Rings of Pride; Rings of Ruin by Aiwen

Disclaimer: Middle-earth, Ost-in-Edhil, Celebrimbor, Sauron and various other characters all belong to JRR Tolkien. I make no money off this, so kindly don't try to sue me.

Celebrimbor lay dreaming. It was an odd dream, not frightening precisely, but odd. Rings sparkled in torchlight, reflecting the light and intensifying it. Celebrimbor recognized the Rings, as he'd helped make many of them. The Rings of Power. He smiled as he recognized Elcaran's first effort, the Ring that could only locate lead. It had been supposed to find mithril, but no such luck. They'd all smiled and told him to pay more attention to the ultrafine structures next time. He recognized the three he had made most recently: Vilya, Nenya and Narya. The light waxed and waned, and began to spread out in a network that connected all the Rings. It was beautiful, but something was wrong.

The web of light grew stronger and brighter, and Celebrimbor noticed something else: while the Rings were connected to each other, each one of them was connected to something else as well, and the light appeared to be being pulled towards that thing. That wasn't in the design, Celebrimbor thought sleepily. What's going on? He reached out mentally and tried to touch the Rings. He received a sharp mental shock for his efforts.

He opened his eyes to find himself in his bed at home. Yet the feeling of wrongness did not diminish but increase. Thoroughly alarmed now, Celebrimbor concentrated on the Rings on his hand, but most especially on the blue Ring, Vilya. He listened... and the feeling of wrongness increased tenfold. There was a malignant awareness that was drawing power and information from the Rings to itself, and pushing back something else towards the Rings. Furious, Celebrimbor reached out along the link as far as he could. I must know what is happening! He heard a voice speaking a language he did not understand:

"Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul"

The voice was menacing, cruel, and cold, filled with hatred and a desire to control that Celebrimbor had never encountered before. Despite the strange language the meaning was clear: one Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them, one Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Celebrimbor pulled harder along the link and received a brief glimpse of a face that he knew. Annatar. Annatar laughing and with a fell light in his eyes. Shocked, Celebrimbor lost the link. He tried to regain it, but it had gone dormant and he could not find it.

It does not make any sense; Annatar helped make the Rings, he has always been such a good friend, he has no need to control us - why is he doing this? We trusted him! I trusted him! How dare he?

Celebrimbor shook his head. He must think clearly. What does this mean? The Rings were his idea in the first place; I don't think we'd have made them otherwise. He knows all our secrets... And he pulls information from the Rings. He'll know everything we do, everything we think, every defense we design against him! He may also be able to control us with them. He intended to betray us along, he must have.

Celebrimbor's gaze dropped to his hands. I have to get them off now and isolate them. He removed the Rings, dropping them onto the rug. They lay scattered, still beautiful and looking deceptively innocent.

He didn't want to touch them. What to do with them? I still have the old isolation box somewhere for handling accidents... will that be enough to isolate them? It's not designed for magical objects this powerful. Celebrimbor unhooded the lantern, and padded across the room to the old chest of drawers in the corner. He found the little lead box at the back of the bottom drawer. He really ought to have been keeping it somewhere more accessible, but when was the last time he had had an accident here?

He opened the box and made a depression with his finger in the activated charcoal, then carefully wrapped a hankerchief around Narya before dropping it in the box. He did the same with the other two Rings, and then closed the lid, locking it down to seal it properly.

Now what? I need to warn the others. How many people are there in Ost-in-Edhil wearing Rings now? Of great Rings there are 19. I have three right here, but how many lesser Rings are there? I have no idea. We made so many when we were experimenting, only some of which actually work. It is, Celebrimbor moved the lantern so he could take a look at the clock, 2:00 in the morning. Not many people are going to be awake so maybe I can use some time to think.

We're going to have to track down all the Rings and persuade people to take them off. But how? They aren't going to want to, and if Annatar's controlling them through the Rings... I've always been thankful I do not have my father's ability to sway a crowd - one temptation less - but I think I now have a problem. Not all of the Rings are in Ost-in-Edhil either; I know people took some to Lindon but I don't know who has them - I think they're all lesser Rings. I hope.

But if Annatar can use the lesser Rings to influence people... I know Durin has a great Ring, because I gave it to him myself. I don't think Galadrial has one. Gil-galad doesn't have one does he? Or any member of his court and advisers... What about Elrond? I'm sure Elrond doesn't; he was so very against Annatar from the very beginning I doubt he's changed his mind, but I'm certain somebody in Gil-galad's court has one. I'm going to have to go there and tell them what's happened. Celebrimbor groaned. Maybe I should stay here and try to fix this first. There must be a way to remove this contamination from the Rings. But how much damage might be done while I search for a way to fix this?

Did anyone other than me hear what Annatar's done? I have to know now, never mind the time. If anyone else has heard it, it would be Elcaran. He's made nearly as many as I have.

Celebrimbor shoved his feet into slippers, grabbed his cloak from the peg on the door, picked up the lantern and headed along the hall, down the stairs and then out the main door. He turned to look about him. The night looked the same as ever, with the Moon setting behind the trees in the west. No one would think the world had just been turned upside down. Irrelevant, Celebrimbor thought. I need to find Elcaran now.

Celebrimbor strode down the street towards the house where Elcaran and his wife lived.

To be continued...

Celebrimbor waited impatiently for Elcaran to answer the door. When Elcaran finally did, he was still half asleep. His eyes widened when he saw who his visitor was. "Lord Celebrimbor! What are you doing here at this hour of the night? Come in," Elcaran opened the door fully and waved Celebrimbor in. "What's going on?" he asked as soon as Celebrimbor was inside.

"Tell me," said Celebrimbor, "did you dream tonight?"

Elcaran looked puzzled, and said "Yes. Why?"

"Because I did too. What exactly did you see, and what did you hear?"

Elcaran leaned back against the wall. "I don't remember clearly, but there were Rings - the Rings of power, I think."

"Did you see anything else? Or hear something, perhaps?"

"There was a voice. It sounded nasty, but I didn't understand a word."

He heard it too, thought Celebrimbor. That will meet my task easier. "Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul" said Celebrimbor. "Does that sound familiar?"

"Yes, it does. What does it mean? Do you know what's going on? And what does it have to do with the Rings?"

"My dream started off much like yours, but I heard and saw more. I used Vilya as a link to the speaker and I managed to get a glimpse of him. It was Annatar. I didn't know the language but the meaning was clear because of the link: one Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them, one Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Annatar has betrayed us."

"Annatar! But that doesn't make sense. Why would he betray us?"

"I don't know! It makes no sense to me either. We don't have time to engage in speculation: he can pull information from the Rings, and probably from the minds of the wearers which means he will soon know all there is to know not just about us here in Ost-in-Edhil, which he already knows, but about anyone who wears a Ring. We have to get the Rings away from their owners and I don't even know where all the lesser Rings are!"

"Are you sure it was Annatar?" Elcaran asked, wearing a doubtful frown.

Celebrimbor wasn't listening. "I should have listened to Galadriel! The Valar warned us: to evil end shall turn all that they begin well... I am truly cursed and a fool besides." Celebrimbor's eyes opened wide. "I am such a fool. I should never have taken power; it was Annatar that urged me. Why didn't I see something was wrong?" Celebrimbor's voice rose to a wail and he buried his face in his hands, stumbling back against the wall.

Celebrimbor looked up when Elcaran placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you come into the living room and sit down?" Elcaran said. He pulled Celebrimbor away from the wall, and Celebrimbor followed him down the hall and into the living room where Elcaran insisted that he sit down in an armchair and have a drink.

"How am I going to face Gil-galad? He has to know about this." Celebrimbor muttered, putting the drink aside untasted on a small table.

"Need you try immediately? Most of the Rings are here and almost all the knowledge about them is here. Perhaps you can undo whatever Annatar has done. Or talk to him. I can't believe he'd do this as it doesn't make sense. He's always logical and it doesn't seem like him. In addition, I can't see anyone sent by the Valar doing such a thing. Are you sure it was him? I saw and felt nothing that seemed like him at all in my dream."

"I can't believe it either, not really," said Celebrimbor. "But he has - I saw him and I'm sure it was him - I certainly know his face well enough by now! I think we can assume he wasn't sent by the Valar."

"If he wasn't sent by the Valar... Are you saying that Annatar served Morgoth?"

"There has long been speculation that the shadow that lies on much of eastern Middle-earth is created by one of Morgoth's servants who escaped capture. We know the Valar did not catch all of Morgoth's followers."

"I can't believe Annatar served Morgoth. He showed no signs of it among us. How can you be sure that this person whom you saw had not taken Annatar's form so that we would think Annatar had betrayed us? He was not evil! Maybe he is dead - have you heard anything from him since he left a hundred years back?"

"A short letter about seventy years ago saying that he had been unavoidably detained and would not be coming back soon. Nothing since. The person I saw was Annatar, much as I don't want to believe it - who else would have the knowledge and the power to build something that could control all the Rings? I wouldn't be able to, at least not without many years of research, and I very much doubt some random Balrog would know how, or that they would have the imagination to do so. Annatar has either betrayed us for his own ends, or he has been forced to tell everything he knows and lend his expertise to one of Morgoth's Umaiar, who has then stolen his identity. I suspect the simpler explanation is right because building a magical artifact that complex and powerful is not something that can be done without all of one's mind and will behind it. No one could force him to create that thing."

"But-"

"He has betrayed us all. He looked triumphant, and he was laughing. I suspect some of his acts among us may not have had so innocent a purpose as they seemed. Do you know what he did or where he went in the form of an owl at night? He may have been doing more than hunting rats and mice."

Elcaran spread his hands helplessly. "I am no sage or philosopher, and nor are you. What do we know of maiar behavior?"

"Galadriel might know. She was born in Valinor, and was a pupil of Aule, so she should have more of an idea of what is going on than either of us. Maybe... I need to go talk to Durin and persuade him to give up his Ring. He's a stubborn soul, and he won't listen to any one else. If I go through Khazad-dum, I can keep going into Lorinand and speak to Galadriel." Not that I look forward to it. She has every right to be furious with me. I'll take the Three - Annatar never touched those and perhaps I can hide them from him.

Celebrimbor stood, feeling a little stronger now that he had some idea of what to do next. "The sooner I'm away the better."

Elcaran shook his head. "What of all the Rings here?" he asked. "I am not going to be able to get people to remove the Rings, and if you are correct we dare not leave the Rings in their owner's hands any longer than we must. We must call a meeting of everyone who owns a Ring. The only person who can do that is you, and a trip to Lorinand with a side trip to see Durin is going to take over a week. That must wait. The meeting will not take long."

Celebrimbor wavered. Elcaran was right about the importance of the meeting, but what was there in Ost-in-Edhil that Annatar did not know already? "What secrets have we here that Annatar does not already know? Very few, and after a meeting full of people with Rings, none! Khazad-dum and Lorinand, however, are another matter entirely, as are Lindon and Mithlond. If I can convince Galadriel of what has happened, she can deal with Gil-galad. He listens to her." He always did have more sense than I.

"Try to find out where all the Rings are, and borrow or confiscate as many as you can. Tell them there has been an unforeseen problem with the Rings that we are trying to fix. Put them in isolation boxes in the House of the Mirdain. I will be back as soon as I can, but I must go now."

Elcaran bowed his head and said "It is your decision my lord, and your responsibility. So be it." His serious expression lightened abruptly. "But I suggest that before you do that, you put on some clothes. Nightgown, slippers and cloak are not garb that will pass unnoticed in Khazad-dum or Lorinand."

Celebrimbor looked down at himself, having completely forgotten that he had run out of the house in such a state, and couldn't suppress a smile. "Indeed you are right. I would rather not meet either Durin or Galadriel in such garb. I may have a reputation for eccentricity, but that would be too much. I will also need a horse, food, and water so I shall take my leave of you. May the Valar guard and protect you."

"And you. If what you fear is true, we shall need all the help we can get before long."

Early that evening, Celebrimbor arrived at the gates of Khazad-dum, having ridden hard to get there and knowing that his horse would be able to rest in the stable at the gatehouse. No horse was willing to go through Khazad-dum. He entered Khazad-dum escorted by the dwarves.

Celebrimbor did not tell the dwarf guards his errand, only that he needed to speak to their king urgently on a matter that touched the safety of both realms. The halls of Khazad-dum were large and it would take time for Celebrimbor to reach the king, but he begrudged every minute spent tramping through it and for once the beauty of the place did not stir his heart. He could go no faster than the pace his escort set, for fear of becoming lost. Fascinating as that would undoubtedly be, he could not afford it right now.

Everything here in Khazad-dum seemed perfectly normal and no one was alarmed by Celebrimbor's presence. But why should they be? He had been here many times and his appearance had never accompanied dire news before. Indeed, the main problem was people trying to stop them to chat. Celebrimbor felt awkward telling them no, but there was no time. The escort caught some of his urgency, and they went forward both by night and by day.

Finally, Celebrimbor met King Durin the Third in private audience. As Celebrimbor sat down awkwardly in a dwarf-sized chair, he noticed that Durin was wearing his Ring. Celebrimbor cleared his throat, wondering how to begin. "Have you noticed anything unusual about your Ring in the last few days?" he asked.

The dwarf king frowned. "Not particularly," he said. "Should I have?"

"Quite possibly yes. Two days ago there was a bit of a disaster. You are aware that we had the help of a maia named Annatar who claimed to be ordered by the Valar to help raise Middle Earth's technology level?"

"Yes," Durin said.

"Well, it seems that he wasn't sent by the Valar because he has just created something, probably another Ring, to control all the Rings of power. I don't know if he realizes we know this yet, but this means that Ring on your finger is a spy and agent of a power with unknown but probably nasty aims. I never intended any of this, and I'm sorry I got you involved, but you should remove your Ring before any more damage is done. I will be trying to remove the link to the master Ring, and if I can manage it I will give yours back to you immediately. It is likely to do both you and your people damage in its current location."

"I felt nothing," Durin said. "I've also met Annatar. Your accusations seem terribly farfetched - what proof do you have of any of this?" He made no motion to remove his Ring.

Celebrimbor leaned forward in his chair. "At 2:00 AM two nights ago my former apprentice and I both dreamed completely independently of an unknown force that connected the Rings with a web of light and and drew information from each of the Rings. We both heard the same words associated with it and when I woke and followed the link that my Rings gave me I saw Annatar laughing in triumph."

"You want me to give up my Ring based on a dream. Celebrimbor, I am most pleased with my Ring. It has done everything you designed it to and has been of great assistance in finding mithril and locating dangerous areas. It saves lives when my people go mining. My son would be dead if I hadn't spotted that gas bubble just before they reached it."

"There is nothing wrong with the Ring in and of itself, but this outside master Ring - we don't know what effects it has yet. We do know it pulls information and - I'm explaining what this all wrong! It's the equivalent of having a spy and an agent provocateur seated inside your head. It may not have done anything much yet but for how long will that last? And will you even know when the situation starts to change?" Celebrimbor lifted his hands before him. "I no longer wear my Rings - and you know how fond we Noldor get of our own works. You may have worse troubles to deal with than toxic gas bubbles if you continue to wear yours."

"My people are strong and Khazad-dum is a fortress that few would be mad enough to attack and none have the ability to penetrate against our will. But based on the power of this Ring we have begun some new excavations that absolutely require it for basic safety."

"That I can completely understand," Celebrimbor answered. "But I fear you are not as invulnerable as you think. If Annatar starts controlling you through the Ring, what use is a fortress? In all probability he is an escaped Umaia of Morgoth's. Don't underestimate him!"

"Elves may be easy to control, but Morgoth never had any luck controlling my people. Nor did any of the other Valar save Mahal alone. And it is ill to ask the return of a gift, especially after so much time."

"Oh really..." Don't lose your temper now, Celebrimbor. This isn't the time! "I would have thought it worse to allow a gift given in good faith destroy my friends through lack of warning when it turns to poison."

"You have given your warning. No, do not think that I am disregarding it. I will only use it for essentials until I have a better idea of just what is going on."

This decision is going to hurt him, but how do I make him see reason? I have no power here; I cannot make him do anything. I do not think continuing to persuade him will do anything other than anger him. "I hope that your estimation of your people's controllability is correct," Celebrimbor said slowly. "But if I cannot change your mind, I must be going."

Durin's eyebrows shot up. "But you are tired and have come a long way in a short time; surely you will stay a while?"

"I have other people to warn and there is much that I must do in my own land. I cannot stay, but I will be coming back this way - if I might."

"Of course you can. Where are you going? Lorinand?"

"If you are going to keep using a Ring, it is better that you do not know."

"I would hardly betray your secrets, friend. That comment is unworthy of you."

"I am not worried that you would intentionally betray us. I would no more believe that of you than I would of myself, but I mistrust that Ring on your finger. You should really have taken it off before we started this conversation."

"I think you're exaggerating, but I take your point. If you must go, wherever you go, fare well."

"And you also." Celebrimbor stood up and left the room.

Celebrimbor spent the rest of the journey through Khazad-dum in a foul mood, barely exchanging a word with his escort except over essentials. Everything was going wrong and there seemed little he could do to fix it other than what he was already doing - which wasn't working. He was glad when he got into the open air even if it meant he had to carry his own pack through the rain. At least he could be surly without causing a diplomatic incident.

Down Dimril dale he trudged and on into the forests of Lorinand. He made no effort to be quiet - in fact he made certain to be as noisily conspicuous as possible. The elves of this land never made their borders very obvious to outsiders and he didn't want to be mistaken for an enemy or a spy. There was still no one he could see by the time he got to the river Celebrant, but after living in Nargothrond he knew better than to assume that meant no one had seen him.

He sat down by the river to wait. He waited for two hours. Maybe they hadn't seen him after all. He got up, picked up his pack and began to wade across the river.

Everything happened at once. Ahead, a guard appeared with a drawn bow, while someone yelled something he didn't understand from behind and he lost his footing in the stream. Splash. The guard fished him out and watched him cough and splutter.

"Thank you, I think," said Celebrimbor when he had his breath back. "I'm a friend, Celebrimbor of Eregion, and I'm here to talk to Galadriel." This didn't go down well.

"Lord Celebrimbor!" The guard said in heavily accented Sindarin. "What are you doing here alone and unescorted? Why haven't we received a message that you would be coming?"

"It is a matter of some urgency and I felt it more useful to come myself lest the matter should be misunderstood."

"If it is a matter of that much urgency, you must speak to king Amdir. He is our king, not the lady Galadriel, glad as we may be to have her living here. She may also not wish to speak to you after what happened in Ost-in-Edhil."

"It is partly about that I must speak to her. I owe her an apology, but she should hear that from me and not from anyone else."

"I see," said the guard. "You really must speak to king Amdir first. I will take you to him, but first you must give up your sword."

Celebrimbor blinked. "Why?" he asked.

"You come bearing an unresolved grudge against one of our citizens, and your family has a reputation for violence."

Not that old thing again, groaned Celebrimbor inwardly. Will I never be free of it? "I was never involved in any of the incidents to which you refer - to the point of being outcast by my own family. I am also the leader of a powerful city, and your behavior is insulting."

"If you want to be treated like a statesman, you need to act like one. Turning up alone and armed at the border with no warning of your presence and then trying to cross..."

"Fine, take my sword!" Celebrimbor undid his sword belt and handed it and the sword to the guard. He followed the guard into Lorinand through the pouring rain.

_________

Celebrimbor had never actually met Amdir before. He was different from the Noldorin lords that Celebrimbor was more used to. He received Celebrimbor in an open-sided pavilion lit with oil lamps. There were several of his counsel present, but they were otherwise alone. Celebrimbor bowed politely and was relieved to see that Amdir returned the gesture.

"What brings you here alone and with such haste?" Amdir asked without preamble. "The lady Galadriel has been requested to join us, but that will not happen until my people find her. I understand you wish to apologize. Why the change of heart?"

"The two are very much related..." said Celebrimbor before once again explaining the situation with the Rings.

Amdir frowned. "I find your tale most alarming," he said. "I will see to it that any Rings of Power that have made their way into my kingdom are retrieved and returned to you. I suspect there are few of them; most silvan elves have little interest in or use for magical baubles. But wouldn't it be better to simply destroy the Rings rather than attempting to fix them?"

"It isn't that simple, unfortunately. Many things in Ost-in-Edhil involve the Rings in one way or another, and some normal city functions would cease to work without them. In other places also..." Celebrimbor stopped, remembering that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to spread knowledge of Khazad-dum's weakness any further than necessary.

Out of the corner of his eye, Celebrimbor saw a gleam of silver-gold undulled even by the grayness of the day: Galadriel.

Amdir followed Celebrimbor's gaze and called her forward. "I need your advice," he said. He then attempted to explain the situation with the Rings. Celebrimbor couldn't help but wince at some of it. It sounded even worse when someone else explained it, and Amdir hadn't quite gotten all the details right.

Galadriel looked from Amdir to Celebrimbor and back again during the explanation, frowning. "What do you think?" Amdir finally asked. "I know little of Rings of Power."

"Do you have any speculations on whom Annatar really is?" Galadriel asked Celebrimbor.

"An escaped Umaiar of Morgoth's," Celebrimbor said. "I have no idea which one... except that he is obviously not stuck in a single horrifying form, and is quite capable of masking his true nature. He is a brilliant artificer, and loves solving problems and building things. He can't possibly be feigning that. Judging by this Master Ring he has a desire for power over others."

"Let me think for a moment," Galadriel said. A few seconds later, she continued. "I know the army of Aman missed some of Morgoth's Umaiar. Annatar is powerful, intelligent and very good at deception. I certainly hope this is not the case, but I am not sure what happened to Sauron after the War of Wrath. I know he surrendered to Eonwe, but I did not see them taking him away in chains. Did you see that?" She asked Celebrimbor.

"No, I did not, but surely they would not have let him run loose after all the damage he had done. Gil-galad might know more or there might be something in the archives at Mithlond."

"He would have the ability to do what you've just described," she said, "especially if he managed to charm Eonwe it into letting him go."

Sauron. Valar preserve us. That can't be right; I would've noticed I was working with Morgoth's lieutenant, wouldn't I? "Surely Sauron couldn't keep up an act of being a good Maia for hundreds of years. It wasn't just me he was fooling; it was the entire Gwaith-i-Mirdain as well as most of the people of Ost-in-Edhil and the rest of Eregion."

"I always knew he there was something wrong with him," Galadriel said.

"Then why didn't you tell me what it was?" Celebrimbor demanded.

"I didn't know what was wrong; I just knew that something was! I tried to tell you what I had sensed but you did not listen."

"I believe you were intending to apologize, Celebrimbor," Amdir interjected. "This is an argument."

Celebrimbor took a deep breath before speaking to Galadrial: "I owe you an apology for not believing you when this could have been prevented. You were right, I was wrong and I very much wish I had listened to you. As for the expulsion the of you and your daughter from Ost-in-Edhil, it was one of the stupidest things I have ever done."

"One of?" said Galadriel, raising an eyebrow, then shaking her head and sighing softly. "Enough of this. I accept your apology. I also overstepped my boundaries that day. I should have realized that you would never do anything in your laboratory so counter to basic ethics. Shall we get back to the discussion?"

"Yes please," said Celebrimbor. The discussion continued for a while before Amdir called a halt, saying they would continue the next morning. Celebrimbor would have liked to continue now so that he could get back to Ost-in-edhil as soon as possible, but he had to admit he was both hungry and exhausted. The delay might also give him time to talk to Galadriel alone without anyone noticing...

Celebrimbor sat at the table that night with Amdir, Galadriel and many of Amdir's counselors. Celebrimbor could not remember the names of most of them. There was a great deal of small talk but no talk of Rings. The food was good and he quickly found that he was ravenous.

At some point tonight he had to find time to speak to Galadriel. He thought of the three Rings in their little box. Across the table, Galadriel met his eyes and he knew she would find the time to speak to him.

After dinner, she came over to him and insisted that he must see the view from the top of one of the great mallorn trees. Celebrimbor readily agreed to this and they set out for the tree. He was happy to discover that there was a ladder up the lower portion of the tree. It had no branches for a good thirty feet off the ground and he'd never learned how to climb like a silvan elf.

The view from the top was indeed spectacular. He could see most of Lorinand as well as the mountains. But that was not what he had come for, nor Galadriel.

"What is it you wish to speak to about?" Galadriel asked.

"This," said Celebrimbor reaching inside his tunic for the pouch. He took out the box and opened it. Three Rings gleamed softly in the twilight.

Galadriel's eyes widened. "Why did you bring these here?" she asked. "Are these the three you've been working on recently? I can feel the power radiating off them."

"Yes. Annatar, or Sauron, or whoever else he may be, never touched them. They aren't like the other Rings. I was thinking about how the elves are doomed to fade with time... so I made them. This is Narya," he said, pointing to the Ring with the ruby set in gold. "It strengthens the courage of the wearer and those around him or her and gives strength to fight evil. This is Vilya," and he pointed to the sapphire and mithril Ring. "It increases wisdom and strengthens the memory of what is past so that knowledge and history is not lost or forgotten. This is Nenya," he said, he pointing to the Ring of mithril set with adamant. "It prevents the decay of time and heals the land. I want you to take them and hide them." He closed the box.

Galadriel looked stunned. "How well do they work? Have you tried to wield them?"

"They work. I have tested each of them on a small scale but I was still doing final adjustments to Narya when all this happened. I don't want them to be lost. They are still connected to the Master Ring and I dare not use them but I think I may be able to detach the Rings from his influence, given time. I saw part of what Annatar did, and if we can free them the wielders would be able to heal many of Middle-earth's hurts and at least postpone the fading of our people."

"I didn't think that was possible," Galadriel said. How do they do that?

"They distort the fabric of distance and time. The extent of their influence, judging from the other Rings, should depend on the wielder's power and skill as well as the exact properties of each Ring. It..."

"I don't need to know the details if I am only to hide them. I take it that they are far too dangerous to use with the master Ring in Annatar's hands."

"Yes, they are far too dangerous to use. I suspect Annatar can see the thoughts of the Ring wielders, although he may not be able to control them. I don't know precisely what he can do and I would rather not find out the hard way."

"I can see why you don't want to destroy them," Galadriel said, "but if these are so powerful they could be a truly deadly weapon in Annatar's hands, especially if he is Sauron."

"That is why I want you to hide them where he will not find them. He will know they exist and have some idea what they can do. They are by far the most powerful of any of the Rings we made."

"They should be distroyed," Galadriel said. "They are too dangerous and how do you know he will not be able to find them whatever we do? And Celebrimbor, what will the Valar and Eru think of your trying to change the fate of our people?"

"No! Morgoth has so damaged Arda it is hard to tell what Eru's original plan was but I doubt Middle-earth was supposed to be this damaged and I doubt we were supposed to be damaged like this either! Should we do nothing to heal what is injured because we fear going against Eru's plan? You yourself put forth your power to cleanse land darkened by evil and lighten hearts with healing song."

"There is a difference in kind between healing a person and changing the fate of the people and the land. I fear you are going beyond what you have wisdom to control or understand." Galadriel turned away and looked out into the gathering dusk for a long moment before turning back. "I can see why you would do it and in my heart I wish it also, if it can be done without destroying something more valuable that we cannot see. If we hold them unused for now... but the other Rings should certainly be destroyed."

"As I said earlier, destroying Rings is very difficult because the conditions must be replicated exactly. There is something else I should mention. Creating something of this power takes a great deal of power from the one who made them. Destroying the Rings would seriously harm those of us who created them."

"Who is affected?"

"Elcaran, Carantir, Aranmir, and of course me. Elcaran and I are in the most danger. The other two would probably be fine after time to adjust to the loss."

"Would it kill you?"

"If all of them were destroyed simultaneously, quite likely, but that isn't possible because not all of them were made under the same precise conditions. I would have to do it sequentially, losing a bit of myself each time. I'm not sure I could do that to myself and I could not ask anyone else to do that. Elcaran has a family and one of his children isn't even grown yet."

Galadriel looked sick for a second, but continued. "Even so, if you distroyed the Rings that Annatar played a role in making, do you think you could harm him?"

"I don't know. Probably not if we assume he is Sauron. As an extremely powerful Maia he would have a lot more power to disperse than any elf. The sole exception is the master Ring if we could ever get hold of it. It must contain nearly as much power as the rest of the Rings combined. I wouldn't be surprised if destroying that did severe damage to him. But getting it away from him would be a problem. He would never allow it to be unmade even if he were to have a change of heart and decide he didn't want to control us. It would have to be taken from him by force. "

"I will take the Rings and hide them." Galadriel said, holding out her hand for the box. Celebrimbor passed it over and she tucked it away inside the bodice of her dress.

Celebrimbor could not help but notice and he blushed slightly.

Galadriel either didn't notice or ignored this."You do realize you've gotten all of us into an unbelievable mess?" she said.

"I could hardly not notice, could I?"

"You can be awfully oblivious when you're immersed in a project. Half the times I've tried to talk to you, I might as well have been speaking to a rock."

"I suppose so, but I'm not oblivious now."

Galadriel was silent a moment before asking "What are you going to do next?"

"Go back to Ost-in-Edhil. I have to try to get my people to take all the Rings off and hand them in, and then I need to see if I can undo the linkage to the master Ring."

"You should also fortify Ost-in-Edhil," Galadriel said. "Who knows what Sauron will do when he discovers he can't control you? You should also inform the High King. He hasn't seen you in a very long time and you're going to have to work together on this."

"I know Celeborn has been reporting my activities to you and presumably to Gil-galad in great detail."

Galadriel's eyebrows rose. "Yet you never tried to stop him."

"I never had anything to hide, so why should I stop him?"

"Except precisely what you were doing with the Rings of power and Annatar. You need to speak to Gil-galad in person. Go to Lindon as soon as you have the situation in Ost-in-Edhil under control."

Celebrimbor suddenly remembered the guard's comment about needing to act like a statesman if he wanted to be treated as one. "In other words, since I seem to have stolen your leadership it's time I actually took on the responsibilities that go with it."

"Yes," she said.

Celebrimbor twitched at that but said nothing. They sat and watched Ithil rise for a few minutes before heading back down the tree.

Chapter End Notes

A/N: With reference to the effect of destroying the Rings on their makers, I am going by what happened to Sauron when the One Ring was destroyed, along with the thought that perhaps Feanor wasn't being overly dramatic when he said that unmaking the Silmarils would kill him. Feanor may have been being overly dramatic, or he may have been referring to grief rather than direct effects of destruction, but he could have been being literal. Given the way events occurred, we'll never know, will we?

Galadriel watched Celebrimbor set off for Ost-in-Edhil the next morning after another meeting with Amdir and counselors in which matters were rehashed but no further decisions were made. As she lost sight of him in the forest, Galadriel knew that she would not see him again in Middle-earth.

 Warning: references to slash caused by computer errors. 

Due to hand and arm problems, I use voice dictation software. When using voice dictation software it is essential to proofread your work. In addition to incomprehensible sentences, you occasionally end up with very funny ones. From this story, the best are:

He left the horse at the Westgate with Caranor, and dented cans that the mix courted by the dwarves. - entering Khazad-dum. I don't know what it means, and I'm not sure I want to know.

No one could force him to create that his own whale - apparently Sauron now builds whales of his own free will. Sounds like a nice hobby.

You come bearing an unresolved grunge against one of our citizens - a guard of Lorinand, speaking to Celebrimbor

I find your tail most alarming, he said. - Amdir, speaking to Celebrimbor. I'd be a bit alarmed if Celebrimbor suddenly grew a tail. An experiment gone wrong, perhaps?

These next mistakes are from Pivot Point

1) He wore his Black hair braided, and he had the most piercings Celebrimbor had ever seen.

2) Celebrimbor studied him intently as they exchanged vows.

Anyone would think I was attempting to write truly bad slash here. But no, it is only my computer which wishes to slash Celebrimbor and Sauron, and to turn Sauron into lord of the piercings! Perhaps that's what he wanted all the Rings for...