Harry Potter and the Legacy of the Ring

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Just as the warming face of the sun must rise and - through the steps of time - fall, so must the races of the world tread a path across the sky of their lifetime, sinking into peaceful night with the end of their days.

Thus has it always been and thus will it always be, until the very end of the World.

Even so, just as the sun may be blotted out by a cloud upon its face, sending it into an untimely twilight, so too can fear and danger threaten to devour those who are caught unawares.

Such was the fate of the World, once called Middle-earth, a name lost through the passing of years. Then, so many moons ago, a shadow from time immemorial was resurrected, and desired to cloak the lands and peoples of Middle-earth in darkness.

It was a time when Elves, Men and many other races existed in some semblance of harmony, although none of the races was entirely without suspicion and distrust of the others. In this state, disorder grew.

Sauron, one time ally of the beginner of evil, donned a false face of goodness, and deceived the races of Middle-earth with words of cunning. He provided knowledge to create the famed rings of power, with which it was possible for the races of Men, Elves and Dwarves to govern justly, were their intentions good.

However, Sauron's intentions were not justice or peace, but domination.

In that time, he forged a weapon in the depths of the fires of Mount Doom: A simple gold ring, a mere token to some, became a tool, a device of manipulation and power that yet threatened to engulf the very world, controlling the other races through the very rings he had taught them to craft.

The wisdom of the Elves perceived the threat, the three rings crafted by their Kind hidden from all memory, and far from Sauron's long reach. The seven granted to the Dwarf Lords were lost or destroyed. The nine rings, however, that were given over to the hands of Men, to mighty Kings, corrupted them, bringing them all under the dark power of Sauron.

His shadow spread, darkening from the East. One by one, the lands of Middle-earth succumbed to the power of Mordor and the Lord of the Ring, until a final alliance of Men and Elves faced the Dark Lord, by the light of the fires of Mount Doom.

Cut from the hand of its maker by the broken blade of Narsil, sword of Isildur, the Ring yet survived. It corrupted the leader of Men to prevent its own destruction, only to betray him, abandoning him, vanishing from all knowledge.

For many years, it had been lost, forgotten; or, perhaps, making itself unnoticed, waiting in readiness until the time was right. As is oft the case, that which is hidden too eagerly appears when it can cause the most hurt; fear and doubt once more possessing all those who inhabited the lands.

From the chaos emerged an unlikely hero, a Hobbit, Frodo Baggins.

With a Fellowship of Nine drawn from the races of Middle-earth: Elf, dwarf, Man and Hobbit; he was the one chosen to destroy the ring and, in doing so, destroy Sauron the Deceiver, and Master of the One Ring.

The quest was not without peril; one of their fellowship falling in battle, all of them torn asunder to follow their own quests. Still, they strove onward, each of them keeping the quest close in heart and mind, hoping beyond hope that they might yet succeed.

As they journeyed on, Middle-earth was tossed mercilessly in the roiling waves of bitter war, Sauron's ally and one-time good wizard Saruman, who too had been seduced by the power of the Ring, intent on destroying the world of men.

Armies composed of the beastliest of creatures created by the darkest powers converged on all the lands of Men, both from the darkness of Mordor and Orthanc, wreaking death and disaster upon all who dared to stand against them.

But when the end came, the Ring was destroyed, once more consumed in the flames from whence it was created in the bowels of Mount Doom, the only place where it could be unmade. In that instant, the threat of Sauron was vanquished and what power was held over the rings was no more.

Already at odds with the world they inhabited, the races of Elves knew that their time had passed, many of them choosing to pass into the West, taking the ships across the bending sea, to the Undying Lands.

Among them travelled the three bearers of the Elven Rings of Power: Lady Galadriel of Lothlorien, Lord Elrond Half-Elven of Imladris and Mithrandir - who was called Gandalf the White and had been one of the Fellowship: and Frodo Baggins, the Ring Bearer, who had carried the One Ring and destroyed it.

In leaving the lands of Middle-earth, the time of the Elves was over and the time had come for the race of men to show their worth.

Taught by both Elves and the Istarti, powerful beings sent by the creators of the worlds and called 'wizards' by the simple minds of men, it was believed mankind had some measure of goodness after all.

However, the judgement proved to be flawed.

In spite of all that had been learned and the wisdom that many of them bore, they scattered upon vast face of the earth, falling into conflict with one another.

War, disease and disaster took a great toll upon their numbers, the lands divided unfairly among the peoples, the lack of a rival of a different species leading to internal conflict. No longer did they have others to blame for their shortcomings, so they were forced to blame others of their ilk.

What differences Men could find in one another, they used as weapons. There were those of certain lines who had been gifted with abilities that were viewed as unnatural to many. To those without such gifts, the blessed ones were viewed as the enemy and vice versa.

Battles raged, many losing lives and minds in the conflict, although there were some who - concealing themselves - preserved what knowledge they could. It was done in hopes that, one day, perhaps ones wiser than those of their time might find it and return the world to the glory it had once held.

Thus, the race of Men descended once more to the depths and darkness of ignorance, forced to emerge from the ruins of their world, scraping a living on the very crust of the Earth.

Much of what had been known and remembered was forgotten as the time of Men began afresh.

Skills lost in the conflicts of men were rediscovered, the world regaining some of its beauty, records and the written word once more used to detail the 'history' of their kind. Once the first steps had been taken, the crushed memories took shape, and once more blossomed into the potential for a wondrous world.

Cities were built, then rebuilt once more, lost societies reformed, culture moving at a brisk pace. Men began to work for the common good, learning from the folly of old. Some still battled, yet many strove to greatness, Empires and Kingdoms rising and falling, Kings, Lord, Sultans, Barons, all taking their places.

Thus, the rise of Mankind to its former greatness was begun.

Time passed, as time does, and that which in history had been regarded with fear and awe was reduced to little more than a substanceless storytelling. No more were the legends of the beauty of the Elves and the horror of the One Ring counted as anything more than fireside tales to amuse.

Even in the area of the world of Men where magic and mystery thrived and wizards and witches, those descended from the gifted ones first taught by Elf-kind and the Istarti, were as numerous as stars in the sky, most scoffed at the belief that the famous tale of the One Ring was anything more than that: a tale.

So, the terror of the One became legend and, through the passage of time, was slowly placed in the realm of myth. Few, if any, believed that such stories were aught but a false history. Even of those very few, only one truly came to believe and understand the power of the One Ring.

And, in him, the hungry shadow that had threatened to devour Middle-earth so many millennia past had, at last, found a new Master.