I'm going to keep this short, because if I start going into detail I'm going to write an entire essay before I can stop myself and I don't think I have the energy to do that tonight.
I started reading this story yesterday, and I just finished. And it's... beautiful. That really is the best word I can find for it. I've been crying for hours now - the tears started at the end of Glory 10.4 and they never really stopped for more then a short while before another line just... punched me right in the gut. I mean, not in a bad way. Like... with happiness? Catharsis? I'm actually not 100% sure exactly what I'm feeling right now but I know that it's good. I don't fully understand why - right now I don't have the words for it - but I know that in reading this story I felt moved on a deep level and that I am better for it. I don't know if I'll find the words. Maybe I'll come back and write that essay if I can find them, or even the time to find them, but I don't know if that's going to happen so I'm writing this now because the most important thing is that I want to thank you for creating this story, and for sharing it. It meant a lot to me, and I want you to know that. Thank you.
I'm going to keep this short, because if I start going into detail I'm going to write an entire essay before I can stop myself and I don't think I have the energy to do that tonight.
I started reading this story yesterday, and I just finished. And it's... beautiful. That really is the best word I can find for it. I've been crying for hours now - the tears started at the end of Glory 10.4 and they never really stopped for more then a short while before another line just... punched me right in the gut. I mean, not in a bad way. Like... with happiness? Catharsis? I'm actually not 100% sure exactly what I'm feeling right now but I know that it's good. I don't fully understand why - right now I don't have the words for it - but I know that in reading this story I felt moved on a deep level and that I am better for it. I don't know if I'll find the words. Maybe I'll come back and write that essay if I can find them, or even the time to find them, but I don't know if that's going to happen so I'm writing this now because the most important thing is that I want to thank you for creating this story, and for sharing it. It meant a lot to me, and I want you to know that. Thank you.
It was pleasantly nostalgic to be forging equipment for the others. It reminded me of that late night months ago when I had finally made the decision to give out Rings of Power again. Sophia had sat with me, watching me work until her head had dropped onto her chest in sleep. Although she wasn't here now, I still felt her presence in the half-finished crossbows on one corner of my workbench.
"Dragon?" I said into the empty forge, my voice raised over the hum of the laser cutter currently engraving Sindarin into a mithril plate.
"Yes, Taylor?" Dragon replied immediately.
"I mentioned at the meeting that I was going to be heading back to my old forge to remake the One Ring," I said. "There's… one small problem with that. I'm not entirely certain where it is."
"Your… previous life was thousands of years ago, wasn't it? Dragon asked. "I'm sorry, but I don't know of any manmade structures old enough to be your workshop."
"It's not a manmade structure," I said. "Orodruin was a volcano—Mount Doom, they called it in the common tongue. The magma basin itself was my furnace."
"…They actually called it Mount Doom?"
"It wasn't cliché then," I said wistfully. Then I shook my head. "Anyway, do you think you could help me find it?"
"There are a lot of volcanoes all over the world, Taylor." Dragon didn't sound hopeful. "Do you at least know which tectonic region it would be in?"
"Not with any certainty, but I would expect it to be on this continent," I said. "There is one other identifying mark, though. Orodruin—and Mordor, the land in which it resided—were so infused with my corruption that nothing living could grow there. I doubt that corruption will have fully faded, even now. We're looking for a volcano which hasn't erupted in a very long time, but where the entire surrounding landscape is blasted and toxic."
"When you say 'a very long time,' are we talking about geologic time scales, or anthropological?" Dragon asked. "Most of the really old volcanoes have been dormant for so long that any geothermal activity has stopped preventing plant growth."
"Anthropological, I'd guess," I said. "The past million years or so, but before recorded history."
"…I've got a candidate. You've probably heard of it. I have to say, though, I'm having trouble believing that the Yellowstone Caldera is an ancient, evil forge."
Yellowstone. "Can you send me pictures of the landscape?" I asked.
My phone chimed. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the image Dragon had texted me. A lake in an almost painfully bright blue, set in a small plain of rock and sand in strange, twisting colors, like iridescent blue ichor welling up from an unhealing wound in the shell of the earth.
"This is…" I paused, staring at what I had wrought. My voice came out tight, and I felt as though a snake were constricting itself around my ribs. "This is it."
There was a line of people walking past the lake, gazing upon it as though it were a thing of beauty. And, I realized with a start, it was. Somehow even the blasted remains of the cursed heart of Mordor had become something magnificent and beautiful, with the passage of time.
And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no Theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in Me, nor can any alter the Music in My despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but Mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.
"…Taylor? Are you okay?"
I blinked at Dragon's interjection and found that my eyes were wet. "I'm fine," I said hoarsely, quickly saving the image and stowing my phone before returning to my forging. Through my tears, I smiled. "It's all going to be okay."
With faith and courage renewed, I threw myself into my work.
-x-x-x-
"With the Empire gone," I said, "Brockton Bay has finished its transition from one of the most dangerous cities in the States to one of the least. There are no major gangs left. No powerful villains remain—except Lung, perhaps, if he hasn't left the Bay yet. And he won't be resurfacing until he has."
A few chuckles made the rounds of the Brockton Bay Wards and Protectorate. We were seated around a long table in one of the conference rooms in PRT HQ, and all eyes were on me at the head of the table. But not everyone was laughing. Carlos' face was set, his eyes hooded as he watched me. "We're being reassigned," he said as the mirth died down. "They're splitting us up."
The silence that followed was suddenly taut. I took a deep breath. "Yes," I said finally. "Yes, they are—or, at least, Alexandria and the Director would like to, for those of us who are consenting, and, for the Wards, whose parents can be convinced."
"I think the ship of parental approval sailed a couple months back, Taylor," said Dennis wryly. "Might've been when we stared down Leviathan. Or when we took out Heartbreaker. Or—"
"She gets it, Dennis," said Sophia dryly. Her eyes darted over to him before seeking mine again. She looked… concerned, perhaps, or anxious, though she was trying not to show it. I got the feeling that the brave face wasn't for my benefit, but for the others. We'd have to talk after this.
I gave her a half-smile. "Thanks. Yes." I looked around. "I don't think it's right for me to just tell you all where you're going. I have a list of PRT offices that are undermanned or overwhelmed. And we can talk about it, discuss who wants to go where. Any questions?"
"Yeah," said Amy. "Where are you going?"
I looked down for a moment. "I have… another assignment." I glanced at Emma. "In the short term, I'm going to be forging one more Ring of Power. The last one. Mine. I intend to fly out tomorrow, and be back before you all leave. After that—I'm not sure. I might come back here for a time, then move on to wherever I'm needed."
"You have to leave to forge a Ring?" Sophia asked. "Didn't you forge them all here?"
"The One Ring is different," I said quietly. "It was called the Ruling Ring. It was made in my old forge at Orodruin, and unmade there, too. It won't be the same unless it's made there again. And…" I met Sophia's eyes. "I'd like it if you came with me."
Sophia blinked. I saw her lips part slightly in a tiny breath. Then they curved into a small, joyful smile. "Of course I'll come, Taylor," she said. "If you'll have me."
"Please," I said. "And… if you don't mind," I glanced at Emma, "I… think you should come too."
"You sure about that?" Carlos asked, glancing at Emma with eyes like flint. "Not sure I like you going off along with her."
"She was the one who convinced me to do this in the first place," I told him gently, before looking back at Emma. "And I think we—the three of us—need to figure ourselves out again, if we're going to be working together for the foreseeable future. We have some… baggage to work through."
Emma studied me through hooded eyes for a moment, then looked over at Sophia. Her face had fallen slightly when I invited a second companion, and her brow was furrowed in consternation at the thought that it was Emma I was inviting. My one-time friend's face was expressionless as she turned back to me. "Okay," she said. "I'll come."
I sighed in relief. "Thank you," I said. "For the rest of you—these are the offices that need reinforcement."
-x-x-x-
In the end, my fifteen Ring-Bearers—sixteen if you counted Shaper—were divided among nine cities.
Armsmaster had been stagnating in Brockton Bay even before I had come along. There was nothing left for him in this city. He went, alone, to the Detroit office, which was still reeling after their previous leader's death during Leviathan's attack. The successor would, Dragon predicted, be more than willing to let Armsmaster take the responsibility back from him.
Amy and Shaper would be staying together and were headed to Boston. Though Amy's relationship with Carol Dallon was, perhaps, on the mend, Amy still thought a little space would do them both some good.
Carlos was going to Miami. He had family in the area, and he didn't think it would be difficult to convince his parents either to move closer to them, or to let him stay with relatives.
Dennis was staying in the Bay, at least for now. His father had been healed, courtesy of Amy, and with that and his blooming relationship with Laserdream, he had more roots laid than most of us.
Dean and Missy decided to go to Washington D.C. together. I wasn't sure what their relationship to one another was anymore—and nor, I believed, were they—but nameless or not, their bond was tight, and they would be stronger together than apart.
Chris decided to go to San Diego, which had two other Tinkers on the local hero team. Though Mirilya had made him more productive than ever before, he had noticed that the flashes of inspiration he'd used to get had died down after receiving it. He thought working with other Tinkers—ones more conventional than me—might help him get back in touch with the Power underneath the Ring.
Sam had decided to go to Chicago. More than any of us, he had always wanted to fit in—and working under the noted eccentric Myrddin would make for an environment where being a Ring-Bearer was no stranger than anyone was used to.
Alec, Marissa, Jess, and Brian understood that the PRT would prefer if they, at least on paper, went to different cities from their former teammates. So, in the interest of satisfying the letter, if not the spirit, of the law, Alec and Jess settled on the San Francisco office, while Brian and Marissa went to San Jose. Close enough to see each other often, but on different sets of paperwork.
"And I'll be with all of you, whenever you need me," Dragon said once all the other decisions were made.
"As will I," I agreed. "You're all my Ring-Bearers, and we're bound to each other. Call for me, and I will always come. I promise."
"Same goes for you," said Carlos firmly, to a round of nods. "You ever need us together again, Taylor, you call. We'll be there."
I smiled at all of them. "Thank you." I swallowed. "Thank you all. For everything."
"When are the reassignments officially being made?" Armsmaster asked. "Do we have a timetable?"
"I think there's some flexibility, especially for those of us who are underage," I said. "But Alexandria suggested that, ideally, you should all report to your new offices in two weeks' time. Not much time, I know, but I can get more if you need it, and the PRT can help you all move and get established in your new cities."
"I think I speak for all of us," Amy drawled, "when I say we're pretty used to moving quickly around here by now."
I laughed. "Fair enough," I agreed. "Before any of you leave, though—can we all meet up once Sophia, Emma and I come back from our trip? Something of a farewell party."
"Of course," said Dragon, grinning. "Going to order pizza?"
"Sure," I agreed, "Also… before I leave, I have some gifts to give out to my fellow Wards. They're not quite finished yet, but they will be in a couple hours. I'll call you guys then."
-x-x-x-
I was leaning against the door of my forge when the Seven approached the next morning. Dennis, Chris, and Sam were still engrossed in an animated conversation. "—probably won't even be able to hear it," Dennis was saying, "what with the whole 'Song' thing, and even if we can—"
I cleared my throat, and silence fell. Seven pairs of eyes focused on me.
"You've all been with me from the beginning," I said. "It wasn't long after I joined this team that you received the first Gifts I gave in this life. Now our time as a team is coming to an end, and I think it's only proper that we commemorate it with another round of Gifts. I once talked about giving you all weapons. I don't know if you'd all still be interested in that…"
There was a snort from Missy, and a round of chuckles from most of the team. Sophia's green eyes never left me as she softly joined in the laughter.
"Well," I said, grinning, "Let's start with Missy."
Missy stepped forward. "You once mentioned a sword?" she said with a cheeky grin. "I want in on you and Sophia's elite little club."
I chuckled. "Sorry Missy," I said. "Only so many ways I can make a sword interesting. I think you'll like this, though." I picked up the synthetic leather sling by its mithril handle one hand, and the light pouch of steel pellets in the other. "This," I said, handing them to Missy, "is Palânadron, far-thrower in Sindarin. It'll be as accurate as any bow or rifle, no matter how you twist or warp the space between it and its target."
The silver light reflecting off Palânadron's mithril hilt shimmered across Missy's face as she took the weapon and its ammunition from me. "You designed this for me," she said, blinking at it and then looking up at me. "This isn't another ancient artifact from your previous life. This is new."
"All of these Gifts are." I said, smiling. "And yes--I designed it for the David who fought back Goliaths like Hookwolf before I ever came along."
She grinned. "I could get used to that analogy," she said.
Another round of laughter. "All right, Dean, your turn." I reached for the second-largest of my gifts where it leaned against the wall. "This one is technically not a weapon, but I think you'll like it all the same." I emerged from the forge, the six-foot tower shield held out before me. With a flick it collapsed into a much more manageable buckler. "This is Minasuir. In Sindarin, it means Tower of Eternity. In its larger form, if you plant its base into the ground, not even one of Leviathan's waves will be able to knock you down." I handed him the mithril buckler with a smile. "A perfect shield for our knightly defender."
He stared at it, then at me. "Thank you," he said quietly. "Hopefully, I won't need to weather another of Leviathan's waves for a while."
I grinned sadly at him, thinking of what he had lost—had been unable to defend—when we had last faced Leviathan. "He'll be back eventually," I said. "And we'll be ready for him, wherever he shows up. We're only getting stronger."
Dean nodded mutely and stepped back. Missy put an arm around his waist.
"Next," I said. "Sam." I brought out a black whip. Its handle was warm under my fingers as I handed it to Sam.
He took it, looking confused, but the moment his skin touched it his eyes widened. "What…?"
"Tûraph," I said. "Sinuous Whip, in Sindarin. It will respond to your biokinesis as easily as your own body, if not more so. You can hide it by coiling it around you, and it'll emerge and unravel at a thought."
Sam stared down at the trailing whip for a moment before giving it an experimental flick. Like a living snake, Tûraph reared up, curling unerringly around its wielder's shoulder. "Wow," he mumbled. "Didn't think this was possible."
I raised my eyebrows. "This is where things become unbelievable?"
Sam laughed, his eyes bright as he looked at me. "Fair enough," he agreed. "Should have known better, by now."
I shrugged with a smirk. "Probably," I agreed. "Now, Chris, you probably already know roughly what I was working on."
Chris grinned at me. "Well, you did ask to borrow my hoverboard yesterday, yeah. Gave it some upgrades?"
"Some." The large hoverboard was floating at waist-level in the center of the room. I gently guided it out the door. "I replaced most of the plating with mithril," I explained, "and enchanted it so you should never again have a problem staying on it, no matter how acrobatic you get. I also gave it a Sindarin engraving:
"Hentûron nôr bo nín rhaifn celeg
Im garin adan brann erin talaf
Reviatha or guid meneg
Bo i tû beleg
Menelaraf
"It means, roughly:
"Kid Win rides on my agile wings
I hold him high above the earth
He will fly above a thousand foes
Upon the mighty strength of
Skywing
"Before you ask," I added, holding up a hand to forestall his questions, "its name is, yes, Menelaraf, meaning skywing in Sindarin."
"Not actually what I was going to ask," said Chris faintly. "You, uh, translated Kid Win into Sindarin?"
I blinked. "Oh, yes." I said. "I guess you probably weren't planning on keeping the name forever, sorry."
"What's the translation?" Chris asked.
"Hentûron. From hên, meaning 'child' and tûr, meaning 'victory'. It'd be more correct to translate it as 'Child of Victory.'"
"Hentûron," Chris said, rolling the name around in his mouth. "I… think I like it."
"Found your new rebrand?" Dennis asked.
"Maybe," said Chris. He grinned at me. "Thanks, Taylor."
"No problem," I said. "Names are important. I get it. Anyway—next up is Dennis."
Dennis stepped forward. "Did you get my Christmas list?" he asked, grinning.
"I ignored it," I said, deadpan. "You're on the naughty list."
"Hey!"
I chuckled and pulled out a small mithril rod, about the length of my hand. "This is yours," I said, handing it to him.
He blinked at it. Noticing the telescoping on one end, he frowned. "A police baton?" he asked, flicking it.
My hand darted out, catching the extending rod before it could extend past my head and potentially damage something in the forge. "It's called Haechthel," I said. "Far-spear. It can extend up to twenty feet—and you can use your power to freeze it, locking it whatever length you need."
Dennis stared at the bar, which had gone from about six inches to almost as many feet in a fraction of a second, before looking at me. "Wow," he said. "Fuck physics, am I right."
"Sorry, I thought I was talking to the guy who could break general relativity by freezing time," I parried. "Carlos, your turn."
I produced from the forge a pair of mithril bracers, which tapered to a point a few inches past the knuckles. "These are Forma and Hyarma," I said, handing them to him. "In Quenya, the Right and Left Hand. Strike a blow with these, and you'll be able to break through obstacles against which your bones would break without them."
Carlos took them and immediately strapped them onto his forearms, examining the mirror-smooth mithril over his wrists. "Finally," he said, humor in his voice. "I'm a real Brute/Striker now, mom!"
We all laughed. Then the laughter died down. Sophia's eyes met mine and held them. I cleared my throat. "This last one," I said quietly, "Is special to me. Sophia, you've been… everything to me. You've been my enemy, my friend, my conscience, my confidant. I hope these will mean even a fraction as much to you as you mean to me."
I backed into the forge and emerged a moment later with Sophia's modified crossbows. Their grips and limbs were of smooth, reddish wood, inlaid with gold in patterns like twining lightning. The metal of the arrow track, trigger, and other mechanisms was mithril, brilliant and pure, and across each was a name engraved in the foregrip.
"These are Raumo and Alca," I said, holding them out, grip-first, to her. "Thunder and Lightning. Whether you shoot tranquilizer darts, broadhead bolts, or anything else, they will never miss. Your bolts will fly fast—maybe not as fast as lightning, but fast enough." I smiled at her, the other Wards seeming almost to recede in my vision as my focus narrowed, her green eyes filling the world. "The same weapons you had before—only refined. Their best selves."
Sophia's lips parted slightly. With shaking hands, she reached out and took the weapons from me. "Thank you," she whispered, her eyes wide and dark as our gazes held one another. "Thank you, Taylor."
"You're welcome," I said softly. Then I blinked and looked away, the rest of the Wards returning to my awareness. "Sophia and I will be headed out this afternoon. Dragon's taking us west, to Yellowstone National Park--and the site of my ancient forge. I should be back in a little more than a week." I smiled around at them. "Wait for me before you leave? I'd like to see you all one last time."
"Of course," said Carlos, grinning back. "You promised pizza, after all."
-x-x-x-
A brief explanation of the current situation:
A little over a week and a half ago, I officially left my job. I currently do not have a new one, but that is likely to change fairly soon. However, I've learned a great deal about compromise, work-life balance, and self-worth in the interim.
Ring-Maker is here to stay. I have another chapter already drafted, and the one after that in the pipeline, as well as drafts for another scene later in the arc.
I don't exactly regret not working on Ring-Maker for the past year. A lot has happened, both to me personally and to the world at large, and something had to give. There are far worse things that could have been than the fanfiction I write for fun, even if it is a lot of fun.
But I've also learned, while putting Ring-Maker aside, that I like myself better when I'm writing it than when I'm not. So I don't think I'm going to drop it again, at least not for as long.
With all that said… welcome back. Same time, next week?
Interesting that you map Mordor to mid-USA, but I guess if you're shoving the 3rd Age and prior back to a million or more years ago (multiple super-nasty civiliazation-level collapses?), it could work. It's certainly the biggest, baddest volcano on Earth...
... I'm fairly certain that the preceding phrase was "thunderbolt and lighting", followed by this one ("very very frightening [me]")... eh, whatever, the idea stands.
Also, welcome back @Lithos Maitreya , I first read this on FFN before finding it again here... which sparked another reading binge.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to start rereading again.
Welcome back, and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we're glad you're doing okay.
The final scene, and Taylor's plan to remake the One Ring, give this all the feel of an epilogue arc. Are we close to the end, or is there more to come? Possibly following up on the hints that the Endbringer cores are the Silmarils.
Welcome back, and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we're glad you're doing okay.
The final scene, and Taylor's plan to remake the One Ring, give this all the feel of an epilogue arc. Are we close to the end, or is there more to come? Possibly following up on the hints that the Endbringer cores are the Silmarils.
Such as the SH9 meeting the Ring Bearers and being found wanting? Because I'd love to see the SH9 getting stomped on by an angry Maiar and her friends. Far too many fics actually give them a chance against altpower!Taylors.
Such as the Nine meeting the Ring Bearers and being found wanting? Because I'd love to see the Nine getting stomped on by an angry Maiar and her friends. Far too many fics actually give them a chance against altpower!Taylors.
Such as the Nine meeting the Ring Bearers and being found wanting? Because I'd love to see the Nine getting stomped on by an angry Maiar and her friends. Far too many fics actually give them a chance against altpower!Taylors.
Speaking of the Nazgul, it would be interesting to have Taylor and Sophia (don't want to crowd out Tolkien's cast) somehow end up in Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring. Say, Weathertop while a certain group of Hobbits are there with their Ranger escort? It'd make for a fun sequel/AU future.
Such as the SH9 meeting the Ring Bearers and being found wanting? Because I'd love to see the SH9 getting stomped on by an angry Maiar and her friends. Far too many fics actually give them a chance against altpower!Taylors.
Uh, in canon they were only a threat because Plot Armor. Killing most of the SH9 ain't exactly difficult after all, given that even Bonesaw's improvements can't protect from anti-materiel rifle-fire or RPGs. Crawler's honestly the only one who'd be a serious problem to a well prepared ambush.
It's especially annoying when a Shardless altpower!Taylor like this one have problems with Jack, when his trick doesn't work in the slightest on non-parahumans.
Speaking of the Nazgul, it would be interesting to have Taylor and Sophia (don't want to crowd out Tolkien's cast) somehow end up in Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring. Say, Weathertop while a certain group of Hobbits are there with their Ranger escort? It'd make for a fun sequel/AU future.
I did say it's a sequel idea, so yes, this version of Taylor. And I think it'd be quite rocky, but end well given that the people most likely to recognize who Taylor was are also the most likely to see her remorse and desire to help.
What's this!?
Do mine eyes deceive me!? A new chapter of Ring Maker?
Really glad to see this back. I've been missing this bittersweet feel so much. So glad this fic isn't dead, and it's good to hear you doing all right @Lithos Maitreya.
Speaking of the Nazgul, it would be interesting to have Taylor and Sophia (don't want to crowd out Tolkien's cast) somehow end up in Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring. Say, Weathertop while a certain group of Hobbits are there with their Ranger escort? It'd make for a fun sequel/AU future.
I would like this in a "If it doesn't happen, then I'm ok, too" way.
Though, I just imagine Taylor + Sophia and The Fellowship meeting and Legolas and Gandalf going white a sheet when they realize who's in front of them. Could be interesting.
Speaking of the Nazgul, it would be interesting to have Taylor and Sophia (don't want to crowd out Tolkien's cast) somehow end up in Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring. Say, Weathertop while a certain group of Hobbits are there with their Ranger escort? It'd make for a fun sequel/AU future.
I would like this in a "If it doesn't happen, then I'm ok, too" way.
Though, I just imagine Taylor + Sophia and The Fellowship meeting and Legolas and Gandalf going white a sheet when they realize who's in front of them. Could be interesting.
