[A huge tower appears, rearing up against the night sky. Rivers of fire from a neighbouring volcano pour around its foundations as an army scurries to build it even higher.]

[A tortured scream breaks the air.]

Gollum: "Shire! Baggins!"

[Huge gates at a different tower open slowly outward. On horseback, nine cloaked figures ride out.]

[Day has come. In the distance, a smoking volcano belches out ash and fire into a dark sky. Gandalf, on a white horse, comes to a halt on a hill and watches.]

[Closer to Gandalf's position is a white-towered city, set against a mountain range. Gandalf heads towards it.]

[With the help of a librarian, Gandalf goes deep into the city and finds himself in a dark room, covered from floor to ceiling in books and ancient scrolls.]

[He shuffles through them. Eventually he sits down with a glass of wine and begins to read by the flickering candlelight.]

Gandalf: "'The Year thirty-four thirty-four of the Second Age. Here follows the account of Isildur, High King of Gondor and the finding of the Ring of Power.'"

[Isildur, lying on the ground, stares at the Ring on Sauron's severed finger. He reaches out to grab it, crushing the burnt finger to char.]

Gandalf: "'It has come to me, the One Ring. It shall be an heirloom of my kingdom. All those who follow in my bloodline shall be bound to its fate for I will risk no hurt to the Ring. It is precious to me, though I buy it with great pain.'" [The Ring in Isildur's fingers seems to shrink] "'The markings upon the band begin to fade. The writing, which at first was as clear as red flame, has all but disappeared. A secret now that only fire can tell.'"

[Back in the Shire, a Hobbit is chopping wood in front of his home at nightfall. His dog, alerted to a stranger's presence, barks incessantly, then backs off, whimpering, and retreats into the house. A huge shadow crosses the house as the stranger draws nearer. A horse neighs and stamps the ground. Its hoofs are nailed, its hair matted and bloody. Its eyes are blood-red. The black rider turns to look at the Hobbit. No eyes are visible inside its cowl.]

Black Rider: "Shire. Baggins."

Hobbit: "Baggins. There's no Bagginses 'round here! They're up in Hobbiton, that way!" [points]

[The Black Rider gallops off.]