The Tenth Ringwraith: a Sauron x Bilbo

Truths and Lies

Mordor was not a wealthy nation in the traditional sense as it had nothing in the way of exports: the region of Núrn only produced enough crop every harvest to feed the people until the next harvest, they could not afford to trade anything with the same going for livestock; what was mined below the ashen earth was used within the country as well whether it be for the army or civilians.

But, in the way of imports, that is where Mordor thrived as that was where all of Mordor's vassal kingdoms of Rhûn, Harad, Khand, the City State of Umbar, and the various Shen Tribes met to conduct trade with one another.

And, of course, all of said vassal kingdoms paid a hefty tribute to Mordor to stay under the Dark Lord's protection or to repay him for allowing them the semblance of independence after conquering them -depending on the scenario- with Rhûn voluntarily paying more than required since he was not only their King but their God as well.

Speaking of the Lord of Mordor, despite having an obsession with creating orderly perfection, he was a being of several conundrums.

The smaller of which was that the maia was not one prone to collecting trinkets, but even he had a few items of sentimental value: he had carried a pocket watch gifted to him by Aulё from Valinor to Utumno to Angband and both Barad-dûrs; the engagement ring Celebrimbor had tried to give to Annatar before everything had came crumbling down still sat unopened on his vanity in his private quarters, and of course, he kept Melkor's hammer, Grond, on display in his office.

The bigger contradiction regarding Sauron was that of his name; he hated the name forced upon him by his enemies meaning 'the Abhorred', but his once fiery rage on the subject had burned to embers as the ages went on and his true name was all but forgotten and his unwanted moniker had become universal: his subjects called him Sauron, his enemies called him Sauron when they dared speak his name at all, his ambassadors and emissaries called him Sauron when speaking of his commands and Will, it had gotten to the point where he wrote Sauron whenever he put his signature on decrees because it caused less confusion.

By far the largest way that Mairon was a paradox was his behavior. If one asked anyone outside of Mordor to describe him they would call him cruel and cunning, male orcs would likely say the same but would find those traits positive; female orcs would say merciful as they lived in villages far from their male counterparts where they and their children were safe from their abuses; the humans of Mordor would call him strict but just to those he ruled over and overall less corrupt than the rulers of their previous nations.

It was actually ironic -not in a haha way but in a way that made one go 'huh'- that those outside of Mordor assumed those within were going through living hell when the self-proclaimed Mordorians -despite their various origins both among Mordor's vassals and being captured and otherwise shanghaied from its enemies- would speak favorably about their ruler not because they feared him (or well they did, but because they knew he was utterly powerful in a way that would make you foolish not to fear him, but not because he was a tyrant to his people) but because they actually liked his form of governance.

In Mordor, the populace was rationed staple food items like flour, whatever crop was in rotation, and some form of meat monthly -food that could be survived off of- with other foods available to buy at the markets; officially there were no laws which led outsiders to think that it was a barbaric land but what they did have was Sauron's Will over a great matter of issues which was just the law without any officialness; the citizens were not conscripted and forced to serve in Mordor's mighty army; they were not forced to abandon their previous cultures and religions, they were not forced to worship the Dark Lord -though the immigrants from Rhûn were very open with their adoration of him.

***

Frodo Baggins just stared at his uncle in horror as the true story was shared with him, how Bilbo had spent decades in the Shire not only becoming a Ringwraith, but also slaughtering and cannibalizing other hobbits and sneaking their remains into the food he shared with his neighbors and family.

Bilbo finished the story with his arrival in Sauron's throne room, saying they had married three months later -which might not seem like that long, but it made sense when they had been in a relationship via the One Ring for nearly half a century.

Then, breaking up the story, the wraith offered him a slice of chocolate orange blood cake, saying he had made it just a few hours ago.
The younger hobbit just sort of stared at him, both in shock and disbelief, too overwhelmed with all that was going on to truly process a reply verbally.

"You are still upset, I can understand." Bilbo shrugged, putting the slice he had cut off for his nephew on the counter, "But I just want you to remember that darkness is not inherently evil, despite what the dogma spread by the elves states; the light can blind you, the darkness can offer relief."

"Where is Sam?" Frodo asked, not looking at his uncle, instead staring at the door to the room

The blond hummed, "I will take you to him when we are ready, I was hoping I could talk with you like adults but I can see that that will not be happening."

Bilbo stood in front of Frodo, clasping his hands together as he began to focus, a green glow emanating from his hands.

The Nine's abilities came from their Lord, their rings were merely a conduit of his power as they were each allotted a mere droplet -but that manifested in different ways depending on each of them where Helm Hammerhand gained inhuman strength, Míriel gained heightened strategic ability, Khamûl gained the powers of necromancy and Bilbo had gained the ability to access magic.

The green energy then wrapped around Frodo, sinking into his body as his aging reversed, taking him back to childhood until he looked the same age he had been the last time he had seen Bilbo -not only physically but mentally as well.

Bilbo quickly untied him whilst he was dazed and put the plate holding the slice of cake in his hands.

By time Frodo was grounded from being age reversed, he just looked up at the other hobbit, "Uncle? What is going on?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you." Bilbo lied, offering him a smile, "You finish up your snack while I go spend some time with your Uncle Mairon."