Lord of the Rangers

2

In Imladris, the merry party continued, far into the night. Eventually the party wound down, and in a lull in the conversation, they were all left in comfortable silence. Elrond sat at the table, swirling wine in his glass, Elladan opposite him.

Legolas and Elrohir were sprawled comfortably on the grass beside them, looking up at the stars. Thranduil stood a pace or two away from them, his gaze tilted up as well, Glorfindel beside him. Then finally, Aragorn was walking over to the king, holding two glasses of wine, one of which he handed to Thranduil.

The elvenking nodded his thanks, as Aragorn paused beside them, looking up with the rest. Thranduil smiled softly. It had been no secret that he was apprehensive of this young man at first, and warned his son against having a close relationship with a mortal, but in time Aragorn had earned his respect, and he began to see the strong bonds and good things that flourished in their friendship.

The peaceful silence stretched over the night, deceptively silent, as it were. The small party had but minutes left to enjoy it...

Will sighed contentedly, gazing around at the small gathering. The cabin, really only built for two, soon overflowed into the porch and clearing. Will was standing on the porch, Horace Evanlyn and Crowley were seated on the porch to his right, Halt Gilan and Alyss on the grass ahead and to the left of him.

Halt and Gilan were discussing the goings on in their respective fiefs, Alyss close at hand. As a courier she was privvy to much of the information, but still liked to hear it. And inevitably there were the odd details she had not heard. Will smiled softly. Like a ranger, Alyss rather liked knowing all the information.

On the porch Crowley was telling Horace a story, probably one of his and Halt's adventures,  rather animatedly, while Will's friend hung on his every word. Evanlyn was sitting with them, less interested but still listening politely. Will hid a smile as he noticed that she was looking less and less at Crowley, and instead at Horace. Will leaned on the railing, looking up at the familiar stars. He sighed happily. "Today was a good day." he said to himself.

If only he knew how long that would last...

Elrond felt it first. A strange disturbance, something just slightly off about the night, about the air. Glorfindel looked up next, Thranduil raising his head a second after.

Abruptly the temperature plummeted. Elladan stood sharply, instinctively meeting Elrohir's gaze. Both quickly turned to their father. Legolas sprang up, his breath pluming in the air before him, looking around warily. Aragorn tensed, glancing around for his sword.

Halt felt it first. A strange disturbance, the prickling feeling that someone was watching him. Instincts that had kept him alive so many times fired up and he suddenly lost interest in the conversation. He met Will's gaze across the lawn.

Abruptly the temperature plummeted. Gilan rose sharply, Evanlyn flying to her feet beside him. Crowley looked around in confusion, meeting Halt's gaze. Alyss stood slowly, watching apprehensively as her breath plumed in an icy cloud before her. Horace tensed, drawing his sword.

The air compressed, and they couldn't breathe. Alyss gasped, her vision filled with a bright light. Aragorn yelled involuntarily, shading his eyes against the blinding light. Thranduil felt as if he was plunged suddenly into icy water. Gilan shouted, though what exactly he had said was beyond him. He shut his eyes from the intense glow. The wind buffeted them helpless to do anything. And the temperature dropped ever lower, as the light filled their consciousness.

And abruptly it stopped. Just as sudden as it had started, the cold faded, the light disappeared, and they all found their lungs functioning properly.