Story: One Hundred Sons

Gandalf and Pippin set out for Minas Tirith to warn the people of Gondor of the coming attack from Mordor. Although they are in great haste, they reluctantly stop to rest for the night. As they lie down to sleep, Pippin begins to ask about the steward of Gondor.

"His name is Denthor", Gandalf starts, "His is a proud and stubborn man, but not totally evil. He has great power, but will never be called a king. He has resisted sway from Sauron and his darkness. However, he won't be very cooperative in our cause now that his son Boromir has died. Say what you will, but he does love his sons."

"Are the stories about him true?", asks Pippin, "Aragorn told us some tales late at night."

"About his birth? There are so many rumors, but I'll tell you the one I know.

Denethor is from a great lineage, son of Ecthelion II and Gandhari. His parents were quite in love and before long were expecting their first child. Gandhari was so excited to bear children, but this pregnancy was fraught with problems. She lied in bed all day only to be awaken by nightmares of hellish creatures at night.

The day Gandhari gave birth was the saddest of her life. After all her suffering, she bore a mass of putrid flesh. Instead of a healthy baby boy, she met a lifeless lump. Overcome with depression, she immediately ordered the servants to take the rotting lump away and dispose of it in the forest, but a dark sorcerer stopped them.

No one knows how, but he had made his way into the castle and had been lurking through the halls the day that Gandhari gave birth. Once he overheard the woman crying and telling the servants to dispose of the rotting flesh, he stepped in to intervene. He soothed the grieving woman and whispered promises to her, saying that he could make her the mother of one hundred sons. All she had to do was give him the dead lump.

He divided the mass into one hundred pieces and had Gandhari's servants bring him one hundred basins filled with oil. In each basin, the sorcerer placed one piece of the lump for each one of the sons to grow. As the children developed in those basins, evil omens were seen around Gondor. Shadows loomed in the corners of the palace and packs of wargs were spotted stalking the gates of the castle.

Then, one day a basin broke and Gandhari beheld her first son, Denethor. As more of the other children broke out of their basins, everyone in the kingdom could see that there was something demonic in their births. Yet, Ecthelion and Gandhari's love blinded them, so they raised their children just as they would any others.

So when Denethor became of age, he naturally took his father's place as the ruling steward of Gondor. Although the people respect him, they will never forget the story of how he came to be."

Author's Note: This story was inspired by the story of Gandhari's One Hundred Sons and Lord of the Rings. I thought this would fit into the world of dark magic and kings perfectly. Although Denethor isn't necessarily a king, he is the closest to an evil man ruler in Middle Earth. Unfortunately, I could not find the name of his mother so I just used the original story's name because I like it very much.
The original story is about Gandhari, Dhritarashtra's wife, bearing their sons. A brahmin is the one who promises her one hundred sons, but the result is the same: an evil ruler whom the people are obligated to respect.

Bibliography: Epified Mahabharata, Part A, Episode 12: One Hundred Sons 
Image: Denethor, Wikimedia Commons