Authors notes: - Thank you once again to everyone who has loyally reviewed
this story. Also thanks to the new reviews. Please keep reviewing with any
suggestions on how to improve and what you like about it! Thanks again!
Enjoy!
**
The battle was chaotic. The elven defences were stretched too thin and for every orc killed five took its place. Arrows flew and were quickly spent but still they came. Shrieks of the orcs as they fell and the cries of the wounded mingled with the battle cries shouted to rally the overwhelmed warriors.
Legolas ducked avoiding creatures that leapt out of trees trying to bring down the mounted elves. Several elves were not so lucky and hit the ground hard; many were killed before others could get to them. Pulling another arrow out of his rapidly dwindling quiver he aimed it at another orc who was in the process of throttling another elf. It hit the orc squarely in the back. Legolas turned and fired another arrow before the orc had dropped.
"Advance the line." A voice cried. Legolas tried to turn Voronwer but the horse could barely move through the mass of bodies. Turning his bow he tried to clear the way but a sharp pain in his leg stunned him. Looking down he saw a small dagger in his thigh. Growling in anger he pulled in free and stabbed the orc that had wounded him with it.
"Wargs!" another voice cried. The howls of the wargs added to the din of battle. One moment Legolas was on his horse the next he was pinned to the ground by a warg. Its teeth parted as it tried to get to the elf's neck. Grabbing it by the fur around its neck he tried using his strength to keep the jaws at bay. Saliva dripped onto his face and its foul breath made him gasp for breath. Suddenly the warg howled and dropped onto Legolas, who had to quickly move his head to avoid the jaws. Struggling from under the body, he pushed it aside and climbed to his feet. The warg had an arrow in his back but he knew not where it had come from. Drawing his knives he slashed at the nearest orcs. He had lost his bow and Voronwer had disappeared.
Rain poured down making the ground slick with mud and it put out the burning torches of the orcs. The smoke of these settled over the battle stinging the eyes and making visibility difficult. More elves fell.
* King Thranduil watched as archers ran along the walls of the palace trying to repel the onslaught of the orcs. The massive stone gates shook as they were repeatedly hit with a battering ram, each time they groaned ominously and Thranduil cast it nervous glances, if they fell those inside would be in desperate trouble.
"Archers to the gate." He cried and watched as the outnumbered warriors complied.
* Aeolian ran through his underground home, he had slipped in the secret entrance with a number of warriors to aid his father. The battle at the front was not going well, the reinforcements sent with Rimmal and Legolas had not made it to the warriors on the lines. A large force of orcs had cut them off and set about dividing and destroying the warriors. Those on the front were faring even worse and the dark army was pushing the warriors backwards. Unless a miracle happened they would fall.
Bursting into the courtyard he deployed his archers along the walls.
"Father." He cried running up to the older elf.
"Aeolian. What news?"
"The battle goes ill father. Our forces have been divided and are slowly being decimated." Aeolian reported his head thumping after the blow it had taken previously in the battle.
Thranduil sighed. It was what he expected.
Cries went up across the walls. "Ladders"
Aeolian ran forward with Thranduil as the first orcs climbed over the top of the walls. The two fought side-by-side killing any orcs that met their swords.
* Legolas stumbled as he was bumped into. He dropped his knives exhaustion making his movements clumsier. The fighting was in close quarters and it became more and more difficult to move. Dropping to the ground he grabbed his knives as a sword swung through the air where he had just been standing. It hit an elf killing it. Legolas rose up bringing his knives to meet in the orcs abdomen. Black blood sprayed across his face joining the dirt, blood and grime that were already there. Another orc took its place and Legolas blocked it swing of the sword unbalancing the foul creature, moving quickly he slit its throat. The fall of the orc brought the elf a moment of peace. Glancing around quickly he tried to see the situation. He could not see much. Rimmal and Balian he had not seen since the battle had begun. It was getting more and more difficult to determine between friend and foe. All the elves were covered in mud and the orcs were numerous. Conflicting orders were being cried as confusion reigned. The front lines that they had been fighting to get to were retreating as the onslaught continued.
A bolt of lightening shed light on the chaos and out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of sword aiming for his head. Muttering a series of curses he ducked and quickly recovered killing the orc as it missed. He was quickly reabsorbed in the battle. Duck, parry, lunge, roll, recover. The movements all combined in a deadly dance of death.
* Kahari tried to rally his troops as they retreated towards the main palace. Casualties were heavy and every time he turned to look backwards fewer faces appeared to him. The walls of the palace appeared. Orcs had swarmed around the base and others were using ladders to climb the walls. The proud gates had begun to crack and it would not be long before they fell.
"Archers to the trees. The rest with me." He called. Several elves broke off and disappeared high in the trees. The rest followed Kahari who led the charge into the back of the attacking orcs. The surprise aided them briefly but the superior numbers of the orcs prevailed and they were beaten back.
An amazing groan and cracking sound heralded the breaching of the gates. The orcs howled in glee and began to flood through them. The archers on the walls quickly fled, remaining would only bring death.
Kahari prayed that his father got out as he cried for retreat. They needed to regroup but the various warrior groups were too spread out and slowly being slaughtered to make that a viable option.
"My lord look to the south" an elf whispered and he watched as he saw elves appearing out of the secret entrance.
"Keep their attention on us." He said and the order was swiftly called throughout the group. Kahari scanned the group looking for his father and found him and Aeolian. Thanking the Valor he turned back to the battle. Half of the orc party turned to face the attackers from behind. They were swiftly overwhelmed. A particularly large orc appeared in front of Kahari. Bringing his sword to bear Kahari fended off the attack but was pressed backwards. Soon his back was against a tree. The orc was quicker than the average and parried every sword stroke of Kahari's. The elf was quickly tiring.
He heard his name being cried and for a split second his attention was diverted. That was all the orc needed and its sword slid quickly into the elf's unprotected stomach. Kahari gasped as his sword fell from his fingers. The orc withdrew the sword and smiled a twisted smile. A choked cry slipped past the elf's lips as he slid to the ground. The orc raised his sword to kill the elf but before he could complete the blow he fell to the ground minus a head. Aeolian appeared by his brother's side.
"No." he cried softly as he watched the blood spill over Kahari's hand as he clutched the wound.
"My lord." Another elf cried. "The King, The King has fallen!"
* "Retreat. Retreat!!!" Voices cried as the defeated elves were overwhelmed.
Legolas whistled for Voronwer. He hoped his brave stallion was well. Suddenly Balian was at his side.
"The palace is under heavy attack. Rimmal has ordered us to retreat and try to save them and the King."
There was a brief lull in the fighting as the orcs seeing that they were triumphing had hurried to aid their kind destroy the palace. Voronwer galloped towards them with several other elvish horses. Legolas quickly checked over his horse, apart from a few scratches the horse was fine. Quickly climbing aboard he and the last remaining elves hurried towards the palace.
Legolas pushed Voronwer harder as he tried to cut off the orc advance towards his home. Suddenly out of the trees burst a party of warg riders. He heard the cries of the elves behind him and he tried desperately to turn his panicked horse to face the attack.
"Legolas!" Balian cried. "There are too many." Legolas turned from impaling an orc on his sword, his arrows long spent and his bow lost, to see his friend take a blow to the head.
"Balian!!" Legolas screamed, he turned Voronwer and then the ground was rushing up to meet him. Crying in pain he turned to see Voronwer lying still on the ground bleeding from claw wounds in his side. Struggling to his feet he ran towards where he had last seen Balian and stopped dead. Balian was lying on the ground with a massive wound in his stomach that was bleeding profusely, the dark haired elf's head turned towards him and he reached out his hand.
"Legolas." He mouthed. "NO!" Legolas cried again.
Before Legolas could get any closer to Balian an agonising pain knocked him to all fours. Panting to try and relieve the pain he looked across at Balian who was looking at him in terror. He started to crawl forward as his vision began to blur and the sound of his heart beating echoed heavily in his ears. Coughing he watched as blood appeared on the ground. His strength left him and he fell his eyes fixed on Balian.
**
**
The battle was chaotic. The elven defences were stretched too thin and for every orc killed five took its place. Arrows flew and were quickly spent but still they came. Shrieks of the orcs as they fell and the cries of the wounded mingled with the battle cries shouted to rally the overwhelmed warriors.
Legolas ducked avoiding creatures that leapt out of trees trying to bring down the mounted elves. Several elves were not so lucky and hit the ground hard; many were killed before others could get to them. Pulling another arrow out of his rapidly dwindling quiver he aimed it at another orc who was in the process of throttling another elf. It hit the orc squarely in the back. Legolas turned and fired another arrow before the orc had dropped.
"Advance the line." A voice cried. Legolas tried to turn Voronwer but the horse could barely move through the mass of bodies. Turning his bow he tried to clear the way but a sharp pain in his leg stunned him. Looking down he saw a small dagger in his thigh. Growling in anger he pulled in free and stabbed the orc that had wounded him with it.
"Wargs!" another voice cried. The howls of the wargs added to the din of battle. One moment Legolas was on his horse the next he was pinned to the ground by a warg. Its teeth parted as it tried to get to the elf's neck. Grabbing it by the fur around its neck he tried using his strength to keep the jaws at bay. Saliva dripped onto his face and its foul breath made him gasp for breath. Suddenly the warg howled and dropped onto Legolas, who had to quickly move his head to avoid the jaws. Struggling from under the body, he pushed it aside and climbed to his feet. The warg had an arrow in his back but he knew not where it had come from. Drawing his knives he slashed at the nearest orcs. He had lost his bow and Voronwer had disappeared.
Rain poured down making the ground slick with mud and it put out the burning torches of the orcs. The smoke of these settled over the battle stinging the eyes and making visibility difficult. More elves fell.
* King Thranduil watched as archers ran along the walls of the palace trying to repel the onslaught of the orcs. The massive stone gates shook as they were repeatedly hit with a battering ram, each time they groaned ominously and Thranduil cast it nervous glances, if they fell those inside would be in desperate trouble.
"Archers to the gate." He cried and watched as the outnumbered warriors complied.
* Aeolian ran through his underground home, he had slipped in the secret entrance with a number of warriors to aid his father. The battle at the front was not going well, the reinforcements sent with Rimmal and Legolas had not made it to the warriors on the lines. A large force of orcs had cut them off and set about dividing and destroying the warriors. Those on the front were faring even worse and the dark army was pushing the warriors backwards. Unless a miracle happened they would fall.
Bursting into the courtyard he deployed his archers along the walls.
"Father." He cried running up to the older elf.
"Aeolian. What news?"
"The battle goes ill father. Our forces have been divided and are slowly being decimated." Aeolian reported his head thumping after the blow it had taken previously in the battle.
Thranduil sighed. It was what he expected.
Cries went up across the walls. "Ladders"
Aeolian ran forward with Thranduil as the first orcs climbed over the top of the walls. The two fought side-by-side killing any orcs that met their swords.
* Legolas stumbled as he was bumped into. He dropped his knives exhaustion making his movements clumsier. The fighting was in close quarters and it became more and more difficult to move. Dropping to the ground he grabbed his knives as a sword swung through the air where he had just been standing. It hit an elf killing it. Legolas rose up bringing his knives to meet in the orcs abdomen. Black blood sprayed across his face joining the dirt, blood and grime that were already there. Another orc took its place and Legolas blocked it swing of the sword unbalancing the foul creature, moving quickly he slit its throat. The fall of the orc brought the elf a moment of peace. Glancing around quickly he tried to see the situation. He could not see much. Rimmal and Balian he had not seen since the battle had begun. It was getting more and more difficult to determine between friend and foe. All the elves were covered in mud and the orcs were numerous. Conflicting orders were being cried as confusion reigned. The front lines that they had been fighting to get to were retreating as the onslaught continued.
A bolt of lightening shed light on the chaos and out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of sword aiming for his head. Muttering a series of curses he ducked and quickly recovered killing the orc as it missed. He was quickly reabsorbed in the battle. Duck, parry, lunge, roll, recover. The movements all combined in a deadly dance of death.
* Kahari tried to rally his troops as they retreated towards the main palace. Casualties were heavy and every time he turned to look backwards fewer faces appeared to him. The walls of the palace appeared. Orcs had swarmed around the base and others were using ladders to climb the walls. The proud gates had begun to crack and it would not be long before they fell.
"Archers to the trees. The rest with me." He called. Several elves broke off and disappeared high in the trees. The rest followed Kahari who led the charge into the back of the attacking orcs. The surprise aided them briefly but the superior numbers of the orcs prevailed and they were beaten back.
An amazing groan and cracking sound heralded the breaching of the gates. The orcs howled in glee and began to flood through them. The archers on the walls quickly fled, remaining would only bring death.
Kahari prayed that his father got out as he cried for retreat. They needed to regroup but the various warrior groups were too spread out and slowly being slaughtered to make that a viable option.
"My lord look to the south" an elf whispered and he watched as he saw elves appearing out of the secret entrance.
"Keep their attention on us." He said and the order was swiftly called throughout the group. Kahari scanned the group looking for his father and found him and Aeolian. Thanking the Valor he turned back to the battle. Half of the orc party turned to face the attackers from behind. They were swiftly overwhelmed. A particularly large orc appeared in front of Kahari. Bringing his sword to bear Kahari fended off the attack but was pressed backwards. Soon his back was against a tree. The orc was quicker than the average and parried every sword stroke of Kahari's. The elf was quickly tiring.
He heard his name being cried and for a split second his attention was diverted. That was all the orc needed and its sword slid quickly into the elf's unprotected stomach. Kahari gasped as his sword fell from his fingers. The orc withdrew the sword and smiled a twisted smile. A choked cry slipped past the elf's lips as he slid to the ground. The orc raised his sword to kill the elf but before he could complete the blow he fell to the ground minus a head. Aeolian appeared by his brother's side.
"No." he cried softly as he watched the blood spill over Kahari's hand as he clutched the wound.
"My lord." Another elf cried. "The King, The King has fallen!"
* "Retreat. Retreat!!!" Voices cried as the defeated elves were overwhelmed.
Legolas whistled for Voronwer. He hoped his brave stallion was well. Suddenly Balian was at his side.
"The palace is under heavy attack. Rimmal has ordered us to retreat and try to save them and the King."
There was a brief lull in the fighting as the orcs seeing that they were triumphing had hurried to aid their kind destroy the palace. Voronwer galloped towards them with several other elvish horses. Legolas quickly checked over his horse, apart from a few scratches the horse was fine. Quickly climbing aboard he and the last remaining elves hurried towards the palace.
Legolas pushed Voronwer harder as he tried to cut off the orc advance towards his home. Suddenly out of the trees burst a party of warg riders. He heard the cries of the elves behind him and he tried desperately to turn his panicked horse to face the attack.
"Legolas!" Balian cried. "There are too many." Legolas turned from impaling an orc on his sword, his arrows long spent and his bow lost, to see his friend take a blow to the head.
"Balian!!" Legolas screamed, he turned Voronwer and then the ground was rushing up to meet him. Crying in pain he turned to see Voronwer lying still on the ground bleeding from claw wounds in his side. Struggling to his feet he ran towards where he had last seen Balian and stopped dead. Balian was lying on the ground with a massive wound in his stomach that was bleeding profusely, the dark haired elf's head turned towards him and he reached out his hand.
"Legolas." He mouthed. "NO!" Legolas cried again.
Before Legolas could get any closer to Balian an agonising pain knocked him to all fours. Panting to try and relieve the pain he looked across at Balian who was looking at him in terror. He started to crawl forward as his vision began to blur and the sound of his heart beating echoed heavily in his ears. Coughing he watched as blood appeared on the ground. His strength left him and he fell his eyes fixed on Balian.
**