818: That Alchemist from Middle-earth

Eve was an ordinary human, or at least she had been, before her adoptive mother and teacher took her in.

She was a skilled alchemist, and she ran a little shop with her only family.

Ever since her adoptive mother left without a word one morning, Eve's life had fallen into a routine.

Quiet, trivial, and utterly unremarkable.

Until one afternoon, a warrior fresh from the battlefield knocked on her shop door.

He had a ring, ancient in design and without any engraved pattern.

Eve had a similar ring, a gift from her teacher and adoptive mother. Hers was more exquisite, set with a gemstone, but at a glance the craftsmanship seemed much the same.

So she welcomed the warrior in. But almost moments later, he vanished right before her eyes.

Then another hundred years passed.

Another bearer of a similar ring came to visit, but his character was so wretched that Eve turned him away.

Everything changed with the third bearer of the ring.

He invited Eve on an adventure with dwarves, a wizard, and a hobbit. If they were lucky, they might even meet elves.

He called himself Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire.

Eve accepted his invitation.

So she left the little shop where she had been staying and took the gifted ring with her.

.

"My child, you are destined to embark on an adventure to save the world."

"Now?"

"No, in the future, when darkness is about to engulf Middle-earth."

Theme: Only by standing together can we defeat the darkness