Frodo bent his head. ‘And what do you wish?’ he said at last.
‘That what should be shall be,’ she answered. ‘The love of the Elves for their land and their works is deeper than the deeps of the Sea, and their regret is undying and cannot ever wholly be assuaged. Yet they will cast all away rather than submit to Sauron: for they know him now. For the fate of Lothlórien you are not answerable, but only for the doing of your own task. Yet I could wish, were it of any avail, that the One Ring had never been wrought, or had remained for ever lost.’
‘You are wise and fearless and fair, Lady Galadriel,’ said Frodo. ‘I will give you the One Ring, if you ask for it. It is too great a matter for me.’
Galadriel laughed with a sudden clear laugh. ‘Wise the Lady Galadriel may be,’ she said, ‘yet here she has met her match in courtesy. Gently are you revenged for my testing of your heart at our first meeting. You begin to see with a keen eye. I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer. For many long years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and behold! it was brought within my grasp. The evil that was devised long ago works on in many ways, whether Sauron himself stands or falls. Would not that have been a noble deed to set to the credit of his Ring, if I had taken it by force or fear from my guest?’
‘And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!’
She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illumined her alone and left all else dark. She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad.
‘I pass the test,’ she said. ‘I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.’
That was what happened in The Lord of the Rings as written by Tolkien. But what if it happened differently? What if it went like this?
‘You are wise and fearless and fair, Lady Galadriel,’ said Frodo. ‘I will give you the One Ring, if you ask for it. It is too great a matter for me.’
Galadriel stifled a laugh, and then looked at Frodo frankly and gave only a wry smile. ‘Wise I may be,’ she said, ‘yet here you have matched me in courtesy. Gently are you revenged for my testing of your heart at our first meeting. No, Frodo. The matter is too great for any of us, yet in your hands the Ring is as safe as with any king or prince. Though in the past I have yearned to set right with the power of the Ring, I cannot ask for it.’
‘And because you do not ask me for it,’ Frodo replied, ‘I am reassured that I can give it to you.’
Galadriel looked deeply at Frodo then, saw the sorrow and pain in his eyes, and paused. ‘I am not sure this is wise. There are many tricks I have to dissuade you from this... theatrics and voices and lights to sway your mind. But you see with a keen eye, and I am not so quick to judgement as once I was. If that is your choice, Frodo, then I will try my best to live up to your judgement. I will give my life to see it destroyed.’
Frodo held out the Ring upon its chain towards her, and for a moment, he marveled at how rich and beautiful was its colour, how perfect was its roundness. It was an admirable thing, and he wondered if such a precious thing should be cast aside so lightly.
‘Oh, thank goodness!’ said Sam as he came up behind Frodo. ‘If you'll pardon my speaking out, I think it's wonderful that he's doing this. He can't bear the strain forever.’ Frodo smiled then and handed the chain to Galadriel, who held it distant from her. ‘I'm sure you'll put things to rights, m'lady. You'll stop them digging up the gaffer and turning him adrift. You'll make some folk pay for their dirty work.’
‘I hope not, Sam’ she said, ‘I hope not.’
This is a role-playing campaign founded on the above as the alternate storyline to the Lord of the Rings -- one where the peril of the Ring is shared among the civilized people rather than born by Frodo alone. The campaign will begin about six months after this point, as the forces of Gondor and Rohan are working their way into Mordor. With Lothlórien's aid, Rohan has defeated Saruman and Gondor has decisively beaten the assault upon it. Minas Ithil is now under siege by the forces of Gondor, and they are preparing to take the pass of Cirith Ungol.