Chapter 146: Joining the White Council

The Mallorn tree and the White Tree bloomed, and the fragrance of their flowers immediately filled the entire castle. The fragrance of the Mallorn tree smelled like sunshine, making one's body feel warm and cozy. While the fragrance of the White Tree carried a cool, fresh scent that invigorated the spirit. Kael's eyes lit up with realization. This fragrance from the White Tree clearly had a beneficial effect on the mind. If he used it to assist meditation, the effects would surely be extraordinary. "Thank you, Lady Galadriel, thank you, Lord Elrond," Kael thanked them both gratefully. "Without you, these two trees would not know how long they would have had to wait to bloom." Moreover, he had previously used potions to accelerate their growth. Although this hadn't damaged the trees' essence, it couldn't compare to other trees that had grown through the passage of time, accumulating deep foundations. The difference between them was like naturally growing herbs in the mountains versus artificially cultivated ones. Though they might look similar in size, their medicinal properties were vastly different. Now Galadriel and Elrond had used the power of the Rings of Power to restore the trees' foundations. Galadriel and Elrond accepted Kael's thanks, then the group sat down again in the fragrant garden. Listening to the music and laughter faintly coming from the castle, Kael and his companions seemed like people from two different worlds, sitting in the quiet garden under moonlight and lamplight, enjoying a moment of tranquility. "Kael, what are your plans for the future?" Elrond asked thoughtfully. "Plans?" Kael was momentarily stunned, then asked back, "Lord Elrond, do you have any suggestions?" Elrond said formally, "Actually, we came here to invite you to join the White Council. Would you be willing?" "Join the White Council?" Kael was astonished, not expecting Elrond to make such an invitation. He looked at Lady Galadriel beside him and saw her expression was calm. "Shouldn't joining the White Council require approval from all members?" Kael said somewhat puzzledly. "Does Gandalf know about this? And what about Saruman? He's the leader of the White Council. Shouldn't his consent be needed?" "This matter was originally proposed by Mithrandir," Galadriel said. "He believes your achievements in opposing Sauron are remarkable, that you possess the will and ability to fight evil. Both Elrond and I strongly agree with this." "Gandalf is too kind!" Kael was somewhat embarrassed. The members of the White Council were all powerful figures, wise ones who had lived for thousands of years. Inviting a young person like him wasn't that thinking too highly of him? "You needn't be overly modest. You fought alongside us to defeat Sauron at Dol Guldur, then tamed the dragon Smaug and led the victory at the Battle of Five Armies, causing the deaths of two generations of Orc-kings at your hands. Such achievements are unmatched. The White Council was established precisely to oppose Sauron and his dark forces. Inviting you to join the White Council is a joint decision of myself, Elrond, and Mithrandir." Lady Galadriel's gaze was fixed on Kael as she spoke slowly. Then she rose and stood at the edge of the pavilion, her gaze looking out over the scenery below the mountain. "As for Saruman, when he chose to betray the light, he was no longer the leader of the White Council. Though to avoid causing many complications, we haven't publicly expelled him, the fact of his fall is already irrefutable." Hearing Galadriel speak so definitively, Kael couldn't help but be curious. "My lady, speaking this way, have you already found evidence of Saruman's betrayal?" After all, previously he had only relied on prophecy to speak of Saruman's fall. There hadn't been concrete evidence to prove it. Galadriel nodded, her expression showing disappointment and coldness. "Mithrandir secretly went to Isengard to investigate. To avoid arousing Saruman's suspicion, I deliberately sent a message to lure him away from Orthanc, giving Mithrandir the chance to enter the tower undetected. In the end, in his laboratory, we discovered a palantír contaminated by Sauron's power, as well as his plans for forging rings." Wow, he'd contacted Sauron so quickly? Kael was also very surprised. After all, in his view, before exiling Sauron from Dol Guldur, Saruman shouldn't have contacted Sauron yet. In this short period of less than a year, they'd gotten together so quickly? "Since it's confirmed that Saruman has fallen, what do you plan to do?" Kael asked. "Until we have absolute power to control Saruman, we cannot arouse his vigilance. Orthanc Tower has been fortified by him beyond all assault. It's very difficult for outsiders to break through the defenses. Otherwise, once he discovers this, Saruman will completely turn to Sauron. If he uses Isengard's geographical advantage to block the North-South Road and forms a pincer movement with Mordor in the east, both the Kingdom of Gondor and the Kingdom of Rohan in the south will fall into dangerous situations," Elrond said seriously. "So you want to first stabilize Saruman, then have the Kingdom of Gondor and Kingdom of Rohan prepare for defense against invasion from Mordor in the east, while you gather White Council members to jointly attack Orthanc Tower and try to control him," Kael summarized. Galadriel beside them also showed agreement. Hearing this, Kael was puzzled. "Why not lure Saruman out and then surround and attack him together?" "That won't work. Last time I lured him away from Orthanc, it already aroused his vigilance and suspicion," Lady Galadriel shook her head. "Kael, don't underestimate Saruman's wisdom. Any trace of evidence is as obvious to him as candlelight in darkness. More importantly, we don't have absolute certainty that we can control him. So to avoid completely arousing his vigilance, we can only remain inactive for now, waiting for him to lower his guard and defenses." Kael was startled. "Lady Galadriel, even with you, Elrond, and Gandalf, three people working together, you can't stop Saruman?" "Saruman is the most powerful among all wizards and possesses a very powerful staff. If he wants to leave, we simply cannot keep him," Lady Galadriel shook her head. Alright, so he had still underestimated that White Wizard. But thinking about it, it made sense. As a Maia of demigod level, if Saruman were so easy to deal with, that would be truly strange. "Well, back to the main topic, Kael." Galadriel looked at Kael and asked again. "Are you willing to join the White Council and become a member resisting the dark forces?" Elrond was also waiting for his answer. Kael didn't hesitate and smiled, saying, "Do I have any reason to refuse?" The White Council, as a secret alliance composed of Middle-earth's top wise ones, had each member as an influential and powerful figure. Joining them would naturally have many benefits. How could he refuse? Hearing Kael's answer, Galadriel's face showed a brilliant smile that instantly made everything around pale in comparison. Elrond was also very pleased. "Welcome to join us, Kael!" After becoming a member of the White Council, Elrond introduced the member roster to Kael. Beyond Kael's expectations, besides the members he already knew, Galadriel, Elrond, and Gandalf, there were also Galadriel's husband Celeborn and Círdan, Lord of the Grey Havens. Now with him added, there were seven members. But after Saruman was secretly expelled, the number still remained at six. As a member of the White Council, the core mission was to oppose Sauron, prevent the expansion of his dark forces, and maintain peace in Middle-earth. The benefits were that Kael could directly access various information about Middle-earth and gain a deeper understanding of the situation. Moreover, places like Rivendell's library would be completely open to Kael. He could access ancient secrets, learn various knowledge and skills, and even get explanations about the world's origins, Valar powers, and rules. After inviting Kael to join the White Council, Galadriel and Elrond didn't stay long at the castle, returning to Lórien and Rivendell through the fireplace. As for Arwen, Elladan, and Elrohir, they all chose to stay, planning to remain here for a while to learn magic from Kael. The banquet continued until midnight. The villagers gradually returned to Hogsmeade Village down the mountain, excitedly discussing the Elves' elegance throughout their journey, as well as the dazzling diadem on their lord's head. The dwarves still showed no signs of sleepiness, remaining in the great hall, either having drinking contests or telling jokes, causing their companions to burst into hearty laughter. Mayor Tenderlarch and the Prancing Pony innkeeper were led by steward Edward to guest rooms. While Kael brought Bilbo, the three Elven siblings, Legolas, and Beorn to stay in the tower. As for Bard, worried about his children, he returned home through the fireplace after the banquet ended. The next day, the dwarves were leaving. Kael looked at the thousand dwarf craftsmen, his voice not loud yet reaching everyone's ears. "Over these past months, I've been deeply grateful that you built this castle for me, so before you leave, I want to give you two gifts to express my gratitude." Hearing Kael's words, the dwarves were somewhat surprised. They had only come to build the castle under orders. They hadn't expected Kael to give them gifts as well. Just as they were looking around at each other, curious about what the gifts might be, Kael waved his wand, and a thousand gold coins flew out of his pocket, jingling and bouncing on the ground before landing in each person's hands. Looking at the gold coin in their hands, the dwarves looked at each other in bewilderment. What did this mean? Dismissing them with one gold coin each? But before the dwarves could complain, Kael immediately explained the reason. "The gold coins in your hands have been enchanted by me. Whenever someone nearby harbors ill intentions toward you, the coin will heat up as a warning." "Consider this a small gift for you all. I hope it will be useful." Hearing Kael's words, the dwarves were immediately surprised. They looked at the gold coins in their hands with some skepticism. One quick-witted dwarf among them rolled his eyes, stared at his companion beside him, and approached with a mischievous expression. The bald dwarf beside him suddenly cried out, exclaiming, "Hey, it really got hot!" Then he immediately looked around alertly, making eye contact with the companion who had quietly approached him. "Harper, what were you just trying to do?" The dwarf named Harper was instantly somewhat embarrassed, laughing, "Nothing much, just wanted to pluck a few hairs from your head to test if the coin really works." "But now it seems it really does work!" The bald dwarf immediately moved away and quickly covered the last few carefully groomed hairs on his head to prevent them from meeting an unfortunate fate. Seeing this, the other dwarves' eyes lit up, and they immediately began trying to play tricks on their companions. Without exception, they were all warned in advance by the coins. Dwarf elder Balin, seeing this scene and looking at the gold coin in his hand, suddenly felt it had become much heavier. He thanked Kael, "Kael, this gift of yours is no small matter. When encountering danger, this could be a life-saving treasure!" Kael smiled and waved his hand. "Just a small gift. You worked hard to build this castle for me. I couldn't help but express my gratitude." In fact, making these coins hadn't cost him much effort, just a bit of alchemical application, creating small items based on the Sneakoscope from the wizarding world, a small device with warning functions, and then simply mass-producing them. Then he said to the dwarves, "The second gift is a bit special, so I'll entrust it to Mr. Balin for safekeeping." With that, he took out a silver flask and handed it to Balin. Seeing it was a flask, Balin was momentarily puzzled. But having experienced the previous gold coins, he didn't think this flask would be ordinary. So he took the flask and curiously asked, "Kael, is there anything special about this flask?" Kael didn't keep it mysterious and explained directly, "This is one of my alchemical products. Just pour clear water into it, and it will turn into fine wine." Hearing Kael's words, Balin's eyes immediately lit up. He couldn't wait and looked at Kael. "May I try it?" Kael smiled and nodded. Balin immediately ran quickly to the fountain pool and filled the flask with water. The next second, a rich wine aroma wafted out from the flask.