The Seven
by Eonwe-(Valar)
July 23, 2000
An old Dwarf king sat on his throne, thinking of
a past encounter, as he turned a small golden ring in his fingers,
stopping
every now and then to examine it. “There’s nothing special about this
ring.
Ha! To think that even in my youth I was foolish enough to believe this
ring could give me anything my own two hands could not!” As he
said
this to himself, his mind wandered back to the day he received his
ring.
“My name is Annatar, and I bring you a gift, oh
great Dwarven king.” Thus had a fairly clad man greeted him
before
his throne many years ago. “I bid you, my lord,” said the guest,
“send away your guards that we may speak in private, for what I have to
tell you is only for the ears of kings.” The king had sent away
his
guards, and then the guest began to speak.
“Great are the halls of the Dwarf kings, in size,
wonder, and beauty, and greatest of them all is yours, your
majesty.
Yet maybe still, there is something that this hall lacks?” The
guest
paused for a moment, as if to give the king time to think. “What
I offer you now, great king, is a chance to be greater. I offer
you
power and wealth beyond even the dreams of the mighty Dwarves.”
The king then examined the guest’s face closely,
trying to guess what he was thinking. “And what do want in
return?”
he asked.
“As I said before, I offer you a gift. I ask
for nothing in return.” The guest then took from a pouch
under
his cloak a ring, and said, “This, my lord, is the gift I give
you.
With it, you shall have wealth unceasing and power unlimited.”
As the old king reminisced of this meeting, one
of his advisors came in. “My lord, we have found gold in the
southern
mines.” A strange gleam came into the old dwarf’s eyes.
“That is good. And what of the lower mines
to the east?”
“We have found nothing yet, but the miners are
expecting
to strike gold any day.”
“Excellent. You may go.” To one of his
servants, he said, “Send for my son. I have something to give
him.”
As the door closed, he went back to examining the ring. “To think
I ever believed this ring could give me anything my own two hands could
not!”
Next: "The Three"
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