[GreatWarg]

Khelek sat inside the galley with Veritas, rubbing his forehead. There was only one power in Middle-earth that could do that. Miruvor can only do so much in healing the power of the Dark Lord. Veritas fidgeted with a few pieces of smoked fish. The sky grew dark, and a tumult of waves was already beginning to lash at the Star.

'May Lady Uinen restrain the Wrath of the Valar long enough for us,' Khelek sighed, peering outside to the unwelcoming storm.

'What do you think of Sauron?' Veritas asked suddenly. 'He may still have a great force under his power.'

'If he does, then curse him a thousand times,' Khelek answered regrettably. 'Vain is our hope in rescuing the hobbits if we must fight an army hundreds of times stronger than the scant few we are.'

'You must still have a headache if your mind is still in dark thoughts,' Veritas said notably. 'A fool is one who calls any hope vain. We still have Cami and Kali, Rose, Daisy, Mithadan and Pio, Levanto. And Angara. Angara can survive nearly anything. It takes much more to kill a dragon. Remember the Fall of Gondolin? How we despaired after we learned Pio had died? Mithadan still found hope within his despair. Numenor will be gone, and Gondolin is no more, but the Lonely Star is still here. And so are all of the crew who have accepted fate.'

'For now,' Khelek said softly. 'But sometimes it seems better to die honourably than continue fighting. The worse Doom is to those who still live.'