The night was cold, barely lit by a thin crescent of the moon and the few stars that managed to shine through the dense clouds above. Barely any could have been heard. The nature laid silent, aware of unnatural powers gathering nearby. Stones and trees, ground and grass, everything was shrouded in thickening mists. An hour or two more, that was all that was needed for the sun to come up. Still, that was enough to keep the lands in darkness.
Luckily, Shemkel's elven eyes were keen enough to use even the dimmest moonlight to his advantage. Not needing much rest, he could devote his time to meditation and planning. After all, even the Dark Hunter doesn't go blind into a hostile territory, without making sure that he is prepared. Centuries of tracking and stalking dangerous enemies made the elf cautious and patient. There was time for everything, he knew that.
On that particular night, it was the time to try something new, to utilize an ingenious tool provided by three of the Wyld Hunt's scholars: Elufer, Erasm and Svaroh.
When was the last time when elves and dwarves combined their efforts to create something new? How long was it, since the race of men assisted them, combining half-forgotten lore with the innate ingenuity, in order to surpass expectations?
Shemkel allowed himself a smile. Yes, he was proud of the three. His fate in their minds paid thousandfold. Even though the time of the elves was close to an end, the dwarves were still to stay, far from over in helping the Middle-earth progress. What was more, with scholars like Erasm, the race of men had a real chance to stand tall, not looking back at the glory of the past, but rather building a bright future.
Nevertheless, the road to that was still long. The shadows still loomed in Angmar. Leaderless and without a clear aim, but still deadly dangerous. The depths of Moria were filled with orcs and worse, unnamed creatures. Dol Guldur was once again occupied by the Enemy, Isengard had Dunland under its heel, pressuring Rohan, Gondor felt all the signs of the calm before the storm. Yes, it was time to act, time to stand united. Such a shame that so few understood that.
Yes, knowledge was the key. With proper intelligence, even a small force could deliver crushing blows. Yet, in order to gather that knowledge, one needed to look for it. To scout, to risk. One of the risks was connected with the shard of a geode, resonating with a faint echo of Aule's song. How did Svaroh and Erasm manage to synchronize it with the lesser palantir-like orb that the Wyld Hunt obtained ages ago? That is a completely different story. The story, obviously, that wouldn't have happened without Elufer, that bright and curious elf maiden.
Shemkel's nearly black eyes stared keenly at the one-in-a-kind geode shard. It took so long to make it, to attune it to the elf's mind. Its use was draining and tiresome, but the possible rewards... Sending messages over long distances, the dream of any scout or spy.
After making sure that his surroundings are safe, Shemkel let him mind open to the flood of sensation, echoing from the shard. It was hard to filter through them, it was even harder to decipher the proper meaning.
The woods around him were eerily silent.
The Wyld Hunt roamed the night.
