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The White Council

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Walküre:
GANDALF: ''Chief of the Wise, there is no intention to bring malaise or false accusations to the sanctity of this honourable assembly, yet the hour is of the utmost note for us and the issue of all seems everyday to get graver in entity. This is a fact that we cannot deny for sure, unless the very truth is at peril and lies begin to be spread even among the noble members of this council. Isn't it? And my peregrinations, in which I have hitherto put and in good will poured all my effort, were in no case wasted time, Saruman. This I can admit and assess without doubt or second thoughts of any sort. Therefore, I hope our concerns will not be dismissed so much easily, by the wise guide who is instead supposed to lead us in the just direction. The Evil within that fortress can only grow stronger and more hideous as time passes and as stars complete their cycles in the sidereal void of Eä. It is an inevitable of a fate and a predictable destiny, for all dark forces have not shown a different behaviour so far, and, as the wiseman knows well, things tend to repeat and history is much likely to start going round as a wheel, presenting again already-seen schemes and dynamics to which we should be, at this time, very much acquainted. You may also pardon my tone, but I strongly believe that one must be convinced, that the illness must be uprooted quickly and with the fiercest resolve it ought to be vanquished for the good, lest a mistake might cause an unpredictable escalation of events. And the past has vividly shown us how mistakes are not very easily forgiven in this world.

You ask for proofs and evidences, and I shall provide you with what you need know. I shall narrate the foul encounter that befell in the eerie dungeons of Dol Guldur. Not a simple stronghold of common fashion, as some have said, nor a tomb filled with ruins and remnants which Middle-earth would gladly do without. No, my Lord, that is a lair and a prison! A gaol for every free soul and torture even for the most resilient mind. Forgotten by the present, cursed and inhabited by demons of a wide-ranging kind. This is what one will find there; no less, no more. And I had already entered those somber gates once, almost a millennium ago, when that very fortress had attracted by attention for not specified reasons, and I had then headed there, while I sensed that the great force that had set me on that path was escaping from my sight. But, suffice it to say that a presence dwelt in that stronghold, and of this fact I could not be more certain. Unto my last coming to Dol Guldur, months ago. Something I shall never forget, nor will the experience of such a dramatic meeting ever become a dim remembrance of mine, given that I contested the very Evil that night, fending off the danger and managing to flee from that disgraceful place. All started with curiosity and the mission to make a thorough enquiry into the secret of those marred woods, as the murmurs of the people living in the surroundings have become too loud to be exactly defined as a feeble request for aid; it was rather a cry of desperation and sorrow, caused by the horrid transformation of those one-time green forests into obscure ways infested by snares and terrible beasts. How could I have ignored that plea? How could I have denied the sound logic and sincere reason of the Lady of Lothlórien, whose far-sighted knowledge is well renowned across the shires of the continent? I couldn't have. Simple and plain. Hence, disguised and veiled by a spell which prevented hostile eyes from realising that I had arrived, I was into the wolf's lair, and all seemed strange and very much uncanny at the first sight. Because, as I had passed unscathed the road up to the ruined castle, there was no need to worry about secrecy anymore, once I found myself in front of those robust gates. Everything was still and those remnants seemed to have been left untouched by any living force, if not for the action of time that moulded shapes and stone rendered dust; no one was there to patrol. No vigilant guard, nor legions or our unknown enemy unmasked. Silence reigned supreme and was pervasive all over the place. And after a quick inspection, I thus made the most tragic of the discoveries: a Dwarven lord, made weary by the ongoing flow of days and led to madness by means of torture. He was on the verge of death, but he nonetheless recognised me at the last moment, and I did then have the possibility to know something more of his unfortunate story. Yes, one of the Seven Lords he was, and of one of the Seven Rings he had been the mighty bearer; yet his Ring of Power was no more, snatched away from his possession and hewn out of his mauled finger. Doubt thus took me, whilst living force was abandoning the royal Dwarf, and dread began to cloud my mind and I eventually got to grips with the real risk I was to face; my life in serious jeopardy. Even though the hazardous situation I had put myself into didn't refrain me from completing the task, as to what concerned the very sake of Middle-earth. My mouth therefore started speaking spells, in order to lift that treacherous concealment that kept the fortress hidden and seeking to unearth the true identity of that malicious source. All of a sudden, packs of wolves and legions of hideous Orcs surrounded me, aimed to cage me in the deepest dungeon and to halt my imperative mission; my magic was too powerful for them to stay on my way, however, and so it followed that I was very close to leaving that disgraceful place and reaching safety in the outer vastness of the woods. Only, it was at that time that the mysterious sorcerer came forth, with no physical fashion nor a humanoid visage. He was just a wide and thick mist of malice, dark as the night and lacking even the smallest gleam of light. Indeterminate was his shape, but not his will and evil purposes, as his thoughts ran wild along the mazes of my mind. Resurgence, vengeance and the domination of all forms of life in this world. And then the battle had beginning, the fight between our two essences. Light against sheer darkness. At the heated second of the confrontation, his shape shifted and revealed a new figure veiled by fire, resembling a fiery lidless eye which always stands on the alert and yearns the object of its obsession with unceasing desire. And my forces were waning and defeat seemed to be my very next future, until Hope rekindled my heart and gave me strength once more, so that I was able to repel the foe for a moment and get out safe from Dol Guldur.

I am here, now, blessed by events and with the firm resolution to end this threat, for I withstood the foulest enemy of all in that fortress: Sauron, the revenant Dark Lord, who intends to drag this continent to another war and renewed darkness. This time, for our great misfortune, the grand kingdom of Men is suffering from stagnating inertia and the absence of the solely legitimate heir to the throne, alongside the valiant Noldor of the West having departed in large number from these mortal shores. In this state of generalised weakness and idleness, Saruman, it is not necessary for him to regain the tenure of his Ruling Ring, since his powers are destined to be broadened by terror and magical arts, as he's recollecting what was once lost. If we do not act, in less than 200 years Middle-earth might be under the cruel and ruthless rule of the Lord of the Rings, whether the One Ring will have ultimately been retrieved or not.''

Walküre:
SARUMAN: ''Do not let yourself be tricked by snares, Grey Wizard. I know the true fashion of a terrible kind of magic and the menace it could pose for us all. Even if the very craftsman of the Rings of Power were again, as you said, the grave depiction of things that you presented I can't accept. I don't see anything reasonable and logical in it, Gandalf! Without the One, Sauron is more or less harmless and inoffensive. Jettison your usual suspicious thoughts and do also without the mere illusions you beheld in that fortress; how could a powerless ghost be remotely superior to an Istar? How could a member of our mighty order be rendered captive by such an entity, which I call an empty shell, as it is. I wouldn't read too much into your own peregrinations, for they have hitherto done nothing else but bring trouble to our doorstep. And, what kind of factual evidences do they have to offer? Tell me, have you perhaps seen legions of Orcs ready to assault one of the grand kingdoms of this continent? Did you behold an army? Did you have proofs of a host being assembled in order to attack us in the most sudden of the ways? Did you, Grey Wizard? Because I am doubtful and much sceptical; I do not know what to make of, out of the things you feel so sure to assess. May you know that I studied a lot and consulted very ancient sources from chapters of Middle-earth's history that are for most of the living completely unknown; old and consumed pages, covered by the dust of the past, which nonetheless reveal a good deal of wisdom, and plenty of precious insights into the lore of those forgotten times. And I am much acquainted with that lore, and in no way do I intend to submit the truth of my vast knowledge to the judgement of others. Others who prefer the breeze and uncertainty of long journeys, or secretive monarchs who hide themselves from the rest of the World and still continue keeping secrets. No, I shall not doubt the certainties I have gathered so far.

I shall not also permit to call for the preparations of our forces. Declaring a war is something that ought to be pondered in the most thorough way, well knowing that our resources and overall capacity are limited. As well as the scopes for a victorious outcome. Every wasted and ill-calculated effort is a vain effort. What we can't afford. And armies are not pawns that could be easily moved and made usage of at will. We are not all pilgrims, who care little about the ensemble. A leader has precise responsibilities. A sort of oath sworn on the behalf of the many. You need consider this, members of the council, even though you strive so vigorously to force my hand.''

Walküre:
GALADRIEL: ''Yet to the leader the duty to act has been too appointed, and even the responsibility of failure and inactivity is to be his proper fault. A lack of wisdom and sight, too fatal and unforgivable for a position of such a sort, depending the lives of many on his sole judgement.

White Wizard, you may believe that the One Ring is now lost in the deep blue of the sea and that waves brought it far away from the fate of this continent. And you may even believe that the Enemy is not what he seems to appear, and that no worrying threat is at the moment menacing the peace of the free shires. But facts speak with the plainest and clearest voice, Saruman, my powers are denied entrance to that fortress and I everyday perceive the pending darkness which grows day by day mightier. I trust Mithrandir with the utmost confidence, for none of his deeds in life could ever be deemed without a just scope. He saw the revenant Evil in those dungeons, and good luck made it so that he was able to flee from that hell. Every potential peril should be dealt with in the most resolute of the ways, and even more if the said danger derives from the Dark Lord himself. Swords must be wielded, plans must be made and an assault must be given concrete existence, for the sake of success and the safety of our entire endeavour.

Yes, Chief of the Wise, I'm talking about Sauron, the bane of Men and the sudden death that would terrorise my people in the Elder Days. You should be very much acquainted with these tales, shouldn't you? You ought to know what mankind and the immortal kind suffered due to the snares of Morgoth's deadliest servant. The gruesome horrors he managed to summon in those sorrowful times, and his ghoulish magic which only Love itself was capable of undoing. Then, the Second Age of this World was marred by the deception of his obscure design; the sad lore of the Rings of Power and how my kind was disgracefully lured into such a treachery. And the desperation of the mightiest Men in seeing their glorious island sinking in the great sea, for an arrogant monarch refused the counsel of the good and instead turned his ears to words to which he should never have paid attention. Until victory was determined at the slopes of Mount Doom, in the midst of the bloodiest battle of those years. And the Evil was unfortunately given a chance to linger in this world and again cast its shadow on our sunny days. I know this, Saruman, for I lived in those dim days and I was there to witness when all befell. I have knowledge of Sauron's true kind. This books and ancient maps covered by dust will not tell you.''

Walküre:
SARUMAN: ''Do not hold me in such a lesser consideration, Lady of Lothlórien. Do you think I am not aware of the dreadful history that goes along with the Dark Lord and his deeds in Middle-earth? Terrible deeds, of course, yet grand and mighty without a doubt, whose fashion we shall not experience another time in this era. An era which you deem in error grey and doomed; but I have other thoughts. It is an era of chances and multiple possibilities for the races that could live up to the challenge. You seek to paint an unvarnished grey portrait, and much tedious, when the real depiction is instead full of colours and shades. The shades pertaining to will, cunning and arts.

And in this very era we should thus strive and utilise our own resources better, instead of wasting precious energy in vain plans or in very unlikely situation, as you are advocating now with much passion. The One is lost amidst the waves of the vast sea. Lacking its possession results in Sauron, or whoever is hiding behind that mask, having whatever scheme of return hampered and headed to failure. I know this. The arcane secrets of the past disclosed the truth to me; the nature of such artefact that many of your kind, Galadriel, had failed to come to grips with at that time. Books and ancient tales do have something to tell to the one able to grasp. To the one who doesn't fear knowledge nor the understanding of the World. Because, members of this assembly, fortune aids the astute being and the forces of antiquity offer their service to the wise explorer.''

Walküre:
Although the recent shift in the chief's mind was something predicted long time before, the Lady was appalled by the very words of whom had been appointed to be the leader of the Wise. The imperative head and commander that anything wrong should have made right. Imperceptible murmurs were again spoken softly, in a manner that only the Grey Pilgrim could have perceived.

GALADRIEL: ''I may see it clearly now, Mithrandir. His mind is stuck on that recurrent, almost obsessive, desire. The One Ring and the forgotten lore of the lesser artefacts of the Elven Smith of the Second Age. And, while we are exchanging intense judgements and dense thoughts, the darkness in that fortress is growing stronger and bolder. Sauron is scheming in the obscurity of his lair. I can't foretell exactly the moment in which his plans shall be ready to be given concrete existence. It might be a year, or a century too. But it doesn't matter much, for in short time he will be at the head of an army and the menace will have then become a gruesome reality to cope with. Or, even if not intended to launch a sudden attack, he could always seek to interfere with the peace of these lands and sabotage our own efforts in numerous ways; every hazardous and troublesome occasion might be a proper occasion for the Dark Lord. We must watch over this territory. We must not indulge in vain deeds.

The guidance of our chief is no more. His fallacious mind is clouded by doubts, fear and longings of a kind which is difficult to fathom. Immersed in the past; he yearns to know more of its secrets. A forlorn hope, in truth.''

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