On the battlefield, the Riders of Rohan seemed to be winning ! The Orcs were in complete shock at the turn of events and their shock almost froze them in place… allowing their enemies to cut them down. Eomer was seen picking up the pitchfork of an Orc before using it to kill another one. Theoden was cutting down some Orcs who were surrounding him while Eowyn and Merry were doing the same, protecting each other's back.
The Lions of the Pridelands were fighting side by side , slashing and killing any Orcs who was brave (or stupid) enough to charge them. Kovu was bitting the neck of an armored Orc while Kiara , who was a few feet away behind him, roared at the face of a group of Orcs who cowered under her furious glare. Kopa swung his right front-paw, sending an Orc flying against another one who was charging him. Then he used his jaws to threw another in the air but before the Beast could land on the ground, it was caught by Vitani who instanly pinned it down before slashing its neck with a clawed paw.
The other Lionesses were protecting each other's back but made sure to not get too far away from their King's children and their beloved. At this point, the Orcs seemed to lose all sort of courage, seeing as so many of them were being slaughtered, and were running away like cowards. The Rohirrims and the Lions seemed to have noticed because they instantly pursued them " Drive them back to the river !" Eomer yelled out and some Riders obeyed just as Theoden added "Make safe this city !"
Kiara , who was looking at their retreating enemy, opened her eyes wide in shock as she yelled out "BY THE GREAT KINGS !" "Kiara are you okay ?" Her brother asked her with concern but she ignored him as her eyes were locked on something. Everyone looked at her with confusion before looking at the distance… only to open their eyes wide in shock and terror at what they saw. Even Theoden who had a smile of joy as he thought they had won was now looking at the sight in shock like the rest of his men.
The Orcs were retreating but it wasn't what had shocked everyone to their core. It was what was coming to them : through a large cloud of dust, appeared a long line made of creature which looked like an Elephant but bigger. There were Oliphants and there were at least twenty of them. On their backs, were strange structure which looked like towers where we could see the faint shapes of people. Then the sounds of horns echoed in the air as at the same time, a battle cry was also heard in a language that the Lions didn't recognized.
The sight of the Newcomers (particularly the Oliphants) had definitely caused a movement of panic and fear through the Riders of Rohan. The Lions of the Pridelands were also shocked by the sight and they looked at each other worriedly. Vitani however, used a paw to rub her temple muttering loud enough for some to hear "Can things be easy for once ?" Kopa glanced at her with an amused look on her face before looking at Kovu who nodded back at him.
Oliphants looked like the Elephants who lived in the Pridelands… so maybe they had the same weakness ? Kiara looked at King Theoden, who had stepped out of his torpor, to order in a loud tone "Reform the line ! Reform the line !" The Rohirrims did what they were told without arguments. Just as the Riders reformed their rang, the Oliphants letted out a roar-like round. Kovu looked over at the King of Rohan before inquiring "Your Majesty ! Let us go first ! We will try to keep them distracted !"
Seeing that the Man was hesitating, Vitani added hurriedly "We know the weakness of those creatures…" "The head particularly..." Kopa muttered but some Rohirrims heard him and looked at each other. Theoden looked back forward seeing that the Gigantic Creatures were coming closer and sighed " I trust you..." Those words seemed to please the Lions who all looked back toward the Oliphants with determination. Kovu then opened his mouth to let out a roar which was a signal to charge. Instantly, all felines rushed forward.
Kopa rushed toward one of the Oliphant who used its tusk to swung him away but he managed to dodge them. The Brown Maned Lion sneaked behind the gigantic Creature before using his claws to climb it. The Oliphant cried out in pain as it felt the claws digging into his skin but couldn't reach the Lion with his trump. When Kopa managed to reach the top of the Massive Animal, he was greeted by Human Archers who aimed their bows at him. He roared out defiantly when his attention turned away from his opponents at the sound of a horn.
He understood that Theoden must have ordered his men to charge the new threat but he didn't have time to think as an arrow bounced against his forehead. The Brown Maned Lion turned his head to glare at the Archers ( Haradrim was their names) who gulped loudly as they understood that they did a mistake. Instantly, Kopa pounced on them , slashing their necks with his claws. More Haradrim tried to stop him but they met the same fate. Huffing in satisfaction, the Brown Maned Lion headed forward and saw another Haradrim pulling on some leash like-things and he understood that this man was controlling the Oliphant.
Smirking, he growled loudly to catch the man's attention and when he turned around, Kopa roared on his face. The Haradrim's face paled in fright and soon let out a cry of terror when the Lion bite his neck without giving him the time to defend himself. Kopa then dropped the dead body of the man away before looking at the Oliphant's head. A grin appeared on his face as he started to claw the top of the Beast's head which caused it to stop in his track while roaring in pain.
The pain was so much that the massive Creature was now rearing back , standing on his back-legs. The Rohirrims, who were surrounding it, threw their spears at the Creature who soon fell on its side. Kopa managed to jump when the Oliphant was about to crash on the group and he looked at the gigantic dead body before sighting. Then he scanned the area with his turquoise blue eyes.
He saw Vitani, his mate, clawing the eyes of one of the Oliphants who roared in pain as it shook its head to get rid of her… in vain. Kiara was on another's back, killing the Haradrim who tried to defend themselves against the furious Lioness. Kovu , for his part, was roaring loudly when another Oliphant fell under the claws of the other Lionesses.
Looking away from his fellow Lions, Kopa saw Eomer twirling his spear before tossing it straight toward a Haradrim Captain whose was making sure his Oliphant was heading toward the King's nephew. The spear strike the Haradrim right in the chest causing the latter to cry out in pain before falling from the Oliphant's head , taking the rein with him in the process. The rein, thanks to this, was pulled out down hard on the Gigantic Creature's ear causing it to staggers at it headed straight toward another Oliphant, slamming into it and causing both Beasts to go down with the Haradrim Men on their backs.
Kopa noticed that the remaining Oliphants were doing a carnage : the Rohirrims who were lucky to not have been crushed under the gigantic feet were being shot by the Haradrim Archers. As if it wasn't enough, the Orcs decided to assist the Haradrim and they came back on the battlefield. Roaring rage, Kopa pounced on a group of Orcs who screeched in fright when the Brown Maned Lion fell on them.
Away from him, Vitani was slashing the neck of an Orc who thought it was a good idea to pull on her tail. The Beige Lioness turned her head to see her mate killing some Orcs and was about to help him when her eyes landed on Eowyn and Merry who were riding between the legs of one of the Oliphants ! Then Theoden's niece used two swords to slash the Gigantic Animal's legs causing the Beast to fall down on the ground, roaring in pain.
"Not bad Eowyn..." Vitani complimented silently : she had to admit she took a liking to the Blond Woman and was impressed by what she was doing so far. During the Battle of Helm's Deep, she and Eowyn had fought together in the Glowing Cave protecting the women and children from some Uruks who managed to enter. "Aim for the head !" Eomer's voice echoed and Vitani turned her head to see him and some Rohirrim Archers firing arrows to one Oliphant who reared back in pain when a rain of arrows fell on it.
The Haradrim on its back tried to hang for their life but some of them fell to their fate. " Bring it down ! Bring it down ! Bring it down !" Theoden yelled out as spears started to be thrown at the Beast who soon fell on his back-side. The impact , or rather the shake from it, frightened Eowyn and Merry's horse who reared back, knocking its riders out of its back.
Vitani, seeing this, rushed toward them as the Oliphants's head was heading toward them. Eowyn looked up in terror but she was then swiftly pulled back from the gigantic head's way. The Blond Woman looked at where she previously was before turning her head to see who saved her : it was Vitani who was looking at her with concern "Are you okay ?" the Lioness asked her still concern. "Thank you… Merry !" Eowyn yelled the last part when she realized that the Hobbit was nowhere in sight.
Vitani's eyes looked around but then she saw some Haradrim (the same one who were previously on the Oliphants) charging them. She roared defiantly before pouncing on them while Eowyn still looked around for Merry. At the same time, Theoden found himself being surrounded by a large group of Orcs and quickly began to kill them before they could attack him. Seeing her Uncle in possible danger, Eowyn didn't thought twice and rushed over to assist him, cutting down an Orc from behind then another. The King of Rohan killed another Orc before looking over at the one who was helping him.
Theoden seemed to have a flash of recognition in his eyes but quickly ignored it when he saw that the Rohirrim was doing fine on his own as he went back into battle. Two Orcs were charging him but before he could defend himself, Vitani appeared in thin air, landing on his attackers and he watched with wide eyes as the Lioness slashed their necks. The Beige Lioness looked at him and nodded and he nodded back before the two of them returned to battle.
At the same time, Merry coughed loudly as he appeared through toms dust, inches away from the dead body of an Oliphant. He crawled away from it while picking up his sword. However, he was instantly attacked by a Haradrim Soldier who swung his spear at the Hobbit who ducked the blow before driving his sword into the man killing him instantly. The he quickly blocked the sword of an Orc before taking it out as well.
Eowyn dodged another Orc's attack before killing it with her sword. She did the same to two more Orcs with a single swipe. Merry took down another Haradrim Soldier but when he turned, he found himself being grabbed by an Orc who lifted him off the ground. Merry looked at his attacker with a hint of fear which quickly turned into a maliciously grin. The Orc frowned at the Hobbit's behavior but then he froze when a deep growl echoed behind it. Gulping, the Orc turned around to see an angry Brown Maned Lion who was glaring at it with barred teeth.
The Orc instantly released Merry who fell on his butt with a 'THUMP' and screeched in fright when the Lion lunged at him. Merry watched in shock when his Lion comrade bite the neck on the Orc savagely. "You okay partner ?" Kopa asked him after a moment and Merry nodded at him before saying softy "Thank you..." The Brown Maned Lion nodded and the two turned their heads to see a group of Orcs charging them just as Eowyn was exchanging blows with Gothmog who had a mace on his working hand.
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Meanwhile, in Minas Tirith, the Orcs were now running through a large part of the city without encountering any resistance. On one level of the city, a Troll was seen ramming its massive hammer against a door while behind it was a large gathering of Orcs who were waiting for the doors to be broken. The Troll rammed and slammed the doors with its hammer but they were strong. At the other side of those say doors, was a group of Gondorians Soldiers who were now trapped in what looked like a courtyard of some sort.
Some of them were bracing against the doors to hold it while many more where standing behind them with their weapons at the ready. And behind the Soldiers where those who couldn't fight anymore : the wounded ones. With them , we could see Gandalf and Pippin who were holding their swords. " I didn't think it would end this way..." The Hobbit remarked tiredly as his face was covered in grime and dirt.
The Wizard looked back at him at those words "End ?" he asked the Hobbit with confusion on his face before adding "No... the journey doesn't end here... Death is just another path... One that we all must take… The gray rain curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it..." Pippin had stay silent the whole time but when he heard the last part, he couldn't retain his curiosity as he asked " What Gandalf ? See what ?"
A smile appeared on the White Wizard's face as he responded "White shores...And beyond, the far green country, under a swift sunrise…" Pippin couldn't help but smiled back when he heard this description "Well, that isn't so bad..." Still smiling, Gandalf looked at the Hobbit replying softy "No... No, it isn't..." The two smiled at each other as they prepared for the breach when the Troll rammed its hammer against the doors again.
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Back on the field, things weren't good for the Rohirrims. Even if some Oliphants were taken down, they were still some who were causing chaos and death, and with the Orcs returning to battle, there were too many enemies to deal with, making it impossible to focus on who to fight first. Suddenly, through the air, echoed the voice of Theoden who was trying to gather his remaining soldiers " Rally to me ! To me !"
Then a loud screech echoed in the air, interrupting Theoden who turned around to see a Fellbeast flying toward him. The Rohirrims in its path all cowered in fear at the approaching Beast. Theoden seemed to be in some sort of trance but he quickly regained his composure when the Fellbeast screeched again just as its jaws made contact with the King's horse. The Fellbeast swung its head around with the horse still between its jaws. Eowyn looked at the scene with horror in her eyes and , at her left side, Vitani seemed just as shocked.
Then the Fellbeast threw the horse (and his rider) across the ground before slowly approaching its prey. Theoden was pinned on the ground by the dead body of his mount and by the fact that some of his bones were broken because of the shock and tumbles.
Around him, the Rohirrims were watching with horror and terror in their eyes before fleeing the scene with panic, leaving their injured King at the mercy of the Fellbeast and more precisely at the mercy of its rider, the Witch-King of Angmar. The Feelbeast was now standing not too far away from Theoden who looked at the dark creatures with fright " Feast off his flesh..." The Witch-King inquired to his mount who approached closer to the King of Rohan who couldn't do anything but accepting his fate.
But then the Fellbeast backed away when two figures placed themselves between it and Theoden : they were none other than Vitani and Eowyn who said with anger " I will kill you if you touch him !" The Beige Lioness hissed at the Fellbeast who snarled back at her. "Do not come between the Nazgûl and his prey..." The Witch-King replied back as he rode his mount. The Fellbeast tried to bite Eowyn but Vitani clawed its face which caused it to rear back in pain, sending its Rider on the ground.
" I will take care of this thing ! You take the Rider !" Vitani ordered to Eowyn who nodded her head in acceptance. The Beige Lioness roared out in challenge as she glared daggers at the Fellbeast who looked back at her with anger. Back to Eowyn, she was facing the Witch-King who was now standing on his full height and facing her. In his right hand, we could see a his sword while in his left, he had a flail with a massive spiked mace head at the end of the chains.
Eowyn looked in shock at the weapons but then quickly looked back at her opponent when he let out a screech while swinging his flail at the Hidden Woman who managed to dodge the blow as the mace landed on the ground among the dust and grasses. Back to Vitani, she and the Fellbeast were circling each other, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It was the Fellbeast who made the first move as it rushed over with its jaws open, attempting to grab the Lioness between them. Vitani smirked as she dodged the open mouth before using her left paw to claw the Beast by its chest, causing it to back away in pain.
The Fellbeast then examined its chest , looking away from its opponent who took no time as she pounced on it. The Fellbeast roared in pain when the Lioness's fangs pierced the skin on its neck while used her paws to prevent it to bite her back. However, the Fellbeast then swung its head back and forth and Vitani lose her grip on its neck. She fell on the group and looked up to see the Beast charging her. Suddenly, it roared in pain and Vitani's eyes widened when she saw Kopa, pulling on the Fellbeast's tail, using his jaws.
The Fellbeast raised it head to the sky to let out another cry of pain and Vitani lunged at its neck again, planting her fangs deeper in its skin. The Dragon-like Creature roared out in pain before a loud 'SNAP' was heard. It fell back on the ground to never get up again. Vitani had broken his neck. Panting, the Beige Lioness turned her head to face her mate who was approaching her "Are you okay love ?" "Yes thanks to you~" she purred as the two of them nuzzled each other but then their touching moment was interrupted by a loud screech.
They turned their head to see the Witch-King on his knees, screeching in pain while Merry was holding his right arm in equal pain as the Hobbit was on his back. The Lions watched as Eowyn pulled out her helmet before facing the Witch-King "I am no man !" she said out-loud before thrusting her sword straight in the Nazgul's dark face. A green energy came out from the Witch-King's face as the blast send Eowyn's sword away from his face. Theoden's niece fell on her knees, holding an arm in pain as the Nazgul crumbled into a heap. The Lions instantly rushed over to their friends to help them.
All of them were unaware of what was coming from the docks… something no one thought could be possible and that would change the course of the battle to the better.
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On the other side of Minas Tirith, on the Anduin River, a group of Orcs were standing on the docks waiting for something. Well more like someone. Then a large float of Black Ships appeared and the Orcs recognized them as the Corsairs of Umbars who were supposed to help them in taking Minas Tirith. The gathered Orcs looked at the ships just as one of them, who might be the Captain, made his way through the others. He had a skull on his head and had a scowl on his face "Late, as usual ! Pirate scum ! There's work that needs doing !"
The ships however seemed empty much to the confusion of the Orcs who looked at each other questioningly "Come on, ya sea rats! Get out off your ships !" The Captain Orc ordered as he was now standing at the front looking at the Black Ships with ager and annoyance. Three forms jumped from the nearest ship and it wasn't corsairs. There were out friends , Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. The entrance greatly surprised the Orcs but when they saw they were only three, their surprised looks turned into grins.
Of course, Aragorn and his friends were unfazed by the numbers of enemies before them as they were slowly making their way toward them. Isildur's heir raised his sword just as Gimli said to Legolas in an excited tone "There are plenty for both of us ! May the best dwarf win !" As the trio charged, the Army of Death appeared behind them, shocking and terrifying the Orcs who tried to get away but to no avail. More and More Death Soldiers appeared through the Ships, some mounting on Death Horses as they all made their ways toward the Battlefied.
(To be continued…)