Isildur

'It is very beautiful,' said Elrond. 'But what is it?'

'This is a palantir,' said Isildur. 'One of the seven Seeing Stones, heirlooms of my house. It may be the oldest made object in all of Middle-earth.'

'The palantiri were wrought by the hand of my uncle, Feanor Firespirit himself, in Aman when the world was young,' said Galadriel. 'They remained long the pride of all his works, and it was a sign of the special esteem in which the Eldar hold your house, Isildur, that they were given to Amandil your grandsire.'

'They were an aid and a comfort to us Faithful of Numenor,' said Isildur, 'and they remained there until its fall. My father brought them to Middle-earth, where we now use them to speak one to another, though vast distances separate us. This is the Master Stone, that can speak to each. I had another at Minas Ithil and took it with me when I was forced to abandon my city at the beginning of the war. My father now has it in his camp in Gorgoroth. That is the stone I must contact.'

Then he laid his hands on the globe. The mists inside swirled at his touch and the red glow brightened, lighting Isildur's intent face. He bent his mind upon the stone, willing it to speak out to its mate in the plains of Mordor.

The others watched silently. The smoke writhed within, and images began to form. Tiny they were, as if viewed from a great height. Each cloudscape formed but for a moment before swirling away. The light grew and the images became clearer. There were mountains in the clouds now; black crags thrusting through a swirling reek. The red glow pulsed, as if a heart of fire beat beneath the clouds. Then another dark pinnacle appeared, but this was no mountain summit. High it reared, higher than any mountain, with sheer black sides and a jagged crown. Looking closer, they could see that it was a mighty fortress, with battlements on the parapets, and many turrets and a myriad of tiny windows glowing orange and red.

'Behold the Barad-dur,' said Isildur softly, and the room seemed to grow chill at the sound of that fell name.

The image grew, swelling larger and larger until it filled the globe, and it was as if they were descending through the clouds toward the Tower. Finally a torn and tortured land appeared far below. It was all a somber ash gray, slashed by deep cracks and crossed with black tongues of old lava flows. There on the very edge of a smoking chasm lay the only spot of color in all that wide land — a small square patch of many bright colors, like a scrap of embroidered cloth dropped near the brooding walls of the Tower. As the view continued to descend and grow, they saw that the bright square was in fact a huge city of tents for a vast army that now could be seen moving about the slag heaps.

The globe settled toward one of the larger tents, a pavilion of gold and white silk. There was a disorienting moment as the view seemed to pass through the roof of the tent. Then it was if they were gazing not into the globe, but out of it, at a group of men in armor. A tall man with long silver hair came close until his face filled all the globe. Like Isildur, he wore upon his brow a circlet set with a single glowing gem. This was Elendil, High King of the Realms in Exile, and eldest of Men.

'Ah, Isildur, my son,' he said, his voice ringing clear in all their heads, though no sound emerged from the palantir. 'I see you are with Elrond and the Galadrim. Are all then gathered for the council on the morrow? Did Elendur arrive safely?'

'Yes, father, but evil unlooked for has befallen us. Pelargir is assailed by the Corsairs.'

Elendil's face showed his dismay. 'Umbar? Oh, that Numenoreans should turn against Numenoreans in such times as these. Curse their black hearts. I wonder that they dare the attempt. The fleet should be more than a match for the Corsairs, as long as the wind holds.'

'The fleet of Pelargir is already destroyed, Sire, and the city but lightly defended. It is not likely that they yet stand.'

Elendil's eyes glared. 'Why? Did the patrols not give ample warning? Were they not prepared for the attack? What was Barathor about?'

'My lord, Barathor and most of his warriors and seamen are here in Osgiliath. At my behest.'

'You told them to leave the Gate of the South open to our enemies? But why?'

'Because I needed them here. You sent me throughout all of Gondor, and we had hoped to have fifteen or twenty thousand in our host by now. But at every turn we were thwarted. I told you from the Orthanc stone that Calenardhon and Angrenost had but few to spare from the raiding orcs. And at Anglond and again at Ethir Lefnui, the Corsairs attacked and slew many, and we had but few volunteers.

'Even Romach and the Eredrim have refused us. We had but three thousand when we reached Pelargir. There we met Gildor, just arrived from Mithlond. He told us that Cirdan's fleet would be at Pelargir in a day or two at most. And so Barathor agreed to withdraw the fleet and send every available man with us to Osgiliath. It seemed a necessary risk for a day or two.'

Elendil's face stared grimly from the globe. 'Oh, my son, these are terrible tidings indeed,' he said at last.

'Father, I knew the importance of our mission here. What hope would we have trying to attack Minas Ithil with but three thousand men, even with the help of the Elves? I deemed it essential that Barathor ride with us, even though it left Pelargir stripped bare. And loende was fast approaching. Cirdan's ships could guard the River, but we could not wait for him. Father, did I do wrong?'

'No, Isildur,' said Elendil. 'You did not do wrong. It was a desperate gamble, indeed, but necessary. I suppose I would have done the same in your place. It is a token of the love and loyalty of Barathor that he would even consider leaving Pelargir undefended. But you were correct: if you do not have sufficient force to take Minas Ithil, the entire plan will fail, and we shall be certainly lost. What is the situation now?'

'We have just learned of the attack, and Barathor is returning to Pelargir. I urged him to remain, but he would fly to Pelargir at once and I didn't feel that I could in conscience try to prevent him.'

'No, of course not.'

'He wishes me to go with him, to take the whole army back to Pelargir. And as he only left at my repeated pleading, I feel responsible for the people he left behind.'

Elendil looked at his son with compassion in his eyes. 'And you are torn as to what you should do?'

'Yes. If I stay here, Pelargir is almost certain to fall if it has not already.'

'And if you go with Barathor, Sauron could choose that moment to attack Osgiliath.'

'Yes. If Pelargir is taken, the Corsairs will be at our gates in a few days. They could attack while we are on the road back to Pelargir. Either choice could bring disaster.' Elendil nodded his head, a humorless tight smile on his lips.

'It is at such times that the crown wears heavy on the head, does it not?' he said. 'What do you intend to do?'

'I will bid him go, but I shall remain here with the rest of my men. We shall continue with the plan as best we can.'

'Yes, that is probably the best. You should not leave Osgiliath unguarded now. You could find Pelargir sacked and return to find Osgiliath burning, and probably Minas Anor as well. But it is not easy to stand idly by and see our friends fall.' He shook his head sadly. 'May the Powers be with you, and with the Pelargrim.'

'My lord,' said Galadriel. 'Is Gil-galad nigh? I would speak with him on a different matter, though no less grave.'

'Aye, he is here.' A proud and stately Elf appeared, clad in silver mail and a long blue cloak. 'Galadriel,' he said with a smile. 'Greetings to you, cousin. You grow more beautiful as the yen flow by.'

'Elen sila lumenn omentilmo,' she replied. 'It is good to see you well. My king, I have done as you bade me.' And she held up her hand. Nenya glinted like the Evenstar on her hand. 'And Elrond Halfelven is here, with your Vilya. We expect Cirdan any day with Narya.'

'Good. Then the Three are gathered together at last, as has never been since the day Sauron's treachery was revealed.'

'That is my concern,' said Galadriel. 'Perhaps you are right and the time has come to use the Three against him. But is it wise to bring them all together? Was this not Sauron's whole purpose in this war: to draw them to him so he could take them all together?'

'It may well be so, Lady. But we know not if we still have the strength to oppose him. All our force of arms, great as it is, we fear insufficient to stop him if he emerges from the Tower in his full strength. We shall have need of all our weapons if that should occur.'