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Ring-Maker [Worm/Lord of the Rings Alt-Power] [Complete]

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Douse 6.5
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    • Many thanks to @themanwhowas, @Assembler, @fabledFreeboota, @Skyrunner, and ShadowStepper1300 on QuestionableQuesting for betareading.
    Many thanks to @MugaSofer for fact checking.

    -x-x-x-​

    "Aegis!" I called. "Shadow Stalker! Clockblocker!"

    I was being pulled along by a current of bodies as capes pushed their way back up the still-flooded streets. 'Regroup at the field hospital,' Legend had said, and so we went. There, I expected, Strider would be taking the out-of-town capes back home in groups.

    None of that mattered much to me. I just wanted to find my friends.

    "Gallant!" I shouted over the throng. "Vista! Browbeat! Kid Win!"

    Where were they? I'd heard the armband—Vista, Browbeat, and Kid Win had been injured, but none of them had died. I scanned the crowd as best I could, but to no avail.

    A voice emerged from behind me. "You can't find your team either?"

    I turned. It was Rune. She'd abandoned her floating masonry, though I had no doubt she had only done so because she knew she could find more rubble at a moment's notice.

    I nodded. "You're looking for the rest of Empire?"

    Her mouth, uncovered by the fabric mask over her eyes and nose, twisted into a grimace. "Those of us who are still alive. I've been keeping count. Five of us died today."

    I winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry. Friends?"

    "Not really." She shook her head. "It's just a mess. We're going to have to recruit."

    I hesitated. "I'd wish you luck, but…"

    "Yeah, I get it." She sighed. "Still, we're allies today, right? Or is the truce already over?"

    "I'm certainly not going to start anything."

    She chuckled. "Cool. I'd hate to fight you."

    Before I could reply, I heard a more familiar voice from above. "Annatar!"

    I looked up at Aegis, floating there. One of his legs was little more than torn ribbons of flesh, but it was slowly knitting itself back together.

    "Sorry, can't walk right now," he said, gesturing to his injury. "The others are at the field hospital. Kid Win's hurt pretty bad, but he'll be all right."

    "And everyone else?"

    "They're all better off than he is. Everyone's conscious."

    "Good." I sighed in relief. "Can I get a lift?"

    "Sure." He reached down with one hand, which I took. I gave Rune a farewell wave with the other hand as I rose into the air, which she returned.

    "Rune?" Aegis asked as we flew towards the crumbling building. "Really?"

    "She approached me," I protested. "When I was planning my day this morning, winning the respect of Neo-Nazis wasn't really on the agenda."

    He chuckled. "Nor was Leviathan, I'll bet."

    "Fair point." I sighed again. "A lot of people died today, Aegis."

    "Yeah. Could have been us."

    "For some of us, it was." I thought of Dean, shuddering in his armor as he stood over his girlfriend's body.

    Aegis didn't reply.

    We soon alighted near the door of the field hospital. The crowd parted. I saw upturned faces, and ten or more pairs of eyes trained on me. Aegis let me down slowly on the asphalt, where my mithril boots landed with little more than a faint click.

    The crowd parted to allow me entry. I glanced around as soon as I was inside. Several capes were bustling around, erecting partitions, screens, and curtains to allow the capes being treated some measure of privacy. Some were being placed on stretchers and carried out through one of the building's two exits, or through the hole in one wall.

    Aegis floated into the building behind me. "Last I checked, they'd put us up in the back. Follow me."

    I stepped aside, to allow him to pass, and followed. Healers and medics moved out of our way. I saw their gazes dart to my face and then away, as if in nerves or fear.

    It wasn't long before Aegis was pushing aside a curtain, holding it open for me.

    "Annatar!" It was Sophia, and I could hear the smile under her mask. "You're all right."

    I gave her a brief nod. "I am."

    I scanned the room. Sophia and Dennis were both unhurt. Missy was sitting up on a bed, her back to the wall. Her right arm was in a cast. Sam was holding a bloodstained cloth to his side—through a gap in his torn costume, I saw the scarring of a closing wound. Dean was sitting with his arms around his middle, looking down at his own knees.

    Chris was worse off. His armor had crumpled from an impact in his middle, and blood had leaked out around it. Nonetheless, he gave me a pained wave.

    "Can you speak?" I asked him.

    He shook his head jerkily.

    "It hurts him to talk," explained Missy. "We don't think his lungs were punctured, but he has a couple of broken ribs."

    I nodded. "But he'll be okay?"

    "Should be," said Dennis. "As soon as they get the shelters open and we get some real doctors in here, or some healers who aren't Nazis or are actually useful."

    "I heard that." I turned to see a young man in a white robe with golden trim. His mask was white, and stylized in the shape of a goat's head.

    "No offence meant," Dennis said, chagrined.

    "None taken," said the guy, a smirk in his voice as he approached the beds. "I hate my power too. Works well with your Othala, though."

    "She's not our Othala," Sophia growled.

    "You know what I mean." He looked down at Missy. "You doing any better?"

    "Arm's still broken," she said. "Still not going to up and die. Just like last time you were in here."

    "All right, all right, I get it," he said, backing off. "I just—"

    "You just wanted to catch a glimpse of our celebrity," Missy interrupted. "It's fine, but come on. She's right there. Ask for an autograph if you want."

    He glanced up at me, then looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

    I could practically hear the eyes of my teammates rolling. I opened my mouth to speak. "I—"

    "I've gotta go take care of other people," he said hurriedly, backing out of the room. "Let me know if anything gets worse."

    And he was gone. I looked bewilderedly between my teammates. "Someone want to explain that to me?"

    "You led us as we faced down an Endbringer alone right outside the field hospital," said Dennis. "It, uh, left an impression on a couple people."

    Missy laughed. "An impression is right. Didn't some guy ask you if she was single, Aegis?"

    "Yeah. Some out-of-town Ward." He grinned at me. "You're famous, Annatar. How does it feel?"

    I was blinking. "But—we all faced him down."

    "You were the one giving the inspiring speech. I hear you did it again, too, right at the end."

    "That was just Narya," I protested. "Well, me with Narya."

    "Well, it worked." Carlos shook his head. "Look, Annatar, the eight of us faced down an Endbringer by ourselves, and all of us are still standing. That does not happen."

    I shuddered. "God, that was stupid of me, wasn't it?"

    "No." That was Sophia. She sounded a bit subdued, but determined. She was looking over at Dean. "No, you were right. We're Ring-Bearers. We can hold back the sea."

    "You're not invincible," I said immediately. "I don't want any of us getting killed because we got cocky."

    "I know," said Sophia, shaking her head. "It's not like that. It's…" She looked up and met my eyes. The holes in her mask were deep and dark. "We're heroes, now," she said slowly, "in the classical sense. Right?"

    "What do you mean?" Missy asked.

    "Yes," I told Sophia. "Exactly. We're more than human. We're the kind of people who can fight as well as ten or even fifty of our peers, and we're that much harder to kill. But we're not invincible."

    "Heroes never are," said Sophia quietly. "They just have important deaths."

    I remembered seeing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare on her bookshelf, and her telling me that she was reading King Lear.

    "Yes," I agreed. "They do have that."

    Just then, the curtain was once more pulled aside. I turned.

    "Ah, Annatar, you're here," said Miss Militia. She looked harried—her hair was unkempt, and her flag bandana was a little crooked. "You're all right?"

    "Yes," I said, then frowned. "How is everyone? Besides—"

    "Dauntless is gone," she said grimly. "There'll be time to mourn later. I'm just glad we didn't lose more, and that none of you were killed."

    "And injuries?" Carlos asked. "Is everyone going to be fixed up soon?"

    "For the most part," she sighed. "Triumph and Velocity were both injured, but Scapegoat and Othala should have them back on their feet before too long. I was worse off, but they healed me about when the fight ended."

    "And Armsmaster?" That was Dennis.

    I remembered Leviathan's blow to the tinker, and Dragon swooping down to pluck him up.

    Miss Militia's brow was furrowed, and her eyes were grim. "He was hurt far worse. Dragon transported him inland to the nearest open ICU. He's being treated now, and she tells me his prognosis is good—but without Panacea here, he wouldn't stand much of a chance if she hadn't taken him for surgery."

    "But he should be okay?"

    "If nothing goes wrong with the surgery. In the interim, I'm taking command of the Protectorate ENE." She considered me. "Everything I said before the fight still holds, Annatar. I'm willing to put our differences behind us."

    I nodded. "Of course. We'll need to work together to rebuild the city."

    She smiled, her bandana shifting. "I look forward to it."

    "What about Grue?" Sophia asked suddenly. "And Über, and Leet? We let them all out to fight; where did they go?"

    The adult hero's face fell. "We've lost track of them. Über and Leet were seen heading downtown. I expect they plan to leave the city. No one's seen Grue since the last tidal wave. I was planning on talking to Faultline—Tattletale used to be a member of his team, so she might be able to help."

    "Able, yeah," said Sam. "But what'll be her price?"

    "That is the important question, yes." Miss Militia shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Even if all three of them escape, they can't get far, and we have their identities as leverage, if they attempt to escalate. That's unimportant for now. Annatar, would you be willing to assist in healing?"

    "I heal people slowly," I said, "but yeah, of course." I stood up. "There's something I have to do first, though. Gallant!"

    Dean looked up.

    "Come on," I said, holding out a hand. "We're going to go talk to New Wave."

    "I'll come too," said Dennis hurriedly. Aegis chuckled.

    "Fine," I said. "Let's go."

    -x-x-x-​

    Laserdream smiled at Dennis the moment we came into New Wave's little corner of the hospital. "Hey there, big guy," she said. "Come to take advantage of me while I'm down?"

    Both her legs were swathed in bandages and raised by pulleys. One of her hands was drumming an idle rhythm on her sheets, and there was a glazed look to her eyes.

    "Ew," said Shielder, shuddering in his seat beside her. "Please don't take her up on that," he begged Dennis. "She's on a lot of painkillers."

    "Don't worry," Dennis told him, but his eyes were fixed on Laserdream. "Didn't even think of it."

    Both he and Dean drifted away. Dennis made for Laserdream's bedside, and Dean walked towards the two beds on the other side of the room.

    Vicky had been cleaned up somewhat, although that might have just been the tidal wave. Her pale, still face didn't look all that different from her mother's. They lay there, side by side, both perfectly still with closed eyes.

    On one side of the bed, Manpower had an arm around Flashbang's shoulders. The last remaining Dallon looked destroyed. His shoulders were slumped and his face was stained with the tears that poured steadily and soundlessly down his cheeks.

    "Annatar," said Lady Photon from a chair in the corner. She was smiling slightly at me. "Thank you for bringing them."

    I nodded. "My pleasure. Brandish hasn't woken up?"

    "No," she said, her lips pursed. "We don't have any idea what Panacea did to her, but it's beginning to look like she's the only one who can undo it. Unless you could?"

    "No. Not without knowing what it was." I shook my head. "I'm sorry."

    Lady Photon sighed. "No, I understand. I just hope Amy comes back soon. We need her—not for her powers, but just—"

    "I know," I said. "Don't worry, she will."

    She blinked at me. "You're sure?"

    "Yes," I said. "I'm going to go find her now. I'll be back in an hour or so, I expect." Without another word, I turned to leave.

    -x-x-x-​

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  • Threadmarks
    • I actually dreamed I was in your story last night, so that was kinda weird. Ended up wearing all three rings at once, so either my subconscious is power-mad or suicidal.

    Nice chapter.
     
    DemiserofD said:
    I actually dreamed I was in your story last night, so that was kinda weird. Ended up wearing all three rings at once, so either my subconscious is power-mad or suicidal.

    Nice chapter.
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    Mine is definitely power-hungry. Can't be power-mad; it doesn't have power to be mad over. That said, I don't get cool dreams like this. :cry:

    IIRC, the undead WERE a thing in LoTR; were they related to any of the Rings?
     
    Segev said:
    IIRC, the undead WERE a thing in LoTR; were they related to any of the Rings?
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    Not as far as we can tell. The only undead which appear in the trilogy itself are the Dead in the Mountain which Aragorn recruits. They were apparently cursed by Isildur, but as far as I can tell he may not even have had the One at that point--and even if he had, I doubt it would have worked with him on that one.
     
    Segev said:
    IIRC, the undead WERE a thing in LoTR; were they related to any of the Rings?
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    Lithos Maitreya said:
    Not as far as we can tell. The only undead which appear in the trilogy itself are the Dead in the Mountain which Aragorn recruits. They were apparently cursed by Isildur, but as far as I can tell he may not even have had the One at that point--and even if he had, I doubt it would have worked with him on that one.
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    There were the Barrow Wights. I guess that might have been the consequence of some dark art the Witchking used, doubtlessly enhanced by the power of the Ring.

    So no direct connection, but if you are already dabbling in questionable sorcery or science a Ring might give the bit extra needed to go full Necromancer?
     
    Sounds like there's no chance of an undead abomination Glory Girl, then. Probably best for Dean's sanity.

    ...though Panacea, with the right Ring, might be able to raise the dead. Or animate them. Oh my.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    There were the Barrow Wights.
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    Forgot them. I think the appendices establish that the Witch-King did that, and that would be after he received Lumeya. I certainly don't think it's a stretch to suggest that a Ring of Power would contribute to one's ability to raise the dead. I just don't think it's necessary--Sauron was the Necromancer well before the forging of the Great Rings.
     
    If I remember correctly, he was just a poser to that title, anyway. He didn't have an undead army!
     
    Lithos Maitreya said:
    Forgot them. I think the appendices establish that the Witch-King did that, and that would be after he received Lumeya. I certainly don't think it's a stretch to suggest that a Ring of Power would contribute to one's ability to raise the dead. I just don't think it's necessary--Sauron was the Necromancer well before the forging of the Great Rings.
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    Whatever was going on in the Dead Marshes may have involved the undead too, but... only explicitly so in the movies? I looked it up to check and it seems they were just ghost-lights in the books.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    Pretty sure he took that title only in the late Third Age. He didn't have the Ring when he was hiding under that title, but it was forged long before.
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    I think he used the dead a lot more liberally in the First Age though, during the War of Wrath. I may be mistaken on this point--this is off the top of my head.

    SwiftRosenthal said:
    Whatever was going on in the Dead Marshes may have involved the undead too, but... only explicitly so in the movies? I looked it up to check and it seems they were just ghost-lights in the books.
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    Forgot them too. That was apparently just a natural result of the great battle fought there, though. It didn't seem like anyone deliberately cursed the dead there.
     
    Lithos Maitreya said:
    I think he used the dead a lot more liberally in the First Age though, during the War of Wrath.
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    There was a lot of weird shit flying around in the First Age, like the whole world was in early alpha.

    "Hey, I wonder how big we can make a dragon before the physics engine breaks?" *Ancalagon happens.* "Okay then. Pretty good physics engine... let's try it with spiders!"
    "Hey, there's Thuringwethil! She's a vampire! Not gonna mention anything else about them, though. Oh, and Sauron turns into one occasionally."
    "Hey, what happens when you set the value of these rocks to an arbitrarily high amount? Peace forever, or thousands of years of Elfish dickery? Let's find out!"
     
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    And what's really sad is that we only read of the really neat shit Morgoth cooked up in one of the Lost Tales, The Fall of Gondolin.

    Also, the more I think about it, the sons of Feanör seem like templates for proto-Game of Thrones characters.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    From a programmer-of-Arda Perspektive, yes.

    Besides, the Trees were the second version of the General-Lightsource programm already.

    First were some giant torches at the ends of the world.
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    Lamps more like, or light bulbs, or whatever. As I recall Morgoth shattered them or had his lackeys do so. 'Shatter' is not the first verb that comes to mind when I consider how to make torch not give light anymore.
     
    Douse 6.6
  • Threadmarks
    • Many thanks to @Assembler, @fabledFreeboota, and @Skyrunner for betareading.
    Many thanks to @MugaSofer for fact checking.

    -x-x-x-​

    Wards were discouraged from patrolling alone in the dangerous parts of town. As a rule, we tended to travel in pairs. I had not done much patrolling in my brief stint as a Ward—and even then, I had almost always been accompanied by one of the others.

    Today, I walked the streets alone.

    The crowd of capes had dispersed, and the waterlogged city was deserted. The shelters were still being opened, and the all-clear had yet to be sent out. Every so often, I passed a civilian or family scuttling towards some ruined home to see what could be salvaged, but for the most part people were avoiding the Docks.

    The pavement grew less stable as I walked down the long slope towards the shore. Cracks ran ever deeper, and the even surface was marred by pits and jutting protrusions. Rubble was scattered along the sides of the streets, and in several places alleys had caved in entirely. Leviathan's passage had been keenly felt, here.

    I enjoyed the solitude. There would be time to comfort Dean through his survivor's guilt and crushing grief. There would be time to help Missy come to terms with her horribly mixed feelings over Vicky's death. There would be time to help Chris and Sam deal with their nerves, their understandable fear at being thrust into the limelight. There would be time to support Aegis as he took up the task of representing the Wards to the world.

    But not now. Not yet. There was more to do first.

    I was startled by how calm the sea looked, once I had reached it. The midmorning sun shone merrily over the temperate waves, lapping gently against the ruined shore. Only the faintest wisps of cloud remained to tell of the storm which had blocked out the sky mere hours ago.

    I rested a hand on Narsil's hilt and looked out for a moment, allowing the sea-breeze to gently run through my hair and kiss my lower face. Then I turned and began walking along the shoreline, heading north, toward the ruined boardwalk.

    The fractured mess of timber had mingled with the rubble from the surrounding buildings, until what remained of the heart of Brockton Bay's stunted tourism industry was barely worth calling a ruin. I picked my way through narrow paths, surrounded by sharp splinters and shattered concrete slabs.

    I was not the only one who had lost trinkets today. Broken watches, twisted pieces of jewelry, and other oddities mingled with the rest of the debris—relics, I expected, of the storefronts that had lined the boardwalk, or of the apartments atop those establishments.

    At long last, I found what I had come for. Aeglos was upright, its tip embedded sharply into a piece of stone. The burnished wooden haft pointed into the air like a monument, catching the eye even among the forest of jagged timbers.

    I took it in both hands, bent my knees slightly, and pulled up. The spear came free with only token resistance.

    I swung it in my hands a few times, testing the weight in cuts and thrusts. Unchanged. Aeglos emerged from the battle from Leviathan as flawless as the day I'd forged it.

    For a moment I considered the blue blade at the end of the spear. A faint coating of frost lingered on it, like skeletal fingers stretching across the metal.

    "Aeglos," I murmured. I was on the cusp of something, I could feel it. "No icicle could have held back the sea undamaged. You are no icicle."

    And, with the insight of a composer realizing his next melody, I understood.

    "Iphannis, I name you," I said, and the blade shone brightest blue. "Permafrost. May you be ever as unyielding as you were today."

    The sun was warm, and beat down pleasantly upon my armor—but as Iphannis grew ice-cold in my fingertips, it was all I could do to suppress a shiver.

    -x-x-x-​

    My solitude was broken when I left the boardwalk. As I emerged from between the shattered woodwork, I saw a speck high above. It sped towards me like a falling star. As it drew closer, it took on form: that of a man wearing a blue and white costume.

    "Annatar," said Legend.

    "Sir," I said with a cordial nod. "You need something?"

    "First of all," he said with a slight smile, "it's just Legend, please."

    "All right, Legend," I said, though it was no large change. A name like that, with the weight it carried, was little better than a title.

    "Your team is looking for you. Clockblocker said you disappeared from the hospital. They're out looking for you."

    "I told Lady Photon I'd be back," I said.

    He nodded. "Yes, but you're also alone in a city that'll very soon be in chaos. Your team is worried."

    "And that warrants the leader of the Protectorate paying me a personal visit?"

    He chuckled. "Well—no. Not really. I wanted to talk to you."

    I set Iphannis against a crumbling wall and clasped my hands behind my back. "All right. What is it?"

    "Your team faced Leviathan alone today," he said. He lowered until his feet touched the ground, so that he was now only a few inches above me, rather than a few feet. "The eight of you held him long enough for Strider to get Bastion and some of his group to the hospital, to protect them from the tidal wave. You were a part of that."

    "Well, I'm part of the team."

    "You know what I mean."

    I nodded. "It's an open secret at this point," I said. "I give out Rings of Power. My team has a set."

    "Can you tell me about them?" he asked.

    I found myself smiling. "I could," I said, "but it depends on what you want to know."

    "What can they do?"

    "It depends on who's wearing them. Parahumans get their powers enhanced, but even a normal human would get several benefits. Strength, speed, senses, the works."

    "There has to be more than that, though." Legend was shaking his head. "You eight faced down Leviathan. And you were key in getting the other capes motivated, keeping their heads in the fight—don't think I didn't notice. A boost to strength and speed wouldn't do that."

    "No," I agreed. "It's a lot more complex than that. I'm afraid I don't know how to put it into words, though. Charisma is part of it. We Ring-Bearers tend to be able to express ourselves and win over others better than we otherwise would. But there's much more to it."

    "And you don't know how to explain it?"

    "Not in general." I shook my head. "If you asked me to tell you about a specific Ring-Bearer, I could tell you what their Ring did for them, but that wouldn't help you much in predicting what it, or any other Ring of Power, would do for someone else."

    He nodded. "I understand. They're a bit like powers, I guess."

    "I suppose so."

    He considered me for a moment. "As I understand it, you have twenty Rings you can make?"

    "Yes," I said. "Although I only plan to make nineteen, in the end."

    "Why?"

    I hesitated. "The twentieth Ring has powers that… I'm not comfortable with."

    There was a brief silence, broken only by the shrill cries of seagulls, returning at last after being driven off by Leviathan.

    "Will you answer, if I ask you what kind of powers?"

    "I—" I didn't honestly know. "I'd… prefer not to."

    His lips were pursed. "If, hypothetically, you made it—would it be a threat to the Protectorate?"

    I swallowed. "…Yes."

    He sighed. "I had a feeling."

    Was this it? Was I going to be captured, now? Had I overextended at last, and lost the good graces of the Protectorate, lost their protection?

    "You know we won't hold that against you, right?"

    I blinked. "What?"

    He grinned suddenly. "This has really been worrying you, hasn't it?"

    "Well…"

    "Look," said Legend, crossing his arms and leaning against the ruined wall. "I work with Eidolon on a regular basis. I know that, if he wanted to, he could probably kill half the capes in this country without breaking a sweat. That doesn't stop me from working with him. I even consider him a friend."

    "It's not the same."

    "No," he agreed. "Eidolon isn't much of a master."

    I froze.

    "But it's close enough," the man stressed. "That's what I want you to understand, Annatar. We're not your enemies—no matter how scary your powers are."

    Was he just talking about Vilya? Had they figured out what I could do, if I chose? How much did they know—and how did they know it?

    I said the only thing I could think of. "Thank you."

    He nodded and, probably seeing my discomfort, changed the subject. "Do you have any plans to distribute your other Rings any time soon?"

    "Not the Nine, if that's what you're asking." I shook my head to clear it. "I haven't really seen a group of nine who really seemed to fit."

    "I can only think of one group of nine, off the top of my head," admitted Legend, "and I suppose I should be very glad you don't think they're fit to get upgrades. But you're avoiding the question. If not the other nine, what? The Wards have seven, you have your three—"

    "They're not my Three," I corrected. "They're the Three."

    He blinked at me. "Wasn't swapping them out at will central to your combat style?"

    I sighed. "Yes. But—there are other people who are suited to them, in a way I'm not. I'm not going to deny that. I can't."

    He considered me. "Who are you planning to give them to?"

    "I—" I shook my head. "No. They're an ally, I promise you that, but I don't want to tell anyone before I talk to them. They might not accept it. I'm only planning on giving one away, for now."

    "But they're an ally?"

    "Yes. I swear. I'm sorry I'm keeping so many secrets."

    He shook his head, and for a moment I saw something dark pass across what little I could see of his face. "We all have secrets." Then the moment was gone. "All right. Keep me posted, if you can. And you should return to your team, soon."

    "I will," I said. "I just—I need to do this first. Can you tell them to stop worrying?"

    "All right," he repeated, his tone reminding me of my dad, "but hurry back. And be careful."

    "Of course."

    With that, he rose into the air and was gone. As soon as he had passed out of easy earshot, I pulled out the Jewelry Box and opened it with a whispered command.

    Off came Narya, and on came Nenya. The Ring of Adamant was cool on my finger, and seemed to vibrate faintly in anticipation.

    I sighed. "All right," I murmured. "You've served me well—and long enough. It's time you were passed to someone more fit to you."

    For what would be the last time, I brought my lips to the Ring of Water. "Okay. Show me the way."

    And, in a flash of crystalline insight, I knew where I needed to go.

    With Nenya, I could have run. I didn't. I took my time, on this last stretch with the White Ring. Together we walked up ruined streets and through flooded alleys. People had started coming out of the Endbringer shelters, now, and they stared at me as I passed. I ignored them all.

    Nenya guided me downtown, past the PRT building, into the heart of the city. Many of the skyscrapers had been damaged or destroyed by Leviathan. A few of the taller ones creaked ominously, as if they might crumble at any moment.

    It was to one of these that I was drawn. I took the fire escape, climbing slowly up flight after flight of iron steps. It took some time to climb the fifty floors, but I felt no fatigue—not with Nenya on my finger, here at the end of my stewardship. Here and now, for the last time, I was unbowed.

    No. Nenya might go to another bearer, but I would never forget what it had given me. Never again, perhaps, would I be able to feel the heady rush as the Ring of Water bolstered me, but I was Annatar, Ring-Maker and Gift-Giver. Unbowed I would remain, now and forever.

    At last I came to the last flight. Above here was the roof. My shaking fingers closed over Nenya and, for the last time, I pulled it off of my finger.

    "Edro a adlenc," I whispered to the Jewelry Box. Out came Vilya, but Nenya did not return in its place, and never would again.

    I found that my eyes were wet. I wiped at them with a cloth I'd taken to carrying—it paid to do so, when I couldn't depend on sleeves.

    Then I took a deep breath, and ascended the last flight of steps.

    "Panacea," I said. "We need to talk."

    -x-x-x-
    ​

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    • Interesting choice.

    Vilyia would certainly fit Panacea's powers better, both in healing and power over the mind. But I'm really looking forward to the explanation why her personality is a better fit for Nenya.
     
    This does raise the question of what Taylor is going to do for herself when she gives away the remaining two of the Three. I mean, she's supposed to wield the One. And even if it has powers she isn't comfortable with using, she can choose not to use those powers. Just like she can Master her superiors with one of the Three, but never chose to do so.

    Anyway, my prediction is that one of the remaining Three is going to go to Eidolon. Because he certainly needs a Ring to complement and help him deal with his flaws, his burden, his fears, etc..

    And the last one...Armsmaster, I think.
     
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