauroman sees in the seeing stone that an elf 
will destroy him, and when he senses an elf with the fellowship he feels he must protect 
himself. 
Disclaimer: I don't own this, if you sue me you'll get maybe 10 bucks, so let's save our 
precious lawyers from any boring suits.
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Chapter 1- The Beginnings

Dawn illuminated Rivendell with its slowly advancing warmth.  As the mist crept 
back, the Fellowship began to form.  Preparing to leave on a great quest was a dwarf, a 
wizard, two men, four hobbits and one elf.  A most unlikely group of travelers indeed 
especially with an elf along.  Most of the others had never seen an elf before, to say 
nothing about having close contact with one over a long journey.  Only Aragorn had 
known of elfish ways because of his love for Arwen.  When Arwen appeared out of the 
woods to save Frodo, she had appeared like a vision.  The hobbits had thought they were 
in a dream.  Now here was an elf prince walking with them on the same mission, to see 
the ring of power destroyed.  
            As they journeyed, the group wearied because of the terrain.  The hobbits were 
not used to such conditions and they complained frequently.  Gimli also wore out easily 
because of his short stance.  Of course Gandalf came and went as he pleased.  Being a 
wizard, when the terrain got rocky or difficult he would reappear beyond the hardships.  
The elf almost seemed to float over the obstacles, no matter how treacherous.  The grace 
of the elf could not be overlooked by the mortals whom had never seen anything move 
like he did.  When he walked, to just waiting for the others to catch up to him, he always 
carried this grace and a magical glow.  The magic in him was especially apparent at night 
when he would shimmer, sparkle and glow under the starlight and moonlight.  
            As the evening was quiet in the wood, Gimli began to polish his ax.  The splendor 
of it was unlike anything the others had even seen. The dwarves were well known for 
their ability with metals, however the sheer beauty of such a brutal weapon struck all who 
gazed upon it.  Gimli was quite proud of his weapon.
            "It is a very ancient ax. It was recovered from Smoug's cavern in the Lonely 
Mountain."
            Aragorn stood, commanding everyone's attention. 
"We should take shifts to watch over the group tonight. Who will take the first 
one?" 
            "I will." Legolas turned to face the fields, the strong night wind playing with his 
hair of gold.
            "Fine, Legolas.  Wake me in a couple hours." Aragorn rolled under his blanket. 
The night passed quietly, every now and then members of the group swore they heard 
soft singing, but nothing else occurred.  The light of the new day began to rise over the 
hillside and the group stirred.
            "Legolas!"
            "Yes, Aragorn?" The elf was perched in a nearby tree.
            "Why did you not wake anyone to take a shift?" Aragorn was upset, but also 
slightly glad for the full night of rest his teammate had bestowed upon him.
            "I do not need as much rest as any of you. It only made sense for me to stay 
awake and keep watch all night. It allowed me to have some time to talk to the trees and 
the stars."
            "Elves!" Gimli laughed "Your heads are always in the clouds. You needn't worry 
about communicating to things like trees and the like." He rose up and began to head 
toward the fire where Merry was already cooking some sausages for breakfast. 
            The hobbits ate peacefully.  It always seemed that they were happiest when eating 
something.  Peppin and Merry especially enjoyed the fine art of eating.  Frodo had too 
much on his mind to enjoy the simple things in life like his counterparts.  The ring he 
carried always seemed to be calling out to him.  His thoughts kept wondering to the idea 
that something else may be hearing it's call as well. 
            Frodo sighed and Gandalf came and sat beside him.
            "What are you thinking about, dear hobbit?"
            Frodo looked up and smiled "I was just thinking about how strange a group we 
are.  I don't think history has ever recorded this collection of peoples working together."
            "Ah, it is through our diversity that we gain our strength. Only our different 
abilities together can overcome this evil."
            The beauty of the forest shone brightly during breakfast. The light sparkled 
around the trees and plants.  Everything seemed brighter and none in the group could 
overlook the atmosphere around them. 
            Gimli nodded, if he ever thought about living above ground, this forest might 
prove tempting.
            "The forest seems to shine with something extraordinary this morning."
            Aragorn smiled, "That's because there's a wood-elf nearby." He looked up into 
the trees. Legolas had gone to the river to freshen up, but Aragorn knew the appearance 
the forest was giving well.  Elves always illuminate not only themselves, but also the 
vicinity around them.
            As the group was finishing up, they heard a haunting melody. Something unlike 
any song any of them had heard before. Pippen was the first to speak up.
            "What is that song on the air?"
            Gandalf answered, "It is an elfish melody speaking of heart and home. Elves sing 
a great deal, they are a very musical race. It is said that nothing sang before the elves, not 
even the birds."
            As the morning grew later, the group decided they had better continue with their 
journey.  
            "Legolas!" Boromir cried, "Come, we are leaving!"
            Silently, Legolas appeared behind him and said with his quiet voice, "You needn't 
yell so loudly to get the attention of an elf, my friend."
            The elf nearly scared the human out of his wits.  Bodomir game Legolas a harsh 
look and went to finish packing up his things.  The company then headed out on the trail 
taking them towards Mordor and Mount Doom.  
            The lands they passed through were gorgeous, but as their target neared, the lands 
began to feel less welcoming.  The group became uneasy and sleep came less and less to 
them at night.  Legolas would often stand straight up and be perfectly still, as if listening 
for something on the air.  When asked, he would dismiss it as nothing and slowly sit back 
down.  
            Gandalf knew that the intuition of an elf could not be ignored and something 
much be brewing in order for an elf to get as upset as he appeared, for he did not eat or 
sleep and seemed on constant alert.  The wizard listened himself and as the breeze died 
down for one second a quiet evil on the wind made itself apparent.  It was in this 
moment, recognition of the voice became clear and Gandalf shuddered.  The seeing 
stone's eye was open and a nightmare was all the wizard could see. 
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Chapter 2 -  Encased Starlight

     "By my power and the will of Sauron, reveal to me all possibilities.  Reveal all 
ends, all changes, and all threats to our dominance and the power of the one.  The ring, 
which ensnares all and demands obedience from any on Middle Earth, is calling out.  My 
gaze is wide and sees all so none shall escape me, none shall hide from me, and none 
shall bow before any other than the one.  Show me now!  What shall my next move be?" 
Saruman closed his eyes and viewed all the realm of Middle Earth.  His booming voice 
seemed to echo out over all the lands any all beings with magic contained within them 
could feel and faintly hear it.  Middle Earth stretched out before the powerful wizard 
encased in a ring of fire, a fire which he helped light, a fire which would consume all. 
The seeing stone's gazed faced suddenly, revealing a land of trees.  Rivers flowed, 
having been mountain snows only hours ago.  
     The gaze came down from above on the fellowship.  There were the hobbits, 
sleeping peacefully under the full moon light.  The men stood watch, not knowing that 
one other was already watching them.  The dwarf grumbled in his sleep about the stupid 
trees all around him. Gandalf smoked some weed and stared into the flames of their 
campfire, ah Gandalf, his naïve friend.  If only he would join them, on the side of the 
powerful.  Then their little resistance would be met with a swift end, instead of the long 
suffering Saruman had in store for them. After observing everything about there, nothing 
seemed out of the ordinary. Then the dark wizard saw it.  A creature he did not notice at 
first, perched in a tree, quietly sleeping with his eyes open as ever on the lookout.  An elf, 
but something was amiss.  As the seeing stone focused on this creature a small point of 
light began to form.  This was not unusual, all elves have points of light within them 
when looked at through the realm of magic.  As the range shortened, the light became 
brighter and brighter, a light of the purest white.  Until in the end the elf's entire body 
was enveloped by this bright point from within his chest, right where his heart sat.  It 
seemed to almost be starlight.  Yes, as though a random star had placed itself inside this 
unusual elf.  Saruman had seen the light from elves before, but never before anything like 
this.  His eyes widened and a grave prophecy began to form in his mind.  This light was a 
threat and must be extinguished.
            He lowered his hand and the view faded.  The seeing stone returned to its dormant 
stage and Saruman placed the sheet on top of it once more, hiding it from view.  
            "I understand.  Elves needed to be taken care of eventually, we made have to 
move our schedule up a little bit, and start with this elf of unusual power.  Their kind 
cannot be allowed to endure, their power is too pure.  Their immortality is also a 
problem, for they will not submit like the mortals."  
            Saruman knew what to do next.  He walked from the sacred room of the seeing 
stone to find something long forgotten in the lore of the world.  The wizard climbed 
down a winding staircase to the lower halls of his dark tower.  In the depths lay a dark 
and dungy room.  The smell of mold and mildew from ancient papers chocked off the air 
and even this powerful being couldn't help but cough from it.  These were the spells of 
old, the ones only legend knew of.
            "Down in these rooms lay the power.  That light within that elf, it haunts me.  It is 
as though it has burned holes in my eyes.  I cannot be rid if it!  It will use this light to try 
and destroy me!"
            He then found what he was looking for.  An old spell which has not been uttered 
in a millennia.  Something long forgotten by all but with oldest of souls.  Saruman 
smiled.
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Chapter 3 – A Nova
           The sun stood proudly in the sky.  It shone down on the fields and rolling hills of 
Middle Earth.  The Fellowship traveled swiftly under this loving daylight.  The previous 
night had passed without any significant events.  This is if you forget Sam's fear that a 
squirrel, which was jumping from tree to tree was a evil demon sent to destroy him. 
            Being out in the open was disturbing to many members of the Fellowship.  Gimli 
didn't like it at all.  Being a dwarf, he was happiest in enclosed places where beings could 
not so easily sneak up behind one.  Gandalf didn't like it either mainly because of the 
warning in his mind.  He has sensed the seeing stone's gaze last night, remaining as a 
shadow in his thoughts.  It was a menace, which was threatening their journey.  He 
couldn't quite make out the words that hung thickly in the wind last night, but he knew 
his old friend's voice well enough to hear that the evil wizard was plotting something.  
To what end, he couldn't quite see yet.  Fear struck him that he wouldn't be sure of the 
evil brewing until it was too late.  
           Gandalf felt no reason to alarm the group until he had something definite to tell 
them.  They had enough to worry about, even though he knew Legolas could sense the 
danger as well.  The elf walked as though he was walking on glass, ever watchful and 
listening.  
          Aragorn decided that this persistent sun was starting to take its toll on the 
company.  Some woods nearby had shade which looked very inviting. 
"Let us seek shelter within those trees."
          Boromir looked up to the sky, beads of sweat had formed on his brow and he 
could already feel the pain of a sunburn forming on his nose and forehead.  "Agreed, 
Aragorn. The trail is long and this heat is draining the energy from us."
Even Gimli gave no protest to taking shelter within more "stupid trees".  The 
hobbits decided that getting out of the open fields warranted some lunch and they quickly 
broke out the rations.  They all sat like bumps on a log with an assortment of bread, meats 
and cheeses.
            Gandolf sat his staff down and found this place to be quite peaceful.  These woods 
seemed to be more welcoming than the woods they remained in last night.
Legolas also found them to be very nice and tranquil, perching himself in a low, 
sturdy branch.  He leaned back with a long sigh, feeling the constant stress start to catch 
up with him a little.  He closed his green eyes in order to absorb the feel of the tree which 
held him.  His sharp elven ears picked up with conversation on the other side of the 
clearing.
                "One must select a cheese with great care, master dwarf." Merry decided this 
calm moment perfect to lecture the others of the fine art of cheese.  After a very involved 
speech, the group packed up their belongs and continued on their way. Legolas was 
feeling so happy to be around the nature he was one with and began to sing.  He sang to 
the trees, the streams and anything else which struck him as beautiful and worthy of a 
melody.
          "Perhaps the elf would serve us better as the group's minstrel." Gimli joked.
                  "Do not overlook beauty, Gimli. One speak of beauty may save one when all else 
seems lost." Legolas gave a small smile and continued ahead, leaping with the beauty, 
grace and absolute silence of a cat.  
Aragorn laughed. 'Tracking that elf would prove almost impossible.' He thought 
to himself.  
            The white sunlight filtered through the trees, illuminating and warming the 
flowering bushes which were all over the forest floor.  This forest's beauty was 
exceptional and nothing interrupted their journey except for the occasional small fresh 
stream.  
            Night crept down upon the company.  When the beautiful light of day retreated 
this forest which had proved so lovely took on a different mood.  A menacing tone 
overwhelmed them and if they had not journeyed so far into this wood, they would have 
retreated back onto the plains.  Creatures of the night began to stir and the trees warned of 
an evil rising from the south.
            "The trees speak of something ill. I can feel it through me to my soul." Legolas 
tried to hear exactly what the trees were trying to tell him, but every wood speaks a 
slightly different language.  Had this been his home, his beloved Mirkwood, he would 
have known what the danger was right away.  
            The trees sensed Saruman as he climbed up his great tower. They sensed the 
danger in the ancient parchment he carried.
 
            Saruman stood atop his dark fortress of power.  The words on the parchment he 
carried were faded, but he knew they had lost none of their potency.
            Long ago, when wizards were first acquiring a sense of what their power was 
capable of, they devised spells of terrible power.  Spells which were to be used against all 
the different creatures of Middle Earth individually.  There were spells against dragon, 
dwarf, half-ling, man and elf.  It took quite a bit of time to develop something to be used 
against elven folk.  Their inherit magic defended them from being completely 
conquered.  They always proved a resistant race.  They resisted disease, the ages and 
power which would seek to capture them.  It was always written that nothing could 
capture and hold a healthy adult elf.  
              After many attempts one wizard finally devised a spell.  A spell which had to be 
so dark that the light of the firstborn would not be able to shine through it.  Its words had 
not been uttered in recent memory because even the wizards grew afraid of the evil of 
this ancient script.  Now, here Saruman stood about to unleash this ultimate evil against 
this fair child of Mirkwood.  
The words of power flowed from his twisted mouth.  The wizard held up his free 
hand to better focus his energy in order to send it out.  It sped towards the elf with 
unnatural speed.  
 
                 Something occurred within the Fellowship that they never thought they would 
ever see except in some vivid imagination.  An elf fell out of a tree.  Legolas had been 
sitting on a branch taking in the sounds and smells of the night when he cured up and fell 
right out onto the forest floor.
                 "A clumsy elf?" Sam questioned. He had never seen an elf do anything 
ungraceful, and this was unheard of. Sam worshipped elves for all their power and his 
fascination with them grew as he learned more from Legolas, asking him questions about 
elves every other mile along their trek. 
The wind grew and Gandalf rose quickly for there was that voice again except this 
time the words were much more clear.  Had he not knew of Saruman's madness from his 
earlier encounter he would have thought himself mad for even thinking that wizard would 
do anything like this.
"It can't be." Gandalf stood in shock, something he had not done in over a 
hundred years.  
"What is wrong?" Aragorn screamed to Gandalf as he ran to help Legolas.  The 
elf felt very cold to the man's tough. Altogether this was not uncommon since the skin of 
elves now and then can feel cold to a mortal, but this was a chill that went deeper into his 
companion.  The elf's breathing came in short gasps and he was awakening from his fall 
from the tree above. 
"What is it, Legolas?" Legolas was relived to see the face of Aragorn looking at 
him with great concern.
"I'm not sure, Aragorn. Something is very wrong with me." He shook and felt 
weak.
Then Gandolf knew exactly what was going on.  The evil of old was being 
released to ensnare this gentle being's light.  When realization of the power being used 
hit the wizard, his eyes went wide and everything seemed to stop to him, the concerns of 
his companions going unheard.  
Then the full might of the spell descended upon Legolas.  The group stared 
upwards at clouds of smoke and fire forming above their heads, however only Gandalf 
saw the dark hand came down from the fiery clouds and reach into the elf's chest, 
grabbing the point of great light contained within.  This cold hand of pure evil ripped this 
light from the elf causing him to contract into a ball, screaming in agony as it pulled it out 
of his being and up into the menacing clouds of flame above them. Only when the spell 
was completed and the clouds dissipated did Aragorn notice that Legolas had passed out.  
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