Light of the Stone (Lord of the Rings Story)

30. The Stone of Luminosity

Ronan let out another thick breath, sucking in another directly afterward. The orc raised his arm yet again, and lashed the whip down hard on his back; ripping into his flesh. The orc had been laughing, until he figured out that Ronan didn't show any sign that the plain inflicted on him hurt; though he made no noise, Ronan was near to the breaking point. He was strong, and he was praising his mother for his high-pain tolerance, but he was wearing thin. The orc had been at this since he'd arrived and the witch had said to treat he and Kilith as 'guests'. Ronan was almost positive that Kilith had passed out from all this long before, yet Ronan himself was still awake; his energy draining as the whip continued to brandish. He hadn't said one word, nothing; he'd made it quite boring for the orc, who was beginning to grow frustrated.
The whip lashed out again, ripping through his raw flesh; harder this time. The orc snarled in irritation, Ronan would have smirked, but he didn't have enough energy and he was too close to breaking.
"Gondor is on the move," another orc snarled as he walked over.
Ronan glanced over his shoulder at the other orc, who looked menacingly back. "They don't stand a chance against the Great Orc of the North," the orc brandished his whip against Ronan yet again.
As their conversation continued, Ronan zoned out; his strength was fading with every memont. There were two things that could happen within the next minute: Ronan would manage to keep himself under control and allow the orc to knock him out, or his instincts would take over and he had no idea what would happen then.
Ronan, like Reiness had powerful instincts that he couldn't control, only he wouldn't be able to control them until he turned twenty-five. His instincts were more powerful, and any sudden movement could cause him to accidentally snap someone's neck. They would also take over if too much pain was inflicted, and Ronan was struggling to keep them in check.
"...they'll be dead before they can blink!"
He tuned back into the orcs' conversation, breathing through his mouth.
"Let's see if I can finish this brat off, he's a tough one!" the orc raised his hand.
Ronan held his breath, this was the last straw; the orcs hand came down, and-
The orc suddenly squealed and fell to the ground, the movement snapped Ronan. He yanked his fists down, tearing down the metal beam that was attached to the ropes which held his hands tied up above his head. Before the other orc had time to react, Ronan had yanked the dead orc's dagger from his belt and dug it in the orc's chest; he made no noise as the light in his yellow eyes died and he too fell. Slowly, the dagger slid from Ronan's grip and down into the dust. His back burned, as if he was in the center of an unescapable flame. His strength had almost completely drained; he dropped to his knees, his skin on fire. The was a scuffle of noise behind him, and a gentle hand suddenly grasped his arm.
"Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked.
"Harleia?" Ronan glanced behind him, her voice lighting a spark of energy in him," Did you kill the other orc?"
"Yes, come on! Gondor is fixing to come and rescue you, we need to be where they can get to you!" she pulled his to his feet.
"Harleia, what are you doing here?" Ronan demanded, ignoring the sharp pain standing up shot through his back.
"I've been following you since you left," Harleia replied glancing around.
"You've been follow- why?!"
"I wasn't going to just sit there while you all went off on a quest!"
Ronan let out a breath, and looked around.
"Do you know where Kilith is?" he asked.
"No, but we'll find-"
A horn sounded, and the two of them jumped.
Gondor, Ronan thought.
It was indeed Gondor, they rode straight into the camp. It wasn't an entire legion, but it was enough to surprise the orcs. It wasn't Gondor alone, however; they were accompanied by elves.
"There's Aragorn, let's move!" Harleia ran foward, and Ronan chased after her. They swerved between horses and dodged swords, it was quite an ordeal.
"Arggg!!! Die you vile creature!"
Found Gimli, Ronan looked over to where Gimli the Dwarf swung his ax around; beheading orcs in the process.
"Gimli, where's Aragorn!" Harleia shouted to him.
"What!?" Gimli looked around until he spotted them.
"HARLEIA!" Ronan yanked her down as a series of daggers whizzed towards them.
"There!" Harleia hopped to her feet and began racing towards the King upon his bay stallion.
Ronan bolted after her, ignoring the whipping air that sliced into his raw skin.
"Ronan, Harleia!" Aragorn swiped his sword and another orc fell.
"Where's Kilith?" he asked.
"I don't know!" Ronan yelled back.
Aragorn whistled, and a saddled horse with no rider appeared.
"Get back to the camp, I'll find him!" with that he rode off.
"Come on," Ronan pulled himself together and mounted the horse, Harleia climbed up behind.
Ronan felt her stiffen,
"I know, it's bad," he said.
"We need to get you back, now," Harleia told him.
"Hold on," he snapped the reins and the horse bolted foward, racing through the camp and out to the moor.
"The camp's on the overlook and beyond," Harleia said, pointing up as they galloped across the flatland.
Ronan nodded, struggling to keep himself awake.
They went around to the side of the mountain and up the road to the overlook.
The entire camp reached farther back than Ronan could see, his vision was blurring.
"We made it," he heard Harleia breath behind him.
And I'm not dead yet, he thought.
Harleia got off the back of the horse and hopped down from the ground, she looked around.
"There's King Thranduil! Ronan, we need to-Ronan?"
The last of Ronan's energy completely drained from him, and he felt himself loose control of his being. He felt himself slide out of the saddle, and onto the ground. The last thing he saw was being crowded by a mix of elves and men, hovering over him with worried expressions; Thranduil then appeared, his expression a mix of fear and urgency.
Rein, he thought, the pain shooting through his back reaching an unbearable point,
I hope you find that stone soon.
****
"Who's idea was this!?" Thalia shrieked as she fled to one side of the camp, an entire legion of orcs following after her.
"Just keep them busy with that!" Reiness yelled back., watching as Aileara, Thalia, and Taurith zigzagged across the camp; holding torches of magical light above their heads.
"Come on!" Malice' hissed, crouching down at the edge of the pit.
Reiness glanced behind her and, keeping control of her instincts, dove head first into the gaping hole. She flipped over and landed on her feet, then tried not to gag at the sight. Giant swampy-looking liquid lied moving around in the ground, muffled yowls coming from beneath the surface of the liquid everywhere in this pit.
"There breeding more of them?" Reiness gawked as she looked around.
"Yes," Malice got to her feet," Gothafar and my mother want to create another army as big as Sauron's."
"Wonderful."
"Come on, we don't have much time. How long will that flame of yours last?"
"I don't know, without me actually controlling it it's going to vary."
The flame that Reiness had lit the torch with was a flame that could lead anything with darkness in it's heart astray, it was perfect in this case but it it wouldn't last too long without Reiness actually there with it. There orcs had been completely cleared out, now sprinting after Aileara, Thalia, and Taurith, who held the torches.
"Any ideas where to start?" Reiness asked.
"You're the one who should know, because you're the only one who can find it!" Malice' snapped.
"I didn't even really think about that," Reiness muttered.
Malice' huffed, obviously annoyed.
"Just start looking," she growled, with that she went off in the opposite direction; disappearing in dark of the tunnel.
Reiness jumped as a muffled shriek sounded to her left,
That's disgusting, she thought horribly as she passed by one of the moving puddles of ooze. She continued in the opposite direction of Malice' and out of the light, where she held up her palm and created her own. The heat of the pit disappeared in the tunnel and turned into cool, crisp air; much more pleasant than being in that stuffy place. Gothafar had left leading a patrol a while ago, but Malice' had said to cover all of Fanghorn the patrols took about two-and-a-half hours.
What am I even looking for? Reiness wondered, letting out an exasperated huff.
She thought about the book and it's statement that only a Calequendi could find it, but how? How was a Caliquendi supposed to find it? Maybe there was some kind of passcode or word you had to say.
But what would it be? Come on think!
She wracked her brains, thinking of any possible word that would tie to light.
"Galad {Light}!" she said aloud, her voice echoing.
Nothing happened.
"Amin Calequendi {I am an Elf of Light}!" she yelled.
Still, nothing happened.
Come on! Give me something!
She took a deep breath and thought carefully, about everything she'd ever known about light. Light to elves was considered precious and pure, as precious and pure as a child.
Wait a minute, light is as pure as a child...
"Amin henig cala {I'm a child of light}!" she said loudly.
At first there was nothing, then-
Reiness gasped as she turned around face-to-face with...Galadriel?
"Arwenamin {My Lady}?" Reiness breathed.
Galadriel, magnificent as ever stood illuminated by light; a smile etched in her fair face.
"You have come a long way, Poikaer {Pure one}," she said, her voice a clear, low bell.
"What are you doing here?" Reiness asked.
"Do you not yet know?"
Reiness frowned, why in Mordor would Galadriel be here? It made no sense! Unless...
"You knew where the stone was all along, didn't you?" she said.
"Not quite.
Galadriel's smile didn't waver as she spoke,
"The stone is not found, it is created," she said.
Reiness blinked, confused.
"I don't believe I know what you mean..."
"In the Book of Stones it says that the stone can only be found by a Caliquendi, but the stone itself does not exist. The power of Luminosity does, and it can only be put into a physical form by a Caliquendi," Galadriel explained.
"So, the Luminous Stone doesn't exist but the power of Luminosity does?" Reiness narrowed her eyes in concentration, this was a lot to hear.
"Yes," Galadriel replied.
"How must I get to it?" Reiness asked.
Galadriel smiled,
"You already have."
She held out her palm, where a glowing white gem sat connected to a thin silver chain.
Reiness breathed out, and her hand hovered over the object; it looked too delicate to hold.
"I don't understand," she said," How do you have the stone?"
Galadriel looked thoughtful,
"What are the names you know me by?" she asked.
"Well, the Lady of Lorien, the Lady of Galadhrim, the Lady of the Golden Wood, and...the Lady of Light."
Reiness looked up at her, beginning to understand.
"As the Lady of Light, I am also the guardian of light. I watch over all the light, including you, Mellonamin {My friend}," Galadriel replied," It is my duty to make sure that the stone does not fall into the wrong hands. Now, it is your duty."
She held it out to Reiness, who gently picked it up by the chain and held it up. It sparkled, every fragment reflecting it's beautiful light. It looked harmless, like it would shatter at the touch, but Reiness could feel the power coursing through the tiny little object. She fastened the chain around her neck, and put in under the neckline of her tunic.
"What am I to do now?" she asked.
"Return to your friends, for the magic of your flame is running out," Galadriel replied.
Reiness nodded,
"Thank you," she smiled," I can assure you that this power will be safe."
"I'm sure it will be," Galadriel smiled," Now, return to your friends."