Prologue: The Man by the River
The afternoon sun warmed the small cottage while a couple loaves of bread and a scrawny rabbit roasted in the fireplace. It was all that was left from the storage house, and Mara knew she would have to send Terin out to do some more hunting. She just hoped it was safe enough now. With so many troops moving along the Anduin she had been reluctant to send her son out to hunt. Now, though, it appeared there would be no choice.
She had finally agreed that both he and Maris could wander down to the river for some fresh water. She only hoped that things had settled down. The last thing she wanted was to send her children into dange, and regretted not just going herself, but they had been cooped up for too long.
"Mama! Mama!" The door crashed open and both children rushed in, cheeks red, eyes open wide.
"What happened?" Mara asked, rushing to Maris. The little girl looked like she had seen a ghost. There was no telling what they had witnessed from the reports she had heard lately.
"There's a man at the river!" The little girl answered excitedly.
Confused, Mara turned to Terin for an explanation. "There's a man on the river bank," he explained, trying to catch his breath. "He looks dead." Terin paused and Mara could see that he was attempting not to appear as shook up as he felt. "He looks important. A warrior. There's a tree on the front of his breastplate."
Nodding, Mara stood. "Show me."