First Beta-ed by slytherin-mafia around the year 2008.

Renewed Beta-ed by emmithar at the date of Friday February 05, 2010.

Please feel free to visit their profiles on this website.

Thank you so much Emmithar! :)

Last Hope of Mankind

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Summary: Au Estel age 11 has been captured by orcs after he was attacked with pack of wolves. Why haven't they tortured him yet? Why did they take him to their village and treated his wounds? Was everything that he was taught about orcs since birth been false all this time? Are they any different from elves, humans and nay other beings? And why has this orc child keep pulling his hair as if wanting to play with him? What would Estel learn form them that would help him during the War with the Ring and when he is King? Or will he in the end be killed by the other family that he only knows by calling him a traitor?

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"Death is no more then passing one room tin another
But there's a difference for me, you know
Because in that other room, I shall be able to see"
--Helen Keller

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"Talking"
"Elfish and Black Speech"
'thoughts'

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Chapter Four

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"She's over here!" Proshnak whispered loudly. The band of orcs followed the two orc children as they silently ran through the thick forest. They walked in silence and left no footprints; much as their elvin cousins. There were ten of them altogether, two of which were only orc children and one was their warlord. Each of them wore armor made of both fur and leather from creatures of the forest; their black symbol-covered bows hung from their backs, and their razor sharp swords were grasped in their hands ready for battle.

Their cotton and leather clothes were covered in sweat as they ran though the forest, unlike their kin from the lands of Mordor, who were more like dwarves than elves, even though elfish blood was running though their veins. Many humans didn't know it, but they, orcs from Mordor, and every elven race were related in blood; and in every party they would never admit it.

Warlord Kaghed raised his sword closer to himself, with a grace that no one would ever thought an orc would possess. Shortly, the others of his group did the same, knowing that their warlord had strange feelings when something was amiss. They were right, unknowingly, as Kaghed took many deep breaths to calm his ill thoughts. 'They must go faster. Something is near, something terrible is going to happen!' he thought. "Are we near, Proshnak?" Kaghed asked the young orc child, who looked up to him in awe.

"Aye, warlord! She is just over there!" Proshnak whispered, as he pointed at where he and his brother had seen her--him, but stopped in horror of what was in front of them though the thicket of the trees.

There was a small dark figure surrounded by a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, raising its hand knife at the hideous creatures before him. Kaghed covered his nose, as a strong stench went up his sensitive nose. 'Argh, blood and filth... worse than the smell of battle and death,' Kaghed thought.

"What are we going to do, my lord?" Erigdish, one of the Guardians of Hellên Acerbus, asked Kaghed. He had a soft heart when children were in danger.

"It's a human male child," Kaghed muttered under his breath, ignoring what Erigdish asked him. He himself hadn't seen a human child this close before. Whenever he was in a human village, the male humans always protected their helpless women and children from them. 'He looks so young, so small...' Were all human children that small? Or did this child look that small because they were far away from him? Or was it because of his age? 'Is this the human child in my visions?' he wondered.

Just as he thought this, a wolf jumped on top of the human child, teeth sinking into the boy's arm. Kaghed's heart leapt up in his throat in horror. They were too late. A child's scream pierced through the quiet forest, making everyone witnessing this cruel event cringe. They watched as the human fell onto his knees, expecting the wolf to move in for the kill.

And fall the human did, but not in death. Instead the human stayed on his knees, holding the wound with small fingers, blood spilling out between them.

The human child knelt there in front of the alpha leader, hissing in pain, his face fallen in terror. "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" the child cried, praying that any God from the heavens above would try and save him.

Kaghed looked up in the sky, not knowing what to do. A fearful, whispering voice was in the air. Where was it coming from?

No please... I don't want to die like this! I'm too young to die! I'm only 11 years old!

Kaghed's eyes widened. Was he hearing the child's thoughts?

...The other elves were right...

'Elves? He lives with elves? I thought he was human,' Kaghed thought confused.

...I am too weak. I am not fit to live. It is my destiny to die here and be fed to these wolves...

'No child is condemned to die, young one,' Kaghed thought sadly to the child.

The wolves started to circle around the young child. 'I have to do something or the child will surely die!' Kaghed thought. The only thing that kept holding him back was the thought of 'what if there's more of them?'

The wolf leader jumped for the kill.

Kaghed didn't think twice. He lept up through the trees, yelling his battle cries, raising his sword above his head, just as the wolf was mere inches from killing the poor child, unaware that a spiritual connection had started to form between them both.

Kaghed chopped off the wolf's head which landed in the child's lap covering the child's front with the wolf's blood. The wolf's corpse fell with a large thump. The other wolves in the pack didn't know what was happening until it was too late. The rest of the band of orcs appeared out of nowhere, jumping though the trees after their leader, killing them all.

Kaghed turned to face the child. The human's face was pale from the loss of blood. His dark eyes were drooping in exhaustion. Kaghed approached the child, catching him before he fell face down on to the forest floor. The child closed his eyes, a ghostly smile spread across his angelic face, snuggling into Kaghed's warm body heat. Kaghed tightened his hold of the child, as the boy grabbed his armor with a firm hold as any child would do to a parent. Kaghed wondered why he suddenly felt strange; he wanted to protect this child, as if it was his very own. But why?

...Finally, Ada and the others found me...

Kaghed gently sat the child down, sliding the child's grip from his armor and covering him with his cloak. He watched as the child fell into unconsciousness.

"Is she--is he dead?"

Kaghed looked up to the orc child; Proshnak's eyes were wide in shock as he looked around himself, seeing the wolves' corpses. Kaghed sighed in defeat, as this was the orc child's first time seeing true death. Seeing how life could be taken by any life form... Kaghed hoped it wouldn't hurt the orc child's innocence. His older brother, Vashnak took Proshnak into his breast, hugging him.

"No. He is now resting," Kaghed told him. He looked up at the rest of the restless group.

"Leave the beasts where they are to rot. We must bring the human child to the witch healer."

"But Chieftain! Do you think this is wise to bring a human to the clan? What if his kin comes looking for him?" one of the orcs asked in disbelief.

"Then we will let his kin take him, Aguk. We must not let the child die. Now go, I'll carry the child," Kaghed said firmly.

The others did not question his strange motives. Kaghed had been ruling their clan for years since the death of his uncle. He had never led them astray, and so Kaghed knew that they trusted him.

Kaghed carried the child as gently as he could. It was awkward, for he had never before carried a child. He had none of his own, and no younger siblings that he had taken into his care.

The child whimpered, blood still pouring from the wound. Kaghed covered it with a cloth that he carried with him.

Then something shimmered to his right. Picking it up with his free hand, he picked it up-- a dagger. It was stained with black and red blood, and after sniffing it, the first thought that came to mind was 'Mordor'.

Did the child fight against the orcs from Mordor before he came here? Or was this child attacked by a band of orcs, separated from his family after his escape? Kaghed tightened his hold of the child, thinking of all the 'what ifs'.

"I'm here, young one. Everything is going to be alright. I'll protect you," Kaghed whispered in the child's ear.

The child slept on.

-0o0o0o0o0o0o-

Elladan sneered at his twin brother, Elrohir, as the young elf looked down in shame. They still hadn't found their brother. The band of elves had looked, had called for the young human, not knowing what fate had brought the young child.

'It's Elrohir fault that Estel is missing!' Elladan thought angrily, looking behind a tree in the dark forest, hoping beyond hope that he would find Estel sleeping peacefully. But sadly there was nothing there.

"Milord," Elladan snapped his head up, glaring at whoever disturbed his thoughts.

Dyalain bit his bottom lip nervously before he continued. "We must return home. I know it pains you that we cannot find Estel. But you need rest and a healer, milord"

Elladan knew Dyalain was right. He needed rest. But Rivendell was several days away. Estel was far too young to be out here by himself. Surely Dyalain meant well, but he would not let his younger brother die out here.

"No, Dyalain," Elladan hissed. "Keep searching."

"My lord, this is foolish! You are bleeding for the Gods' sakes! The band of orcs that escaped will come back with much more force and surely they will continue to Imladris! We must speak with Lord Elrond and warn him of what may come. There are others that can stay and keep searching for the boy."

Elladan sighed. He knew Dyalain was right. It was their duty to protect their kingdom. But Estel was his brother, he had to find him! And what would his father and Estel's mother say, if they were to come back without Estel?

"Then go, Dyalain. Take your group and go to Imladris and tell Lord Elrond, my father, of what we found. I will stay here to search for Estel."

"You are injured! You must come with us to Imladris! You will die if you stay. Surely Estel would want for you to go back to Imladris to heal. He will understand. Send your brother, Lord Elrohir and his group, to stay here to search for him. Please, milord, please try to understand. I've known you since you were a child, and your father since he was a child too. He would want for you to return," Dyalain said, pleading for him to agree.

Elladan nodded, knowing that the Elder was right, again. He hoped that his father would understand and forgive him his failure. He felt responsible for Estel's disappearance.

"You are right, as always, Dyalain. I thank you for getting me to see reason," Elladan said slowly in defeat. Dyalain smiled at the younger elf.

"Elrohir!" Elladan called for his brother.

Slowly Elrohir jumped down on the ground. "I am so sorry, Elladan. Please forgive me! We cannot find him," he told his brother as he approached.

Elladan sighed. He already had forgiven him, and he knew Elrohir would understand that in time. "I must ask you a favor." Elrohir nodded. "You and your group will stay here and search for Estel. I must go to father and tell him what has happened. I will leave first thing in the morning."

Elrohir nodded again, and Elladan clasped his forearm, giving him what little hope he had. He did not want to leave, but he needed his wounds tended, and someone still had to report to father about the orcs. And about Estel of course. Elrhoir smiled sadly in return.

"I understand, brother. I will find him. Have hope, brother."

(End of Chapter)

Words: 2,895

(1) Warlord: is the Orc form of speech which means King or Ruler of a Orc Kingdom. Warlords (or at times when females are ruling they are called Warmaidens) are usually the cleverest, the strongest, the firstborns of the past Warlord(maiden), bravest of their royal line of the firstborn Warlord, the first ruler of their kingdom. If the first born is too young or there are no children of the former ruler, the second born (usually the younger brother or sister of the former ruler) would be the next in line of the throne.

In this story: Kaghed was too young to rule when his father was killed. His uncle Lord Karguk younger brother of his father, became the king. He was a ruthless and strict ruler but never suck so low to join "the Great Eye". Most believe the reason for this Lord Karguk because he was power hungry and feared that "the Great Eye" would take the throne from him. Many times Kaghed was almost killed by his uncle, for when Kaghed gets old enough will be leader not him. In the end though, Kaghed killed him in a life and death duel. Ever since then, Kaghed had ruled.

(2) Chieftain: to the Mongols, a Chieftain is loyal of some sort that in their history was later called khats. They were and still are the leaders of the tribe. In this story a Chieftain is a different form of Warlord. Other forms of this title possibliy someone of a high ranking ruler in the army.

(3) Hellên Acerbus: the word "Hellên" means "Tribe" in Latin and "acerbus" means "death" in Romanian.

"Good Orc(s) Challenge": To any Author out there that wish to do this Challenge. The story must be about one or group(s) of orcs that are "good", different from the Orcs that we see from the movies & books. In the story, you must show the way these orcs live, their families and their way of life, such as: their customs, their religion etc. Also make a believable excuse WHY and HOW these orcs are "good". In this Challenge, you must write a reasonable way to get these orcs to help any LotR Character that you choose; doesn't matter where in the time line, it is your choice. The Plot of the story is also your choice. This Challenge is NOT a one-shot. It MUST be a more then one chapter story. Good luck.

AND PLEASE, if you do this Challenge notify me, so I read it. :)

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--FireChildSlytherin5