GALADRIEL (V.O.) The world is 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 Rings of Power. Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest and
fairest of all beings. Seven were given to the Dwarves, great miners and
craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the
race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was
bound the power and the will to rule each race. But they were all of
them deceived, for deep in the land of Mordor, the Dark Lord Sauron
forged another ring, a master ring, and into this ring he poured all his
cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate every living thing. One
ring to rule them all. One by one, the free peoples 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 very slopes of Mount Doom, they 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 Sauron, 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
will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death.
And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History
became legend. Legend became myth. For two and a half thousand years,
the ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, the ring
ensnared another bearer.
The ring came to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels
under the Misty Mountains, and there it consumed him. The ring gave 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 that its time had
come. It abandoned Gollum, but then something happened that the Ring did
not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A
hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire.
For the time will soon come when hobbits will shape the fortunes of all.
GALADRIEL: Frodo. Your coming is as the footsteps of doom. You bring a
great evil here, Ringbearer
CELEBORN: Eight there are here, but nine there were set out from
Rivendell. Where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him.
GALADRIEL He is fallen into shadow. The quest stands on the edge of a
knife, stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope
remains as long as the company is true. Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Go now, and rest, for you are weary with toil and much sorrow.
Tonight you shall sleep in peace.
GALADRIEL Will you look into the mirror?
FRODO What will I see?
GALADRIEL Not even the wisest can say, for the mirror shows many things.
Things that are, things that were, and some things that have not yet
come to pass.
GALADRIEL I know what it is you have seen, for it is also in my mind. It
is what will come to pass if you should fail. The Fellowship is
breaking. Already it has begun. He will try to take the ring. You know
of whom I speak. One by one, it will destroy them all.
FRODO If you ask it of me, I will give you the One Ring.
GALADRIEL You offer it to me freely. I do not deny that my heart has
greatly desired this.
GALADRIEL Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but
beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger
than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!
GALADRIEL I passed the test. I will diminish, and go into the west, and
remain Galadriel.
FRODO I cannot do this alone.
GALADRIEL You are a Ringbearer, Frodo. To bear a ring of power is to be
alone. This task was appointed to you, and if you do not find a way, no
one will.
FRODO Then, I know what I must do. It's just I am afraid to do it.
GALADRIEL Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.