The Argonath

It had been their third day on the currents of Anduin and Korra couldn't quite shake the feeling that they were being followed.

The young Avatar quickly realised that it was the same presence she felt trailing them back in Moria, and, though its very existence began to grate on her nerves, strangely enough, she hadn't felt the obligation to do anything about it.

However, the gangly creature wasn't the only presence she felt pursuing them... something much darker stalked the Fellowship from the trees.

Korra hadn't been oblivious to the faint rustle of bushes, or the low, impatient snarls which carried on the wind.

"It isn't only I, then," Legolas began, startling Korra, "who senses them gathered within the shadows."

Korra cast the elf a side glance, where he sat calmly in the boat beside hers, ploughing his oar through the water.

"... Do you know what they are?" the young Avatar asked warily.

The two spoke in soft tones, so as to not alarm the others.

"I know not what they are, but I do know that they aren't creatures of the light," Legolas spoke ominously.

Korra almost – almost - rolled her eyes at his dramatics, but considering the serious subject, she decided against it.

"That's a no, then," she half-grumbled. "... Well, what do we do?"

"We do nothing. We cannot fight what we cannot see," the elf replied immediately, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Sensing the end of the conversation, Korra simply huffed childishly.

"I know a certain violent, old blind lady who would resent that statement," the waterbender grumbled to herself.

The sudden memory of the old earthbender brought a fond smile to the Avatar's face.

'Can't believe I miss that old grump,' she thought.

"...Korra?" Frodo's soft voice broke through the silence.

"Yeah, Frodo?" the Avatar responded, cocking her head to the side in a lazy manner.

"C-could I ask you something... about the Avatar State, I mean?" the Hobbit spoke slowly, as if unsure.

"...Go ahead," Korra responded, cringing only slightly at the clear hesitance in Frodo's voice.

"This Avatar State," he began, "could you tell us more about it? If that's alright with you, of course."

"Yeah, sure," Korra shrugged absentmindedly. "What do you wanna know?"

"Well, what is it?" Frodo inquired.

Having now drawn the attention of the entire Fellowship, mixed expressions of curiosity and reluctance settled onto the waterbender.

"Ummm, you see, it's the combination of the power and experience of all my past lives," Korra said. "...well, at least it was."

"What do you mean 'it was'?" Merry, the ever-acute listener, asked from his boat.

"...Well, I don't know if I mentioned this, but during my fight with Tarlok, the connection with my past lives was severed... and completely destroyed," the Avatar whispered the last part.

Though they hadn't fully comprehended what Korra had said, the entire fellowship was silent, completely shocked.

"You mean," Aragorn began, awe filling his voice, "that the power you showed in Moria, was entirely your own?"

"Yeah," the Avatar responded, looking shocked herself. "I guess I never really thought about it that way."

"I-Is there a way to reconnect with your past lives?" Pippin asked in a small voice, quite unlike his normal boisterous self.

"Honestly, Pippin, I don't know," Korra answered with a shrug.

"...Well," Aragorn turned to face Korra from the front of the boat, "if there's any way we can help you reconnect to your past selves, we'd be glad to help."

The Ranger gave Korra a crooked, but reassuring smile, while the rest of the Fellowship let out a collective shout of "aye!".

The Avatar barked out a laugh in response

"Thanks guys," Korra replied with a large grin, "I'll let you know if that happens."

Everyone had lapsed into a comfortable silence, their spirits notably higher than before.

Honestly, for some reason, Pippin's earlier query had drawn Korra's attention back to the sword incident, which happened soon after they departed from Lothlorien. Though the waterbender was indeed dense on many occasions, she wasn't entirely foolish. The memories which the inscription on the sword had awakened were clearly not hers.

An array of questions immediately began to plague Korra's mind.

Did this involve her past lives? What if this is linked to finding a way to reconnect with her past selves? If so, then how?

'My brain wasn't built to think this hard,' Korra thought ruefully as she massaged her temples in an effort to relieve the oncoming headache.

Deciding to discard her speculations for now, the Avatar lowered her hand into the water and closed her eyes. Admittedly, the young waterbender had never truly favoured her birth element and had preferred firebending instead. However, she couldn't deny that she had always found comfort in the water's cold embrace.

Korra had slowly allowed the sound of the rushing water, and the scuttling leaves to fill her senses before a collective intake of breath drew her attention. What the Avatar saw caused her eyes to widen to the size of saucers.

Two colossal statues stood parallel to each other on either side of the lake and absolutely towered over the Fellowship. Both statues depicted majestic looking men – the one on the right appearing to be an older man than the one on the left - wearing helmets and flowing robes while outstretching their left hands with their palms open, as if telling those travelling along the Andiun, "YOU CANNOT PASS".

The carvings seemed to exude an aura of power and majesty.

Korra practically had to tear her gaze away from the marvellous spectacle before turning to face her companions, a question playing on her lips.

Boromir, seemingly guessing the Avatar's query, spoke up.

"They're the Gondorian Kings of old," Boromir said aloud, pride seeping from his voice. "The great rulers of my people."

The young woman dipped her head in thanks, appreciative of the extra knowledge. While many of the Fellowship seemed to be indeed amazed, Aragorn's eyes, Korra noted, glowed with so many emotions that it was impossible to comprehend the man's thoughts.

"The Argonath," the Ranger voiced, seemingly breathless with wonder. "Long have I desired to look upon the Kings of old... my kin."

"...your kin?" Korra inquired.

"Aye," Aragorn replied softly. "I am a descendant of the Gondorian Kings of old... heir to the throne of Gondor."

Korra couldn't keep the shock from her face. She knew that the man had a noble air to him, but a king was the last thing she'd associate him with. It didn't help that he smelt like a homeless man most of the time.

"Gondor? You mean where Boromir's from?... And you're the King?"

As soon as the last question left her mouth, the Avatar found herself regretting it immediately as a downtrodden, almost dejected expression settled onto Aragorn's face.

"...no, I'm not."

Korra knew that the man wouldn't elaborate any further than this, and so simply nodded at his answer. However, she couldn't help but notice the shadow of doubt which now rested in the Ranger's stormy orbs. Hopefully, he'd tell her the full story one day.

The rest of the Fellowship, having not paid any attention, could only remain silent as the currents of Anduin carried them through the opening between the base of the statues, gawking with astonishment as they did.

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By late afternoon, the Fellowship had decided to clamber out of the small boats and set up camp by the riverside.

Korra was lazily stretching out her limbs while she overheard Aragorn speak with Legolas.

"We cross the lake at nightfall," the man said with authority in his voice. "Hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the North."

Gimli cast the Ranger an incredulous look as he sat on a rock, his trustworthy axe perched between his knees.

"Oh yes," the Dwarf exclaimed in fake delight. "Tis just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil; an impassable labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks. Oh and after that, by Eru it gets even better... a festering, stinking marshland, as far as the eye can see."

Pippin and Merry both grow pale at these words.

Aragorn, on the other hand, appeared completely unaffected by Gimli's sarcasm, even as his voice turned sour near the end.

"That is our road," the man stated simply. "So, I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf."

"Recover my..." Gimli growled with indignance, twirling his axe in an almost threatening manner.

Korra snicked softly at this before giving the Dwarf a playful nudge.

"Relax Gimli. I didn't master the elements for no reason, you know. Rocks and marshlands shouldn't be too bad," the Avatar reassured.

Gimli's irate appearance did a complete 180 as he let out a boisterous laugh.

"You're right, lass. With your mighty powers on our side, our travels will be a breeze. Hard to remember that a youngster such as yourself holds so much strength," the Dwarf exclaimed, giving Korra a hard slap on the shoulder.

The Avatar bit back an argument about how she was an adult as she recalled that Gimli was over one hundred years old. However, she still wanted to take the chance to poke fun at the Dwarf.

"You know," the water bender began while rubbing her shoulder in mock pain, "It's pretty hard to remember that a shorty such as yourself holds so much strength too."

"...What did you just say, lass?" Gimli asked slowly, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Nothing! Nice talking to you, bye," Korra cried as she bounded away from the Dwarf, ignoring his outraged calls.

The Avatar's mischievous smirk soon faded into a neutral expression as she approached Legolas and Aragorn. She could be playful later, right now though, she needed to address a certain problem with the Ranger's plan.

"Hey, Aragorn," Korra said, gaining the attention of both the man and the elf. "I know you said that we should leave at nightfall, but, no offence, I think that's a terrible idea."

Legolas nodded his head in approval.

"I agree with Korra. We should leave now," the elf stated, urgency clear in his tone.

"No," Aragorn refused stubbornly. "Orcs patrol the Eastern shore, so we must wait for the cover of darkness."

Legolas shook his head as if pained by his friend's persistence.

"It is not the Eastern shore that worries me," the elf said, casting a wary glance into the forest. "A shadow and a threat have been growing in my mind. Something draws near... I can feel it."

"Same here," Korra backed.

The Avatar and Legolas stared silently at Aragorn, seemingly at a stalemate as neither side intended to concede.

The tense atmosphere was cut through as Merry suddenly dropped a large pile of kindling by Sam's feet, startling the poor hobbit from his previous slumber.

"Where's Frodo?" Merry asked with an alarmed voice.

Korra's head snapped to where she last saw the ringbearer, perched on a rock beside Boromir, but only found that space occupied by the Gondorian man's lone shield.

It wasn't long before an array of colourful curses flew out of Aragorn's mouth as he quickly realised something.

Frodo was missing... and so was Boromir.