Two years remained until the Fellowship of the Ring. Honestly, I had considered leaving and coming back. Seventy years is an extremely long time. But having spent it with unchanging elves and wizards, my sense of time seemed to have warped, as if I had become immortal myself.
'Now that I'm over 200 years old, I've certainly lived longer than any human.'
Staying long in The Lord of the Rings wasn't bad. It was healing, I had a beautiful wife, and my understanding of magic greatly improved. Plus, I crafted many magical items, so I should be fine even if I go to other worlds.
Anyway, I spent the remaining two years preparing anything needed for the Fellowship. Then, Aragorn returned to the Dragon's Tower.
"I'm finally back..."
He looked as happy as if he were coming home — which, in a way, he was. Aragorn had no permanent home, wandering constantly. The Dragon's Tower was his rest stop and sanctuary.
"I tracked him along the Anduin and finally caught him in the mountains of shadow. That should have been it, but no — I had to take him to the Elves of Mirkwood, near the Lonely Mountain. Eight years. If I'd known it would take this long, I wouldn't have done it."
Aragorn talked over his meal.
"Wow... That must have been rough."
"I almost died to orcs a few times."
"Did you run out of money?"
"With what you gave me, brother, plus working village jobs, I managed."
"Thank goodness."
"Anyway, I'm going to rest for a few days. I missed the tower's bathhouse and your cooking."
Aragorn rested at the tower for several days, recovering his strength. There was something he didn't know: the Gollum he had struggled to capture escaped from Mirkwood shortly afterward due to an orc attack. If he found out, he'd be furious.
'Sometimes, not knowing is better.'
When Aragorn left for Rivendell, Arwen and I decided to join him. There, Aragorn and Elrond had much to discuss — Elrond was like a father to him.
Two years passed. It was time for the Fellowship to form. The White Magic Research Society still continued. Saruman showed no signs of acting strangely. Unlike in the original, he hadn't fallen.
'Or has he already fallen?'
Frankly, I wasn't sure what qualified as 'falling,' but having forgotten his duties and become obsessed with magical research, Saruman might have already fallen. He was definitely the type who, once fixated on something, couldn't let go.
'People like Saruman should stay away from gambling or drinking.'
Anyway, with Saruman not siding with Sauron, Gandalf and Aragorn would be able to rescue Frodo and company safely. I was glad I didn't need to send surveillance or people.
'I can just wait.'
I lived peacefully with Arwen.
A few days later, someone urgently knocked on the tower door. Arwen answered. The late-night visitors were Gandalf, Saruman, Aragorn, and the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Unlike the original, Saruman came as well — probably because Gandalf had asked him.
I knew why they were here but pretended not to.
"What brings you here so late?"
Instead of answering, they sighed in relief.
"Phew... The Nazgûl really can't come near here."
"Nazgûl? Is this about Sauron again?"
Gandalf answered.
"Yes. This is a very grave matter."
Gandalf told me everything — his investigation into the One Ring and recent events. He hid nothing. It was clear he wanted my help.
"Hmm... Could I see the ring? I'm curious what all the fuss is about."
Gandalf quickly objected.
"No! You might be corrupted."
"I don't do 'corruption.'"
Even Saruman objected.
"I had difficulty resisting the temptation. It's better not to see it."
"Geez... Fine."
I had already used [Naked Eye] to look inside Frodo's pocket. The ring's performance was truly insane — but so were its penalties.
[(SSS) One Ring]
Dominates the other Rings of Power.
Allows one to use abilities of S-rank or lower at one rank higher.
Allows one to see and enter the Unseen World.
Penalties: Physical and mental degradation due to forced lifespan extension, temptation, Sauron's will.
'So that's why it gives even greater power to strong individuals. I'd like to have it.'
One might see it as simply increasing abilities of S-rank or lower by one rank. But if someone like me, with many S-rank and lower abilities, wore it — that was different. It's a ring with very tempting performance.
But I didn't feel an excessive desire to have it. The performance was tempting, but it couldn't corrupt me beyond that.
"You all seem to have come in a rush. Let's eat first."
"Yes, now that the tension is gone, I'm hungry."
Arwen and I served them a meal. They ate well — they must have been famished.
"Are you really a dragon?"
Pippin asked during the meal.
"Yes. I'm the owner of this place."
"Wow~! You're Arkad Jean! I've met the hero of the song I love to sing. Nice to meet you."
Pippin seemed to enjoy singing my song.
"I-is that so."
"Shall I sing it for you?"
"Maybe another time. Everyone's eating, and we seem to have urgent business."
I quickly stopped Pippin. Honestly, I was flustered — he was bringing back memories I'd tried to forget. Seeing me flustered, Arwen was laughing.
After the meal, we discussed future plans. I served them dessert and tea.
"First, let's go to Rivendell. We can get support and discuss with the other races."
Saruman said:
"Hmm... Then everyone would learn about the One Ring. Is that wise?"
"I think it's better. That way, we can guard the ring collectively and prevent individual temptation."
"That may be the better approach. Very well, we go to Rivendell."
While they discussed, I considered the ring's fate. With my power, destroying it was probably possible. But that would ruin my enjoyment of the original story and destroy a good item. Then I remembered the [Penalty Removal Ticket].
'If I remove the penalties, Sauron's will would be gone. Would Sauron die too? I don't know...'
When the One Ring was forged, Sauron poured so much of his power — and even part of his being — into it to dominate the other Rings. If the ring were destroyed, Sauron would lose the power to maintain his form and be destroyed with it.
I made my decision. Keep the ring alive and destroy Sauron. And if I could still enjoy the original, even better.
I gave everyone sleeping quarters. Gandalf, Saruman, and Aragorn had their usual rooms. The hobbits got the large guest room, as before.
While they rested, I went outside to look for Nazgûl. I saw none. They must have given up the chase once Gandalf's party entered the tower's domain.
The next day, everyone packed up and headed to Rivendell. Arwen and I went too. Expecting to be away a long time, I stored everything from the warehouse into my inventory and replaced the tower with the replica.
On the way to Rivendell, I half-expected a Nazgûl ambush — but nothing happened. When we arrived, Elrond and the elves were already prepared.
"Come in. We've been waiting."
We settled in and rested. The differences from the original were that Saruman hadn't fallen and had come with them, and Frodo was unhurt.
That evening, Gandalf, Saruman, Aragorn, myself, Arwen, and Elrond held a council. It went much like the one at the tower. I didn't say much — I just wanted to see how things would go.
"I see. Very well. I'll contact the other races and leaders."
Elrond contacted the leaders, saying only that a council was being held to counter the growing threat of Mordor — he omitted the ring. If the ring were mentioned, greed might cause trouble.
It took time for the leaders to gather. In the movie, it's glossed over, but in reality, even Minas Tirith was far away. Arwen and I spent the time idly in Rivendell. The funny thing was, at mealtimes, everyone came to me.
"Geez, eat the elves' food. This isn't the tower — it's harder for me to cook."
Gandalf shamelessly replied:
"Don't be like that. Your cooking is excellent. Besides, we provide the ingredients."
So mealtimes were inevitably busy. As time passed, the leaders began to arrive.
Legolas, son of Thranduil, King of Mirkwood; Gimli, son of Glóin of the Mines of Moria; Boromir, son of the Steward of Gondor; and — unlike the original — Théodred, son of King Théoden of Rohan, also came. This was probably another effect of Saruman not falling. Other leaders also arrived in Rivendell.
One day, as Arwen and I were preparing food, someone came to see me — Legolas. He was indeed a handsome, blonde youth.
"You may not know me, but I witnessed your deeds at Erebor. Thank you for helping us in the war against the orcs."
"You're Thranduil's son, so you were there. Don't worry about it. I was just keeping my promise."
"Even so, your actions greatly reduced our losses. You deserve thanks."
He bowed his head. I was in the middle of chopping vegetables, so I received his thanks unceremoniously.
Now that enough leaders had gathered, a council was held the next day. It was outdoors, under the shade of a large tree. Small stone tables were arranged in a circle.
Elrond, as host, stepped forward and described the current situation.
"Old friends and comrades, we have gathered here to oppose the threat of Mordor. Middle-earth is on the brink of destruction. We must unite. If we do not, ruin is inevitable. Therefore, as Mordor grows in strength, each of our factions must..."
Elrond emphasized Mordor's threat and warned of Sauron's cunning. Then he asked Frodo to bring forth the ring.
"Frodo, bring the ring."
Frodo stood and slowly placed the One Ring on the central table. The leaders murmured. Seeing the legendary ring in person, many were shocked.
Then Boromir, his gaze fixed on the ring, slowly stood and began speaking strangely.
"In my dreams, I saw the eastern sky grow dark, but in the west, a pale light lingered. And a voice spoke: 'Your fate draws near.'"
As if chosen by the ring, Boromir spoke and slowly approached it. Saruman created ice spikes at Boromir's feet to block him.
"We wizards have heard no such voice!"
I was quite surprised. This was the uncorrupted Saruman.
'Having overcome his lust for power led to this. Impressive...'
Saruman continued:
"The One Ring will try to tempt and corrupt us. The ring is evil! Do not be swayed by its sweet whispers!"
Boromir looked around at the assembly.
"Why do we not use the ring? This is a gift from the enemy. My father, Steward of Gondor, has held back Mordor's armies with our people's blood. Because of that, your lands remain safe. Therefore, give the ring to Gondor, so that we may strike the enemy with his own weapon!"
Boromir's grand words amounted to: 'Let me use the ring to protect you.'
Aragorn spoke to Boromir.
"You cannot use that ring! Neither can anyone else. The ring's master is Sauron."
Boromir looked down at Aragorn.
"And how would a Ranger know that?"