Author's Notes: May the blessings of Iluvatar fall on those who reviewed! Thank you very, very much! ^^
Chapter Two:
Moruin
And Lord Aragorn called together a council. "Let all lords of domains hear the tale of malice I have to tell, and decide if you shall succor Gondor to defend all that is good in Middle-earth! My companions of the Fellowship, our battle with evil has not yet been consummated; for the memory of Gandalf and the Ringbearer, join me!"
The great nobles listened to their King as he continued, "Let the women and children retire to their rooms, for what I have to reveal are not for the ears of those will not fight against this evil. Great malice is it that this fell news must be made known on the royal birth of Prince Elfwine, but the flow of life must not hinder us."
Faramir turned to bid a safe night to his wife, but Eowyn stood resolute. "I must hear of this evil, Faramir," she said staunchly. "Great shall my sorrow be if there is not something I can contribute to this threat of malevolence."
And Farmir gently replied, "My dear lady, King Elessar's words have fallen on your ears. For a reason that he shall yet disclose, those who will not take up the fight must not hear of it."
"My lord," Eowyn's hand held her husband's arm, "I had fought when the Great Shadow menaced Middle-earth of its presence. I may not fight in this new war, but neither am I faint of heart. I plead you not to send me away."
"Lady of Ithilien." The King of Gondor had been discreetly listening to the exchange as the other people shepherded their families. "I beg of you to forgive me of my intrusion of your privacy, but hearken to your husband's advice. What I have to say concerns only those who are willing to pledge their life to defend the lands of Middle-earth until their very last breath. Do not throw away the most precious jewel Rohan had given to Gondor."
"Then is that all I am, my lords?" asked Eowyn stiffly. "A jewel not to be touched, nor given a life of its own?"
The two men looked at each other.
At length, Faramir said, "My Lord Elessar, I do not wish to disobey your words, but the shieldmaiden in my wife has not yet left her. For as long as evil shall plague the lands, so shall the shieldmaiden remain. She is not like other women, for she has the spirit of battle for righteousness, and that is why I had wished to win her heart."
As Eowyn looked with admiration at her noble husband, King Aragorn relented. "Lady Eowyn, you are most welcome to take part of the council," he said, bowing to her. "Pardon me if I had first hindered you, for I had forgotten of your valor amidst this confusion."
"I cannot promise much of my valor to you, King Elessar," she returned, curtsying back, "but I shall do my best."
"And that is more than enough."
Then as the great doors were closed and the brave people were gathered in the chamber, Lord Aragorn raised his hand. "Behold! On my palm rests the Red Arrow, the token of the Oath of Eorl that Eorl the Young had sworn to Cirion, Steward of Gondor. I, Elessar Telcontar of Gondor, now ask the King of Rohan, Eomer son of Eomund: will you fulfill this Oath in this time of need?"
King Eomer stood up and in a strong voice he proclaimed, "Let this be known to all of Rohan! All that Rohan can give shall be given to the aid of Gondor and the King! Naught shall Rohan refuse to Lord Aragorn!"
Unanimous cheers from the Eorlingas accompanied this proclamation.
"Legolas Greenleaf the Elf!" called Aragorn. "We had been comrades during the destruction of the Ring. The Fellowship is now dissolved, but I ask of you to lend us your bow and arrow. Will you or no?"
"Lord Elessar," Legolas bowed, "every shafted arrow shot from my bow shall be for the aid of Gondor."
"A Dwarf will never be outdone by an Elf!" declared Gimli son of Gloin. "And so shall the Khazad Gimli's axe hew heads for the King of Gondor!"
"And the Halflings of the Shire, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Mariadoc Brandybuck," requested Aragorn. "Will you join us, dear Periannath?"
"No doubt about it!" answered Sam. "Mister Frodo would have given his full support, and no questions asked!"
"Hear, hear!" cheered Merry and Pippin.
And so did all the other lords and people give their word of honour for Gondor. And Aragorn said, greatly touched, "Gondor shall not forget of these great acts of bravery, for even though I have not told you of the evil, you have given your heartfelt oaths in advance. Let this be known as the Great Oaths-taking of the Fourth Age!" Then he lowered his voice, saying, "Now will I let my tale of woe be unconcealed."
And all listened as the King of Gondor spoke.
"Many days ago, whilst I sat upon the throne of the Hall of the Kings, two of my men came in bringing an Orc in chains. They had caught him after witnessing with their own eyes how he had attempted to kill some animals of a family in the walls of Minas Tirith. As I pondered what sentence to give the foul creature, he spat upon the floor of the Tower and in his fell language said strings of speech which I could not comprehend. Yet one word I caught: Moruin.
Aragorn gazed at the faces of those before him. "Moruin, the Black Flame. Even as I threw the Orc to the dungeons, still the word he had uttered sent chills on my spine. And by some mysterious urge, I rushed to the secret place where I kept the palantir of Orthanc. I threw off the mantle and looked into the Seeing-stone. The darkness dimmed, and to my great consternation, I faced the hooded, invisible visage of a Black Rider."
A general gasp spreaded across the audience.
"Lord Elessar!" called out Eomer. "Were not the Nine Nazgul destroyed with the unmaking of the Ring, and ultimately of the Dark Lord?"
"Nine, you say!" cried the King. "Alas! if only that were so! For nay, there were not only nine, yet ten of the Black Riders!"
A shocked silence pervaded the Great Hall. Eowyn's heart beat wildly. Ten Fell Riders!
"People of the Council!" Aragorn raised his voice. "An old evil of the Dark Lord has awakened and shall threaten the peace of Middle-earth; a Rider whose power could match that of Gandalf the White! Hearken, for as I wrestled with the Tenth Rider through the palantir, I came to know of the reason of his existence."
"After the Lord of the Rings corrupted the Nine Kings of Men into the fell Nazgul with the One Ring, he deceived yet another King with his wiles, but no ring was on the finger of this new Rider, for only nine Rings of Power were forged by the Noldor. And because he bore no ring and thus was not in the power of Isildur's Bane, he was the Black Flame, one who would be untouched by the flames of Orodruin should the Dark Lord be destroyed, one who would keep the flame of the Dark Lord's evil burning."
"Sauron kept him a great secret and by some black magic cast a spell of long sleep on him, only to be awakened after the Dark Lord breathed his last. No Ring of Power is found on him, but great are the powers that Sauron bestowed him for the supremacy to make evil reign in our lands. Unless he be destroyed, another Dark Lord will emerge and destine ruin for Middle-earth."
"Now he uses the Ithil-stone to watch over Middle-earth. Aye, all thought that the Stone of Ithilien was destroyed with the fall of the Dark Lord, but of a heavy heart I tell you that we had made a grave mistake. The Ithil-stone still lives, living with Moruin the Black Flame in Minas Morgul."
"Minas Morgul!" Faramir stood up. "Do you mean Minas Ithil, my lord?"
Aragorn looked at Faramir sadly. "Yes, Lord Faramir. That is another unfortunate story. I sped for Ithilien as soon as I knew, in this garb with the soldiers of Gondor. I remember that you post guards around Minas Ithil, and when I saw a great darkness on the Tower through the palantir, and we rushed over to see what might had befallen them. It was then we beheld the power of Moruin firsthand."
"No time had we to search for the men you posted, for countless numbers of orcs, gathered by Moruin, attacked us as soon as we came in sight of Minas Ithil. The battle raged on for two days, the men of Gondor having the upper hand. But suddenly the Black Rider, clad in sable and astride a foaming horse, came forth form the ruins of Minas Ithil, and from a single swing of his foul sword black flames came out, sending men flying in all direction, flying to their deaths. I barely managed to hide for my life. In such a short span of time my men were dead, the Dark Rider went back to his Tower, and the orcs dispersed. I was left alone among bodies of Orcs and Men alike. None were left save I."
"Beregond!"
Pippin jumped up, horror written over his face. "Beregond!" he repeated. Turning to Faramir, his eyes wide with bewilderment, he cried, "Master Faramir! Didn't you post Beregond, the Captain of your guards, with his band of soldiers to keep watch of Minas Ithil this week?!"
And Faramir grew pale as in a ghostly voice he uttered, "Woe was I to have sent them to Minas Ithil! Woe!"
Aragorn was visibly appalled by the realization. "I beg of your pardon, Lord Faramir! I should have discovered of this evil beforehand and have warned you! Now you have lost one of your best and loyal men! Curse my slothfulness!"
"You - you were not at fault, Lord Aragorn," said Faramir, his voice trembling. "There are some unforseen things that we cannot control."
"After I survived the battle, I hastened to Minas Arnen to tell you of this great tragedy. But your servants said that you had already left for Rohan, and that is why with all speed I raced on my horse Roheryn here to Meduseld, only to know that one who was killed was the one who loved you most among your soldiers." Aragorn looked grief-stricken, and he fell back on his chair, exhausted.
chapter two, end, 02/09/02, SwordSkill