1. A Sudden Keen Glance
`Of course, my dear Bilbo, if you had really started this affair, you might be expected to finish it. But you know well enough now that starting is too great a claim for any…"
Mithrandir continues, soothing the old Hobbit's guilt with kindly meant falsehoods. Celebrimbor and Gorthaur started this. One trying to heal the hurts of the world, the other trying to win its dominion. One my cousin, the other his murderer.
Gorthaur's Ring was made, in part, because Celebrimbor ignored all counsel. Whose wise yet too-gently-given counsel did he ignore? Galadriel's and Ereinion's - cousins both - and mine.
Isildur, too, ignored all counsel and continued the folly when he refused to cast that Ring into the Fire whence it came. Whose wise yet too-gently-given counsel did he ignore? Cirdan's - and mine. And whose far-descendant was Isildur, to be so proud and foolish? My own brother's.
Blame is to be assigned, Mithrandir, and not so diffused as to make it seem no one started this. And that blame lies as much with me as with anyone save Gorthaur and Celebrimbor. Alas, of those two, one will never repent of his deeds, and while the other surely has, Namo holds him.
`I will take the Ring', Bilbo's heir says, 'though I do not know the way.'
Namo take me if I remain deedless in the face of that! I know the way - better than any other. And it is time to right many a wrong.
I raise my eyes and look upon one who would be a hero, and he knows that he will not be going to Mordor alone.
"Elrond raised his eyes and looked at him, and Frodo felt his heart pierced by the sudden keenness of the glance" - FOTR
Gandalf's and Frodo's quotes are verbatim from "The Council of Elrond."
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
and I see 'work in progress'... 