Disclaimer: I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.
18/08/2013
Reviews from previous chapters suggest much reader anticipation about this crossover's version of the Battle of Pelennor Fields. I hope my writing at least partially meets that anticipation.
This chapter has elements from the book's version of the battle as well.
gammaxmen80: I personally think Red Skull would've found serving Mordor a lot more to his liking than serving Nazi Germany.
Tyranno223: Unlike PJ, I wasn't constrained by time to explore the complexities of Denethor as characterised in the book.
MasterXMaster: Thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately I'm not creative enough in terms of original material to write professionally.
ssj3gohan007: I agree with your sentiments. To me, it defies belief that the movieverse defence of Minas Tirith wouldn't have been stronger if the Gondorians had a few days to plan and organise it. Especially if strategists like Cap and Denethor's sons were among the planners.
Chapter 37 – The Riders Three
As dawn broke, Gothmog stood among the countless ranks of orcs observing the struggle for Minas Tirith. A short while ago, he sent forward a handful of Attack Trolls to remove the rubble blocking the road to the third level. Fires still burned throughout the first and second levels.
Capturing the White City was taking longer than the Hosts of Mordor had planned – as well as being more costly. Gothmog estimated they'd lost a tenth of their original force since the battle started. The Avenger that was part of the defence was a major reason why.
Gothmog couldn't remember the last time that one man had single-handedly stopped Attack Trolls and destroyed siege equipment. He also recalled what the other Avengers were reportedly capable of. Gothmog felt the slightest twinge of fear as he contemplated the Hosts of Mordor battling all three Avengers at once. They were an enemy that could never be considered outnumbered.
Gothmog looked north when he heard the sound of a multitude of horns blowing. A significant force of cavalry was forming atop a crest about a mile away. Gothmog shoved his way through orkish ranks to get a better look. He walked with a pronounced limp from an old battle wound. Gothmog knew Rohirric cavalry when he saw it. This particular force seemed to be a few thousand strong.
Gothmog's initial reaction was angry surprise. How could have the Rohirrim bypassed Mordor's blockade of Minas Tirith unnoticed? Gothmog scanned the skies and couldn't see the Witch-king anywhere. The other Nazgul also made no movement against the Rohirrim. The Hosts of Mordor would have to meet this new threat without the aid of the Nine for now. Not that this was too much of a problem. Nearly four-fifths of Sauron's horde were currently deployed on Pelennor Fields waiting to storm Minas Tirth.
"Send word to those mercenaries south-west of Cair Andros," Gothmog ordered a warg-rider. "They were supposed to stop these horsemen. Tell them to get their worthless hides here already!"
After the warg-rider set off, Gothmog noticed the Orcs in his immediate vicinity were transfixed, staring at the Rohirrim. Despite their vast numerical advantage, many orcs didn't relish their chances against heavy cavalry on an open plain. Gothmog angrily began barking orders at any orc who could hear him.
"Form ranks, you maggots!" he berated them. "Form ranks! Pikes in front, archers behind."
Large numbers of Orcs quickly moved to protect the northern flank of the Hosts of Mordor in this manner. While this was happening, Gothmog quickly tried figuring out how the Rohirrim got here without being noticed.
Even that incompetent Morgash would've sent a herald to warn us, Gothmog thought. It wasn't like he had to do battle with one of the Aven-.
The fear Gothmog felt a few moments ago now returned to him in greater strength.
The Rohirrim slowed their approach to Minas Tirith when they were a few miles north of it. This was so they could deploy into a long line several ranks deep. Eowyn and Merry were located in the Rohirrim's centre among the ranks closest to their front.
As she looked upon the vast numbers of the enemy besieging Minas Tirith, Eowyn's heart began racing and her breathing quickened She now understood what Eomer meant about the fear that took hold of one before a battle started. Merry must have been feeling it as well. He was beginning to shake sitting to the front of her on Winfola. She tightly wrapped her left arm around Merry's waist for mutual comfort and reassurance.
"Courage, Merry," Eowyn whispered to remind him of a private conversation the pair had on the journey to Minas Tirith. "Courage for our friends."
One of those friends was the rider on their right. Thor was wearing his Galadhrim helm for the battle ahead. He had heard Eowyn's words to Merry. Thor tried to create a bond with Merry and Eowyn to help them find the courage they sought. Like the bond that existed between him and an absent group of friends.
"Let courage be our company's watchword, " Thor assured the nervous pair before gently naming their 'company'; "Us, the Riders Three."
The smiles Eowyn and Merry gave in return strengthened Thor's own courage. He would very much like to have the assistance of the Warriors Three and Sif right now. Especially after what he sensed unseen to the naked eye.
"I must have quick words with the King," Thor told Eowyn and Merry, carefully not to say the word 'uncle'.
While the Riders Three had been talking, Theoden was conducting his own assessment of the Hosts of Mordor. The enemy's northern flank was at least twice the length of the line the Rohirrim had formed into. Many orcs with short iron pikes and spears were positioning themselves to meet the Rohirrim's imminent attack. Taking their place behind these orcs were others armed with bows. The weapons of Mordor's orcs were inferior to those of the Uruk-hai. However, they more than compensated for this by sheer numbers. The Hosts of Mordor were obviously planning to shoot down as many riders and horses as possible before swamping the survivors once hand-to-hand combat began.
Theoden recalled words previously spoken to him by Saruman, Rogers and Thor. The Lord of the Mark steeled himself by silently conversing with his deceased son.
I suspect I'll be joining you in the Halls of our Fathers before day's end, Theodred. But not before Middle-earth learns strength still exists within the House of Eorl!
Theoden rode back to where his Marshals were and began loudly issuing orders to them. He hoped the Rohirrim's courage would be bolstered by his tone of determined confidence.
"Eomer, take your eored down the left flank," he began. "Elfhelm, Gamling follow the King's banner down the centre. Grimbold, take your company right after you pass the wall. Forth, and fear no darkness!"
As Eomer and the other Marshals moved to take their posts, Theoden noticed that Thor had come through the ranks moving towards him on his grey steed. Thor came as close as possible to Theoden so the pair could speak in hushed tones.
"The fume in the sky above must be some foul craft of Sauron's," Thor gestured towards it with a subtle shake of his head. "I won't be able to call on the elements of the sky for some length of time - if at all."
Fortunately, Thor was the only rider that saw the confidence in Theoden's face instantly drain at these words.
"This is indeed ill news, Prince Thor!" Theoden gasped in shock.
"I have other powers that could still help," Thor offered in consolation. "I'll do what I can."
Theoden released a sigh and then gave a bittersweet smile to the Asgardian.
"That's all a king can ask of any under his command in a situation such as ours," Theoden observed with magnanimous fatalism. "Let alone one who carries the title of 'God of Thunder'."
After a pause, Thor stated to Theoden, "Milord, its been one of my greatest honours to have met a king so worthy of the title as yourself."
The King's face lit with pride given Thor didn't engage in insincere flattery. After being told this by one like Thor, how could he have any self-doubt about being a worthy Lord of the Mark? Theoden didn't admire Thor so much because of the Asgardian's awesome power. Theoden admired Thor because (like Gandalf, Rogers and Banner also) he used his power to serve mortals not dominate them. The pair may have clashed in Edoras a few days ago. But like how a smith crafted a quality sword, the fire of their clash had forged a stronger bond between them.
"I look forward to visiting Asgard and meeting your father especially," Thedoen regally replied. "The first thing I'll tell him is that no king could want a finer son and heir than he has."
Theoden and Thor firmly gripped arms with determined smiles of mutual respect. Thor returned to his post besides Eowyn and Merry. Theoden gave his battle speech to the Rohirrim with renewed confidence.
Unlike Helm's Deep, Theoden didn't bother hiding the full truth about the Rohirrim's situation. In fact, he found this to be quite liberating. This was to be a charge for death and glory. The Rohirrim's weapons, armour and bodies may end up splintered and broken but their spirits never. If they were to die they would go down taking as many of the enemy with them.
The Rohirrim seemed to embrace their King's defiant fatalism with relish. They repeated Theoden's thrice-call of "Death!" each time louder than the last. Theoden distinctly heard Thor's voice among the replies. The front ranks of Rohirrim lowered their lances and spears pointing them in the direction of their enemies. All ranks were willing to follow their king to whatever end.
Thor overheard Eowyn telling Merry she would look after him. The Asgardian hoped the pair never felt compelled to come to his aid in this battle. Things would be going ill if the God of Thunder had to be rescued by an inexperienced shield-maiden and a gentle hobbit. The two Fellowship members had a quick conversation before the order to charge was given.
"If it's all the same to King Theoden, I really don't want any of us to die today," a Merry dryly remarked to raise spirits.
Thor remembered the last time he'd expressed similar sentiments himself. As well as what Heimdall spoke in reply.
"None do, Merry," Thor agreed with eyes firmly fixed on the enemy.
Rohirrim heralds blew their horns after Theoden's order to start the charge.
"Forth Eorlingas!"
The Rohirrim increased speed the closer they got to the Hosts of Mordor. This was so their charge maintained formation to maximise its effectiveness once it hit enemy ranks. Another reason was so their steeds weren't completely blown once combat started. The Rohirrim and their steeds already felt varying degrees of fatigue from last night's journey to get to Minas Tirith.
Their mount's speed increased from a trot, to a canter and eventually a gallop over the distance. During preparations for the Battle of Helm's Deep, Theoden absently recited lines from the 'Lament for the Rohirrim' while being outfitted in his armour by Gamling. Theoden had no doubt where the horse and the rider were in this battle as he led the Rohirrim's charge.
In the immediate ranks behind Theoden were the Riders Three. Eowyn held her spear upright in her right hand while gripping Winfola's reins with her left. Merry did likewise although he was gripping the short sword Eomer had gifted to him. This compared to Thor who began rapidly twirling Mjolnir.
Captain America wasn't the only Avenger that Gandalf had visions about during physical death. It was the reason for his continued hinting at Thor's returning powers since coming back. Images flashed before his eyes of Thor using Mjolnir prior to the Asgardian's arrival in Middle-earth.
Mjolnir didn't just bestow powers of weather control. It also allowed Thor to channel and redirect all sorts of energy. Sauron's fume presently negated Thor's ability to summon lightning, thunder and the wind. But the were other sources of ambient electricity that Thor could use against the Hosts of Mordor. Once such source was gravity waves that were as much an atmospheric phenomena in Arda as they were on Earth. Gandalf had contemplated all this a few days ago in a manner equivalent to paternal pride.
Merry, Eowyn and nearby riders tried remaining focused on the enemy rather than the rising metallic hum emanating from Mjolnir. The sound was Thor tapping the energy being transferred by gravity waves in the surrounding atmosphere. His planned attack mightn't prove as devastating as one using his signature natural elements. But it would be devastating enough for the Hosts of Mordor.
The bows of Mordor's orcs were of inferior quality to those used by the Free Peoples. The effective range limit of these bows was about one hundred and forty yards. Gothmog hoped the orc archers would at least get a couple of shots away before the Rohirrim reached them. Those archers didn't end up releasing even a single volley.
When the Rohirrim were halfway to the enemy, Thor ceased spinning Mjolnir before releasing it at the enemy. The legendary hammer flew both its greatest distance and fastest speed since Thor's arrival in Middle-earth. Orcs struck by Mjolnir were torn open on impact. Mjolnir split enemy ranks in a narrow line as it travelled south.
Gothmog stood in the middle of the horde's northern flank. The previous day he berated orcs to stand their ground when the White City's trebuchets rained shot upon them. He himself narrowly avoided being squashed by a large chunk of masonry. No such time existed against Mjolnir. Gothmog disintegrated into a cloud of black blood when it struck him. He was the last orc killed before the God of Thunder launched his main attack. Thor willed Mjolnir to release the energy he'd drawn into it.
All combatants heard a loud explosion that sounded like a dull clang from a monstrous-sized bell. It was a bell that tolled doom for the Hosts of Mordor. Mjolnir's energy blast rapidly expanded outward. It engulfed the besiegers in the form of a large blue bubble. The orcs hit by this bubble shared Gothmog's fate. Those that escaped the blast were thrown into disarray. Thor had doubled Mordor's total number of casualties from this battle in seconds.
The many Rohirrim initially unnerved by the blast were quickly emboldened by its result. They eagerly followed Theoden, pouring into the huge gap in enemy ranks created by Thor's attack. The multitudes of disorientated orcs stood no chance against the Rohirrim's powerful and disciplined charge. The lances and spears of their riders skewered those orcs not trampled underfoot by horse.
Eowyn was one such rider. Her confidence grew with every orc that met the end of her spear. Each orc was an outlet for her frustration at being denied the opportunity to fight over the years. The only thing she currently felt bad about was that Merry couldn't strike any orcs. Windfola was moving too fast for the Brandybuck to hit any orc with his short sword. Eomer earned his sister's chastisement at Dunharrow after making fun of the length of Merry's arm. Much to Eowyn's chagrin, another of her brother's predictions about how she and Merry would fare in this battle was proven correct. Eowyn also remembered Thor's instructions to her as 'Dernhelm' prior to Theoden interrupting the pair. She would be secure in this battle as long as she stayed close to the Avenger. The attacks Thor launched moments ago gave Eowyn no reason to doubt his word.
Mjolnir shot back into Thor's hand after releasing its energy attack. Unlike Merry, reach was not a problem for Thor to use his weapon in close combat. Orcs struck with Mjolnir turned into a splattered mess. Others flew backwards many yards after receiving a blow. A bit like at Helm's Deep, Thor would have to wait awhile until he could repeat his recent energy attack. The way the Rohirrim's charge was unfolding this might not present too much of a problem.
Besides, Thor sensed other energy attacks of his returning. Ones that he'd certainly be able call on before this battle was over…
Captain America was no longer the only Avenger who'd mentally scarred the Hosts of Mordor with high-energy explosives. Every time Mjolnir flew from Thor's hand, Orcs feared another destructive maelstrom was in the offing. When the blast didn't eventuate, they were in no position to determine if Thor was bluffing them.
Some orcs had tried to reform their shattered lines. But with Gothmog's death they lacked the leadership to do this. They broke before the Rohirrim after some half-hearted attempts at resistance. They especially wanted to flee from the red cloaked rider whose hammer even the Nazgul seemed keen to avoid. The Witch-king had still not returned to the battle and the rest of the Nine continued to circle above the White City.
With the initial momentum of their charge over, the Rohirrim had discarded their spears and began hacking into the Hosts of Mordor with one-handed swords and axes. Eowyn was now using her sword. Windfola was now moving slowly enough for Merry to reach at an orc. The Hobbit's blow didn't quite penetrate the Orc's helmet. This didn't go unnoticed by the Avenger who'd been instructing him in combat.
"Use your shoulder!" Thor called out in reminder.
Another orc presented itself for Merry to try again. This time, his downward swing brought the desired result. The Orc fell dead with bits of its skull and brain spraying out from the blow's impact. Even in the midst of an enormous battle, Merry instinctively tried to raise the spirits of his friends.
"And I thought orcs were mindless brutes!" he remarked which Eowyn and Thor couldn't help but smile at.
Fortunately for the Hosts of Mordor, their ranks weren't solely comprised of Orcs. Sauron's Mannish allies were made of sterner stuff than the majority of his orcs. Honour alone dictated they go down fighting against the Riders of Rohan. Even if the Riders had an Avenger in their ranks.
All Haradrim at the Battle of Pelennor Fields were under the overall command of a Harad chieftain known as the 'Black Serpent'. He had this title as a result of his standard, which was a black serpent on a field of scarlet. The Black Serpent was a mighty warrior and battlefield leader who rode atop a black stallion. Also, Mordor's Orcs feared him enough obey his orders without question.
With the death of Gothmog, the Black Serpent began rebuilding Mordor's lines. He wanted to first disrupt the Rohirrim before leading a counterattack against them. The Black Serpent and small number of his personal retinue rode over to the Orc in charge of Mordor's catapults. The catapults had originally been deployed facing Minas Tirith in a single file that ran north to south. The Black Serpent now ordered these catapults to face a different direction.
Many Rohirrim were so flushed with their attack's success that they lost sight of the true situation. The Rohirrim had lost a tenth of their original number in casualties. Their enemies on the Fields of Pelennor still outnumbered them more thirty-to-one. Of greater concern in this phase of the battle was the Rohirrim's overall formation. The pattern of melee combat and pursuit meant the Rohirrim left, centre and right drifted ever further away from each other. And the Rohirrim centre and right had come in range of Mordor's catapults.
Mordor's artillery barrage caught the Rohirrim completely by surprise. They were showered from above with a combination of catapult stones and burning shot. Rohirrim casualties quickly mounted as they were killed by a combination of rock and fire. Grimbold had the misfortune of being one such rider after a burning shot directly hit him and his mount. Some eoreds bravely tried silencing the catapults. The Black Serpent though had placed masses of Haradrim archers to guard the siege engines. The eoreds were cut down in a hail of arrows well before even reaching their objectives.
The Rohirrim's right and centre stalled and now threatened to crumble. With the loss of the Third Marshal, the right started a headlong retreat that threatened to turn into a rout.
Following an established pattern in this battle, many Orcs were killed by friendly fire. The Black Serpent had no sympathy for them. Perhaps their fellows would now start treating the Haradrim with something else than contempt. The Black Serpent ordered a trusted subordinate to remain at the catapults before leaving with the rest of his retinue. He didn't trust the Orc officer to cease-fire once the Haradrim counterattack had been launched.
Thor had witnessed Grimbold's demise from a distance. He sensed he would be able to shortly release another gravity wave blast. A more immediate problem presented itself though. The right's retreat threatened the safety of the Rohirrim centre and left. Thor could hear Theoden, Elfhelm and Gamling in the background trying to rally the centre. The Asgardian knew where he was needed.
Graegwind and Windfola suddenly reared as a burning shot landed in the vicinity. Despite being close to the God of Thunder, Eowyn couldn't completely stop sharing her steed's concerns about the situation.
"What now, Prince Thor?" Eowyn asked trying not sound panicked.
"We lead by example, young Dernhelm," Thor knowingly answered his squire before spurring Graegwind forward.
Thor, Eowyn and Merry headed west, dodging another catapult bombardment in the process. Sauron's fume negated Thor's ability to use thunder against his enemies. But its sorcery wasn't strong enough to suppress the Asgardian from using it to draw attention. Thor held Mjolnir straight aloft as the trio closed in on the fleeing Rohirrim right.
The retreating Rohirrim had just got out of catapult range when they heard a loud thunderclap. The sound startled them and their mounts so much that they suddenly halted. They looked and saw Prince Thor heading towards them with his squire Dernhelm and Master Meriadoc. Thor continued holding Mjolnir aloft while he addressed them.
"Riders of Theoden!" Thor rallied them in a voice as loud as the thunderclap. "Continue your rout and you'll go down in infamy. But follow the Riders Three and you'll go down into legend. Fear no darkness when choosing!"
Thor then immediately charged towards the catapults with Merry and Eowyn closely behind.
It wasn't coincidence Thor repeated to these Rohirrim some of Theoden's pre-battle words to Grimbold. If they still honoured the fallen Third Marshal, they would follow the King's last order to him to 'fear no darkness'. Not one Rohirrim who heard Thor's address continued retreating. The few that didn't hear it quickly followed their comrades' example. Thor had effectively taken command of the Rohirrim right as it unhesitatingly followed him towards the catapults. Especially after the Asgardian began twirling Mjolnir like he did at the start of the battle.
The Hosts of Mordor fired another volley of arrows and catapult shot when the Rohirrim came in range. Thor pointed Mjolnir at the incoming projectiles from above. The missiles fired at the Rohirrim disintegrated in a powerful energy blast. It was too late to fire another barrage when the Rohirrim right reached enemy lines.
"Kill the archers!" Thor exhorted them before referring to the Riders Three. "Leave the catapults to us!"
The Rohirrim veered west and engaged the Haradrim archers stationed rear of the catapults. These lightly armed troops were even less equipped than the Orcs to withstand heavy cavalry in melee. The Rohirrim exacted their vengeance for the casualties these archers had earlier caused. The Haradrim's robes provided no protection against the Rohirrim's steel and powerful horses. Some archers died standing their ground. The rest followed their natural instincts and fled the scene. The right got its second wind as they pursued these Haradrim.
Eowyn and Merry felt the same worry upon hearing that just the Riders Three would attack catapults. The Mountain Trolls that loaded the catapults were still manning them. Windfola's riders were both surprised and relieved when Thor ordered a halt. The trio was not less than twenty yards from the north-most catapult. The closest trolls were weighing up whether to attack them.
"We're not going to charge the trolls?" Merry quickly asked Thor. "Not that I'm complaining!"
Thor grinned and answered with a question of his own. "Remember what I said was the best target for a flying Mjolnir?"
Merry coldly smiled as he recalled, "A straight line..."
Mjolnir gave a metallic hum before Thor released it. The legendary hammer sped down the length of the catapults in the blink of an eye. Every catapult it struck was splintered in half. Once the last catapult was destroyed, Thor mentally commanded Mjolnir to return to him on a straight trajectory. The Mountain Trolls didn't have the time to be surprised by the catapult's destruction let alone attack their enemies by hand. These trolls fell dead like collapsing dominoes as Mjolnir burst through their stomachs from behind. Dozens of trolls had been killed in this manner by the time Mjolnir returned to Thor's hand. With the deaths of the trolls, the Riders Three moved to kill the remaining catapult troops. Thor dealt with the orcs who fled before him. Eowyn and Merry combined to kill the Black Serpent's henchman in a quick mounted duel.
The Black Serpent had noticed Thor's actions in rallying the Rohirrim and destroying Mordor's catapults. The Harad chieftain bitterly mused to himself that at least his counterattack wouldn't be disrupted by friendly fire. He then gave the order to engage the enemy. The battlefield suddenly echoed to a series of high-pitched horns. Some eighteen thousand Haradrim cavalry now charged towards the Rohirrim centre. The Black Serpent was among them, the cavalry dotted with many of his banners.
Thor issued another thunderclap to regain the right's attention.
"Another enemy beckons our attention!" Thor shouted while pointing Mjolnir at the charging Haradrim.
A young lord of the Westfold named 'Dunhere' indirectly replied for all the Rohirrim right. His reply voiced a new legend that was forming in the minds of many Rohirrim.
"Lead the way, Thor Hammerhand!" Dunhere shouted in reply.
As the Rohirrim right rode to intercept the Haradrim, Eowyn hoped King Helm wasn't the jealous sort.
Eomer was still leading the Rohirrim left. The left was outside of range when Mordor's catapults released their fury at the Rohirrim centre and right. Consequently, the left hadn't suffered as greater rate of casualties as the other two bodies of Rohirrim.
Eomer stopped his eoreds shortly after realising the impact Mordor's artillery barrage. The left moved to silence the catapult but stopped after witnessing how Thor had beaten them to it. Eomer was about to order the left resume its advance when the Haradrim cavalry commenced their attack. Like Thor, Eomer saw where and whom the Haradrim attack was directed against.
"Rohirrim!" Eomer called out to the left wing. "To the King!"
The Black Serpent had ordered the charge against the Rohirrim's centre when he noticed it contained the banner of the King of Rohan. He was confident that vast majority of Rohirrim would break and flee the field once Theoden was killed. Maybe then the Witch-king would be gracious enough to return from his holiday and deal with the hammer-wielding Avenger.
The Haradrim cavalry outnumbered the Rohirrim centre more than eleven-to-one. But their charge was still a calculated gamble on the part of the Black Serpent. In many ways, the gamble was the result of the very nature of their homeland. As Gandalf earlier intimated to Rogers, Harad was a large country south of Gondor. The vast majority of Harad was scorched desert containing little metallic orc. Harad's principal source of resources was the jungles located in its southern regions. Haradrim used jungle resources like bamboo, bone and animal hides to make spears, bows, leather armour, and wicker shields. Only wealthy Haradrim lords could afford metal armour and weapons (from trade with the Easterlings) for themselves and their personal warriors. The Haradrim cavalry charging at Pelennor Fields manifested the battlefield implications of their homeland's resources base. Unlike the Rohirrim, the vast majority of Haradrim cavalry were not suited for close-in combat. The only Haradrim cavalry that could be considered 'heavy' was the Black Serpent's thousand-strong personal retinue.
The Black Serpent was gambling the Haradrim's numbers would quickly overwhelm the isolated Rohirrim centre. Regardless of the odds, the Haradrim simply wouldn't last in prolonged hand-to-hand fighting against the Rohirrim. The Black Serpent had still made a fatal miscalculation nonetheless. He'd unconsciously wagered the Haradrim cavalry charge would successfully survive the attentions of the God of Thunder.
The Rohirrim right closed in on the Haradrim's western flank. Thor sensed there was still some gravity wave energy he could draw on. Not as much as he drew on in the Rohirrim's initial charge. But still enough to destroy his intended target.
"Sorry you must witness this, Graegwind," Thor apologised to his steed before throwing Mjolnir into the midst of the Haradrim.
Half the Haradrim cavalry was instantly killed in the blast. The remaining half were thrown into chaos and terror. First by its noise and then after being showered in the blood and severed limbs of the riders and horses killed. The Haradrim were still trying to recover from the shock of this attack when another soon caught them unawares. The Rohirrim left and right simultaneously struck opposite Haradrim flanks. The inevitable happened when charging heavy cavalry hit a confused and stationary group of light cavalry.
Any Haradrim that crossed Thor's path didn't survive the encounter. Many a rider flew off their mount after receiving a single blow from Mjolnir. The Haradrim that chose to fight to the last than escape earned Thor's sincere admiration. Whatever the reason they were dying for, Thor was pretty sure it wasn't out of love of Sauron. The Black Serpent was one such Haradrim. The Black Serpent and Theoden believed one thing in common. If they were going to die in this battle, they would at least make an end worthy of remembrance. The Black Serpent charged with what was left of his retinue at the hammer-wielding Avenger.
Many bronze-armoured warriors of the Black Serpent charged bravely and died quickly at the hands of Thor. Their leader never got to strike a personal blow against the Avenger though. Theoden was the reason why. Like his Haradrim counterpart, the Lord of the Mark believed enemy morale would collapse with the death of their leader.
Before Thor's gravity wave blast, Theoden assessed the charging Haradrim would strike the Rohirrim centre before it had fully rallied. The disruption caused by the blast allowed Theoden and his officers to complete their task. Theoden then commanded the centre to engage the Haradrim. The roles of attacker and defender in the Haradrim's initial charge were now exchanged.
Theoden's men joined one of the greatest cavalry clashes in Middle-earth's history head-on. The Haradrim still outnumbered the Rohirrim centre. But the Rohirrim's superior equipment and training allowed them to cut through their enemies like a fire-bolt in a forest. Theoden and his Royal Guard cut through the Black Serpent's retinue like men possessed. Such was their fury they were upon the Black Serpent within moments. Theoden cut down the Black Serpent's personal standard bearer and the man himself each with a single stroke of Herugrim. Theoden's attack had its intended effect. Surviving Haradrim desperately tried escaping the three-way press they were caught in. Only a fraction of their original number successfully did so.
Thor was only a few yards away from where Theoden fell the Black Serpent.
"I hope to follow your example, Theoden-king," Thor saluted him. "You've shown the only way a serpent should be dealt with!"
The Witch-king had directed his fell-beast to the eastern edge of the battlefield after his sudden departure from Minas Tirith. A warg-rider messenger was a few yards away ready to send any orders of his.
The Witch-king had been observing the battle on Pelennor Fields while tending his mount's wounds. He was using a spell to regenerate the fell-beast's severed talon. This sorcery was a slow process even with the Witch-king's increased power. But the Witch-king knew he couldn't be at anything other than full-strength before confronting the hammer-wielding Avenger.
Sauron's fume seemed to have negated the Avenger's ability to summon lightning. But it also seemed the Avenger was still capable of inflicting mass destruction on the Hosts of Mordor. It was for this reason that the Witch-king had kept the other Nazgul well away from the Rohirrim.
The deaths of Gothmog and the Black Serpent meant the Hosts of Mordor were now absent effective command. The Witch-king had noticed the fall of the Black Serpent seemed to have reignited the Rohirrim's spirits. He had to directly intervene before the Rohirrim began sweeping all before them. But his spell hadn't quite finished regenerating his fell-beast's severed limb. The Witch-king needed to first buy some time.
He dispatched the warg-rider with orders to send a fresh Haradrim unit against the Rohirrim. The Witch-king then ordered his fell-beast to soar into the air. The fell-beast flew to an altitude that was just under the fume. The Witch-king did this so the dark clouds would conceal his movements from any ground-based observer.
As the Witch-king observed, the death of the Black Serpent had sent the Hosts of Mordor into disarray. The Rohirrim resumed slashing and pursuing at any enemy within their path. Orcs, men and even trolls appeared to be fleeing back towards Mordor. Eomer ordered any rider that could hear him to drive the enemy into the River Anduin. Theoden felt thirty years younger. The sight of Sauron's servants routing was intoxicating to him as for any of the Eorlingas in their first battle. So confident was Theoden of the situation, he loudly assessed it for all to hear - especially Theodred.
"Make safe the city!" he proclaimed. "Victory, we have victory!"
Rising thuds from the south immediately terminated Theoden's euphoria and his forces' advance.
Midgard zoology had never been one of Thor's strong points. For example, Odin's vast library had no reference to the flying breed of species that Fury once used to describe Loki's magic. But Thor was very knowledgable on animals Midgard's people used for warfare. He recalled that in humanity's wars of ages past, creatures called 'elephants' were used as destructive instruments on the battlefield. The very presence of elephants often unnerved riders and horses alike. It was easy to imagine then how afraid the Rohirrim currently felt given the threat they now faced.
The most valuable resource the Haradrim's southern jungles provided them was arguably not any material. To most of Middle-earth, the mumakil (or 'oliphants') were creatures of legend almost in the same category of dragons. Mumakil had a passing resemblance to elephants. But even the great mastodons of Earth's Pleistocene would have been dwarfed by the mumakil. The largest adult males of the mumakil stood one hundred feet tall, with four huge tusks and two smaller ones to each side of the mouth. When charging into battle, they bellowed and screeched at a great volume. A thunderous din that shook the very earth preceded their coming. Now at Pelennor Fields, a line of twenty Mumakil relentlessly moved towards the terrified Rohirrim.
The Haradrim well understood all battlefield advantages that mumakil offered. Tied on the back of each Mumakil in this battle was a great bamboo and canvas platform. The platform allowed many Haradrim archers a perfect position to shoot at their enemies from above. Some mumakil had a spiked chain between two long tusks tied at the tip. The chain allowed their rider to sweep horses and men to the front. All mumakil also had spiked iron collars around their ankles to ward off attacks also.
The Hosts of Mordor fleeing the Rohirrim avoided these ankle spikes as they ran between the mumakil. The Haradrim chieftain commanding the mumakil released a high-pitched note from an ivory horn once the last of Mordor's thralls were behind them. It was a signal to the Witch-king that he could release his sorcery. A continuous, half-cylinder of red light suddenly covered the line of mumakil. This was the first the Rohirrim had ever seen of the magic shield that the Witch-king had used throughout this battle. From high above, the Witch-king concentrated this sorcery to protect them from Thor's gravity wave blasts.
His order to the mumakil riders was to march steadily towards the Rohirrim within the envelope of the shield. The shield would be released once the mumakil were right on top of the Rohirrim. From what he'd seen, the Lord of the Nazgul deduced a gravity wave blast at close-range would vaporise friend and foe alike. The Witch-king also correctly assumed the Avenger lacked his ruthlessness in relation to friendly fire. The Witch-king would resume healing his fell-beast while the mumakil caused havoc among the Rohirrim. The warg-rider also conveyed a message to the Mordor forces fleeing the battlefield. They could advance and possibly be killed by the Rohirrim. Or they could continue retreating and certainly be killed by the Witch-king. At this message, the Hosts of Mordor immediately began to rally and reorganise themselves.
Thor quickly rode through the ranks of the Rohirrim towards Theoden. The Avenger felt many anxious looks being cast in his direction. Each Rohirrim that had this look was silently asking the same question. Could Thor Odinson once again aid Rohan against a seemingly unstoppable enemy force? Theoden was one such Rohirrim. He didn't hesitate to find the answer as soon as Thor was by his side.
"You told me your powers are at my command, Prince Thor," Theoden commented with as much possible composure. "I'd be much obliged with another display of them right now."
"Unfortunately, the beasts are shielded by that red light," Thor somberly assessed the mumakil. "It won't be raised until they're right on top of us. My blasts would destroy us alongside the enemy."
Theoden grimly took this in before concluding, "Then we have no choice but to meet them head-on."
"Apologies, milord," Thor moved to clarify his previous remarks. "I didn't mean I couldn't be of assistance."
Theoden knew there wasn't the time for Thor to explain what he had in mind. The Asgardian was a man of his word and he hadn't failed the Rohirrim on the battlefield yet. Theoden had no reason not to place his trust in the Avenger in this situation also.
"Very well then," Theoden commandingly agreed. "I'll wait on your nod."
Theoden rode off and began ordering the Rohirrim to reform the line. Seeing they weren't able to speak to Thor like their king, the other Rohirrim held on to desperate hope as they reformed. About half of their original strength remained in the battle. If Thor couldn't do something against the mumakil, many would be joining the other half in death very quickly. Every Rohirrim horse shared the same nervous concerns as nearly all their riders did. Even Graegwind jittered on the spot upon the sight, smell and sound of the mumakil. Thor dismounted left and whispered to his steed. The Avenger had come to consider Graegwind as much as a friend as any others he'd made in Middle-earth.
"Easy, Graegwind," Thor said to sooth his steed's nerves. "Do you not want your name mentioned when tales of this battle told? Let them say, Thor Odinson brought down these beasts with a wind mightier than any summoned by Mjolnir!"
Graegwind seemed to snort his assent and steadied at his rider's words. Eowyn and Merry had just placed themselves left besides Thor. The Rohirrim had settled into line again while nervously waiting for the charge order to be given.
Eowyn never took her gaze off the advancing mumakil as she quietly observed, "The ground shakes with every step they take."
Merry's fear momentarily lifted after noticing what Thor was doing. The Asgardian was standing on the ground, rapidly twirling Mjolnir in his right hand.
"What're you doing, Thor?" a confused Merry asked him.
Thor was still conscious about protecting Eowyn's identity.
"Returning the favour young Dernhelm speaks of," he replied before powerfully striking the ground with Mjolnir.
The Witch-king's shield may have prevented the mumakil from a gravity wave blast. But the shield didn't extend underground. Thor unleashed the energy he'd drawn directly under the Haradrim line. The advancing mumakil and their riders were initially unnerved when the ground beneath them suddenly started shaking. Their feelings quickly became ones of terror when a large sinkhole began opening in the middle of their line. The sinkhole immediately claimed four mumakils and threatened to add to that number as it kept expanding. The Haradrim's survival instinct trumped any fear they had of disobeying the Witch-king. They urged their mounts to quicken in pace. The mumakil were already running the instant the ground began moving beneath their feet.
The Witch-king angrily released the shield he had over the Haradrim. If he hadn't, the shield would've prevented their mounts from escaping the sinkhole. Even uncontrolled mumakil would pose a mortal danger to the Rohirrim. The Lord of the Nazgul thought that at least he'd forced the Avenger to use his powers. If the trend of battle held, the Avenger wouldn't be able release a similar blast for a while yet. A window of opportunity beckoned to decimate the Rohirrim. The Witch-king directed his sorcery to quickly finish healing his fell-beast.
The mumakil broke out into a panicked stampede in all directions as a result of Thor's attack. One confused mumak charged into another. Many Haradrim riding on both to fell to their deaths as a result of the impact and as the pair of mumakil clumsily tried to disentangle.
Theoden had Snowmane pointed in Thor's direction while the Avenger carried out his attack. Theoden noticed the other members of the Riders Three positioning themselves next to Thor. The Lord of the Riddermark was glad Merry had been proven him wrong about hobbits having no place in war. Also, if they both survived, Theoden would personally congratulate Dernhelm on his bravery and prowess throughout the battle. Thor's squire had all the makings of a worthy Royal Guard. Theoden's thoughts were broken upon seeing Thor vaulting back on to Graegwind. The Asgardian gave him a quick nod.
"Forth Eorlingas!" Theoden again ordered his riders forwards.
Thor had disrupted the intended mumakil attack before it even started. The rampaging beasts were still very dangerous. Many horses and riders were swept aside by mumakil tusks while others were simply stepped on. The ankle spikes protecting the mumakil proved their worth also. Many Rohirrim were impaled on them as they tried using their swords, spears and axes.
Thor thought the mumakil would even intimidate the Frost Monster he fought on Jotunheim. The Avenger wished he could take to the skies to defeat the mumakil like he did the Frost Monster. Some other powers he used during that clash were still available for him to use now though.
Thor projected Mjolnir to intercept a Mumakil's spiked tusk just before it hit several eoreds. The tusk broke from the impact causing the Mumakil to continue its panicked charge. Thor didn't kill the creature outright as the same eoreds would have been crushed during its death tumble. The Riders Three continued towards the same Mumakil as Mjolnir returned to Thor's hand. In a swift and daring move, the trio led the Rohirrim following them between the Mumakil's legs. Thor shattered its two left ankles striking their spikes with Mjolnir in quick succession. The Mumakil released a deafening roar of pain as more suffering followed. Eowyn and Merry cut the now exposed ankles with their swords. The Rohirrim behind the pair of them repeated their attacks. As Thor intended, this particular attack saw the Mumakil topple left, allowing its attackers to veer safely right.
At the same time, many mumakil riders regained control over their mounts. Like many of their cavalry, these Haradrim had too much pride to flee in the face of the God of Thunder. They directed the mumakil to smash into the Rohirrim in deliberate fashion. The archers positioned on each mumakil's platform began releasing their arrows down on enemy men and horses.
When the Haradrim's arrows starting hitting them, most Rohirrim already knew melee attack was futile against the mumakil. Thor was an obvious exception to this rule. Given the God of Thunder couldn't be everywhere, many Rohirrim decided to attack the mumakil from distance. They raised their bows and returned the Haradrim's arrow-fire with their own. This was harder than it sounded given the Rohirrim still had to avoid being stood on and swept away.
Each mumakil soon had numerous Rohirrim arrow shafts dotting their legs and torsos. But their think hides meant the arrows caused them no harm. Fortunately for the Rohirrim, Eomer remembered one legend about the mumakil. The legend was that a single arrow to their eye could bring down one of these beasts. Given a mumakil's height, their eyes were the size of a pin for any archer to shoot at. The Rohirrim currently didn't have the luxury of time to aim at their target. So Eomer opted to trust in weight of numbers.
"Fire at their heads!" Eomer loudly commanded any Rohirrim within earshot.
The mumakil that started to receive such volleys gave some credence to Eomer's chosen tactic. They halted and reared in the air causing some Haradrim to fall off their platforms. Both Rohirrim and Haradrim were shaken to the bone when the mumakil's forelegs thumped back down on the ground.
The Witch-king had a clear view from above of the battle between the Rohirrim and the Haradrim. It resembled countless brown and green currents swirling around a dozen enormous red and grey islands. His fell-beast had now regenerated its severed talon. As an added bonus, the Mordor forces that had been retreating were now advancing back towards the Rohirrim. Several Attack Trolls were in the van of the advance. The Witch-king decided to now enter the fray.
The only notice a group of eoreds had of the Witch-king's attack was a high pitched whistle from above. The attack was a repetition of spell the Witch-king used against those Gondorians that stood between him and Denethor. Half the riders and their mounts were utterly consumed in a sorcerous fire. The Lord of the Nazgul then released the most powerful fear-inducing cry since the start of the battle. Survivors from these eoreds fled in terror. The Witch-king drove them forward, his fell-beast using its healed talons to tear into them. Such was the fear felt by these Rohirrim, they failed to notice where the Witch-king was herding them.
The eoreds realised too late that in their path was the sinkhole Thor had created against the mumakil. Many horses and riders couldn't stop in time before toppling into the hole to their deaths. Those few able to change direction tried moving around both sides of the sinkhole. Unfortunately for these survivors, the returning Hosts of Mordor intercepted them. The Attack Trolls were devastatingly effective with their clubs and hammers at breaking and killing the Rohirrim.
The Riders Three witnessed the Witch-king's arrival into the Battle of Pelennor Fields. The Rohirrim's fight against the Haradrim was very much in the balance. Thor, however, knew which enemy presented the greater threat.
"You've no obligation to follow me as I battle the Nazgul," Thor offered Eowyn and Merry.
The pair riding Windfola weren't having a bar of the Riders Three splitting up.
"A squire is required to follow their lord no matter the danger," Eowyn rejected it.
Merry wryly recalled events a couple of weeks ago. "As far as I'm concerned, the safest place from Nazgul is by your side, Thor."
Touched the pair still held courage, Thor ordered them, "Then stay the closest you've been to me."
The Riders Three began riding in the direction of where the Witch-king's fell-beast was circling over the battlefield. Thor was again the lead rider with Eowyn and Merry a few paces behind him. They soon crossed paths with an eored fleeing the Witch-king. Focused on the Witch-king, Thor didn't notice that he'd become separated from Eowyn and Merry who became stuck in the eored. Eowyn redirected Windfola to go with the flow eored after finding it impossible to push a way through it. Eowyn and Merry were now further away from Thor. The opportunity to break away from the eored was not one the pair was planning for.
A mumakil subjected to archer fire soon had an arrow penetrate one of its eyes. The legend that Eomer remembered proved to be true when the Mumakil reared and fell backwards. The eored that Eowyn and Merry were caught in was directly under the falling beast. In an act that could almost be described as selfless, Windfola threw his riders off just before being crushed with several other Rohirrim under the dead mumakil.
Eowyn didn't have time to grieve for her steed as the Riders Three had been splintered even further. She couldn't see Merry anywhere. She began calling out for him. It was only after hearing Eowyn's voice in the background that Thor realised the Riders Three had been separated. He spun Graegwind around to where Eowyn was calling. But events intervened to prevent him from reaching her.
Theoden was directing archer fire at a mumakil when he suddenly how the battle in the near-vicinity was shaping. The Witch-king had ordered the mumakil to corral the Rohirrim in an ever-tightening circle. The mumakil were forming an impassable perimeter due to their size and the archers they carried. The oncoming Attack Trolls and Orcs would then rip into the confined Rohirrim trapped within it. Theoden spotted that a gap still existed that would allow the Rohirrim to escape. It was imperative that this be a coordinated escape though.
"Rally to me!" Theoden shouted to the closest eoreds. "To me!"
Theoden's cries were drowned out by the Witch-king's fear inducing scream. The Witch-king swooped down through the very gap that Theoden had spotted. Theoden only had time to give his fate a look of forlorn resignation.
Both Thor and Eowyn momentarily stood stunned as they witnessed the Witch-king's fell-beast sink its fangs into Snowmane. Having landed, the fell-beast rapidly shook its prey before tossing the corpse forwards. The Rohirrim close to Theoden fled in all directions as per his orders, but also out of the terror they felt. Theoden found himself pinned under the weight of his deceased mount. The Lord of the Mark didn't feel any sensation in his legs. He also felt severe pain from a number of internal injuries. An imagined pain would soon distress Theoden more than any he currently felt.
The Witch-king advanced his fell-beast a couple of steps forward. Both the leaders of Gondor and Rohan would fall to him on the same day. But Theoden had to suffer a horrible death to break the spirits of the Rohirrim. They would be made to compare the House of Eorl's ignoble end to that of field mouse caught by a hawk.
The Witch-king dispassionately commanded his fell-beast in relation to Theoden, "Feast on his flesh."
Theoden's helpless and terrified look in response these words gave the Witch-king a great deal of malevolent satisfaction.
Thor soon regained focus. Unlike the other riders, he had no excuse not to aid Theoden. The Asgardian hoped it was fate that had separated the Riders Three. Merry and Eowyn wouldn't be present when Thor confronted the Lord of the Nazgul. But even the God of Thunder wasn't above capricious turns of fortune.
Graegwind suddenly reared into the air just before Thor spurred him towards Theoden. After hitting the ground on his back, Thor suddenly saw the reason why Graegwind had thrown him. An arrow shaft had pierced into Graegwind's left hind leg. Soon another buried itself into the left side of Graegwind's head. The grey stallion toppled dead to his right.
"NO!" Thor cried in a similar anguish to Frodo when Gandalf fell at Khazad-dum.
Thor quickly jumped back on his feet before looking to his left. A Mumakil and its Haradrim riders were bearing down on him. A single archer with a drawn bow revealed who Graegwind's killer was. Also striding along the Mumakil was a quartet of Attack Trolls.
A red mist descended over Thor's eyes of a deeper than the colour of his cloak. Nothing less than the complete destroying the Hosts of Mordor would satisfy for Graegwind's death. Thor would show these petty creatures what it was like to die at the hands of an Avenger.
Mjolnir let out a metallic hum before Thor released it straight at the Mumakil's head. The hammer fatally punctured the beast's forehead causing it to topple to the ground. Thor was already in a position to dispatch the Attack Trolls when his weapon returned to him.
He sent the first troll flying with a powerful blow to the chest that instantly killed it. The remaining Attack Trolls were shocked upon witnessing this. They were the ones who were supposed to scatter Men not the other way around. Legolas had much earlier speculated that Asgardians were different to Men despite similar appearances. The three trolls didn't have the intellect or time to contemplate this issue themselves. Within moments, Thor sent another troll flying after striking it. He effortlessly dodged the remaining troll's weapons. He used Mjolnir to break one's club before leaping up and crushing the troll's head with a single downward blow. The last troll he simply dispatched by projecting Mjolnir to create a large hole in its chest.
Thor then made to dispatch any Haradrim that hadn't fallen to their deaths from the Mumakil he'd slain. The archer that killed Graegwind was among their number. Thor killed any survivors with a single blow while saving the archer for the last. The Avenger wanted to maximise the archer's fear of death as long as possible. The archer's legs were broken and made a futile attempt to escape by dragging himself along the ground. The archer's cotton mask muffled his cries as a merciless Thor methodically approached him. Thor locked gazes with the archer who gave him a wide-eyed look of terror in return.
With a maddened cry, Thor relentlessly pounded Mjolnir into the archer's skull as 'punishment' for killing Graegwind. Soon all that remained of the archer's head was a bloody smear on the ground. Traces of the archer's blood covered Mjolnir as well as Thor's face. With the back of his hand, Thor wiped the blood off his lips in vindictive satisfaction. Thor snapped out of this violent rage when he subconsciously recalled what an angry Odin once accused him of.
You are a vain, greedy, cruel boy!
Thor was horrified upon realising that he had just acted in this manner. After his Midgard exile, Thor believed personal wrath and pride could no longer cloud his better judgment. But his desire to avenge Graegwind made him forget what was currently most important. As Odin would likely put it to him, how could Thor protect Middle-earth when he couldn't even protect his friends? How would Gandalf and Rogers react if Thor told them Theoden, Eowyn and Merry died while he was pursuing personal vendettas? Thor frantically looked towards where he last saw Theoden. Thor was alarmed he'd already paid a price for his bloodlust.
A single Rohirrim rider had tried to defend Theoden from the Witch-king. But it seemed this rider's valiant efforts of had been in vain. The rider dangled helplessly in the Witch-king's inhuman grasp around their throat.
Worst of all, the rider was Eowyn.
While Thor was on his rampage, Eowyn had tried to prevent the Witch-king from claiming her uncle's life.
Eowyn had placed herself between the Witch-king's fell-beast and Theoden despite the fear she felt. The fell-beast made to attack Eowyn with its jaws. In a superb demonstration of martial prowess, Eowyn managed to evade the creature's attack before hewing off its head with two quick sword strokes. She picked up a discarded Rohirrim wooden shield to better defend herself. After witnessing the Lord of the Nazgul rise from his mount's remains, Eowyn felt only a shield like Captain America's could give her any protection now.
The Witch-king rose to his full height of seven feet. He held a black long sword with his right gauntlet and a black flail with his left. The flail's spiked metal head was twice the size of a man's head. The Witch-king thought this rider had forfeit all right to a quick death given their impudent defiance. With a chilling screech, the Lord of the Nazgul released his flail at Eowyn.
Like all Rohirrim, Eowyn felt far more comfortable fighting from horseback than on her own two feet. Part of her training with Rogers was to improve her skills in this regard. Eowyn drew on every lesson that Rogers had taught her to help evade the Witch-king's attacks. But Eowyn thought that even the First Avenger would find the Witch-king a daunting foe.
The Witch-king had only been toying with Eowyn. He wanted this foe to feel the fear of their imminent demise. With a solid sweep, the Witch-king's flail struck Eowyn's shield splintering it on impact. Eowyn stumbled backwards on to Snowmane's corpse from the force of the blow. She didn't have time to feel the pain of her fractured left arm. Before she knew it, the Witch-king grabbed her by the throat with his right hand.
Eowyn felt breath leaving her as she gazed into the unfathomable darkness within the Witch-king's hood. Rogers had never discussed Earth's schools of philosophical thought with Eowyn. If he had, Eowyn would've agreed with the observation that when one looks into an abyss the abyss looks into you. Darkness began clouding around her eyes and fear gripped her heart. Eowyn didn't know she was being subjected to a type of Nazgul sorcery called 'Black Breath'.
Black Breath was an aura all Nazgul could produce at will to incapacitate their foes. In a mild form, the Black Breath could cause a brief period of unconsciousness, accompanied by bad dreams, and a state of agitation upon being woken. A severe case of the Black Breath was fatal if not treated with the herb known as 'athelas'. Such a case manifested as deep despair and extreme drowsiness, with the victim gradually or immediately losing consciousness. The victim would then fall into a coma of nightmares before dying after a few days.
Earlier in the battle, the Witch-king tried using Black Breath against Rogers but was interrupted by Denethor's attack. Unfortunately, Faramir caught a remanent of this Black Breath before it dissipated. Now the Witch-king wanted Eowyn to intensely feel the effects of Black Breath while chocking her to death. It would feel like she was being strangled while hanging from the most painful noose.
"No man can kill me," the Witch-king taunted Eowyn with smug malice. "Die n-"
A flying Mjolnir cut the Witch-king mid-sentence as he fell sidewards. Eowyn dropped to the ground with the Witch-king's grip having been suddenly loosened. Eowyn was still too weak to stand despite air beginning to fill her lungs again. The Witch-king sprang back up and saw what had struck him on the left side of the head.
It was the second time an Avenger had struck him there to gain his attention. The Witch-king saw Mjolnir return to Thor standing only yards away. The Witch-king thought that at least the White Wizard wasn't any position to foil Sauron's plans in relation to an Avenger. The Witch-king remembered one of the titles this particular Avenger apparently went by.
"You cannot call on the elements to best me, Thunder God," the Lord of the Nazgul mocked Thor.
The Witch-king's blade and the head of his flail suddenly burst into unnatural flames. This was the result of the Witch-king casting a spell to amplify the power of both weapons. The spell also would prevent Thor from breaking these weapons with Mjolnir. The Avenger's reply indicated he wasn't perturbed by the Witch-king's display of power.
"I won't need to, villain," Thor steely countered. "Be assured, I've taken thy measure and found it wanting!"
With a loud battle cry, Thor leapt towards the Witch-king. The Witch-king countered with a Nazgul screech and their epic duel began.
The duellists fought at a speed that a mortal's eye would barely keep track of. It was a pattern of Thor first striking with Mjolnir and the Witch-king parrying with his sword. Then it was Thor who had to use Mjolnir to block the Witch-king's flail from hitting him in response. It was a cycle of attack and counterattack at similar speed to the lightning Thor couldn't currently summon.
If the Witch-king weren't evil, Thor would've considered him a worthy foe. Thor had to once bend backwards to avoid getting struck by the Nazgul's flail. The weapons used by orcs, trolls and mumakil presented no significant threat to Thor. But the Asgardian couldn't afford similar complacency against the Witch-king. Thor vaguely sensed the powerful sorcery surrounding the Witch-king's weapons posed a real danger to him.
The Witch-king had scorned any claim Thor had to divinity. Nonetheless, he knew he couldn't best Thor by using Black Breath or the other dark magic he'd previously used during this battle. It was shaping up to be very much a fight around the melee skills of its two combatants. But the Witch-king had something else to help sway it to his advantage.
Gandalf wasn't the only inhabitant of Middle-earth to have had visions of Thor in combat pre the vortex. With his waxing power, Sauron had been able to use his palantir in a crude fashion like Galadriel used her Mirror. The Dark Lord was most anxious to find any weakness that could be used to bring down the Avengers. One vision Sauron received indicated a possible manner for the Witch-king to defeat Thor.
Sauron had given the Witch-king a spell to aid in defeating Thor. The catch was the Lord of the Nazgul would find this spell very taxing after it had been cast. It would take a while for the Witch-king to regain his strength so it had to be used at precisely the right time. The Witch-king sensed that such a time had arrived.
Thor and the Witch-king directly faced each other opposite to the start of their duel. Thor had to step back a pace to evade the Witch's flail. The Witch-king then released at Thor a deafening screech with arms spread wide open. Thor grabbed the opportunity to defeat his antagonist. He leapt into the air and swung Mjolnir downwards on the Witch-king's head. Thor was more than shocked when he followed Mjolnir in falling through the Witch-king's intangible form. After his face struck the ground, Thor heard Loki's voice taunting him in his head.
Are you ever not going to fall for that?
Sauron indeed had a vision of when Loki used a holographic image against Thor on the Shield Heli-Carrier. The Witch-king had cast an illusion of himself to trick Thor into a vulnerable position. The Lord of the Nazgul was now directly behind the Asgardian who was lying face-first on the ground.
Thor rapidly pushed himself off the ground and spun to face his enemy. Unfortunately, Thor wasn't able to block the Witch-king's flail even with his Asgardian reflexes. The flail's head struck the right of Thor's Galadhrim helm causing him to fall to the ground momentarily unconscious.
Satisfied his foe had been neutralised, the Witch-king moved to execute the Dark Lord's plan for this Avenger. The Witch-king sheathed his long sword and withdrew his most deadly weapon from within the folds of his cloak. The Witch-king moved to strike Thor with a Morgul-blade.
The Witch-king's last and smallest weapon was, in a way, more powerful than his two primaries. A Morgul-blade resembled a long dagger with a downward-curved guard. A Morgul-blade could only be used once as its blade dissolved after cutting the flesh of its victim. As such, it was reserved for the most powerful enemies of the Dark Lord, or for special purposes.
The Witch-king stabbed Frodo with a Morgul-blade at Weathertop in an attempt to claim the Ring and punish its bearer by putting him in a state worse than death. A Morgul-blade delivered a venom-like spell into its victim. Depending on their size and strength, a victim would eventually turn into a lesser wraith, slave to Sauron and the Nine. Frodo had only been saved from succumbing to this fate by only a few hours. Sauron was determined that Thor didn't receive a similar luxury.
Thor hadn't fully comprehended the meaning of Sauron's threat to him via the palantir. The Dark Lord intended to turn Thor's powers of weather control against the Free Peoples. They would curse and fear the lightning and thunder the Avenger would cast down on them on Sauron's behalf. Thor would also be personally humiliated, being a mindless subordinate of the Nine he thought he could best.
The Morgul-blade the Witch-king had this battle contained the most powerful curses and sorcery the Dark Lord could currently conjure. Sauron was confident even an Avenger titled 'The God of Thunder' couldn't withstand the Morgul-blade's effects. The resulting arrogance Sauron had instilled in the Witch-king was misplaced for a number of reasons. The first being Thor would prove harder to stab than first thought.
By the time she felt strong enough to stand again, Eowyn witnessed the Witch-king's blow that knocked out Thor. The Shield-maiden of Rohan had been scared on a number of occasions throughout this battle. She was now scared again for two reasons. First, that the God of Thunder mightn't be invulnerable after all. Second, and more importantly, only she was in a position to stop the Morgul-blade from striking him. The commotion around the rest of the battle faded into background noise for Eowyn as she moved to help Thor.
Being a few yards away, Eowyn didn't have time to engage the Witch-king in melee before the Morgul-blade struck Thor. She noticed a discarded Rohirrim spear on the ground in front of her and picked it up. Despite the pain shooting through her fractured arm, Eowyn got into a throwing position that Rogers had taught her. She aimed the spear at the Witch-king before releasing it. Eowyn had aimed her spear at the Witch-king's head. However, the discomfort from her fracture caused her to lose balance. She was also distracted at the moment of release by what sounded like the loud roar of a troll.
The spear struck the Witch-king's right shoulder. The spear quickly began disintegrating from his evil essence. The Witch-king released a grating screech from the sharp pain he felt in his shoulder. The pain caused him to drop the Morgul-blade to the ground.
Eowyn decided to cast off her helmet. If this were to be her end, she would die as Eowyn not Dernhelm. Eowyn held her sword as best she could and prepared to meet her fate. Now she had the Witch-king's attention, Eowyn decided to continue their conversation prior to its interruption.
"I am no man!" Eowyn defiantly declared to the Lord of the Nazgul.
"You foolish girl," a seething Witch-king hissed in response. "You'll curse not fleeing when you had the chance!"
"Not before you do," another voice told the Witch-king.
Both Eowyn and the Witch-king turned their gazes in the voice's direction and were respectively delighted and shocked to see Thor back on his feet. Thor's first thought upon regaining consciousness was to thank Galadriel for her foresight. That said, he wanted to display solidarity with Eowyn. Thor cast off his now heavily dented helm as defiantly glared at the Witch-king.
"Impossible!" the Witch-king incredulously exclaimed at Thor's recovery.
"Much less than believing you could best the Riders Three!" Thor shot back.
The Lord of the Nazgul knew in his weakened state he was in no position to go toe-to-toe with Thor. The Witch-king now felt afraid of something else other than Sauron for the first time in centuries. He had no time to further contemplate this. A sharp pain in his legs from behind suddenly caused him to fall on his knees. Thor was puzzled at the Witch-king's actions. Surely Sauron's greatest servant wasn't going to beg for mercy? Thor wasn't going to show any whatever the case.
"Ironically, I have to summon lightning to be worshiped like a god," Thor remarked almost casually to the Witch-king. "Allow me to reward your faith by summoning something else."
The visions Sauron had gleaned from his palantir of Thor using Mjolnir paled next to those Gandalf experienced. The White Wizard learned from them that one of the most devastating energy attacks that Thor could unleash wasn't drawn from any natural element. Thor could use Mjolnir to project powerful mystical blasts against his foes. Such blasts were sourced from Mjolnir's own mystical energy but more the vast energies contained within Thor's very life force. Previously, Thor had unconsciously drawn on those energies to give him the strength to shatter a supposedly indestructible palantir. Like Gandalf had earlier hinted to Rogers and Pippin, Sauron was completely unaware of this power of Thor's. The Witch-king would pay the price for his master's ignorance on this matter.
Thor gripped Mjolnir with both hands and pointed it at the Witch-king. The mystic blast shot out from Mjolnir's head in the form of a brilliant golden beam of light. The blast struck the Witch-king's head before completely engulfing his whole body. His armour and iron crown crumpled from the overwhelming power of the attack being made against him.
The Witch-king released an eerie wail as the blast's energy began consuming his very spirit. The Lord of the Nazgul's last action before being eradicated from existence was a failed attempt to remember his mortal name. After the mystic blast had ended, all that remained of the Witch-king was his burning cloak lying flat on the ground.
Thor had found this attack to be very draining from the residual effects of the vortex. It would be more than a few minutes before he could call on his available powers again. Thor hoped the Witch-king's demise would deter any other attacks against Eowyn and himself at least until then.
With the Witch-king completely vanquished, Eowyn raced to where Theoden had fallen. Thor made to follow her. He stopped upon seeing who was writhing on the ground in pain a few feet behind the Witch-king's remains.
"Merry!" Thor gasped.
Thor was greatly relieved that the Riders Three were all alive and accounted for. But he was horrified thinking his mystic blast had unintentionally hurt Merry. The Brandybuck was painfully grasping his right arm. Thor hooked Mjolnir back on his belt before rushing to Merry's side.
"My arm, Thor!" Merry winced in greeting. "It burns and freezes at once!"
A now kneeling Thor tried to spot any wounds on Merry's right arm. But he couldn't see any energy burns, flesh cuts or even feel any broken bones.
"When did your arm start feeling like this?" Thor queried.
Thor quietly thought that 'Donald' fellow Jane once mentioned would be of greater help than he would right now. Merry's reply solved the mystery of why the Witch-king fell to his knees.
"After stabbing him in the knee with Galadriel's dagger," Merry revealed.
Thor simply noted this as he recalled Aragorn saying any victim of a Nazgul attack should be kept as warm as possible. The Asgardian quickly retrieved a cloak off a dead Rohirrim a few yards away. As Thor started wrapping the Rohirrim cloak around his arm, Merry spoke about happened after the Mumakil had fallen on Windfola.
"I'd lost track of you and Eowyn," Merry started. "I decided to head in the Nazgul's direction. It was a good bet you'd be trying to stop him."
"That would've proved a very dangerous gamble if you were wrong, Merry," Thor mildly reproached him.
A seemingly bemused Merry pointed out, "As I recall, Thor. You were the one knocked out needing to be rescued!"
Thor couldn't help but give this an admiring chuckle. He also took it as a sign that the pain in Merry's arm was receding.
"You are correct about that and more besides," Thor happily conceded as he finished wrapping the blanket. "History will record the one who first brought the Lord of the Nazgul to his knees was Meriadoc Brandybuck, Esquire of Rohan."
Merry simply responded with a proud and embarrassed smile before Thor gently lifted him off the ground. Thor held Merry against his hip like Odin carried him as a small boy. Thor very much wished the All-Father were present when he and Merry reached Eowyn and Theoden.
A weeping Eowyn had buried her face on her now deceased uncle's chest. The internal injuries Theoden suffered from the Witch-king's attack had proven too great. From what he could tell, Thor correctly deduced that he wouldn't have been able to save Theoden even if Graegwind hadn't fallen.
Thor gave a sigh of heartfelt regret at the King's passing. Thor very much wanted Theoden to visit Asgard as his guest. Hopefully, Theoden accepted his own worthiness before the end. Theoden could no longer hear any final farewell that was spoken. Thor decided to give him a silent pledge instead.
I shall apologise in Valhalla for deceiving you about Eowyn being my squire. For now, I vow to protect your kin and people until my life's end.
Upon hearing a cacophony of distant howls, Thor wondered if Theoden's spirit had decided to put that vow to the test. Both he and Merry and looked in the direction the howls came from. The Brandybuck immediately recognised the source the howls.
"They're like the wargs that tracked Thorin's company," Merry nervously remembered Bilbo's descriptions of them.
The reinforcements that Gothmog sent for had finally arrived. Just over a mile north-east of the Riders Three, was some three thousand wargs. Orc mercenaries rode the vast majority of wargs. Both these orcs and wargs came from Mount Gundabad, an Orc stronghold at the northern end of the Misty Mountains. Gundabad wargs were larger and more vicious than the southern breeds that were usually employed by Mordor and Isengard.
These warg-riders had originally been deployed north-east of Amon Din. They were to intercept the Rohirrim should the Horse-Lords attempt to bypass Mordor's blockade by going north. At the very least, these warg-riders would have severely mauled the Rohirrim despite being half their number. Now the Gundabad mercenaries outnumbered the Rohirrim by nearly a thousand riders. The mercenaries hadn't been able to prevent the Rohirrim from reaching Minas Tirith. But they now had the numbers to destroy the Rohirrim before the walls of the city instead. They also had no fear of Thor as none of them had witnessed his powers. Thor was still in no position to release them at these mercenaries.
"We can't retreat without abandoning our friends," Thor commented as he gently placed Merry down on the ground.
Slightly wobbling on his feet, Merry replied, "What do we do?"
"I'll hold them off as best I can," Thor replied about the latest threat. "You look after Eowyn."
The warg-riders commenced their charge with nothing standing between them and the Riders Three. Thor stepped forward a couple of yards before taking up a defensive stance. Merry meanwhile noticed that Eowyn had stilled. Concerned for her welfare, Merry rolled the Shield-maiden over.
Eowyn's eyes were closed and she was shallow of breath. Merry was horrified to see some of veins around Eowyn's neck turning black in colour. He didn't know Eowyn's suffering was the result the Witch-king's Black Breath. Even if he did, the oncoming mercenaries meant Eowyn was now more likely to die in the jaws of a warg.
A large passing shadow from overhead suddenly caused Thor and Merry to look skywards.
I suspect some readers will be disappointed that Theoden died as per canon. Especially as he never got to take up Thor's offer to visit Asgard.
As I wrote in the after notes of last chapter, I wanted to make the battles in this story as realistic as possible. One aspect of realism is that it's not just the Unknown Soldier who dies on the battlefield. War brutally lays waste to hopes and dreams as much as any physical destruction it causes.
I also think there's merit in the theory put by some that Theoden and Denethor's deaths were symbolic of the Third Age coming to a close. Both their outlooks were the result of the times they lived in. Their deaths opened the way for the type of leadership required to take Men into the Fourth Age and beyond.
Readers can form their own opinions if the Morgul Blade would've affected Thor. I included it so Eowyn and Merry still had an important role in defeating the Witch-king. And no disrespect to Eowyn and PJ, but I found it difficult believing a mumak could be felled by a sword cut to each shin.
And R.I.P. Graegwind - you were a great character to write about.
[RD: This chapter is the one that's had the largest re-write. Readers will recall I had Thor using the Geo-blast power from Thor #161 in the original. However, more details have emerged about Thor's powers in Earth-199999 since the chapter was first published. I really wanted to better align events on Pelennor Fields to them.
Gravity (as opposed to Gravitational) waves have been found in atmospheres across the Solar System. Given how they can affect weather, I believe them a credible source of ambient electricity Thor-199999 can tap into. The fume/vortex device was to ensure there still wasn't enough such energy for him to destroy the Hosts of Mordor all at once. Otherwise, this would've been both a very short and boring chapter.]