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They called her Rhûnar.
It meant "wicked fire" in the tongue of the Elves, and while she loathed to be associated with them in any way, she could not help but embrace the words. Rhûnar was a name that struck fear in the Hillmen and Angmarim alike. They shuddered at the tales of her deeds in service of dark powers, and she relished the control she had over them. None would know her as the frail little girl she once was. They would regale the glory of Rhûnar, Sorceress of Angmar.
Mordirith had guided and molded her. She had been his favorite before that meddling little hunter and her Elven companion sought to tear down his seat in Carn Dûm. Rhûnar had wanted to kill the woman the moment she began conspiring with the dreadful Trév Gállorg, but Mordirith had bid her to have patience. He had said that she would come to the fortress soon, for that ranger was the woman's goal.
Rhûnar had been patient, and that patience cost her Mordirith's life. After, she had tried to thwart the woman's every move, but this Wulfe was cunning and her Elf, Selwenn, was as much of a nuisance as the rest of her kin. They escaped Angmar with their lives, but Rhûnar would not let them rest easily.
And so, she tracked them over the Misty Mountains and into the dreary Mirkwood. There, she awaited them in Dol Guldur.
Rhûnar scowled down from one of the battlements as Elves fought through the throng of Orcs. They were persistent, she could give them that, but this entire charade was foolish. They would not claim Dol Guldur. They would fall at the base of the fortress, and the Nazgûls' armies would trample their precious forests. It was only a matter of time.
A thud sounded to her left, like a pair of feet landing on the stone, and Rhûnar whirled and launched a bout of fire at the intruder. The red-haired Elf dodged it easily, drawing her two swords from their places at her hips.
Rhûnar huffed, mildly annoyed that this warrior had managed to make it past all the defenses. "Another Elf," she spat. "How many of your kind must I kill before you understand I cannot be defeated. I wield a power greater than you can imagine, gifted by those who will rule this pathetic world. I am second to none!"
The Elf raised an eyebrow, and the sight struck Rhûnar as familiar. Could this interloper somehow be related to that pesky Selwenn? Rhûnar would like to deliver this Elf's dead body to Selwenn, then.
"I have witnessed ages come and go," the Elf said. "I have crossed and traveled lands drowned beneath the sea. I have watched the rise and fall of dark powers that would snuff you out in an instant. I have survived Morgoth and Sauron, both slaughtering my people. You..." She laughed. "You are inconsequential."
Rhûnar flung another wild flame at the she-Elf for her insult, who sidestepped it easily. "You will not be saying that as I kill you," she spat.
"You say that with such certainty." The Elf's gaze tracked over Rhûnar's form. "They call you Rhûnar, yes? Tell me, Wicked Fire, are you willing to die here, for this?"
Rhûnar was beginning to believe that this Elf was far worse than Wulfe and Selwenn had ever been. Who did she think she was, asking such questions and mocking the great sorceress of Angmar? Rhûnar would be certain to hang her body from the gates of Dol Guldur for all of her kin to see.
"I cannot die."
"Don't be ridiculous. Everyone can die, especially petulant children like you."
Rhûnar's temper flared, and she decided she was tired of listening to this Elf. She raised her hand and drew forth a cloud of shadows that consumed the Elf. Three fire spikes in succession shot into the dark with the intent of striking the Elf who did not have the sight to see them before it was too late. Rhûnar waited for the cries of pain or collapsing of a body, but nothing came. Scowling, she stepped forward, and as the shadows dissolved, the warrior Elf leapt from where she had been hanging from the crenellation and tackled Rhûnar off the wall.
They hit the ground hard, the Elf rolling to her feet while Rhûnar gasped for breath. She lurched to her knees and snarled up at the Elf.
"I will kill you!" she shouted.
"You are welcome to try, Wicked Fire." She twirled her swords and readied them in front of her. "And if you do, you will have the great honor to say you slayed Maedhel Naregil, a feat that many have tried and failed to achieve."
"You say that as if I'm supposed to know who you are."
Maedhel grinned. "You will." Then she lunged.
Rhûnar dodged her swings by rolling sideways and twisting to her feet. She called forth fire to the palm of her hands, then extended her arms in front of her to unleash a stream of the flames toward the Elf. Maedhel bent backwards, and the fire did not even singe a hair on her head. Rhûnar snarled again. If this Elf was going to be impervious to her power, then so be it. She did not need shadows or flames to kill someone.
Her sword sung as she drew it from her sheath and brandished it out in front of her. Maedhel raised an eyebrow before beginning to circle her. Rhûnar's eyes tracked the she-Elf steadily, her patience nonexistent. She despised the way this Maedhel stalked her as if she were prey. Rhûnar would not let herself be reduced to something lesser.
When Maedhel circled behind Rhûnar, she spun around and struck at the Elf with her blade. Her blows were blocked, but Rhûnar pushed forward with all her strength. Thrusting and slashing, she forced Maedhel back and parried the strikes against her. Steel clashed in a frenzy of might, a display that would turn heads if anyone nearby was not fighting their own battle. Rhûnar felt a thirst for blood fill her veins, and she redoubled her efforts to take down this maddening Elf.
When Maedhel brought her swords overhead to crash down upon Rhûnar, Rhûnar held her own sword aloft to deflect them, her hand holding the blade back against the Elf's. Their eyes caught each other, and Rhûnar smirked. "Tell me, Naregil," she said, "do you know of an Elf by the name of Selwenn?"
Any pretense of amusement dropped from Maedhel's face. "What do you know of her?"
"Ah, so you do know her. Her mother, I take it? I must say she bears a great resemblance to you."
Eyes blazing, Maedhel shoved forward and sent Rhûnar stumbling back. It seemed she had struck a nerve. Good.
"Speak of her again, and you will wish for death, witch," Maedhel spat.
"I think that I have changed my mind," Rhûnar began, orbiting around the Elf just as she had done to her. "I will not kill you today. I will hold you within the dungeons here, and then I will find your daughter. I will bring her to you and make you watch as I burn her from the inside out. You will listen to her screams, echoing down the halls, imprinting on your mind. Then... I shall kill you long after you have begged for me to end your daughter's suffering."
Maedhel's face set in a type of fury that surpassed anything Rhûnar had seen before. It was silent but spoke louder than any words could. Rhûnar braced herself, but Maedhel did not move against her. She watched and waited, and Rhûnar rolled her eyes.
"Have you nothing to say, Elf?" she remarked. "No defense for your daughter? You spoke so much of your... prowess before. I expected some sort of rebuke from you. I am disappointed."
"I have no words left for you, Wicked Fire," Maedhel said, eerily calm. "Except for this... Nothing can save you now." She drew her arm back and hurled one of her swords toward Rhûnar.
Rhûnar sidestepped the blade. "You missed—"
Maedhel was suddenly right in front of Rhûnar who barely managed to fend off the Elf's swings. Rhûnar quickly realized that Maedhel had been holding herself back before. Every slash, every stab came with the power of someone truly terrifying. Rhûnar could not win this fight with her sword alone.
She ground her teeth together and searched within herself to summon flames to the blade of her sword, but before even a spark could touch steel, Maedhel pivoted left. Rhûnar twisted to follow the movement, yet Maedhel never arrived on her left. As fast as lightning, the she-Elf spun the opposite direction to appear on Rhûnar's right side. Her sword arced upward and cleaved Rhûnar's sword hand off, sending limb and blade clattering to the ground.
A choked-off scream escaped Rhûnar's throat as she pressed her hand against where her arm now ended. She stumbled back and stared wide-eyed at Maedhel. Warm blood spilled between her fingers and dripped onto the stone while the Elf twirled her sword.
"I would have spared you," Maedhel said. "I would have given you a second chance, an opportunity to right your wrongs and fight against those who are trying to oppress this world. But then you threatened my daughter. I cannot forgive that." She aimed her sword at Rhûnar. "Do you have any last words?"
Rhûnar spat out a curse in Black Speech, then released her arm to let shadows flow out of her palm. They engulfed the two of them, and with Maedhel's vision obscured, Rhûnar ran. That Elf would not kill her this day, and Rhûnar vowed to rain vengeance down upon her before this war was over.
Maedhel Naregil would learn to fear Rhûnar, the Wicked Fire.