At Sauron's command, a hundred great warships and countless smaller vessels departed from the southern port of Umbar.
Sailing northward, they formed a massive pirate fleet composed of Haradrim and Númenóreans, long allied with Mordor. For years, these pirates had dominated the Bay of Belfalas, repeatedly crushing Gondor's navy and forcing its ships to retreat to Pelargir.
More than a decade earlier, however, Aragorn, traveling under the name Thorongil, had led a sudden strike on Umbar. He slew the port's Marshal and burned many of the fleet's warships, dealing the pirates a devastating blow and ending their threat to Gondor's southern coasts.
Now, more than ten years later, Umbar had regained its strength.A new Marshal ruled the port, and much of the lost fleet had been rebuilt.
As the pirate armada crossed the Bay of Belfalas, it was quickly sighted by Gondorian patrol ships. The Gondorian navy immediately went on full alert, believing an assault on Gondor was imminent.
Yet the pirate fleet ignored them completely and continued sailing north.
The naval commander at Pelargir, both puzzled and relieved, wasted no time sending word to Minas Tirith.
Within the White City, Steward Denethor II showed little reaction upon receiving the report. He studied the map in silence before issuing his orders calmly.
"Send word of Umbar's fleet to Rivendell," he said.
"Also inform Faramir and the commanders of the southern defenses. Prepare for a possible full assault from Mordor."
The message soon reached Elrond.
After reading the letter, Elrond's expression darkened.
Standing beside him, Sylas noticed at once.
"What has happened, Lord Elrond?"
Elrond handed him the letter. "Denethor reports that the Umbar pirates have crossed the Bay of Belfalas. At least a hundred great ships, perhaps more."
Sylas read the message carefully, his brow furrowing.
"The Corsairs of Umbar do nothing without Sauron's will," he said.
"Their northern advance makes no sense otherwise. The abandoned northern ports are worthless."
His eyes sharpened.
"Their target can only be the Grey Havens."
Sylas looked directly at Elrond. "Sauron already knows."
Elrond nodded slowly. "He intends to strike the Grey Havens and seal the western sea routes, cutting off any passage to Valinor."
They had expected Sauron to uncover the deception eventually.But not this quickly.
"We must warn the Grey Havens immediately," Sylas said. "Círdan has not yet returned from the sea, and the Havens are lightly governed."
Elrond's concern was evident. Círdan's absence meant the defense of the Havens rested largely with his lieutenant Galdor. Against Umbar's full fleet, it would be a brutal confrontation.
Elrond wished to personally oversee the coming battle, but his responsibilities in Rivendell made it impossible for him to leave.
Sylas understood his concern and spoke calmly.
"Lord Elrond, there's no need to worry. I will dispatch a hundred elite Aurors to the Grey Havens to reinforce them. With their support, the corsairs will not be an easy threat."
Hearing this, Elrond's expression eased slightly. He had absolute confidence in the Aurors under Sylas's command. Even a hundred of them were more than a match for thousands of ordinary soldiers.
Moreover, because of Sylas's close ties with Elrond, Hogwarts and Rivendell were deeply connected. Many elves in the Valley now wielded wands and had mastered practical spells, making them far stronger than elves elsewhere.
Though they still could not match fully trained Aurors, who had studied nearly every powerful branch of magic aside from the three Unforgivable Curses, those curses themselves could be learned after passing Sylas's personal tests, a privilege reserved only for his most trusted followers.
Hogwarts accepted all races with magical talent and taught common magic openly, but Sylas could not treat everyone equally. Advanced spells and dark magic were never taught in ordinary classrooms. Only Aurors and Hogwarts professors were granted access to such profound knowledge.
After settling matters concerning the Grey Havens, Sylas and Elrond turned their discussion to the Fellowship.
Since their plan required misleading Sauron while secretly destroying the Ring in Mount Doom, the Fellowship had to avoid drawing suspicion. At the same time, they needed to create the illusion that they truly intended to escort the Ring westward.
After careful discussion, the Fellowship split into two groups.
Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli formed the hidden group. Using a Vanishing Cabinet, they secretly transferred to Lórien before beginning their true journey east.
Bilbo, Merry, Pippin, Boromir, and Gandalf formed the visible group. They openly traveled toward the Grey Havens, deliberately drawing attention.
Bilbo volunteered to impersonate Frodo and join the westward party.
The disguise had originally been considered for Merry or Pippin, but both were too carefree and mischievous, their behavior would quickly give them away. In the end, the task fell to Bilbo, who knew Frodo better than anyone.
After drinking Polyjuice Potion mixed with Frodo's hair, Bilbo transformed into Frodo's likeness. Aside from a more mature air, he was nearly indistinguishable. Even Sam, Merry, and Pippin struggled to tell them apart without close scrutiny.
To make the deception complete, Sylas provided Bilbo with a golden ring identical in appearance to the One Ring. It was imbued with powerful Confusion Charms and a faint aura of dark magic. Unless someone was intimately familiar with the true Ring, they would not realize it was a fake.
Thus, "Frodo" set out westward with Merry, Pippin, Boromir, and Gandalf.
Gandalf accompanied them both to reinforce the deception and to further convince Sauron that the Ring was truly being sent across the sea.
On Gandalf's advice, they abandoned the idea of using the Floo Network. The Ring's presence, he argued, could disrupt long-distance magical travel.
Instead, they borrowed swift Pegasi from Elrond.
...
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