A Light From the Shadows Shall Spring

Although the room I currently resided in was very open, I still felt stifled. I needed to leave this room and venture elsewhere, where I could forget the conversation that just took place. I moved to the door, ignoring the protests in my side and went down the hallway.

Looking around me as I walked I noticed how unbelievably beautiful this place was. The hallway was not closed in by any walls; it was open and airy. Beautifully crafted pillars held the delicate structure up, and translucent curtains blew lightly in the breeze in place of where full-length windows would be. Half way down the hallway was a winding staircase crafted out of a thin looking wood material. It looked flimsy, but as I stepped onto the first step, I found it was as sturdy as steel. I trailed my hand down the intricately carved railing, my fingers tracing the patterns of leaves and foliage that would seem almost real if I weren't touching them with my own hands. It looked like one large vine that flowed from the top of the stairs to the bottom and I was completely intrigued.

Once at the bottom of the stairs I followed a stone walkway outside past a circular courtyard. Some kind of familiarity tugged at the back of my mind, almost like the feeling of déjà vu, but I continued on until I found a room that looked like a library.

It was a massive circular room, with tall bookshelves lined with so many books it seemed impossible. I walked over to one of the shelves and tilted my head to the side to look at the titles, but found I couldn't read any of them- they were all in a different language that I didn't recognize in the slightest. To me it slightly resembled Arabic, but even that didn't really describe the scrawl sufficiently.

I turned away from the books and realized that there were also portraits lining the walls as well. They seemed to be telling a story. One picture showed a grouping of people, some looked like the elves who were here, and some looked like men, and some looked like dwarves. They were all holding a single ring in their hand.

The picture to the left showed a tall, brooding, black figure. He looked as if he had a metal mask on. It was pointy and dark and slightly resembled a skull. On his finger was a large, golden ring. Looking upon this painting gave me an uneasy feeling and I moved quickly on to the next one.

A battlefield. In the distance, a dark cloud hung over a fiery mountain.

The next painting showed the King from the first picture. He had a broken sword in his hand and looked as if he was reaching up to stab the tall, foreboding figure who was standing above him.

Before I could move on to the next painting, I felt a presence behind me. Turning, I saw Lord Elrond studying me. He spoke softly, looking to the paintings."The story of the One Ring, and how Isildur betrayed mankind when he did not cast it into the fire. An important lesson."

I frowned to myself. This Isildur guy kept popping up, and I had to say that I didn't really care for him much. Lord Elrond moved over towards me and gently led me by the arm away from the room. "An important lesson indeed, " he began, "and you soon shall learn the full tale, but first, I must show you something."

I let him lead me back out onto the walkway and he released my arm as he lead me further down the path I had taken earlier. We climbed a strong ivory staircase that seemed to go right through the middle of the city. He lead me up to yet another beautifully crafted building and I followed him inside. It was darker here, and the walls were lined with candles and I watched as the light flickered off the wall and cast shadows all around us.

We followed a hallway until we reached yet another circular room. This room had very few walls and was also held up by pillars and delicately decorated with translucent curtains. In the center of the room in the floor was a circular pond and I could see the small stream that entered the room at one end, passed through the pond, and then exited on the opposite end of the room. Hung up on the wall was a painting that nearly took up the entirety of the wall. Looking at it, I gasped. It was a portrait of a women with long, dark grey hair, a pale complexion, and deep grey-blue eyes. I recognized her instantly. She was me.

Astounded, I looked to Lord Elrond, speechless. He smiled sadly and said, "We've waited for your return for some time. I admit, I wondered if you would ever return."

I walked closer to the pond and looked down, seeing my reflection look back up at me. I studied my features, especially my recently altered hair color, and then looked up to the painting once more. There was no denying it was me.

However, a question quickly bubbled to the surface of my mind. I turned to Lord Elrond and asked, "What makes me so special though? Why does anyone even care?"

He looked as if his mind was far away and said, "You had entered my dreams from even before you were born. My dreams confused me, and I took up council with Lady Galadriel of Lothlórien. She, too, had seen you in her dreams. For many years we did not know what your purpose was- your future revealed itself to us in it's own time. Shortly before the War of the Last Alliance, we understood your purpose. Since the people of your Father's land have now been lost to the White Mountain, there remains no realm for you to rule. However, there is one realm that has no King. The rightful owner of the crown walks among us, but is not keen to take up his rightful place. It also remains that the men who are cursed to remain in the Mountain have still not fulfilled their oath. The one to whom they owe their allegiance is the one who must take up the throne."

He looked at me intensely, yet his voice was still soft when he spoke. "You must aid these future events. The battle for mankind rests on Middle Earth's doorstep, I fear, and these events must come to be. If not, I fear shadow will overtake this realm, and bringing with it a great evil that will never be undone, until the ruin of all. You must bridge the gap, and make blind men see. The subsequent fate of Middle Earth rests in the hands of another, but you are most important to the well-being of all."

My brain went blank momentarily as I tried to take everything in and process it properly. I took a deep breath and said, "How do you know I can do it?"

He grasped my shoulder in a fatherly way and said, "You must do it. There is no other way. You have found your way back to Middle Earth, and so it must be."

I looked down, worry plaguing my mind. I wondered what exactly this task would entail. I looked up at him and whispered, "What do I have to do?"

He turned, guiding me out of the room with him. As we walked down the hall he said, "There is a council being held tomorrow morning at dawn. You must attend. Your future will be clear then." He suddenly stopped, and I jolted myself in order to stop with him. He gave me an unreadable expression and said, "I may warn you though, that many people have heard the tale of The Lost Lady of Dunharrow. You are quite well-known among many who reside in Middle Earth. This, I believe, may cause unwanted attention to come to you, but you mustn't worry. No one here means you any harm."

I took in a deep breath and continued walking after him. How on earth was I supposed to deal with this? In the course of one day I've found out that I'm actually from a place I've never seen before, I can't go back to my home, I have to help some King who doesn't want to be helped, and I'm somehow this legendary celebrity, and everyone knows more about me than I do. I could already feel the migraine coming on.