Day 1 - The Misty Mountains
The Fellowship had set out at dawn, thirteen souls committed to a mission that could save or damn all of Middle-earth. The road led them first through familiar terrain for Escanor: the foothills of the Misty Mountains, where he had once fought goblins and met Gollum.
Frodo walked near the front, the weight of the Ring already visible in his eyes. Sam stayed close by, loyal as ever. Merry and Pippin chattered nervously, their youth evident in their need to fill the silence with conversation.
Aragorn led the way, his knowledge of the terrain invaluable. Legolas and Gimli walked together, already beginning the friendly rivalry that would define them. Gandalf moved between them, his staff tapping a steady rhythm against the stone.
And Escanor... Escanor was walking with his children.
Eldarion moved with the confidence of someone trained from birth. His power shimmered just beneath the surface, controlled but ever-present. The twins, Aelindë and Aurëlindë, flanked the group, their archer eyes constantly scanning for threats.
" How are you feeling?" Aragorn fell back to walk beside Escanor. "It's been many years since we traveled together."
"Old," Escanor admitted with a smile. "And worried. Bringing my children into this..."
"I understand," Aragorn said, looking ahead at where Eldarion was walking. "But I also envy you. To have children who grew up to be warriors. To have a family to return to. I... I've never had that."
"You still could," Escanor said, giving him a sidelong glance. "Arwen talks about you often, you know. With respect. With... something more, perhaps."
Aragorn tensed slightly.
—Arwen is your wife. I wouldn't talk about her like that.
"Arwen is her own person," Escanor gently corrected. "And our arrangement… is complicated. But Aragorn, when this is over, if we survive… you should speak with her. Don't assume the doors are closed just because I'm in the painting."
"That would be..." Aragorn struggled for the words, "...inappropriate."
"I would be honest," Escanor said. "And honesty is what I always ask for. But this is a conversation for after the war. For now, let's focus on surviving."
—Agreed —Aragorn nodded, though there was a new thought in his eyes.
Day 5 - Caradhras
The decision to cross the Pass of Caradhras proved disastrous. The storm unleashed itself upon them with supernatural fury, and Escanor recognized Saruman's hand in it.
" We cannot go on!" Boromir shouted over the howling wind. "The hobbits will freeze!"
" We must turn!" Aragorn agreed.
But Gandalf looked up with a gloomy expression.
—Saruman is attacking us. I can feel his power in this storm.
"Then let me counter it." Escanor took a step forward, his body beginning to glow with golden light. "My power can..."
"No," Gandalf stopped him. "Conserve your strength. We'll need it later. For now, we must retreat. To Moria!"
The decision was made, and the Fellowship turned back, seeking shelter from the storm. But as they descended, Escanor noticed something.
A shadow in the sky. Massive, dark, moving with purpose.
" Watch out!" he roared, shoving Frodo down just as something huge flew overhead, the wind from its passage nearly knocking them all over.
" What was that?" Sam gasped.
"A spy from Mordor," Gandalf said grimly. "The Nazgûl ride again, seeking the Ring."
—Then it is known that we have departed— Legolas said.
"And Sauron will mobilize his forces to intercept us," Aragorn finished. "We must move faster."
Day 8 - The Mines of Moria
The entrance to Moria loomed before them, the ancient gates carved with Elven runes gleaming faintly in the moonlight. Gandalf worked on the riddle while the others waited, tense.
Escanor sensed something. A presence in the water behind them. Ancient. Hungry. Malevolent.
" Out of the water!" he shouted. "Now!"
His warning came just in time. Massive tentacles exploded from the pool, reaching for Frodo. But Eldarion was faster, his sword slicing through one of the appendages with a sunlight-infused blow.
" Inside! Everyone inside!" Gandalf had solved the riddle, and the doors opened.
They rushed through, and Escanor was the last, turning to face the creature. The Guardian of Water had fully emerged now, a mass of tentacles and malevolence.
"Go," Escanor told Aragorn. "I will hold him back."
" No!" Eldarion protested. "Dad!"
" I said go!" Escanor roared, and his power exploded outward, bright and blazing.
The Guardian of Water shrieked, its tentacles retracting from the heat. Escanor advanced, Rhitta glowing in his hands, and struck. Once. Twice. Three times.
Each blow severed tentacles, cauterized wounds, pushed the creature back. But there were too many, and for every one he cut, two more appeared.
" Cruel Sun!" Escanor summoned his power, and a massive sphere of solar fire appeared above his head.
She hurled it straight into the center of the creature's mass. The explosion lit up the night like dawn, and the Water Guardian retreated beneath the waves, wounded but alive.
Escanor turned and ran through the doors just as they began to close, collapsing under the tentacles of the dying creature.
" Are you mad?" Gandalf demanded when Escanor stumbled inside. "You could have died in there!"
"But I didn't," Escanor gasped, his power waning. "And now the entrance is sealed. He won't follow us."
"No," Gandalf said, looking at the destroyed gates. "But we cannot go that way either. We are committed now. Through Moria or nothing."
Day 9 - The Depths of Moria
The mines were vast, dark, and heavy with the feeling of death. Gandalf led them through labyrinthine tunnels, occasionally pausing to remind them of the way.
"Dad," Aurëlindë whispered, falling back to walk beside Escanor, "I feel something. Something wrong."
"Me too," Escanor admitted. "There is death here. A lot of death."
"The dwarves," Gimli said, having overheard. "My cousin Balin came to claim Moria thirty years ago. We haven't heard from him since."
"I fear we shall soon discover his fate," Gandalf said gloomily.
They found Balin's Tomb later that day. The hall was filled with dwarf bodies, skeletons in armor, and in the center, a solitary grave.
Gimli fell to his knees, sobs tearing through him as he read the inscription.
—Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria. —His voice broke—. They're gone. They're all gone.
Gandalf found a book, its pages stained with blood, and began to read.
"They came at night. Thousands of them. Orcs. And something else. Something dark. We've barricaded the gates, but they won't hold. It's coming. The Balrog..."
" Fools!" Gandalf slammed the book shut. "Fools of Tooks! Why did you have to touch that?" This last part was directed at Pippin, who had accidentally dropped a skeleton into a well.
The sound of drums echoed through the depths. Drums in the depths.
"Orcs," Legolas said, drawing back his bow.
"Worse," Gandalf said. "Much worse. Run! All of you, run!"
But it was too late. The gates exploded inwards, and a tide of orcs poured inside, shrieking and brandishing weapons.
" Form up!" Aragorn roared. "Protect Frodo!"
The battle was brutal and chaotic. Boromir fought like a demon, his sword singing. Legolas fired arrow after arrow, each finding its mark. Gimli roared and slashed with his axe.
And Escanor's family... they fought as one.
Eldarion stood in the center, his sword gleaming with sunlight as it sliced through orcs. Aelindë and Aurëlindë flanked him, their arrows flying so fast they looked like bursts of silver and gold light.
And Escanor... Escanor was a hurricane of destruction.
Rhitta swept in wide arcs, each blow eliminating multiple enemies. Her power glowed, not fully unleashed but enough to make the orcs scream and retreat.
" There are too many of them!" Boromir shouted.
" Then stay together!" Escanor roared. "Don't separate!"
They fought their way out of the hall, through corridors, across bridges. And all the while, Escanor could feel it. Something massive. Something ancient. Something nightmarish and fiery.
The Balrog was waking up.
" The bridge!" Gandalf pointed. "Cross it! Quickly!"
They ran, the orcs hot on their heels. The bridge of Khazad-dûm lay before them, thin and narrow, spanning a bottomless chasm.
They began to cross, one by one. The hobbits first. Then Legolas. Gimli. Boromir. Aragorn. The twins. Eldarion...
And then he arrived.
From the abyss, surrounded by flames and shadow, rose the Balrog. A creature of the ancient age, a fallen Maiar like Sauron, all fire and darkness and terrible power.
" A demon from ancient times!" Legolas whispered in terror. "A Balrog!"
The creature roared, the sound shaking the very stone. It wielded a fiery whip in one hand and a flaming sword in the other. And its eyes... its eyes burned with primal hatred.
" Go!" Gandalf turned to face him. "I'll take care of this!"
" No!" Escanor pushed forward. "Gandalf, you can't! You are needed to guide Frodo!"
"And you are needed to protect your family," Gandalf shoved him back. "Go, you fool! This is a battle I must fight alone!"
" Not alone!" Eldarion stood beside Gandalf, his sword blazing with solar power. "I will fight with you!"
" NO ELDARION!" Escanor roared.
But his son was already moving forward, towards the Balrog, towards the impossible.
The fire demon laughed, a sound like collapsing mountains, and raised its whip. It cracked it forward, wrapping it around Eldarion's sword and pulling.
" SON!" Escanor lunged forward, but Aragorn held him back.
—No ! Look!
Eldarion wasn't being thrown. He was pulling back. His power exploded outward, golden and bright, and the Balrog's whip began to... burn.
"I am the son of the Sun," Eldarion said, his voice resonating with a power it shouldn't possess. "And you are but shadow."
He pulled. Hard. And the Balrog staggered, really staggered, surprised by the strength of this young mortal.
" Now, Gandalf!" Eldarion shouted.
Gandalf struck with his staff, light exploding outwards.
—You shall not pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, bearer of the flame of Anor! The dark flame will not aid you, flame of Udûn! Return to the shadows! YOU SHALL NOT PASS!
It struck the bridge, and it cracked, it began to break apart.
The Balrog fell backward into the abyss. But its whip shot out, wrapping around Gandalf's ankle.
" NO!" Frodo shouted.
Gandalf fell, hanging from the edge.
" Run away, you fool!" he shouted. "Run away!"
" GANDALF!" Eldarion lunged forward, reaching him.
Their hands met. Eldarion held Gandalf's wrists, his feet planted, every muscle tense as he fought against the wizard's weight and the Balrog's pull.
" Eldarion, let go!" Gandalf demanded. "You'll fall with me!"
" I won't let you!" Eldarion roared, his power exploding brighter. "I WON'T LET YOU!"
Escanor moved then, faster than he had ever moved before. He grabbed his son, adding his own strength. Together, they pulled.
The Balrog's whip broke.
Gandalf was thrown upwards, collapsing on the bridge.
And the Balrog fell, shrieking, into the darkness below.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then Gandalf began to laugh, an almost hysterical sound.
—You did it! You really did it! The Lion and his cub, defeating a Balrog!
"We didn't defeat him," Eldarion gasped, collapsing. "We only... delayed him."
"That was enough." Escanor hugged him tightly. "More than enough. My son, my stupid, brave son."
" Are you... angry?" Eldarion asked.
"Terrified," Escanor corrected. "And prouder than words can express."
"Touching," Aragorn said, "but we need to move. There are more orcs coming."
They ran then, out of Moria, into the daylight. And when they finally emerged into the fresh air of the outside world, they collapsed, exhausted but alive.
Everyone. Everyone alive.
Against all odds, against a Balrog himself, they had survived.
"That was too close," Gandalf said, looking back at the entrance. "Too close."
"But we did it," Sam said, his optimism unwavering. "We all did it!"
"For now," Aragorn said grimly. "But Moria was only the beginning. Mordor lies further ahead. And the worst is yet to come."
"Then we'll rest," Escanor decided. "And we'll prepare. Because whatever comes next... we'll face it together."
"Together," the Community repeated.
And as the sun set over them, bathing them in golden light, Escanor felt something he hadn't felt since they left.
Hope.
Small. Fragile. But real.
They would survive this.
They had to do it.
Because he depended on it too much.
End of Chapter 19