Chapter 25
The Golden Wrath
15 March T.A. 3019
It was on the dawn of March 15th, when Gareth returned to Lórien from Rivendell, and learned that Arestel was held captive in Dol Guldur. Equipped with his fiery temper, Gareth had roared and ascended into the sky, making way towards the fortress of the enemy. Glorfindel and the other Silvan Elves ran after him but dared not to cross the Great River. It was already too late to stop, as Glorfindel thought, and wished that whatever Gareth would dare to do, it would turn out to be good. Galadriel had not seen this coming and blamed herself for not telling any sooner that Arestel was already safe in Mirkwood.
Whilst the elves waited in Lórien, the orcs in Dol Guldur were shook by the mere roar of the dragon. The Orcs swarmed out of the fortress, with their poison-tipped weapons and watched in horror as Gareth prepared to spew out fire. He drew his head back, consuming air and flaring up the fires within him. Within a flash Dol Guldur, including the trees nearby, was set ablaze. The Orcs retreated back inside the fortress and waited until the fire dissipated.
"How are we able to defeat a dragon?!" The question echoed in the enemies' minds. Bolg was not in the vicinity as he prepared an attack on Dale and Erebor during the unexpected assault.
Again, Gareth roared and breathed fire.
"Take out the scorpions!" one Orc shouted. His companions did as they were told, pulling the heavy wooden scorpions out from the basement. The bolts were tipped with poison and were immediately fired back to Gareth.
Not anticipating this, Gareth was off his guard and was caught by one of the bolt heads. The bolt pierced his right front leg, just below the shoulder. He gritted his teeth and breathed fire once more. The Orcs ran again and sought salvation back inside the fortress. Satisfied, Gareth landed on Dol Guldur's courtyard and trashed the scorpions. He continued rampaging about, tackling the tower of the fortress with so much force that it was starting to crumble down. The Orcs bellowed inside and were clearly frustrated on their lack of readiness.
"Arestel!" Gareth roared. "Where is Arestel?!"
Inside, the Orcs gathered to themselves.
"The albino elf? But she's escaped days ago!" one Orc exclaimed.
"Perhaps she died in the forest?" another one said, grinning.
"We need to focus on the problem at hand!" a larger Orc shouted. He went between the first two and shoved them away. "Line up everyone! We will shame this dragon for assaulting us! Grab yer swords and spears and axes! We will slay this beast!"
The Orcs shouted simultaneously. Everyone ran off to grab their weapons one more time and lined up. They went back to the courtyard and halted when Gareth turned to them. The dragon snarled whilst his dark red blood oozed freely from his injured arm. It would take days until the poison would spread throughout his body but it would be enough to make the victim writhe in pain. Yet Gareth continued snarling and looked at his enemies with hatred.
As Gareth approached the Orcs, a series of shrieks echoed in the forest. Everyone cringed and fell to the floor, including Gareth who was very familiar with these screams. He looked up; five Black Riders came above them. Their fell beasts circled around the fortress and shrieked at the sight of Gareth. Khamûl raised his hand, bearing a Morgul blade, and shouted an attack. At once, the Black Riders descended to Gareth with blinding speed. He had no time to evade the attacks; he fell back to the ground whilst the Black Riders tackled him more. Gareth breathed fire and opened his wings.
Up in the air, it would clearly be a sky battle. Five Black Riders, loyal servants to Sauron, against Gareth, Elrond's companion in Rivendell. It was a battle against the strongest fighters among the two sides. Losing would mean absolute shame for the Riders.
Khamûl gave a loud shriek.
"Laúrusë," the Black Rider hissed. "You dare go against the supreme Dark Lord…"
"There is no Dark Lord anymore, Khamúl, by the time I am finished with you and the rest of Sauron's lamentable army!" As he spoke, Gareth breathed intense heat and had the stream circle around the Black Riders. The Riders evaded as easily as they could, and urged their steeds to come nearer to Gareth. But the dragon was fast, despite his injured shoulder. He opened up his mouth when one Rider came too close to him and breathed more fire. The fell beast fell to the ground, followed by its rider. The Ringwraith didn't seem to be harmed at all. He stood up simply and watched as the four other Riders went against Gareth.
"Killing you would mean absolute victory to us," Khamúl remarked. "No one else would stand in our way."
"Is that why Arestel is involved?" Gareth went back to snarling. "You touched Estel because of that?!"
Khamúl chuckled. "We always knew that elf child would be of some use to us…"
Gareth said no more. His temper was off the charts that he charged towards Khamúl with a loud roar. Khamúl's fell beast dodged Gareth attempt of an attack, flying towards the back of the dragon. With his eyes widened, Gareth sent his spiky tail to Khamúl, knocking the Ringwraith off the fell beast's back. The other three Riders shrieked and raised their Morgul blades. Gareth spewed streams of flames and tackled the Riders. The other three flew higher in the air whilst Gareth stayed in the middle.
Back on the ground, Khamúl ordered the Orc troops to head out to Lórien while Gareth was still occupied. The Golden Wood would be penetrated if one of their powerhouses was missing the action. The Orcs did what they were told, marching out of Dol Guldur with thousands of weaponries. Khamúl mounted his fell beast once again and went back into the battle.
Gareth was cornered by these five Riders. He panted heavily for his wound released more blood. The poison was starting to take effect, paralyzing Gareth's right shoulder slowly. He was perched atop on Dol Guldur's tallest tower; his tail snaked down the tower for balance. Khamúl charged at him with his Morgul blade but Gareth managed to breathe a stream of flames. This one, however, proved to be as weak as its wielder. His vision started to blur and he roared loudly to keep himself awake.
"I admire your willingness to save your mistress," said Khamúl. Gareth did not reply but kept his eyes on the enemies nearby. "I must inform you, however, that the mistress that you are so willing to save is not within the fortress any longer," the Ringwraith continued.
Khamúl watched as Gareth's expression turned into a confused and angry one.
"What?!" Gareth roared angrily and jumped off the tower. He plunged himself into Khamúl and his fell beast. The three of them went crashing back to the ground with Gareth killing Khamúl's fell beast in the process.
The four other Riders dived down and shrieked. Gareth winced upon the scream and writhed on the floor. Taking this as his cue, Khamúl ran towards Gareth and drove the Morgul blade down to his open wound. Gareth gave out a painful cry which echoed in the vast forest of Mirkwood which even reached the realm of Lothlórien.
The fighting was stopped abruptly when Gareth's scream reach Lórien. Glorfindel and Celeborn looked up simultaneously, looking towards the forest up ahead. Most of the Orcs were still on the other side of River Anduin but their scorpions were ever so ready. Poison-tipped bolt heads rained down to the field and the Silvan Elves immediately sought refuge in the trees. Glorfindel and Celeborn fought side by side whilst the marchwardens made sure no orc would reach the heart of their Elven realm.
"I don't want to sound so negative," panted Glorfindel, "but I think something terrible has befallen Gareth. We need to call him back here."
Celeborn nodded and ran back towards Caras Galadhon. Glorfindel followed after him and they passed several armored elves. "Galadriel would be able to save Gareth," said Celeborn. "We must hurry!"
The two elf lords, gold and silver, quickened their pace until the glimmering fortress in Caras Galadhon came into view. There, Galadriel stood silently, watching. Neither Celeborn nor Glorfindel needed to tell the lady what was happening. Peering through their minds, Galadriel knew what was troubling them which instantly troubled her as well.
"Gareth will be saved," Galadriel whispered to her companions. She closed her eyes and began chanting what seemed to be a prayer. Celeborn and Glorfindel didn't wait for her; they went back to their posts once the raining of the bolts was over.
As they ran, Orophin and Rúmil caught up with them. Both drew their bows and arrows out.
"Too many Orcs this time, Lord Celeborn," Orophin said in perfect Westron.
Celeborn nodded. "Yes. We need to drive them out as soon as possible. Cover more ground in the east with Lord Glorfindel, will you? Rúmil, please come with me!"
Rúmil went beside Celeborn and ran off towards the other direction whilst Glorfindel whistled sharply. Orophin waited until something came up, and it did. Asfaloth passed many other Elves with gracefulness, no matter how dangerous the situation was. Glorfindel mounted his white steed and offered a hand to Orophin. He took the lord's hand gratefully and went back to battle with him in the east.
"Where are your troops?" asked Glrofindel as Asfaloth bore them away.
"By the River," answered Orophin. "Orcs swarmed to river very fast."
Glorfindel nodded and urged Asfaloth to run faster. Once they reached the east of the river, the Field of Celebrant, the two warriors dismounted Asfaloth to keep the fighting there. Celeborn and Rúmil were stationed between Lórien and Dimrill Dale where more warriors were fighting.
Tauriel jumped off the cliff and forced her body weight towards a rampaging Orc. She landed on the creature's shoulder and with a shout, her dagger pierced the enemy's neck. She drew her dagger out of the enemy's flesh and jumped off. She proceeded to draw her bow and arrows.
Mirkwood was ransacked by the Orcs from Dol Guldur. Like Lórien, the strength of Mirkwood was just enough to repel the forces of the enemy. Spiders joined the assault, killing quite a number of Elves in the process. Thranduil was most definitely grieved, and taking his sword, the Elvenking himself went to fight. The Wood-elves tried their best to keep the Orcs from getting closer to the palace as it would endanger the normal citizens.
"Tauriel!" Thranduil called out. Once he caught glimpse that Tauriel was fighting nearby, he continued, "Hold the flank! Hold it!"
The Elvenking raised his sword so that his warriors could see where he was. They lined up in front, few meters away from the palace. The Woodland elves carried arrows and bows, and Tauriel went beside Thranduil. She had many weapons in her person; she was definitely a lethal fighter.
"We'll repel them until they reach the edge of the forest. There, Grimbeorn will handle them," Thranduil whispered to Tauriel. The Orcs snarled and kept a wary look on the elves. "Never let them cross this line, do you hear me? Slightest miscalculation could be fatal. The Elven-guard will keep the flank steady whilst you and I will keep the battle going."
Tauriel nodded. "Understood. They will regret this day."
Thranduil's lips curled into a small smile. His eyes were darted on the enemies. After a moment of silence between the two companies, half of the Elven-guard charged towards the Orcs led by Thranduil and Tauriel. Their weapons clashed; metal against metal. Blood was drawn and carpeted the ground with a shameful hue of crimson. The Orcs drew back for a while, gathering their lost momentum to the Elves. Thranduil smiled triumphantly, but the Elvenking knew well that the battle had barely begun.
As the Orcs stepped backwards, a large pack of upcoming Orcs held up torches in their hands. The Elves' eyes widened as they figured out what the Orcs were planning. The other half of the Elven-guard which was posted to hold the flank scattered and went to fetch water from the nearby river. The torch-bearing Orcs plunged themselves forward, violently throwing the torches to the trees.
"Baw!" Thranduil exclaimed, falling in his own tongue. The Elvenking and his Wood-elves watched in horror as their beloved forest was set ablaze.
The Orcs snickered at them cockily. With a scoff, Thranduil urged his grey steed forward and towards the nearest torch-bearing orc. The horse reared and forced its weight down to the orc, crushing the enemy beneath him. The elven warriors followed the lead of their King and started releasing their arrows.
Tauriel climbed up a tree and pounced in the circle of Orcs. Her sword was tainted with foul dark red blood. More Orcs came to charge at her and they were easily overpowered. Tauriel was the warrior that no one would ever want to mess with. As she was engrossed in keeping the battle away from the palace, Thranduil and some of the guards struggled to control the fire. Since the forest was dense, the fire scattered easily.
"I need more water on the east!" yelled Thranduil. He got off of his steed, grabbed a nearby bucket of water and splashed its contents towards a tree. With that the bucket was tossed away and Thranduil charged. Many Orcs surrounded him in an instant, determined to kill the Elvenking that very moment.
"You will be overthrown soon, Thranduil son of Oropher," said the leader of the Orcs. His built was indeed bulky for a normal orc. His hair was dark and his eyes blazed red. There was a huge scar across his face and in his mouth were yellow teeth. The orc snorted and spat, a feat which greatly disrobed Thranduil.
Yet he didn't mind it. Instead, Thranduil answered, "My crown belongs only to my son, Master Orc. This will not be the day when it would not be on my head."
Corgak growled and snatched his axe. Both leaders of the two fighting armies went head on; Thranduil with his slender sword and Corgak with his mighty axe. As their weapons clashed, the fighting elves and orcs stopped. Even Tauriel paused to watch Thranduil fight. She had never seen the Elvenking in his full fighting capability as the Elven-guard would always clear things up. All the while, Thranduil held his sword with both hands and used his strength to push Corgak backwards.
The Orc leader was thrown a little off his balance, and lifted his head to glare at the Elvenking. Corgak grinned and started laughing maniacally. For a moment his troops thought he was insane.
"So! This is the strength the Woodland King was culminating all these years?!" Corgak laughed again. He clutched his torso as he did so, earning glares from that of the opposite army. "Pathetic!" Corgark continued. "Mirkwood will fall by the end of this day, and it would be out gift to the Dark Lord."
"I will not have you look down upon me and my kingdom, Master Orc," Thranduil calmly stated and charged again. Corgak composed himself, and holding his axe tightly, he ran to meet the king. There was a loud noise when the two metals came in contact with each other. Corgak grunted and started to push Thranduil towards the ground, towering over him. He grinned at the sight of Thranduil submitting into his strength. "I asked you to refrain looking down upon us," said Thranduil again. The Elvenking pushed himself forward, surprising elves and orcs alike. Who knew that their King had such strength to push an Orc leader twice his size?
Corgak's eyes widened when Thranduil began to have the upper hand. Both fighters panted and grunted, with Corgak growling at the same time. The other Orcs began to chant a cheer for their leader. Tauriel snapped back to reality and growled to herself once she realized that these Orcs were finding this battle humorous.
"Archers!" Tauriel called out. Said archers went forward and instantly notched arrows into their bows. Tauriel took out her own bow and arrows and aimed. The Orcs grabbed their weapons and began to charge once more. As the enemies passed the dueling leaders, Tauriel signaled a command, "Fire!"
Hundreds of arrows came flying towards them. Those who were in front of the line were killed yet many more emerged from behind them. With another shout, Tauriel and the Woodland Elves released their arrows and by that moment, the safety of the palace was secured. As the Orcs continued to run forward, they decreased in number greatly until only few of them were left. Tauriel took this opportunity to unsheathe her blade once more and she finished the remaining Orcs with ease.
"Are you alright?" asked Tauriel to one of her guards. The guard nodded and smiled at her. "Good. Please assist the wounded. Take them into the infirmary."
As Tauriel continued to patrol the battlefield, she caught glimpse of Thranduil sheathing his sword back into its scabbard. The battle was over; the Woodland Elves won, the Elvenking led them to victory. Thranduil was silent and only to his time to stare at Corgak's lifeless body. He was able to overpower the Orc leader and drove his sword into his opponent's neck. The sword went through it and Corgak was dead before his body reached the ground.
The King sighed and turned his heels back towards the palace. His eyes scanned the previous battlefield. Next he looked at the burned trees. As the battle commenced, the other guards managed to contain the fire. It was a big loss for a forest like Mirkwood but Thranduil couldn't be more grateful to have his kingdom and people unharmed.
"King Thranduil," a female voice called out. He was snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Tauriel. "Is everything alright?"
Thranduil slowly nodded. "Yes. Have the other warriors chase those foul creatures out of our forest. I will not afford to have another battle."
"Yes, of course," Tauriel bowed and went to the other Elven guards.
As Thranduil reached the entrance of the palace, his attendants came to him, among them was Galion. They approached him, complete with water and towels but the King only passed through them. The attendants exchanged glances to each other before Galion composed himself and ran after the King. Thranduil looked tired and pale but there was an obvious glint in his eyes that Galion couldn't understand. The Elvenking noticed how his butler looked confused and so he chuckled and answered for him.
"I realized just now that it is a good thing that Legolas and Estel aren't here," said Thranduil with a casual smile.
Galion still looked confused.
Thranduil glanced at his friend and his smile grew. "I realized that without them, they would not get involved in these battles. However, I am still quite worried about Estel. Has Tauriel's guards found her yet?"
"Not yet, I am afraid, Sire," Galion replied.
"I see," Thranduil sighed. He removed his battle gear and ascended to the stairs, walking towards his room for get a long rest.
Next Chapter: The Battle of Dale commences.
Author's Notes: Sorry for rather late update; I was kind of busy the last few days. Yay for action Thranduil! The next chapters will be filled with battles and everything, so I guess some people could be bored with it. I'm sorry, but when the War of the Ring arc finishes, we can go back to Legolas and Arestel!
Thank you for reading and reviews are always appreciated!
Update: I have a new story entitled To Serve and Protect which heavily features sassy Thranduil. There is but one chapter published, but please do tell me your thoughts. I hope you enjoy the newest story, but not forgetting little Arestel over here. Ciao!