The Forging of the Ring by Uvatha the Horseman

April 28 – In Hindsight

Sauron second-guesses his decision to change the design at the last minute.

April 28 In Hindsight

Mairon sat in his room in the highest floor of the gatehouse tower. A view of the plain of Gorgoroth filled one window. Lava shot high into the air and fell against the slope of the cinder cone. Orodruin was erupting hard, and had been ever since he put on the Ring.

He studied the papers spread out on the table before him: sketches, notes, drawings, calculations, and schematics. His notebook from the Forging stood open to the pages where he had drawn the new design.

Mairon couldn't stop thinking that he should have made his original design instead of the new one. The new design turned out well, but he regretted how much it had cost him.

He suspected the new design had a flaw in it which caused the near-fatal glitch. The new design looked good on paper, but he'd sketched it out in a single day. He'd barely reviewed it, and he hadn't tested it at all.

If he'd built the original design as planned, the first infusion would have taken, and he could have completed the Ring without sacrificing the greater part of his own power. He'd developed the original design over a number of years, and while it wasn't as elegant as the new design, it was well thought out.

It didn't matter now. He couldn't do anything about it, but he wanted to know where the flaw was.

Mairon found two blank sheets of paper and laid them side by side, one for each design. He listed the important features of each as methodically as he could. Diagrams, schematics, and calculations showed where the two designs were the same and where they were different.

It was as he'd thought. The original design was serviceable and workmanlike, but not particularly efficient. The new design, the one he did make, was sleek and elegant. As far as he could tell, there was nothing wrong with either one.

Finally he found the flaw. One of his assumptions was wrong, and that's what got him into trouble. But it affected both designs equally, both designs were flawed.

Then he noticed something else. The efficiency of the new design created a margin of safety the original design didn't have. And because of his bad assumption, he needed that margin.

Mairon stared at the numbers, not getting it at first. Then he did.

If he hadn't made the design change the day before the Forging, or if he'd let the coin toss decide on the original design, the third infusion wouldn't have been enough, and he would have died.

A wave of nausea swept over him. The floor fell away; he staggered and grabbed the edge of the table for support.