June 8, 3019

Frodo played by Hobbitness
Bugnarakh/Burgul played by Maltriel
Sauron played by Wraith

Sauron: *Frodo, doomed to the constant image of the One Ring burning in his mind and blindness caused by the sight, has been in his cell for days now*
Sauron: *The wound he received on his left shoulder from the Morgul blade has now been doubly hurt - branded with the image of the Eye over the scar*
Sauron: *Now, on June 8, Frodo has been summoned to the Great Hall of Barad-dur, but first, he is given a basin filled with water so that he can bathe himself*
Sauron: *Then fresh water to rinse with and towels to dry with*
Sauron: *After his bath, his wounded shoulder is treated with salve and bandaged*
Sauron: *Then new clothes. He can't see them because of his blindness, and he is guided to them by orcs*
Sauron: *After these preparations have been prepared, he is led to the Great Hall*
Frodo Baggins: *Frodo is terrified and confused...he has no idea exactly what just happened to him because of his blindness*
Frodo Baggins: *He is not even sure if he is awake or dreaming*
Frodo Baggins: *and is not sure where they have taken him or who is leading him*
Frodo Baggins: Where am I? Where are you taking me?
Bugnarakh: *sam sits under saurons throne, his mind in a great turmoil like none he has ever experienced before, two wills striving inside him, one weak, that of his own, and the other strong and powerful.. that of saurons.....*
Sauron: *Seated upon his great throne, Sauron watches as Frodo is led into the hall and taken before him*
Frodo Baggins: *Frodo feels the heat of Sauron's presence and panics*
Frodo Baggins: *He screams and thrashes, trying to run away*
Sauron: *Carcharoth, ever faithful, lies beside Sauron's throne and growls when he sees Frodo*
Frodo Baggins: !Let me go! Get your hands off me! Let me out of here!
Sauron: *Now Sauron speaks in a soft voice*
Sauron: Master Baggins.... Welcome
Sauron: It has been some time since we last met
Frodo Baggins: *crumples to the ground in despair*
Frodo Baggins: *his head touches the floor*
Frodo Baggins: *He lifts it and wrings his hands, shaking*
Frodo Baggins: What now? What do you want with me?
Bugnarakh: *sees frodo standing before sauron .... a hobbit, of the shire, in the distant west of middle earth .... his master ... whom he had known all his life ... but an enemy... of saurons...*
Sauron: Master Baggins, you have given me all you had. There is no more you can give me *Sauron laughs softly*
Sauron: But, there are many things I can give you
Sauron: Did you find all to your satisfaction?
Frodo Baggins: *rocks back and forth, moaning incoherently*
Sauron: I am not called Annatar, Lord of the Gifts, for nothing, Master Baggins
Sauron: Would you like your sight restored?
Sauron: *His eyes glow bright and an evil smile is on his face*
Frodo Baggins: *thinks this over a while*
Frodo Baggins: What will I see?
Bugnarakh: *the malice and hatred irradiate from saurons throne above him.... pinning his own will with a heavy weight ....*
Frodo Baggins: Will I see the wheel of fire before me still? Only in its usual form?
Sauron: What you saw before, Master Baggins. What you saw before.....
Sauron: Master Baggins, how could I take the sight of the Ring from your mind? How could I deny you this? It would be an injustice *he says sarcastically*
Frodo Baggins: Always it is before me, always it burns me, always always....
Sauron: Not always, Master Baggins.....
Frodo Baggins: But without it, oh, without it I would be nothing but a pile of ashes
Sauron: Ask me!
Sauron: You have only to ask, Master Baggins
Sauron: and what you ask will be given to you
Sauron: For I know what you want; my mind fills yours and I know what you think
Frodo Baggins: Well...then I ask for my sight back
Frodo Baggins: *fearful of what he might see*
Bugnarakh: *saurons malice and hatred wash over him like a wave of fire....*
Sauron: A simple thing, Master Baggins.... *He makes a slight guesture with his hand and Frodo's sight is restored*
Sauron: See how simple, Master Baggins? You had only to ask, and it would be granted to you
Frodo Baggins: *rubs his eyes and blinks*
Bugnarakh: *fire, fire, fire... burns away at what little remain of his resolve ... so many long months in the presence of the most evil being upon middle earth...*
Sauron: Now, Master Baggins, do you see?
Frodo Baggins: *gazes at Sauron blazing on his throne, the Ring glittering on his finger* *puts his arm over his eyes*
Frodo Baggins: Yes, I do
Sauron: And what do you see, Master Baggins?
Sauron: Come forth! *he says in thought to Sam*
Frodo Baggins: *hesitantly uncovers his eyes, fearfully peering over his arm*
Bugnarakh: *his voice... his dreadful voice... in his mind... echoing in his skull... destroying his previous thoughts... he has no choice... he comes out from under the throne... bows before sauron*
Frodo Baggins: I see you, the Dark Lord *bitterly* and I see your Ring! *he spits the words out*
Sauron: Master Baggins, I wanted you to be able to see this Dhak dhaaryonk-ob
Frodo Baggins: *his voice softens* And.....is that you......Sam?
Frodo Baggins: This what?
Bugnarakh: *oh... and frodo speaks.... the torment grows... two masters he has.... he opens his mouth to say something....* yes.... *a small squeak, hesitant, unsure*
Bugnarakh: *but is sam his name..... that was his old name, wasn't it? but what is real, anymore? only the blazing might of sauron ... his mind goes blank*
Frodo Baggins: *breathes heavily* No, no, it can't be Sam, it can't be Sam! Sam is...he is not....no!
Frodo Baggins: *covers his face*
Sauron: Master Baggins, this "Dhak dhaaryonk-ob" you ask?
Frodo Baggins: *lifts his face confusedly*
Sauron: Tell him, my servant, what it is. This glad time of much rejoicing
Bugnarakh: *softly, shreds of his old nature trailing behind* ceremony... of... promotion.... *cringes inwardly*
Frodo Baggins: Promotion?
Frodo Baggins: I don't understand!
Bugnarakh: aye........ the Master ..... deems me..... fit....... now...... *his mind is torn, shriveling, into dust, into ashes...*
Frodo Baggins: *his voice rises hysterically* Promotion?!!! What does that mean?!
Bugnarakh: promotion........
Bugnarakh: *ohhhhhhh death, death, death, a flitting thought, a wish, a desire.... longing... but it can never be.... no escape, no way out, only the fire*
Sauron: It is a shame your Brothers could not be here for this, for they would rejoice with you, but war calls them away
Bugnarakh: *through the haze of fire and darkness he clearly hears the voice of sauron ... *
Frodo Baggins: *The orcs are not holding him anymore. His jaw drops, and he slowly approaches Sam* Oh...it IS you, Sam! Oh, no. What are they going to do to you?
Frodo Baggins: *embraces Sam in a weak attempt to comfort him, but pulls away with a cry at the pressure on his shoulder*
Bugnarakh: promotion... *he repeats again, his mind in turmoil, unable to think or speak many words.... oh the agony, agony, despair and suffering*
Bugnarakh: *is cold and unfeeling, barely sensing the presence of frodo .... he feels of ice, bitter cold*
Frodo Baggins: *sinks to the floor and sits there dazedly, but reaches up to take Sam's hand*
Bugnarakh: *stands there, silent, still, unmoving, unfeeling .... cold as ice, cold as the helcarxe ... the bitter frosts of morgoth*
Sauron: Yes, a great time of Rejoicing, Master Baggins
Sauron: For now, My servant will have a new name, and he will forget his old name
Sauron: He will have a new name that I give him
Sauron: And he WILL NEVER ANSWER TO ANY OTHER NAME *Sauron laughs wildly*
Frodo Baggins: *his eyes squeezed shut, trembling with hurt and anger* I wish....I were still....BLIND! *the last word is filled with uncharacteristic venom*
Sauron: *Sauron sends visions of all the things that Frodo and Sam had been through together to get to this point.... every step of the journey*
Frodo Baggins: *but then he falls back into his daze, as Sauron's visions wash over him*
Bugnarakh: *stands there, looking blankly into space, cold and silent as a tomb, as death, nay even more so*
Frodo Baggins: No, you cannot take him from me, you cannot do this to him, you cannot do this to me! You cannot take him, you cannot take him....*repeats it over and over*
Sauron: *Frodo sees them together, from the very first few steps out of the Shire*
Sauron: *Buckland..... the Old Forest.... Old Man Willow.... Tom Bombadil's House... The Barrow Downs..... the rescue from the Barrow Wights...*
Sauron: *Then to Bree.... and the meeting with Strider... and then leading them through the wilderness... the Midgewater Marshes...*
Sauron: *Weathertop, where Frodo received the Morgul wound..... the days of long suffering that he endured, fading, ever into the world into which Sam has now entered fully*
Sauron: *Rivendell.... a joyous reunion with Bilbo..... the Council of Elrond....*
Sauron: *Leaving Rivendell, Cahadras..... then Moria.... with its fears and loss of Gandalf.... the Balrog...*
Frodo Baggins: *weeps, but not as a normal hobbit would. His tears turn into dreadful wails that fill the entire hall, tearing themselves unceasingly from his throat, horrible sustained cries and groans*
Sauron: *Lothlorien, the Golden Wood, with the Lady Galadriel..... the mirror of Galadriel... leaving Lothlorien....*
Sauron: *The journey down the Anduin... the betrayal of Boromir....*
Sauron: *Leaving with Sam.... crossing the river.... and then the journey, up one mountain and down another.... hungry and thirsty, weary and fearful*
Sauron: *The Emyn Muil, the Dead Marshes, the Black Gate.....*
Sauron: *Gollum leading them through Ilithien, the meeting with Faramir.....*
Sauron: *And on and on the memories flood his mind*
Sauron: *Until Sauron brings them to a halt*
Frodo Baggins: *clutches at Sam's robe*
Bugnarakh: *stares blankly into space, unheeding of everything*
Frodo Baggins: *whispers* Sam, look at me. It's Frodo!
Frodo Baggins: Don't you remember?
Sauron: Come now, Favored One *he looks to Sam* and take your name
Frodo Baggins: Don't you remember all that we went through?
Frodo Baggins: Your promise, Sam!
Frodo Baggins: Your promise not to leave me!
Bugnarakh: *cannot talk, cannot speak, can barely think, his mind fighting one last desperate battle....*
Frodo Baggins: Sam, will you not say anything to me?
Frodo Baggins: It's Frodo! Frodo Baggins! Mr. Frodo!
Frodo Baggins: Your old Master, don't you remember?
Sauron: *Sauron sits on his throne, smiling*
Sauron: *The smile looks more like a glare, the face that of a gargoyle*
Frodo Baggins: *As he clings to Sam's robes, Frodo notices Sauron's glare*
Bugnarakh: *his mind is burning, burning ..... his will, his memeories, everything .... all is lost, all gone, all forgotten.*
Frodo Baggins: *Frodo's face becomes cold and hard*
Frodo Baggins: *To Sauron* It is already done, isn't it?
Frodo Baggins: He is gone!
Sauron: Aye, it is done
Sauron: Now, my servant, I bestow upon you your new name. You are to be Burgul, shadow
Bugnarakh: *and so it shall be.... shadow.... shadow, a fitting name.... for what is a wraith but a shadow, a shell, of one who was once living, who breathed, who thought freely, whose heart beat in his chest..?*
Burgul: *he looks to sauron, and speaks with a strange, unfamiliar voice* this shall be my name, thank you Master
Frodo Baggins: *Frodo looks on incredulously. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening*
Burgul: *he comes out of his trance, and bows... his voice cold and distant, as though coming from the ground* i shall serve You well Master, my Lord
Frodo Baggins: *He makes no sound, no perceptible reaction. He simply ceases to exist for a while. He does not even cry out when his shoulder hits the floor as he falls face down*
Sauron: Ah, Master Baggins has fainted, my servant
Sauron: Let us see what you can do to wake him up *Sauron chuckles wickedly*
Sauron: This will be your first exhibit in public
Sauron: and you will do me well, Shadow
Burgul: *he closes his eyes, mumbling a few words in a tongue he never knew before, and snowflakes materialize upon frodos body*
Sauron: *Sauron nods to him in satisfaction*
Sauron: Very good, Burgul
Sauron: I have many things I will teach you, since your Brothers are not here to do it
Sauron: You will become practiced in the arts such as your abilities can learn
Sauron: And you will do well, for you will learn from My mouth what you are to do and the words you are to say
Sauron: The spells you are to invoke for protection, for defense
Frodo Baggins: *blinks, slowly coming to, wondering where he is and why it is snowing, for the last thing he remember is great heat*
Sauron: And those spells that destroy
Burgul: yes, Master, i shall try my best
Sauron: Burgul, you have already exceeded my early expectations
Frodo Baggins: *looks up to find the Dark Lord and the wraith...Sam...no, not Sam!*
Sauron: A joyful occasion indeed
Sauron: Master Baggins, is it true that the halflings give each other gifts on their birthdays to celebrate?
Frodo Baggins: *Not Sam anymore! There is no strength left in Frodo's heavy limbs*
Frodo Baggins: *hoarsely* Yes...
Sauron: Then I have a gift of celebration to give to you
Sauron: It is a simple thing of no value
Sauron: but every time you look at this, you will remember the Dhak dhaaryonk-ob, the Ceremony of Promotion
Sauron: Burgul, come to Me now and give this to him *he extends his hand with something in it*
Frodo Baggins: *his mind begins to cloud over....it is not real, it is only one of his nightmares or visions. He begins to laugh softly, but it is crazed laughter*
Burgul: *he comes forth.... his movements stiff and wooden... and takes the thing from sauron's hand* Master, i shall take this from You and give it unto him
Sauron: *He nods to Burgul, and gives him the object, a little golden ring, with green serpents intwined about it*
Burgul: *he approaches frodo, takes his hand and puts the ring upon his finger*
Sauron: It is just a ring, Master Baggins. A bauble, a trifle, but it will always remind you of this joyful and solemn occasion
Sauron: Just a remembrance, Master Baggins, a momento
Frodo Baggins: *Clever...so in this vision he is actually receiving a ring from Sauron. But what does he care about this ring? It is not the One!*
Sauron: Master Baggins, do not think this is one of the Three Rings of Power that the Dwarves gave back to me willingly
Sauron: For I shall keep them until those worthy are found to take them
Sauron: I would not put more upon you than you could bear *he laughs*
Frodo Baggins: *Sauron's laughter rouses Frodo. This must be real; Sauron's laughter is too loud for a dream now!*
Frodo Baggins: *He looks around frantically*
Sauron: This will help you to remember My Ring you stole
Frodo Baggins: *and down at the strange ring on his finger*
Frodo Baggins: *flinches*
Sauron: And it will rest upon the same finger as a token
Frodo Baggins: What is this ring?
Sauron: Nothing more than a momento
Sauron: But do not try to take it off
Sauron: For it will not go
Sauron: Your life is now tied to it
Sauron: And then a worst fate than death will befall you
Frodo Baggins: *pales*
Sauron: But Master Baggins, it will never turn you into one of My servants
Sauron: I have other things for you in mind
Sauron: *he laughs wildly*
Frodo Baggins: *whispers* What fate...the morgul blade?
Sauron: Nay, Master Baggins
Sauron: For I have servants aplenty and need no others now
Sauron: The Three are reserved for others *his eyes, filled with malice, glow brightly*
Frodo Baggins: *frantically wondering what Sauron is planning and feeling utterly helpless, bursts forth with another cry of anguish, imaging doom falling on all his friends in the outside world*
Sauron: Now the rest of the promotion..... Burgul, you will stay here with Me. You will serve Me
Sauron: You will learn the arts
Sauron: And then when you are ready, you will join your Brothers at Minas Morgul, and there await My summon
Burgul: *bows low* thank you Master, it is an honor
Sauron: *with a nonchalant wave of his hand, he says* Now escort Master Baggins to his cell
Frodo Baggins: *suddenly bursts into gasping, heartbroken sobs*
Burgul: *bows before sauron again, turns to frodo* come, i take you
Frodo Baggins: *staggers to his feet, allows himself to be led*
Frodo Baggins: *takes a shuddering breath* You don't remember me at all, do you?
Burgul: *leads him by a hand upon his shoulder back to his cell*
Burgul: *is silent .... his mind as vague as his vision .... pale snow, mists of ice and cold...*
Burgul: *an empty oblivion, akin to the void itself*
Frodo Baggins: Do you, Sam?
Sauron: *Sauron watches as they leave, then sits upon his throne and thinks his own thoughts*
Frodo Baggins: *waits during a long pause, but receives not response*
Burgul: *they arrive at frodo's cell.... the orcs bow before him as they walk along the darkened, torch-lit corridors*
Frodo Baggins: *steels himself, every muscle tense.....*......Do you.....Burgul? *he weeps*
Burgul: *he puts a hand upon frodos back, pushing him slightly into the cell.... then closes the door behind him. the sound of a key turning in the lock is heard*
Burgul: *and then nothing*
Frodo Baggins: *The sound of Frodo's sobs echoes throughout the dungeon*

Note: The serpent ring that was given to Frodo is not a Great Ring of Power, but it is a Ring with metaphysical powers. Made by Sauron Himself through the power of the One, it binds the life of the wearer to Sauron. If Frodo ever tries to take off this ring, he will begin to feel that he is suffocating and then his heart will pound in his chest until it explodes. If he survives Lugburz and is ever released, the ring will always speak to him and give him visions, eventually driving him into total madness.

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