War of the Ring- Turn of the Tide

[Yodaman]

*Please don't put this story with the other WOTR story. There was a thread about it and people said they didn't have to be put together since they were so different. Read about it here: http://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/sho...&threadid=10892 Thanks

WAR OF THE RING
THE TURN OF THE TIDE
BY YODAMAN

It is a dark time for Lothlorien. The Fellowship of the Ring has just left, brining great evil to Lorien, as well as dark times. The warriors of Lorien are exhausted from destroying a company of Moria Orcs that followed the Fellowship to Lorien. There are rumors that the Necromancer has awakened and has rebuilt his fortress of Dol Guldur for one purpose- for the destruction of Lorien. Lady Galadriel has ordered Haldir, captain of the Lorien army, to patrol the borders of Lorien to ensure its safety, but not even that would be enough for the three-pronged assault that awaits them.

STRIKE ONE

Aragrod was your typical elf in the Lorien army. He was fair (like all other elves were), strong, and smart. But he wasn’t the absolute greatest fighter in Elvish terms, but against any man, dwarf, or Orc he was indestructible. Today was just a normal day for him- he had to watch out for the enemy on top of a small, wooden hut in a Malorn tree.

“Do you see anything?” asked his guard buddy, Anorlaer.

“Nothing”, said Aragrod. “Do you?” There was no answer. “Anorlaer?” Aragrod turned around and saw three arrows in Anorlaer’s throat. Several arrows zinged passed his head, and he got right off the tower. Once he was off, he grabbed his horn and started to blow. That was standard procedure, to blow a horn when the enemy was near.

“I hope Haldir is near”, thought Aragrod.

For once, Haldir was able to sleep. He was able to have a nice, undisturbed sleep, which was extremely rare for him, being a captain of Lorien and all. Even thought the threat of battle was really high, he had loyal guards watching for the enemy. But once he heard a horn, blowing, he jumped out of bed and grabbed his sword. He woke his hut partner and ran outside.

“<<AWAKE, YOUNG ELVES! >>, yelled Haldir. “<< The enemy is upon us! Fight with honour! Fight with everything you’ve got! CHARGE! >>”. Haldir then jumped off the hut and unsheathed his sword. He then ran up to Aragrod, whom he knew blew the horn.

“Aragrod”, said Haldir. “What direction did the Orcs come from?”

“The east”, said Aragrod. “From Dol Guldur”.

“That cursed Fellowship led them here”, complained Haldir. “Aragrod, go find Lady Galadriel. Tell her to get Celeborn and his company here. Go as fast as you can.”

“Yes sir”, said Aragrod. He then ran to his horse horse, Lómroch, and rode off.

“NORO LIM, ARAGROD!” yelled Haldir. Haldir then turned around and looked at the battlefield. There seemed to be chaos everywhere, with Orcs and Elves battling each other in an un-orderly fashion. It was hard to tell who was winning since the Orcs had the element of surprise while the Elves were way better in combat. Since there was no order going on, Haldir had to enforce it.

“<< ELVES OF LORIEN! >>”, yelled Haldir. “<< FALL OUT! >>”. All the elves then gathered up behind Haldir. It wasn’t in the best order since arrows zinged passed all their heads, but Haldir would have to ignore that small annoyance for the meantime.

“<< On my signal >>”, yelled Haldir as several arrows zinged past their heads, “<< Charge at them with everything you’ve got. One, two, three CHARGE! >>”. The Elvish army then charged with full strength at the enemy. Once they clashed together, the loud ching of the sword clashed could be heard. Also common noises were the grunting of Orcs, the splattering of blood, and the cries of the wounded elves. These sounds were all too common for Haldir, being a war master for thousands of years. But each time he battled in this fashion, the effect seemed to be different. Every time Elves died, more elves would come in their place and Haldir often befriended them. Some of these soldiers he’d known all his life; some he met only a few decades ago. But seeing them died saddened his heart, but it wasn’t sad enough for him. Like every battle he’d fought, he ignored the sounds of death and the smell of ruin and focused on one thing- the battle at hand. Haldir was furious with a sword, swinging it around like paper in the wind, slashing and sticking every Orc in his path. Haldir never wore armor that often, so he always got various cuts and bruises. But he was used to that, and it was nothing that the healer couldn’t heal. So the battle went on for hours, with the same old things happening and nothing much going on in the terms of winning. But after a long time of hearing nothing but the sounds of war, Haldir heard something else.

“We’re losing”, said one orc. “WE’RE DOOMED!”

“<< Nonsense>>”, said another orc. “ <<We still haven’t played with the fire yet >>”. The other orc then laughed and they ran off. Haldir didn’t know the Black Tongue, but he knew something was up. He then ran after the Orcs but several more surrounded him. Haldir then battle the surrounding Orcs, for he had no choice. After killing the surrounding Orcs, Haldir saw what the Orcs were talking about. Several Orkish archers put flames on their arrows and aimed them for the Malorn trees. Several Malorn trees then began to burn, along with the morale of the elvish soldiers.

“<< FALL BACK! >>”, commanded Haldir. If there were one thing that no elf of Lorien should see in its life, it would be the burning of a Malorn tree. The Malorns were hailed as some of the most beautiful trees on Middle-Earth (some even called them the most beautiful). Also, the Malorns represented peace and prosperity among all races of Middle-Earth. The burning of a Malorn, however, represented doom and sadness among middle-earth. Also, only the ultimate evil could do an evil act such as that. And all that evil had been done in their eyes.

“See”, said an Orc. “They’re running”.

“I guess we’ve won the battle, boys”, said the Orc commander. “ <<VICTORY! >>”. All the Orcs then cheered with all the might they got, but their celebration. One of the burning Malorn trees suddenly cracked and began to fall. The Orcs ran, but their fleeing was hopeless. The mighty tree fell on top of them, and the flames consumed them all. The Orcs tried to fight the fire, but they had no means to. The Malorns have won this battle.

“ <<RETREAT! >>” commanded the Orc commander. All the Orcs then fled the battle scene in order to get away from the flames. The Elves then cheered on their plane of victory.

“We have no victory yet”, said Haldir. “First, the Orcs will come back. Necromancer will not be so generous to our people. Also, clean this mess up. The fumes are getting me sick.” The Elves then put out the fire in preparation for the next assault to come.