Ch.92

We returned to Rohan where I was expected to weigh in on things with Aragorn. I sat down the pipe I was given and told Gandalf. "Dragons are not toys to be put away and brought out when needed. They'll need time to digest their prey, nest and rest. Only Drogon, the largest of them, answers to me directly. The rest follow his lead and won't be so kind of he's not there. Sure, they may listen, but they won't necessarily not kill everyone else with me as well."

The king of Rohan grimaced and I sighed. "Drogon will hibernate for the next year or so. He does so once every hundred years to grow while the new dragons die of old age and more are born to take their place. The food he brought back will last the newborns until he awakens and asserts his dominance. The dragons cannot be counted on to come again."

Gandalf turned to the king of Rohan and the king sighed. "The elves and the dragons answered the call to aid Rohan, the same cannot be said of Gondor. Still, if not for those in this room, Rohan would be nothing more than a memory. If Gondor calls for aid, Rohan will answer."

Gandalf thanked him and he left, taking Pippin with him. Saruman was defeated and Isengard was destroyed by the ents so Boromir went with Gandalf while the rest of us waited for the beacons to be lit. Doreah and Sansa pulled me away to a room we were given. When I was kicked out the next morning because I wouldn't let them rest, I had breakfast and Théoden asked how I came to be immortal.

I shrugged, lighting my pipe while I finished my wine. "I was born this way, long ago in a place so far you'd never heard of it. The memories are distant now, but I was nearly killed and it triggered a change in me. My body healed and after that, I met a woman who made the healing stronger, faster. We'd been in love and she didn't want to see me die protecting our people."

I passed my pipe to Merry and he sighed. "This one of the two women you have now?"

I shook my head. "They're only a few centuries old. I'm talking back when I was only a couple million years old."

I had to explain my age and what it meant to be near four billion years old. They were all baffled by the concept of living to such an age. I sighed when I took another hit of my pipe now that Merry had refilled it. "It's not glamorous. I've outlived all of my many wives, lovers and children. I've had to bury them, watch them die or hear of their deaths. I went mad for a very long time, tried to kill myself and even gave into madness only to become sane again after a while."

I grimaced while they looked solemn until I cast an illusion, showing them the beauty I'd seen. "It's not all bad. I've lived more than any man can in any lifetime. Seen wonderful beauty and endless wonders. I've fought in wars so old the tales are forgotten and the battlefields are no more than sand eroded by time itself."

Illusions of all the women I'd loved in many dresses appeared, Osha, the one that weighed heaviest on my heart of late, touched my cheek and I smiled sadly as the others in the hall turned to me. I sighed as they faded. "All memories now, hollow are the holes in my heart from their absence is missed."

Illusions of my many children, some never having reached adulthood, appeared. I reached for them and they too faded. Théoden sighed. "A father should never outlive his children."

I nodded slowly. "And yet I can never die while my children aren't so lucky or cursed I should say."

Doreah came out and Sansa with her. I held them both and they didn't for even a moment try to push me away. They knew for whatever reason I wanted their comfort, not their bodies. They broke their fast while I smoked on my pipe and Aragorn asked how they lived so long.

Doreah told him. "Oz made us rings that grant us a measure of immortality. We don't age, get sick or poisoned. We can't heal like he does though so it's limited by effects, but we have long lives like the elves."

Sansa sighed while I held her and told me she wasn't going to take her ring of anymore because she knew I'd be alone again if Doreah and her were gone. Days passed before the fires of Gondor were lit and Gondor called for aid. The Riders of Rohan gathered while I set out on horseback with Sansa and Doreah, heading for Gondor as fast as the horses could take us.

We arrived ahead of the armies and I set out alone to Osgiliath. The orcs there killed my horse, but I kept coming no matter the amount of arrows they put in me. Sure, it hurt like hell, but I've felt worse. In the meantime they soon felt my wrath and found themselves fatally allergic to it.

From dozens to hundreds and eventually thousands, I killed as many of them as I could with swords, throwing stars, tomahawks, axes and arrows. When I was done, most had been dead so they vanished into my ring with their weapons. What remained was hiding, fleeing or getting ready to attack with the ring wraiths and their wyvern mounts. I pulled the arrows out of me and healed while the ring wraiths began to circle above.

The orcs came from all sides while the wyverns screeched. I grunted. "Well that's annoying."

My collapsible swords unfolded and I sighed. "Let's get to work."

They charged and heads flew, bodies fell, wyvern's dived and died. It was all very Tolkien and dramatic, meaning long and drawn out. Seriously, it took nearly a day for the last orc to die while I fought the witch king and the other wraiths on the ground after I brought down their mounts. They had some serious skill, but most fell to my swords or my scythe.

Only the witch king managed to last for any length of time after that. The rest of the orcs tried to flee and failed, getting shot or stabbed in the back by my cloaked armor. The Witch King of Angmar said no man could defeat him so my suit ran him through. He screamed and died while I took his sword and cleaned up the dead bodies.

By the time I finished, the wild men riding elephants had arrived and it was back to work for me. The giant elephants were relatively easy to bring down, if a bit harder to kill. By the time the riders of Rohan arrived, about three fourths of the wild men were left and no elephants. I had to abuse the fuck out of my portal skills, but all the elephants were dead so the warriors had run on foot and horseback, crazy idiots.

Then the Rivermen came in boats only they died by ghosts long ago so the ghosts helped the riders of Rohan and Gondor finish off the wild men. I stabbed a ghost in the ass for taking my kill and it actually screeched, turning to me. I growled. "Stop taking my kills!"

The scythe beheaded another ten men before the ghost fled with the others. When all the wild men were dead, their corpses vanished with their weapons. Gondor hadn't even been touched and all the orcs, trolls, elephants and wild men were dead in my ring. I got myself a horse and road to meet up with the others.

Gimli asked where I was and I asked if he noticed any giant war elephants, orcs, trolls or ring wraiths riding wyverns. He frowned and shook his head. "No."

I nodded. "You're welcome."

Sansa rolled her eyes while Aragorn released the ghosts from their oath. Their king looked at me wearily, or more aptly, my scythe. He and his minions faded away without another word. I yawned. "Well that was fun."

Later that day after a lot of odd looks, I joined Aragorn and the rest in the citadel where they were arguing over how best to help Frodo. Aragorn told us he planned to ride out to the black gates and draw Sauron's forces and eye on us. I told him I was in cause it sounded like fun and sitting around talking about it wasn't accomplishing anything.

The Steward forbid it and I dropped him through a portal making him land on his ass right where he stood. I told him coldly. "Speak again out of turn and you'll fall like that until your speed grows and when you land you go splat on your fat ass."

Boromir frowned, but his steward father was terrified so he kept his mouth shut. I snorted lightly. "Stewards are not kings no matter how long they've protected the throne. Your king is here before you whether you recognize him as such or not. You swore an oath to the people, to the king and to the country and you will abide by it or your fate will be similar to the ghosts from under the mountains, the cursed life of a traitor."

I ignored him from then on while Boromir and his brother agreed to ride out with their king and all the men they had. So we left when the king of Rohan agreed to ride out as well. The elves were with us so once more the armies of men and elves with a dwarf, rode to the black gates. Gimli asked if we should knock so I raised my armed and a massive portal opened, tearing the black gates off the hinges and dropping them miles away and up over the black tower of the all seeing eye.

They fell with enough forced to destroy the tower and collapse it while the eye of Sauron screeched and wailed. Gimli grunted. "Good knocking."

I dismounted my horse, drew my elven bow and sniped the orcs on the remaining wall parts. Once they were dead, only the orcs spilling out of the lands remained. They definitely outnumbered us, but they didn't get very far as a massive portal swallowed half their bodies and closed, cutting them in half by the tens of thousands. It was a gory mess and everyone looked to me.

I shrugged. "What? You think I'm gonna get shot by arrows again to play bait? Fuck that, it hurts even if I do heal."

The orc pieces fell atop themselves and made an even bigger mess until I waved a hand and cleaned it all up. More orcs poured out, but now we greatly outnumbered them. I patted Gimli's head. "I saved you some kid, have at them."

He chuckled. "Don't mind if I do."

Before he could do much as swing his axe though, the fires of Mt.Doom raged and the ground underneath the orcs crumbled. The lands all the way to the black tower caved in and I grunted. "The ring is destroyed, Sauron is dead."

They cheered and I opened a portal for two young and tired hobbits to fall through. Frodo's finger was missing so I didn't say a word beyond us heading back. I stayed for the crowning of the new king where Sansa and Doreah gave Aragorn and his queen Arwen their rings. They said they wouldn't need them now because they were going to see the Valar thanks to Elrond's invitation.

Sansa and Doreah had told me the night before and asked me to come with them, but I couldn't and I knew I couldn't because I was never welcomed by such beings. I told them I'd think about it and seeing them give away their immortality drive it home. I sighed and dropped several hundred chests of gold and silver saying I might as well give a gift to the new king of men.

I waved a hand and all the dragon eggs appeared in chests through portals. I told them. "Be there when they hatch, let their magics wash over you and they will forever be loyal to you. The rest of the older ones have died off now except Drogon. Keep them warm, make sure there's plenty of food nearby and they will hatch on their own."

Aragorn thanked me and I smiled lightly. "Don't thank me. You'll have a hard enough time feeding them."

Sansa rolled her eyes telling him cooked fish and meat in large quantities will suffice until they can breathe fire and hunt on their own in the rivers and seas. We left with the elf contingent and the day finally came when it was time to cast off from middle earth. After Frodo boarded the ship with Gandalf, Sansa and Doreah boarded as well and looked to me.

I sighed. "I've met beings like the Valar many times in my long life and none have welcomed me into their realms. In fact, they've killed everyone with me and banished me because they cannot control what they cannot kill and they fear me for it. I cannot go with you and risk your deaths over my presence. I won't be responsible for seeing you to your deaths. I'm sorry loves."

They shed tears it tore my heart in half to stay, but stay I had to or risk their lives. They left and I watched before walking through a portal to Drogon's cave. There I waited, staying alone and feeding him all the dead in my ring once I removed the weapons and armor. He grew rapidly and centuries turned into millennia until he was too large to fit on the mountains.

He swam in the seas while we watched the age of men, slaughtered orcs, goblins, trolls and wargs, killed wyverns and krakens. Soon very few species besides man, dragon, hobbit and Dwarf remained on middle earth. Even the Balrogs in the deepest depths were slaughtered in time. Men grew to rely heavily on machines with the dwarves and I grew tired, but I knew Drogon couldn't go any farther either so I stayed.

His size had reached continental proportions when he surfaced fully and covered the sky like night itself. The dragons that remained on middle earth had been hunted by men for sport into extinction by the million year mark. Even Drogon's legendary size had given cause for great annoying heroes declaring they'd vanquish the beast. Seeing war inevitable and Drogon's uncaring ways, I decided to give it a shot and take the brute with me.

So I opened a massive portal at the edge of our former home and he crawled through with me on his back. His saddle was long gone, but with his size it made such things impractical anyways. When we arrived in the new world, we splashed into water before the portal closed after he was all the way through. We found land and there I stayed while Drogon ate whales and such in the seas.