The Staves of the Istari
By Marcella Riley, Ph.D.
A.U.: Frodo chose the Gap of Rohan over Moria
A.U.: No Gimli
Two old men—one white, one grey—stood at the pinnacle of an impenetrable black tower, gazing out at the flooded ruins below. Their robes ruffled subtly in the winds of the high altitudes.
There was silence for a time.
“So much lost,” Saruman the White eventually intoned, his face an expressionless, craggy mask.
“All will be restored in time, old friend,” said Gandalf. “Under guidance of the Ents, the trees will grow again. The land will heal. Isengard will be what it once was.”
The Scrivnarium 