The world has changed...
I feel it in the water...
I feel it in the earth...
I smell it in the air...

Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it...

It began with the forging of the Great Rings.
Three were given to the Elves: immortal, wisest, and fairest of all beings...
Seven to the dwarf lords: great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls..
And nine rings were gifted to the race of men, who above all else, desire power.

For within these rings was bound the strength, and the will to govern each race. But they were, all of them, deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mt. Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret, a master Ring. And into this Ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life.

One Ring to rule them all...

One by one, the free lands of Middle-Earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some who resisted. A Last Alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the slopes of Mt. Doom, the fought for the freedom of Middle Earth. Victory was near, but the power of the Ring could not be undone...

It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the King, took up his father's sword, and with one strike, he cut down the Dark Lord. Sauron, the enemy of the free peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated.

The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted, and the Ring of Power, has a mind of it's own. It betrayed Isildur to his death, and some things that should not have been forgotten, were lost...

History became legend, legend became myth, and for two-and-a-half thousand years, the Ring passed out of all knowledge, until when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer...

The Ring came to the creature, Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains, and there, it consumed him. The Ring brought to Gollum unnatural long life. For five hundred years, it poisoned his mind, and in the gloom of Gollum's cave, it waited.

Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived, for its time had now come. It abandoned Gollum, but something happened then that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, who took the Ring, and used it to outsmart his enemies, and fulfill a quest which brought hope to a race of dwarves to find their way home...

Bilbo kept the Ring, where he too was gifted with long life. But as his life went on, he began to realize that he too, was starting to grow troubled by the Ring. He passed the Ring to Frodo Baggins, his nephew, and vanished from the Shire at the age of one hundred and eleven.

It was during this time, when Gandalf Greyhame discovered the true identity of the Ring, and a council in the presence of Elrond, determined the fate of the Ring. A fellowship was formed to journey into the enemy land, and cast the Ring into the fires of Mt. Doom, for only there could the Ring truely be destroyed, and only then would Sauron, be truly defeated.

The fellowship consisted of nine members. Frodo Baggins, who volunteered first to take the ring to Mt. Doom, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck, and Peregin "Pippin" Took of the Shire, Gandalf Greyhame, Aragorn II, son of Arathorn and heir of Isildur, Legolas, son of Thranduil of the Woodland Elves, Gimli, son of Glóin of the dwarves, and Boromir, son of Denethor II, steward of Gondor.

Together, they traveled the lands of Middle-Earth, but once more, the heart of man fell to the will of the Ring. Boromir made attempt to steal the Ring with intention of using it against a growing enemy. His mind lacked the understanding that the Ring would answer no one, but its creator, and his misunderstanding, would be his downfall. The enemy tracked the Fellowship to Parth Galen, and there, it ambushed them.

The Hobbits of the Shire were found, and captured, taken by the Uruk-hai forces of Saruman the White. And with them, the One Ring was reclaimed by the enemy. The Fellowship had failed...

And now, it is merely a matter of time when the enemy of all Middle-Earth will rise again. The Kingdoms of Man will burn. Its swords will shatter, and its shields will splinter. The world will be overrun by a force so great, no army on Middle-Earth will dare to confront it...

The Elves will leave for the Grey Havens. Man will be lost...and Sauron will rise to power, for he knows there is no more hope for those who dwell in Middle Earth.

The Age of Fear has begun...

Welcome to The Age of Fear. For months I have been debating how to write this, and to be honest, I'm still unsure how it will go, so please, if you have suggestions on certain elements, I may listen and maybe even work with you here. I often have pondered what it would be like if the worlds of Skyrim and Middle-Earth collided. And in one moment, the idea was born. What if Sauron rose back to power? What if Middle-Earth indeed fell? How would they defeat an enemy who would easily overpower Middle-Earth?

The answer came to me. What if the people of Tamriel came to it's aid?

If all goes well...this may be a two-part or even three part fanfiction. I think it would be awesome if it came out as long as three separate works of Fanfiction, but my guess is it will likely be two. The first will likely take place mostly in the land of Skyrim, during the Civil War between the Stormcloak Rebellion, and the Imperial Forces of the Mede Empire. The story will follow for the moment, the surviving members of the Fellowship as they try to warn the two forces of the growing threat, and try to plan a way to find the whereabouts of their Hobbit friends. They will not only find themselves in the crossfire of the Civil War, but in the middle of possible end times when the Dragons return to Skyrim, and only one legendary warrior can prevent it...

I really hope I write this in a way that does justice to both sources, because I am a pretty big fan of both (though I kinda favor Elder Scrolls over Lord of the Rings). It needs to be said that I unfortunately have never had time to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and so, the characters will mainly be represented by their film personas. You likely recognize a good part of this prologue as the first movie's opening dialogue, with a few modifications, and some added filler of the events of the Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring. Sorry to any die-hard LOTR fans out there, but again, I am always willing to listen to any ideas you have for certain characters or scenarios. I got a general idea how it will begin and end, but it's always getting from the beginning, to the end, that gets me.

I think that about settles it. I hope you enjoy reading The Age of Fear as much as have enjoyed writing it, and concieving it. I hope this will make it.

Oh, and one final thing. If you're one of the Readers of my recent Godzilla/Gamera crossover, it's not dead...I'm just having some writers block for it. Though I recently had a dream believe it or not, that I will use to incorporate something I hope you'll find really cool later on...

EDIT: I've recently had a problem coming from guest reviewers who are complaining about how Sauron is weak compared to other things in the Elder Scrolls universe. Do not start a flame war here. I am not writing this to compare what side is better or which franchise is better. I'm here to write a fun, interesting, and awesome story which pays tribute to both of these worlds. I will no longer answer to reviews which ask me why I'm not mentioning Daedra in comparison to Sauron or whatnot, because I could care less about the Daedra. This part of the story focuses on the main storyline of Skyrim. Daedra didn't factor into this. Nor will they. If you want a story about Sauron facing Daedra...you're not going to find it here. I have a plan for how this story goes and how it ends. If you want to help in certain ways, I will listen to CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM ONLY. Not flame wars. If I have to, I will turn off guest reviews.

I don't wanna sound like a jerk, but the point of fanfiction is to have fun writing a story, and to entertain readers. If you think Sauron isn't that strong, then that's your stance and I respect that, but this isn't your story to say that. This is Fanfiction. Not canon, this is for fun. That's what fanfiction is all about. Please respect that.