The Plague by WendWriter

Written for the Archives of Excellence September Writing Challenge, Worst Enemies.

The events described here are my version of the story of the theft of the Silmaril from Morgoth's crown in Artíre's Revenge.

"Plague motes" refers to the bacteria Angwë intends to use, and the plague itself is Bubonic plague.

Information about the plague flea's life cycle came from http://www.insecta-inspecta.com/fleas/bdeath/Flea.html

Canon and my fanon collide here. Maiar are spirit beings and don't need to have bodies. My idea is that making a body for themselves requires a certain amount of concentration to hold it together. To keep it together requires them to be bound to it. If the body is killed, then, the Maia would lose the portion of his being that was used to bind him to the body. If the process is repeated, the Maia would become diminished and end up being much weaker than before. To regain that strength, he would need to absorb power or energy from someone or something else. This explains the state Sauron is in, and why he can't just make the plague himself like he did before.