[The Silmarillion] Romimus

After bowing obediently to Falazon, Sauron pulled Romemos out of the tent all the way backwards. Romemos didn't resist and was dragged out without saying a word. Her face was covered by the shadow of black hair. In it, she seemed to be buried in the depths of the sea, until Sauron pulled her to a corner with no one around and let her go, and she didn't respond like a lifeless puppet.

"You've calmed down? That's good." Sauron said, he stroked Romemos's broken right arm gently and repaired it, and the words that came out of his mouth seemed to be full of pity.Sauron used his fingertips to brush away the strands of hair sticking to Romemos' forehead due to being soaked in cold sweat, exposing her face to the blood-red sunset that was about to fall. He and his expression froze for half a second.

"Have you become a lackey of the Númenoreans?" Romimos sneered at him. "You are willing to submit to mere human beings after Lord Melkor is gone. You are really promising, Sauron."

"I really didn't expect the power of mankind to develop to such a degree. I underestimated the enemy." Sauron admitted, "It's useless to be unwilling. We have no chance of winning against the Númenor Empire now."

"If you hadn't stopped me just now, I would have pulled Farazon's soul out of his body long ago!"

"And then?" Sauron asked her in a flat tone, "It's too easy to kill Farathon. If it was useful, I would have done it long ago. But human beings, their number and reproduction ability are just like mice. One Farathon dead, and it won’t be long before a new king takes over, which will have little impact on the Númenor Empire.”

"I don't care what happens to the Númenor Empire," said Romimus, "I only want Farazon to die."

"Falazon is a human being, he will die sooner or later." Sauron taunted, "Don't be so short-sighted, Luo Mi, killing Farathon now can only bring temporary pleasure. Don't you want to let the entire continent of Numenor Is everyone paying the price? The destruction of the Twilight Land, everyone here is a murderer."

"Yes, including you." Romimos said, she raised her head and looked at Sauron with sarcasm in her eyes, "Without your obstruction, no matter how many Númenoreans there are, they would not be able to enter, because You betrayed me, and everything became like this! How can you still talk to me so hypocritically, Sauron? Your face really makes me sick."

"I'm sorry," Sauron said, but his tone was anything but. "But sometimes we have to make necessary sacrifices for the greater good in the future. Farathon would not be willing to leave empty-handed, even if I If he pretended to surrender, he must capture enough booty to be satisfied."

"Then go and sacrifice your Mordor! Give all your orcs to Farathon, I won't say a word, how can you give my territory as a gift without my permission enemy?"

"Look, you also know that I have things that Farathon won't want." Sauron blinked innocently, "There are too many reasons, and I will explain them to you one by one. First, as you said Yes, the products and resources of the Twilight Land are richer than Mordor, and as a gift, it can better show our "sincerity" in accepting surrender; The road to the sea is shorter and easier to walk; third, you probably don’t know how famous you are among the Numenoreans, and I may even bow down. The big reason Farathon is willing to accept my surrender is that I can help him Remove the thorn in his side."

Romemos stared at him coldly: "Then you promise him."

"I have no choice." Sauron sighed softly and held Romimos' shoulders, "but I assure you that this is a temporary compromise. After conquering the Númenorans, the elves will have nothing to fear. At that time, not to mention the Ened region, including Eriador and the Mirkwood, the entire middle-earth can be divided equally between the two of us."

"What I want is not the land of Middle-earth—" Romimos gritted his teeth.

"Oh?" Soren paused, "What is that?"

Romimos lowered her head, and her shoulders trembled a few times. The anger that wanted revenge at the beginning was quenched by a scoop of cold water, and now she seemed almost to cry.

"I want them to come back..." She choked up, covering her face with her hands, her voice was inaudible.

"Who?"

"Everyone...all of them..."

"They will come back." Sauron hugged Romemos' head in his arms as if comforting, "When we return to Middle-earth, the fate of all elves and humans will be under your control .Don't be sad for too long, destruction and rebirth go hand in hand, nothing lasts forever, didn't you say that, my dear?"

When they learned that the Twilight Land was destroyed overnight, the elves were all stunned.

"How is it possible?" Gilgalad spread his hands, his face was so shocked that he was at a loss, "That is the territory of Romimos, who in the whole of Middle-earth can survive in one day?" Where is the internal attack?"

"Actually, if it weren't for the outer layer of illusion, the humans in the Twilight Land are not good at fighting." Elrond said hesitantly, "Most of the people there are civilians, not warriors."

"Isn't that circle of illusion tricky enough? With Romimos' current power, unless Vera comes in person, I can't think of anyone else who can break through her defense so easily."

"Unless the illusion is dispelled from within," Galadriel mused, "like Dorias."

"You mean that Romimos voluntarily surrendered to the Númenor Empire?"

"It's just my guess. After all, her old friend Sauron has surrendered without a fight."

"Impossible!" Celebrimbor shook his head, "Sauron surrendered because he also knew that he had no chance of winning against Farathon head-on. Although the Twilight Land did not have much combat power, it was more than enough to protect itself. It made no sense to surrender with Mordor." .”

"What if Sauron asked her to pretend to surrender together in order to confuse Farathon? The Númenorians and the Land of Twilight have had a long-standing grudge, and Farathon may make this condition. If Sauron does not agree, then his surrender is not It's true."

"That's impossible..." Celebrimbor said, but this time he obviously paused, "Even if Sauron agrees, Luo Mi won't agree."

"Why?" Glorfindel asked.

"Needless to say? Because that is her territory and people, and she is the lord there!"

"The titular lord." Elrond added coolly.

"I don't think it matters. Regardless of whether Romemos has real power or not, she means a lot to the people of Twilight. The key point is that she is not someone who would value other people's lives more than her own." Lord'," said Glorfindel, staring intently at Celebrimbor. "If it were Sauron's decision, do you think Romimos would risk his anger by rebelling directly against him? If now Who in Middle-earth is likely to pose a threat to her, and that is--"

Glorfindel's words froze. He and Celebrimbor exchanged glances, and their faces changed in unison.

"Well, what if Sauron's gift to Pharazon in order to show the sincerity of his surrender was not the Land of Twilight," Gilgalad mused, "...but Romimos?"

"He betrayed his only ally now?" Galadriel was a little surprised, but immediately smiled mockingly, "It's like what Sauron would do."

"Romi is not an ally of Sauron." Celebrimbor emphasized earnestly, and then looked anxiously at Gilgalad, "I have to fetch her back, Erinian."

"Don't be kidding." Gilgalad rejected him straight away, "Let's not say whether Farathon will hand her over to the elves, how will you settle her after you take her away? Besides, Sauron is also in Farathon now. By your side, I think Romimos certainly wouldn't want you to appear there."

"Then shall I just sit and watch her fall into the hands of Sauron and Farathon?" Celebrity asked back, "Romi is my friend, and she saved me. If Linton refuses to keep her , then I will leave with her."

The two were at a stalemate, when Elrond suddenly said, "Let Glorfindel go."

"Him?" Celebrity glanced at Glorfindel.

"Have you any opinion of me, Lord Celebrimbor?" asked Glorfindel.

"I don't doubt Glorfindel's ability." Celebrity said, "But as we all know, there is a deep feud between him and Luo Mi."

"Yes." Galadriel agreed, "So Glorfindel is much calmer than you on the matter of Romimos."

Glorfindel paused for a moment, then nodded: "That's right."

Gilgalad also nodded: "That's it, Glorfindel, find him as soon as possible before Farathon leaves, and see if you can persuade him. If you can, bring Romemos back first. As for We will discuss how to deal with her later."

The Númenorans moved quickly, and Glorfindel stepped up his horse to stop Farathon at the harbor, who was about to set sail for a triumphant return. At this time, more than half a month had passed since the fall of the Twilight Lands.

When Glorfindel saw Romimos, he was carelessly carving a piece of wood with a carving knife as thick as a little finger, and raised his eyebrows slightly when he caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye.

"I didn't expect Lord Jinhua to be so idle, and came all the way to see your enemy's jokes?" She sneered, "Why are you still frowning your handsome brows? Can't I make you laugh now?"

Glorfindel was not in the mood to argue with her, strode over and grabbed her wrist: "Follow me."

"Then I have to seek His Majesty's permission first. You know, I am his prisoner now, and I cannot go out without permission..."

"I've already said it." Glorfindel said without looking back.

"He agreed?" Romemos' eyes widened in real surprise this time, "It's amazing, it can make people like Farazon let go, what did you say?"

Glorfindel didn't want to pay attention to her at first, but Romemos made it clear that she wouldn't leave, so Glorfindel could only turn around helplessly, glanced at the surroundings indiscriminately, and didn't feel uncomfortable. He spoke briskly: "I told Farathon... because of the crimes you committed against the elves in the past, Linton hopes that Númenor will hand you over to us."

Romemos nodded with an interested expression: "That's it? Farathon is not such a reasonable person. And why me? If you talk about harming Linton, you should take Sauron away, right? "

"Farazon is proud, he will never admit it, but he is indeed afraid of you. Compared with Orcs who can be killed, it is obvious that you have always displayed strength beyond human comprehension. I believe Farathon It is true that you covet your... beauty," Glorfindel frowned again, "but he is more willing to die. Farathon believes that his strength and means are enough to suppress Sauron, but you are more difficult for him to control. Has he been alone with you so far in the absence of Sauron?"

"Then he really underestimated Sauron." Romimos had a subtle mocking smile on his face, "But I still don't understand. Since Falazon thinks he can control Sauron, he can control me by controlling Sauron." , then his final decision should be to directly reject Linton and not let anyone go. After all, it was the Númenoreans who 'conquered' me and Sauron, and the elves did not contribute anything, and these elf friends seem to be I don’t want to give Gilgalad any face anymore.”

Glorfindel looked up at the sky: "I also said that Sauron and you are insidious and cunning. Even if you seem to surrender sincerely now, it must be just a temporary tactic and should not be trusted. Just in case, the safest way should be Repatriate you to Aman Continent as soon as possible, and hand it over to Vera for trial... This is also what the Western rulers mean."

Romemos blinked, then laughed.

"You always surprise me, Glorfindel," she said, clapping her hands a few times. "Listen to what you say! What will the elves who idolize you think if they find out What? The upright and selfless Lord of the Golden Flower will tell lies without changing his face, and it's for his own personal feelings!"

Glorfindel's face turned red and then blue when she laughed, "I'm not..."

"I know you are eager for revenge, but I never thought that you would even move out of Vera for this reason." Romemos laughed, "Of course, there is nothing wrong with it, anyway, human beings can't ask Vera in person. Meaning, it’s not that the elves can do what they say? But in the long run, this will only aggravate human dissatisfaction with the gods of the West. Farathon is not a humble person, and now there is still Prince Anduini who can force him to persuade him , as for the future...huh."

Romimos' last sneer of unknown meaning made Glorfindel's hairs stand on end reflexively, and he tried his best not to think about it: "Anyway, you leave with me first..."

"No," said Romemus.

Glorfindel froze for a moment, "What?"

"You said so much, but you never asked me if I would agree or not." Romemos turned around and walked back slowly, continuing to carve her small wood carving with her head down.

"Do you want to stay and stay with Farathon?" Glorfindel asked. He looked at Romimos for a while, and his heart suddenly sank. "What do you want?"

It was the first time he saw that kind of look on Romimos's face. In the past, even when the two of them were most at odds with each other, her eyes were always hot and full of emotion, but now that kind of agility is in Romimos disappeared, as if a black veil that Glorfindel could not see through was covered in front of her.

"Didn't you already say it?" Romimos replied with a smile, "I am 'insidious and cunning, even if I sincerely surrender, it must be a temporary delay'. Of course I have my arrangements."

"You want revenge on the Númenoreans?!"

"Why are you so surprised?" Romimos asked, "do I seem magnanimous or do I swallow my anger? Or is it because I betrayed Gondolin that even if the people in my domain were slaughtered, I would Not worthy of the power to avenge them?"

"Do you really want to avenge 'them'? Or are you just venting your anger under this banner?"

Romemos narrowed his eyes: "What did you say?"

"For you, the most important thing is not only yourself?" Glorfindel raised his voice sharply, "As long as you don't suffer any loss, what does it matter to you whether the rest live or die? The land is just a tool to keep you from Sauron and Mordor, isn't it?,"

Romemos understood what he meant, but did not want to answer.

However, Glorfindel was persistent, and there was anger and sourness that he could not control in his chest: "If you are really grieving for those humans, why can you be so cruel to Gondolin?"

"Because if I die, they will mourn and avenge me too! They love me, need me, and trust me."

"Is there not Gondolin?"

"It's funny. Gondolin never accepted me!" Romimos broke her voice a little excitedly, she took a deep breath, and quickly regained her calm tone, "Whether it's Idril, Exilion, or It's you who never really believed me."

"Who is to blame for this? Do you dare to say that you did not sneak into Gondolin with evil intentions?"

"I did have another purpose when I tried to enter," Romimos admitted, "but I did not reveal the truth to Morgoth until a year before the destruction of Gondolin, and you suspected me earlier than that. too much."

"That's also because you hid something from us first..."

"Let me put it another way. For example, if you notice that something is wrong with Exilion, is your first reaction to be concerned about whether he has something on his mind recently, or secretly suspect that he is doing something shady behind your back?" Romimos waved his hand wearily, "Come here, what you are doing is reasonable, everything is my fault. I just want to say that the people of Gondolin and I are not as close as you think, Although I smile and greet everyone every day, I know that I am still an outsider, not even Turre, at least Idril loves him deeply. In the Twilight Land, even though most people here I have never even seen I've seen it, but I know I'm part of it."

"I thought you'd be very resistant to that," Glorfindel said, thinking back, "because, according to you, all connection is bondage."

"I do think so, but it's been so long and I've learned to give in a little bit, because no matter how much I hate to admit it, it's the truth, and no force goes one way, and when I'm sculpting this When I saw wood, although the shape of the wood changed, the blade of the carving knife became somewhat dull. The reason I loathe connections is because they hinder my freedom to create, but now I think that creating itself may be a way of making connections. The process of, say, the moment this piece of wood begins to be carved by me, it becomes my work and has a connection with me ever since. The same goes for Twilight, from the day I changed her , however much I resist, she—or at least a part of her—is mine, and I am responsible to her. And Gondolin? No, she is the same with or without me."

"You haven't felt some changes, but it doesn't mean they haven't happened." Glorfindel said, he took Romemos's hand, "Come back to Aman Island with me, there is still hope for everything."

Romemos wanted to say something, but someone called her name in the distance: "Romi?"

Romimos and Glorfindel turned their heads to look - it was Sauron, standing ten meters away from them, looking at this place with an unpredictable expression.

"The ship is about to set sail," he said, opening his arms to Romimos, beckoning her to come.

Glorfindel unconsciously increased his strength by two points, but Romimos still broke away from him.

"Hope? There may be hope for the elves, but hope for men is dead," she said. "The Valar may have a right to judge me, but can they judge Farathon? You'd better get out of my way, Glo Findel."

Then she stood up, walked quickly to Sauron without looking back, and the other party left with a satisfied arm around her shoulder.