Silica screamed in pain as her brother's arrow pierced her arm. "You must be better than this, Silica!" Legolas criticized. She lowered her eyes, her face turning pink with shame. "I'm sorry, Father." she said. Her brother just smirked at her. His eyes taunted her. If her father noticed, he didn't say anything. She swallowed, hating how her eyes burned with tears. She yanked the arrow out of her arm, grunting in pain. Legolas turned to her brother. "Go inside, Herin." he commanded. When his son entered the house, he approached Silica, his eyes kind. "Are you alright?" he asked. Silica nodded. "Listen, I have something important to tell you. The end is coming. And you are needed to help us. You, and others." he said, his voice soft. That was the last thing she heard, before blacking out.

Lyra and her brother, Eldarion, were patrolling the lines between Minas Tirith and Osgiliath, they never expected anything to come try to fight them but they had to be prepared. Eldarion looked at her, "Lyra, father has something he needs to tell you when you return. I don't know what it is but he wants you back before dark so he gets the chance."
Lyra blinked at him, for this had come out of nowhere. She pulled the reins back on her horse, Kuran, to stop him as she looked after her brother. They then turned and rode back towards the White City, all the while Lyra was thinking about what her father wanted to tell her.

When Silica woke, she was alone. She sat up, confused. Her muscles tensed. She wasn't used to the house being this quiet, and it bothered her. "Father? Herin?" she called out, sounding nervous. Nothing. Not one sound. Pain radiated back into her body, and she blacked out again.

Romestamo stopped as he reached the peak of the hill. He could feel something, a sense of dread and expectation. Something was about to happen.

There it was. He heard it. A loud rumble, as if the very Doors of Night were shaking. A strong wind blew from the west, buffering and clawing at his sea-blue robes. The ground quaked beneath the wizard's feet, almost toppling him backward. As it was, he managed to save himself by propping himself up on his staff, but it was a close thing. One slip, and his ancient bones would crack as he fell down the hillside.

The sensation stirred something in his memory, something he should not have forgotten. He remember a time, long ago, in the Undying Lands. When all the Valar, in the height of their splendour, sat in council in Valinor, amidst the Elves and Maiar of that fair country. Mandos had spoken:

"When the world is old and the Powers grow weary, then Morgoth, seeing that the guard sleepeth, shall come back through the Door of the Night out of the Timeless Void..."

He started. Surely, it couldn't be... the Fourth Age had barely begun. Yet his intuition was trustworthy, and who was he to doubt Eru's word? Even as he pondered, he knew for certain. The First Dark Lord, Morgoth, master of Sauron himself, was returning...

Lyra and Eldarion made their way back to the White City and rode around it to get to the top. They went to walk into the throne room when they heard Aragorn talking to someone. Lyra shook her head, "I'll talk to him later, he seems busy. Could you let him know?"
Eldarion nodded, "Of course, Lyra. Go take care of Kuran."
She nodded enthusiastically and went back to her horse, "Come on boy!" She took her horse to the nearby stables to get him unsaddled and fed for the evening.

Vevila raised her glass to her closest friends (or, rather, who she thought were her closest friends), and took another swig of ale. "You all, I just want to thank you for the best 17th birthday party a girl could ask for," She took another swig, "and let's not let the fun stop 'ere! Let's drink 'till our feet come out from under us!" Those still safe from passing out cheer and took gulps from their cups. Vevila looked around a bit, content, before spotting one of her best friends, Celta. "Celta!" She staggered toward her friend.
"Spark! Havin' a good time I see?" The little plump hobbit said. Vevila smiled at the familiar nickname. "Oh you always give me the best parties, Celta. And the best ale!" She moved to take a large gulp out of her cup when Celta stopped her. "I think you've 'ad enough, old girl. Why don't we call it a night, then?" Vevila shrugged. "Wha'ever you say, Muther."
Pretty soon, all of the Shire returned to it's previous tranquility, as hundreds of drunken, happy hobbits dreamed of the night's feast.

When Silica woke again, she screamed. She sat up, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She stood up, stumbling. "Father! Herin!" she screamed, tears running down her face. She was alone, and she didn't know why. She stumbled blindly out of her house, running towards Rivendell.

In tavern Gawyn finished his last drink, stood up and walked away from gambling table. His knuckles were painful because of that brawl he had yesterday, "It was worth it," he said to himself, he won that brawl yesterday and earned some extra cash from it.
He left from tavern and headed to work. While he was going to work he smiled to everyone, like always. Not that creepy or strange smile, he smiled because he was happy with his life and he was friendly towards everyone.

Aiwendil was just walking along, on his way to Rivendell. He stopped as he heard footsteps. Was someone running...? He turned around to see an elf girl, running in the direction of Rivendell. She looked...frightened. "Hm...I wonder why she's in such a hurry..." he mumbled, just kind of carrying his white staff that his father gave him, along with having his father's sword, Foehammer, in its sheathe at his side.

Silica continued to run, crashing into trees and tripping over things. Father...Helin...where are you?! her mind cried out, over and over. She knew it'd take a while to reach Rivendell, but she didn't care. She kept running, until her feet were bleeding. She did pause, seeing an older man with a staff. "Please...help me..." she pleaded.

Vevila knew she had to hurry to get ready in the morning. She was going on the yearly trip to Rivendell that always occurred after her birthday. Merriwether and Company has been sending her with their merchandise for 5 years now, and each time the shipment has reached it's destination without fail.

After saying her goodbyes, Vevila joyfully took the reigns of the pony cart and began riding down the road into the Breelands.

Aiwendil looked at the girl. Now that he looked at her, she'd be aable to see that he's about her age, he just had his hood up the whole time. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Later that evening Lyra walked back to the throne room to see if her father was there. She was relieved to find that he was. He turned to her and smiled kindly, "Lyra, thank you for taking the time to talk to me this evening."
She smiled, "Of course father. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
Aragorn explained to his daughter about the nearing end of the world they knew and that she would be the one to help them, along with others. He explained that she would need to make her way to Rivendell the next morning. All of this was a lot to take in in just a few hours. She didn't want to leave her home of Minas Tirith but if she needed to she would. She sighed softly and stood up, accepting what her father wanted of her and walking with him to the sleeping chambers where they retired for the evening.

When Gawyn finally arrived to post office, he took the first special delivering order he saw. It was a letter with no addressee, there was written only one thing - to: Rivendell. The seal was very beautiful but was unknown to Gawyn. This letter was marked with high importance and could not be delivered by carriage. "I'll be back in few days." said Gawyn to his manager and left the building. He mounted his horse (it was his steed as long as he was a courier) and headed to Rivendell. He was very excited about this, he had never seen Rivendell before.

Silica met his eyes. "My father, Legolas, and my brother, Herin, are gone. I blacked out because Herin shot me in the arm with his arrow, and when I woke, they were gone! I don't know where they are," she said, her voice rising with hysteria.

Kalina stepped silently through the forest, not out of secrecy but of respect for the slumbering trees she passed by. She was returning home after a month long journey, a hunting trip with a few of her friends that drew her further North than she would have liked to go. There was no denying that she was excited to be returning home, even after such a short trip, but her family was important to her. That and her brother Herin was always picking on her younger sister, and her father was always too gentle to put a stop to it. Her heart froze as she neared the house, something eerily quiet about the area. There was no sound of sibling rivalry, no smell of fire or food. Her blades were drawn immediately as she scanned the area, stepping cautiously around the grounds to find some clue as to why she found herself alone. The faint scent of metal caught her nose and she tracked it down to a small wet patch on the ground by an arrow. "Blood." She hissed, eyes darting around wildly. "Silica? Herin? Father?" She called out, but she knew she wouldn't receive a response. The only thing she knew to do was to seek council at Rivendell, find someone who could help her track down her missing family. Setting off at a steady pace she began jogging back through the trees on her way to the elven city.

"Hm...that is strange...from what my father told me, Legolas isn't the type to just vanish...well, I was on my way to Rivendell, and if you'd like to accompany me, I think you should speak to the other elves there."

Silica nodded, looking frantic.

Aiwendil said, "Then we should be on our way. Having one of the heroes of the War of the Ring go missing is a very serious matter."

Silica nods, taking a step forward. "My name is Silica," she said. It was a soft noise, that she could barely hear herself.