B2MeM Challenge: I21: March 3019: The Mouth of Sauron receives his instruction
Format: ficlet
Genre: deathfic
Rating: Teen
Warnings: see genre
Characters: Mouth of Sauron, Shagrat
Summary: “[H]e learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron; and he was more cruel than any orc.”
Format: ficlet
Genre: deathfic
Rating: Teen
Warnings: see genre
Characters: Mouth of Sauron, Shagrat
Summary: “[H]e learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron; and he was more cruel than any orc.”
Seven days he had been in Barad-dûr. Seven days. Shagrat lay upon the stone of his cell, breathing short, shallow breaths against the pain of cracked ribs and scourging and other pains he couldn’t think of, and his eyes watered from the infernal lamp that never went out.
But he could bear it. He had brought the prisoner’s gear, and that should be worth a reward – if once they were convinced he had not let the rat loose, that he was not lying.
A key rattled in the door. Shagrat squinted at the dark figure who entered, and quailed – he knew this one, his tormentor.
“Well done, snaga,” the man said, and Shagrat swallowed the insult. With the high-ups, you always swallowed it. “The Lord has accepted your story. I would take you with me as witness, but you are not fit for my errand, which Sauron has crafted himself.”
“Do whatever he needs,” Shagrat grunted. “Glad to.”
“Yes, you have been a loyal servant and brought us an important weapon against these arrogant Westerners.” A hand touched his brow, but nothing more. “You will be remembered well.”
“Thanks.” A pause. “Wait… remembered?”
“It would be better to have prisoners,” the Lieutenant said mildly, and Shagrat felt his hackles rise, felt sudden panic clutch him.
“It was that Gorbag,” he rasped. “That Gorbag did it, let him get away!”
But the Lieutenant was not listening. The Mouth of Sauron instead curled fingers into his hair and made him stare up at him. “Your eyes trouble you,” the man observed. “For your service, you shall have something more worthy to look upon. Be honored – the Mind of Sauron is not open to all.”
“W-what…?”
But the Lieutenant said a Word – a dark, and dreadful word, and his head went back, and the hand clutching his hair gripped suddenly hard, as the man went rigid, body arching back like one in agony. It’s a fit, Shagrat thought, terrified. He’s having a fit right in front of me, they’ll think I did something - !
But of a sudden, the man’s head snapped forward, and his mouth opened, gaped like a snake’s, and unable not to see, Shagrat saw at first a sickly white at the bottom of that moist red-darkness, like corpselight candles, like disease… and then he began to scream. And scream, and scream…
He was still screaming when the foundation stones cracked, and the Tower began to crumble, heedless of everything – save for one small corner of his mind, which leapt for joy to see the rain of stones. For he had looked into the mouth of madness, and after such knowledge, what heaven, oblivion!
Author’s Notes: Mouth of Sauron sorcery episode brought to you by Freud’s dream of Irma’s injection on steroids. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, that I keep writing characters in their death throes this month!
“[H]e learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron; and he was more cruel than any orc.” - "The Black Gate Opens," ROTK
“[H]e learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron; and he was more cruel than any orc.” - "The Black Gate Opens," ROTK