Frodo never imagined that one day he would ride on a dragon. In fact, apart from the Arakano family, he is almost the only mortal in Middle-earth who is lucky enough to have a dragon as a mount. Even the kings and heroes of ancient times could not do what he is doing now. He and Bilbo were destined to become one of the greatest mortals of this age.
Old Smaug's back and his long, strong neck were covered with sharp barbs. His scales were hard and cold, as if he were sitting on a piece of thousand-year-old ice. Frodo tightened his grip. He hugged the seventeenth barb on Old Smaug's back tightly, and the strong wind filled him with fear.
"By all the Baggins ancestors, I don't like this," screamed Frodo.
I saw a dragon, a half-dragon, half-elf hybrid, and a hobbit soaring into the sky as Old Smaug vibrated his huge wings of nearly 120 meters.
At this moment, the world seemed to shrink and fall into silence. Dark clouds hang low in the eastern sky, like thick smoke rising from a fire. The rising sun illuminated the dark clouds from below, igniting a dark red flame, but soon it climbed above the dark clouds and rose into the clear sky. The tops of the Misty Mountains were covered with a layer of golden light. Now he has grown even bigger, his originally golden-red scales have almost turned into dark red, his lower jaw is powerful and huge, and his thick nostrils are constantly emitting black smoke even when he breathes.
"Shut up, little thief, it's not your turn to say that. I am Smaug, the Flame of Destruction, Ruler of Destiny. The earth should have trembled under my power, and the sky should have torn apart with my roar, I slaughtered the dwarves like I crushed ants, the human kingdom burned in my flames, and the arrogant elves never dared to look at me."
"But look, first the thief who deserves to be cursed for a thousand years stole old Smaug's treasure, and also attracted Turka... Master! Well, I hate the oath, I don't... Ilúvatar ah!"
Old Smaug's voice was full of anger and malice, and Frodo, who was already frightened, could hardly help but faint. He was extremely afraid that he would fall from the sky, and then he felt that he would be like a piece of cake. hanging from the ground. But the strange thing is that when the old dragon, who was still full of anger, talked about the famous oath that is now sung throughout Central Continent, his curse and his anger were all stuck in his throat like a mouthful of phlegm.
"Smaug, you must answer the oath, as you have witnessed with the mighty ones!" Norathu grasped one of the old dragon's barbs tightly, hugged the hobbit tightly with one hand, and shouted.
"Bright!"
The dragon Smaug roared angrily, and his roar echoed like thunder over the Misty Mountains.
Shire, Frodo finally feels a little better. As an evil dragon, Smaug actually called out the light. This is ridiculous. That oath turned out to be true. He thought so.
At this time, Frodo looked eastward, and he saw a vast unknown land, the vast grassland of Rohan, and the original spire of Orthanc, which was now a pile of ruins. Looking down from the sky, the originally green Essinger Circus is now covered in disgusting black spots here and there, and occasionally you can see rising black smoke.
Looking north, he saw an unexplored forest. That is the legendary Fangorn Forest. It stretches endlessly, and its dense canopy is like a green ocean, rolling up like crumbling waves and swaying in the wind on the earth;
Looking south, the Essing River spreads out like a ribbon below, and the standing white mountains appear small and hard, like a row of broken teeth;
Looking west, he saw the vast and desolate Enaid region. The dry land was bare, with only hills and countless swamps, and there was no human habitation for thousands of miles.
Looking east, the river is at your feet. It looks like a waterfall falling headlong into the abyss full of foam, with a rainbow shining in the dense water vapor. He also saw Eshir Anduin, the huge delta of the great river. Countless seabirds were swirling and flying in the sun like a cloud of white dust. Below was the silver-green sea with endless waves.
However, wherever he looked, he could see signs of war. The Misty Mountains were crowded like an anthill: cavalry galloped across the grasslands of Rohan, and men from the east advanced in a steady stream: swordsmen, spearmen, horse archers, chariots of chiefs, and carts loaded with baggage. All the powers of the Dark Lord are in action.
Elves, humans and dwarves are fighting to the death with ferocious beasts. The lands of Eorl were in flames, dark clouds hung over the proud horsemen, and smoke billowed across the borders of Rohan.
Then he saw Minas Tirith. It seemed far away and beautiful: its walls were white and its towers were numerous, sitting proudly and beautifully on the hills. Its battlements gleamed with steel, and countless bright flags flew from its towers. But he wasn't excited. Because he knew that an evil demon was entrenched in the city of hope for mankind. As a result, evil grew under the beauty, the light became shorter, the shadow became longer, and the shadow shrouded the White City.
And further east, passing by the collapsed bridges of Osgiliath, passing by the grinning gates of Minas Morgul, passing by the evil Shadow Mountains, I saw Gorgoroth. , the uncanny valley located in Mordor. In broad daylight, the land was shrouded in darkness. The fire flickered in the thick smoke. Mount Doom is burning, and thick plumes of smelly smoke are rising.
Frodo gasped for air, and held the ring hanging around his neck tightly in his hand - Frodo felt that when his eyes fell on the big white city, the ring became heavy and hot. . When he looked at the burning Doomsday Mountain, all hope abandoned him.
Noratu found that a shadow enveloped the hobbit. This evil even made him feel extremely uneasy, so that he hugged the hobbit tightly.
But Frodo couldn't even feel the pain, because the ring twisted his mind, and it knew they were trying to destroy it, so it unleashed a sliver of its evil power, allowing Frodo to see things he wouldn't have been able to see. Things that filled him with despair.
Smaug also noticed the evil force on his body. He twisted his huge body uneasily and almost fell from the sky.
"This is really a heavy burden, little thief, old Smaug can help you, let it go, as long as you ask. Of course, old Smaug has a lot of gold, or elven gems, as smart as a mountain People should know that if you are holding something that does not belong to you, it is better to choose all the jewelry you can hold."
Frodo had heard people say or sing about the dragon's treasure before - about Bilbo's adventure. He also saw from the book Bilbo was writing that the dragon's voice was like a spell. Deepening his imagination, he seemed to see piles of precious treasures, cast and uncast gold, gems and jewelry, like mountains, which he could grab as long as he stretched out his hand.
As a result, Frodo even wavered for a moment. His fingers almost left the ring, and he was about to agree. But Nolatu's voice sounded at the right time: "Shut up, dragon, you swore to serve the Arakano family, and this oath has never passed. This is not a power you can touch. I order you: fly eastward and never fight it again." Be careful! Otherwise the oath will burn your mind and drive you crazy! Yes, you know it will."
At the same time, he relaxed the restraint on Frodo and tried to save the Hobbit's heart. He shouted in the wind: "Frodo, let courage flow through your heart, don't give in to it."
The three forces fought with each other in Frodo's heart, and the poor hobbit even twitched violently and almost fell off Smaug's back.
Then his vision went dark and he fainted.
Vaguely, he seemed to hear an exclamation, and then he couldn't remember anything.
When he woke up, he found himself on a white bed with extremely comfortable pillows, and a roof made of some kind of vines and tree branches above his head. Compared to Elrond's exquisite rooms, this place seems closer to nature. A feeling of sobriety but vitality embraced him.
He was stunned for a while, then sat up.
"I wish I had not returned to Elrond's home," he thought. "Well, I know the weight of this responsibility, but is it so difficult to even set out?"
"This is indeed an extremely heavy responsibility, Frodo, and no one can do it better than you." A voice sounded in his heart, it was like a clear spring, soothing his anxiety and fear. Heart.
Frodo was shocked. He hurriedly reached out to touch the ring around his neck and found that it was still hanging on the silver chain, cold and motionless. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to look around, only to find that there was no one in the room.
He also found that a new set of clothes was neatly placed on a table next to the bed, so he walked over, put them on, and walked out of this strange room.
Then his eyes lit up.
Under the dim sky at dusk, all they could see were giant trees, which were taller than anything they had seen in the entire land so far. The trees were immeasurably tall, standing tall in the twilight like living towers. On the many layers of branches and among the leaves that are always swaying, countless lights are shining, some are green, some are gold, and some are silver.
What stands there is the largest tree among the trees. Its thick and smooth trunk shines like gray silk satin. The sky-high trunk has no branches until very high, and the thick branches are spread out. Under the leaves as dense as clouds. A wide white ladder wraps around the tree and extends to the ground a thousand feet below.
Under the big tree is a wide lawn, with a sparkling fountain in the center. Many swaying silver lamps were hung on the surrounding branches, illuminating the fountain. The water it sprayed fell into a silver basin, from which a glistening white stream splashed out. Breathtakingly beautiful.
"I know you have many questions, son of Drogo and Primula," the voice said. "I will answer you if you find me."
Frodo hesitated for a moment. He found no sign of living people here, but a certain feeling made him not so worried. If this is not the home of an elf, then my brain is that of an orc. The son of Zhuo Guo and Primula thought so. He walked along the white ladder and walked down from the palace in the tree.
At this time, the evening star has risen and is shining brightly above the woods in the west.
Frodo relied on the feeling in his heart to walk up and down the stone paths. Their sides were always covered with beautiful flowers, which was hard not to notice. But he couldn't see the residents or hear anyone walking on the path. He didn't know where the elves here had gone, which made him extremely uneasy.
And, where are Norathu and Smaug?
He believed that the exclamation before he fainted must have come from the second son of the Silver King, but he couldn't figure out why he ended up here: If what I expected is correct, this should be the city of Galadhrim, except for the legend I can't think of any place more beautiful than this. Frodo thought.
But his aching head prevented him from thinking too much. In a daze, Frodo walked down a long flight of stairs to a deep green depression, where the silver stream originated from the fountain on the hill. A small stream flows through here. At the bottom of the depression, on a low pedestal carved as a support for branches, stood a wide, shallow silver basin, with a large-mouthed silver jug beside it.
A lady who was so beautiful and dignified that it was almost impossible to describe in words stood beside the pedestal, looking at him with a smile.
"Ciel."
Frodo stood there like a stone sculpture, looking at Lady Galadriel dreamily.
"Welcome to Karathgarathon! Frodo." The Queen of the Tree People spoke. Her voice was more beautiful than the most beautiful singing nightbird in the world, and her beautiful long hair was tied up with a beautiful forehead crown. When the starlight falls on it, it actually emits gold and silver colors. "I'm Galadriel, but I think you guessed it."
"I don't understand." Frodo spoke with difficulty, appearing extremely restrained. He hurriedly bowed to the noble lady, then raised his head and looked directly into her eyes: "Beautiful Galadri. O Queen of the Tree People, my journey should not have led me here, but here I am.”
Galadriel stared into the Ringbearer's eyes until Frodo could no longer bear the pressure in the Elven Queen's star-like eyes and hung his head. "You understand, Frodo." Galadriel smiled, and she called the hobbit to her. "The power of the ring weakens you, and anyone who underestimates it is foolish, but you know that It is your duty. Smaug also harbors greed for it, and it hurts you. Young Celedorion comes to seek my help, for going back is not advisable, you can only move forward, Until you meet your destiny."
Frodo couldn't help but tighten his grip on the silver chain around his neck, because he found the Elf Queen's eyes falling on it.
As if he guessed what he was thinking, the smile on Galadriel's face became even more subtle. "You are right to worry, Frodo. No one can resist its power. Not the elves, not the dragons! The sons of the Silver King will also be seduced by it. Those with great power may be proud to think that They have control over Sauron's weapon, but it has no master except the Lord who forged it."
Frodo watched in horror as the Elf Queen stretched out her jade-like long arm, brushed the silver chain around his neck, and then stopped on the cold, small gold ring.
