3019 TA, Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith was in flames.
The screeching of the Nazgul heralded in the destruction of the catapults, the booming thuds of the siege engines that rammed into the city walls and which deposited thousands of orcs, laying waste to the lower circles. The entire lower half of the city was engulfed in choking black smoke and the screams of the dying, echoing into the black night sky, where not even a single star shone.
So much fire! So much death!
Lothíriel was hiding in the citadel, as far away from the clamor and noise as she could be. It was a small linen closet, the linens having been given to the Healing Houses some hours earlier. But even through the sturdy oaken doors, she could hear the drums and the cries of fell beasts.
By some sorcery or otherwise, the screeching which echoed through the stone streets and buildings of Minas Tirith seemed to recall every miserable memory. Tears were streaming down her face, and she curled up within herself to try to ward off the fear. And such images her mind produced! Anardil, dead. Boromir, dead. And Faramir, most recently killed but dead nonetheless. She had seen his body in the citadel, and heard Denethor's orders to set fire to the last of his House, including himself. His madness had finally taken over, which she had suspected and exploited for years to try to secure the lives of her people.
She had failed!
Lothíriel pressed the palms of her hands against her ears, desperately willing the noise to be gone. She should have fled the city with the other women, she should not have been so foolish to think that she could help, she could do anything; she had failed, she had failed . . .
How many hours she hid, she did not know. But eventually the clamor became a dull buzz in her head, and numbness from the discomfort of her position dulled her senses. Then a sharp sound broke through her daze; horns! Not the sound of the harsh horns of the orcs, which she was now familiar with, but the clear, hopeful sound of horns of Men.
The horns of Rohan.
I realize for maybe those of you that have been waiting on the edge of your seats for this sequel, this first part is pretty darn underwhelming. Worry not, my friends. More to come quickly :)