And, obviously, none of the LotR characters are mine . . . they're all J.R.R. Tolkein's. (duh.)
Liah stumbled out of her bed. It was still dark outside, but she knew she had to start practicing the sword now if she wanted to get a head start on her sister Fenwyne. The two young women had fierce rivalry in swordsmanship, archery, riding ability, and other forms of combat. Fenwyne, who was two years older, was better at archery, hand-to-hand combat, and quarterstaff, but Liah was past her in the other elements.
Liah slipped her shift off and pulled a fresh one on. She wore dresses half the time, and, when her father was traveling, delivering the weapons he made, she wore boys' clothes, which were much more practical. Over her shift, she pulled a dark green dress, pretty, but plain. Then she pulled on her black gloves with the fingertips cut out, and finally, pulled on her comfortable black leather boots.
She walked quietly over to the door of the room, and opened it as softly as she could. It squeaked a bit, and Liah winced and looked over at Fenwyne's sleeping form. However, Fenwyne stayed asleep, and Liah slipped out, leaving the door ajar. Then she walked swiftly and silently down the hall, past her father's room, from which thunderous snores emanated, and down the stairs. She grabbed a white bun from the clay bowl on the counter. It still held some of its warmth from last night, which was mostly because of the cloth Liah had put over it.
Fenwyne had made the buns, but as usual, she left the washing-up to Liah, along with making sure to cover them, so they wouldn't turn stale. Liah shook her head with a bit of a grin. Fenwyne and their father were both hopeless at anything to do with house work. So, that usually fell to Liah, though she hated it just as much as anybody.
What Fenwyne and Liah both loved doing was helping their father make things, from weapons to tools to jewelry, they loved helping their father, the blacksmith. Both Fenwyne and Liah were very skilled in the trade, and Fenwyne planned to become a blacksmith herself. Liah was still unsure about what she wanted to do, since she loved tracking and hunting more than smithy-work.
But she wouldn't have to decide for a long time yet. For now, all she was going to think about was her sword. It was a unique weapon, four feet of curved steel, with a straight hilt long enough to grasp with two hands. It was strangely light, much lighter than one would expect. Liah's father had never told her how he had made the weapon.
Liah and her sister both had their personal weapons, Liah, her sword, and Fenwyne her bow. No one but the owners touched these weapons. The rest of the weapons, anyone could use, and the other villagers often borrowed bows for hunts. There was one weapon no one could use, however, a scythe-like weapon, with a five-foot shaft, and a curved blade on the end. It was the girls' mothers', and they often saw their father fingering it sadly. It was an elven weapon, and Liah had always longed to hold it, but she had never dared ask.
Liah's mother had been an elf, but neither she nor Fenwyne remembered her. She had died when they were very young. Both of them had pointed ears, like full elves, but Gandalf, the wizard who visited them sometimes, said that they were mortal, because they were only half elves.
Liah pushed her hair back, finished her breakfast, and walked outside. The sun was just about rising over the tops of the trees, and Liah smiled. This was the time of day. She liked best. She stood there for a while, gazing down the mountain at the village arrayed on its side, and then turned away, and went to the weapons shed.
Liah took her sword off the shelf and quickly belted it around her waist. "Elen-hyanda," she whispered, "Star blade!"
She walked back out, and smoothly drew her sword from its sheath. She then spent the next hour and a half destroying imaginary orcs and cave trolls(those were trickier). Liah stopped when she saw Fenwyne, yawning and rubbing sleep out of her eyes, enter the weapon shed and come out with her bow.
"How early did you get up this time?" Fenwyne asked, "you're insane, you know."
Liah playfully punched her in the shoulder. "You're just saying that 'cause you're jealous. I'm better than you in tons of things!"
"Yeah right, you wish!"
"I'm serious, challenge me in anything, and I'll beat you."
"Okay, I will! Beat me in archery."
Liah smiled. "Easy! But let's get Dad to watch, otherwise, you'll cheat."
"Thanks a lot, Liah!"
Liah dodged a punch and stuck out her tongue playfully. "I'm gonna beat you, so get ready for it!" Then she ran off to wake up their sleeping father. She found him already in the kitchen, eating an apple. Ian was a huge man, with muscles that matched his trade. He had red hair that matched Fenwyne's, and he wore a short beard. He was easily over six feet tall.
"Dad, hurry up, Reagan's trying to prove she's better than me at archery, and I'm trying to make her realise that she's not. You have to be the judge." She pulled him by the arm out of the kitchen.
"You have too much energy," Ian grumbled. "All right, all right, I'm coming!"
The two people came outside to find Fenwyne squinting at something. "Do you see that?" She asked, pointing to a dark stain near the foot of the mountain.
Liah and Ian squinted at it along with her. It seemed to be moving, and then Liah suddenly screamed, "Orcs! We're under attack!"
"Fenwyne, Liah, go warn the villagers! Hurry! I'll be right there," Ian yelled, as he ran off to the weapon shed. The two girls took off, running at a dangerous speed down the narrow path that led to the rest of the houses.
"Orcs, orcs, run!" Fenwyne screamed as they reached the first houses. "Hurry, orcs!" Doors banged open, and frantic people ran out. "Hurry, we're under attack!"
"Quick, up the path," Liah yelled. Suddenly, she saw a black-skinned orc appear at the end of the road, and before she could even shout a warning, Fenwyne fitted an arrow to her bow and shot it. It hit the orc squarely in the forehead.
Then Ian barreled past them, with swords under one arm and bows under the other. He tossed swords to all the men who knew how to use them, and bows to the best archers. "Everyone who can't fight, up the path!" he bellowed. There was a frenzied rush for the path, and then, over the crest of the hill came the orcs.
Fenwyne and Liah exchanged glances and squeezed hands. Arrows flew over their heads, but few, very few orcs fell. Fenwyne began shooting, and her every shot felled another orc. And then the orcs were on them. Liah had fought orcs before, but these seemed different, taller, and stronger. She had no sooner chopped off one's head when another one was in front of her, swinging its sword.
Then, the biggest one yet was in front of her, and she tiredly swung her sword at it. It blocked her easily, and grabbed her by the throat. It lifted her off the ground, and she dropped her sword, and grabbed its arms. She kicked it again and again, and finally, with a snarl, it threw her into the side of a building. She lay on the ground, gasping for air, and with a great effort, pulled herself to her feet. She staggered over to her sword and picked it up. She tiredly ran after the orcs, who had managed to break past the defenders and were now streaming up the mountain pass.
As she caught up to the first orc, she stabbed him in the back and shoved him off the path. The next orc saw her before she could touch him, and slashed at her. She jumped back, but it sliced her forehead anyway. Liah ducked under its next swung, and sliced its leg out from under it. Then she ran up after the rest. She heard screams, and knew that the women and children, undefended, had been reached. With a primal scream of rage, she attacked the goblins, slicing limbs and chopping off heads. She was cut and bruised, and incredibly tired; only adrenaline kept her going. Suddenly, she realised that there were only three orcs left. They turned, and attacked all at once.
The first was foolish, and inexperienced. She took him out in three quick thrusts. The next two were wary, and with a cringe, Liah realised that one was the orc who had tried to strangle her. Even though he was weaponless, she knew he would be dangerous. The other was easily as big, if not bigger, and he wore a full set of armor, and held a sword. The swordless one ran at her and grabbed the end of her sword. She yanked it upwards and it lost its thumb. Meanwhile, the other slashed at her unprotected middle. Dodging it, she fell backwards and the orc without a sword stepped forward over her. She swung her sword over her head, and the orc lost his. Then the last one swung with all its force at her neck. Liah rolled aside, and as it raised its sword to strike again, a blade sprouted from its middle.
It gave a confused, angry bellow, and died. Then she saw Wil, a seventeen year old young man whom Liah suspected loved her. At least, that's what the flowers and poems indicated. The adrenaline rush gone, Liah wearily pulled herself to her feet. "Thanks Wil, that orc probably would've killed me if you hadn't-Wil?"
Wil dropped his sword, and stared at her with glazed eyes. "Liah, my mother, she's dead! I saw an orc cut her down before my eyes, and I couldn't stop it. My father too, and my sisters. . .oh Liah..."
Then he stumbled forwards, and Liah dropped her sword and caught him, and lowered him to the ground. She glanced at his chest and nearly screamed with frustration. There was a bloody wound on the left side. No matter what, Wil was as good as dead. "I always liked you Liah..." He trailed off, and stared with dead eyes into Liah's. A drop of water fell onto Wil's face, and Liah bent over him, silently crying.
She gently laid his head on the ground, closed her eyes for a minute, and then screamed, "Fenwyne!" Liah ran down the path, stumbling and scraping her hand bloody, and then she saw Fenwyne's bow, lying off to one side of the path. She saw her sister's hand under a dead orc, and heaved it off her with all her strength. Her sister lay there, staring up with soft brown eyes that would never see anything again, and Liah fell to the ground, sobbing. She screamed a wordless roar of pain, and broke into sobs again. She pulled Fenwyne's head onto her lap and sat there crying for what seemed like eternity. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Pretty suspenseful ending, huh? Well, you've finished chapter one. PLEASE! keep reading! It can only get better, right?