Chapter 380: The One Ring Debate
The moment the One Ring was mentioned, shock swept through the hall and the room erupted into hurried whispers.
"So," Bain, lord of Dale, asked, "Lord Kael, do you mean that if we destroy the One Ring, the Dark Lord will be utterly destroyed as well?"
Kael nodded. "When the One Ring was forged, Sauron poured the vast majority of his soul and power into it. The Ring and its maker exist in a parasitic bond. When the Ring was taken from him, Sauron lost his body and most of his strength. But if the Ring returns to his hand, he will be restored, and war will rise again, until he brings the whole world under his rule."
He looked around the table, voice steady. "Only by destroying the One Ring completely can Sauron be erased, unable to return. When that happens, his dark power will no longer threaten Middle-earth."
As he spoke, Kael's gaze shifted to Frodo.
At the signal, Frodo stepped forward under everyone's eyes. He approached the stone table at the centre, drew out the small box from his enchanted pouch, and set it down.
When he opened it, the basilisk venom inside had already dwindled to a shallow layer, just enough to cover the Ring.
Using his dagger, Frodo carefully hooked the Ring up and placed it on the tabletop.
The instant it appeared, the Elves reacted as if a blade had been bared. They retreated at once, as though the Ring were poison made visible.
Only Elrond and Galadriel did not step back, though both of them stared at the Ring with grave faces.
"Its power has grown stronger again," Galadriel said, her tone cold and grave, as if speaking of two dangers at once.
Only Elrond, Gandalf, and Kael caught the second meaning in her words. Not only had the Ring become stronger, but so had its master.
Without any barrier to contain it, the Ring began to radiate a powerful lure, pressing on the minds of everyone within reach.
Théodred of Rohan and Bain, being ordinary Men, were the first to falter. Their expressions twisted with visible struggle.
Then Boromir, son of Gondor's Steward, and Grim Beornson began to waver as well, their eyes turning hungry as they looked at the Ring.
Only Aragorn, Legolas, and a few others of unyielding will remained unshaken, and even they had to force themselves to resist the temptation.
Dwarves, perhaps built differently at the root, seemed to hear the Ring's call as nothing but a maddening drone. Gimli, irritated to the point of rage, snatched up his broad axe and bellowed as he swung it down with all his strength.
The stroke fell with a sound like a hammer on an anvil.
Gimli was hurled backward by the recoil, sent sprawling. His broad axe, forged with mithril mixed into the metal, shattered into pieces, leaving only the haft in his hand.
The stone table itself cracked under the blow, shaking as though it might collapse.
Only the Ring remained untouched, not even bearing the faintest mark.
That single explosive moment snapped everyone out of the Ring's grip.
Staring at the Ring's invincible surface, the council members recoiled in fear. One after another, they stepped back, unwilling to come close again, terrified of being tempted a second time.
"All right, Frodo," Kael said. "Put it away."
Frodo nodded and hurried to the fractured table. Without hesitation, he picked up the Ring with his bare hand and dropped it back into the silver box of basilisk venom.
Seeing how little venom remained, he pulled out the extra vial Kael had given him and poured it in, fully submerging the Ring again.
At once, the Ring's lure vanished, as if it had been cut off from the world.
Frodo sealed the box and returned it to his pouch, storing it alongside the Phial of Galadriel.
The Ring's temptation was gone completely.
Everyone had seen it. Frodo had touched the Ring with his bare hand, and he looked entirely unaffected.
They had only been near it, not even that close, and still the Ring had clawed at their thoughts. Yet this Hobbit, who looked utterly ordinary, had picked it up as if it were no more dangerous than a coin.
The sight left many of them shaken, and their gaze on Frodo subtly changed.
Kael and Gandalf exchanged a quiet, knowing glance.
Then Kael spoke again, drawing the room's attention back to him. "You have now seen the Ring for yourselves. Its temptation is overwhelming. In the end, even great strength of will may fail, and the Ring will make a puppet of its bearer."
"Only Hobbits, this strange and singular people, have a resistance far beyond other races. So to ensure the Ring-bearer will not be taken by the Ring, we have chosen Frodo Baggins to carry it."
Kael's tone hardened. "But time is against us. The Ring's power is growing stronger by the day. Anyone living near it can be influenced and ensnared.
"And the bond between the Ring and Sauron will continue to deepen, until they can sense one another across the world. When that happens, Sauron will pay any price to reclaim it."
He swept his gaze across the council. "So this meeting has one purpose: deciding what is to be done with the One Ring. Now, speak. What are your counsels?"
A brief silence fell, followed by a low surge of discussion.
Boromir rose. "Professor Kael, if destroying the Ring will truly destroy the Dark Lord, is there a way to destroy it, once and for all?"
Kael looked to Gandalf, and Gandalf answered in his place. "The One Ring was forged in the fires of Mount Doom. It cannot be broken by any blade or flame in the world, not even dragonfire. Only the fires of Mount Doom, where it was made, can unmake it."
Hope flared around the table.
For Gondor and Rohan, who lived under the constant threat of Mordor, the idea of ending Sauron forever was like seeing dawn after a long night.
Boromir and Théodred could not sit still. Both stood at once.
"If Mount Doom can destroy the Ring," Boromir said, "then we should form an allied host, strike Mordor together, and send a small force to Mount Doom with the Ring to destroy it!"
Théodred's voice was firm. "If the Ring can be destroyed, Rohan will give its full strength!"
Bain nodded sharply. "For peace in Middle-earth, Dale will do its part."
"And the vales of Anduin as well," Grim Beornson added.
"Do not forget the Dwarves!" Gimli shouted, refusing to be outdone. "We will march straight into Mordor, drag that coward out of Barad-dûr, and let him taste my axe!"
Glóin smacked the back of his head. "Idiot, your axe already broke. What are you going to hit him with, the handle?"
As voices rose and the hall filled with battle fever, ready to throw themselves into war against Mordor, Gandalf poured cold water on the blaze.
He sighed. "But Mordor is Sauron's stronghold. It is steeped in darkness. His power is greatest there, and if we march into it, our strength will be suppressed. Our very life will be drained, leaving us weakened.
"Even if we gather an allied army and assault Mordor, the cost will be terrible. Worse, the moment the Ring enters Mordor, Sauron will sense it, and then we will have brought the Ring to his doorstep.
"And if the Ring falls into Sauron's hand, his strength will surge beyond measure. Then no one left in Middle-earth will be able to stop him."
The air in the hall sank, heavy with dread.
"Then what do we do?" Boromir demanded, brow furrowing, his earlier hope dimming. "Is there truly no way to destroy it?"
"Perhaps there is another path," Glorfindel said at last. "One that does not require us to take the Ring to Mount Doom."
All eyes turned towards him.
"Do you have a better counsel, Lord Glorfindel?" Gandalf asked.
"Perhaps the Ring could be taken into the West, to the Blessed Realm," Glorfindel said. "The Valar are far mightier than Sauron. With their power, perhaps the Ring could be destroyed."