In their stories they said it was destiny. They said that the creature Gollum had been fated to destroy the ring. They
said it was a proof that every being on middle-earth had its mission.

They were right.

And yet terribly wrong...

For the ring would not let itself be destroyed by the fire it decided to vanish and leave middle-earth until its day for
return had come.

-----

In the night the ring fell into Mount Doom, in a place far away in space and time another mountain erupted. And with its
lava, ash and fire the power of the mountain freed another power. A power unknown this place and time. The power of
the one ring.

But then something happened that the ring had not anticipated for the fire of the mountain found its match in layers of
eternal ice which they could not break through. But the ring had time and patience and so it waited.

And while the years went on, the fire and the ice battled and slowly a river began to form itself under the ice and it
flowed into a small lake at the end of the glacier. A lake of cristall blue water and an endless source. Shimmering
icebergs floated on the surface, glittering in the sun. And the molten ice of the eternal glacier covered the dark lava of
the fire that had once created the river. It was a secret place this glacier lake, a remainder of a battle fought between
the elements. A battle fought long ago, longer than the memory of men lasted.

But this place so seemingly an oasis of peace and beauty held a secret as dark as the stones it once had been covered
with. A secret as powerful as the fire that had built this island, a secret that would hopefully never be uncovered.

But the ring had time and it knew that its time would come. So it waited.

And with every year, the water brought the ring closer to the surface.

2:

Winter had fallen over the island and with it the long darkness. Yet the darkness was a brilliant one for the land was
covered with snow and illuminated by the stars in the sky. No wind was in the air, no movement on the ground, the
world seemed to be frozen.

On the island all live seemed to have vanished, however this impression was wrong. There was plenty of live, but it hid
from the cold in caves, lakes, tree holes and houses. Live was present everywhere on this island, nowhere more than in
the small house just next to the glacier lake.

The flames painted bizarre figures on the walls, lightening and obscuring the room in once. An old man sat in his chair
looking into the flames. His hair was grey and his face was tanned from decades of working outside. A sudden flicker of
the fire lit up his eyes, which were deep blue, gentle and held the wisdom and experience of long life.

The loud bang of a door and a sudden rush of cold air startled the man and he turned toward the door, where fast
steps could be heard.

"Afi, afi ég er bak"

With those words a young boy stormed into the room, throwing himself into the man's arms. After holding the boy tightly
for a moment, he shoved him back a little and examined his grandson. His blond hair was messed up and his clothes
were covered with dirt. But it was the expression of guilt in his face that made the man ask his question.

"Sten, where have you been?"

The boy avoided looking into his grandpa's eyes and stepped from one foot onto the other, but didn't answer.

"You have been in the caves again, haven't you?" It was not really a question, after all he knew his grandson.

"Not long, only five minutes, that does not count, does it?" Big blue eyes looked at the man and he had to hide a smile.

"You know what I told you Sten, the caves are dangerous. The old lava is getting brittle and the newer stones are
razor-sharp. You must not go there! Have you understood?"

The boy stared at the floor and nodded.

"Go now and wash yourself, dinner will be ready soon." The boy turned to run towards the bathroom, when the man
called him again. "And Sten, make sure you wash your ears!"

----

While Sten was in the bathroom, the old man walked towards the kitchen and began to cook. And during the chopping
and stirring his mind began to wander.

~ ~ ~

`We will be back in an hour or so, just going for a quick drink.'

Those had been the last words he had ever heard from his son. The police had woken him next morning.

`Magnus, we are so sorry, but we have bad news for you.'

They had missed a turn and crashed into the sea, leaving him only memories of better times.

Memories and something else. Sten. He had been not even a year old when his parents died, since then the only parent
he knew was his grandfather.

~ ~ ~

Sten had indeed brought life back into his home. In the six years that had passed there had been no day without
surprises and laughter. And once again he silently thanked god for the boy.

Sten stormed into the kitchen, almost falling over a chair and grinned at his grand-pa.

"I am clean everywhere! Even the ears!" he declared with a childlike sincerity.

Magnus smiled at him and a short while after they sat together at the old table for dinner. Sten was talking about
everything he had learned in school. He loved school and recited everything the teacher or any of the other kids had
said.

"And Vilgor said that the caves are not dangerous and that he has spent several nights there!"

"You should not listen to Vilgor, he talks more than anybody else, but not much of what he says he did he really has
done."

Sten seemed to consider what his grand-pa had said about his friend, but whatever he had wanted to answer was
forgotten, when he realized that dinner was over. Jumping from the chair he ran over to he living room and curled
himself in a blanket in front of the fireplace.

Magnus followed more slowly and sat down in the comfortable chair he had been sitting before. Reaching out for an old
book that lay next to the fire he quickly stroked the boy's head before taking the book and opening it.

"Which story are you going to tell me tonight?" Those were the hours Sten loved the most, when his grand-pa sat in his
chair reading stories of a world long forgotten to him.

3:

The tales, that are told in the stories are not invented but real islandic fairy tales. Some explanations to the gods etc.
will be given at the end of the chapter.

----------------

Magnus searched through the book looking for a tale. He had grown up with those tales and he wanted his grandson to
know them as well. The island had a long tradition of myths and sagas and while flipping the pages of the ancient book
he found the one he had been looking for.

"I am going to tell you about the time, why the elfs fear the smoking mountains."

And while the light of the fire illuminated the room and the light of the stars shone brightly over the snow covered
landscape, the grey haired man began to talk.

-------

" Once upon a time there was a great king, whose name was Herraudr and he was a good king, fair and gentle and his
people trusted and liked him. He was said to be a friend of the huldren and often sought their coucil in matters of his
reign.

And when the time came and he was looking for a wife he fell in love with Alvör the daughter of the huldren king. So on
one of his visits in the land of the huldren king, he asked the king for his daughters hand. This question brought both
great joy and pain to the huldren king for he had already promised his daughter to another one. Yet knowing that Alvör
loved the human king far more than the man she was promised to, he gave his permission and Alvör left the land of the
huldren to live in the human land.

Yet the king's wish for his daughter's happiness brought dissensions into the land of the huldren for Brjám, the man who
was supposed to marry her did not forgive the king and left the kingdom swearing to take his revenge on the huldren.

In his quest for revenge Brjám wandered through the island, looking for somebody to teach him dark magic for he knew
that only darkest magic could break the spell of protection around the land of the huldren. And as he had walked allover
the island he finally came to the smoking mountain. Tired and exhausted he stood before the black walls and could not
go on anymore. But as he sat down on the ground he suddenly heard a terrible voice calling his name.

"Brjám, you have found what you are looking for. Use my power and my will to destroy those that betrayed you! Call my
name and fire and death will fall upon them."

Brjám's first reaction to this voice was fear, but then the betrayal of his love came back into his mind and he answered
the voice.

"What is the name I have to call to bring justice to those that cast me out?"

"You know who is the one that commands over the fire and the ashes, so if you want revenge call out my name!"

And Brjám called out Loki's name and in the very same moment the ground began to shake and smoke began to rise
from the smoking mountain.

Fire and flames flowed down from the mountain slopes covering the ground. And the sky exploded and fire began to fall
from it destroying the land of the huldren and bringing death and peril to them.

And as the fires stopped to fall the land of the huldren was destroyed and only few had survived. And those few fell
onto their knees and prayed to the gods to help them.

Yet the gods did not listen. So the huldren left their kingdom and travelled south to the land of the humans to find
shelter in Alvör's castle.

But as they had left, the green fields began to die and the blue rivers went grey and the land became a land where only
the shadows lived.

And as the gods saw that a land of darkness had been created by Loki and its fire, they called the wind and the rain and
told them to cover the darkness, so that no one would ever see it again.

So the wind and the rain went to the dark land and brought snow and ice over the land of the shadows and they stayed
there until all the darkness was covered with layers of ice and snow.

And no one ever saw the darkness again for the smoking mountain and its fire had been covered with the bright light of
the gods."

----------

For a moment there was silence in the room until Sten looked up. His eyes glittering with tears and his lips quivering.

"But if the smoking mountain killed all the elves, why do you say that it is not evil?"

Magnus smiled sadly for in this remark lay so much innocence and showed so much of a still pure soul of a child.

"Because they are not. Their fire built our island and their power crafted our landscape, but in those times they were the
home of a great evil and it was that evil that hated the elves and wanted their destruction."

"But it was the mountains fire that killed the elves!"

"It may have been the mountain fire that killed them, but it was the fear of the evil inside the mountain that unlashed
the fire. For those we hate the most are the ones we fear most!"

Magnus knew that with those discussions he taught his grandson more than just the ancient tales of their country.
Those tales always had a deeper meaning and those were the lessons that Magnuns hoped would guide Sten through
his life.

And as Sten was already sleeping, Magnus stood by the window looking over to the mighty glacier that hid the smoking
mountain of his tale.

"When will your power be unlashed again and what will it cost us this time?"

His silent question towards the fire underneath the eternal ice went unanswered.

Shivering he turned away from the winter outside, sitting once again next to the fireplace.

It was a cold night tonight.

4:
 
 

In the cold of the island's winter all water froze to ice, whether it was on the surface or inside a rock. And the power of
one single drop broke a stone older than mankind apart.

A single drop of water that would change the course of the future, for the stone had held more than just this drop.

It had held something that should have never seen the sunlight again. But now it lay there, glowing faintly in the
starlight.

It had been a long time, but its waiting was over.

The power of the ring was stirring once again.

5:

The storm came at night, which was still dark and cold, and lightning flared over the island
illuminating the bizarre volcanic deserts and the huge glaciers. It was one of those nights were the
island itself seemed to be alive and fighting against the forces of wind and water. It was a battle of
elements and a battle of the seasons for the wind coming from the east brought with it a first glimpse of
spring.

And after that night the grip of winter seemed to be broken and the days became longer again. Every
day the sun rose higher in the sky and it's light got stronger and stronger and melted away the snow.
The ice became water again and the rivers ran again through green valleys and violet flowers bloomed
next to the streets.

The sheep returned onto the meadows and so did the half wild horses.

Spring had come back to the island and with it had life.

6:

Sten was wandering around in the field, jumping from stone to stone, and enjoying the sun and the
warmth. He never liked winter, a time when he had no place to play outside except the caves. But his
grandfather did not allow him to go to the caves, so he could only be inside for it was too cold to be
outside for long.

But that was past now, it was spring and he was Batman! Wearing a long black coat from his
grandfather he climbed onto a big rock and spread his arms.

"I am Batman! Be afraid gangsters, I will not allow you to do any bad things! I will be faster and better
than you! I am the world's greatest!"

His shouts reverberated over the field. The herd of sheep that was grazing there however was not too
impressed by fact that they had 'the world's greatest' standing next to him. They looked up when the
boy began to shout, but quickly returned their attention to the fresh grass and herbs.

Sten was used to play on his own and spread his arms once more making his coat fly in the wind.

"I can fly!"

With those words he jumped down the rock, yet he was not Batman, he was just a small boy and
instead of landing safely on the ground he stumbled and fell. Getting back onto his feet he turned and
shook his fist towards the rock.

"That was not nice, Batman will not forget this!"

"Sten!"

Hearing his grandfather calling him for dinner he quickly looked at his hands that were dirty from the
wet ground he had fallen onto. Mumbling under his breath the boy walked over to the one of the small
rivers that fed the glacier lake. Kneeling he cleaned his hands in the ice cold water and quickly began
to shiver from cold. He took a stone and threw it into the river, when something glittering caught his
attention. He reached for it when his name was called again.

"Sten, if you are not here in five minutes, I will start eating!"

This was something Sten did not want to happen so he jumped up and ran towards the house.

"I am coming, I am coming!" he shouted while he sprinted over the green field.

But while stood in the bathroom cleaning his hands for dinner, he suddenly remembered the glittering
thing he had seen in the river.

"I will go back and see what it is."

-------

The sun was still shining, even though it was already past eight. But same as the winter was full of
darkness the summer and the spring were full of sunshine and light.

They sat on the frontporch and watched the landscape, the clouds and the mighty glacier. And like
every evening the old man reached for the book of ancient tales and flipped through the pages to find a
story the his grandson would like.

"Tell me something about the elves!" From all the creatures of the old tales, the elves were the ones
Sten liked the most. The fair and beautiful yet strong beings were far more interesting than the dwarfs
or the trolls.

"No, tonight I will tell you about the time when the gods visited the earth.

7:

Reaching for his glasses, Magnus smiled at his grandson and began to read.

----------

"In a time long, long ago the three Asen Odin, Loki and Hönir went out to visit the world. Wandering
around they came by a river and a waterfall. And by this waterfall they saw an otter that had just
caught a salmon. Loki took a stone and threw it towards the otter and killed it. And Loki praised his
hunting skills for he had killed salmon and otter by throwing only one stone.
So they took the otter and the salmon and walked on. Soon they reached a farm and knocked at the
door to pay a visit there. It was the farm of Hreidmar, a wealthy and well-respected farmer who knew a
lot about magic. So the Asen asked him to let them stay for the night, and they told him about their luck
at hunting and showed him the otter and the salmon.
But the farmer called his sons Regin and Fafnir, and told them that the Asen had killed their brother
Otr. And the father and his sons fought against the gods and bound them, for the otter had been his
youngest son. The Asen however offered to pay as much as Hreidmar wanted as a sign of their regret.
So Hreidmar took the skin of the dead otter and asked the gods to bring him enough gold to fill the skin
of his dead son.
And Loki went off to the dark elves to ask them of gold. Yet on his way towards the dark forest, he met
the dwarf Andwari, who was a dwarf with magical powers, such that he could live as a fish in a lake.
Loki caught the fish and forced the dwarf to give him all the gold he possessed. And Andwari gave the
god all the gold he had except one small golden ring. He begged Loki to let him keep this ring, for in
the ring his powers were sealed. But Loki took the ring from the dwarf.
So the dwarf cursed the ring and prophesied that the ring Andvaranaut would bring death to all that
possessed it.
And as Loki came to Hreidmar's farm he showed Odin everything. Yet as Odin saw the ring he found it
beautiful and asked Loki to give it to him, and so the cursed ring Andvarandaut came into the
possession of the mightiest God in the ancient world.
Back at Hreidmar's farm Odin filled the otter skin with all the gold from the dwarf except the ring. And
the god asked Hreidmar if he was content with the gold. But when the farmer looked at the skin he saw
a tiny spot that was not yet covered with gold. He asked the gods to cover the tiny spot or their deal
would be nullified. So Odin brought forward the ring and covered the remaining skin with it.
Yet before the Asen left the house, Loki repeated the curse that lay on the ring and prophesied the
farmer's death.
And the curse began to fulfil itself for Hreidmar was killed by his son Regin, then Fafnir killed Regin
and Fafnir retreated into the mountains to find a shelter for his gold and his ring and on his way there
he changed into a dragon.
But the curse of the ring brought death even to him, for Sigurd the mightiest of all kings came to the
mountains and killed the dragon and took with him the gold.
And like this, the ring of the gods only brought unhappiness and evil to the world."
-------
Gently Magnus closed the book and looked at the boy, who was staring at him with wide eyes. But
instead of asking thousands of questions, he stood up and with all the honesty of his seven years Sten
declared:
"When I am old, I will go and look for the elves and the dwarfs and tell the dwarfs off for sending such
a ring to the world."
The young boy stood against the sun, his blond short hair shining in the light like a halo and his eyes
shining with life. Magnus felt his breath caught in his throat for a second as he looked at his grandson.
In that moment the old man saw a glimpse of the man Sten once would be, and it was an equally
frightening and elating sight for the strength and power in him was strong.
But then Sten curled his lips and the image shattered, questioning blue eyes met experienced ones when
the boy asked his grandpa.
"There are still elves here, aren't there? And dwarfs?"
"Sten, the world is a magical place. If you believe that there are still elves and dwarfs here, then there
will be."
Smiling, Magnus stroked the boy's head and continued.
"But do not judge the dwarfs, for they only made the ring, yet it was the greed of men and the falseness
of Loki that forged the curse on it."
The boy looked again at his grandfather, understanding the meaning of those wise words even if he was
too young to understand the words completely.
Magnus looked at his watch and raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was long past sleeping time.
"Hurry up, we have spent far too much time talking about elves and dwarfs. It's sleeping time!"
When Sten lay in his bed, Magnus came over, kissed him goodnight and spoke the evening prayer with
the boy. Turing the light off, he left the room.
Back in his chair in front of the fire, he switched on the TV and watched the news from the outside
world.

8:

‘There is an old saying in Iceland: If you don’t like the current weather, wait fifteen minutes and you’ll have a
different one. And today this is definitely true.’ Magnus mused as he stood by the window and watched the fast
approaching clouds.

When he had driven Sten to school, the sun had been shining, but when they had arrived at the school building it
had rained. Since then rain and sunshine had constantly alternated.

Reaching towards the coat hanger he took a hat and a coat before he left the house, and walked over to the
stable.
Whilst he was feeding the horses and cleaning their boxes the weather had changed again and now the clouds
were hanging over the fields, so low that one could almost touch them.

Amidst the clouds Sten came running over to the house. His coat was dripping wet, but he smiled and danced
around in the rain. School was over for today and he had a whole afternoon to go out and play!

"Can I go outside after lunch?" His voice was eager and full of excitement.

"Sure, but stay away from the caves!"

It had stopped raining by the time they finished their small lunch and Sten walked over the green field, the
raindrops on the grass glittering in the sun like gems.

As he reached the small road that led towards the lake he suddenly stopped. It felt as if something was drawing
him towards the river, and without knowing why the boy walked to the place where he had washed his hands the
last time.

Kneeling down on the side of the river, he looked intently into the water until he saw it again. Almost hidden
under a stone, there was something that glittered. Reaching in, Sten shivered at the sudden coldness of the glacier

water, but he finally managed to get hold of the glittering object and holding it against the sun, he looked at it.

It was a golden ring, beautifully crafted and shining in the sunlight.

The boy looked once again at the ring and then tried it on.

Suddenly every light seemed dimmer, the green of the fields less beautiful and the blue of the sky more grey.
Confused, Sten turned around and stood as if frozen as he watched the dark shadow that crept over the glacier.

"And like this, the ring of the gods only brought unhappiness and evil to the world."

Razor-sharp he suddenly heard his grandfather’s voice in his head and franticly took the ring off his finger.
Running towards the house Sten didn’t dare to look back, frightened that the shadow would be right behind him.

Yet something made him stop and look behind..

The sun shone on the eternal ice and snow, making the ice shine in a light blue shade. The brightness of the
image before him made Sten close his eyes.

The shadow he had seen had gone.

Looking at the ring in his hands, he was about to try it on again when his name was called.

"Sten, Sten!"

The voice belonged to Vilgor, his best friend, and slipping the ring into his pocket he ran towards the taller boy.

They spent the rest of the day exploring the forbidden caves and by the time he had gone back to his
grandfather’s house, Sten had forgotten everything about the ring and the shadow.

But without knowing, the little boy had awoken the ring and with it, it’s power. And in a place that had been
forgotten by men long ago, the awakening of the ring brought with it the awakening of evil and beauty.

For the ring was evil in itself, yet it was connected to three rings of such purity and beauty like none mortal man
had ever seen.