Time Limit

Hayden

SASSED

The girl who greeted me at the gate shook my hand and said, "I'm Melanie, the oldest student in the Lord Of The Ring fandom. Kyle told me to introduce you to the school and to your room as Kyle is quite busy at the moment, and all the A.I. pods are serving other newcomers."

A bazillion questions popped into my mind. Who was Kyle? Where was I? What about my parents? What was I going to do here? What the heck was happening?

I knew that it was real, and my questions would soon be answered, but I still couldn't believe it. I was in a school for fandom, for Valar's sake! I could study my favourite fandom and I could leave my old (and fake) life behind! I could start over and be an ordinary fanboy---the past was in the past! (A/N: I am very sorry for the Frozen reference here!)

"C'mon, what are you waiting for? Adventure awaits!" exclaimed Melanie. "I'll show you the Grand Hall first. Sadly, it's not decorated like any Elven halls, but it's impresive enough. Instead, the concept was taken from Harry Potter. The Grand Hall is a great inspiration for a breathtaking hall." She lead me to a large oak door.

The door opened, only to reveal a majestic looking hall. It was a vast hall, and the pillars soared to the ceiling, which imitated a beautiful starry night. The only thing that puzzled me were...

Floating candles? That doesn't make sense! I thought. As if she was reading my mind, Melanie explained, "We use the Wingardium Leviosa charm to make them levitate in the air. That's from the Harry Potter fandom, if I'm not mistaken." What the heck was Winerdom Lefosar? (A/N: Sorry to all potterheads! I was messing up the charm up to indicate that Hayden doesn't know HP stuff.)

I followed Melanie out of the Grand Hall and found myself in a circular room. The dark room had no windows at all and the only light sources were from the Devil's Eye above and the weakly-flickering torches The eerie ray of midsummer moonlight shone onto the polished marble floor, illuminating the glowing Quenya runes.

(A/N: It looks something like this, except that Quenya runes are carved on the floor.)

"Guess what it says? As a Ringer, you should know." Melanie asked me.

"The Chamber of...Gateways? What is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see," she said, a hint of mystery lacing through her words. She waved her hand. A silver door with Dwarven runes appeared out of nowhere. Melanie whispered, "Edro." The door creaked open, revealing a bright ray of light behind the door.

——————

I stepped through the door and was welcomed with  the beautiful sight of a scenic cliff. Waterfalls hung over the jagged stone cliffs like curtains. It looked familiar, yet I couldn't recall where I had seen this scenery before. I turned around and found myself on a balcony.

"Welcome to Rivendell, the Last of Homely Homes. One does not simply forget about the beautiful and holy Rivendell, Hayden," she scolded me. I flushed with embarrassment, ashamed of not recognising the view in front of me as Rivendell. Well done, Hayden Sanchez. "We'll head to your room now, so that you can settle down.

On the way to my room, Melanie was babbling about the history of Lord of the Rings, but I wasn't listening at all. I knew all that stuff anyways. I was too captivated by the view. Arches, fountains and bridges adorned the Elven city, and water seemed to be everywhere. Wherever Melanie led me, there was at least one of the structures that I knew. The structures may be a little too much for my taste, but it suited the city and made Rivendell look even more elegant.