WW XXXX - The scouring of the Shire, vol.2 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Nogrod · 11-26-2007, 01:55 PM

Year 1429 Shire reckoning.

The eve of the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Bywater.

The hobbits had enjoyed years of plenty ever since the Travellers had returned and the Shire had been scoured. The Shire had become once again what it had always been. There was now even something for a visitor from far away to come and marvel in awe: the only mallorn between the sea and the mountains stood at the Party Field already strong and proud even if it was quite a youngster as trees go.

All the evil that Sauron had created and nurtured had been washed away from Middle-Earth, the last of it exactly here in the Shire with the death of Saruman the fallen wizard. The evil magic had disappeared and only the lesser evil of men – that which could be explained rather as the absence of goodness than pure evil itself - remained.

Or was it so?

Well, not exactly...

Saruman thought he knew what he was talking before his violent death in front of the Bag End but Frodo was right in claiming that his powers had been stripped away from him. But that was not the whole story.

Gandalf did possess the authority and the strength to strip Saruman from his powers at the ruins of Isengard but even he couldn’t undo all the evil planted in to the soul of Saruman by Sauron at the height of his powers. Small shards of evil magic were indeed left and when Saruman’s soul gathered as a grey mist about his body and was finally blown away four little breaths of the original evil of Sauron remained and immediately took new hosts.

They were small bits of evil, remnants of a far more powerful Gaur-spell harboured and hosted by Saruman. It had been the plan of Sauron that if his enemy would manage to overpower Saruman his violent death would create an army of mighty werewolves that drew power from Saruman’s soul and Sauron’s own magic, taking as a matter the body of Saruman. But as Sauron had been defeated and Saruman had waned the little evil spirits were not powerful enough to form anything on their own. So they needed bodies for their malice. And there were plenty of hobbits around for them to choose.

It took ten years for them to grow and to overcome their hosts.

The night of the eve of the Battle of Bywater draw closer.

11-26-2007, 01:55 PM	#1
Nogrod Flame of the Ainulindalë Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Wearing rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves in a field behaving as the wind behaves Posts: 9,330	WW XXXX - The scouring of the Shire, vol.2 Year 1429 Shire reckoning. The eve of the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Bywater. The hobbits had enjoyed years of plenty ever since the Travellers had returned and the Shire had been scoured. The Shire had become once again what it had always been. There was now even something for a visitor from far away to come and marvel in awe: the only mallorn between the sea and the mountains stood at the Party Field already strong and proud even if it was quite a youngster as trees go. All the evil that Sauron had created and nurtured had been washed away from Middle-Earth, the last of it exactly here in the Shire with the death of Saruman the fallen wizard. The evil magic had disappeared and only the lesser evil of men – that which could be explained rather as the absence of goodness than pure evil itself - remained. Or was it so? Well, not exactly... Saruman thought he knew what he was talking before his violent death in front of the Bag End but Frodo was right in claiming that his powers had been stripped away from him. But that was not the whole story. Gandalf did possess the authority and the strength to strip Saruman from his powers at the ruins of Isengard but even he couldn’t undo all the evil planted in to the soul of Saruman by Sauron at the height of his powers. Small shards of evil magic were indeed left and when Saruman’s soul gathered as a grey mist about his body and was finally blown away four little breaths of the original evil of Sauron remained and immediately took new hosts. They were small bits of evil, remnants of a far more powerful Gaur-spell harboured and hosted by Saruman. It had been the plan of Sauron that if his enemy would manage to overpower Saruman his violent death would create an army of mighty werewolves that drew power from Saruman’s soul and Sauron’s own magic, taking as a matter the body of Saruman. But as Sauron had been defeated and Saruman had waned the little evil spirits were not powerful enough to form anything on their own. So they needed bodies for their malice. And there were plenty of hobbits around for them to choose. It took ten years for them to grow and to overcome their hosts. The night of the eve of the Battle of Bywater draw closer. __________________ Upon the hearth the fire is red Beneath the roof there is a bed; But not yet weary are our feet... Last edited by Nogrod; 11-28-2007 at 11:38 AM.