Chapter Fifty Five

Elrond stood and faced Mordraug. He forced his mind to ignore the moans that came from Legolas, as the young prince fought off the dark elf’s latest attack.

The elf lord decided that enough was enough. He was not going to let Mordraug hurt Legolas any further, nor was he going to give that evil creature time to plan some form of attack against him. It was time to put Mordraug on the defensive and then end it.

Elrond began to raise the hand that bore Vilya, when Mordraug thrust both of his hands out toward the elven lord. The force of the power that hit him, sent Elrond lying through the air. He landed on his back and slip the remaining few feet into the wall behind him. It was not often that the Lord of Imladris ended up on his back in battle, and the feeling, though not overly painful physically, was painful to accept.

A yell of triumph resounded across the room. Mordraug laughed hardily, as he surveyed Legolas moaning in pain against one wall and Elrond crumpled against the wall adjoining it. The dark elf was exceeding pleased with himself. Both the pathetic little prince and the great elf lord were down and both by his hand.

He couldn’t lay off making comments by way of sarcastic questions. “What is the matter, Elrond? Can you not find the power to fight me? The princeling there is counting on you to save him. How sad for both of you that you have come here so totally unprepared.”

Those words of snide derision inflamed Elrond’s heart, despite the fact he was already furious with this evil creature. He sat up slowly, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Elrond rarely lost this temper and doing so now could well spell disaster for him and for Legolas.

He gave a quick glance toward the blond archer. Legolas no longer had his head in his hands. He was looking at Elrond with shock added to the pain already on his face. Elrond, while not wanting Legolas to suffer, found himself hoping that the young elf would remain incapacitated long enough to keep clear of Mordraug. To ensure that the Avari kept his attention away from the young wood elf, Elrond said, “Is that all you can come up with, Mordraug? I thought you more powerful than that---according to you own boasts, at any rate.” Satisfied he had Mordraug‘s undivided attention, he prepared to take the offensive. After all, he possessed a ring of great power. Was it not time to use it?

Just as Mordraug raised his hands again, Elrond jumped to his feet, jerking his hand up quickly and sending blue light streaking toward the dark elf.

Mordraug saw it coming and was barely able to counter the attack. His own invisible force sprang up in front of him just in time. Both elder elves were surprised, as the two forces crashed together in a blinding flash of light that created a wall of opposing energy. Waves of tingling currents were sent through the air, and a loud sizzling, like rain on hot coals, filled the room.

The wall looked almost liquid in appearance. Different shades of blue, similar to what Elrond had seen in the tunnel of lights he had passed through on his way here, twisted and turned around each other in a mesmerizing dance. It looked like an unseen hand had dipped into force field and was swirling the colors around in little eddies. The scene was beautiful to behold.

Mordraug had no idea what Elrond had done or where the blue energy came from. He, of course, knew nothing of the elf lord’s possession of the Ring of Air. Few people did. Even had he known, Mordraug could not have prevented what was happening.

The Avari was dismayed to note that Elrond was moving toward him, and as he did, the wall of energy began to move with him, staying the same distance from Elrond but moving closer to him. He tried to push the wall back by moving toward Elrond, but it did not work.

Slowly it began to dawn on Mordraug that whatever power Elrond possessed, it was stronger than his own. He looked to his right and then his left to see if there was any avenue of escape. The energy field, however, stretched from side wall to side wall and ceiling to floor. He was trapped.

Legolas heard the sizzle of contact an instant before he felt the crackle in the air. His head shot up, and he saw the two forces straining against each other. He knew immediately that Elrond had called upon the power of Vilya. Mordraug’s force, while holding the other at bay momentarily, began to be pushed back as he watched.

Elrond’s advance was slow and deliberate, his outstretched hand never wavering and his steps never faltering.

Legolas saw the look, first of desperation and then of panic, on Mordraug’s face, as the seemingly ‘living’ wall advanced toward him. As intrigued as he was by the beauty of the swirling energy, Legolas couldn’t help feeling that it wouldn’t be long before he would witness the end of the evil creature that Elrond soon had trapped against the wall.

Legolas, forgetting about his physical discomfort, waited anxiously, anticipating, but not knowing, exactly how the dark elf’s destruction would play out.

He stared in disbelief, when he saw that Elrond had reached Mordraug and came to a stop. The elf lord stood unmoving a couple of feet in front of the dark elf. *Why does Elrond not finish this now?* Legolas wondered. “Destroy him, Elrond,” the archer yelled out. “Destroy him.”

Mordraug wanted to send another attack Legolas’s way to shut him up, as anger rose up in the dark elf. He was furious that the princeling was calling for his destruction. He would have killed the already weakened wood elf, if he could have spared the energy. However, as long as the forces were balanced, diverting any power at all could spell his doom. He needed every bit of it to combat the power that Elrond was holding in front of him. The prince would have to wait his turn.

Elrond was becoming frustrated, because somehow Vilya’s power was not collapsing the force that Mordraug was using. It greatly surprised the elf lord that the Ring of Air was being held at bay. He decided that Mordraug’s own power must be enhanced by his all-out desperation and determination to win this battle. No other possibilities came to the elf lord’s mind, since there was no question which of the two elves held the greatest power.

The frown of bewilderment on Elrond’s face gave Mordraug hope. He had the mistaken idea that Elrond was currentllly expending all his power and yet not able to overcome Mordraug‘s own power.

The Avari again searched for an opening that would allow him to get free of his current situation. He was not about to give up and surrender to this most despised enemy.

With a loud roar, Mordraug surged forward, hoping to catch Elrond off guard. When the wall of energy gave way a few inches, Mordraug pressed his advantage, continuing to move forward in one swift lunge. He almost slammed into the wall, when it suddenly stopped moving away from him. “Damn you, Elrond,” Mordraug raged. If the elf lord had been caught off-guard, he had recovered much too quickly.

Elrond ignored the curse and concentrated, focusing all of his mental strength into his call to Vilya for more power. He had soon intensified the output of energy and was now pushing the wall again in Mordraug’s direction. The swirling increased in speed, and the sizzling grew louder.

The Avari soon felt the wall of the room at his back, as he came up hard against it. As his options shrank, Mordraug decided to make one last desperate move. He had no real idea how solid the forces in front of him were. His was invisible to his eyes, but Elrond’s still looked liquid. Suppose he could push his way through it. Suppose he could reach Elrond before the elf lord could react. This time he would succeed in strangling the elf lord. Ir was worth the try.

Mordraug tried to push himself forward again, but was unable to accomplish the maneuver. As soon as he touched the swirling energy, he had to jerk his hand away. A stinging sensation lanced through his hand and traveled up his arm. He cursed violently. The powerful forces that were engaged in a desperate battle of their own might as well have been a wall of stone.

A sudden thought came to him. He had created this room to hold Legolas as a virtual prisoner, whenever he wanted to confront the young wood elf without fear he would retreat into another part of his mind. He wondered if he could enlarge the room, thus extending the wall behind him. Mordraug realized with dismay that the energy he was expending did not allow for this to happen. And, even if he had managed it, the wall of energy would just advance, pinning him against the room yet again.

The dark elf was truly running out of options now. What if he could divert just enough energy to dissolve the wall he stood against? He might be able to make a run for it, hopefully outdistancing Elrond’s force field before it caught him. There was even a possibility that Elrond’s energy force had a limited distance it could travel or, at least, in which it could be effective. He weighed the possibilities carefully. Was he fast enough to make it? Did he have a choice?

Elrond knew that Mordraug was planning something. He saw the various emotions of his thought patterns play across the Avari’s face. *Weighing his options,* Elrond mused. “Whatever you are planning, Mordraug, it will not work, not this time.” The warning was spoken in a low tone but easily heard, even by Legolas, who was still watching from his position on the floor.

Mordraug stood perfectly still, waiting for just the right moment to act. When he saw Legolas come to his feet somewhat unsteadily, he noticed that Elrond, while not lessening his intense gaze, had tilted his head the tiniest bit to pick up the faint sound of Legolas rising. It was just the distraction he was waiting for.

Suddenly the wall behind Mordraug vanished and the dark elf turned and ran for all he was worth away from the blue wall that now had only a token resistance.

“He’s mine!” Legolas said without turning his head toward Elrond, a vehement determination in his voice.

Elrond had only a heartbeat to lower the energy field before Legolas could crash into it. The young prince dashed past Elrond and headed after Mordraug. He barely registered the gloom that surrounded him.

The Avari was running, as if the hounds of destruction were after him. He knew someone was coming but thought that it must be Elrond. He expected at any moment to be caught by the blue power that the elf lord wielded. The more ground he covered without being caught, the more he became convinced that Elrond’s power could not reach him. He grinned but did not slow his speed any.

Suddenly he was hit from behind and driven to the ground, a weight landing on top of him. He hit with a thud. A moment later, the weight lifted, and he was roughly jerked around to stare up into the face of his captor. It was Legolas.

The dark elf quickly tried to reach the prince’s neck, but Legolas was faster. He leaned out of the way. Grabbing Mordraug’s hair with his left hand and lifting the other elf’s head up, the young archer balled his right hand into a fist and pounded it into the Avari’s face---twice. Only his inborn sense of fair-play at seeing his enemy on his back beneath him, stayed Legolas’s hand from striking more blows. “You will not escape, Mordraug. You will pay for what you have done to my Naneth, to me and to all the others you killed in your pursuit of what does nnt belong to you.”

Mordraug was just about to make the attempt to struggle free of this royal whelp, when Elrond appeared above him, standing and staring down, a look of triumph gracing his face.

“He is right. You will pay dearly for your many sins.”

Mordraug glared up at Elrond. “And, just how do you intend on doing that?” His words and tone were defiant, but his eyes reflected the fear that was spreading throughout his entire being. It was a look that pleased both of the elves, who now held him prisoner.

“Elves do not like deep, dark tunnels,” Legolas said, grinning broadly. “It would be a most fitting punishment to be trapped in one for all eternity, would it not?” He looked first at Mordraug’s horrified face and then at Elrond’s amused one. “Can such a thing be arranged?”

“Quite easily. And, I think it would be most appropriate,” the elf lord agreed.

“NO!” Mordraug screamed, all arrogance and defiance completely deserting him. “You cannot do this to me.”

“Why not?” Legolas asked. “You had no problem doing terrible things to me.”

Mordraug was shaking his head vehemently. “You cannot possibly compare some taunts, a few flowers and a little pain to what you are proposing to do to me.”

“No? Those things seemed very important to you not long ago.’ Legolas’s voice had hardened considerably. Coldly, he continued. “Funny how they diminish in your estimation, when you are the one on the receiving end.” Legolas, while not having a cruel bone in his body, was making an exception in Mordraug’s case. He found he was enjoying the Avari‘s distress, and he did not feel the slightest bit guilty about it, either.

Legolas looked at Elrond and nodded. He didn’t say a word, but the elf lord understood. Both elves backed away from Mordraug, who lay cringing on the ground.

“I will change. I will never again do anything to harm anyone. I promise. I will accept punishment. But please do not do this,” the dark elf begged pathetically.

When no change in plan was forthcoming, Mordraug started screaming, much the way he had done when Legolas had jumped from his balcony.

Neither Elrond nor Legolas were moved and neither spared the Avari even the tiniest bit of pity. There was only retribution in their eyes. If nothing else, the agonizing death of Legolas’s mother was enough to harden both of their hearts against the evil elf‘s cries for mercy.

“Legolas, this is your mind, and you have suffered the most, so I leave it to you to conjure up the prison you want this creature’s immortal spirit sent to.”

The young elf closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought about a tunnel that was long, low, narrow and blacker than a stormy night. In only a few seconds, just such a tunnel appeared in front of them. It was no more than three feet in diameter and reached far back out of sight.

Legolas used his thoughts to pull the tunnel closer until it surrounded Mordraug‘s prone body. Before the dark elf could move, stone began to fill in the entrance until there was only a tiny hole left in it.

Unable to stand upright, Mordraug crawled to the small opening. “You are not this cruel. You cannot do this!“ he wailed. His screams rose in volume, and the terror that was evident intensified.

An instant later, the hole filled in. Mordraug fell forward onto the rock wall in front of him, his fingers scratching up and down and his head banging repeatedly against its rough surface. He had finally understood completely that he was doomed to spend the remainder of Iluvatar’s Song alone and crawling on hands and knees through that forbidding, granite-encased darkness.

The tunnel and its only inhabitant shrank in size until they were little more than a speck. Legolas firmly tucked the tiny prison in a very deep recess of his mind, never to be touched upon again.

It was then that both elves looked around them. The gloom had faded, and they found themselves standing in a beautiful, verdant forest. Gone also was the entire room they had so recently occupied.

“This is where you retreat to in your mind to find peace?” Elrond said, as he looked at Legolas. It was both a question and a statement. The trees were so large and loaded with leaves that the sun could only reach the ground in tiny rays of dappled sunshine. “This is Greenwood the Great.”

“Yes,” Legolas re[plied. “It is Greenwood as it was during the rule of my grandfather and my parents. I constructed it in my mind, mostly from the descriptions given to me by my father and those who lived here back then. I never saw it in its full glory. The Shadow was already spreading by the time I was born. Hopefully, it will be like this again one day.”

Elrond smiled. “I believe it will.” He well remembered the great forest, and Legolas’s likeness was perfect. It was good to see it again, even if it only existed in the mind of this young woodland elf.

Neither felt the need to discuss Mordraug or what had just taken place. They knew that the Avari was finally going to pay for all time for his treachery, and that was all that mattered.

Elrond and Legolas embraced each other.

“Thank you,” Legolas whispered into the elf lord‘s ear, suddenly almost too overcome to speak.

Elrond held tight and let Legolas be the one to pull back whenever he was ready. When he finally did, there were tears in his eyes, but none of them fell. Instead, they made his dark lashes look like they had been sprinkled with tiny sparkling diamonds. He wiped them away, though it was not from shame that he did so. Though he and Elrond were always comfortable with each other, the recent events reinforced their bond, taking them far beyond any feelings of embarrassment. Even Elrond’s eyes were misty.

“I can never repay you...”

“Shhh,” the dark-haired elf soothed. “You do not have to repay me. Knowing you are free of that evil creature is all the payment I require. That debt, if you insist on considering it such, is paid in full.” All the time he spoke, he could not resist stroking Legolas’s hair, a lot of which had come loose from his braids.

“Estel and the twins will be so thrilled to see you free, Legolas. Glorfindel will also be delighted, as am I. We will all be happy to have you back with us.”

Legolas turned away from Elrond and lowered his head.

Elrond’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What is wrong, Legolas? Why have you turned away in sadness?” He had glimpsed the expression of sorrow on the young elf’s face just before it was lost to his view.

“I cannot go back with you.”

TBC