"To fight evil; you must first understand the dark."
From the blood of Dragons, a child shall rise,
Born of fire and fear, her fate sealed with lies.
For she is the chosen, the one who will bring
A reign of darkness, a world with its dark king.
...
Anaynah couldn't help but tremble with angst as she pictured herself in this tight, suffocating space. Her soul yearned for the freedom of open air, the earth beneath her feet. Perhaps it was her magical properties that have her a deep connection to the earth. Though she adored the lush forests and deep woods, this was an entirely different realm. There was a darkness enveloped this woods, not a single ray of light to be seen.
Suddenly, a wave of unease washed over Anaynah, causing her chest to tighten. She looked up and saw Gandalf forging ahead through the dense woods, venturing deeper into the unknown. She wanted to call out to him, to express her sudden discomfort. But before she could utter a word, she sensed an intense energy emanating from the halfling by her side. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he tightly clutched something in his pocket, as if holding onto it for dear life. Her gaze was transfixed, unable to look away, as the certain whispers grew louder, vibrating through her entire being. She closed her eyes, hoping to break free from this trance, only to be confronted by the same flaming eye that had haunted her dreams.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
With a soft gasp, Anaynah forced her eyes open. She instinctively retreated from the forest and Bilbo's side, needing a moment to regain her composure. This was the second day in a row that The Eye had invaded her thoughts, leaving her puzzled and unsettled. Its meaning and timing remained a mystery.
"Not my horse, I need it!" Anaynah snapped her head to see Gandalf rushing out of the forest in haste, luckily for him, his horse was the last one left that hadn't been set loose.
"You're not leaving us?" Bilbo asked in desperation as he walked towards him, Anaynah too coming beside them. She too was distraught over the fact that Gandalf was not going to be venturing through Mirkwood with them, for without him, she hated to admit that she felt slightly less safe.
"I would not do so unless I had to. Don't worry, Anaynah will watch after you," Gandalf spoke in a hurry as he rushed past them exchanging a look with Thorin. He stopped in his tracks as he walked past Bilbo as he sensed something. The same thing Anaynah had sensed, so he decided to pry. "You've changed Bilbo Baggins. You're not the same Hobbit as the one who left The Shire."
Bilbo looked up at the Wizard, almost with a guilty look on his face. Anaynah watched intently to see what Bilbo might confess to.
"I was going to tell you." The Hobbit hesitated.
"Tell me what?"
"I found something... in the Goblin tunnels."
Anaynah was more than intrigued as she watched the Hobbit be torn between his loyalty to Gandalf and confessing, or to stay silent.
"Found what?" Gandalf urged, "What did you find?"
After a few seconds more of hesitating, Bilbo finally answered.
