Kratos turned to face the newcomers; a large company of warriors on horseback. Some wore gleaming, silver armour and held long spears with great flags of black with a picture of a white tree on it. Others wore armour of reddish-brown and green colours, and were armed with spears and shields. The flag the latter carried was of a green background with the picture of a galloping white horse on it.

"I am Kratos. I come from the land of Sparta, and am hailed as the God of War, the Ghost of Sparta, and the Slayer of the Gods of Olympus! I was sent by the Lord Almighty to aid the Heroes of Middle-Earth in their quest to vanquish evil. If you be an enemy of Mordor, then you can count me as your ally."

The head of the company, a tall man with a gleaming crown on his head and dressed in mail and armour with a long sword at his side, stepped down from his horse and went over to Kratos.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, the High King Elessar of the Kingdom of Gondor. Long have we battled the evil forces of Mordor, and our people are paying the price. If you have indeed been sent by God to aid us, then your arrival has never been more welcome." Aragorn bowed graciously to Kratos.

Kratos looked closely at Aragorn. The King carried himself with an admirable air of pride and dignity, just as royalty should, yet Kratos could also notice the sincerity in his voice and the honesty in his eyes. Already, Kratos was putting his trust in Aragorn.

"Many thanks, High King. Perhaps you could introduce me to the rest?"

Aragorn motioned his hand to a very tall, slender, youthful man with strangely-pointed ears. "This is Legolas, son of Thranduil, Prince of the Elves of Greenwood." Legolas gave a short bow. Beside him was a rather diminutive, fat man with a huge, red beard. A massive War Axe was strapped across his back. "This is Gimli, son of Gloin, who is currently a general among the Dwarves of Erebor." Gimli inclined his head slightly.

"Faramir, my Steward and trusted Minister." Faramir, fresh and clean-shaven, smiled and bowed his head. "Eomer, my trusted friend and the King of Rohan." Eomer, rather haughtily, curtly nodded. "And this is Gandalf, the White Wizard. It was he who foretold of your coming." Kratos's eyes widened as he stared at Gandalf, a kindly old man with a flowing white beard. In his right hand he held a long, white staff, while his left hand rested of the hilt of a sword.

"How is it that you foretold my arrival?"

"Quite simply, I received a vision from God Almighty himself. It was he who informed me of your coming to Middle-Earth. Words cannot describe how relieved we are to have your aid."

Kratos nodded absentmindedly, his mind still swimming in doubts towards his ultimate goal for coming here; how was he going to achieve the peace that he sought?

"If you do not mind, we would like you to join us for our victory feast tonight." Aragorn inquired.

At the mention of 'feast', Kratos snapped out of his reverie. A growl from his stomach served as a reminder as to how hungry he was. "Thanks, your Majesty. I would very much like to."

Kratos's jaw hung open as he stared up at the City of Minas Tirith. Never would he expect such an architectural masterpiece to be present in the Mortal Realm. He marveled at how the city gleamed in the sunlight, standing tall and majestic. Even the palaces of Olympus, weren't nearly as tall as Minas Tirith, thought Kratos, and the citadel's majesty and beauty rivalled those of above said palaces. We shall not dwell on the description of the White City, or we'll be stuck here till somewhere next week.

So, to put a long scene short, Kratos joined the Heroes of Middle-Earth in the Great Hall in celebrating their victory with a sumptuous banquet. Kratos was introduced to Aragorn's Queen, Arwen, whose youthful beauty took Kratos's breath away. Other than Arwen, Kratos was also introduced to Eowyn, Faramir's wife and Eomer's sister. Unlike Arwen, noticed Kratos, whose eyes radiated kindness and peacefulness, Eowyn's eyes, though kind as well, blazed with a passionate flame that indicated a much more forceful and heated personality. Nevertheless, Arwen and Eowyn both smiled graciously at Kratos when introduced to him. It was revealed, during the banquet, that Eomer's wife, Queen Lothiriel, was staying at Rohan to manage the kingdom's affairs in her husband's place.

Kratos was seated on Gandalf's left, on the table facing that of Gimli and Legolas, and was directly on Aragorn's right. As the feast began, Aragorn stood up, a goblet of wine in his hands and everyone, including Kratos followed suit. "Tonight, we celebrate our victorious battle against the dark forces of Mordor, all thanks to our esteemed visitor here," Aragorn gestured to Kratos. "Kratos, the God of War, the visitor from the faraway land of Sparta, was sent here by God himself to aid us in overcoming this adversity. This feast is not only a celebration, but also a token of appreciation to him." There was a great round of applause at this.

The Ghost of Sparta ate ravenously, wolfing down great chunks of tender, roasted meat and afterwards gorging himself on the vast diversity of fresh fruits, all the while filling himself with beer and wine.

"Hungry, aren't you?" chuckled Gandalf. Kratos nodded. "I haven't had such a good feast since I was a general in Sparta." As Kratos said those words he remembered how he had killed his wife and daughter, and massacred that entire village, and his face sunk. "That was a long time ago." There was no mistaking the gloom in his voice.

Later, when the feast had ended, and the guests had retired, Aragorn had servants show Kratos to his room. After this was done, Aragorn moved quietly to the conference hall, where everyone was seated in a marble, round table that was not unlike the famed Round Table during King Arthur's time.

"There is more to this newcomer than meets the eye." Gandalf began. "He wasn't just some random Champion sent by God, and it is also quite clear that his origins are not of God and his Angels."

"I agree." Said Arwen. "After observing him, I notice an aura of pain, loss and melancholy around his ferocity and savagery."

"Um…so…" Eomer began, "the point is?"

"He isn't coming here just to help us, we think." Said Legolas. "It's also to help himself. To rid himself of whatever he supposedly did in the past haunts him."

Gimli raised an eyebrow. "Why should helping us help Him?"

Aragorn sighed. "Redemption, Gimli. By helping us, he is redeeming himself in God's eyes and in his own opinion, and therefore able to let go of his past misdeeds, whatever they are."

Eomer narrowed his eyes. "Did he say something about slaying the Gods of Olympus?"

Gandalf nodded. "If what he says is true, then it's no wonder God sent him. A God…a God that wiped out the rest of his entire Pantheon singlehandedly…"

Eomer continued, "But the way he said it, was like he was proclaiming, BOASTING about it. I don't think that was what he was feeling remorseful about…"

"Look, we aren't gonna find out anything by just speculating. We need to ASK HIM PERSONALLY. But only until he trusts us enough. Only then can we help him achieve peace. We are Allies, after all." Aragorn declared with finality. "It's late. Let's rest ourselves properly for the battle tomorrow."

With that, the Conference was dismissed.