The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Nothing is evil in the beginning.

Here! Over here!

- -

And there was a time when the world was so young,

there had not yet been a sunrise.

But even then there was light.

Well, is it finished yet?

Even you couldn't possibly believe that old scrap will float.

It's not going to float.

It's going to sail.

- Stop! -

No, don't!

- - Stop, you'll break it!

Stop! Don't!

- Come on. - Stop, you're breaking it! Stop!

I told you it wouldn't float.

- -

Get off me!

Lose your footing again, Galadriel?

It was a good ship, sister.

I made it just as you taught me.

Do you know why a ship floats and a stone cannot?

Because the stone sees only downward.

The darkness of the water is vast and irresistible.

The ship feels the darkness as well,

striving moment by moment to master her and pull her under.

But the ship has a secret.

For unlike the stone, her gaze is not downward but up.

Fixed upon the light that guides her,

whispering of grander things than darkness ever knew.

But sometimes the lights shine just as brightly

reflected in the water as they do in the sky.

It's hard to say which way is up and which way is down.

How am I to know which lights to follow?

But that seems so simple.

The most important truths often are.

But you must learn to discern them for yourself.

I won't always be here to speak them to you.

You won't?

Come along. Mother and Father are waiting.

We had no word for death.

For we thought our joys would be unending.

We thought our light would never dim.

So when the Great Foe, Morgoth,

destroyed the very light of our home...

We resisted.

And a legion of Elves went to war.

We left Valinor, our home, and journeyed to a distant realm.

One filled with untold perils and strange creatures beyond count.

A place known as Middle-earth.

- -

- -

Valaron kalanen!

Firuvantë!

They said it would be over quickly,

but the war left Middle-earth in ruin.

And would last centuries.

Now, we learned many words for death.

In the end, Morgoth would be defeated.

But not before much sorrow.

For his Orcs had spread to every corner of Middle-earth,

Multiplying ever greater

under the command of his most devoted servant,

a cruel and cunning sorcerer.

They called him Sauron.

My brother vowed to seek him out and destroy him.

But Sauron found him first

and marked his flesh with a symbol.

One whose meaning even our wisest could not discern.

And there, in the darkness,

his vow became mine.

And so, we hunted.

To the ends of the Earth we hunted Sauron.

But the trail grew thin.

Year gave way to year.

Century gave way to century.

And for many Elves, the pain of those days

passed out of thought and mind.

More and more of our kind

began to believe that Sauron was but a memory.

And the threat, at last, was ended.

I wish I could be one of them.

- -

Commander Galadriel.

This company has followed you to the very edge of the world.

But none who ever dared search for this last stronghold

has ever found anything.

It's been years since the last Orc was sighted.

Is it not possible the other commanders are right and our enemy is no more?

Night is closing in.

How long can living flesh endure where even sunlight fears to tread?

Perhaps we would be wise to camp here.

And tomorrow, begin the journey home.

We are losing the light.

- -

Commander, wait!

No. We keep moving.

Galadriel, stop!

There's nothing out here. We should have been there by now.

We are there.

This is it.

This is where the Orcs gathered after Morgoth's defeat.

Far more must have escaped, than we ever imagined.

My hand is past feeling.

No.

This place is so evil, our torches give off no warmth.

This way.

How can you be certain?

It's colder than the rest.

A door was filled in here.

Bring it down.

What devilry is this?

These Orcs were meddling with the powers of the Unseen World.

Some dark sorcery of old.

But what was their purpose?

Surely, it is lost to the ages now.

Whatever happened here was long ago.

Water.

Even stone cannot hide the mark

of one whose very hand is flame unquenched.

He was here.

Sauron was here.

Tell the others to rest while they can.

At sunrise we move on. We'll take the search further north.

Further north?

This mark was left as a trail for Orcs to follow.

The last time I saw it was on my brother.

We must follow it.

The mark is centuries old.

Whoever left it could be long dead.

Or lying in wait, gathering strength,

perfecting whatever dark art eluded him here.

We exceeded our orders months ago.

Surely we must first return home to take counsel with the High King.

I promise you there is not a soul amongst our company

who yearns for home more than I.

I can still feel the light of the Trees on my face.

I can still see it.

And until we are certain

every trace of our enemy is vanquished...

I can never return.

Snow-troll!

- -

We should never have come in here.

We leave soon enough.

The order is given.

We march at first light.

Then you shall do so alone.

Something's wrong here. Nothing to hunt.

Wolves in every thicket.

Don't you think it's the least bit strange?

World's strange.

If I let 'em pitch-kettle me,

I'd never get off me barstool.

- - Oi, oi!

Keep walkin'.

Why?

Looked like a badger. Maybe a fox.

More likely a Harfoot.

A Harfoot?

Ugh. Don't care to be seein' none,

but if you do, watch yourself.

Dangerous creatures they are.

You're making it up.

Come on. Rattle your dags!

Let's just get to the lake before sundown.

- Huh? Huh. -

Clear and clear.