The Advance Shadows I

Four days Later-

Aegon sat in his bed, Lilith cradled in his arms, the two laying together, staring out at nothing in particular as they basked in each others presence.

Both were quietly thinking, neither had spoke in about an hour, when suddenly Aegon shifted and sat straightened up.

"What is it?" Lilith inquired, noting his sudden reaction.

"Olórin. Gandalf the Grey, one of the Istari. He has come to Dol Guldur." Aegon replied, his eyes lighting up in flame as he focused on his Avatar in Middle Earth.

"Why is he there?" Lilith asked.

"He has come at the behest of the Brown Wizard, Radagast. I knew the troublesome little wood sprite would bring me a greater prize." Aegon answered as a cruel smile spread across his face.

-Dol Guldur, Middle Earth-

The Dark Lord watched as Gandalf the Grey retreated through the castle alongside the former dwarven king, Thráin. Gandalf had used his magic to restore some of the dwarf's sanity and was trying to question him, but Thráin knew that Sauron was near, and knew they had to retreat.

Sauron overhead Gandalf assure the old king that a 'key' and a 'map' were both safely in the hands of Thráin's son, Thorin.

Thráin reacted with fear at that, and began warning Gandalf against any attempt to reclaim the Lonely Mountain when suddenly, Azog the Defiler emerged from the shadows and struck the Grey Wizard, sending him onto his back.

Gandalf was quick to return to his feet, and use his magic to hold Azog back as he collected Thráin and the two began to retreat.

Using a burst of white light from his staff, Gandalf was able to blind his attackers and he retreated through the castle alongside the old dwarf king.

The two were set upon by wargs, and barely managed to outrun them, only for Gandalf and Thráin to run right into the Dark Lord's Avatar.

Gandalf's eyes went wide as he beheld the living shadow that quickly swelled with power as Sauron channeled his essence through the Avatar and lashed out at the Grey Wizard.

Gandalf used a shield of light to protect himself and the old dwarf from the lashing tendrils of shadow that assaulted him.

A battle of wills began as the Avatar pounded against Gandalf's shield, while Gandalf summoned all of his strength to resist the attack.

For the first time since it's creation, the Dark Lord was now fully focused on puppeting his Avatar, channeling his dark power through it, while holding back just enough to prevent it from breaking down.

An opening occurred for just a moment in Gandalf's defenses as the old Dwarf king despaired and begged the Wizard to tell his son that he loved him.

The moment Gandalf was distracted by the dwarf's requested, the Dark Lord struck out, pulling the dwarf away from Gandalf and out of his protection. Seeing no further use for him, the old dwarf was torn apart by the tendrils of darkness before they resumed their assault on Gandalf.

Their battle of wills resumed, the fortress around them shaking and beginning to crumble as light and dark smashed against one another.

Finally, the Dark Lord had enough power gathered, and his Avatar's shadowy form, ignited into flame, so focused was Sauron's will on his Avatar that his image began to project itself as a pure black form, wreathed in hellish fire.

Sauron focused his power onto Gandalf's staff, turning it to ash in the Wizard's hands as he shattered his shield and threw him up against a stone wall.

The Grey wizard was only able to utter a single word as he realized the true nature of his foe.

"Sauron!" He hissed out, as tendrils of darkness shot forward from the flame and hammered the wizard's body, injuring him and driving him into unconsciousness.

-Casterly Rock, Westoros-

Aegon let out a menacing chuckle, as a cruel grin spread across his face.

"The Wizard is mine." Aegon growled out, his eyes locked with Lilith's. She smiled back at him, her smirk, equally terrifying as she saw into his mind, and bore witness to the battle that just played out.

"You truly have grown strong, baby brother. You cast down one of the mighty Istari from a world away. Truly magnificent." Lilith offered him praise, enjoying how truly incredible his strength was. Even with all that she had done to improve her own strength, even with the natural advantage she had, had over him when they were children, even after the power-up she had undergone when Eru brought her back to life, and she was freed from the confines of mortality, her little brother's power was still something that amazed her.

Rituals, dark sorcery, sacrifice, and all other manner of abhorrent act had increased Lilith's powers during her time as a human, and yet, Harry had always managed to trail her. Though never surpassing her, he had always managed to remain a threat, despite everything.

Now Lilith saw something more in him. A potential to surpass her as a threat. He wasn't blessed with great powers, he was always strong, but never a freak like she had been. She had done all manner of unspeakable thing to herself in order to enhance her powers. If those things she had done, reflected in her physical form, she would have been far more hideous than even her predecessor Voldemort had been.

Harry had never taken those shortcuts. He had never made those selfish sacrifices. He worked for all that he knew, and he fought for his power, he always had. Now, thousands of years later, he had grown into a monster, all his own, but with his growth came a cleverness, and skill that had reflected in his youth. His powers grew, but he never forgot the struggle to gain it, and that made him cautious, and clever, and devious.

He was like a legendary warrior, standing before a mighty dragon, when comparing the two of them. Both figures were magnificent in their own ways, and were capable of carving out a legend of their own. A part of her wondered what he would be like if he regained his ring, and began to partake in some of the rituals she had endured in her youth. Twisted magics to enhance his powers further, alongside his Ring of Power, all of that combined, and he may just become a greater threat than even her.

As he was now, he was stronger than any of the Maiar. Probably stronger than any two Maiar. With his ring though, with all of that power returned to him, he would elevate his own strength to match that of the gods, becoming as powerful as the Valar themselves.

Seeing him elevated to that level, the thought excited her. It made his desire, his dream, seem like it could one day be real. The ability to stand as her equal, twin gods of darkness.

Everyday he trained with martial weapons, everyday he plotted and planned and schemed. His powers grew with these actions, though he had always had an uncanny ability to chase her, no matter how strong she was. Hiding from Eru Illuvitar had put a stall on their game, but now that they were free from his gaze, her beloved brother was free to chase her once more. She simply needed to encourage it more openly.

If she focused on refining and improving her own powers, than he would start chasing her, as he had in their first life, so long ago. He would scale whatever heights she climbed to, no matter how long it took, or how arduous that task. He would chase her, and this time, morality would not constrain the actions he took to make it to her. If that drive was fully reignited, she had no doubt that he truly would stand as her equal one day.

The Goddess of Darkness, and the Master of Death. Twin Dark Lords of ultimate power. Such a thought filled her with excitement, and she decided at that moment, that she would see that drive in her brother reignited fully. He would reach her level of power, and she would hone hers to the razors edge that he accomplished with his own.

"With the Grey Wizard in my possession, others will come to rescue him. The time has come, unfortunately. The enemy will now know for certain that I have returned." Aegon stated.

"They will still believe you to be weak. That is still our greatest advantage. So long as they do not know of me, and believe you to be in a weakened state, we will be able to move more freely, for the moment at least." Lilith responded, earning a nod of agreement from Aegon.

"Yes, indeed." Aegon agreed.

"What will you do with him?" Lilith inquired.

"He will remain imprisoned in Dol Guldur, and I will use the evils of the that place to drain his power and weaken him. I will either consume all of his strength and empower myself with it, or I use his weakened to state to turn him to our cause. I will see if he can be corrupted." Aegon responded.

"Good… very good. Another of the Maiar turned to our cause will be a great boon." Lilith agreed.

"Thorin, son of Thrain, marches on the Lonely Mountain, with a key and a map, allowing him to sneak inside. Their actions will stir Smaug from his slumber, and we must be ready to capitalize on the Dragon's awakening. Azog will lead the army at Dol Guldur to the Lonely Mountain. The kingdom of Erebor and it's riches will be ours for the taking." Aegon explained to her.

"When the dwarves rouse Smaug from his slumber, that will be our opportunity to interact with him. Once awake, and his attention turned away from the hoard of gold he has, he will no doubt sense your call, and if he has any sense, he will answer." Lilith added.

"Yes. Our plans move forward. Now let us see how our enemy reacts." Aegon stated, his gaze and attention focusing back through his Avatar as orcs rushed around the unconscious form of Gandalf, and dragged him away to be imprisoned.

-The next day, Harrenhal-

Sansa Stark heard a whisper that startled her awake. Her whole body ached and she found herself covered in a blanket, but also nude.

She rose up, scanning her surroundings, unsure of where she was or what was going on. The last thing she could recall with any clarity was the creature in the Throne Room. She remembered stepping up to it, being traded for Tommen's life, and then… nothing.

"You're awake." A voice stated, Sansa turned her gaze and found an unknown man standing at the entrance to the room she was in. She was currently sitting on a cold, hard bed, and the room she was in was dark and damp.

"Where am I?" Sansa asked as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

"Harrenhal." The man responded as he stepped further into the room and tossed a set of clothes onto the end of her bed. "Put those on. You're uncle has just arrived."

"My uncle? Wait, how did I get here?" Sansa tried to ask, but the man was already walking away and he did not stop to reply.

Sansa quickly dressed, and stepped out of the room where the man was waiting for her. He gestured for her to follow him and she did so, though hesitantly, as they made their way through the ruined fortress.

"You didn't answer my question. How did I end up here?" Sansa asked as they made their way forward.

"You transformed into a werewolf and escaped the city of King's Landing on your own. We drew you to us, and you were placed into a deep sleep by the dark lord's magic. We brought you here, and you returned to normal while you rested, you've been asleep for several days. King Aegon dispatched his uncle to retrieve you, he arrived not long ago and I was sent to retrieve you." The man explained to her, earning a but of confusion but she pressed on regardless, taking in the strange sights of the ruined castle as she did.

Orcs and men trained within the castle as well as all manner of beast, Sansa couldn't help but stare as she was led into a large open room where Benjen was waiting for her.

"Uncle Benjen!" Sansa let out gleefully as she rushed over to the man and threw her arms around him.

"Sansa! Thank goodness you're alright." Benjen replied with a smile.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be up at the Wall?" Sansa asked as the two separated.

"The Night's Watch was disbanded by King Aegon." Benjen replied simply, Sansa stared back with a bit of confusion.

"Come, we should talk. We'll rest here for the day and return to the Westerlands tomorrow. I'm sure you have plenty of questions." Benjen offered, earning a nod from Sansa. The two returned inside, and Benjen spent the next few hours explain to Sansa what had happened while she was held prisoner in King's Landing.

Some of it she already knew, but the full extent of what had gone on, truly left her flabbergasted.

Not only was Jon actually her cousin and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, but he had also forged an alliance with a sorceress beyond the Wall, and with her armies had taken the Far North and the Wall, and had now conquered the Westerlands. Three of the Seven Kingdoms were now under the rule of King Aegon.

Sansa didn't know how to feel when she heard that Aegon was meant to be wed to this Sorceress. A part of her felt betrayed, but it was a small, childish part that had been beaten down and driven into the deepest recesses of her mind by Cercei and Joffrey. She understood that such a political marriage was the reason that Aegon had managed to accomplish all that he had, he was doing what was smart, and as much as it hurt to know that even when reunited, they would never have what they once did, Aegon had done what was right, and because of it, he was winning the war.

Sansa's spirits were lifted when she heard that Arya had been found, and that Bran and Rickon were safe and well in Winterfell. At the very least, not the Stark Clan looked like it would recover from the Lannisters attempts to destroy them, and for that, Sansa was grateful.

"How is he doing, Jon, or Aegon, I mean?" Sansa inquired.

"He's doing well. Growing stronger every day. I hardly recognize him sometimes, he's got a cleverness to him. This cunning that I've never seen before. I can only expect that he got it from his father, because it's not something I recall any of our family members having. Besides that he spends most of his time with Robb, plotting and planning, and if he's not with Robb he's with Lady Lilith." Benjen answered.

"What is she like?" Sansa asked carefully.

"Terrifying." Benjen replied, honestly. His answer earned a confused look from Sansa so he decided to expand on his reply. "She's got an intensity to her. Most of the time she never says anything, either during meetings, or councils, she's just waiting in the wings, watching, listening. When she does speak, there's an air of authority to her voice, something focused. She's cunning, and charming. She's also powerful, in a way that cannot be explained. You have to see her, and see what she's done in order to truly understand." Benjen replied, his eyes averting as he thought about the strange and terrifying displays of magic he had seen the so-called sorceress conjure up.

Even now, people were beginning to whisper that she was far more than she appeared. Not just a mighty sorceress, but something beyond human. There were some, who whispered of a goddess in the flesh.

Sansa was silent at that, curious and a bit worried. What could that mean if even her uncle was weary of this strange woman. In the end she would simply have to see her for herself.

"Enough of that though. You'll form your own opinion of the woman when you meet her. For now there is something more pressing for us to talk about. Werewolves." Benjen began, focusing his gaze on her and earning a curious look from his niece.

As Benjen explained to her, the secret power of their family blood, and what it allowed them to do, Sansa couldn't help but remember a nightmare she had once had. Something so strange and confusing, that it had terrified her for days. Now that nightmare began to make more sense, seeing Jon turn into the wolf, perhaps it had been some sort of dream tied to her own wolf blood. She wasn't certain, but now she knew more than ever, that she had to return to Jon, perhaps if she explained her nightmare to him, he would have answers for her, about what it meant, and why it had happened.

-Casterly Rock, five days later-

Aegon sat at the high table of Casterly Rock. Behind him sat Ghost, the wolf having continued to grow, and now stood as tall as his brother, nearly as big as a full grown horse. Aegon quietly fed table scraps to Euryale, the small serpent had grown larger with each passing day. She was now over four feet in length, and her appetite seemed to grow as she did.

Aegon was otherwise alone with the great hall, save for a few guards, and the occasionally servant tiding up the place.

Half his focus was one the small serpent coiled around his arm, while the other half was on his Avatar in Middle Earth. He had spent the last five days, focusing his power onto the imprisoned Grey Wizard, slowly draining his life force and weakening him. The wizard sat quietly in his cage for most of the time, quietly muttering spells of protection to keep Aegon from overwhelming him again.

His spells grew weaker with time, as his will wore out. Seeing the large army at Dol Guldur march out of the ancient fortress and disappear into the world, demoralized the gray wizard and further weakened him.

Ever since this morning, Aegon had felt something through his Avatar, a familiar power coming from the Grey Wizard that did not belong there.

It was a power that was so familiar and yet, Aegon could not place it right away. More and more he found himself focusing on it, until now, where he had diverted a great deal of attention on the unknown power.

This power took him back, it reminded him of something from his ancient past. For some reason he couldn't help but think of his ring, yet he knew for a fact that it wasn't the power of the one ring that he was feeling.

So then what was it?

It felt like flame… this strange power of the wizard. Flame… what in his past reminded him of flame, and of his ring?

Aegon's eyes suddenly went wide, and smirk spread across his face. He shot to his feet, starling Ghost awake, and quickly apparated out of the room, leaving the guards and surrounding servants dumbfounded at the sight.

He appeared high on a wall of the castle overlooking the sea. Lilith was there, staring out into the west. She turned to him curiously, sensing his excitement, and taking not of his grin as he appeared beside her.

"What is it?" Lilith inquired.

"Narya. The Wizard has it! Gandalf the Grey. He has one of the three elven rings!" Aegon responded excitedly as he directed orders through his Avatar, ordering his servants in Dol Guldur to interrogate the wizard and demand to the location of the other two rings. If Gandalf had one, than surely he knew of the location of the others. This was a most unexpected boon, and Aegon intended to capitalize on it.

-Dol Guldur, Middle Earth-

Aegon watched through his Avatar as a massive Uruk pulled Gandalf down from his cage and tossed him hard onto the stone. The orc began to demand the location of the Elven Rings as it kicked Gandalf around. The Wizard offered no reply other than seizing a chain on the ground and lashing the uruk across the face.

Black blood erupted from the Uruk's mouth, which he spat on the floor and let out a roar. He quickly seized Gandalf and placed his hand upon a slab of stone while drawing for a long blade. He intended to cut the wizard's hands off, and as he did, Aegon was able to use the opportunity to see through the concealment spell that the wizard had placed over the elven Ring of Fire, Narya.

The Uruk noticed it too, and held that hand upon the stone, intent on taking the ring and delivering it to Sauron. As he raised his blade to chop off the wizard's hand an unnatural sight drew the wizard's gaze towards some nearby steps.

The Dark Lord's Avatar remained unseen, though watched with immense curiosity as the ancient elf, Galadriel climbed the steps unto the ruined platform where Gandalf was and there she issued a threat to the Uruk.

"I have come for Mithrandir. If you try to stop me, I will destroy you." Galadriel warned, fixing the uruk with a hard gaze.

How she had made it this far without him noticing was concerning to Aegon, though his senses were a bit cloudy through his Avatar, and he had been focused on Gandalf all day, so perhaps that, plus a concealment spell of some sort, allowed such an infiltration.

Quietly, Aegon summoned the four Nazgûl within the fortress, as he focused his senses on the aid, Galadriel no doubt brought with her. He quickly took note of several other presences within the fortress, strange unknowns hidden beneath a concealment. No doubt Gandalf's allies had come in force to free him. The time for Sauron's reveal, was at hand.

The Uruk tossed Gandalf aside and made to challenge Galadriel. In response, and with a wave of her hand, his body blasted into gore, as a shockwave of light, rippled across the sky.

The essence of magic she unleashed, revealed another familiar power to him. He could see it, upon her finger. Nenya, the ring of Water. Now two of the three were known to him. One with Gandalf, and one with Galadriel, the only question was where the third resided? Who would Celebrimbor have trusted the final ring too? If one was with Gandalf, than perhaps another was with Saruman the White Wizard?

Regardless of the answer, now the Dark Lord knew where two of the three Elven Rings were. Even if Galadriel and her companions managed to escape with Gandalf, Sauron had still gained a valuable piece of information.

With the Uruk dead, Galadriel picked up Gandalf and began to carry him out of the fortress. She made it down the steps of the platform to the area below when she was confronted by four of the Nazgûl.

The four began to surround her, Khamûl leading them, each of the wraiths stood in clad in black robes. The had been enshrouded, in preparation for heading to Erebor with the Dark Lord's Avatar to meet with Smaug.

Each drew a longsword and fanned out around the ancient elf.

Aegon felt through his Avatar, the concealment spell drop as Saruman, the White Wizard, emerged from the shadows on one side of the room. On the opposite side came Elrond, and Glorfindel, both fully armed and armored, ready for battle.

Aegon cursed internally, knowing full well that four of the nine would never stand against the combined might of Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond, and Glorfindel. Such a group could even threaten his Avatar, with how limited it's powers were.

"Are you in need of assistance, my lady?" Saruman inquired, as two of the Nazgûl, stood in his path and challenged him openly.

"You should have stayed dead." Elrond threatened as he and Glorfindel advanced on the two remaining Nazgûl who readied to fight.

With Aegon's Avatar so near, the Nazgûl were less likely to flee before the incredible might bearing down on them, but it was still a near hopeless battle for them.

Instead, of allowing them to be weakened by battle, Aegon chose to this moment to reveal himself.

An eruption of fire, consumed the platform that Galadriel had brought Gandalf down from, drawing the attention of those present. From within the inferno of flames, the form of Sauron, in full armor, advanced.

"You should not have come here." He intoned through his Avatar.

Elrond and Glorfindel tensed as he approached, but held their grown, the Nazgûl fell back to stand at their master's side as he slowly descended from the platform, fire advancing with him.

"This world, is mine. The west shall fall!" The Dark Lord intoned as he continued to advance. From behind Elrond and Glorfindel, a group of Rhosgobel Rabbits came rushing in from behind them, pulling a sleigh that carried Radagast the brown Wizard.

The sleigh pulled alongside Gandalf and Galadriel, where Galadriel quickly ushered the nearly drained Gandalf onto the sleigh.

"Flee all you wish… the time of Elves and Men is over. The age of Darkness, is at hand. This is my moment!"The Dark Lord intoned as he advanced, reaching the bottom of the stairs as Radagast urged his rabbit to move, and he quickly retreated with the injured Gandalf, taking him to safety and removing his ring from Sauron's grasp.

"Your powers are weak, your dominion over this world is ended!" Glorfindel challenged with fire in his eyes.

Screeches of rage, emanated from the wraiths, as the form of the Dark Lord shifted it's gaze towards Glorfindel, and Elrond, before returning it to Galadriel.

The ancient elf was weakening quickly, the darkness of Dol Guldur, and the presence of the Dark Lord was sapping her powers and weakening her will.

A menacing chuckle emerged from the dark lord, as the flames around his body pulled inward, and his giant armored form seemed to fall into itself, reshaping, into the ghostly figure of a man. This man, bore the face of Viserys Targaryen. Ethereal, and clearly faded, yet the appearance of what appeared to be a regal form, drew surprise from his enemies.

"You underestimate the darkness, and that will be your doom." Aegon's Avatar responded with a devilish smiled as it extended a hand to one of the wraiths. With a bow of subservience, the wraith passed it's sword into the Avatar's hand, and the Avatar quickly began to advance on the weakened form of Galadriel.

Elrond, Glorfindel, and Saruman rushed forward to defend her, Glorfindel reaching the Dark Lord first.

A flurry of strikes came at the Dark Lord as the elf who had once slain one of the mighty Balrog, charged fearlessly into battle with yet another champion of darkness.

The Avatar men his incoming strikes, blocking them as he the Dark Lord's full focus went into manipulating his Avatar. Each movement felt sluggish, slower, weaker than it would have been, have Sauron truly been there.

Yet even still, the Dark Lord held his ground. His time training as a human, had increased his martial skills, no longer was he as slow and cumbersome as he had once been. He had no doubt the ancient elf warrior still outclassed him, but his powers outweighed that of the elf, and he intended to make him work for this fight.

The Dark Lord knew he was unlikely to win, his Avatar simply couldn't withstand the power needed to overwhelm these warriors of the light. So instead he focused his attempts on testing what he had learned already during his time in a new body. He moved more swiftly, and struck with greater precision. It was obvious that Glorfindel could sense the increase in the Dark Lord's skill as the two traded blows with their swords.

Elrond attempted to join his comrade but two of the Nazgûl rushed forward to face him. The remaining two engaged Saruman to attempt to hold him back for a few moments.

The dark lord continued to trade blows with the ancient elf warrior, sword clashing against sword. Occasionally, he would strike out with a burst of power, attempting to catch Glorfindel off balance and send him flying through the air, but the elf made sure to avoid these strikes, choosing to dodge instead of block them.

Sauron pressed forward, pushing Glorfindel on the defensive as he launched a powerful flurry of blows against the elf. Each blow was blocked or avoided. The Dark Lord continued to press until he caught the elf in a chain of quick strikes that finished with a powerful downward strike that Glorfindel couldn't dodge and was forced to block.

The ground buckled beneath the elf's feet, and he was forced to a knee by the power behind the strike. He let out a huff as he held his sword against the superior strength of the Dark Lord.

He glared up defiantly and than rolled out from beneath the blade, quickly returning to his feet as he did.

The Dark Lord pursued him as he felt his excitement grow. This fight was starting to get fun.

Around him, Elrond and Saruman pushed back the Nazgûl attacking them, holding them off with relative ease, as the Dark Lord's Avatar continued to engage Glorfindel.

The two met, blade against blade, both meeting each other's gaze.

"So this is the might of a champion of the Valar? I must say… I expected more." The Dark Lord hissed, shoving Glorfindel back with his superior strength.

Than elf kept on his feet, and kept himself ready for the next attack. Aegon was ready to continue his assault, when a blinding white light erupted, from nearby.

He heard the wraiths let out ear-piercing shrieks as they immediately fled the incredible power behind this blinding light. Sauron turned his gaze towards the light, finding Galadriel back on her feet, her form was twisted as she drew upon the powers of her ring. In her hand she held a blazing light, that was unlike anything the Dark Lord had faced before. The light was so intense and powerful, it could have only come from one of the Silmarils.

His faded fair form vanished as hellish flames exploded around him and he reshaped into a shadow of his towering armored form.

"You have no power here, servant of Morgoth!"Galadriel declared as she challenged him, her will and the might of the light within her hand, burned at his form.

"Such power… that cannot be one of the Silmarils… and yet… it reflects it's light..." The Dark Lord thought as the light singed his Avatar's form.

He pressed back against her attack, channeling power through his Avatar and letting that power explode outward, causing the whole fortress to shake.

"You are shapeless! Nameless! Formless!" Galadriel shouted as she unleashed greater power, matching what the Avatar was able to unleash.

"Go back to the Shadows from whence you came!" She cried out, as she used her magic to attempt to banish him from these lands.

The Dark Lord felt his power teeter as his Avatar reached it's limit, whatever it was that was channeling the light of one of the Silmarils, plus the elven Ring of Water, and Galadriel's own might was enough to overpower the limited abilities of the Avatar.

He was about to retreat, when a presence passed into his being, a familiar presence urging him onward. He felt Lilith's reach out, taking his head in her hands and pressing her forehead to his. Her encouragement, was enough to keep him from retreating. With a snarl he let out almost all of the strength gathered within the Avatar, unleashing a potent blast of power that knocked Galadriel back, and dropped the elves to their knees. The only one that stayed upright from the attack was Saruman.

Galadriel let out a gasp of pain as she fell onto her back, she felt a burning pain in her arm, and to her horror, she found a hand gripping at her forearm. An ethereal hand gripped tightly around her pale skin, burning it, and causing the flesh to rapidly turn red.

Sauron held the elf by the arm, glaring down at her with hellish intent.

"Do not think this a victory. You have won nothing. My age has come!" Sauron declared before releasing her and retreating from the fortress. His Avatar was near collapse and he could not continue fighting until he repaired and refortified it. He left the wretched elf with a mark that would never fully heal, and from that mark, he would always know where she was.

Such a mark would be difficult to remove, and it would take time to accomplish it. For now, the stain of that mark would remind her of the price of defiance. He had no further need of Dol Guldur, at the moment. He could reclaim the fortress at a later date. He now knew where two of the three Elven Rings were, and that, in and of itself was a great boon. He would need to locate the Nazgûl and head out after Azog and his army. It was time to march on Erebor and claim it for himself.

At the same time miles away, the great dragon Smaug moved against the people of Laketown. It had, it's flight from Erebor felt a power echo through it's blood, a power so familiar and yet foreign to it. Once it was finished with Laketown, it would have to search out this power and find out what it was. Perhaps the time had come to meet with the rising darkness and see what the Dark Lord had to offer the last of the Great Dragons in Middle Earth.