The Fourth Age (closed)

[queenclaire]

Eruve bid everyone goodnight as they went to sleep. She was really enjoying her traveling companions. They were all great in their own ways. She was glad she was getting to know them even if she knew losing even one of them would be very hard to take. She could only hope that no one died. She smiled as Uther came over to her, once everyone was gone. At least they were able to have some time alone right now. Her smile grew as he kissed her softly. She kissed him back tenderly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"This island is absolutely amazing," Uther commented, looking up at the trees and all around them. "Once we're finished with this mission... I'd like to really explore it for a while. And I hope we can meet any other people who live here. Like the Lunars that Garrogan mentioned."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve nodded as Uther spoke about the island being amazing. She agreed whole heartedly. She looked up as well, “I was thinking the same thing. I would love to actually spend some time here and explore. I really did not think this place would be so pretty. It really took my breath away.” She hoped it was something she could do once all this was done. She wondered how her father would react to that. Of course, she also wondered how her father would react to the fact she had fallen for a human.

 

[KieranSoares]

"And would my lady give me the honor of joining her?" Uther gave her a sweet smile, taking her hand in both of his to kiss it.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve looked at Uther as he took her hand and kissed. She cupped his cheek with her other hand, “I would not have it any other way, my love.” She did not think she could actually leave Uther once all this was over either. He was too dear to her.

 

[KieranSoares]

Uther leaned in and kissed her again, and then they heard a chuckle come from the rest of the group. Uther looked up, "What're you laughing at, brother?"

"You two are adorable."

"Oh, shut up."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve kissed Uther back, pausing when they heard the laughter. She looked to see the group there. She smiled as Uther asked what he was laughing at. She looked at Uther, “I guess it is no longer a secret.” She smiled at him and gave him a wink.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't care who knows," Uther drew her in close, his arm wrapped around her waist. It wasn't too long before they too turned in.

In the morning as light woke Eruve, she could feel something holding her down. Ropes- no, chains, they were cold- were bound about her wrists and ankles, and she was alone. Uther was missing, as were the others. A figure stood over her. At first with her sleepy vision, he appeared man, til her eyes cleared and she saw the wolf head, the tail, and his footpaws. It was one of the werebeasts. His fur was tan and his eyes were golden amber, staring down at her. He was clad in hide trousers and an elk fur sash with a spear of stone in hand and a belt of tools.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve struggled against the chains for a moment. She looked at the one that stood over her with a glare. She did not take kindly to being bound. Once again, the island had surprised her. She looked at him, “Where am I? Why I am bound? Where are the others?” She tried to hold back her anger.

 

[KieranSoares]

The creature turned his head to speak to another who approached, but this one was part tiger, not wolf. They conversed in a strange language Eruve had never heard before, and finally, both hauled her to her feet. One directed her forward with a simple motion of his hand, urging her on. It was just then that Uther came into her sight, fighting against his own chains, having gotten one hand free. The male beasts were trying to stop him, til finally a small female werewolf came running and Uther paused when she approached and placed her hands on his cheeks. She spoke softly to him, in a tone that Eruve could discern she was asking him, begging him to be calm. Uther understood too, and reluctantly calmed himself. The female was suddenly dragged away by a huge male and he snarled at her warningly, pushing her away from Uther.

The female was very different from the rest. She had white fur, and spiraling, flowing tattoos dotted her body here and there, and she wore jade and silver jewelry. But all the others had darker fur and had banded tattoos of red, black, or white that did not flow so. It became clear that this woman was not of the same tribe as these others.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve did as she was told, for now. She wanted to assess the situation before she reacted. She wanted to know where her friends were first and foremost. She walked out to see Uther tied up, but trying to break free. Her first instinct was to run to him, but she held off as a female Were ran up to him and coaxed him into be calm. She looked to not be one of the ones that had them hostage. Eruve looked to Uther once he was calm, she spoke to him telepathically. It was a great gift the elves had. “Don’t speak, just shake your head. Do you know where the others are?” She waited to see if he would answer.

 

[KieranSoares]

Uther looked up, surprised at first, but he sighed and shook his head no. They were practically dragged to a primitive, tribal village, and there were all the others, with the exception of Prince Bheyard. Gimli was under heavy guard, with a shallow gash in his head, likely from having fought. Legolas was kept far from him, unconscious from a blow to the head from having tried to defend his dearest friend. Lexan was nearly in tears, chained beside his uncle, and Miras and Oswyn looked extremely upset. Oswyn looked ashamed, even. Uther and Eruve were chained together beside the elves and Miras and Oswyn and the hobbits, but Gimli was kept away.

All around, the dark, band-tattooed creatures made their way about, and finally, an ancient, withered old white werecat approached, leaning heavily on a staff. "You..." He growled in Quenya, "Elves, humans and dwarves... and these little... hobbits," he snarled. "You trespassed on holy ground, you insolent children!"

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve watched as they were surrounded by the werebeast. It was unsettling for sure. They were quite angry with them for some reason. She wondered where the prince was since she had not seen him yet. Though she was happy to see that Uther and the others were alive, battered a bit but alive. She wondered how they took her without her even knowing it. Eruve watched silently as an elder approached them. She could feel the anger seething off of him. Once he spoke, she understood why. It would be difficult to apologize for this one. “Please,” she said to him in Quenya, “We did not know. We are very sorry. We were just resting from our travels and though there is no excuse for it, we never meant to tread on holy ground.” She hoped that many they would have some mercy on them, though that seemed bleak at the moment.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Foolish foreigners, you have been trespassing on holy ground since you set foot on this island, just like those damned elves in the south! This has been our holy land for thousands of years!"

"But Delnirith rose from the sea hardly a year ago," Legolas spoke up, only for the elder to snarl at him.

"It was hidden beneath the waves by our God! Now that it's risen, that doesn't mean you children can come desecrate it!"

"Please, Shaman Tyle," the tiny werewolf woman appeared again. She seemed to be a savior for the group. "Please forgive them!" She came to the elder and came to her knees beside him, begging for their sake.

"Do not plead for lives already lost," he grunted, "One is already dead, the rest are soon to follow, and feed my people."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve felt her anger rise as he spoke. There was unmistakable electricity in the air and thunder rolled in the distance. She was after all from Mavanue and the elves from there were shrouded in mystery. They kept to themselves for a reason and did not mingle in the matters of others. Of all the elven races, theirs was the darkest. All elves had the ability to control some of nature. Mavanue elves had the ability to control all elements and at times, dominate it. Though they did their best to not use it, there were times when it crept up inside, begging to be unleashed like a caged animal. And right now, Eruve was having to control hers. “Who is dead?” She demanded, though she had a feeling she knew the answer already.

She was sure certain members of the group, such as the elves, knew what she was actually rumored to be capable of. There were many rumors about her people. This was one of the few truths. She was not sure the humans were aware of it though. She looked at Uther as the thunder rolled again, closer this time. She telepathically spoke to him again, “Do you have a plan? I can buy us some time if we need it.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's Bheyard..." Gimli muttered before the elder could speak. That was why Gimli had fought so hard- he'd been trying to protect the Prince- but he failed against numbers.

Uther just barely nodded to Eruve, confirming he had something in mind, but he gave no direction as to what to do. The elder left them to be held there til it was decided what fate would befall them, and Uther leaned over to whisper to Eruve: "I need to talk to that werewolf woman..."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve was relieved a bit that Uther had a plan. He had had more time to think of one as well. She had just woken up. She really wondered how they took her without her knowing. She was saddened though by the new of the prince’s death. Though she did not know him well and he had kept to himself for the most part, she still mourned his death.

She looked at Uther out of the corner of her eyes as he spoke. She watched the Weres going about their business, leaving them there to wait for their impending doom. She nodded at what he said, “Right. Let me see if she can hear me.” Usually everyone she spoke to telepathically could hear her, but this was a new race and she was not sure if they had to ability to block out voices or if they could speak telepathically. She reached out to the young werewolf telepathically, “If you can hear me, the human you urged to calm down need to speak with you.” She hoped it worked. She looked at Uther with a hopefully look.

 

[KieranSoares]

The werewolf woman paused at Eruve's voice, and she turned round to face her, unsure if anyone else had heard her. She slowly approached, watching for anyone who might be suspicious, and she took to tending Legolas' wound, and muttered to Eruve, "How do you do that...? Are you part dragon?"

 

[queenclaire]

By the look of shock on the werewolf woman’s face, Eruve was sure that she was heard. Now she could only hope that she would be helpful with whatever Uther needed her for. She watched as the woman made her way over cautiously. Eruve answered quietly, “No. I am just an elf. It is just something we can do.”

 

[KieranSoares]

The woman nodded slowly, then glanced to Uther. He spoke quietly, "You aren't from this place... where are your people?"

"Several miles away. They've been trying to get me back for a year, now..."

"If you help us, we can get you home." At that, the woman looked at him in surprise, having never heard such boldness. Uther was deadly serious, though.

"No... no, you'll all be killed if you try such a thing."

"We'll die here without a fight if we don't. You know as well as I do that these are cannibals, and I'm not about to let everyone be eaten like Bheyard. Even if you don't want to risk yourself by joining us, please, just give us a chance to get out."

"... I can get the key to the locks on the chains... but it will take me a while."

"Thank you." Uther calmed a bit at this and the woman hurried away. He sighed, then looked to Eruve, "Are you alright?"

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve listened to Uther and the werewolf talk. She hoped that this Were would be able to help them in some way. She furrowed her brow slightly as she protested Uther’s offer for freedom. She thought for sure she would take him up on it.

Eruve’s stomach turned on the mention of the prince being eaten. It was such a dishonorable thing to do to him. She wondered how Aragorn would take the news. She was still controlling her anger as the thundered rolled in the distance. She looked over at Uther as he pulled her out of her thoughts and back to reality. She was not sure how to answer him. She was alive, so that was good. But, of course, she was not alright. She was chained up and facing her death. She gave him a short, unconvincing nod, “Are you alright?”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Physically, I'm just fine," Uther answered quietly. "... Aragorn and Arwen are going to be heartbroken... I failed them..." He lowered his head.

Soon, the werewolf woman returned, secretly slipping behind Uther to unlock his chains, then she did the same for the others. "Your weapons are in the hut behind you... this key unlocks it as well."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve looked at Uther with concern. She knew he would blame himself for the death. He would do the same with the next. “Uther, please don’t blame yourself.” Aragorn had known the risk when he sent his son with them. All of them knew the risk. Every single one of them knew there was a chance that they would not live to see the next day. She did not know what else to say to Uther at the moment. They all had failed to keep the prince safe, not just him. She watched at the werewolf returned with the key and freed them all. She looked to the hut behind them. She could not wait to get her weapons.

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'll have to wait..." Uther muttered, and wait they did, til late that night when few werecreatures were around, and Uther slowly slipped away into the hut. It took him a full hour to do it in silence and stealth, but he made several trips back and forth between the hut and his comrades, returning their gear. The werewolf woman had managed to bring their drakes into sight, and it would take an all-out sprint to reach them in just the right lull of the night to escape. Uther soon came to Eruve as her weapons were last. "Ready, love?" He kissed her.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve patiently waited, as hard as it was. During that time her anger subsided a bit and the thunder stopped. She really needed to keep it under control. It was one of her downfalls that her father always got after her for. She was his daughter and needed to act dignified. She knew it was best to show no emotions when angry. It kept your foe guessing.

She watched as Uther brought everyone their weapons, including her own. She put them on her and kissed Uther back and smiled at him, “I am.” She paused and grabbed his arm, “Wait, I can help us get to the drakes. I can bring in a fog around most of the weres, it would be some cover for us. They are Weres so they could see in it, but might buy us a few extra seconds. If you want, that is.” She wanted to help. She felt bad for not even being able to help the prince.