Two weeks after Isengard’s gates closed, the White Council gathers in a high, sterile chamber of white stone. Tuiwen stands before Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, her shoulder scar aching beneath its healing skin.
Gandalf
Daughter of Thranduil, place the sealed message before the Council. Then tell us what Saruman sought to hide.
The message case rests between them, its royal seal unbroken. As Tuiwen brings it forward, pale fire crawls along the chamber’s carved stones, answering a pressure from beyond the doors.
Saruman
Do not open it. That seal bears a lie, and the bearer has been ensnared by my enemies.
The great doors shudder. A white, splintered hand of sorcery reaches through the narrowing gap toward the case, while Gandalf raises his staff and Elrond steps between the magic and the Council.
Galadriel
The truth is here, and his fear has named it. Break the seal, Tuiwen, and let the Council hear Thranduil’s warning.
Open Thranduil’s sealed message and let the White Council hear its warning