"Strangers from distant land, friends of old." Elrond began. Miriel listened intently from her place to her brother's left. "You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it! You will unite, or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom!" He gestured to Frodo, and all eyes flickered to him. "Bring forth the ring, Frodo." The young hobbit stood and moved forward, glad to see and feel the protective eye of Miriel on him as he placed the ring down and returned to his seat.

"So it is true!" Boromir's voice rang out where all could hear. The ring began to hum, and the two rangers frowned at each other. Besides themselves, it seemed that Frodo, Gandalf, and Elrond could also hear it, and perhaps Legolas as well. Apart from them, the rest of council seemed oblivious to the strange frequency in the room. Boromir stood, much to the surprise of Miriel, and moved towards the ring.

"In a dream, I saw the eastern sky grow dark, but in the West a pale light lingered." As he spoke, the hum seemed to grow louder, and Miriel shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "A voice was crying, 'Your doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found.'" His hand extended towards the ring on the pedestal, and Miriel readied herself to move should he try to remove it. "Isildur's Bane." Elrond stood swiftly from his seat.

"Boromir!" When the man's hand did not stop, Gandalf stood, and spoke in a language that Miriel did not know. It was dark and rough, and the sound of it hurt as though something was trying to claw her skin to shreds from the inside, and she closed her eyes tightly to rid herself of the sound. The sky grew dark and the wind whipped through the council's meeting place, turning it cold. Finally, he stopped, and Miriel sighed in relief. Opening her eyes, it was clear that the elves, Frodo, and Strider had been affected as she had, but the men who accompanied her brother seemed only slightly disturbed. Did they not know the peril of touching that thing? She knew what language that had been before Elrond began to speak. There was nothing else it could be.

"Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris." Elrond's voice was stern, but Gandalf shook his head wearily.

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond, for the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil." He returned to his place by Frodo and Boromir, who had seated himself during Gandalf's disturbing chant, rose once again to his feet, ignoring the incredulous look given to him by his sister.

"It is a gift, a gift to the foes of Mordor! Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy, let us use it against him!" Miriel shook her head. How could he be so foolish? He had heard her opinion on the matter, and he knew she was right. Why did he still try to follow their father's foolhardy requests? Strider spoke up, and Miriel could not agree more with what he said.

"You cannot wield it! None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master!" Boromir looked at him coldly.

"And what would a ranger know of this matter?" Miriel went to speak, but Legolas had already risen from his seat.

"This is no mere ranger! He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance." Aragorn stiffened at his friend's words, refusing to look in the direction of Miriel, and opting to stare directly at Boromir as the other man looked at him in disbelief.

"Aragorn? This is Isildur's heir?" Legolas spoke again.

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." Aragorn shook his head, raising a hand in an attempt to placate his friend.

"Havo dad, Legolas." The elf sat reluctantly, and Boromir scoffed.

"Gondor has no king." He said disdainfully, allowing his pride to overcome him as he returned to his seat. "Gondor needs not king."

"Boromir!" Another voice spoke out, loud and clear as it reprimanded the stunned man, and Aragorn saw that it was Miriel who had spoken. "Do not speak such words, especially when you know they are untrue. Gondor ahs always needed a king, and now we have more need than ever before." Elrond turned to her.

"Would you elaborate on that, my dear?" She sighed, turning to them all now, her face grim.

"While I may not wish to admit it, Gondor and our people are failing." Boromir went to speak, along with the others of his company, but a raise of Miriel's hand silenced them. They knew better than to continue an interruption. They had given their opinion, and now she would have her say. "I cannot speak of the losses of other lands, for I am quite ignorant, but the losses in Gondor and those under my command have been heavy."

"How bad?" asked an elf beside Legolas. Boromir seemed to deflate at this, sitting next to Miriel as she continued, her tone solemn.

"I began this year with sixty eight Rangers of Ithilien under my command." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Of that number, only fifteen remain." Shock erupted throughout the room, and the illusion of the strength of Gondor faded. The Rangers of Ithilien were some of the most skilled warriors in existence. The loss of so many in such a short time worried even the elves. Aragorn's heart sank even as he realized what she was doing. She had only revealed this to defend him and push the council to act. To his dismay, she continued. "Boromir has lost at least half of his force, and our younger brother, Faramir, has suffered heavily as well. But the loss is not only of life. We lose land daily, and retreats are numerous. All forces will have pulled back to hold the interior."

"How many cities are left standing?" a dwarf asked, frowning at her words. She breathed deeply again, and her tone grew even more serious and sad.

"Only Osgiliath and the White City remain, but I fear that we may soon be forced to abandon the defense of Osgiliath in favor of that of the City of the King." Her eyes met Aragorn's at that moment, and he understood what she did not utter aloud. They were holding out... for him. For the king to return, reclaim the city and throne, and restore them to the proud kingdom of old. The implication and sincerity he saw in her eyes for that brief moment shocked him into silence.

"Do you then argue for the ring to go to Gondor?" Elrond asked, for the benefit of the council. To the surprise of many, she immediately shook her head.

"Aragorn is right." She said, and he was surprised to find that his true name did not sound strange coming from her lips. "The ring will answer only to its master. Any attempt we make to use it will be twisted to his will. To bring it to Gondor would be the height of foolishness." The advisors began to argue, but her hand once again struck them all dumb. "Destroying it is the only chance for us to end this once and for all." Boromir spoke now as the ring hummed again, so faint nearly none could hear it.

"Have care, Miriel. Father commanded-"

"Father does not control my words." She said sharply, turning her head only slightly to allow her bright eyes to bore into her brother's. "And neither do you."

The council continued, but Aragorn did not pay much attention. She had referred to Faramir and her father jointly with Boromir, which could only mean they were siblings, and he must be the elder. Now that he knew this, it seemed to be screaming at him. They were both built tall and strong with broad shoulders, their eyes perhaps different, but the light colored their hair the same, and their features resembled each other greatly. For goodness sake, they even sat the same way! Soon, the room erupted into chaos, leaving only himself, Gandalf, Frodo, and Miriel seated. Miriel caught his gaze, and rolled her blue eyes in reaction to the argument as Gandalf stood. Oddly enough, this elicited a chuckle from him. Then, his ears caught Frodo's voice, and he and Miriel turned to hear it. Of course, the loud arguing made it rather difficult.

"Dina!" Aragorn called, silencing elves and men alike, but the dwarves continued. That is, util Miriel called out to them, authoritative and sure.

"Shazara!" They quieted in shock. How did this human woman know their ancient tongue? She spoke once again, this time in the common tongue. "Let Frodo speak." The young hobbit, already unsure of himself, felt very uncomfortable with all these big people looking at him. He looked across the room to Miriel, who gave him a reassuring nod, and found the comfort and courage he needed in her eyes.

"I will take the ring to Mordor." He said confidently. Then, he frowned slightly. "Though I do not know the way." Gandalf approached him, smiling gently at the frightened halfling.

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear." Aragorn approached the hobbit next, kneeling in front of him.

"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."

"And you have my bow." Legolas added, stepping forward next.

"And my axe." Gimli proclaimed, following and standing beside the elf. The young hobbit looked to Miriel, and she smiled gently, gracefully avoiding the hand of her brother as she knelt before the halfling, taking his small hands in her own calloused ones.

"You have whatever protection I can give you, Frodo Baggins, as long as I have the power to give it." He relaxed slightly, and she moved to stand behind him, directly beside Aragorn, with whom she shared a small smile. Boromir seemed to contemplate for a moment, and then moved towards Frodo.

"You carry the fates of us all, little one." He looked around the room, eyes settling on his sister for a moment before continuing their journey. "If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done." He moved behind Frodo as well, standing beside Miriel. Another voice piped up.

"Here!" Another hobbit, Samwise Gamgee, rushed to stand by Frodo's side, Miriel and Aragorn parting in sync to allow him passage. "Mister Frodo's not going anywhere without me." Miriel smiled as Elrond spoke, seemingly quite amused.

"No, indeed. It is hardly possible to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not." From the other direction, two heads of curly hair popped up from behind a bush, and rushed to join as well.

"Oi! We're coming too!" Merry exclaimed. "You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us." Pippin nodded.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing!" Merry frowned at his friend.

"Well, that rules you out, Pip." Miriel and Aragorn shook their heads at the silly pair. Elrond surveyed the small group.

"Ten companions." He mused thoughtfully. "So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." They nodded determinedly, and Pippin spoke up.

"Great. Where are we going?" Miriel could not help but chuckle quietly at that, and Aragorn found watching her attempt to hold her laughter quite amusing. This was the tipping point in their fates, though neither knew it yet, and none could guess the outcome.