Sons of Forgotten Kings, a lord of the rings fanfic

Disclaimer: J. R. R. Tolkien owns Eru Ilúvatar and the Northern Rangers, as well as their history, circumstances, and connections.

"Sons of Forgotten Kings" quotes Tom Bombadil, The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter VIII.

"The breath before the dive" paraphrases Beregond, The Return of the King, Chapter I, originally reading "the deep breath before the plunge." I had to change it, because nothing useful rhymes with plunge!

Númenor, Atalantë, and Elenna all refer to the same drowned island from which came the Dúnedain, of Westernesse.

Arda's Lord is, of course, Eru Ilúvatar.

The sons, descendants, of forgotten kings:

How long have we endured amid the gloom?

The hammer falls, the axe on anvil rings,

And ever nearer draws the tramp of doom.

The refugees of Númenor were few

And ever now the line fades more and more;

Lords, warriors, and rangers darkness slew

In endless, weary, never-ceasing war.

And through the bitter watches of the night

When even fire's glow is red as blood

We still remember, aye, we see the light

Which, on rejecting, brought Atalantë's flood.

And this our hope, the Faithful to remain,

As Elros down to Elendil the Tall,

Through ev'ry storm, each overpow'ring bane:

To Arda's Lord forever only call.

Elenna's ruin let us ne'er forget,

To lose what was preserved by bitter fight;

And may we act for good, to never let

The darkness win by schism, stealth, or might.

The heedless folk who dwell beneath the hill,

Across the water, in the Shire and Bree,

To smile at jests beside their water-mill,

To heedless laugh, live unafraid and free:

Our ancestors swore to protect this land

And in exchange were called the line of Kings;

Now though from inns and comforts we are banned

We spend our blood that it their safety brings.

This peril, duty, we have long endured,

Their safety ever put before our own;

Our secret settlements we have secured

Where wolves as wind among the trees still moan.

Our rangers fight, e'en women can defend,

For death upon us ever waits to fall;

Young wives bury their husbands and yet send

Their loyal sons to heed the self-same call.

And now the end draws near, the breaking flood

Of which this age of war was but a taste;

Of Dúnedain the darkness will seek blood,

For Westernesse its schemes ever laid waste.

The final test, the breath before the dive;

Ilúvatar, oh see us safely through!

For darkness' ruin we shall ever strive,

As we shall ever only worship You.

A/N: If you don't remember enough of the history of Númenor to understand this poem, just say so in a review and I will PM back "A Short History of the Dúnedain!" Thanks for reading.

Now, my head-canon for those who are interested: Since the history of the Dúnedain is so intertwined with the worship of Ilúvatar as opposed to Morgoth, I tend to sway toward the idea that even by the end of the Third Age, they still mainly pray to Him. I know that in the Lord of the Rings Tolkien only ever shows characters calling on Elbereth, but (if I remember correctly) this is always elves or hobbits (learning from elves) and not Aragorn or the rangers. I do not say that the Dúnedain would not respect and honor the Valar, but it makes sense (to me) that the elves, more connected with Arda, would call on its lords and queens, whom many of them have actually met, while the men of Westernesse mainly pray to Ilúvatar. This is my thought behind "To Arda's Lord forever only call" and "As we shall ever only worship you;" not excluding the Valar, but pointing out a focus.

Hope you enjoyed! Please leave feedback. Blessings!