Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to the LotR Trilogy, Peter Jackson does. I only own my OC's that I will occasionally add or remove.
Author's Note: Just to let you know, this is my very first fanfiction that I've ever written and had this posted on another site, so that's why you are just now seeing me place it here. I am also going to give this story a major overhaul, cause to tell the truth, this being my first story and all, my writing sucked. I am also going to make the main character female instead of male, it's just easier for me to write very emotional scenes for a girl than it is for a guy, if you know what I mean. So, now that that's out of the way, on with the story...!
Talking Key:
"Regular talk."
"Elvish." -You will find the translations at the end of the chapters, look for an *.
'Thoughts.'
'~Telepathy~.'
PS: This story is dedicated to my Grandfather who died just before I even started this story back in 2008, a few days before Christmas, at the age of 75.
Okay now, no more sad faces, its time for the story to really begin! I present to you the new, and improved...
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WOLF RIDER!
Formerly known as: The Second Ranger Tenth Walker
Chapter 1: Arrival
'The forest is quiet tonight.' The Dúnedain thought to himself as his blue eyes scanned the surrounding trees meticulously. 'It's far too quiet. Not even the crickets are making a sound.'
The intentional snap of a twig from behind broke him from his thoughts, he glanced over his shoulder as a fellow ranger approached. It was hard to distinguish the man's features in the dark of the night and the hood of his cloak kept the light of the moon from showing anything but the lower half of his face, giving him a rather menacing appearance. Fortunately for him, he knew this man very well.
"It's too still, not even a leaf stirs yet there is a breeze," the man gruffly whispered when he reached his companion's side. "This silence, it's just not natural. I don't like it Aragorn, I don't like it one bit."
Aragorn's lips pulled back into a grin before he returned to scanning the small gap in the trees they had stopped in. "Truthfully this silence disturbs me greatly as well," he whispered back, "but even so, we must continue on our route. Fletcher..." the ranger's head turning at the sound of his name, "... we shall tread more cautiously from here on out. Keep your eyes sharp and your ears peeled for anything. For all we know, we could be walking into an ambush as we speak."
Fletcher nodded in acknowledgement, gripping his staff tighter in his fists as the pair continued on their routine patrol of the forest surrounding the winter camp of the Dúnedain. Thirty minutes later, as the two rangers were entering the last leg of their patrol, Fletcher suddenly froze in mid-step, a startled hiss escaping his lips.
"There is a strange scent on the air..." the short-statured man muttered in a guarded tone, his eyes slowly scanning the surrounding foliage as the hair on the back of his neck began to stand on end, "... so strong I can taste it. Not just that, it's thick and chilled, it burns my throat so I can barely breathe. I feel as though someone is watching us, but there is none but us here," he said, his voice so low that Aragorn had to move closer just to hear him speak. "It's like the calm before a raging storm, like it's waiting for something to set it loose. Can you not feel it Aragorn?"
"Yes, I feel it as well," Aragorn calmly replied, slowly moving his hand to the hilt of his sword as he spoke. He then turned to face Fletcher, barely able to make out the other man in the darkness. "We must be qui-!"
He was suddenly interrupted by a brilliant flare of light that exploded into being from a nearby glade. A light that was so intense, it was nearly blinding, forcing the two men to shield their eyes and duck their heads away from the glare. A thunderous boom sounded from the clearing, shaking the earth beneath their feet and sending them stumbling to their knees. Nearby trees rattled and shook, limbs creaking agonizingly against the sudden gust of wind, deer that had been hiding in the surrounding brush hopped up and galloped past the two stunned rangers in terror. As the last vibrations faded away, so to did the light, casting the forest once more into the darkness of night. And just like that, the silence that had surrounded Aragorn and Fletcher for most of their patrol melted away as the forest was once again filled with the usual noises of the night and brightened by the light of the moon.
Blinking the spots from his eyes, Aragorn swiftly drew his blade and held it aloft before him, eyes guarded as he waited for Fletcher to recover himself.
"By the Valar, what was that?" the ranger exclaimed loudly, his ears ringing. Finally managing to clear his eyes, his oak staff was once more securely gripped in his hands.
"I am unsure, but whatever it was it came from the clearing ahead." Aragorn stated softly, though loudly enough for his companion to hear, then he glanced at him over his shoulder, "Let's take a closer look and see if we can find whatever was the cause."
With a nod from Fletcher, the two moved swiftly, but silently, through the trees and brush, only slowing and coming to a stop when they reached the edge of the large grassy glade. Kneeling behind a pair of collapsed trees, the rangers glanced at each other, shared a nod, then peered over their cover. The sight of the destruction before them stunned them into inaction. To put it simply, it looked like the very ground itself had exploded, creating a deep crater in the center of the grassy field. The large hole nearly filled the clearing in its entirety with its wide sloping sides and was deep enough for three tall men to stand on each others shoulders. The air was thick with clouds of dust, steam and the smell of scorched earth. If they both looked hard enough through the haze, they could just make out two dark unmoving figures in the center of the crater.
They patiently waited for the clouds of dust to settle enough for them to see the ground before the two began to cautiously step into the decimated glade. They had only gone a few steps into the crater when a low angry growl sounded from below, causing them to freeze in place. Once Aragorn and Fletcher had both stopped, the growls quieted to a low rumble, where they continued with periodic gaps, like an animal catching its breath before starting once again. The growling was coming from one of the shapes in the center of the bowl of earth and as they moved closer the pair could discern more details about them. The first figure looked like an animal, a canine; though if it was a wolf or a dog they couldn't tell. The second, while a bit harder to distinguish because of the way it was laying on the ground, was vaguely human in shape. Deciding that they would have to chance whether the animal would attack them or not, Aragorn started forward once more, Fletcher only a step behind him.
As they had resumed their forward movement, the growling restarted and increased in intensity. The animal had now risen to its feet and had placed itself between them and the unmoving figure. Aragorn, being the closer of the two, finally identified the creäture as a dog with wolf-like features. When they felt they had gotten as close as they dared, both rangers took in the scene before them with mixed expressions of shock, surprise and confusion on their faces.
Before them lay the body of a girl on the cusp of womanhood, and standing protectively between them and her was the biggest dog either ranger had seen. It's muscles rippled and twitched beneath fur as black as the night. Glowing green eyes glared up at them like twin beacons of angry emerald flames. It's ears were flush against the sides it's head, displaying the dog's irritation. It's teeth glistened in the moonlight, bared up to the gums as it's growls reached incredibly loud levels, each as sharp as a dagger and ready to tear into the two rangers if they so much as took another step toward the girl under it's protection. From its massive paws stuck out claws as long as half a man's pinky finger, scratching little furrows in the dirt as the beast lowered its body and prepared itself to lunge at the them.
Aragorn flicked his eyes from the dog to the girl, frowning when he spotted a puddle of dark liquid pooling beneath her. He made to move closer when the dog's growl turned into a snarl and it threw itself at him at a speed that belied its size, aiming for his throat. Aragorn dodged to the side and backpedalled rapidly out of range of the dog's jaws, causing the animal to miss him by inches. Once it landed the dog immediately spun around ran back to it's former position, then backed itself up until it was stood directly over the girl's body protectively, once again snarling at them warningly.
"Careful Aragorn!" Fletcher hissed, his grip on his staff so intense his knuckles had turned white. "It's not warning us away anymore. That beast means to kill!"
Aragorn acknowledged his warning and approached the pair again, this time however, with slower steps and his attention focussed on the dog and not the girl, hold a placating hand before him as he did so.
"It will be alright, my friend," Aragorn murmured gently to the agitated animal as it started preparing another lunge, slowly bringing himself to kneel in front of it. "I'm not going to cause her any further harm, I just want to check her injuries."
Seeing the dog showed no sign of calming, in fact his words only seemed to agitate it even more. Just as it was getting ready to attack him again, he spoke to it once more, only this time in another language entirely.
"Av-'osto. Telin le thaed. Boe de nestad.*" he said soothingly in Sindarin*, his voice slow and calm as he met and looked into the dog's eyes, seeing an intelligence there not unlike those of the large Northern wolves.
The dog's growling slowly died down and it's features calmed. It held his gaze, almost seeming to be staring into his soul, like it was trying to read his intentions. Aragorn opened himself to those pools of emerald flames, leaving his intentions and feelings bare for the dog to read. If his hunch on just how intelligent this dog is, was correct, this would be the only way to earn it's trust. After a few moments of silence, seeming to find what it was looking for, the dog dipped its head in a nod like fashion.
It took a few steps toward the ranger, tentatively sniffed his hand, taking in his scent. Then with a tremendous sigh, the dog's entire demeanor changed. It's muscles relaxed, the fur along it's back settled back into place, it's ears sprang back up, and it's tail started to wag. It gave his palm a quick lick and moved aside, allowing Aragorn to go check on the state of it's charge, watching him with trusting yet still wary eyes all the while. Aragorn knelt at the girl's side, glanced over to Fletcher, signalling that everything was alright, and after he received a nod in response he turned back to the girl and leaned over her body. Pressing two fingers against the nape of her neck, he breathed out in relief when he felt the throbbing vein under his fingertips and, though it was a weak pulse, she was at least still alive. Aragorn then moved on with his examination of the young woman, assessing the state of her injuries and appearance.
First to catch his attention were the girl's clothes. They appeared to be made out of wool or cotton, but they were so damaged and dirty he couldn't tell much from them. Looking closely at her face, Aragorn estimated her age around nineteen summers old and her features looked very similar to those of the people of Rhune, the Easterlings. Her hair was long and black, though it was hard to tell with how dirty it was and in the dark. She was short, about the height of his chest when standing, he guessed, and though her frame was thin, she had the muscle tone of one who spent a lot of her time outdoors. The only thing that contested that thought though was that her skin was as fair and smooth as a noblewoman's.
Once done with taking in her appearance, he then moved on to her injuries, only to grimace at the state she was in. The girl's left arm lay limply on the ground beside her and the shoulder was swollen and turning black and blue. 'Dislocated shoulder,' Aragorn surmised as he continued with his examination of the limb and found her forearm was broken as well. He then moved to examine her head when he noticed the skin on the left side of her face was discolored. Reaching over, he gently gripped her chin and turned her face into the light to get a better look. Aragorn brushed her long bangs aside and frowned when a large, fresh burn was revealed that covered most of the left side of her face, including her eye.
Aragorn then tenderly touched the raw, oozing skin and lifted the girl's left eyelid and had to resist the urge to jerk his hand away from the now revealed eye. The girl's left eye was completely white, the pupil so clouded over he could hardly see it in the moonlight. He then checked her other eye for damage and was relieved to find a normal dark brown eye staring back at him unseeingly.
As he pulled himself up and looked over her whole body once more, his eyes then caught sight of the small puddle of blood and a strange yet familiar object that was sticking out from underneath the girl's body. Gently turning her body on her uninjured side, Aragorn managed to pull the object out from under her, revealing it to be a bow which he set on the ground beside him, and then turned to look at the girl's injured back. Stretching from her right shoulder down to her left him was a large yet shallow gash. It wasn't life threatening and it was already scabbing over and stopped bleeding, but Aragorn still made a note to check it for infection later on. Turing back to the bow at his side, he examined the weapon. The bow itself was about five feet in length and made of a strange light yet strong wood stained a dark brown with a leather handgrip a few inches below the middle of the bow. The string was made of a strangle woven fiber that he'd never seen before, yet when he pulled it back found it to be as strong as any other bow string. Feeling something nudge his foot, Aragorn glanced down to see the dog pushing a rather large quiver filled with equally long arrows.
The ranger was startled from his observation of the bow and quiver when the girl's eyelids flickered and a low moan escaped her lips.
Hearing the girl stir, the dog whimpered loudly as it scampered over to her side. Seeing that the dog wasn't attacking his friend, Fletcher carefully approached and squatted beside Aragorn. He glanced down at the girl and was unable to suppress his wince when he got a good look at her injuries.
"What are we going to do with her, Aragorn?" he quietly inquired, his eyes expertly assessing her various injuries.
"She is in need of immediate medical attention and neither of us have the supplies needed to treat her injuries. The best thing we can do for her is to take her back to camp and treat her there. I'll carry her, you take her weapon and quiver. Don't worry about the dog, I have a feeling he'll follow after us all on his own." As he finished speaking, Aragorn gently scooped the girl up into his arms and shifted her body around until he had a better hold and then started his way up and out of the crater.
Fletcher picked up the bow with a whistle of admiration and slung the quiver over his shoulder. When he glanced at the dog, he was surprised to see it staring at him with intelligent eyes.
"Well, come along... boy?" a quick check later, "Yes, that's what you are. Come along then boy, the sooner we get back to camp, the sooner you can see your master again."
And then as he made his way up the rocky slope, he heard the clacking of claws against stone following behind.
Well, there you have it. That's the new and improved first chapter, hope you like it. Please read and review.
*Elvish Translation:
- Telin le thaed = I've come to help you
- Av-'osto = Don't be afraid
- Boe de nestad = It is necessary to heal her
Update 9/28/2014: I have made many changes to this chapter. Mostly grammar changes. I did decide to change the crossbow into a bow, because it just didn't feel right to me anymore. The bow I had chosen for her to use now is a traditional Japanese Yumi bow, more specifically the Hankyū version. The Yumi is usually taller than the archer, but the Hankyū is a shorter variant, that's why I decided to use that type. There's a reason I chose this bow, so keep reading to find out.
