Chapter 84: Dol Guldur

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Glorfindel put the javelin in his right hand against a nearby wall, and grabbed the other spear in his right, as this was his strong hand.

The same grin still on his face, Glorefindel took a single step forward as he threw the spear toward the opposing cliff, which was about a hundred meters away.

Edward only saw a blur as he heard a sonic boom, before hearing the sound of an explosion. He looked at the cliff, and saw dark smoke coming from a part of the cliff, rocks falling into the river below.

The explosion was so loud the sound spread through the entire valley, scaring many elves. The smoke quickly dispersed, revealing a gaping hole in the cliff, bigger than a house.

Glorfindel hissed as he saw the damage and the mess he made, but Edward only nodded in satisfaction and said, "Good, throw the other one."

"You sure? I think the effects are already pretty clear…"

"Don't worry, it's won't explode. It shouldn't at least."

Glorfindel gulped and threw the other one with just as much force. But this time, there was no sonic boom, there was no sound. Edward looked at the opposing cliff and only saw with difficulty a half-fist sized hole in the cliff, which could hardly be seen from the distance.

"Was that it?"

Glorfindel asked in his wonder, expecting more. Edward was satisfied though, "This was supposed to be a piercing attack. The goal for this spear is to destroy outer defences, and with the enemy I'm facing I guess I will see it's effectiveness when I get there."

Glorfindel gaped, "Don't tell me you plan to use those wooden things to fight a great dragon?!"

Edward laughed, but was cut short as a group of elves arrived, led by Elrond. Sword in hand, he looked around, and as he looked at the cliff and the two, he sighed and unsheathed his blade.

"Were you the ones to make that explosion?"

"Glorfindel did it."

"What?!"

"Yeah, you threw that javelin."

"But you asked me to!"

Elrond massaged his temples with a troubled expression, "Are you staying in Rivendell until Durin's Day?"

Edward nodded, "Yes, that is the plan. But I promise no more big explosions."

"No explosions at all."

"Fine."

Elrond sighed and asked, "What was that explosion anyway?"

Edward grinned and explained his earlier creation. He expected Elrond to be shocked, but he only frowned and warned, "Smaug is the last great dragon, he may be weaker than his ancestors, but an explosion of this size won't harm him."

Edward shrugged, "It's fine, I know the explosive one can't pierce through his hide, I'm counting on the other javelins for that."

"… I see. We'll be leaving you. No more explosions."

Edward nodded, and once they left he asked Glorfindel, "Where did you get this Moon Forge?"

Glorfindel half expected him to take out another javelin to piss Elrond, but thankfully he didn't. Glorfindel replied, "We made it, based on an ancient forge in the west."

"In the West?"

"Yes, where we come from. Valinor, our ancestral land, where the Valar lives. Countless years ago, the sun and the moon had not yet been created, and the light of the world was provided by two trees, Telperion the Silver and Laurelin the Gold. It was a blessing to be able to see them directly, and very few elves were bathed in their direct light. I was one of those, and it's where I got my power."

"Impressive trees."

"Say that in Valinor and you probably will be flayed. Anyway, an elf called Finwë, first High King of the Noldor, created the Twin Forge, which drew it's power from the direct light of the two trees themselves."

"Impressive forge."

"… yes. His son, Fëanor, used it to forge the Silmarils, which were said to hold the light of the two trees inside them. Those three gems were so precious they became the center of the first war against the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. I died in that war, confronting the Lord of the Balrogs. We both died."

Edward raised and eyebrow and asked, "Wait, you died?"

Glorefindel nodded, "Yes, but my spirit still lived, and the Valar decided to reincarnate me with even more power because of my bravery and something like that. But that's not the subject. The Two Trees were destroyed by Morgoth and Ungolianth at the start of the war, and the three Silmarils fused with the sky, the sea and the earth, being lost."

"So the sun and the moon were created."

"Yes, they were. My people wanted to craft another set of Silmarils, and for that another Twin Forge was needed, but since the two Trees were destroyed we could only rely on the two new astral objects, the sun and the moon, with a fruit of Laurelin and a flower from Telperion."

"Did you do it then?"

Glorefindel shook his head and replied, "We were too far from the Twin Forge, we couldn't even create the Sun Forge, and only the Moon Forge. And no elf will ever be able to make it I fear."

Glorfindel sounded awfully sure of what he said, so Edward asked, "How so?"

The elf shook his head and replied, "The Sun and the Moon are still different from the two Trees, they were made with a purpose, so to say. The Sun represents the Rising of Men, and the Moon represents the Memory of the Elves."

He turned to Edward and added, with some confusion in his eyes, "It's also why it surprised me when you told me your power would recover more at night, as a man it should be during the day, under the Sun."

Edward raised an eyebrow at that, as Glorfindel wasn't absolutely right. It was only his Spiritual Essence that recovered faster under the Moon, for his Chi it was the opposite as it grew more under the Sun.

Edward did not explain though and moved the conversation to another subject.

Although his first day of waiting in Rivendell started a little chaotic, he did not cause any ruckus for the rest of his stay and made researches about the Moon Forge.

Edward thought the knowledge would be forbidden, but he was unexpectedly authorized to look it up.

This was actually an order of Elrond, after a talk he had with Glorfindel.

Back when Edward was first here with Gandalf and the company of dwarves, he created artefacts as a gift for Elrond and the others of the White Council. Obviously, he was curious about it's creation and talked to Glorfindel about it.

He was surprised to learn about Edward's ability to recover power while under the moon, and saw a hint of the long last hope of the elves to recreate the Silmarils.

The Moon Forge and the way to make it was a secret, but if it could result in the creation of a new Twin Forge and subsequently a new set of Silmarils, then giving Edward access to it's production method wasn't too much. He was warned not to spread it, of course.

His researches had to come to a stop though as Durin's Day quickly arrived, and the White Council gathered. For them, Durin's Day was… boring.

They didn't know when Gandalf would be giving the signal, but he would probably be in great danger by the time he gives the signal, so they couldn't waste the time to gather everyone.

So the White Council gathered around the table, alongside Edward, for the entire day. At first the silence was awkward, so Edward pretended to ignore everything and read.

Glorfindel was playing with his Spatial Bracelet, throwing things inside and taking them out, Elrond looked like he was sleeping, and Galadriel was looking in the distance, looking wise. Edward suspected she was giving this impression on purpose.

As for Saruman, he looked angry. He always does.

When the moon showed itself, several members were already thinking of leaving, maybe Gandalf had taken a rest somewhere, but when everyone thought so, Galadriel exclaimed, "The Dark Lord has been drawn out. Quick, we must go."

Edward immediately opened a portal to Dol Guldur, and ran in first, quickly followed by Glorefindel. The others did not show much hesitation either, he had Narya after all.

As everyone arrived at Dol Guldur, they felt the darkness emanating from the ruins. And they could see the origin of it in front of them.

A black mist was surrounding a white sphere, within which Gandalf was trapped. He was protecting himself as well as he could, but when he saw the group arrive he suffered from a lapse in his attention, and the black mist took the opportunity.

The mist suddenly condensed to form a fiery giant eye, and produced such power that Gandalf's white sphere was broken and he was sent flying into a wall. Sauron looked ready to continue attacking the wizard, but Galadriel started emanating a scary power as she raised an arm and blocked the assault.

The fiery eye, which obviously was Sauron, spoke in what Edward recognized as the Dark Tongue, or Black Speech, "Elven woman, you are bold to come here. Do you think you stand a chance against me… I see you've brought company."

Sauron's voice ended with a hiss, and the members of the White Council revealed themselves. Glorfindel and Elrond were both in armor, and although Saruman was still in his robes, he had finally found a target to pour his frustration on.

All the members of the White Council had stood in Sauron's presence, and even fought him, so they were used to his might. For Edward though, it was the first time. He could feel a suffocating might coming from the Dark Lord, one so strong he was having trouble breathing.

And to make things worse, the pupil suddenly focused on him, as Sauron hissed, "To dare bring a man to me, powerful but still a man. Should he become my tenth Nazgul?"

Edward felt Sauron's will crash into his mind, trying to overcome him. It was very uncomfortable to be assaulted like this, and Edward had the bad tendency to get in this kind of situation.

This time though, Edward had planned for this, and Sauron failed to see the hidden smile on Edward's face as the Dark Lord began by trying to crush his spirit, before bringing him to his side.

Glorfindel, Elrond and even Saruman tried to come in to help, but before they could join Edward three shadows appeared around them each. The Nine had arrived, and were protecting their servant.

And it seemed they had deemed Glorfindel to be the strongest among the three, as the Witch King of Angmar, their leader, was facing the elf, alongside two other Nazguls.

This wasn't necessarily the truth, that Glorfindel was stronger than the other two, but he was the one dispatched to lead the elves in confrontation to the kingdom of Angmar. The Witch King had faced the elf, and although he didn't die, he lost.

Meanwhile, Galadriel was protecting Gandalf as best as she could, and this showed Sauron's great power.

Despite using the majority of his power in a contest against Galadriel, one of the greatest elves of Middle Earth in the Third Age, he could still make Edward feel like his spirit was getting shattered.

But the truth was, Edward had Narya on, which protected it's user against Tyranny and Domination, and if he activated it, Edward could ignore the influence from the Dark Lord. But he did not, he intentionally let him attack.

The reason, was simple, it had to do with Edward's Chakra. The Heart Chakra was tied to Envy, while the Throat Chakra to Greed. He had been troubled to find a way to open those two, but he had been lucky and Bilbo found the One Ring, facing him with a situation where he lusted for another's possession, which he resisted and thus opened the Heart Chakra.

As for the Throat Chakra, Greed was quite similar to Envy in many ways, the main difference being that one wouldn't wish for another's belongings, but simply for something very strongly.

And Edward, who had faced the appeal of the One Ring, knowing it came from the Dark Lord, what better way was there to break open the Throat Chakra than to have the Dark Lord make an offer, and refuse it?