The Chambers of the King

[Envin]

Some time after, it was another evening, after the grat Battle of Eleven Armies, and Aragorn's business of the day had been concluded. He had returned to his chambers to take his ease, but for some reason they were rather warm on this particular evening, so he opened the windows, and decided to walk in the cool of the gardens. Arwen was away spending the evening at the home of one of the noble's wife, her good comrade. So the evening was Aragorn's, with no paperwork or politics to consider. The flowers in the garden were fragrant and sweet, and the colours of the rose and the tulip soothed his weary mind. He remained out of doors for some time, eventually becoming thirsty, and thinking how uncommonly satisfying a mug of ale would be, he returned to his chambers to ring his steward. He pushed open the door.

[Envin]

Aragorn had been made aware of the death and destruction brought into his Citadel upon this clear night, and grimly he ordered the offender brought to his presence. He heard the heavy knock upon the door which signaled the Men of his Guard, and swung wide the door, casting at the men a questioning glance, for there was no Morsereg with them. And on a sudden, their faces paled and they glanced about themselves with halting faces. Aragorn snorted, and whirled about, ordering them to find Dindaedel. He strode deep into the rooms of his quarters for to glance out the window at the courtyard, and when he entered his study, he stopped still and his breath caught.



{Read PM titled THREAD prior to reply.}

[Morsereg Dîndaedel]

"You really must get better security around here, Aragorn. It's...dissapointing, almost." Morsereg's voiced slithered out of his mouth as Aragorn froze, for Morsereg sat in the lord's chair, a malicious grin etched upon his face. "It was all to easy to sneak from their gaze...My, my, I must have gotten away from them not long after we were out of the sight of other's. I do not know how long it took them to arrive, but I do know I have been here the upwards of ten minutes."

He stood, walking over to him. "You seem...well." A short laugh before he continued, "I, however, did not wake under such circumstances as you did. I was buried before I woke..." He shook his head slowly, "I had to dig myself out of the ground. Yet, this was not the end."

"A murder attempt upon my arrival at Angmar. Not unexpected, though...my brother, Alcorad, struck at me out of greed and envy for my power. He attempted to kill me to take my realm and my magicks, the magicks of Mandos. I cast him aside, and where he is now is of no concern to me. Oh, you might want to send your cleaning crew to the stables nearest the gate," A maniacal laugh echoed from his mouth, "They'll find a dead stable hand, and the skin of another man. Who he was, where he belonged to, is not of my concern. He was just in my way, and the skin was of use."

[Envin]

"I am not one to be frightened by sleight of hand, Morsereg, and neither am I a child to be dazzled by thy stealth. I have seen better in my day."

He took a seat in a comfortable chair hard by, and poured for himself and for Morsereg each a large snifter of a very heady Dorwinion brandy.

"What I am is desirous of the sight of such and epic contest, that betwixt thee and thy brother. A strong fighter is he indeed - surprised am I that thou emerged unscathed. For I to fight he, such would be an epic struggle indeed - our grapple before Erebor would serve as a practice."

He sipped his brandy and inwardly grinned as he saw Morsereg's thinly veiled jealousy.

"Now tell me why thou'rt in my realm, so uninvited? I assure thee that I have more than enough play-actors on staff - I do not need more amusement, thank thee, though."

[Morsereg Dîndaedel]

Morsereg laughed, "You try to make me jealous, do you?" He sat across from Aragorn, taking a short sip of the brandy. "My brother pales in comparison to me, Aragorn. He crawls from the womb of Morgoth...and forever he shall hold him in high esteem, no matter what the fool speaks. One must truly let go, of everything, to be able to give it all they have in battle. For if there is one thing, just one, that gives you a reason to exist, part of you will stay in the defensive battle," Yet another laugh.

"For my brother, it is his realm. He takes pride in his wretched creatures, yet they have no loyalty to him. Were one to show his face to them, more powerful, and overthrow his realm...They would abandon him without thought. For you, it is your wife...she is what keeps you living, is it not? This 'Arwen Undomiel'?" His finger traced the edge of the snifter idly.

"I have naught to live for. The fighters I have taken for my realm have forever and anon sworn themselves to me. Were Angmar to take another ruler, it would be nothing asides from a barren wasteland, void of all life. Even the undead would shy away from it, but, alas! my grip does not only haunt the wretched north."

"As we speak, I have servants in the south. The inhabitants of the ruins of Karna are at this very moment watching the south of Middle-Earth. As we speak, one of my top servants takes up residence in that abandoned wasteland." He spoke calmly to Aragorn, giving off seemingly too much information...Why would this be? "I am only here to have this lovely conversation," He scoffed, leaning forward to look Aragorn in the eye, "You almost beat me on the battlefield. Me, the prodigy of Mandos, the only servant he ever took under his wing. I wish to look into the eyes of the one whom Mandos spared...The one whom I did not take in battle."

"Now, enough about me, Aragorn...What about you?" He took another, long sip of the brandy.

(Read PM before posting)

[Envin]

"I?" Aragorn chuckled, adjusting himself in his seat and continuing his calm composure, though inwardly he was somewhat unnerved by Dindaedel's reference to his wife. "All that there is of me is the fact that I am able to give myself wholly to a battle, with the pristine knowledge that if I should fall, then my purpose on this earth must have in some wise been fulfilled, for I do not beleive in the unreachable power of Mandos. Maia that thou art, surely thou know more than many that it is not 'thy father' who enjoys the final word? There are higher powers than he, in this world and out of it. 'Twas not Mandos who stayed the might of thy magicks, but he who commands Mandos. He it is who determines the outcomes of battles, and in him shall my trust ever wholly reside. I have lived a good life and a long, and in the remainder I plan to do his will while I yet have breath, and if that requires my death, then I shall take solace in the fact that I have been ever a good and faithful servant. I wonder oft how thy mind cannot see the simple truth that the Lord of All cannot and never will condone thy method of living, for thine is perhaps the most intelligent mind I have yet met.

"Cunning enow to inspire the loyalty of thy servants, indeed such is sooth. Because they also lean in their thoughts along the lines of thine, and that I would not call leading. Simply gathering to one's self likeminded allies, not fairly and in an organized fashion directing the course of people who have chosen thee to do such, and whose thoughts do not always coalesce with thine own." And then he turned to the subject he rather feared, his fingers quaking only ever so slightly upon his snifter. "Though I oft muse as to that which drives thee, Morsereg, obvious to the truth which to one so highborn must be, indeed it is my wife who holds my heart and my soul within her. And our union is but one more kneeling to the will of Eru, another fulfillment of his designs. I do not need to seek further lands or more servants in distant places, and I do not plot. Such is the difference between us, Morsereg. Thou shalt never know peace, thou shalt never taste contentment, and thou shalt never be satisfied within, for thy mindset has departed from that which thy creator intended, and until it returns to that which it must be, in thy heart there shall be naught but manifestation of the Void."


{Read it, go ahead.}

[Morsereg Dîndaedel]

Morsereg sat there calmly, listening slowly as Aragorn spoke. His large scheme of things had been devised, this was merely a small move in the game. "Peace, you say? I shall never know peace? I need it not." His laugh was hollow this time. "Contentment, oh, Aragorn, you jest.

"Contentment...Comes with the eyes of the beholder. You are content knowing you are serving Eru's divine will. Myself, I shall only be content when one thing happens..." A small smirk etched itself inch-by-inch onto his majestic face, a deep lie hidden behind truths. "When I taste the blood of the only man ever to defeat me in combat." He let loose a small growl, regaining his composure within heartbeats.

"Heart? Yet again you are mistaken, son of Arathorn," Morsereg leaned back into his chair, hair shining faintly in the moonlight. "That was the first to go. As I left Valinor, Mandos cursed my heart away. I need it not. You can try as you will to 'cure' me, to make me see the light. You will never take my darkness away." With this he shook his head, scoffing as his head fell to look towards his lap.

"How typical of humans. Your eyes are clouded so you cannot see..." His head rose to lock eyes with Aragorn. "Even though the truth is always within you." Now he spoke through his mind-voice, knowing that Aragorn was of skill enough to know what was talking to him. I am powerful. I am immortal. I can do anything. I am cursed. I am the Darkness.

[Envin]

Perhaps my eyes lie clouded. But I would have it, so if such be sooth. Aragorn spoke in his own mind-voice, his clear tones constrasting sharply to the harsh, grating sound of Morsereg. And he did not turn away from Morsereg's glace, but returned it in kind. I shall leave from attempts at thy salvation, for if thou'rt so blind as to have the truth clean afore thee: that thy soul shall not answer to itself, but that a higher being than thee sits in observe, then naught shall e'er save thee, but all Arda shall mock thee ere the end. And why art thou so o'erwrought by thy defeat upon the field? I give it little thought. I have bested many in my time, and though I must confess that with thee I nearly broke a sweat, I consider the conflict of little more interest or consequence than a Knight running roughshod o'er a plebian. He took Morsereg's gaze and held it, and so compelling was the King's glance that, fascinated, Morsereg could not turn away. A plebian, Morsereg. Thou wouldst taste of my blood? I fear thou wouldst find such difficult to do. But essay if thou wilt. I have my embalmers at call. He settled himself in his chair, severing the bond of their eyes with ease that was unfathomable to Morsereg, so entranced was he. And now he glanced about the room, as though unconcerned with the guest before him.

[Morsereg Dîndaedel]

Morsereg now rose his voice, taking a smirk upon his face. "I think I hear servants coming, m'leige," He mocked as two guards burst into the room, chest heaving with every second, fear staining their eyes.

"My Lord! The Lady, she is gone!" One of them announced, eyes widened. In an instant, Morsereg burst into a soft cackle as all eyes in the room advanced on him. He took to his feet slowly, moving with a simple grace.

"Aragorn...this is what I propose to you." His eyes held a dark glint to them as he unraveled his proposition. "Your love, Arwen, is as we speak being taken to Haradwaith, to the ruins of Karna, where the Dimlokhi will find a suitable prison for her. Within the fortnight she will no longer be on this plane, trapped for eternity. Only I can break the seal." Now he locked eyes with the lord of Gondor, a seriousness in his eyes before all else. "You may get her back on one condition..." A pause as he looked upon Aragorn's soul, one which would seem to do anything to retreive his wife.

"Aid me in taking my brother down. I want to see his downfall...if you aid me in doing this, your wife will be returned to you, unharmed. If you decline," He bared his teeth maliciously, sadism dancing about his eyes. "She will be returned to you...ravaged and stripped of all of her skin, in small segments of bone."

[Envin]

Aragorn had stood, his face in utter shock, for e'en through all of Morsereg's cunning, of which he knew full well, this he had never foreseen. And he collapsed in his seat, his strong frame nearly wavering under the strain of the moment. He bowed his head, and for a moment, Morsereg thought that perhaps he might refuse. But then he lifted his head. Barely, only a touch, and just enough for his bright eyes to gleam with hate at Dindaedel. His teeth were clenched tight as he spoke.

"Then thy brother shall fall." His breathing was rapid and short. "I am not as hotheaded as thou take me. Should I sally after her and she not be as thou sayest, then thy minions would slay her ere I left the city. But if she is as ye state .. then I ... have no choice. But I shall not call thee 'Lord.'Loathe am I to call thee an ally, e'en though Alcorad is a foe to my people. But my wife? Dindaedel, in this hast thou gone much too far. I shall remain loyal to thee, but only for time requisite to see thy brother's dead corpse. And when once have I held Arwen in mine arms, then thy life may be counted in moments, for such is all that shall be left of it."

He paused, his breath coming perhaps slightly slower, and his eye closed. He stood and paced for a few moments, his breathing becoming more rapid and swift, and silent groans running through his mind. Finally he stopped short, and letting a great bellow escape from his lips he swung his fist into a tall, ornate vase made of thick glass, and shattered it in an instant. Then he rounded on Morsereg, barely able to control himself, and his eyes bloodshot.

"Then let us be about thy strategems, O mine ally!" he fairly screamed. "And be damned with thy pleasure at my pain, craven bastard! I will hear none of thy gloatings! Out with thy design!"

[Morsereg Dîndaedel]

"Now, now, Aragorn, we must keep our temper. Your wife will come back to you unharmed," He smirked, albeit inwardly, for in this rage there was naught he couldn't expect the lord of Gondor to do.

"My designs, however, have yet to be devised. My brother is one thing for the two of us to take down, but his allies do stretch...If it came down to it, I fear most of mine own allies would choose him. They see not his flaws, nor will they see his downfall. My brother himself holds Mordor, Rhun, and Moria, and his chief ally, this 'Murazor', has sway over Erebor and Arnor..." He paused a moment to think of their actions.

"Lancir, King of Khand, is one of the few people I can turn to. He will doubtlessly aid me, not my brother. The lord of Enedwaith I do not know, nor can I trust, so that land is not one I am going to ask from. Unless the allies of Gondor value their alliance long enough to side with an enemy, I must say we are....vastly outnumbered." He shook his head as if to physically shake some ideas out of it, hair tossing back and forth.

"I believe a council is in order, inviting only those we can trust. Those who, even if they will not aid me, will not turn their backs on you and run to my brother." Morsereg glanced his eyes out of the window. "How soon can you call your allies to Gondor?"

[Envin]

Ignoring Morsereg's jab at his temper, Aragorn collapsed into his seat again. "My allies may be summoned without a moment's delay, and if thou were to persuade the Lord of Khand, I trust enough in my own skills to sway the Lord of Enedwaith. I shall send messages to Rohan forthwith, and to the Ered Luin as well - I do beleive there is one last bastion in the north which Angmar has not yet overrun."

And he leaned forward. "But if thy minions even cut so much as one lock of her hair, if they touch her at all, their hunger rising into their throats, then thou shalt know the meaning of hate."

He stood and called a servant, and hastily composed messages to Rohan and to the Blue Mountains, and sent the man on his way. Then he strode to his balcony and gazed across his city, for the first time in many days filled with anguish.

[Morsereg Dîndaedel]

"She won't be harmed. She will feel no pain, and scarcely remember much of any of it. She is going to be trapped in a comatose state in a seperate plane, but upon being returned she will be awakened." Morsereg spoke calmly, "I shall venture to meet with Lancir. If you think you can sway the Enedwaithian lord, it is your choice to do so."

He made his way to the door, "I'm glad we could come to an agreement, Aragorn." His head turned one last time to the saddened King, "I shall return soon, my army rallied. We shall ride together, Aragorn, and you shall regain your Queen." With that he strode from the room, into the dead of night as thunder clashed in the distance, and rain began to fall.

He made his way to the stables, where a stableboy's body still lay, along with discarded skin. Morsereg hopped upon his black horse, making his way out of the citadel and onto the vast plains of Middle-Earth. His course was set directly for Khand, and the tower of Buruklugz.

[Envin]

Aragorn sat in silence for a few endless moments, and then openly wept. He had maintained his composure before the horrid Dindaedel as long as it was required, but now that he was alone with his woe, he let go the tears that welled in his eyes. He stood and gazed out the balcont, cursing Morsereg to the depths of the darkest hell, and vowing revenge when all was said and done. The demon would not long escape the wrath of Numenor.

He turned and strode to his Citadel. Perhaps things there would brighten his mood, though he doubted it quite highly.