2230, Second Age

Aldarion, the Black Numenorean

Born in Numenor of the royal line of Elros brother of Elrond, Aldarion is king of a Numenorian colony in Middle-earth. He was named in honor of King Aldarion of Numenor. Already a great sorcerer in his own right, Aldarion had become obsessed, as many other Numenoreans had, with obtaining everlasting life, and he had tried many spells to achieve this end but had failed. When a great and powerful Maia called "Annatar Lord of the Gifts" visits Aldarion, he offers him a great Ring. Impressed with Annatar's promise that the Ring would fulfill his obsession of everlasting life, Aldarion accepts the Ring. He is overjoyed when Annatar tells him that the Ring will also give him increased powers of sorcery; the power of invisibility and to see unknown things that no man can and extension of military and diplomatic power.

Through the years, Aldarion uses his Ring more and more and he finds to his joy that he lives vast years beyond what even those of great age in Numenor lived. His wives die one after one of old age, but yet he remains as he was when he first accepted the Ring. He weds yet another wife, Zimra, to secure a political alliance with her brothers. In time, they have two sons and several daughters. Zimra, friend of the Elves of Eregion, begins to wonder about this Ring, and exactly what are its powers. As the years go by, increasingly she begins to tell him that his Ring is driving him mad. A great coldness develops between them and they seldom speak. Beginning to fear that she might tell her brothers or the elves about this Ring, he devises a powerful poison that will work on her slowly as an illness and kill her over time.

At a court dance, he meets Zaminbalak, and they soon fall in love. Now Aldarion wishes to be rid of his wife, Zimra, so that he can marry Zaminbalak and make her his queen. There is haste now for Zimra to die.

THE DEATH OF ZIMRA

April, 2230

Zaminbalak: *the queen was slipped a potion from her handmaiden made by her husband for he and the handmaiden were in love and the queen no longer loved him and thought him mad...he knew the power this ring would give him and felt it..heard it..saw visions..his queen thought him crazy and she hated what has become of her life...but she had the kingdom's love....but now the potion had taken a fatal effect... created to look as if she was being taken by an illness...it started subtle with a cough..then attacked her joints making it harder for her to move..now it was taking her from the inside out with sores*
Zaminbalak: *the handmaiden watched her.. as she coughed then moved over to her* my lady..how are you feeling?
Zimra: my chest hurts from these coughing fits that i have....
Zimra: *she lies in bed and talks to her handmaiden*
Zaminbalak: *she moves behind her and lifts her head gently and sweeps her hair and begins to brush it* rest my queen
Zimra: *she rubs her hand to her head... she has broken out in a cold sweat. she wonders if she has a fever. her whole body aches*
Zimra: *the relaxing feeling of her hair being brushed takes away from the pain she feels but only temporarily*
Zaminbalak: *the potion he has made for her was taking her slowly and painfully..she looked her queen over*
Zaminbalak: can i get you anything?
Aldarion: *The King is not present with his wife and her handmaiden. He is in his chambers talking to one of his advisors at this time*
Zimra: yes... a damp rag to lay upon my forehead
Zimra: *from her bed of affliction she begins to ponder her life.... it had started out so well, and she had married a king of one of the colonies of numenor. a life of wealth and luxury appeared to be hers*
Zaminbalak: *she moves over to a basin of water and dampens the cloths and wrings it out...she moves over to the bed and sits next to her...laying the cloth over her forehead*
Zimra: thank you my handmaiden. you are indeed good to me.... *she reveals her thoughts upon her now wasted existance* unlike my worthless husband
Zimra: who cares more for jewelry and power than he does for human life.... he is more in love with his ring than he ever was with me
Zaminbalak: *her love for the king was great..never had she felt that way about anyone..she had watched him for long and always went to listen to him speak when she could..they fell in love as they danced one day
Zaminbalak: she knew of his ring as they became close and she felt its power as well and knew he was telling the truth...to hear her speak ill of the king frustrated her but she didnt let on*
Zaminbalak: my lady.....perhaps you are mistaken
Aldarion: *The ring was given to the king by Lord Annatar, who was really Sauron in disguise. Sauron claimed to be a fair lord from another country, bearing gifts and calling himself Annatar Lord of the Gifts*
Zimra: no... he talks to the ring, he calls it by terms of endearment. he never called me anything of the kind
Zaminbalak: *she knows the ring talks to him...she has witnessed this..but the queen thought him mad to talk to a ring..that he was losing his mind in age*
Zimra: i do not deserve this kind of treatment... a lady of my position
Zaminbalak: *she brings the brush through her long hair and stares blankly ahead*
Aldarion: *Sauron had made the king an ally and the gift sealed the bargain. The ring also brought long life, power, wealth and increased abilities of sorcery*
Zimra: my husband is an old fool, who is senile. have you seen him, when he is alone? he walks through the halls, looking at the ring upon his hand, stroking it and calling it "Precious."
Zaminbalak: *she looks to the queen who is pale..her voice weaker than ever...son she would be dead from his potion that she slipped her..but the more she talks of him like this the less guilty she feels*
Zimra: if it were another woman he was in love with, i could understand that. but he has forsaken me for a ring, so i conclude that he is mad. even tho he is still in this world he walks as though he were in another
Aldarion: *Zimra is his third wife, and is only third of his age. He married her to seal an alliance with yet another country, and never loved her*
Zaminbalak: but you havent supported him in this *she minds her tongue..for soon this would all be over*
Zimra: *she moans and coughs this spout of emotion draining a good portion of her strength*
Zimra: supported him in his madness? what should i do, bow and do obessiance to his ring? perhaps polish it upon his finger? nay. it is madness and does not need to be encouraged
Zimra: *her voice rising in irritation she says these words sweating more*
Zaminbalak: *she takes the brush from her hair and stands and turns not facing the queen and shuts her eyes tightly and thinks of the king and knows it all to be truth of the ring...and she cares not..cares not to believe*
Aldarion: *The king, still in his chambers with his counselor seldom thinks of his wife unless she is particuarlly nagging that day. Still he thinks of the war he is planning and he looks at the ring on his finger and smiles*
Zaminbalak: *she tries to calm and looks back to the queen...she sits by her again and leans in close to her...looks at the sores that have begun to spread*
Zimra: hes mad, mad i tell you. no sane man is obsessed with a ring. curse that annatar and the day he ever gave that ring to my husband!
Zaminbalak: *the kingdom was notified of her failing health and grieved but had hope of a recovery*
Zimra: *she coughs... and twitches her aching body*
Zaminbalak: *she knew it was beyond the king to control what he felt*
Zaminbalak: *she was angered that this woman cared not enough to know that or worry about even his mind that she would rant and curse him and sometimes when she was well become physical with him*
Aldarion: *Pushed far back in his mind, a thought comes to him and he wonders if the queen's hand maiden had increased the dosage of poison he had prepared with his own hands and says to himself... "Let it be soon!"*
Zaminbalak: *smoothes the cloth over her forhead* you should be silent my lady
Zaminbalak: for your health
Zimra: *everything had a greenish hue to it, and her head felt as though it were in a vice. her body felt as though it was a castle under siege and had been hit by a hundred battering rams*
Zaminbalak: *replaces the cloth on her head and runs her finger over one of the sores on her face and down to one on her neck*
Zimra: *she barely notices the aching burning sores upon her for her body is already wracked with pain, and she sees everything in a feverish haze.. she moans and cries out*
Zaminbalak: *watches the forced illness take the woman...a long time coming..all her doing..sometimes the guilt stabbed at her*
Aldarion: *Here of late, the memebrs of his court had been acting strange around him, sometimes wondering if he was present in the same room with him. He had taken as his custom to wearing heavy robes with hoods over his face, saying "I do this to keep warm because of my advancing years"*
Zaminbalak: *other times she thought of him...his love...his sometimes fragile mind....and then thought of how the woman hated him and then the guilt would fade*
Zimra: *she struggles to rise up in her bed ans skahes her fist in to the air*
Zimra: *in feverish delirum* i cannot tell which i despise more my hsuband or his ring. curse annatar the one who gave it to him, curse them all...*she coughs violently* to death and darkness forever!!!
Zimra: may he and his ring and the one who gave it to him be consigned to the worst fates imaginable by the valar themself *she continues in feverish rage*
Zaminbalak: *her eyes seem to twitch as she says this....how dare this woman speak of her love this way...how dare...she places her hands on her shoulders to keep her from rising but as her rants continued her*
Zimra: death and darkness unescapable forever and ever until the end of the world
Zaminbalak: *hands began to tremble and her heart began to darken....and in that moment her hands found the queen's throat and encircled it*
Zimra: *suddenly finding her handmaden upon her she gasps in shock and tries to scream and fight her off in her last remaining strengths.. which are not much for the illness has greatly weakened her... only her rage and anger at her husband have been giving her energy of late*
Zaminbalak: *she covers the woman's mouth and chokes her with the other hand*
Zimra: *struggles*
Zaminbalak: *leans her body over the woman to keep her flailing from shaking her off but she is too weak...she can feel the pulse...the sickening pulse*
Zimra: *the lack of oxygen to her lungs make black spots appear swirling with the green of the fever*
Zimra: *she tries to beat her off with her hands but her hits are weak*
Zimra: *she gasps for air*
Zaminbalak: *she grits her teeth and keeps a cold black stare on the woman's vein filled face...she feels her begin to give up*
Zimra: *black green and red spots... floating around her vision with the black ever growing*
Zimra: *and she seems to be falling, falling downwards into oblivion.... her head hits her pillow once again*
Zaminbalak: *sure that the woman has not enough to scream she takes her hand from her mouth and encircles her whole neck again to quicken her death and her strangle is tight*
Zimra: *the haidmaidens grip is very strong and the queen finds herself falling... falling.. no longer aware of the concious world.. falling into darkness*
Zaminbalak: *her hands feel the pulse stop...she sees the cold dead stare in the woman's eyes...her body gives no more struggle*
Zaminbalak: *with wide eyes she gasps and flings herself off and looks over the dead body she created...it would have been so with the poison she first gave..but her hands had actually taken her life*
Zimra: *and then the queen passes to the halls of mandos never to walk the paths of middle earth again... murdered by the treachery of her own handmaiden*
Zaminbalak: *she slowly eases back to the woman and looks to her neck whcuh shows no sign of marks from her hands...her heart pounds and her breathing is heavy*
Zaminbalak: *she paces for a moment and then moves to the door...in recent days the king has wanted less guards around..for their sake...she opened the doors and carefully makes her way through halls and to his room...she opens the door to his room*
Aldarion: *The king still talks with his counsellor*
Zaminbalak: *she finds another in the room with him and stops in her tracks*m..my Lord *bows* the queen..the queen has passed
Aldarion: *a look of shock passes over the counsellor's face but the king sits there with a grave expression on his hooded face*
Aldarion: What? My queen!
Aldarion: Oh no! *He says without emotion*
Aldarion: Was her passing peaceful?
Zaminbalak: *she lowers her head and still can feel the womans throat in her hands*
Zaminbalak: *she holds her breath before she speaks*.....yes
Aldarion: Long has my queen been ailing and I feared that she would soon be gone from us
Aldarion: *he looks at his ring, and caresses it with the fingers of the other hand*
Zaminbalak: *she looks to the couselor and looks away*
Aldarion: *he tells his advisor, Gimilkhad* This is a sad day for my kingdom. You must prepare a great funeral for my beloved queen. Invite lords from all the lands about to attend
Aldarion: Now please leave me for I must grieve
Aldarion: *The counsellor bows and backs out of the room*
Aldarion: *The king sits back and his chair and sighs contentedly*
Zaminbalak: *the counselor moves past her and quickly down the hall...she closes the door behind him and she rushes to his side and kneels before him throwing her arms around his waist and begins to weep*
Aldarion: My lady, why do you weep? This is a day of rejoicing for at last I am free of the witch!
Zaminbalak: i killed her
Zaminbalak: ahead of ....schedule
Aldarion: Then you did very well my darling. You have rid me of a vexing problem
Zaminbalak: she was going on and on..saying such bad things...cursing you...my love i couldnt take it
Aldarion: She is dead now. Her words are gone
Aldarion: Her curses for me are nothing in the courses of time
Zaminbalak: *she looks up to him*
Aldarion: Do not worry about it. Have no guilt. It is my poison that weakened her. You merely finished the matter
Aldarion: You have proven yourself very, very loyal and useful
Zaminbalak: *her hand moves up to stroke his face*
Aldarion: *he laughs and says* She thought I was mad!
Aldarion: But you know I am not
Zaminbalak: i know it to be fact that you are not
Zaminbalak: i held it..i know
Aldarion: Soon it will not matter anyway
Aldarion: They can curse me all they want but I will be far away from them
Zaminbalak: far away?
Aldarion: Far above them and their petty squabbles
Aldarion: My dear, do you sense what is happening to me?
Zaminbalak: your power grows
Zaminbalak: stronger with the passing of every day
Aldarion: Yes, my love, indeed my power grows
Zaminbalak: but your skin...
Aldarion: Yes, that...
Zaminbalak: its grows colder
Aldarion: so soon, I thought it would be longer...
Aldarion: But still that is part of the gift
Zaminbalak: *her expression twists with worry*
Aldarion: After her funeral is held and a respectable time passes, I will name my eldest son my heir as is the custom of Numenor
Aldarion: This will be proclaimed to all the people and to many lands
Aldarion: then I plan to go away somewhere... a quiet place... to spend my old age
Aldarion: And you will go with me
Zaminbalak: *smiles now*
Aldarion: I will make you my wife and proclaim you my queen, but you can never reign. You will never reign
Zaminbalak: i care not of that...my love i jsut want to be with you
Aldarion: You will be with me as long as it is possible
Zaminbalak: i want no title other than your love
Aldarion: I know what awaits me
Aldarion: but not for years, my love, not for years
Zaminbalak: what awaits you?
Aldarion: You will understand but not now
Aldarion: Higher things my dear
Zaminbalak: i hope my death comes before that my love
Aldarion: Do not let it trouble your thoughts
Aldarion: I do not know all the future, just a part of it
Aldarion: when I was given the ring as a young man, it has stayed with me these years. It has taught me many things
Aldarion: Though I have not always worn it as much as of late
Zaminbalak: *she rests her head on his chest*
Aldarion: all these long years the ring has spoken to me. It has given me many great promises
Aldarion: To have great power as a warrior, a diplomat, a sorcerer... and the greatest of all....
Aldarion: My dear, do you know what the greatest gift of all is?
Aldarion: Think on it
Zaminbalak: immortality?
Aldarion: Then you know?
Zaminbalak: i do not know how
Aldarion: When the ring first talked to me, I could not understand it. I was afraid
Aldarion: but as years passed I came to know it was not the ring itself that talked
Aldarion: Do you know what it was?
Zaminbalak: the gift giver?
Aldarion: Yes, it was he
Zaminbalak: my love i am scared
Aldarion: The great one, the giver of good things
Aldarion: A great maia
Zaminbalak: *she clings to him*
Aldarion: Who has cheated Eru of his "gift" for men, death
Aldarion: My lady, do not be frightened. Sauron is my lord
Aldarion: he is as a father to me now
Zaminbalak: my love i understand...i just fear the future...i hope it all goes the way it is planned
Aldarion: Do not worry for yourself my lady. I will set aside great fortunes in your name and great lands
Zaminbalak: i will follow you through your paths...and support you my love
Aldarion: But should we have children, they will not be in direct line to inherit the throne unless you could think of a way to bring that about
Aldarion: But you are ever clever and I could prepare certain other things for you to keep if you felt the need to use them
Aldarion: My elder son has little love for me
Aldarion: My younger son hates me
Zaminbalak: *she stands as he sits and hugs him to her* i will love you until my dying breath
Aldarion: If they should be a problem to you or any children...
Aldarion: you will know what to do
Zaminbalak: *nods*
Aldarion: I would rather see your children rule than the curs from my marriage with Zimra
Aldarion: But perhaps this will never be
Zaminbalak: i have you my love...and that is what matters now
Aldarion: But I plan for your future as a husband of a young wife should do
Aldarion: My love, I am old. We think of such things
Zaminbalak: you will live forever...
Aldarion: I cannot marry you yet. That would not be proper protocol
Aldarion: But in time...
Aldarion: Let us enjoy the brief time we have now before my yapping counsellor comes back to tell me has done so much planning for the state funeral
Zaminbalak: *she offers her hands to him*
Aldarion: *he takes them*
Zaminbalak: *she lifts them and means for him to stand with her*
Aldarion: *he stands up*
Zaminbalak: *looks to him beneath his hood and lets one hand slip beneath it and strokes his face*
Aldarion: *he presses his face against her hand*
Zaminbalak: *with total sincerity* i love you
Aldarion: *he sighs... so young, so beautiful*
Aldarion: *and finally.... mine*
Zaminbalak: unlike your past queen...i do not want to be without you when i take my last breath
Aldarion: you know that I am not weak and feeble as I pretend
Zaminbalak: of course my love i know that...you are powerful
Aldarion: But I must pretend this. I do not want my whole kingdom wondering what their king has become
Aldarion: We will go to one of my estates with a garden and a fountain and will be happy there
Zaminbalak: *smiles* i would like that my love
Aldarion: I will not let you die of old age. I will make a potion myself for you and give it to you
Aldarion: And you will die in sweet peace
Aldarion: Locked in my embrace. This is my promise to you
Zaminbalak: *her eyes fill with tears*
Zaminbalak: i'll hate to leave you
Aldarion: I will be lothe to give it to you but if it is your wish I will give it to you
Zaminbalak: my soul is bound to yours
Aldarion: You will not leave me for many long years. I have been promised......
Aldarion: By one ....... who does not lie
Aldarion: Can you understand me?
Zaminbalak: your Lord...and thus mine
Aldarion: He had promised me many years before I must...... go to him
Zaminbalak: go where?
Aldarion: But then when he says I must answer. I must go to be with my master forever
Aldarion: Can you understand this?
Zaminbalak: *she inhales a small gasp of air*
Zaminbalak: but that could be soon
Aldarion: No he has promised. He will not lie to me
Zaminbalak: i pray it is not before my passing..i would be lost without you
Aldarion: My lady, remember, he chose me above all others. He considered me most worthy
Zaminbalak: empty and..cold *holds him tightly*
Zaminbalak: i understand
Aldarion: Of all the other kings who serve him on Middle Earth I am his favorite. It is an honor
Zaminbalak: yes
Aldarion: if it were not for the accursed Illuvatar and his foul "gift" .....
Zaminbalak: yes...i know
Aldarion: Curse him! He gave the gift of immortality to elves but not to the Edain. He gave us...... death!
Zaminbalak: *lowers her head*
Aldarion: He is a wicked and unjust god. I will curse him to the unmaking of the world!
Zaminbalak: *she grits her teeth* yes and this is the fate i must suffer
Zaminbalak: and be without you
Aldarion: That grieves me
Aldarion: To live while those I love must die...
Aldarion: But before you there were few I loved
Zaminbalak: *looks to his face*
Aldarion: Kiss me now before my counsellor comes back filled with tears of grieving and great pompous plans for the queen's funeral
Zaminbalak: *takes his head in her hands and lowers it to hers*
Aldarion: *his lips wait for her touch*
Zaminbalak: *she brushes her lips over his forehead and kisses there then moves to his lips..her eyes slip shut as she pours her love into the sweetness of his kiss*
Aldarion: *he savors her love and sweet embrace*
Aldarion: *but then footsteps come down the hall... the counsellor no doubt*
Zaminbalak: *she speaks over his lips* i will love you forever...follow you anywhere...to any paths...till the end of time
Zaminbalak: *she releases him slowly*
Aldarion: *he says* Straighten your gown my lady. Do not let them see anything out of the ordinary
Zaminbalak: *she straightens herself and stands straight and looks to his face*
Aldarion: *The king's shoulders begin to shake as though he was crying, but he is not*
Zaminbalak: *puts distance between them*
Aldarion: *he draws his hood over his eyes*
Aldarion: My lady, go tell the other servants of the death of the queen
Aldarion: This is a sad day for us
Aldarion: Have her apartments cleared as soon as possible. Have all of her posessions packed and sent to all our daughters who have wed kings of other countries
Aldarion: I will write notes of grief to them all
Zaminbalak: *nods...the death given to her by thier own doing..she looks down then leaves the room...her heart still full as she spreads the news...now without guilt*
Aldarion: Everything must be done in order
Aldarion: *The counselors of the king sit down around the king's table and offer him their condolences. His chief counselor discusses plans for the funeral*
Aldarion: *Then after an hour or so the king dismisses them all and says he must "go to his bedroom where he can grieve"*
Zimra's Wraith: *a spectral figure appears before the king in his bedroom... indeed it is the wraith of zimra come back only for a short time, as the wraith of gorlim came to beren to warn him of danger*
Zimra's Wraith: *and she says* thou shalt forever be cursed for your loyalty and devotion to sauron the faithless, the abhorred
Zimra's Wraith: there is no future to this path... only the darkness of the void...
Zimra's Wraith: *and she disappears from his sight*

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