The Circles of Power

The Circles of Power is a continuing series of Tolkien fanfiction novels written by Angmar and Elfhild. The series is set in an alternative universe in which the Witch-king survives the Battle of Pelennor Fields and Sauron regains the One Ring. The forces of Mordor manage to defeat the country of Gondor, but their forays into Rohan, while first victorious, are ultimately defeated. However, most of The Circles deals with life in Mordor, and the war in the West is only occasionally mentioned.
The series began on November 15, 2004, and was originally meant to be a spin-off plotline from an online roleplaying game called The Second Darkness, which Angmar had started in February 2004. However, as time passed and the story became more complex, Angmar and Elfhild felt that The Circles should be a separate work entirely. Two of the original concepts of Second Darkness remained - the Witch-king does not get killed at the Battle of Pelennor and Sauron regains the One Ring - but from there the story drastically diverged from its source material until there were very few similarities remaining between the two works.
The newest books of The Circles are posted on the authors' website, while older books of The Circles are archived on various fanfiction archives on the internet, such as Archive of Our Own and Fanfiction.net.
On June 27, 2020, Angmar passed away after suffering from a lengthy illness. It was his wish that Elfhild post the rest of the story posthumously and continue it until its logical ending.
==Summary==
In the Third Age of Arda, the West was defeated at the Battle of Pelennor Fields and the war swept over Southern Gondor. To the dismay of all the Free People of Middle-earth, the Dark Lord Sauron regained the One Ring, His rising power threatening to plunge the world into a Second Darkness. In the midst of this, two young maidens, twins Elfhild and Elffled, are captured by orcs in a preliminary raid against Rohan. Their world destroyed, their fate uncertain, they face the bleak prospects of slavery at the hands of cruel masters.
The Witch-king of Angmar and his fellows struggle and suffer to serve a mad God who both loves them and seeks to destroy them. In truth, they are no more fortunate than Elfhild and Elffled, for they, too, are in bondage, locked in a silent war for the freedom to live and love as they see fit. The Dark Lord Sauron, a victim of His own lusts, wishes to possess Arda and encompass it in His twisted love. Obsessively, He craves the worship and adoration of all mankind, but His thirst for total dominion of mind and soul twists and perverts all His designs. His spirit weighed down with the frustrations of the ages, still He strives against the Valar to possess the world that He loves.
A tale of peasants and Powers; of masters and slaves; freedom and bondage; of adventure, mystery and intrigue; of wars and bloodshed; of love and loss; of spirits and magic and the unquiet dead.
==Works in The Circles series==
* The Triumph of the Shadow
The West loses the War of the Ring and the proud city of Minas Tirith falls to the forces of the Dark Lord. In these days of darkness and fear, two young maidens, twins Elfhild and Elffled, are captured by orcs in a preliminary raid against Rohan. Herded off with other captives, the sisters know little of their destination, only that they are being driven ever East towards Mordor, the dreadful land of horror and shadows. Their world destroyed, their fate uncertain, they face the bleak prospects of slavery at the hands of their enemies.
* Journey of Sorrow
After arriving at the ruins of Minas Tirith, the captives are handed over to a group of Haradric slavers, led by Esarhaddon uHuzziya, one of the owners of a slave trading business in Nurn. A man of might and mastery, this handsome, rakish Southron symbolizes everything that the Rohirric women dread. Orphaned, their land destroyed, Elfhild and Elffled struggle to remain defiant against their foes, even when faced with ghastly reminders of the enemy's might. Goldwyn, stern and proud, refuses to surrender to despair like so many others have done.
* To Escape a Dark Destiny
Driven by her pursuers into an old crypt in Osgiliath, Goldwyn finds herself trapped in a nightmare from which there is no awakening. But are the horrors real, or only figments of her guilt-tormented mind? Having successfully evaded the orcs, Fródwine, Frumgár and Fritha, the three sons of Goldwyn, embark on a quest to return to Rohan. However, this is not some childish adventure - it is a matter of life and death. Journeying through the wasteland of Anorien, Elfhild and Elffled desperately try to keep one step ahead of the slavers. But perhaps there are others who are far more intimidating than the Haradrim...
* Paths Both East and West
As the last wain in the slaver's caravan crosses the Anduin, the fate of the captives is sealed. At the mercy of her enemies and the delusions of her own mind, Goldwyn resolves to kindle her hatred into a burning passion, even if it means spurning those who might truly care for her. Meanwhile, twins Elfhild and Elffled and the three sons of Goldwyn - Fródwine, Frumgár and Fritha - journey through Anórien, though the courses which they take vary greatly. Danger lies everywhere, but what about friends unlooked-for?
* Through the Valley of Death
Recaptured by the Haradric slave traders, Elfhild and Elffled once again find themselves forced to resume their journey to the Dark Land of Mordor. Before the twins and their captors ever reach Mordor, however, they must pass through the ethereal mists of the Morgul Vale, a place so terrifying that even the minds of brave men succumb to madness. In this realm of mists and shadows, nothing is as it seems, and the boundaries between reality and illusion are blurred to obscurity. What strange sights and experiences await them in the treacherous Morgul Pass?
* Across the Wide Hamada
After being freed from the dungeons of Cirith Ungol, twin sisters Elfhild and Elffled come at last to the Plateau of Gorgoroth, where they are reunited with the rest of the Rohirric captives. The tumultuous heart of Sauron's realm, the desolate, rolling hamada is a land of feral beauty, where the ground trembles with the Dark Lord's might, and mountains spew forth fire. While the captives are lost to all hope, far away in their war-torn homeland, the forces of the West steadily drive the hordes of Mordor back towards the Mering Stream. In the Throne Room of the Eye, the Dark Lord stares into the Palantír and witnesses one defeat after another, and the Mountain of Doom churns with the fury of His wrath... 
* Land of Treachery
Southern Gorgoroth can be a harsh and unforgiving land, yet both Men and Orcs call this region their home. The greed of King Thaguzgoth, chieftain of the Kafakudraûg Clan of the Sand Orcs, knows no bounds, and not even Sauron's caravans are safe from his goblin raiders. However, the King would be wise to look to his own household, for there are those who would plot his downfall. When a band of Uruk-hai mercenaries arrive at Kafakudraûg Cavern, this simmering cauldron of intrigue comes to a roiling boil. One day, Prince Zarkfir will become the chieftain of the Dolrujâtar, a tribe of nomadic sheep and goat herders who dwell upon the plains of Lithlad. Pressured by his family to take a wife, the prince struggles to abide by tradition and follow the desires of his heart. Will he find happiness after a chance meeting with a stranger in the desert? A tale of adventure set in dungeons deep and sweltering deserts beneath the Sun... in the Land of Treachery. 
* A Mordorian Bestiary 
A collection of tales set in Mordor, many of which feature various creatures that dwell within that dreadful land. Forced to flee Mordor so they can be together, a pair of young lovers take sanctuary in the Mountains of Shadow, where they find a mysterious valley inhabited by giant cats and fell beasts. Imprisoned in the Houses of Lamentation, the Witch-king of Angmar befriends a lowly rat named Murg, inspiring him to lead a revolution against the cats of Barad-dûr.  The commander of the Fortress of the Setting Sun is an eccentric man with a streak of cruelty, a twisted sense of humor, and a deep and abiding love for ferrets. Descended from the Mearas, the black horses of Mordor are famous for many things - intelligence, loyalty, an intuitive knowledge of what their riders expect of them, and speed which surpasses that of most other horses in Middle-earth. They can also speak, although there are few who understand what they say. 
* Beneath the Nurnian Sky 
Nurn: A land of pastoral beauty, of lush vineyards, fields of plenty, and a majestic sea of deepest azure. However, despite its fair climate and idyllic countryside, a sense of dark evil permeates the realm, sometimes barely noticeable, other times palpably oppressive. Elfhild and Elffled are new students at the School of Industry, an elite academy dedicated to training female servants of Mordor. The school seems an unexpected boon to them, for they have been given an opportunity to receive an education, something which they never would have had in Rohan. Few things are free in the Land of Gifts, however, and this education comes at a price. 
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