An Unnamed Nazgûl by Alfirineth

[alfirineth.livejournal.com]

Author:Alfirineth
Title: An Unnamed Nazgûl
Rating:PG
Theme: Think Outside the Box
Elements: lip, plot, spark
Beta:Himben
Author's Notes:"Yet Sauron was ever guileful, and it is said that among those whom he ensnared with the Nine Rings three were great lords of Númenórean race." The Silmarillion, "The Akallabêth", p.320. I imagine that if some were 'great lords' that they wouldn't have necessarily started out evil. They might have justified their taking of the rings of Sauron by thinking of the great good that they could accomplish but, as with the One Ring, the rings were tainted by evil and could not be turned for good; thus, step by step, these great lords fell into darkness. I wondered if they ever remembered their former lives, and even if they did, wouldn't that memory be twisted by their current condition? Who can truly love anyone when they have given themselves over to selfishness, dominion, and ill-gotten power?
Summary:When left to his own devices, what does a Nazgûl think about?
Word Count:284


An Unnamed Nazgûl

He did not remember his name—
but he could remember the taste of wine upon his lips.
He could not remember a wife or family—
but sometimes...
there was a spark of something that stirred his memory
and said that he did not always hate the living.

Those that were truly living could touch and feel as he could not.

How he hated them because of it.

He dared not
act openly against Sauron or the Witch King of Angmar
(whose real name he didn't remember, either)
But deep,
so deep within him it was almost forgotten,
a wisp of a thought remained
that maybe,
just maybe,
there was a chance to reclaim what was his
before he had taken the ring Sauron had given him.


Perhaps—if he could take the One Ring from Sauron—
Then he could have the power to have everything he secretly desired.

In the tortured darkness in which he dwelt,
he wondered if there was ever a chance for him to take back
that wife and those children
that barely existed in his own imagination.
He could take back that illusion of a calm and peaceful existence....


He dared not show this weakness before the other Nazgûl,
and most definitely not before their common master.


He locked these desires deep in the wasteland of what was once his heart;
schooled himself for superficial contentment before his master, and
hated
all that was everything that he was not.

But...
What if the One Ring could be his?

—

Sauron, knowing all of his Nazgûls' plots, laughed.
They would never escape him.
His will and the One Ring bound them—
(it would surely be found).
Never would they escape.

Comments

[engarian.livejournal.com]

The basic thoughts of any man, translated into the undead body of a Nazgul, was an interesting twist to play with. Of course, Sauron probably won't allow this type of thought and memory to exist for long, it can lead to rebellion which would never be tolerated.

- Erulisse (one L)

[alfirineth.livejournal.com]

I will admit that I was initially tempted to do the romance that the word combination suggested (since I haven't done that either), but for some reason I just started thinking about Nazguls and wondering....

I can't even imagine the set-down that Sauron has planned for such thoughts, though. Don't think that I want to.

[someplacetobe.livejournal.com]

I fell into this as I read, hoping that he could ... and then that disappointment at the end when I remembered he couldn't.

You captured it all very well.

[alfirineth.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I am glad that I was able to convey the feelings well enough to get an emotional reaction from someone else besides myself.

[someplacetobe.livejournal.com]

You did it very well; it's stayed in mind since I read it.

[armarielrozita.livejournal.com]

A darkly compelling piece. I like the style of it, half prose and half poetry, and the rather chilling tone of it, the voice of a damned soul trapped in a nightmare from which he can never awaken. And the note about Sauron is a nice twist. Little does he realize that he is bound also.

[alfirineth.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your kind comments! To tell you truthfully, when I was writing the piece I was so focused on the Nazgul end of things that I didn't even stop to think about the bondage that Sauron had placed himself in. As I read your comment, it just clicked right into place. Thanks for the perspective.

[dreamflower]

I'm sure that sometimes such thoughts would bubble up to the surface of the Nazgul's minds-- not often and not for long.

And I'm sure Sauron could have cut them off completely had he wished to. But I think he'd play cat and mouse, allowing the illusion of a brief instant of free thought, only to ruthlessly crush it again...

[alfirineth.livejournal.com]

After all, something has to take up the day between appointments with prisoners in the Houses of Lamentation and plotting world domination. :)

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, the Houses of Lamentation, Sauron's personal playground where he gets the illusion that he is at the top of the foodchain--although he left one very small ring-sized chink through which he himself could fall....

Poor man, half remembering a once loved past and family.

Well and movingly done.

[alfirineth.livejournal.com]

That was well said about Sauron.

Thanks, I am glad that you liked the piece, or perhaps more appropriately, that it evoked a emotion.