1. Prolouge
"Oh Samwise, bravest and truest of men.
Oh Samwise, Gardener of The Shire.
Samwise, you with earth beneath your fingernails
Oh Samwise, did you know what sorrow you would cause? With one bright stab of anger, one rash act born of love and fear, you sealed the fate of your master. Oh Samwise, why did you not stay your hand? Why did you not spare the creature?
Oh, Sam! How should you have known it would have spared the world?"
Unknown lament.
…
"If [Sauron] regains [the Ring], your valour is vain, and his victory will be swift and complete: so complete that none can foresee the end of it while this world lasts."
Gandalf at The Last Debate.
…
Gandalf was considered among the Wise, and his advice and predictions were seldom wrong. But though indeed it seemed, for a while, that Sauron's reign would endure until the last age had passed, it was not so.
The grass still grew long on the wide plains, and thick in the hidden valleys of the mountain range, stubborn as weeds. Last to give way, and first to re-grow, though trampled by iron-shoes.
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.
